Thank you all so much for your sweet words! Means a lot to me 3 here's a big chapter that I hope you like!

The two superheroes traveled together through the forest, moving quickly and gracefully. Ladybug swung from tree to tree, using her yoyo to pull her body swiftly. To her right, Chat Noir was leaping from each tree; doing acrobatic flips and spins and using his staff to balance himself when he over jumped. While she was nervous for what they were about to attempt together, she also felt incredibly calm and free. The wind blowing against her face was soft and every so often she would close her eyes and enjoy the sensations.

Finally, they found the spot they were looking for. It was a large clearing, empty of trees and full of long grass and wildflowers. The area was spacial enough that they had enough room to not worry about hitting any surrounding trees in their training session. Ladybug could hear Chat Noir walking behind her, steadily moving closer to join her side.

He put an arm around her, and with his other hand offered her a dandelion, "You know my lady, if you were a flower, you'd be a damn-delion."

She rolled her eyes and blew away the seeds so that all that remained was a sad little stem.

Ladybug ducked away from Chat's arm and teased, "By the way, dandelions are considered weeds and so I could take offense at that!"

"The most beautiful weed!?" He offered, laughing as he followed her to the middle of the meadow.

They stood together, both a little unsure of what was going to happen.

"Should I use lucky charm then?" Ladybug asked, tilting her head to the side as she looked at her partner.

He stood with a hand on his hip, "I guess so! Good luck, Lady Luck!" He winked at her.

She nodded, and then threw her red and black yoyo high above her, "Lucky charm!" Her voice rang out into the night as hearts floated around them.

Into her hands dropped a plate, on it containing two perfectly created S'mores.

"May I?" Chat Noir asked, his ears perked up in excitement as he had one gloved hand reached out towards a s'more.

Ladybug nodded, offering him a the plate. He took one and tossed the entire thing into his mouth. She took the other, and let her hand holding the plate drop to her side while she enjoyed the sweet treat.

"Delicious! And perfect!" Chat Noir swooned, "Just like Marinette's!"

The spotted heroine stiffened, glancing over at her partner suspiciously. How would HE know what her S'mores tasted like? She suddenly remembered Adrien earlier that night, when he'd walked her to her cabin and acted uncannily like her kitty partner. Ladybug examined Chat Noir. He stood in a proud way, one she'd never really seen Adrien stand. But their body types were incredibly similar, and they both had beautiful golden hair although Chat's was much messier.

She hesitantly walked closer to him, so much that he pulled his face back a little to see her better, "Everything okay bugaboo?"

His eyes were green, and although they were catlike she could see the similarities in color to Adrien's stunning green eyes. She reacher her hand up, and combed his messy bangs so that they were neater and to the side. With her other hand, she covered his eyes and mask.

With a gasp, her hands snapped back to her chest and she took a few steps back. Ladybug's blue eyes were wide in shock and she gasped at her confused partner.

"Oh my god.." she whispered, bringing a hand to her mouth.

He looked suddenly nervous and he reached out towards her, "Ladybug, are you okay? Did you still want to try and combine our powers?"

She looked away, holding herself tight, "Yes of course! Um, give me a second."

"What just happened?" He asked more to himself, scratching his head and messing his hair back up in the process.

Ladybug took a few deep breaths. Now wasn't the time for a freak out. They had important things to do and there was no time for her to speculate..

"I'm ready Chat," she said with determination, though she bit her lip and wouldn't look him directly in the eye.

"Okay.." he said feeling uneasy by her strange behavior, "Cataclysm!"

His clawed hand burst out tiny black bubbles, but he pulled it away, waiting for Ladybug to make her next move.

She threw the plate in the air, yelling out, "Miraculous Lady-"

But then her voice broke and she paused. Because as she watched Chat Noir jump into the air to cataclysm the plate, rather than seeing the young man in black and cat ears she saw the boy she'd known for years now and had loved since day one. She watched as Adrien Agreste reached for the plate, and watched as his face turned to fear when he realized Ladybug didn't complete the cleanse in time.

"Miraculous-" she yelled out in a panic, trying to correctly say the phrase but she was just too late as Chat Noir had already cataclysmed the spotted plate.

"Ladybug!" She heard him yell as there was a blinding flash of neon green light.

The last thing she saw was Chat Noir, no; Adrien, running at her.

. . .

"I'm not pine without you!"

