It wasn't a dream.

Ladybug could feel that much. It wasn't a type of dream where your subconscious went over your entire day and you were a spectator, just watching what happens like an audience in a horror movie.

No. This was different.

Entirely different.

All around her, a battlefield glowed brightly. "Out of all the places that came out, this has got to be the weirdest," she muttered.

A door opened.

"CAT NOIR? What are you doing here?!" she yelped, worried that he might have been caught by Nightmare as well. Not speaking, he flicked his belt and his staff flew out. He got in his attacking stance.

Ladybug frowned. "Cat Noir, you're supposed to face the other way- whoa!" She leaped out of harm's way as the staff came whooshing towards her head. "What are you doing!" she yelled as she dodged another incoming attack. Somehow, this felt familiar…

Copycat. That was who she was facing. She couldn't explain how she knew, but this was Copycat- the past villain who was jealous and got akumatized to look exactly and have the same abilities as her trustworthy partner. Ladybug now knew no hesitation. She leaped up and swung her yo-yo around his wrist, pulling him towards her.

Last time she beat him, she had to destroy his akuma. But this time, she supposed that it was entirely different, just like with the Puppeteer. He wasn't akumatized… so why was he attacking her, and why was Theo Copycat again?

A nightmare.

"Of course! This entire battle is just a nightmare!" She jumped as the metal pole swung around her legs. She swung her yo-yo around his fake staff and brought it to her knees. She cracked it in half as Copycat began dissolving. "Wait!"

And just like that, he was gone. And another supervillain took his place. Lady Wifi stood at the edge of the battlefield. "Looks like it's you and me, Alya," she mumbled under her breath as she stood in the attacking stance.

I can't keep fighting them forever. If Ladybug ended up trying to use her Lucky Charm, she would de-transform in a heartbeat and her identity would be revealed. Also, there was no telling that she would de-transform in real life as well. So there was only one answer. She would have to wake up.

But how? All these villains were after the Miraculous, she would have to do some good thinking to wake herself up. She most definitely did not want Cat Noir to kiss her awake. It would be different, anyhow. She wasn't stuck in a one-hundred year sleep.

Or was she? She couldn't know how long she was battling Copycat. To her, it had been over in a couple of minutes, but in reality she couldn't know if she had been fighting him for an hour, a day, weeks, perhaps years. Being stuck in eternal sleep really sucked.

To wake up, she needed something that startled her. She recalled all of the different things she had done to get Cat Noir awake. She thought all of this as she dodged another freeze button attack from Lady Wifi.

"Let's see how you do without your power source," she said as she took a huge jump and grabbed the phone out of the villainesses hands. She stepped on it, cracking the screen, and jumped on it once for good measure. Lady Wifi disappeared silently.

Ladybug wouldn't ever admit it, but her limit was reached. Fighting more than two villains without her combo with Cat Noir was especially hard, with these pressing thoughts on her next move.

Desperately, she looked around for an object that would injure her so far that the pain would wake her up.

Suddenly, someone flashed and appeared right next to her.

She grabbed her yo-yo and willed it to wrap around the person, not caring who or what it was as she reeled it in, punch ready.

It was Cat Noir.

She startled. "What are you doing here?!" Cat Noir yawned. "What… oh. Ladybug." His green eyes popped open, taking in the weird scene. "Ladybug? What is this place!" he exclaimed, looking around excitedly. "It looks cool."

Ladybug smacked her forehead. "Cat Noir… it's a nightmare. From Nightmare. And we've got to wake up." Cat Noir scratched his head. "First, can you let go of me?" Ladybug released him. "Okay, and… how do we do that, exactly?"

Ladybug thought for a moment. "Well, pain. If we hurt each other enough, maybe we'll get a sense of reality and wake up. But the only thing is…" Cat Noir looked at her, then himself. "Ah. Right. I'm destruction, you're beautiful, peace, all that stuff." He winked.

Ladybug sighed. His flirting was not what she had needed. "Stuff it, witty kitty. We could use your Cataclysm… but you'd just change back, right? And you can only use it once," she frowned.

Cat Noir scratched his head. "Well, what if we get knocked out?" Ladybug stared at him. "Knocked out?" He shrugged. "If you get knocked out in a dream, the weirdness of it might wake us up. Can't be dreamin' in a dream, right?" Ladybug nodded, slowly understanding. "Then follow my lead."

"After you, m'lady."

The next villain was waiting right at the edge of the battlefield, like Lady Wifi and Copycat. This was the Pharaoh. "Yes!"

"Purrfect," Cat Noir mewed. Ladybug tapped his forehead. "See you in reality."

"Nice dreamin' ya."

Ladybug charged at Pharaoh, who shouted, "Sekhmet, give me your strength!" His pharaoh's mask morphed into a lion's snarling face. He swung at Ladybug, who instinctively dodged it. "Let him hit you!" shouted Cat Noir. Ladybug gritted her teeth. "It's not that easy, you know, to willingly get a hit to the head," she shouted back.

She was cut short by a blow just beneath her ribs. She coughed, pain dizzyingly taking over. "See you… later…" she mumbled as she passed out, a dream in a dream.

There was a guy on top of her.

Ladybug blinked once, twice, as she saw Nightmare's sleeping mask wrinkle in surprise. "Never mind her, get the Miraculous! The Miraculous!" roared Hawk Moth in Nightmare's mind. He nodded curtly, but Ladybug kicked him off.

Adrien was passed out right next to her.

Wait. Adrien? Where was Cat Noir?

In Nightmare's hand glittered the Miraculous Ring. Ladybug looked, confused, at Adrien, then Nightmare. "The Cat Miraculous is finally mine!" crowed Hawk Moth.

A chill swept her as Adrien muttered something and turned over, then blinked twice. "What the- I thought I was just-" He pointed at his head, then saw Ladybug's shocked expression, and wore a panicked one as he checked his hand.

It was gone.

Eyes wide, Adrien scrambled up and ran into an alleyway, disappearing from sight.

It wasn't that Ladybug didn't understand. She was just afraid that her understanding was accurate.

Cat Noir… Adrien?!

She charged at Nightmare, and her newfound rage kicked him in the chest as she grabbed his sleeping mask. She ripped it in half as the troublesome akuma fluttered out.

"N-no more evildoing for you, little akuma," she said, usual confidence in her burning out.

She swung her yo-yo at the black and purple butterfly, as the opening closed and she shouted, "Time to de-evilize!" Then her yo-yo opened, and a white moth sat inside.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," she said softly.

She threw Sleeping Beauty in the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A wave of red, and a man was passed out on the floor. "Sir, are you all right?" she asked, concerned. He coughed. "I think so… did I sleep on the job again?"

Ladybug sighed, sadness creeping in her eyes. "No, I think I did."

Adrien was panicking as he stayed in the alleyway, glancing at Ladybug to make sure she left. Sure enough, she leaped away as she left the Miraculous ring behind.

He scurried over and slid the ring on.

Plagg gasped into view. "Adrien! What- what happened? One minute, you were Cat Noir, and then I disappeared! And then-" His green pupils dilated. "No! You transformed back? That means-" Adrien forced himself to look at his own shaking hands. "It means that my identity is revealed, Plagg."

"It means I'm totally, majorly, really screwed."