inspired by azamack's/ artzamack's lovely fanart on tumblr.

Chapter Two

moiety (noun)

1. one of two equal parts; half.

Ladybug narrowly managed to evade the path of her opponent's attack - that is, the car that came soaring her way in the blink of an eye. In the same fluid movement, she threw her yoyo across the street so that it tangled around a streetlamp, and she held on like lives depended on it. They did, though, because the crowd of onlookers had been so mesmerized by the battle occurring in front of them that they did not have enough time to flee the scene, nor dodge the vehicle hurtled at them.

"J-Jus-" she barely managed to wheeze out, her words cutting off into a strained squeak as the car was stopped by the string of her yoyo. The civilians screamed at the realization that they were in danger as long as they remained in the area, and quickly they began scattering through the streets in an attempt to flee.

"Ladybug!" called a voice, stealing her attention away from the backs of the people she had saved. "Help me!"

Upon seeing Chloé cornered by Brute, whose granted power was insane super strength, Ladybug's eyes sparked with resolve. Her arm reared back before she pitched her yoyo like a baseball; her feet left the ground and she was flying once again, the wind in her face and her cheeks the color of roses. Facilely she swept Chloé up with her, landing on a rooftop and setting the blonde on her feet.

"Are you okay?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at the akumatized man in teh street.

Chloé scoffed, arms crossed over her chest and nose turned into the air. "No, I'm not okay! You almost let me get killed by that thing!" Then, slightly, she softened, glancing at Ladybug out of the corner of her eye. "Thank you, though… for saving me."

Her eyes widened the tiniest bit at the sliver of gratitude shown to her, but she had no time to marvel at the sudden change in her classmate's attitude. Instead, she offered a large smile before leaping off the roof towards her target.

She landed on his shoulders and grabbed him by the hair to ensure that he did not throw her off. "Your arms are so muscular that you can't even reach above your head!" she both taunted and gawked.

Still, while she was temporarily untouchable, Ladybug opened her yoyo and tried to contact her teammate. There was no answer, nor was there even a signal given off by his baton as there usually was.

Where is he?

No time was given to her to try calling him again as she was slammed against the nearby brick wall, promptly losing her grip on Brute and falling to the ground.

Did something happen to him?

She stood to her feet and swung her yoyo at her side, preparing to face him again with her constant determination. He did not seem intimidated whatsoever and instead of squaring up, he just sideswept her with his fist too quickly for her to dodge. For a few hundred meters she was in the air before she landed on the ground, hand cupping her cheek which has unfortunately suffered the brunt of the hit.

But… he's Chat Noir. He's always fine.

The consideration that he had perhaps gotten tangled up with life outside of the mask was not too far from plausible. Many times before did she too have to delay her arrival due to civilian life situations, so it would have been no surprise to her that he had been preoccupied with something other than saving Paris.

She looked up and saw Brute barreling towards her without the intention to stop, so swiftly she rose to her knees and tossed her yoyo into the air. "Lucky Charm!" What she was given was a small, compact mirror, which utterly confused her; how was she supposed to use a mirror to fend off a merciless giant?

Her eyes flickered about to analyze the area, realizing that the sun was to Brute's back and in just the right position to reflect off the mirror. So, doing as she planned, she opened the mirror and allowed the sunlight to shine brightly in Brute's eyes, blinding him and causing him to cover his face with his hands.

It was an easy win from there on out. Her yoyo tangled around Brute's feet and when she pulled, he fell onto his back with a loud thud.

Chat Noir never misses a battle, though.

Even if one of the duo was late, it had typically been her. In spite of her sense of responsibility, Ladybug seemed much more prone to getting stuck outside of the mask, and it had become a common occurrence for her to swoop in late to a battle and save the day.

A miniscule voice in the back of her mind told her that she had reason to be worried. As she walked towards Brute, though, she convinced herself that she was overreacting. She could not expect Chat to always be there to back her up; she could not fully depend on Chat because saving Paris was just as much her responsibility as it was his. Sometimes, maybe it needed to be done alone.

Sometimes, maybe she needed to learn to be on her own.

"Chat Noir," chortled Brute from his spot on the asphalt, a sickening grin splitting his face in half. "He is gone."

Ladybug's blood turned to ice, her look sharpening into an icy glare. "What are you talking about?" Her movements were robotic as she grabbed the medal around his neck; her muscles remained rigid.

"His Miraculous belongs to Hawk Moth now. You're the only one left." A vicious cackle ensued, each bout of laughter like a stab to her heart.

There's no way….

She crushed the award in her hand and the akuma tried fluttering away, but it was effortlessly trapped inside her yoyo. No words left her mouth as she purified it, nor as she released it, and even when she threw the mirror into the air she remained silent.

His Miraculous… gone? No...

Everything returned to normal and Ladybug fell to her knees, staring blankly at the pavement beneath her. Her whole body was trembling and the breaths that left her mouth were brief and erratic, but she paid her condition no mind.

Chat Noir's Miraculous could not have been taken. He may have acted casual and cool at times, but she knew that he was cautious. If his Miraculous had been taken, he would have had to put up a fight… and lost.

Her hands balled into fists as the first warning beep sounded, though she could barely even hear it.

If Chat Noir lost… then that means… That means…

Brow furrowing, she shook her head, standing up and glancing around. People had been staring at her, wondering why their herione had collapsed to her knees in the street, but she brushed them off with a smile and a wave. Still, while some of them waved back, others seemed unconvinced.

She must have really been out of it.

"Ladybug!"

Alya's beckoning roused her fully back to her senses and she noticed her best friend standing in front of her with her cell phone. Clearly, it was recording, so Ladybug did her best to force the most believable smile onto her face.

"Are you hurt? Your cheek is bruised!" The genuine concern in Alya's voice managed to melt some of the chills that racked her body, but her own condition was not necessarily at the forefront of her mind.

For the most part, Ladybug had long forgotten about the stinging sensation in her cheek, but once it was brought back to her attention, the pain from the blow radiated throughout the entire left side of her face.

"I'm fine!" I guess the suit can't protect me entirely. Tikki must be exhausted.

Alya's following question caused her head to snap forward, the same sense of cluelessness and worry swelling within her chest. "Where's Chat Noir?" the teenager asked innocently, clearly just as lost as Ladybug.

Blue eyes turned towards the sky, the reassuring grin falling from her face. It was replaced by a pensive expression, masking the majority of her other emotions. "I don't know."

Chat Noir… is it true?

Hawk Moth scowled at the sky, whipping around and stirring up the butterflies that surrounded him. He knew it would be much more difficult to obtain Ladybug's Miraculous; that was no surprise, since happening upon Chat Noir's identity was just pure luck.

Rather, it was bad luck for the black cat.

A smirk stretched across his lips, menacing and sinister. While Ladybug may have eluded him once again, implementing the idea into her head that her partner was in danger would surely lead her to be more desperate and less careful.

Perhaps it would even lead her right to him.

A/N: Here's chapter two! I hope you enjoyed! Thanks for following, favoriting, and reviewing! It's much appreciated!

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