Chapter 2
Miracles

The moonlight tinted the Agreste mansion an eerie lilac. A figure ran across the drive - a red and black blur that moved in fits as if her appearance were tied to the luminescence of a strobe light. Chat Noir followed it closely, trying to grab at the apparitions to stop their movement. No amount of shouting would deter her either, and every time he came close she seemed further away. Shadows and light played across her, and it was then Chat Noir realized he was in a nightmare.

He slowed his pace. Ladybug slowed hers and turned around, her back pressing against the doors to his house, opening them with a mere touch. Her face held a frozen expression - like a doll's. If this was a nightmare, why wasn't he waking up?

"Who are you?"

He realized too late that he was Chat Noir no longer, but stripped down to just Adrien - ordinary except for the last name that granted him so much. His appearance didn't matter now though. This was just a dream. He knew that now, but he still couldn't stop himself from reaching out a hand to touch this strange Ladybug's shoulder. She simply smiled and turned away from him, walking towards the staircase that lead to the living areas of his home.

"Ladybug!" Adrien called, but he couldn't move. Why was she here? She turned her face, her eyes hidden from his perspective.

"Do you really want to know?" She said, voice ghost-like, echoing more than it should. There was a sadness there that made Adrien uncomfortable. Was he being tested? He hesitated in answering, but couldn't help himself in the end.

"Yes. Tell me who you are."

She removed her mask and cast it aside before turning to face him. It was Chloé Bourgeois. She ran a hand through her blonde hair and shifted her weight to one hip, posing for Adrien's benefit. Adrien stood there stunned before shaking his head in disbelief. "No. It can't be you, you fought Ladybug. You can't be both Antibug and Ladybug."

Her face shimmered and became that of his best friend Nino. This made Adrien take a step back and laugh nervously. What a twisted dream this was! None of this was real. He pinched himself, but felt nothing.

"Are you sure you want to know?" Nino said, taking a step forward before the face changed yet again into one that stopped his heart. Before him was a woman with soft honey-coloured hair and green eyes that mirrored Adrien's own. "Be careful for what you wish for."

Adrien was frozen, not understanding what was happening. This couldn't be possible. "Maman?"

She disappeared and reappeared at the top of the stairs, this time dressed in her usual evening wear - the last thing his young mind remembered seeing her wear. Adrien ran up the stairs to meet her, but was stopped by the sight of another figure moving out from behind his mother. She floated like a spirit, swathes of gauzy veils fanning out behind every movement she made. Her body was in a skin-tight suit of scaled white with an odd shaped half-mask obscuring her identity. What stood out most was the diamond shaped jewel on her forehead with white flecks within. Adrien briefly wondered it houseed an akuma, but he wasn't certain Hawk moth was behind this. This girl held no malice towards him and this was most certainly a dream.

As if she were tumbling through water, the girl flipped from the stairs and hovered before Adrien. The fabrics moved with her like the tails of an goldfish. The way she smiled unnerved him.

"It's you… you're creating all of this…" Adrien spoke slowly, not quite believing his own words - but it was the only thing that made sense.

The girl tilted her head, and though she was smiling, it didn't quite meet her orange tinted eyes. "You are more perceptive than most your age." She reached out a hand to touch Adrien's face. "I am Dreamweaver."

Adrien took a step back, his eyes flitting momentarily to his mother. She stood like a wax sculpture, staring blankly across the foyer. Dreamweaver followed his gaze and smiled softly. Her body moved easily in the air. Adrien couldn't help but notice a large orange diamond on her back, the same shape as the jewel on her forehead.

"It is hard losing someone you love." She looked to him again, moving forward to close the gap between them. Adrien found he couldn't retreat under that stare. Dreamweaver placed a hand under his chin, tilting his head upwards towards hers. "You have the power to bring her back."

Adrien tried to look away, but he was still frozen by her. Instead he tried to ignore her words. Distract her. He needed more time to focus on the situation. "You have a Miraculous."

She sighed, running her fingers down his cheek. "As do you." Her eyes fell, the sadness within more striking now. "Only yours cannot protect you from mine." She leaned forward and kissed Adrien on the forehead. It burned with a bright orange light and radiated throughout his body. He let out a scream of pain as his head felt like it was being ripped to pieces. The next thing he knew he was sitting up straight and ripping the covers off of his body.

Adrien shivered in the morning air from his open window. He had been sweating as if feverish. He moved to the bathroom, holding a hand to his forehead. It was shocking to feel a normal temperature when it felt like his mind was ablaze. Adrien stared at himself in the mirror, focusing on his forehead - but there was nothing there. Why would there be?

