Symbiotic Whiskers

Chapter 14

There was something troubling the mind of Master Fu, a development he had not foreseen, and that was becoming frighteningly common nowadays. Hours after an incident earlier today, there was a massive question on whether or not Cat Noir could be trusted fully. The nature of his powers continued to elude the master of the miraculous. And today proved it would be a greater challenge, Cat Noir eluding cameras with a brand new power he never had before.

That, and something else.

He hoped his quick decision for a new holder for the cat miraculous didn't make him overlook one crucial detail, one question he could have easily had that would have avoided this whole situation.

But he couldn't confirm it, so all it could remain was a suspicion based on fear.

He was an old man, he couldn't spend what little life he had left living with worry clouding his heart. Resting his head back onto the pillow, he pulled the comforter up over his body and cleared his thoughts to drift into sleep.

Wayzz flicked out the lights, hovering over to a cushion next to where his brothers and sisters stayed. Both rested, their eyes closed, sleep washing over their bodies.

"MASTER FU MASTER FU!"

Until a high pitched voice pierced his ears, the old man fighting the aches that urged him to stay in bed. "Yes Tikki?"

Wayzz was already returning light to the room, Fu's eyes already adjusted as he sat up as Tikki flew up to his face. "I have to tell you something, make sure you're aware."

Hold on, just Tikki and not her wielder? "Tikki, why aren't you with Marinette?"

The subject was going to be difficult, and she didn't want to get Marinette in any trouble. Yet they needed to make sure that this wasn't the start to a risky path. "It's about Marinette, she's with Cat Noir right now."

"Oh?" Was this about concern over her ties with Cat Noir? "What makes you feel it is an urgent matter?"

"They're becoming involved with one another, romantically." Tikki was already feeling regret, guilt for going behind Marinette's back to report this. She had to make sure Marinette was in no fault. "She's keeping her identity secret though, just like you would wish."

Humming in thought, Master Fu still failed to see how this was such an emergency that Tikki would rush to him. "I wish I was more comfortable with Cat Noir so that Marinette would be free to reveal her secret with someone she clearly trusts. I wish her the best, and maybe I can use this as a chance to meet Cat Noir myself for the first time."

Here it came, Tikki taking a deep breath to bring up the biggest reason she's worried. "Are you aware of who has the cat miraculous?"

Don't tell him Adrien gave it to someone else already. "I specifically informed Plagg that if it was not the boy of my choosing that he should grab the ring and flee immediately."

"That's not what I mean." Tikki needed to reiterate. "Did you mean to give the cat miraculous to Cat Noir?"

該死的

"What makes you sure he has it?" Master Fu worried this might be the case.

"Marinette said so." Tikki answered truthfully, Master Fu getting up from his bed to treat the matter seriously. "But it's not just that, Plagg is twisted into something else now, calling himself Plague."

The consequences of his oversight were more devastating than Master Fu realized. The man needing to brew a cup of tea to handle all of this. "What else can you tell me?"

Tikki glanced over to Wayzz this time, who was old enough to remember that far ago. "Do you remember the beast we fought, with my previous master Himiko?"

"Yes." Wayzz remembered it well, even his powers were hardly able to entrap the thing they fought. "Wait, you're not saying-"

"It's the same, just more subtle." Tikki kept in ear shot of Master Fu as he pulled out his supplies to make a calming brew. "But it can take control of Cat Noir when it chooses, makes him angry, and now it has Plagg!"

Cat Noir's powers were finally recognized, and it was not something positive. Somehow he had done much good with it, but if he wasn't in control then it didn't matter. Master Fu intended Adrien to wield the miraculous, not something else.

He refused to let the power of destruction be used by someone or something he couldn't trust. So Adrien would have to make a choice, give up one or the other.

But he had a feeling that this being that Tikki was so afraid of would not let go so easily. He would have to begin to prepare for that likely possibility.

This was a first.

The part about waking up in Marinette's room? No that's happened before.

Waking up with her on his chest? That's happened too.

Even waking up on the ceiling was a regular occurrence, something he had grown comfortable with.

Now he's experiencing all three at once. Nice.

A blanket was cocooned around both himself and Marinette, a couple of his limbs sneaking out from the comfort to stick to the ceiling, pinning Marinette between him and it. Her arms and legs were tightly wrapped around him, the boy feeling her chest swelling up and down as she breathed gently.

He didn't bother to set an alarm, because why would he? He didn't need to go anywhere. But with how bright the morning was, he was curious as to the specific time he woke up to.

'Take a look for yourself.' Plague moved their tail to grab a nearby clock, turning it around for Adrien to see.

A whistle nearly danced out his lips, not remembering the last time he slept in for so long. Hold on, today was a school day. He might not have school at the moment, but Marinette did. If he swung her there, she might make it in time for third period. Brushing the loose strands away from her face, he softly called to her. "Marinette, pst."

Her groan protested, Marinette only squeezing around him tighter as she refused to leave. "Two more hours."

His stomach tensed as he silently chuckled, bouncing Marinette along his torso.

"Stop it." Her muffled demand only tickled his chest, making him laugh even more. Every shake only disturbed her slumber, Marinette pinching his back to try and get him to stop.

"Ow." It came out more as a laugh than an actual cry of pain. "You're feisty in the mornings."

"They're sacred." Yawning out, Marinette was now too awake to properly go back to sleep after dozing off for so long. Peeling open her vision, Marinette didn't see her typical view she had, instead there was Cat Noir's masked face.

And the bedroom below her.

A shot of adrenaline chased the rest of her sleep away, Marinette giving a death grip around Cat Noir's torso. "How did we get up here?!"

Wrapping one of his arms around the back of her torso, he made sure he had a good grip as he let his legs drop down to hold them both up with one arm. "Do you not remember or do you need a step by step walkthrough of what happened?"

The boldness threw Marinette off, the girl shyly hiding her face into his neck. "Things moved, really fast last night."

"Sorry about that."

"No no, I liked it!" Marinette quickly assured him, finding her face so close to his again. "I, uh. I just want to take it slower is all."

