A/N: Hello!! I'm excited to post the first chapter of the Mariclaw sequel to this story! So I'm including this little Epilogue here, which is more of a flashback to Chapter 10, and shows what it looked like when Marinette went to fetch Claw Noir to help Shadybug in her time of need. Enjoy, and I hope to see you over at the sequel, Sideways!

As soon as Ladybug left Chat Noir—no, Adrien, she reminded herself, the recent discovery still rocking through her—she got to work.

She needed to find out where Shadybug had fled to.

Opening up her yo-yo, she immediately checked her GPS, even though she knew Chat must have tried it already.

Sure enough, Shady's was now disconnected, hiding her location.

Ladybug quickly searched all of the spots around the city where they had spent any significant amount of time, coming up empty at each one.

Finally, she paused at the top of a building as she considered the next possibility.

Perhaps Shadybug had returned to her own universe.

Ladybug stared at her yo-yo for a moment, considering just how much of a risk it might be to do what she now contemplated.

She let out a deep breath.

It was worth it. Her partner was counting on her. As was their new teammate.

She wouldn't let either of them down.

Reaching into the space in her yo-yo, she snagged the Rooster Miraculous and quickly united it with Tikki. With the pen in one hand, she wrote her desired power carefully on her other palm, trusting the magic to take her exactly where she needed to be.

When she drew a circle in the air with her finger, a glowing portal appeared.

Ladybug didn't hesitate before she stepped through, entering a world that felt significantly different from the one she left.

The building she stood on was clearly the same one she had just been on, and yet the picture of her city below was a far cry from her own.

Destruction marred nearly every building in sight as a smoky haze seemed to hang like a blanket over the city. Parisians passed by without even acknowledging the debris that littered the streets.

Ladybug crouched as she approached the side of the roof, keeping a wary eye around her. She didn't know exactly what enemy combatants she might come across, but she had to assume that every Miraculous she had at her disposal in her world was in the hands of someone unfriendly on this side. Except, perhaps, the Butterfly, Rabbit, and Rooster Miraculous.

Ladybug stealthily made her way through the city, aiming for her own bakery first. She didn't know where Shadybug might be hiding if she had indeed come back, but it was as good a place to start as any.

As she traversed the rooftops, her heart broke just a bit more with every new observation she made.

While some buildings remained mostly intact, others seemed nearly decimated by whatever fighting had occurred in the past. Not all of the destruction showed signs of Cataclysms, however, and it became clear that it was the work of several of the more physically-powerful Miraculous holders.

Ladybug tried to steel herself in order to focus on her goal, landing not far from the bakery.

One view of the balcony, however, and she knew this wasn't where Shadybug would be. The area was completely empty, and as she dropped lower, she could hear the sound of two adults screaming at one another below. Her heart twisted as it took a few moments to recognize the voices as those of her parents—no, Shady's parents. Marinette had never heard her parents so much as raise their voices at one another, and the realization that this was what Shady had dealt with hit her hard.

Ladybug left quickly, unable to listen any further.

Adrien had always alluded to Shadybug's difficult past, but having the reality of that in front of her left Marinette's heart dropping as she truly considered what it might be like if Tom and Sabine hadn't been the wonderful parents they were for her.

Shaking off the emotions, she continued moving through the city. As she tried to decide where to check next, screams echoed through the air, and she found herself changing directions automatically to head towards their source.

Landing carefully, Ladybug realized there was an attack in progress, smoke rising in the air as lightning flashed and illuminated the darkening streets.

The Dragon Miraculous was active, she noted, catching sight of a hint of purple disappearing around the corner trailing after the lightning flashes.

She was about to leave when a frightened scream cut through the night, coming from the smoking building the battling duo had left behind.

Ladybug knew she had a different goal, one she needed to stay out of sight for in order to accomplish.

That knowledge didn't stop her from immediately swinging into the building, breaking glass as she aimed for where she heard the cries.

She found a woman attempting to fight the smoke and heat to get through a door that was jammed shut due to the upper floors collapsing down from the damage. Ladybug took one glance at the terror on the woman's face before she muscled through the door, finding and picking up a crying baby from the crib in the following room.

Ladybug swung the two of them out of the building and landed a short distance away. "Get to safety," she said as soon as she dropped them down to the road.

"Thank you—" the woman choked out before turning and fleeing the area, cradling the crying infant against her chest.

Ladybug flung out her yo-yo and swung only one street away before someone collided with her in the air, knocking the wind from her lungs as she crashed into a brick wall and landed roughly on her knees.

She barely had time to get to her feet before something sharp was at her throat. "Who are you, and what the fuck have you done with Shadybug?"

A man with shockingly-green hair and violet eyes glared at her, his weapon unmoving at her neck.

Ladybug let out a breath, going still. The black mask surrounding his strange eyes and the cat ears pierced with several circle rings hinted at his identity. "Chat Noir? Is that you?" She didn't know much about Shady's partner from this world, though she assumed he was just as much a villain as Shay had been when she'd first arrived in Marinette's universe.

