Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

Pixilator

"I have got to stop doing this to myself," whispered Chat as he looked around at the blank, white space around him. "This is getting ridiculous."

"Damn right, it's getting ridiculous. At this rate you'll kill me! I mean us." Plagg was clearly pouting while Chat was transformed and was mentally poking Adrien in his brain.

It had already been a tiring day for Adrien, and he had had it up to here. During his class project he had been teamed up with Chloe, or rather Chloe teamed up with him, and he had to put up with her clinginess for hours. And after that, and akuma victim appeared and sent him into the nether world for the first time with Chloe. Just when he was able to get out, he went and defended Ladybug…again.

Chat slumped against the ground and sighed. It was his first moment of silence he had had in a while, but he couldn't relax as long as Ladybug was still in danger's way.

"Kid, chill! She'll be fine," Plagg assured Adrien. "It's not like she can't handle herself. She's Ladybug!" Chat tensed.

"So I guess I didn't have to protect her then." Chat curled his knees to his chest and broodingly rested his chin on them. Plagg let him brood in silence for a few minutes, but decided that Adrien was too close to depression as it is, so he decided to step in.

"No. Of course not, Kid. She needs you, Adrien. Did you not hear her the last time you stepped into protect her? She appreciated it, but she was just scared for you." Adrien just looked away.

"I don't know why I protect her, Plagg. It is the stupidest thing I do, yet I do it again and again." Adrien closed his eyes and stared at Plagg in a pleading way in his brain. "Why do I jump in front of the bullet? Why? Why do I do it without thinking?"

Plagg cuddled Adrien's mind's cheek and purred the tiniest bit. "Adrien? Do you know what I hear you saying every single day?" Adrien shook his head. "'I love Ladybug!'" Plagg imitated, "'I love you Marinette!', and 'I love Paris'. That is your reason right there, Kid."

Adrien opened his eyes as everything dawned on him. "I love Ladybug." Plagg rolled his eyes. "No, you don't understand… I mean you do, but…I truly love Ladybug. It's not just puppy love, or a crush that would fade with time! I actually do love Ladybug, both sides of her. I can't imagine my life without her anymore. I can't imagine leaving Paris in harm's way, either. That's why I stand in front…to protect the ones….I love." Adrien felt a pounding in his chest and wondered for a second what it could be, but once again it dawned on him. "I am so stupid."

"I would definitely agree with that," Plagg snickered.

Out of the corner of his eye, Adrien noticed an arm that was floating in mid-air. A polka-dotted arm. "Hey, isn't that Ladybug's arm?" Chat got up and walked closer to the floating arm. Every once in a while it would punch out, almost like it was having a spasm attack, but Adrien knew it was because it was still connected to the rest of Ladybug's body. Suddenly a leg appeared below the arm.

"Looks like she got hit," Plagg whispered, then apologized when he saw Adrien wince. "Sorry, I didn't mean that, I only mean-"

"It's fine, Plagg." Chat was suddenly calm and he instinctively reached out for Ladybug's hand. He grasped her hand in his, and he laced their fingers together. Chat squeezed her hand gently and whispered encouraging words, hoping she would hear them.

As a response, Chat could hear his lady call for him. Along with her voice came a thought sent directly from her mind to his telling the exact plan on how to get out. Chat gave her hand once last squeeze, then let go.

"Cataclyzmmmmmmm!" Chat cried and threw his hand to the ground, creating enormous cracks in the white tiled room. "I think it's time to get out, what do you think, Plagg? Ready to take a shot at it?"

Hello Readers! And good morning. Here is my new chapter. I'm not really sure why I had Chat freak out so much about not being able to protect Ladybug, but I knew that I needed to write about it sometime. For my next chapter I will be writing about Princess Fragrance, and I'm pretty sure I will publish tomorrow, but if I don't, don't freak out. I'll publish it the next day. Until I write again, TTFN!

P.S. Thank you guys so much for reading my story! We're almost to the end, and I'm glad you've been staying with me for so long.