"Yeah, I'm sort of new to this so starting off slow would probably be best." He agreed, letting the adhesion keeping the tips of his fingers on the ceiling vanish to drop down a few feet to the floor, still holding Marinette against himself. "So, should I let you down?"

Her grip around him slackened, but she didn't dare let him go. "Mmmm, give me ten more minutes."

"What about school?"

"School!" Flying out to check the time, Marinette yanked her clock up as the panic of missing another day….right, she didn't need to go. "I'm, not going back."

Her tone echoed through the cat's ears. "Why?"

"Some…stupid things happened." She confessed as she placed the clock back down. "I don't think I can talk about it without my parents hearing."

"In that case." Cat Noir picked up one of her outfit sketch books, flipping through it to find a rather sharp looking outfit despite. His suit shifted around, appearing as fabric to mimic the design in front of him. Jeans, tall casual shoes that reached above the ankle, and a long sleeve v-neck shirt with a hood draped over his head to cast a shadow over his face. Even a pair of sunglasses to help conceal some of the details. "We could go out and do something together."

"Like, a date?"

"Yeah." He pinched one of the tufts of his hair, messing around with it to try to be a little more casual. "Unless that's moving too fast."

"I would, really like that." As if last night didn't happen she felt like a shy girl being asked out for the first time. Wait, this was the first time a guy asked her out for real! "But, I'm grounded."

Giving a few paces around her room, Cat Noir let out a short hum as he was presented with the mystery. "This wouldn't happen to be related to why you're not going to school would it?"

"IT'S SUCH-" Marinette had her fists high, about to go on another short rampage but she kept a tight grip on it. Releasing the tension, lowering her arms, she walked over to Cat Noir before dropping her pouting head against his chest. "It's just girl drama. You wouldn't understand."

"I've had many people tell me I'm more in touch with my feminine side than most." Giving her a short hug, Cat Noir gave what comfort he could provide to her. "Let me know once you're free, or when you want to talk about it."

"Come back tonight, ok?"

Taking her hand and bringing it up to his lips, he gave it a short peck. "Of course. See you tonight."

Leaping up to the rooftop balcony, he undid the latch to let the breeze brush through the room. Now with Marinette wishing he could have stayed around a little longer, her memory fully awakened as she quickly called out. "Wait! There's a protest against the mayor happening later today. I might be able to go out for that. Maybe we can meet up there?"

"Protest huh?" Dangling his legs inside the room, Cat Noir thought about it. "Wouldn't Cat Noir showing up to protest the mayor be a little obvious?"

"You're not going as Cat Noir are you?"

"You're assuming I'm going."

"Are you?"

"Only for you." Throwing his legs up Cat Noir flew right up into the air, a thin tendril snapped out of his wrist before zipping his body away. The moment he was gone, Marinette threw herself over to her bed, grabbed her pillow while flailing her legs around, the whole time giggling like a madwoman.

Tikki, finally emerging after hiding a whole night, saw Marinette so happy. She was always obsessed with love, and Tikki saw many humans who revolved their whole lives around it. Tikki wanted Marinette to be happy, but this was incredibly risky. "Marinette, last night I-"

"Oh Tikki, I can't believe it!" Rolling back and forth along the bed, Marinette continued to giggle out. "He didn't just like Ladybug, he started liking me! Do you know what it's like to have someone fall for both parts of you? I wish I could have made it work as Ladybug, recognized how amazing he was earlier, but we still somehow got there in the end."

"That's great." Tikki agreed in some part. "But Marinette, you should know that-"

"I know Tikki."

"Y-you do?"

"If he learns I'm Ladybug, it could make things more dangerous. We can't know each other's identities, but we can still love each other. This way at least."

Could they? Master Fu never said they couldn't, only that they couldn't allow Cat Noir to keep both the creature and the miraculous. Things could escalate, and Ladybug would need to be there to confront Cat Noir about this. The closer she got the harder it would be, until she might have to make the impossible choice.

When the time came, could Marinette do it? Could Tikki even dare ask her to fight Cat Noir if he refused?

Alya almost didn't show up today. With all that had happened at school, she just wanted to stay at home and clear her head. But she still had a responsibility to support Ladybug in anyway she could. That meant going to the protest, showing all her followers that they needed to take a stand even when things felt hard.

Though she wasn't expecting this high of a turn out.

There were maybe forty chairs total of people listening to the mayor's words that were drowned out by an overwhelming crowd surrounding the podium on all sides. A circle of officers kept the man protected, and even if the mayor had the volume of his speakers turned all the way up none of his words carried out.

Off towards the back, there was something Alya didn't expect. Merchants, with small shops set up with all sorts of red and black spotted clothes, trinkets, foods, and many other ways. Alya couldn't tell how many were actually in support of the protest or just taking advantage of people eager to take the easy route in helping by simply giving their money to who they thought was part of the cause.

She got her video, as useless as the noise was with the shouting. So taking a few more pictures and making her posts, she made sure she was still around as she decided to step away from the front lines for a moment.

Guess she could check out the Ladybug merch. Maybe there was something actually worth spending some money on.

"Come on Nino." She tugged the boy along, helping to maneuver through the crowd. "Not like we can hear what he's saying anyways."

"What?!" Nino went along with her, even if he couldn't hear her. As the noise expert he was, he knew how loud the crowd and the sound system the mayor was using. In response he brought his own noise canceling headphones.

Once they breached the back of the protestors, Alya and Nino could begin to actually hear one another as they walked past several stand up booths. There were even people in costumes.

"Woah." Nino looked around at all the stuff. "It's like a convention back here."

"What did you expect? People love superheroes." Alya saw one person who wasn't even dressed as a hero from Paris. One of those controversial heroes from America. Guess it made sense given how this is a similar debate happening here.

Checking over his shoulder, Alya was disappointed to see Nino was on his phone again.

"What have we talked about?" She put a hand over his screen, Nino complying and putting it away.

"Sorry I just, keep expecting a text any moment from Adrien."

Adrien, just thinking about him made Alya wonder about what Lila kept telling everyone at school. The girl was cool, but she knew Marinette way more. Sure she had some unhealthy obsessions with Adrien, but she was pretty open with her about how far it went. Yes she shouldn't have done some of the things she did, but not as far as Lila kept saying.