He closed his eyes, trying to recall the nightmare he had, but nothing was coming to mind. That wasn't unusual, it was rare when he could recall a dream… but never had something woke him up like this.

Plagg bobbed up beside Adrien, a concerned expression on his face. "Are you feeling all right? You didn't look like you slept well." The question came as a surprise. Normally the first thing out of Plagg's mouth was something about cheese. Adrien put a hand beneath his kwami and frowned.

"I think I had a bad dream, but I can't quite remember it." His brow knitted as he strained to think about it. "It shouldn't bother me this much, but I feel like there was something important…"

Plagg shrugged, disinterested. "You better move faster if you don't want to be late for school." This made Adrien lean back to see the clock in his room. Plagg was right, he was running behind schedule. He took a quick shower and prepared for the day, leaving all thoughts of the dream behind for now.

First class was always the sciences. Adrien didn't mind, but almost everyone else had their heads down trying to shake the morning grogginess away. It was raining outside and the sound was putting everyone to sleep. Nino was practically drooling on his open notebook, Chloé had her eyes closed with her head propped up by one arm and Sabrina was struggling to take detailed notes for the both of them. Ms. Mendeleiev was busy writing on the chalkboard with her back turned, so Adrien looked over his shoulder at the rest of the class.

Marinette was doodling in her sketchbook, while Ayla was quietly chatting to her about the dream she had last night.

"Then, just as I sat down with Ladybug, this orange and white fish came swimming though. It was so weird that I just woke up. I didn't even get to start the interview. I wonder what it means?"

Marinette put her pen to her lips as she thought, "Maybe you ate fish too close to bedtime?" Her words were groggy; like the others she looked like she would rather be in a warm bed than in a cold classroom.

Ayla shrugged, then noticed Adrien's attention. "What do you think Adrien?" She whispered a little louder, smiling slyly.

Her story about the fish seemed to tug at something deep in Adrien's mind. Did he dream about a fish too? "I had a weird dream last night too… though I can't remember it."

He didn't notice Marinette freeze up beside Ayla, looking like she was having a miniature meltdown. "D-dreams are neat! Mine had you… user… usernames and passwords… in it." She blurted out, though a little too loudly because Ms. Mendeleiev turned around and stared at the three of them over her glasses. "I hope your conversations are on the topic at hand."

The rest of the class seemed to come to attention at her words and look busy. Adrien, Marinette and Ayla all smiled a little too rigidly as they continued their schoolwork to ward away the awkwardness. Once the teacher's back was turned Marinette hid behind her notebook a bright shade of crimson.

Adrien woke up his friend Nino when class ended and told him about Ayla's fish dream to strike a conversation that the love-struck boy wouldn't yawn though. Anything about Ayla seemed to pull Nino into an active mood.

"We must be made for each other, I had a dream about fish too! A talking fish." He laughed at the expression on Adrien's face then adopted the look of a philosopher. "I wonder if soul mates ever share dreams."

Chloé just happened to be wandering by as they made their way to next class, and stopped at Nino's words. "I had a dream about Adrien last night!" She batted her eyes and clutched at Adrien's arm. "We were dancing together in a ballroom. I looked stunning!"

Before he could stop himself Adrien asked, "Was there a fish there too?"

Chloé looked confused, "A fish? Of course not! Why would there be a fish?" She examined Adrien, wondering where such a strange question came from before moving onto her seat in Ms. Bustier's class. The rest of the day was taken up with studies. All talk about fish was left behind.

It wasn't until that night, when Adrien was preparing for bed when the thought returned to him. He was tired from his fencing lessons, his muscles aching dully, when Plagg sat on his chest and tapped him affectionately. "You better sleep better tonight. If Chat Noir is needed you'll make us look bad."

Adrien laughed darkly as he rolled onto his side, sending Plagg sliding to the edge of the bed, "Why are you always more caring after your evening snack?".

Plagg mocked looking offended, "I always care about my supplier! Err… friend!"

This made Adrien stick his tongue out at his kwami before closing his eyes. It seemed like his head just hit the pillow when he found himself facing the Dreamweaver again. This time she stood several paces away, watching him intently. All memory of her from the previous night flooded back to him and he felt fear creep into his thoughts. He looked around, trying to get his bearings.

Her smile returned. "Hello again."

"Get out of my head!" What was it that allowed her to be here? Adrien clenched his fists, trying to shake the feeling of being violated. He couldn't run from her, not unless he woke up. Was this going to happen every night until she got whatever she wanted from him?