Ladybug's ears were ringing but she could hear the voice yelling out pun after pun. There was a light weight on her stomach as well. She squinted, trying to understand where she was and what was going on. There was a pile of pine cones on her tummy, neatly stacked and balanced. Her vision was a little blurred and her head ached, but she tried sitting up.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir exclaimed and hurried to kneel beside his partner. The pine cones rolled off of her and he dropped the ones he had in his hands. He helped her up and offered her a water bottle.

"I knew you'd wake up soon," he gave her a shit eating grin and winked, "I really beLEAFed in you!" He placed a large leaf on top of her head.

She weakly punched him, "You're such a dork."

He laughed, "I knew if I made some fantastic forest puns, you WOOD wake up!"

Ladybug smiled despite the headache she had and she thanked Chat Noir for the water, "What happened?" She asked him between sips, "And how have you not detransformed yet?"

He leaned back and sighed, "My kwami recharged right after you passed out. And I'm not sure. I thought we had it timed perfectly and then you paused just as you were doing the cleanse.. are you okay? You were acting kind of weird. If you weren't ready we didn't have to try yet! I'm so sorry that you can't use your powers now." His ears went back in sorrow.

She reached up and patted his head, "Its alright, it's not your fault. I must have let my mind get away from me. I can't remember for the life of me though any of it. The most recent thing I remember was us finding this meadow."

"Really?" He questioned, and then tried to remind her, "Well, your lucky charm brought us a plate of S'mores. And that's when you started acting weird, touching my hair and stuff too.."

Ladybug closed her eyes and tried to remember based off of what he told her. She could remember the S'mores, and eating them, and Chat mentioning Marinette.. oh. Now she remembered.

"Adrien," she whispered softly, opening her eyes and looking at her concerned kitty.

"What did you say?" His face pale and his body went stiff.

"Oh minou," she sighed, falling back to the soft grassy floor and holding her pulsing head.

"How did you know?" He whispered, looking small and innocent and so Adrien like that Ladybug almost laughed.

"I just realized some things and put the pieces together I guess," she smiled at him, "if I wasn't so tired right now I think I'd be in more disbelief."

He looked at the sky, "Is it really so hard to believe?"

She saw the uncertainty in his eyes, the insecurity and the fear and she gently grabbed his hand.

"Chaton, Adrien. You're my partner as well as my best friend. I feel incredibly stupid actually for not realizing it sooner because it really does make so much sense. You're both incredibly sweet and caring, and I've learned recently too that you're both so dorky!" She giggled to herself, and then squeezed his hand in assurance, before letting go, "I'm glad it's you, kitty. I wouldn't want you to be anyone else."

His shoulders relaxed and he laid himself down beside her in the grass, "Thank you," he said softly. Then he poked her gently in the ribs, "So, my lady, does this cat get the honor of knowing who you are beneath that spotted mask? It's only fair," he teased.

She shook her head, and then gave his golden bell a little flick, "Not yet, but I promise soon. I'm not quiet ready just yet."

"You think I was ready?" He pretended to gasp but then laughed nicely, "I understand. Whenever you're ready Ladybug, I'll be patiently waiting."

"Thank you for understanding," she said,

They lay there a little longer, mostly to let Ladybug rest before they traveled back to the docks. She lay there in content. Her heart was full, she was unsure of what their future held but no longer did she have the inner turmoil of which boy to pick. Adrien, Chat Noir, they were one in the same and she felt so at peace. Her earring suddenly beeped loudly, startling her.

"Tikki's probably exhausted. Normally she'd have dropped your transformation long ago huh?" Chat Noir asked.

"Somehow she's kept me as Ladybug for this long. But I don't want to strain her, you're right that she's probably worn out. We should hurry back now," she carefully sat up, her head still a little dizzy.

He got up much quicker beside her, and then helped pull her up to her feet, "Let me know if you need any help okay?"

She gave him a thumbs up, "I will, but I got this!"

They ran back into the woods, and then repeated their leaping and swinging like they had on the way there. Ladybug was doing fine at first, but she could feel her body growing weaker and weaker after each swing and pull of her yoyo. After a couple minutes of swinging, Tikki gave her another warning beep and she knew she needed to stop.

"Chat!" She gasped out as she stopped in a tree branch.

He had gotten a little ahead of her naturally, but he immediately pulled back and came to her aid. Chat squatted down in front of her, and then gently helped her get on his back. He carried her piggyback style, and then leapt as fast as he could through the trees.

