Plagg dragged Adrien across town to a small massage and acupuncture business. The entire place smelled of incense. The kwami lead him back to a room where an elderly man stood with a rather large smile.

"Chat Noir," he sounded far too chipper. "It's nice to finally meet you."

The mention of his alter ego caused Adrien to pause a moment. Plagg told him that this man was the one responsible for his miraculous, but it was still strange to hear someone call him that when he was Adrien.

The man gestured to the floor. "Please, have a seat. We have much to discuss."

They both sat down on the floor. Plagg flew out from Adrien's jacket and hovered over by Master Fu. He gestured his chin up in a greeting. "Where's the cheese, old man?"

Normally, Adrien would have snapped at Plagg for such rude behavior, but everything about the situation was so bizarre that he wasn't entirely sure it was out of place. Instead, he just watched as Master Fu laughed and then pointed off to the side somewhere. Plagg ventured off and through a closed door, leaving Adrien alone with Master Fu.

The man turned back to Adrien. "So, I suppose you'd like to know why I chose you?"

The question caught Adrien off guard. He expected to be chastised about Ladybug or told he was no longer allowed to be Chat Noir.

His heart sunk as Adrien realized that Master Fu probably didn't know what happened to Ladybug. No one knew. Unsure what to say, he put his hand in his pocket to take out the earrings, but before he could take them out, Master Fu started talking.

"You're a special person, Adrien," Master Fu leaned forward. "You have a kind heart and a gentle nature."

His words tore apart Adrien from the inside. The pain and fear and loss swelled up inside and Adrien let out a soft choking sob. He quickly buried his face into his hands and tried to keep himself from all out crying.

"Oh, my boy," Master Fu's voice was all too kind, and it hurt Adrien even more. "What could possibly be the matter?"

"I think I can answer that." A soft, sweet voice came from the side of Adrien.

Adrien jerked his head up to find a red kwami floating next to him. Immediately, he knew it was Ladybugs. The kwami must have been hiding in Ladybugs earrings.

"Tikki," Master Fu smiled once more. "Where is Ladybug?"

Tikki looked down at the ground. "Master Fu…something awful happened."

Adrien tightened his hands into fists on his lap. This was it. Once Master Fu found out what happened, he'd lose his ring. He'd lose Plagg. He would never be Chat Noir again. It was what he deserved, of course. He was a monster.

Tikki took in a deep breath. "She…she's gone."

"Gone?" Master Fu asked.

Tikki only nodded. Adrien waited for her to explain what happened, but she didn't.

"Oh dear," Master Fu's eyes lowered slowly to the floor. "Oh dear."

"It's my fault!" Adrien blurted out. He couldn't take the guilt anymore. "I was stupid and got myself taken over and I used Cataclysm and I…I…I…."

His mouth went dry. He'd thought it a million time over. He'd killed Ladybug. He was a monster. But somehow saying the words out loud made it too real. He couldn't bring himself to do so.

"Hm," was all Master Fu replied.

Adrien didn't dare look back at the man. He already hated himself. He didn't think he could handle seeing someone else look back at him with the same hatred. Instead, he focused on a small spot on the floor.

The silence in the room felt incredibly heavy. Adrien swore he would have been able to hear a pin drop. Each second that ticked by seemed to stab into him. The thoughts from Tikki and Master Fu were surely condemning. Adrien felt like the world was pressing down on him. Losing Ladybug was the worst possible thing that could ever happen to him. No matter what Master Fu did, it couldn't hurt nearly as much. The only thing he could hope for was that he'd be allowed to keep Plagg. He needed the kwami. Without Plagg, Adrien had no one in the world to talk to. But there was no way. He didn't deserve to be Chat Noir. He didn't deserve his miraculous. He didn't deserve Plagg.

The red kwami finally spoke up. "It's not your fault, Adrien." Her voice was soft and sweet still, but he could tell she was on the verge of tears.

"Hm," Master Fu said again.

After another short silence, Adrien reached into his pocket once more and pulled out the earrings. He placed them on the floor in front of him. Then, after a short hesitation, he reached for his ring and started to take it off.

"What are you doing that for?" Master Fu spoke up.

Adrien lifted his head and met his gaze. He froze. He expected the elderly man to be glaring at him with hatred or disappointment or even fear, but instead Master Fu's face was almost pleasant.

"I…uh…" Adrien blinked. "I figured you want our miraculous' back?"

Master Fu shook his head ever so slightly. He reached forward and picked up the earrings. "This is not the first time this has happened."

"Really?" Adrien's body lifted ever so slightly in hope. He wasn't sure what that meant, but if it happened before than maybe there was a fix. "Is Ladybug okay then?"

Master Fu took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Cataclysm has the power to destroy anything it touches."

Adrien slumped back down and dropped his hands to the floor at his sides. For a moment there, he'd dared to hope. For a moment, he thought there was a way to bring her back. Instead, Master Fu had just confirmed everything. Adrien hated himself even more. He didn't just kill Ladybug he destroyed her. Somehow that made him even more of a monster.

"What am I supposed to do now?" Adrien felt his voice catch in his throat.

"Chat Noir can not be without a Ladybug." Master Fu gestured to the earrings in his hand. "Tikki and I will make sure you have a partner soon."

At the sound of her name, Tikki flew up in the air. She still looked quite saddened, but determined.

Adrien felt like a dagger had been jabbed into his heart. He hated the idea of Ladybug being anyone other than…well…Ladybug. He didn't want another partner, he wanted his Lady back. He'd do anything to make that happen.

"The akuma…Ladybug…she didn't have a chance to catch it before…before…." Adrien couldn't say it out loud.

"Hm," was all Master Fu said in return.

"Don't worry," Tikki jumped in. "I'll make sure Ladybug catches it. So far it hasn't seemed to cause any problems, so I'm sure we can stop it before it becomes a problem."

"But it has," Adrien stared back down at the floor. "The akuma must have taken a girl…a friend of mine from school. She's gone missing, and she's not someone who would just run away."

He heard a soft moan from Tikki and looked up to find the kwami avoiding his eye contact.

"Who?" Master Fu.

"He means Marinette," Tikki said.

Adrien shuddered at the sound of her name. "Ye-yeah. How did you know?"

Tikki swayed back and forth for a moment. She seemed hesitant to reply. "Well…"

"You're a smart boy," Master Fu said. "You'll find her. I'm sure."

"Master Fu!" Tikki gasped.

Adrien nodded. So Marinette was okay then. At least that was what he gathered from Master Fu's statement. Really, nothing he said so far seemed to make much sense. But if Marinette was alright, that lightened some of the guilt Adrien felt. It was the first glimmer of good news he'd had all week. It gave him hope. It gave him light. He was determined. Adrien was going to find Marinette, no matter what.

"But…how?" He asked.

Master Fu's eyes sparkled. "You'll see."