Dreamweaver said nothing, her veils swirling about despite there being no breeze. The two of them simply stared at one another from within an overgrown garden. Various chipped statues covered in ivy tilted and leaned towards each other. Thick cobbled walls surrounded them wherever Adrien looked. Every moment he spent in the garden made him feel more and more powerless.

"What do you want from me?"

This earned him a response. "A trade. Your greatest desire for your Miraculous."

Adrien wearily ran a hand down his face. So she was just another Hawk moth with complicated powers. Great. If only Ladybug could help him out with her… but that was impossible. When he woke up he was going to have to warn her about Dreamweaver. That was… if he remembered.

"No deal. I'm using it to protect innocent people from villains like you. I wouldn't trade my Miraculous for anything."

"Are you sure? What if I told you that you wouldn't need to fight anymore. That Paris - the whole world - would be safe without you." There was a genuineness to her words that attracted Adrien; yet lingering distrust made him dismiss it.

"I'm enjoying being Chat Noir, even in a world without Hawk moth I can still help people."

Dreamweaver nodded in understanding, "I suppose, but is being a superhero your deepest desire? What about other things?" In her hand appeared Ladybug's mask. The action made Adrien narrow his eyes.

"Ladybug is my own business. You leave her alone!" He wondered if he resisted her enough, would Dreamweaver go after Ladybug instead? Tempt her through dreams with revealing his identity? He smiled to himself. That wouldn't be enough to persuade Ladybug to yield her powers. If he could resist her, then so could she.

"I know who she is. I could tell you." She held out the mask. "All you would need to do is listen. Hear me out."

"My answer is still no."

The garden darkened and the statues moved, faces contorting to frown at Adrien. He grew smaller in this garden, the vines and weeds coming alive and choking out the light. Dreamweaver moved closer, cruelty in her expression.

"Stubborn fool! I offer you dreams greater than anything you can imagine and you refuse without a thought! I could trap you in eternal nightmare night after night till you are so afraid of closing your eyes you accept madness instead! You repay my kindness with deafness!" Her lips could barely dam the anger within.

Adrien tripped in an attempt to gain more distance between him and Dreamweaver, but the foliage curled about his limbs and prevented his escape. His heart was pounding in his chest. "Stop! Stop this!" Could she kill him here? In his own mind?

The girl took a deep breath and closed her eyes, everything stopped moving. Adrien noticed one of the flecks of the jewel on her forehead disappeared. So that is where her miraculous was! Like him she had time constraints. Adrien could use that to his advantage.

"I know what you desire Chat Noir… and it isn't a mask. You want a family. Love. I understand that… it is my desire too." The vines fell away and Adrien got to his feet. He wondering if this was some sort of trick. He wasn't going to fall for good cop, bad cop type shenanigans.

"Let me wake up." He demanded, feeling more confident now that he sensed weakness.

The dreamscape changed and Adrien was standing in his kitchen, his mother rummaging through their fridge looking for something. He looked at his hands, they were smaller than he remembered. His mother pulled out a bowl of cherries and a block of butter before starting to organize some baking supplies on the counter.

"Maman?" He called, his breath catching as she looked towards the sound of his voice.

"It's not too difficult Adrien, but if you're having second thoughts I could just make it myself." She smiled, Adrien had almost forgotten what it looked like. This was the day of their elementary school bake sale. Adrien had tried to make a pie on his own, but utterly ruined it as well as made a mess out of the kitchen. His mother was trying to cover for him before his father found out.

"No, I'll help!" He said, eager to hear more of her voice. He moved towards her, just to touch her - to make sure she was real. As soon as his fingers brushed her sweater she disappeared.

"Are you sure you want to wake up?" Dreamweaver stood next to him in the kitchen. Her voice was quiet, even a fraction empathetic. She put a hand on his shoulder in an attempt to comfort. "You don't know the full power of the miraculous Chat Noir. It can make this reality." Desperate to make Adrien understand she tightened the grip on his shoulder. "The Miraculous… they have the power to create Miracles; at the cost of giving up your right to bear them. Just ask your kwami. Did you think you were the first to bear the title 'Chat Noir'? The first to give it up for something greater?" There was one white dot on her orange forehead jewel left, soon he would wake up.

Adrien tried to keep up with her words. "What does this have to do with my mother? Why are you torturing me like this?" His voice shook as he stared blankly at the bowl of cherries his mother had been holding. He felt his eyes well up but he refused to cry in front of this strange enemy.

Dreamweaver let out an exasperated sigh and moved in front of Adrien. She cupped his face in her hands. "Ask your Kwami. Think about everything I told you. Wake up and try to remember." She kissed his forehead yet again - this time it was less painful. "We will talk again soon."