"I only have a couple more minutes," she breathed out feebly.

"I gotchu," he said confidently, "We'll be at the docks in just another minute. Will you be okay getting back to your family?"

She'd forgotten her lie about camping with family and she smiled slightly, "Yeah, I promise I'll be okay getting there."

Chat Noir was true to his word, and they were finally at the dock by the lake. He bid her a goodnight, and told her to not hesitate to contact him if she needed any help. Quickly, he left, giving her privacy incase she detransformed.

She walked slowly from the dock back to the campsite. Now that she knew where Chat Noir was going, she avoided the path that passed directly by Adrien and Nino's cabins and walked behind. As she was walking, her earring gave one final beep and her transformation ended. Marinette fell to her knees, and Tikki landed in the dirt in front of her.

"Tikki!" Marinette murmed, tenderly picking up the kwami and holding her close to her chest, "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine!" The soft, high voice answered, "Just need some cookies and lots of sleep."

"I can promise you both," Marinette said, standing back up and hurrying back to her cabin.

She snuck in, laid Tikki on a pillow and got some chocolate chip cookies from her backpack. Marinette handed the cookies to her exhausted kwami, and crawled into the covers beside her.

"Get some rest, Marinette," Tikki whispered as her chosen closed her eyes, "You and Chat Noir can try again another day. Everything will work out, I believe in you!"

. . .

The next day, the students received their promised Free Day from Ms. Bustier. A few slept in until noon, and many were complaining the whole morning about how sore their bodies felt from the long hike.

Marinette was feeling very tired that morning, but it wasn't out of place as Alya and Nino too were feeling the exhaustion. The only one who seemed perfectly fine was Adrien. They were sitting in a grassy patch, relaxing in the shade of a large tree.

The bluenette struggled a little. She could go on, pretending as if she had no idea that the boy she was crazy for was also her masked, kitty partner. But naturally, rather than continue to shy away from him she found herself wanting to be with him more than ever. As he leaned against a tree in relaxation, she gave in to her desires and confidently plopped herself beside the blond boy and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Everyone looked at her in surprise, it was strange to see Marinette act so boldly with Adrien. His own eyes were wide but her action brought an immediate smile to his face. The contact of their skin against each other was nice, as Marinette's arms felt cool while Adrien's were warm. He wore a black tshirt while she wore a cute, lavender loose tank top.

"How are you feeling this morning, Marinette?" Adrien asked politely.

She turned her head to look at him, and with a Chat Noir like grin she purred back flirtatiously, "Absolutely puuurrrrfect."

He gulped, his face turning bright pink and looked away, "T-that's great!" He choked out.

Alya's jaw dropped as she watched her best friend flirt with the boy, seemingly confident and doing it so naturally. Nino too was surprised but found it incredibly amusing to see Adrien so flustered by the girl. The blonde boy struggled, he was so shocked and yet he had the stupidest smile on his face.

The flirting didn't last long, as suddenly Mylene was heard screaming. The four looked up to see short, little Mylene running away from the bathrooms towards a picnic table. Ivan ran out from another direction, sweeped her up to take her away to safety. At the picnic table, Nathaniel stood up in confusion and looked behind him to see four large, sickly looking rats running towards him.

Marinette didn't stop to think about what she was doing, she just moved with instinct. She had jumped off the floor, sprinted towards Nathaniel and tackled him to the ground just as a rat leapt straight for his head. The rat flew over their heads just barely, but before they could move away both students felt sharp teeth sinking into their arms. They yelled out in pain, swinging their arms to get the scraggly rats off of them. Nathaniel rolled on the floor, trying to squish the rat into the ground so it would let go of his arm. Marinette tried ramming her arm into the wood of the picnic table beside them, but both found the rats relentless as they wouldn't let go. Another rat bounded over the table, and took a large bite of Marinette's exposed shoulder. She screamed as she felt it's sharp teeth sink into her flesh, frantically trying to pull it off while also feeling the other rat on her opposite arm. The remaining rat ran about the campsite, trying to find prey of its own.

"Get your nasty paws off of her!"

She looked up to see Chat Noir swing his staff and knock the rat off of her shoulder. It pulled away some flesh with it and she could feel blood going down her arm as the wound stung mercilessly. Chat came for the other rat, slamming the butt of his staff down on its head. It squeaked out angrily, but scurried away in fear.

"Princess are you alright?" Chat asked in concern as he helped Marinette up and looked at her bloody arms.