Also how come Adrien never brought this up to anyone else? He always seemed to invite Marinette to whatever they were doing, including her in so many things, and stopping by her parent's bakery wanting to talk to her.

Things weren't adding up, and she wanted to trust Marinette even if the proof was stacked against her. Trouble was, Alya hasn't gotten any response from her ever since.

"Marinette?" Nino suddenly spotted the girl, Alya looking over to see where she was.

Over there! In theme with the protest wearing that skirt with some cat ears on her head. Right now she was at one of the few daring Cat Noir stands, looking at a couple of keychains.

"Marinette!" Alya called out, waving to her friend who jumped hearing her own name.

"Alya, Nino!" Grateful to see them, Marinette went right over to finally reunite with her friends. Alya was quick to embrace her, the two squeezing the glee out of one another.

"I didn't think you'd make it!" Alya pulled away, checking over the girl to see that she looked pretty ok given what happened.

"It took a lot of convincing." Marinette confessed, keeping an eye around the area. "And I mean a lot, but once the topic of public service was brought up they eventually caved….eventually."

Ruffling up Marinette's hair, Alya loved seeing the cunning side of the girl. "Nice one Marinette. Still, why didn't you at least text me to know you were coming?"

"This is the only phone I have." Marinette then pulled out a cheap small brick as a phone, one that could have been bought with pocket change. "They switched the sim card, and I only had their numbers memorized."

"You don't have your contacts saved to your sim?"

"You can do that?"

Sharing a brief laugh, Marinette finally looked over to Nino who didn't seem as enthused as Alya. "What's up Nino? You feeling ok?"

He scowled slightly, turning his gaze away towards something else. "You don't have Adrien's number memorized?"

"Nino!" Alya gave a hearty smack along the back of his head. "I don't care what Lila says-"

"We both know she had major stalker issues with Adrien!" He argued back. "Now he's gone and-"

"What reason did Adrien tell you he ran away?" Alya immediately posed at him.

"He didn't say one!"

"Exactly! Not to you his best friend, me who is closest to Marinette, his Dad, or even our teachers! He could have told any of us about Marinette who could have done something. I know you're upset about him leaving, but don't just blow up at the first person easiest to blame. She was just expelled so let's just-"

"Excuse us?" A new voice growled out, a boy in dark clothes with a hoodie with sunglasses that hid his features.

Nino almost did a double take, almost thinking that Adrien was here but it wasn't quite the boy he knew. Something was different, the height was a little too tall, the voice too deep, and the hair too messy.

While Nino was speechless, Alya came in partially thankful for the interruption. "Not to be rude but, who are you?"

"He's with me!" Marinette quickly clung to his arm, shocking Alya. "This is-uhm this is-"

The new stranger realized the issue, scrambling for a name as his hidden eyes looked around for some hints. "I'm…Eddie?"

"Eddie?" Marinette seemed just as confused at the name. "You sure?"

"What? Do I not seem like an Eddie?"

"Hmmm, not really. More like a Peter."

Seeing the two so close, so social with one another, and somehow Alya never heard of this guy drove her near insanity. "Marinette, how did you meet this guy? When did you meet this guy? Why do I not know about this guy?!"

"U-u-uhm." The girl wasn't sure how to answer that, glancing to Cat Noir in a silent plea.

"Well she met me today." He answered rigidly, Alya's suspicions not letting up in the slightest. 'Eddie's' response to her quiet judgement was to let out a short cough, taking a wide look around the place. "Wow would you look at all of that Ladybug merch. Surprised there isn't more."

The switch was flipped for Alya instantly. "I know right?! Sure there's some cool stuff but overall most of it's just cheap knick knacks. What I want to find is the good stuff."

"Well if you ask me-" Marinette gave a short squeeze and a playful smirk to her close 'new' friend. "There's nowhere near enough Cat Noir merch."

"Careful Eddie." Alya warned teasingly. "Marinette is a big Cat Noir fan."

"Oh really?" Smirking and playing along, he glanced down to her bashful face. "Let me test that. Marinette, if you could go on a date with Cat Noir, would you?"

"Stop it!" Marinette couldn't take it anymore, giving a half hearted shove against the boy's laughing frame.

Even Nino decided to just enjoy the chill mood with all the angry mobs around. "Careful Marinette, you might get pulled into the 'true' hero debate."

"Oh don't start with that." Just thinking about it pissed Alya off. "Look, if Cat Noir really was an out of control vigilante Ladybug wouldn't be working with him."

"Maybe he is out of control." 'Eddie' smirked as he seemed to loom over Marinette. "Careful Marinette, he seems like the kind of guy to scoop up young girls in the middle of the night."

Rolling her eyes, Marinette allowed him to have his fun. "He's also the kind to politely knock every time he visits waiting to get permission."

Nino, who had been listening alongside Alya this whole time even piped in to cheer himself up. "Yo, Cat Noir is a vampire?"

Letting out a groan Alya made sure no one else overheard that. "I don't need to come across any more nonsensical theories about Cat Noir's powers."

"He could be though!" 'Eddie' seemed to have a lot of fun with the topic though. "If magic exists, who knows what other things we dismissed are really creeping and crawling around in the shadows."

"That's-" Alya stopped before she was about to argue against it. But the more she thought about it the more she considered the idea. "-Hmm. You know what, no. I'll leave that to someone else. I'm already committed to this here, Ladybug and what involves her. Cat Noir may be her partner but until he comes out and says 'oh by the way I'm a vampire' I'm not going to stress over the possibility."

Marinette's 'new' friend was suppressing a chuckle over the whole thing, the girl feeling an urge to join him in the inside joke. Finally things began to feel a little bit normal again in Marinette's life. Even with a crowd of angry screaming next to them, a mayor calling for military action, the double life of being a superhero while dating one, being expelled, a potential lead towards stopping a supervillain revolving around a run away boy.

Not now, now she was just with some friends going around and having a good time. Jokes, jabs, just normal teen stuff.

If only this moment could last forever.

