Key:

"eeeeh" -Recording

"Meh" -Normal

Mehh -Dreams, Thoughts, or emphasis

Disclaimer: I do not own MLB nor DGM.

Chapter 8: Torment

Marinette nearly hit her head.

How could she have forgotten that Alya, Adrien, and Nino were going to come over and get some hot chocolate? Purely because she made arguably the best and to cheer up Adrien, who was having a long day. Currently, she was in the kitchen with an apron wrapped around her waist. In front of her, were ingredients of all kinds. Her phone was open and the screen read, "Mitarashi Dango Recipe". She nearly panicked when she thought that they had no rice flour to make the dumplings with. Thankfully they had some. Tim was sitting to the side, watching and waiting for his snack. She gazed at the time. They'll be here in less than three minutes. FUUCCC- She slid her phone into her pocket and grabbed Tim.

"Okay, change of plans. You sit still in my room while I deal with my friends." she knew that if Alya or Nino found out that she was cooking. They would demand that she share her creation. The ingredients were only enough for two sticks of Dango. Not four, five, or six.

"I'll watch him, Marinette," Tikki spoke up.

"Thanks, Tikki. Just make sure he doesn't ruin my room."

"Of course."

With that, she traveled to the latch that leads to her room and let the magical creatures fly free. Her finger pointed towards Tikki. "Remember, no mess." The kwami nodded her head and Marinette went on her way. Locking her door behind her. The next thing she did was put the ingredients away for later use and hope that no one uses up on. Right when she closed the last cabinet, there was a knock on the door. Pulling the apron off and tossing it on a stool, she stumbled her way to her front door. She opened and was met with the smiling faces of her friends.

"Ready for some coco?" she huffed.

"You bet!" they answered in unison.

Marinette ushered them inside and gestured for them to sit on her family's sofa. The trio sat down, eager to receive their promised cup of coco. The secret hero grinned, "I'll go boil some water."

"Thanks, Marinette." Adrien expressed with such gratefulness that the girl nearly melted.

"I-It's not a problem!" She stuttered. It seemed like she was getting better.

"Girl! When you're done, I need to show you something!" Alya pulled her attention away from her love interest.

She cocked her head to the side. What did the blogger want to show her? "What is it?"

"A video that someone posted to the blog! A video of one of the supers in a bar."

The rest of them gave out baffled noises at that. A super 'hero' in a bar? What had the world come to? Why would they go into a bar? I thought they were around 16 years old? Well, at least that's what Maman had told me and papa. Her mother had retold the story of her meeting the white-haired super. The adult had pointed out some things that she had noticed about it. Other than that he sounded hungry.

"Alright!" Marinette nodded before marching her way to the kitchen. She filled a kettle up with water and placed it on the stove. The reminisce of her previous makings were still on the counter. Specks of rice flour that was littered on the countertop. Once she had the fire going, she made her way back to her awaiting friends.

Alya had her phone pulled out. Preparing to show them the video, most likely. Nino was looking over the girl's shoulder in wonder. The love of her life had his eyes searching the small living room. From the window to the bookshelf where her family portrait sat. He continually stared at it before she allowed her presence to be known.

"So about this video?" those keywords were the only words needed to set the blogger in action. Alya gestured to a spot next to her for the girl to take. Marinette sat and slide closer to be able to see. Adrien had adverted his attention to the spectacle and partook by sliding closer to be able to see as well. The blogger waited until everyone was situated before pressing play.

When it started up, the scene was set in the night. With lights lining the buildings that reflected off of the character in the distance. It was Allen! He was walking and admiring his surroundings. The camera caught him turning and looking at a building. The building had green neon lights shining off of it. The teen entered and the owner of the camera ran forward, making the vision shaky. Suddenly they were staring up at the name of the establishment. Cat's Eye Pub?

Before the camera woman could go inside, she bumped into a furious lady. The woman's face was almost as red as her ladybug suit.

"Watch where you're going!" The lady didn't give the girl any time to apologize and just walked off.

Once they entered they were assaulted with colors of black, green, and silver. It was all over the bar. A tribute to the male hero of Paris most likely. Especially if the name was anything to go by. The camera locked on Allen who was staring fondly at a pack of cards before he was interrupted by three older men. The boy smiled their way and held the cards up to them.

After that, it was just a close-up view of him demolishing these men at a game of poker. His expertise shown through when he had shuffled the cards but alas none of the men were intimidated. They were beaten out of their money, a coupon from her parent's bakery, car keys, clothes, and one wedding ring. The latter being something she had frowned at.

"He's so good that the game. How is that possible?" She heard herself ask.

The group shrugged their shoulders at the question. Just as the boy pulled out one more Royal Flush, Marinette wondered if his miraculous was centered around luck like hers. What does his miraculous center around anyway? What would a golden ball symbolize?

