"Alya, seriously, please delete that," Adrien begged. He had changed back into his jeans before they got back to school, but not before the blogger asked him to strike a pose. The model flashed her an awkward smile only to regret it as soon as the shutter went off.

"No way! This is my new favorite picture! I think I'll make it my wallpaper," Alya teased.

"Come on, Césaire, my dad will kill me if he sees that!"

"Aly, come on," Luna piped up through a grin. "Leave the poor boy his pride, okay?"

"Boo, you're no fun at all," Alya said, sticking her tongue out. Luna raised her brow.

"Alya, I will do anything you want for a week if you delete that right now," Adrien pleaded.

"Delete what?" Nino asked as he came up to the group, lowering his headphones. The blogger grinned. Adrien's eyes widened as he saw her start to shove her phone towards his best friend.

"Nino, dude, you have got to see- HEY!"

Before the DJ could catch a glimpse, Luna swiped the phone out of Alya's grasp. A few quick taps and the actress deleted all traces of the embarrassing photo. She tossed the phone back to Alya, who looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Not cool, Aly," Luna said before entering their classroom. Adrien breathed a small sigh of relief. Nino just looked between his friends, more than a little confused.

"Dude, what I miss?"

Chloé sat beneath a tree in the park, hugging her knees. A checkered blanket lay folded beside her along with several metal containers of food. She buried her face in her legs as she sobbed. Her purse hung loosely on her shoulder in perfect access for the black butterfly that followed her to take root in. She raised her head as Hawkmoth spoke in her mind.

He is a fool for not seeing your worth. Blackspell, I am Hawkmoth. With your magic, you can capture the heart of your Prince Charming. However, in exchange for your fairytale ending, I require a few items.

"Adrien will be mine," she vowed as she stood.

An inky blackness enveloped her as the power of the akuma took over her mind and body. What emerged was woman wrapped in a black dress that hugged her bodice and opened in the front to show off long, sheer-stockinged legs and gold lined black pumps. A purple-lined black cape hung over her otherwise bare shoulders. Long, velvet gloves covered her hands and arms, and a small black clutch dangled from the crook of an elbow. A golden crown sat atop her blonde locks, and an elegant black mask outlined her blue eyes. Black painted lips curled into a nasty smirk.

Blackspell looked about her, trying to find the perfect target to test her new gift. She soon spotted a young couple out on a picnic together. A growl spilled from her throat at the lovely scene. The villainess waved her hand towards them, violet sparks dancing from her fingertips. Just as they were about to kiss, the Parisians were bathed in Blackspell's magic and transformed into stone statues. The woman smiled at her handiwork. Still, something told her she could do better.

Focusing her magic between the palms of her hands, Blackspell sent a wave of power pulsating throughout the park. Every poor soul the magic touched was instantly turned into stone sculptures of themselves. At the snap of her fingers, the statues sparked to life, each one moving rigidly towards their new mistress. Her stone soldiers bowed at her feet. Blackspell laughed behind a gloved hand. Now, to get what was rightfully hers.

The bell rang for class to begin again, and soon everyone was back in their seats. Everyone except for Chloé. A few questioning glances went to Adrien, but the blond just shook his head. Most of the class just shrugged it off. Sabrina seemed to be the only one concerned with her bestie's absense. Time droned on as they had a silent study session that was soon interrupted by a loud crash. Almost everyone was on their feet and crowding towards the windows to find the source. Someone screamed as they saw a mass of stone statues. The minions pierced the walls of the school with their stone fingers and scaled up to the window.

"Everyone out of the room!" The teacher called, waving her students towards the door. They began to rush out in a panic. Adrien was one of the first out of the classroom. He booked it as fast as he could to somewhere- anywhere -he could transform and not be seen. He didn't have to guess who the victim was this time. 'Stupid!' He thought, mentally kicking himself. He should never have left Chloé like that. Despite everything she'd done and the enemies she made, she was still his friend.

The blond spotted an open broom closet and ran for it. Unfortunately for him, the stone beings had somehow shambled their way into the school. For hunts of rock, they moved pretty damn fast. Adrien soon found himself surrounded. His heart pounced in his chest as he tried to find any sort of opening.

"Adrikins." A cold-sweat crawled down his neck at the sing-songy voice. The mob of stones parted slightly to allow their mistress access to her prize, bowing in her wake. Adrien's eyes widened at the sight of her.

"C-Chloé?"

"Not anymore, Adrikins," she said with a chuckle. She opened her arms as she strutted towards him. "It's Blackspell, now. Hawkmoth has finally made me worthy of you."