During the raging calm that all teens thrived in, Nino suddenly felt his phone vibrate, the boy looking down to see he got a text from an unknown number. He was going to dismiss it as a scam, but when he read the message he knew it was a person.

Someone who knew him.

Unknown Number: Why was Marinette expelled?

"Adrien?" Nino uttered, his voice hidden by the noise of the crowd. He immediately received another text, the boy confused further by it.

Unknown Number: Keep quiet, don't let the others know I'm texting you.

Was, Adrien watching him? Nino glanced all around, trying to see if he could identify his best friend out of all the moving faces. There were too many, many of them hiding behind masks of either costumes or out of fear of the police identifying them.

The phone was his only communication with Adrien, and he wouldn't waste it.

Nino: Dude, are you ok?

Nino: Why did you run off?

Unknown Number: I'm fine.

Unknown Number: Sorry but I need to figure out some things. I don't know when I'll be back.

Unknown Number: Why was Marinette expelled?

Brief conflict ran around in Nino's head, unsure whether or not he should bring it up but this was the only thing keeping Adrien talking to him.

Nino: Didn't she make you feel unsafe?

Unknown Number: Never

Unknown Number: I like being around her

Unknown Number: Wait

Unknown Number: Do people think I ran away because of her?

Nino: Yeah

Nino: Lila, one of your close friends you just reconnected with

Nino: She said in the note you gave her you wrote that's why you ran away.

Nino: Lila said Marinette was stalking you everywhere, even your house. They found lots of stuff in her locker, then she shoved Lila down some stairs right after meeting with the Principal about it.

"What?" Marinette's friend spoke deeply, the volume wasn't raised but the weight behind them made Nino shiver.

"You ok man?"

He stared down Nino, something dark being caged behind those sunglasses. "We'll be fine."

"Nino who are you texting?" Alya peeked over his shoulder, the boy jumping like he was keeping some deep secret. No, this was too important to keep hidden. They should bring this to the police. He held up his phone to her, to show her the proof that Adrien was alive. "What am I supposed to see here?"

Turning it back to himself, the texts were erased. Gone. But Adrien was still around somewhere, just out of sight and reach.

"Stay safe man, stay safe."

The soft beeping in the room was a reminder that life continued. The bedroom filled with so many memories that spoke out to give Gabriel company. While he was aware that Nathalie looked back on their explorations often, he didn't realize how precious those moments were until now.

Transformed as Hawkmoth, he patrolled to look over every one of the photos, trinkets, and even tools he used to help cut through dense forestry. Normally he would be more cautious about walking through his home as Hawkmoth, but with Adrien missing and other house staff given a short holiday to give him space, there was no risk.

Only Nathalie was his company, medical equipment around her speaking for them as she was lost in slumber.

Mentally he checked back in with his current akuma, one of many that he had been using to try and locate Adrien. For some reason, no matter how unique their abilities, hardly any of them managed to get a hint of his location.

They were either tracking a scent back to his home, or oblivious to Adrien's life entirely. It's like he stopped existing, something hiding him from the world. It made him worry even more that somehow Adrien was in danger.

Or, that he was being hidden by magical means. If Adrien knew that he was Hawkmoth, then it's possible he managed to get into contact with Ladybug or Cat Noir. If that was true, why haven't they come for him already?

"I'm sorry Hawkmoth." Sabrina's voice came to his ears. The girl was in much distress lately, easily enough to akumatize her for his needs. "I thought he might have been at the protest today, but there's no sign of him. I've checked everywhere and everyone he was close to but I can't find him or the heroes."

"Thank you Vanisher. I release you for now."

The moment that they were cut off from his power, he sat himself down as he de-transformed. He hadn't even bothered to think about how he would bring out the heroes or how to obtain their miraculouses. If opportunity presented itself he would take advantage of it, but it was just one method towards a goal.

Bringing his family back together.

That night, off in one of the largest parks in Paris the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, two young inexperienced dancers of romance managed to have a moment to look past the watchful trees and the light posts guarding the walkways.

It was a nice change of scenery, especially when it's all rushing past their smiling faces.

One thing Marinette loved about it, was how her nerves were firing with the adrenaline outside her costume. She was more vulnerable, mortal without relying on her powers as Ladybug. Clinging tightly to Cat Noir as he swung them over the pond, letting their shadow of a reflection chase them under their feet.

Landing atop a sturdy branch, she had a moment to stabilize herself leaning on him as her whole body was still jittery with excitement. "Is this what you always feel? That rush."

"Yep." Cat Noir made sure to keep her steady, looking below to make sure no one was around to potentially spot them. "All that adrenaline gets boosted by Plague."

Even adrenaline? Marinette knew that his emotions were heightened but to think that he might be getting that burst of energy and awareness higher than she was experiencing right now it seemed impossible. "Wow, I can't imagine what that feels like."

"It's great when things aren't life and death." Cat Noir admitted, aiding to guide Marinette down so they could both sit up high in the tree. Sitting up high, swinging their feet atop their perch, it was nice and quiet for the two of them.

Then Marinette decided to stir the pot. "Pft, Eddie."

"I had to pick something!" Cat Noir whined out in cheap defense. "It's not that bad."

'We shouldn't have to hide. No one could stop us.'

"You know that would be bad Plague." Cat Noir held up his gloved hand like it was a puppet to speak directly to the kwami/symbiote. "We shouldn't stir up unnecessary trouble. Besides, we have that whole situation with Hawkmoth."

"Hawkmoth situation?" Marinette quirked her head towards him. Was he referring to finding Adrien and that book?

"Don't worry about it." Cat Noir tried to wave it off, leaning back to act casual. "Just some stressful superhero stuff."

Marinette could potentially let this go, if he could say yes to this one question. "Does Ladybug know?"

His choked posture spoke otherwise, Cat Noir avoiding her gaze as he stared down ahead. Becoming apprehensive herself, Marinette continued to push for a clear answer as her faith in her partner was tested. "Cat."

"It's complicated." He whispered in exhaustion, leaning forward to observe the distance between them and the ground. "I…have a good idea who Hawkmoth is."

Marinette gasped, her balance slipping but Cat Noir was right there to keep her from falling. The surprise didn't deter her from getting the truth. "Who?"