"I'll be fine," she winced, "But help Nathaniel!"

They looked to see Nathaniel still wrestling his rat, tears in his eyes and he tried to pull the rat off of his blood soaked arm. Chat Noir extended the staff, smacking the rat off of Nathaniel's arm. Marinette ran to help him while Chat Noir hunted for the last rat.

"Chat Noir!" Alya called out, pointing at the rat that was heading straight for her and Nino.

The black superhero dashed as quickly as he could across the campsite, holding his staff above his head like a sword. He swung it down with all his might on the rat, which caused it to burst into a disgusting splatter of blood and black slime.

After Marinette had helped Nathaniel use his shirt to cover his wound, she ran behind a tree to transform.

"Tikki," she called, "Spots-"

"Marinette no!" Tikki blurted, rushing to her chosen's face, "We can't transform right now! Remember what happened last night! We need to rest! And look at you, you're covered in blood!"

"You're right!" Mari groaned into her hands, realizing how much pain she was in and sighing.

"Marinette!" She could hear Alya calling for her.

Tikki flew back into Marinette's shorts pocket. The bluenette came around the tree and hurried to her friend.

"Oh God Marinette!" Alya cried out, untying the hoodie that was around her waist and using it to try and stop the bleeding.

They had her sit on the picnic bench besides Nathaniel who was still shirtless and holding his shirt to his bleeding arm. Rose and Juleka brought them water while Ms. Bustier got out her first aid kit. Alya tied Marinette's messy hair into a bun for her while Ms. Bustier tended to the red haired boy first.

"Please help Marinette first," Nathaniel pleaded, "she got bitten twice."

The teacher shook her head, "I'll get to her in a minute but your one bite is considerably deeper than hers. You'll need stitches."

All of the students gathered around the table in concern for their classmates. Adrien ran towards them from behind a cabin, everyone too focused on Marinette and Nathaniel to notice him. He hurried beside Mari and watched her in sorrow.

"Marinette I'm so sorry!" He said in defeat, his head down.

His apology made no sense to others but Marinette understood that as Chat he'd wanted to protect her. She shook her head, and told him he had nothing to be sorry for. Nathaniel looked up at them and sighed.

"This is my fault. Marinette tried to protect me and I ended up just getting her hurt too," from behind his bangs, his bright eyes watered sadly.

"No!" Marinette yelled out, startling those who were listening, "This isn't anyone's fault! Accidents happen but everything's going to be okay!"

She tried to give both sad boys reassuring smiles. Rose commented on how brave Marinette was and Chloe rolled her eyes, saying the blood was gross and her and Sabrina walked away to do their nails and continue relaxing. Alya poured water over Marinette's wounds like Ms. Bustier was doing for Nathaniel. The bites were deep, and her shoulder had a good chunk of skin missing and it burned as the water ran over it. Tears came to her eyes as she bit her lip and clenched tightly.

"All done," Ms. Bustier said as she moved away from Nathaniel. His arm now stitched up and bright red in irritation but no longer bleeding.

Alya moved out of the way so Ms. Bustier could help. Marinette didn't need stitches, but her teacher put a generous amount of ointment over the bites and then bandaged them up with white gauze.

"You both received rabies shots recently, as was required to come here, correct?" Ms. Bustier asked sternly.

Both Nathaniel and Marinette nodded, and their teacher sighed in relief, "Good. Please don't hesitate to tell me if anything feels wrong or infected. I'm worried that you two may end up becoming some sort of monster like Sabrina and I had. If you feel any sort of changes happening, let me know right away and we can do something to keep you and the others safe until Ladybug and Chat Noir show up."

She left the two, encouraging them to rest and avoid the sun or over heating.

"Do you think you two dudes are going to become giant rat beasts?" Nino asked, adjusting his glasses as he sat on the other bench of the table. Alya sat beside him, while Adrien sat beside Marinette.

Nathaniel, who was on Mari's other side, let out a long breath, "probably. Marinette, I really am so, SO sorry.."

The bluenette vigorously shook her head, placing a hand on Nathaniel's shoulder, "No! Nathaniel please stop apologizing, this isn't your fault. If anything, I'm sorry I couldn't get you out of the way."

Alya looked up in thought, "You know what was weird to me though?" She said loudly, interrupting Nathaniel and Marinette's conversation.

"What?" Adrien asked, his voice sounding a little upset.