His grip tightened. "Chat Noir, no—God, what stupid fucking name is that? I'm Claw Noir, and you're going to tell me what I want to know before I slice you up and hand you over to the Supreme. Who are you?"

Ladybug looked at him evenly. "I'm not from here. Shadybug came to my world. My name is Ladybug."

He eyed her for another minute, seeming to go through some internal debate, before he finally released the tension in his body, dropping his baton from her neck. "Ladybug, huh? And what's a little bug like you doing in a place like this?" His eyes darted to the side. "I saw you save that woman. The Supreme doesn't approve of heroism around here."

Anger flashed through Ladybug's eyes as she clenched her fists. "I don't care. I won't stand aside while someone is in danger."

Claw watched her incredulously for a moment before his eyes tightened. "That attitude will get a bug squished in this city. His eyes are everywhere."

"Don't yours belong to him?"

Ladybug watched as he tensed. "Of course." He eyed her for some time before finally asking, "Where's Shadybug?"

"I'm trying to find her, actually. We're worried about her. She disappeared and we don't know where she went. I came here to see if she went home."

Claw frowned, his tail twitching behind him. "I haven't seen her since she left."

Ladybug let out a sigh of frustration. Then an idea hit her. "You're her partner here, right? Are you two friends?"

He let out a harsh laugh. "Partners, yes. She doesn't do 'friends.'"

Impatient, Ladybug asked, "But you care about her, right?"

There was no hesitation to Claw's answer. "Yes."

"If I could manage to get you to her, do you think you'd be able to talk to her? Convince her to rejoin the fight with us?"

A lazy smirk appeared on his face. "Of course I can. Just call me the roach whisperer."

Ladybug narrowed her eyes. "Roach whisperer?"

Claw flipped his weapon idly into the air before catching it. "Yeah, point me in the right direction and I'll bring the cockroach back around."

Glaring at him, Ladybug said, "You call her cockroach? I thought you said you cared about her?"

"What's wrong with that? It's a perfect nickname for her."

"It's terrible. God, nevermind, this is an awful plan. I can't possibly send you—" Ladybug turned on her heel, trying to come up with a better idea.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up there, Red. No need to get so fired up. I'm the cat for the job, the feline on the frontline, the best fuckin'—"

"Enough." Ladybug took two steps forward and pushed Claw's chest, sending him stumbling back before she snagged his jacket and yanked him upright. "This isn't some joke, alright? This is serious; her life might be on the line. I need to know if you can actually help."

The side of his mouth quirked up momentarily. "You do have some claws of your own, don't you?" Then his mouth flattened, his tone shifting. "What do you mean, her life is on the line?"

Ladybug glared at him a moment longer before releasing his jacket. "Best to ask her about it."

His jaw clenched. "Alright, where do I go?"

She gave him one more appraising look. Was he really her best option?

Adrien, her Adrien, would have been the best option, but the problem was that at the moment she didn't even know if Shady would stick around long enough for Adrien to convince her. Not to mention Adrien seemed overwhelmed by everything he had found out.

No, best to give him time to recover.

If this partner of Shadybug's actually cared about her, then he might be the best shot to bring her around.

Ladybug turned abruptly, calling out for her power once again. Perhaps, with just a bit more focus, she might not even need to know exactly where Shadybug was at the moment. Trusting the magic to acquiesce to her will, she gave herself the ability to travel across universes directly to Shadybug, drawing the portal in the air in front of her.

When it appeared, Claw walked directly up to it, no sign of wariness on his face. He glanced back at her, a grin appearing once again. "Don't worry, Little Bug. I've got this." He winked before stepping through to the other side.

Ladybug watched the portal close, but before she could contemplate what she should do next, someone else's voice echoed from behind her. "You can head back, Buginette. I can handle the rest from here."

Ladybug twisted around, locking gazes with a woman with deep red hair, wearing what appeared to be the rabbit and the Rooster Miraculous.

She relaxed slightly. "You must be Bunnilark, then?"

The woman grinned. "I sure am."

Ladybug took one more glance behind her, towards the spot where Claw had disappeared, before turning back in confusion. "I don't understand, if Claw was supposed to go help Shadybug, why didn't you take him yourself?"

Bunnilark twirled her umbrella along the ground before leaning against it. "Time is a funny thing. Fate, as well. I tend not to get involved except for a push here, nudge there. Don't worry, everything is as it should be."

Ladybug nodded, turning back to look at the city one last time, her eyes tightening.

She hoped its citizens would see some relief from the destruction soon.

She left through the second portal that Bunnilark created for her, also hoping that the green-haired cat had been able to help out her friend.

A/N: I'll be posting the first chapter of the sequel, 'Sideways' soon! Thank you so much for reading, and if this is your first time reading Dawning Light, I really hope you enjoyed!