"It's personal." Cat Noir struggled to answer, to expose the horrible reality he had been putting off. "It's not just that I know who Hawkmoth is, I've known that person all my life and….I need to be sure about this. Because if I'm not I don't think I can face him head on. Does that make sense?"

Marinette wanted to agree but she didn't really know. The position Cat Noir was in, how close he was to them, learning they were a villain. There's nothing for her to relate to and it was difficult to know how she would handle it. "I don't know."

But the fact that even Marinette didn't have an answer made him relieved. "Glad to know I'm not alone in that."

"Never." She rested her head on his shoulder, still stirring over the options in her head. "But you still need to tell Ladybug, even if she doesn't have an answer right away."

'We don't have to tell her anything. We can handle this on our own.'

Cat Noir shook his head, questioning why his suit was so determined to handle this without Ladybug, or even why he refused to come out for Marinette to see. "We can talk about this another time."

"Ok." Marinette sighed, Cat Noir realizing that she didn't know he was replying to Plague but it didn't matter. The topic was dropped, for now. Eventually he would need to come up with something, sooner rather than later. Because if his father acted out as Hawkmoth again, it would be on him for not taking him down when he had the chance.

While they were on harder subjects, Cat noir had something he had been meaning to bring up all day. "I overheard today you were expelled."

"Oh my gosh." Flopping her face into her hands, she had hoped this wasn't the case. "It's ridiculous and embarrassing and…a little bit true. You know how I liked Adrien?"

"Yes?"

"When he ran off, I ended up being blamed. I'm not sure why but I admit I was really obsessed with him." Burning with embarrassment Marinette pressed her palms into her face before looking him in the eyes. "Listen, I'll tell you because you were willing to tell me about Hawkmoth. But I can't have the school visited by an angry Cat Noir, ok?"

"Why do you think I would show up angry?"

Marinette simply pointed towards his hand, Cat Noir looked down to see his claws digging into the wood. "Oh."

"And I don't want Eddie there either." She teased making him roll his eyes.

"I don't think Eddie is ever going to show up again."

But someone was going to show up to that school, not Eddie, not Cat Noir. Someone who they would listen to, who could clear Marinette's name without any arguments. He just had to wait for the weekend to come to an end.

As soon as Marinette was dropped off at home, making sure to keep her return quiet, the girl was ready for some sleep. Being a hero was one thing, but going out at night to be with a superhero who had to be cautious of making sure he wasn't spotted interrupted her sleep schedule. Still, not like she had to get up for school in the morning.

Taking off her jacket and draping it over her chair, Marinette sought out a pair of pajamas to change into. Tikki, who she had regrettably forgotten was even in her handbag zipped out.

"Marinette, we need to talk."

As a yawn escaped her lips, Marinette set her sleepwear aside and began to disrobe. "What about?"

"About Cat Noir."

"Do you think he might have blown his cover?" Marinette asked with some concern. "It might have been too risky meeting up at a protest about-"

"Marinette!" Tikki shouted out in urgency, cutting off her current holder. Now wasn't the time to dance around it, and if Marinette started gushing over him Tikki wouldn't be able to bring herself to say anything. The longer they waited though the harder this would be. "I went and saw Master Fu the other night."

Letting the shirt fall down to her waist, Marinette didn't accuse Tikki of anything or believe she was betrayed. Just like Cat Noir Marinette had faith in her little companion. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I tried Marinette. But the more you keep talking about how happy you are with Cat Noir the more guilty I feel about all of this."

"Tikki." Reached out to cradle the kwami in her hands, Marinette went over and sat down to have a proper conversation. "What's going on?"

Keeping it short and to the point, Tikki revealed the little fact that started all of this. "Master Fu never intended to give Cat Noir the cat miraculous."

The girl's eyes widened, Marinette's mind running around to pick up the scrambled pieces. "What? How?"

"He chose someone else, not knowing they were Cat Noir."

"O-ok." Her leg bouncing in place, hoping that this might not be as serious as Tikki was making it out to be. "But that's ok, Cat Noir is trustworthy, loyal, helpful-"

"He is." Tikki agreed in part. "He had many traits that Master Fu found to be good for a wielder."

"Then what's the issue?"

"His powers, that suit of his." Tikki iterated clearly, Marinette questioning why that was important. "It's sentient, and we don't think it can be trusted."

"But Plagg the kwami, he has control?"

"That is not Plagg." The kwami for the first time showed aggression, hissing out thinking about what happened to her life long friend. Floating up to attention, Tikki formally put forth the order Master Fu had given. "Marinette, as Ladybug and trusted wielder of the miraculous of creation you must meet with the guardian of the miraculous. He will need your assistance to confront Cat Noir and make sure the miraculous of destruction has not fallen into the use of something that could corrupt or abuse its power."

Struck with an impossible choice, Marinette was overwhelmed with dread as Tikki sounded like she was making a declaration of war. "Tikki, are you asking me to fight Cat Noir?"

Sadly looking towards the human, Tikki knew how much she cared about him. If she refused, then that means she wasn't willing to wield the full responsibility of a miraculous. "Only if Master Fu deems Cat Noir unfit to have the miraculous, and if Cat Noir refuses to return it."

"So…we can still talk to him. We don't have to fight him." Marinette pleaded in hope, that things could be resolved peacefully.

Tikki wished that would be the case, but she had seen conflict too often regarding control of the miraculous. "I hope so Marinette. I don't think Cat Noir will be unreasonable and he won't be left powerless."

"Then-"

"But that suit has taken control before." Tikki reminded Marinette sternly. "And I don't think it will like what we have to say."

That was it, the dilemma that kept Marinette stunned in place. This wasn't just being asked to be ready to fight Cat Noir, instead it was to fight his powers if needs be. If she was asked to face the boy she couldn't bring herself to do it. His body could be taken over, and if that happened Ladybug would be forced to try and free him from its power.

She would have to fight him, to potentially save him.

"I'll talk with Master Fu." Marinette stated in raw determination. "See if there's a way we can let Cat Noir keep the miraculous."