"Ladybug!" Alya waved her arms in the air, "She didn't show up! Chat Noir did, but there was no Ladybug! Do you think something's happened to her?"

Marinette glanced at Adrien, curious to see his reaction. His brow furrowed in worry and she felt bad for making her partner concerned. She spoke up, a little hesitantly.

"I'm sure Ladybug is okay. Maybe she was just busy?" She offered.

"Maaaaybe," Alya said suspiciously, "But if you guys DO end up turning into rat monsters, I hope she shows up to help Chat Noir defeat you guys!"

Marinette gulped, she hadn't thought about that. She felt Tikki stiffen in her pocket as well. Looking at Adrien, Marinette could see his face was pale with fear and she knew it was because he knew Ladybug wasn't able to transform for at least another day.

"But you know," Marinette spoke up, breaking Adrien from his spaced out trance, "Even if Ladybug didn't show up, I know Chat Noir is strong enough to handle Nathaniel and I on his own!"

Adrien gave her a grateful smile, and she looked at him proudly. Alya noticed the looks between the two and squinted at them with some suspicion.

"Do you think it'll be painful?" Nathaniel asked sadly, "turning into a monster?"

Marinette gave him a reassuring smile, "I think we'll be okay! And Chat Noir will save us!"

The red headed boy nodded, "We should get some rest though, Marinette. I'll see you guys later." He waved with his good arm, and then walked away to his cabin.

"Why don't we all go hang out in our cabin?" Alya invited, "That way Marinette can relax if she wants to."

Nino and Adrien agreed and so the four went to the girl's cabin. They snacked and played a few rounds of Spoons, until Marinette's left arm started bleeding again and they realized they should probably play a gentler game. After playing gold fish, Marinette let out a long yawn and decided she wanted to take a small nap. She curled up in a blanket beside Adrien and fell asleep listening to her friend's laughing and playing games while Adrien occasionally ran his fingers through her soft, dark blue hair.

. . .

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Alya quickly jumped off of the bed, and hurried over to the urgent knocking behind the door. She swung the door open, other hand on her hip as her eyebrow furrowed.

"What in the he-" she started but Nathaniel burst into the room, wearing sweatpants and a black hoodie all too warm for the weather that day. He was covered in sweat and his face panicked.

"Where's Marinette?" He demanded.

Adrien leaned forward to show the sleeping girl by his side, though the only thing visible was the top of her head as the rest of her was curled up in and buried underneath a blanket, "Right here? Nathaniel you okay?"

"No!" He yelled in frustration, "Its starting!"

He pulled his long, red hair back to show them his ears, which were bright pink and definitely abnormally larger than they should have been. Then, he shamelessly pulled down his pants to reveal not only his black and yellow striped boxers but his legs. Alya shielded her face instinctively while the boy's gaped. Nathaniel's legs were covered in a thick, dark brown layer of fur. The panicking red head boy then pulled up his sleeves to reveal not only hairy arms but to emphasize his fingernails which were growing very long and sharp.

Nino yelped, pointing at Nathaniel's face, "Uh dude, your face is like.. changing..."

The three watched before their very eyes as his teeth formed into sharp buck teeth, his nose turned upright and pinker, and long thin, whisker like hair began sprouting from his cheeks. His eyes got smaller and turned darker and darker and as he tried to yell out his voice got higher and much squeakier.

"Check on Marinette!" Alya suddenly yelled.

They pulled the blanket away from the sleeping bluenette and Alya and Nino both screamed in unison. Adrien stood up quickly, stepping away from the oblivious girl. Like Nathaniel, her arms and legs were covered in thick fur. Her fur was a blue grey toned color, and her whiskers were more silver than black.

Alya's face took on a look of confidence and bravery and she suddenly began shouting instructions to the frazzled boy's and the horrified red head, "Boys! Out!" She pointed at the door, "Get Nathaniel out of here and maybe lock him in the bathroom or something! Warn everyone before anyone gets hurt!"

"What about you and Mari?" Adrien asked as he pushed Nathaniel out the cabin door.

Alya was beside Marinette, patting her head awkwardly in hopes of keeping her asleep a little longer, "As soon as you guys leave I'm going to get her clothes off of her so she doesn't ruin them while she becomes a rat monster. She designed these shorts herself and I know she'd be devastated if they were ruined!"

The boys stared at her blankly, and Nino shook his head, "Girls and their priorities! Okay Adrien, let's go!"