His heart hurt. She thought she wasn't good enough for him, and he made her think that. Of course he loved her; just not in the way she'd wanted. Chloé was like a sister to him. And he hurt her.

"Chlo, I-"

Blackspell cupped his face, silencing him with a finger to his lips. "No more words, Adrien. We're finally going to be together. Just like we were meant to be."

Green eyes searched blue ones for any trace of Chloé and a chance of possibly reasoning with her. He found none. Plagg moved against his chest. The kwami's presence gave him a bit of confidence, but he knew he couldn't get away just yet. He'd have to count on Ladybug to distract her long enough for an opening to appear. All that was left to do was play along.

Swallowing the hard lump forming in his throat, Adrien gave Blackspell a small nod. Her black lips pulled into a smile as she leaned forward. That kiss felt so very, very wrong.

"What's going on?!" Luna asked as she ran with her friends.

"Gotta be an akuma attack!" Alya said in excitement. Her phone was already in hand as she started sprinting down the hall. "You guys should get to safety!"

"Aly, wait!" Marinette called out.

"Can't! Got a Ladyblog to run, and duty calls!" Then she was gone.

Marinette sighed at her bestie. Someday, she was going to get herself hurt, or worse. She turned to Luna. The actress' eyes seemed to dance despite her blank expression. The heroine weighed her options. Ladybug was needed, but Marinette very well couldn't leave her new friend alone. ?

"She's right," she said. "We should find a place to hide."

"Huh?" Luna asked, clearly not paying very much attention. "Oh! Right. Actually, I uh... forgot something in my locker! Don't wait up!"

Marinette's eyes widened. "Luna, no! It's dangerous!"

"I'll be careful! Meet up with me on the Pont des Arts, okay?!" Luna waved at her as she ducked around the corner. Marinette bit her lip before letting out a frustrated huff. Why were the people she cared for so darn reckless?! She didn't have time to dwell on it, though. Shaking her head, Marinette dove into an empty classroom and opened he'd purse. Tikki's big round eyes looked up at her, expectantly.

"Looks like we need to make sure those two don't get themselves hurt," she said with a smile. "Tikki, spots on!"

Luna was only partially lying. She did leave something behind, just not in her locker. Sneaking into a janitor's closet, the thief made sure to lock the door then lifted a false tile out of the floor. She'd figured eventually a time might arrive that Paris' heroes would have to save the day at school, and there was no way Spades was missing out on such a thrilling dance. So, naturally, the thief wanted to be prepared. The same night she'd delivered her message to Alya, Spades had also snuck into the school and made herself a little cubbie hole to hide her supplies. Digging out a black duffel bag, Luna quickly stripped down and changed. Her typical side ponytail was rolled in the back and pinned to mimic Spades' usual braid. If there was time, the thief usually just washed the powdered color out of her hair and let the natural white of it show through. But with no way to dry it fast, a can of whitening hairspray did the job of hiding her daily attempt at camouflage. She did a quick check of her gear and smiled as she secured her goggles. She then climbed her way to the ceiling and into the vents, eager to see her kitten and bug.

Alya wasn't a stranger to sneaking around an akuma fight. She knew exactly where and how to hide in order to get the best shots and not be seen. So as she crept towards the scene the latest of Hawkmoth's victims was making, she expertly ducked and weaved through the shrubs and bushes that surrounded the school, keeping her phone ahead of her all the while. Soon enough, the reporter laid eyes on her akumatized classmate amidst the stone beings.

It was totally Chloe; who else could it be? No one else would dress that tacky. It didn't help that she had taken Adrien hostage. Alya winced at the sight of him. The model was practically being dragged by his arm and guarded on all sides by Blackspell's stone army, though Alya figured they were there mostly to keep him put. Alya snuck closer to see where they were headed and rolled her eyes at what she saw. In the school's courtyard sat a floral archway on a marble stage that definitely hadn't been there before. An altar stood under the arch, a statue of Headmaster Damocles perched behind it. God, was she serious?

Poor Adrien seemed to come to the same conclusion Alya reached, because he started looking every which way for an escape route. Blackspell held fast though, smiling as if she was oblivious to his discomfort. Alya gritted her teeth and scanned the ground around her. She just needed something, anything, to distract the villainess long enough for Adrien to get out of her death grip. Her eyes fell on a large rock. Grinning, she grabbed it and wound her arm to chuck it. Fear rose in her chest as she felt someone grab her wrist. Nerves on edge, she gave her captor a wide gaze over her shoulder.

Oh shit.