They would certainly try, but if anyone asked Tikki, she would do anything to get her friend back.

The longer time passed the more students the school seemed to lose. There was a new addition, one that was doing their best to fill the gap and become the center of attention. Lila sought to accomplish it, a wheelchair adding icing onto the cake. During lunch it was a chance to get as many others as possible to shower her as the most important person here.

"I still can't believe that Marinette would go that far." The gentle giant Ivan muttered in disappointment.

"She always liked Adrien." Mylene was on the same page as the boy. "But this was just wrong."

"I know I know." Lila appealed to their odd obsession over Marinette, sitting in the wheelchair she didn't really need. "When I first met her she seemed really sweet and I did notice she really liked Adrien. But when she found out how close I was to him and the love letters he would send me she got aggressive. Now doctors aren't sure if I'll be able to walk without a limp."

"Oh no!" Rose latched her arms around Lila's neck. "But all those marathon charity events you run need you!"

"Yeah." Kim nodded furiously. "How else will you support those homeless shelters?"

"I'll find a way." Lila assured as she took another bite of one of the many desserts other students had gotten for her. "I just hope Adrien and I can finally be together after all of this. But if you see him, don't tell him about the letters. He gets shy about it and it might chase him off again."

"Adrien?!" Nino sitting nearby shouted, shooting up from his seat. "

All the others whipped their heads over, the cafeteria exploding out as Adrien stood in the doorway. He gave a short wave over to Nino, before looking over and spotting Lila.

"Oh my gosh he came back!"

"Adrien!"

"We missed you man!"

This was a surprise, Lila didn't realize he would show up so soon. He might not know about what happened, but maybe he did, either way she needed to make sure he was on the same page as her. "Adrien! I was so worried!"

Wheeling herself out to greet him, Lila saw how quickly he pushed and ignored the others to come over to her. Getting on his good side might be easier than she thought.

He halted right in front of her, Lila giving her best tears of joy to see him, ready to let out heartfelt words and sprinkles of the pain she was in at his vanishing.

"Why did you do it?" He demanded, ignoring her arms reaching out to him.

What exactly was he talking about? Whatever it was she could spin it to her own narrative. "Adrien, I didn't hurt myself this time."

"She's right." The smaller girl Alix came up. "Marinette pushed her down the stairs."

Without much emotion, Juleka let out her own thoughts. "Pretty brutal."

"I wish I didn't need the wheelchair." Lila added on to sweeten the flavor of this tale. "I tried crutches but it might be months before I can-"

His fist came crashing down onto the table next to him, sending cracks through the wood startling everyone. Lila leapt up, pushing away from her seat in fear of the sudden violence. By the time she realized her mistake it was too late, the noise drew in everyone's attention and they all were witnesses.

"Ah-ow." Lila faked a twinging pain in her leg, retreating back to her wheelchair. Adrien's leg kicked it away, letting it roll off leaving her without a seat.

"Stop it." He ordered with a cold stern voice, Lila flinching under the fury. Taking a look around, Adrien made sure he still had everyone's focus.

Fearing what he was about to do, Lila gripped the trim of his jacket as those fake tears started to turn real. "Please, I'll do whatever just don't-"

"Take your hands off us." He growled, Lila pulling herself away as if he was going to bite her arms off. Filling his lungs full of air, having his thoughts organized, he made sure that his voice carried through the whole school. "I never gave you a note. Marinette isn't why I ran off and she is closer to me than you ever were or ever will be. I knew about the photos, I knew about her checking up on me, and I was ok with all of that."

Then he turned away from her, addressing the crowd directly as Lila continued to try and find a gap. "And how long has she been standing? Wasn't she supposed to have a torn achilles tendon?"

Now that all of it was pointed out, in the open, it was clear to see.

"Ah." Adjusting his glasses, Max made his deduction. "Now I see. Lila is a pathological liar."

"N-no!" Lila denied to them. "There were photos, everyone knows Marinette was stalking him!"

If they could just listen to her, she could fix this.

"You got her expelled!" Alya raged out. "She got in the way between you and Adrien! You never met him until you showed up here!"

"I do know him!" Lila countered as the students were closing in on her. "He just has amnesia ever since-"

Listen, everyone shut up and hear her!

"How convenient." Alix folded her arms, blocking one of Lila's escapes. "I bet you never even step foot into a photo studio."

"Or been to hollywood."

"Or went on a date with Prince Ali!"

It was all over, crumbling around her and they all were in on it. She wanted them gone, out of the way and all witnesses buried. Biting her lip, glaring at Adrien, she couldn't believe she ever was interested in someone so horrible.

Uncaring for whatever lie she was living she stomped out, shoving past everyone to escape from the dreadful place, Lila only sought to flee. They were no longer seeing her as the image she crafted, but instead peering right into her. She hated it, she wanted them all gone, she wanted them all DEAD!

IT WAS ALL ADRIEN'S FAULT!

Seeing her defeated, Adrien unclenched his tightening fist, cuts of his fingernails left on the inside of his palms. It was so hard not to rip Lila apart, the only thing that kept her breathing was the fact that he swore to have control over his aggression, to not harm anyone that didn't deserve it.

'She totally did though.'

"Not death." Adrien argued quietly under his breath, glancing over to seeing Alya and Nino coming right on over with the rest of the students wishing to voice their concern over him. Off in the back he could already see some of them sending texts, making calls, probably alerting teachers or his father to where he was.

"My man!" Nino came up, giving a hearty shake to Adrien's shoulders, giving a short hug, and pulling away. "Never knew that girl needed to be put in her place but you did that!"

"And I got the whole thing." Alya lowered her phone, who had recorded the event. "This should be enough to get Marinette back."

"If she wants to." Adrien wished she would though, but wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to return. But no way was Lila going to be an issue for her. Not while he was breathing. Taking a glance around, he noticed there was a face missing. "Where's Sabrina?"

"She wasn't here today." Alya sadly answered. "She's taken it hard, and you leaving didn't help. What's going on Adrien? Whatever it is let us help."