The blonde nodded at his friend and they pulled the squeaking Nathaniel out of the cabin. Alya could hear them outside yelling, warning everyone to hide and find a safe place. She turned to Marinette.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here soon girl," she sighed, "They'll save you."

Alya quickly and gently pulled Marinette's clothing off of her, tossing them into a neat pile on the other side of Marinette's bed. Mari turned on to her back, uncurling from her ball form and stretched out her arms and legs. Alya cringed, looking at Marinette's long rodent like nails and hairiness. The bluenette yawned, and opened her eyes. They were still large, but almost all black like demon eyes. She looked at Alya, confused by how pale and horrified she looked.

"What?" Marinette literally squeaked out.

She jumped at the sound of her own voice, and then looked down at her naked body. What she expected to see was her usual nakedness, but instead found her entire body covered in grey fur. Her hands went up to her face and she gasped at the feelings of whiskers and fur growing on her cheeks.

"Alya, run!" Marinette pleaded, "Before I hurt you!"

Her friend bravely ran forward and wrapped her tanned arms around the furry girl, "I love you Marinette! Don't worry, the two coolest heroes in the world will soon come and save you!"

Marinette returned the embrace, and then gently pushed Alya away, "Go!"

Alya hurried out, leaving the cabin door open behind her so Marinette could safely and easily leave once she lost control of her body. Marinette pulled the blanket back over her body and shuddered.

"Tikki?" She called out.

The red kwami appeared, underneath the blanket with her chosen, "Are you in any pain, Marinette?" She asked in worry.

Marinette shook her head, "I feel incredibly weird, but it doesn't hurt. Tikki, will Chat be okay on his own?"

Tikki nodded, giving Marinette an assuring smile, "Yes, it'll be hard be he can do this. I'm so sorry this is happening to you Marinette. I wish I could do something!"

"It's okay," Marinette peeped, "I don't know how much longer I can talk for, Tikki. It's getting harder to focus.."

She twiddled with her rodent hands, impatiently awaiting the change to finish. The kwami kissed Marinette on her now pink nose, "You look more like a rat than Marinette now so I'm sure very soon. I'm going to go now then. Be careful Marinette, please don't hurt yourself too badly." Tikki phased out of the blanket and left the rodent girl to be alone.

Over the next couple of minutes, Marinette's head changed into the shape of a rat's, all remains of her blue hair gone. Her body bloated a little, especially in the belly and butt area, her thighs significantly larger too. A long, hairy pink tail swished about behind her, and suddenly Marinette lost all of her thoughts and was completely the giant rat.

The grey rat shredded the pink blanket apart, ripping it off of her body. She scampered off of the bed and out the cabin, nose high in the air and sniffing. The campsite appeared empty, but Marinette could smell people close by as well as hear whispers and movement from different areas. To her right, she saw another large brown rat coming at her. He was a lot like her in appearance, except larger and his eyes were smaller. On his right arm, sat the usual dark purple bruise blotch. Marinette had two, one on her arm and the other on the opposite shoulder. Both bodies stiffened, smelling each other quickly to communicate something and then going separate ways as they hunted for the humans. Neither had very good sight, so they relied on their hearing, sense of smell, and whiskers to understand the area around them.

Marinette closed in on the girls bathroom. She stood on her hind legs, her height just barely lower than the doorway. Her nose twitched as she sniffed, smelling multiple people within the bathroom. With her head, she nudged the door but found it wouldn't move. The grey rat backed away a few feet, and then charged it head on. Her strength was incredible and the door flew down.

Loud screams could be heard inside the bathroom. Marinette ran inside, turning the corner and finding Sabrina and Chloe hiding beneath the sinks. She turned her hips, so that her rear was facing them. Her long, pink tail latched out and snatched Chloe away from the wall. The rough tail wrapped around the screaming blonde girl, like a snake that's caught its prey. She left behind Sabrina, and hurried out of the bathrooms to find Nathaniel.

The larger brown rat was found quickly, in his own tail he had wrapped up Max who was struggling to free himself. Marinette followed Nathaniel into his cabin, where his room has been torn apart and turned into a little nesting den. Both of them tightened their tails, squeezing until Chloe and Max passed out. They threw the two students into the nests, and then quickly exited and Nathaniel slammed the cabin door shut behind him with a flick of his tail.

Marinette was on her way back to the bathrooms to go back for Sabrina, when she smelt a familiar stench of cheese. Her nose twitched, she stopped in her tracks and turned around to find none other than Chat Noir. He stood confidently, staff in hand beside him as he examined the large rat before him.

"As a rodent, you sure are a mouse-terpiece!" He winked. Marinette's ear slightly shuddered in annoyance. She sensed Nathaniel coming back, and looked past Chat Noir to see her rat companion charge at the unaware Cat hero.

"Chat Noir! Behind you!" A tiny voice called out.

Just in time too, as Chat Noir barely spun around and used his staff to block Nathaniel from toppling over him. The staff collided with the brown rat's head, the two pushing against each other. Nathaniel was stronger, and still sent Chat Noir sliding back. He composed himself quickly, getting back in an action stance and ready to fight back. The two rats approached him, some what hesitantly. A red blur shot past them, and landed on Chat Noir's shoulder.

"Tikki!" He greeted her, "thanks for the warning! But what are you doing here?"

"I've come to help you the best I can!" She said boldly, "after all, your Ladybug is unable to help out in this moment."

Chat Noir sent a nervous glance at Tikki, "she isn't harmed is she?"

The red kwami shook her head, "Not yet. But she is in a.. hairy situation right now."

The blonde hero's eyes widened, "Did she get turned into a rat too!?"

Tikki rolled her eyes, "You could say that, but it's time to focus Chat Noir! Looks like they're plotting something!"

They watched as the two rats stood close, they gave out soft squeaks and their whiskers quivered. Marinette suddenly turned and stared directly at Chat Noir, her stare so blank and focused it made him shiver. Suddenly, she was running at him, sliding in the dirt and turning her body abruptly to try and smack him with her long tail. He jumped over it, dashing past her and aiming first for Nathaniel. The bruised arm was on the opposite side, so Chat Noir flipped himself over the brown rat to try and get a clear view of the bruise.

"Cataclysm!" He called out, activating his power of destruction.

He aimed for the bruise, running directly at Nathaniel with his arm out. But the rat was clever, waiting till the last second to swiftly move away and dodge it, off balancing Chat and sending him flying past. He almost fell, but caught himself before accidentally wasting the cataclysm. The blonde boy hissed in annoyance, turning back around to face the waiting rats, curious as to what the cat would do next.

"Seems like a classic game of cat and mouse," the hero sighed, holding his bubbling black hand away from himself.

This time he ran for Mari, again dodging her tail and landed on her back. He used his free hand to hold on tight, while trying to get a clear shot of one of her bruises. The one on her shoulder was closer to him, so he leaned forward to get it. But as he was about to touch the bruise, Nathaniel ran at them and head butted Chat Noir off of the grey rat. Chat Noir grabbed Nathaniel by the ear, holding on tightly and swinging his body around to directly hit the bruise on the brown rat's arm.

Nathaniel got up on his hind legs, body turning black and bubbling. A single, large black bubble spread around him and then burst, leaving a tired and scared Nathaniel. Chat Noir ran to him, helped him up and encouraged him to find safety while he dealt with Marinette.

The grey rat was speckled in some of the black goo, her body shaking uncomfortably at the sensation of it on her fur. She turned away from Chat Noir, running for Nathaniel's cabin to hide in the nest. Chat Noir took this chance to hide in the woods, release his transformation, and allowed Plagg to recharge himself with some Camembert.

While Plagg ate his cheese, Tikki clutched Adrien's sleeve and pulled him closer to her.

"I have some concerns," the little red kwami told him.

Adrien turned to her, "Like what?"

She twirled her hands about nervously, "Well.. Marinette has two bruises, not one. But you can only use one cataclysm at a time. And I'm concerned about what will happen when you just do one before the other."

"Do you think I'll hurt her?" Adrien asked in fear.

"It's possible.." Tikki moaned, "And I'm worried because she's already extra weak right now. I'm scared.. I'm scared it'll break our bond. She already can't transform now!" The kwami's eyes watered and she covered her face.

"Your bond?" Adrien said in confusion, "but why would you have a bond with Marinette? And can't transform? You don't mean..."

He leaned back against the tree harshly, gasping as he looked at the quivering red kwami and his own black one who was listening closely. Plagg gave Adrien an apologetic look, and nodded his head. Tikki kept her face hidden, body shaking as she cried in fear.

Adrien's voice was barely a whisper, as he choked out, "Marinette is Ladybug."

And now they both know each other's identities AHHH! Haha leave reviews, I love hearing your thoughts!