Shying away from her offer, he couldn't put them in any more risk. "I'm sorry, but there's something I have to handle and I can't let-"

"No." Nino, seeing exactly where this was going gripped onto Adrien's wrist. "Dude, please don't run off again! Look, you can stay at my place if you really need to."

"Nino's right!" Alya clung to his other arm. "If it's a family issue then let us join you to talk to your dad!"

"Don't go!" Rose leapt onto his back, soon accompanied by Juleka. "We were so scared you got hurt or maybe even killed!"

"We'll protect you." Ivan declared, Mylene nodding in agreement as they both found a way to cling to him. "Whoever or whatever it is!"

"With our support." Max was content to just standing nearby as he ran a few numbers on his calculator. "You'd stand over a five hundred percent increase in your safety."

'Zoe!'

Zoe?

"Adrien?!" Zoe's voice shouted out as she ran into the cafeteria.

"Zoe?!" When did she get here? Plague's eagerness to greet the girl ended up pulling him out of the pile of bodies on him, Adrien quickly catching his balance as the blonde rushed to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I just started school here, but are you ok? I heard lots of rumors and-"

"I'm fine I'm fine." He tried to make them all understand. "Look, I do miss you all and I don't hold anything against anyone of you. But this thing I have to do, it's something I have to take responsibility for. I just-"

'Akuma!'

As if his mind was pulled from reality, Adrien tuned out everything and everyone else as he focused on Plague. "Where?"

'Up'

Fluttering overhead he spotted it, the corrupted butterfly that moved over to find the negative emotions. Great, he could take a guess on who that was heading for. Would he have done something else though? Marinette's name was clear now, he didn't regret that. Lila nearly had her akumatized if he didn't stop in to prevent it.

How many lives would Lila have ruined if he let her off with just another warning? No, this was his responsibility. His father, Lila, he had to stop them before they hurt anyone else. He had the power to do that, he knew who they were.

Ducking down, squeezing between the people he knew and held dear, he slipped out to rush into the nearest shadow and vanish from their searching and calling out to him. Today proved that Adrien could help, but when it came down to it Cat Noir was the one to assure no one else got hurt.

Lila, fully accepting the akuma had been fueled with power. It wasn't like being Volpina, casting illusions to try and trick anyone she desired. It was useless, not anymore. Now she had real power, one that would let her overcome anyone and force them to be overwhelmed by her voice.

Not anyone from the school, not Adrien, not Ladybug, and certainly not….

Now that she was reconnected with Hawkmoth she could remember her encounter with Cat Noir clearly as before. The shadows closing in around her, the threat hunting her down, the inevitable coming for her. Quivering under the memory, Lila shook her head to chase it away. Refusing to let herself get distracted by the nightmare, Lila knew that this time not even Cat Noir would be immune.

No man, no woman, no monster could stop her.

To make the message clear, Lila looked down upon the school that shattered the image of herself she carefully crafted. "I'm going to burst their little heads, everyone inside with Adrien."

"Adrien?" Hawkmoth uttered in her mind, Lila feeling her ability waiver. "No."

"What do you mean no?!" Lila screamed out in frustration. "I'll get you those magical jewels but you have to give me this!"

"You know very well that if you kill them the heroes will go much farther to make sure you're stopped. You wouldn't be the first victim."

"Like they could get close to me."

"Do you really want to take that risk with no plan? Others who have gotten closer than you with the element of surprise, even bringing Ladybug to near death have failed."

No plan, just vengeance. Lila wanted to just crush them all right away. Pulling her fist back to herself, it took every sliver of awareness to keep herself from striking the first blow and letting out a shriek. If she let them live right now, the stories would spread, reputation forever ruined.

Fine, it's not like it was the only life she was living. But, if she played her cards right, maybe she could find a way to get a permanent power up. "I'll play your game Hawkmoth, but I want something in return."

"What?"

"If I get you Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculouses, I want yours in return. Both of them, the one that makes akumas and the one that makes sentimonsters."

"Done." There was something she overlooked if he was so quick to agree, a way he felt no risk of safety if he had the jewels despite the fact that he challenged Ladybug and Cat Noir frequently with the two.

Retreating into hiding, biding her time to want to learn more and wait for the perfect moment, Lila obeyed. "Just you wait Cat Noir, Adrien, Marinette, I'll make sure to make all of you scream out in anguish."

"Our targets for now are the heroes Shriek. Do well to remember I can revoke your power at any moment."

She would comply, until she could obtain independence from Hawkmoth's influence.

An hour later, Paris still wasn't under attack, there was no akuma threat about to attack. Everything seemed peaceful, despite two heroes on active patrol for Hawkmoth's latest victim.

Cat Noir ran side by side with Ladybug, the two leaping over the wide streets before swinging through them. Bursting past people and cars, rushing over stores and homes, they kept their eyes peeled for any disturbances.

None could be found.

Landing on top of a flag pole perched at the top, Cat Noir squinted out as his vision searched the vast distance before them. Ladybug clung to side of his thin platform, looking out for anything dangerous. "You're sure there was an akuma?"

"Yes." He answered, sliding down to be eye level with her. "I thought I knew who it was but they haven't done anything. Not that we can tell anyways."

"Who?"

"Volpina, so maybe it's to do with illusions again."

'We're getting tired of tricks and hiding.'

Cat Noir nodded slightly, letting out an exhausted sigh. "You and me both."

Ladybug glanced over to the hero, this whole time waiting for him to mention some very important things he should be sharing to her. Technically he already did, but she needed him to tell her in the costume. After a short intense talk with Master Fu, it was pretty much the same talk she had with Tikki.

Except they had to wait to confront him, Master Fu saying he had to make some preparations before they could. Internally she pleaded with Cat Noir, begging him to just be open, to let them help him.

Instead she had to play dumb, keeping secrets to herself like he was doing.

"How are you sure it was Volpina?"

"I…may have been the one to provoke her." Cat Noir admitted with a hint of guilt, one that quickly burned away when he recalled why he did it. Even Plague wasn't going to keep quiet on it as he crawled out to stand on Cat Noir's head.

"We should have chewed her legs off, give her a reason to be in that wheelchair! Then we'll rip her throat out and have her choke on her lying-"

"Woah woah." Cat Noir reached up to pull the violent kitty off of his head, holding it by the scruff of its neck as Plague grumbled. "How about not spouting over violent threats when a lady is present?"

"They're not threats and you know that." Plague's fluid form slid along Adrien's arm and out of his grasp, staring the boy in the face with fangs that assured violence. "It's a promise."

The danger that Plague presented only gave more reason for Ladybug to believe that talking wasn't going to work. The heroine couldn't bear to look, to even imagine that she would have to fight someone she held so close to her heart.

And she couldn't even tell him who she was.

Finally Cat Noir wrangled the alien/symbiote back into his suit, rubbing his hands through his unwashed hair to try and relieve some of the stress. "Sorry Ladybug, I'm sure you had better things to do than go off on a wild goose chase."

"It's alright." Things weren't alright, and she had to pretend they were. "But while we're out, we could take another look around for Adrien. I got word that he showed up at his school but left immediately after…."

Hold on, Lila was Volpina, and from what Alya said Adrien stood up for her at the school then left right after. Cat Noir had to have been nearby if what he said was true. "Did you know Adrien was at the school?"

Cat Noir was about to quickly deny it, but Marinette's words echoed back in his head. He shouldn't lie to Ladybug, but if it was to protect his secret identity didn't it make it ok?

"There was an akuma." Cat Noir settled for. "I had to focus on that to make sure-"

"But Hawkmoth has used her to target Adrien before!" Ladybug reprimanded him, the conflict of Cat Noir keeping things from her and knowing she was going to be the one to handle it exploded out of her. "You knew where he was! He's been off who knows where for days on the streets, Hawkmoth after him, and he's our best bet on finding out who Hawkmoth is and putting an end to all of this! That's probably why we can't find Volpina is because she is after Adrien or worse already has him!"

"I know that!" Cat Noir bit back, the weight of knowing what he had to do scraping away his sanity.

"Do you also know who Hawkmoth is?!" Ladybug asked directly, knowing the answer and needing him to tell her. "If we knew that then-"

"Ok fine." Done with it all, Cat Noir just got it over with. "Yes I know who he is!"

"Then tell me!" Ladybug begged, because if there was anything to convince Master Fu that they wouldn't need to take his miraculous away it was succeeding to take down Hawkmoth. "Then maybe things can finally calm down. Maybe the mayor will relax and maybe we can spend more time just doing dumb things again."

"You know what's dumb?" Jumping down onto the platform holding up the pole Cat Noir kicked one of the spotlights to face away from the flag and himself. "What's dumb is knowing who Hawkmoth is, knowing I made a few akumas myself accidentally, knowing that I could have spared Marinette from getting expelled if I had just been there, KNOWING all of that and never taking proper responsibility."

"Just tell me." Ladybug hopped down, closing the distance that kept building between them. "Tell me and we can work it out."

The offer was so tempting, Cat Noir wanting to just get it all off his chest and have some help. But it was his mess, and he should clean it up. To make it clear, he would have to hold something over her that she kept vital. "Ladybug, will you tell me who you are?"

"W-what?" The question blindsided her, Ladybug questioning whether or not that was an option. It would make things easier. Knowing what Tikki told her, knowing her responsibilities as Ladybug, knowing that she would very likely have to take his miraculous from him, couldn't dare let him know that she was Marinette.

She could live with Cat Noir hating Ladybug, but it would break her to have him hate who she truly was.

Putting on a strong act, she resolved herself to do what she needed to. "Why are you asking me this?"

"Because that's the same of what you're asking of me." Cat Noir stated as he turned around to stand right before her. "This isn't just me trying to show off or prove something, it's a matter of handling something that I, personally, have to see to the end. If you're going with me, you'll find out who I am. I'm prepared for that, but only if I know who exactly I'm letting into my life."

There was no way for her to answer, no other path and no other choice. Ladybug couldn't tell him, out of duty and preserving what she had with him as Marinette. If Cat Noir could even still exist after she had to confront him.

Unable to face him anymore, Ladybug held herself because she couldn't ask him to do it for her. "I'm sorry."

"...me too." Cat Noir shot out his arm, a line tethering him to the top of a building as he swung out, away from his partner.

Ladybug had chosen to remain in place, horrified about what was to come in her inevitable betrayal while Cat Noir isolated himself, prepared to face the world alone if needs be.

He never was alone though, because he had a creature bonded to him that refused to leave, and promised death to any who would try to separate them. Whether they be villains, or heroes.

Can you believe it guys? Civil War, just a week away!

This chapter came out a little slow I'll admit compared to others. I lost some speed for this story and I think that's partly because I want to get in some more Halloween content for the month. Now, this story is also reaching an end of an arc soon probably done by the next chapter with an aftermath chapter after that.

I don't have anything much planned after that I'll admit, and maybe that will be the end of the story so I can work on other projects. Perhaps I'll leave it open, that way if I still want to come back to it I can.

But what do you think? Would you guys prefer a more solid ending with everything wrapped up or some potential plots left open that could be explored on in the future?

Kamen Rider Sentry: Chloe, being a good talker?

At this point I don't think you even realize what kind of person Chloe is and instead have an ideal image projected onto her distorting how you perceive her. Whatever character you keep wanting Chloe to be or think she is, she's not.

Ruby Warrior Girl 730: True, which is why it makes Ladybug's situation that much harder.

Planar-Walking-Entertainment: I doubt Master Fu would have acted before getting Ladybug caught up to speed. Because if someone attacked Cat Noir without warning, Ladybug would immediately rush to his side and Master Fu is already going to have a lot of trouble with one wielder.

SSJB312: It's building up alright, and while Cat Noir has some comfort in having Marinette closer in his life that makes things significantly harder for Ladybug.

As for Lila, even with her lies exposed she could have possibly rebuilt something. Instead, she makes the same mistake as before and is choosing revenge. A more permanent lesson will be necessary for her.

Juxshoa: I don't think I'll have other symbiotes involved, don't want to overcrowd the story with them.

Fire turtle: While I did hint that Carnage existed long ago, I don't plan on having any other symbiotes involved in the action. It would be harder to balance the story.