The "super" gave the crowd a friendly smile before picking up his earnings. He took the money, coupon, and sweater but left the car keys and ring. car keys and ring. "Well, gentleman it was great playing with you."

He walked off to the bar entrance. The camera followed him to the door. It seemed that the owner was about to follow after when the video suddenly clicked off. It caught her off guard. "What happened?"

"I had the same reaction. Turns out the girl's phone died. How unlucky." Alya answered.

The trio agreed with the last statement. He seems to be super skilled in Poker. The thought gave her a new keyword to use on the snitch. Maybe Ladybug should visit that bar tonight. This is a good lead and I do need to update Chat on the whole Kwami thing. Her plan was set. Investigate the bar, tell Chat about Tim, and see if the word Poker could activate more recordings.

Ladybug stood at the top of one of the most memorable and well-loved monuments. The Eiffel Tower. In the dark of the night, it was lit like a firework. The light reflected off of her suit, making the red and black glow. The wind combed through her pigtails and ribbons. They gracefully waltz and caressed her cheek. Her piercing blue eyes scanned the glowing city underneath her before gazing at the thing on her shoulder. Sitting like a bird on a branch was the squishy "kwami" she had discovered recently. Its wings were closed but she could feel a feather brush against her mask. It's golden tail flickered around behind it as it seemed to observe the city.

Her mind wandered back to where she had told Tikki of her plan. Investigate the pub where "Allen" had been and see if word Poker could open more clips from the kwami. At first, she wanted to test the word out, but the fact that she had to update Chat on it rang in her head. He had no idea that she held in possession of the stranger's kwami. She would have to catch him up on the whole "dinner time" clip and her own suspicions. Tikki supported this and also suggested that they use its abilities to find it's holder. Something that made her stomach turn.

The ball had seen her transform. It saw her kwami. And if keywords or passcodes were the only things needed to be said to replay footage, then what was stopping one of them from saying "Ladybug" and finding out her identity? Nothing. She couldn't risk something like that. They could be allied with Hawkmoth after all. If they weren't, then it still would make her hesitate. Not even her partner, someone she trusted with her life, knew who she really was. The idea of strangers finding out her big secret when her partner didn't know seemed completely unfair.

The heroine knew that Chat desperately wanted to know her identity. Even if he didn't mention it, she could see it. She always knew that once the time was right or when Hawkmoth was permanently defeated, she would tell him first. It only seemed right after all. She wondered how he would react when that happened. Would he laugh at the fact that she was the one to sent him to protect herself? Maybe she knew him outside of the mask and they were friends? What if they were bitter enemies outside the mask? No, that wouldn't be the case. He didn't seem to dislike me when we met. Regardless, she didn't want them to know. It wouldn't be long before Tikki would realize this and chaste her for it. Or maybe even Chat, now that she thought about it. He would most certainly not be impressed with her once he realized why she didn't want to use the kwami to find it's holder. That made her rethink her decision. Maybe she should keep it's recording abilities to herself? Maybe this was a bad idea and she should just go home? She did have a test tomorrow.

Thump

A sound from behind her had entered into her ears and she registered it as her partner showing up as normal. There was no turning back now. A brave smile painted itself on her lips as she addressed her him.

"Glad you could make it on time this time." She teased.

Ladybug expected something to be thrown back at her. A comment with a lame pun along with humorous flirtations that were just for show. However the silence she was given made her skin crawl. Chat wasn't usually silent when he arrived at one of their sports. He liked to either sneak up on her(A fail attempt every time) or dramatically announced his arrival. She turned her head to look at him and sure enough, it was him and he was looking like he just saw a ghost. His eyes were trained on the golden ball on her shoulder.

She decided to address him once more. "Chat?"

That seemed to get him going as she watched his eyes flicker to her face. "Marinette?"

Panic quickly spread on her face. He just said her name! Did he know?! "M-Marinette? What about her?" She stammered.

"Ah- I mean...she has the same stuffed toy. I um saw her with it this morning."

She gave a nervous laugh, "Oh, this is not a toy. It's actually the reason I called you out here." Yes, distract him with business.

"It is?"

She quickly nodded, "Yep! I have reason to believe that it is the white-haired super's kwami." The comment successfully directed him away from connecting the dots on her identity. Now all she needed to do was come up with an excuse as for why Marinette has it. Luckily that was easy. "It seems to be able to consume foods and behave with such human-like emotions. I would say animal if I knew what animal a golden ball represented." the ball, as if it knew it was being talked about, flew off of her shoulder and onto her head.

Chat looked in awe at it. "Okay...but why would you suspect it to be the albino boy's kwami?"

She hesitated before answering. "When it was briefly in my possession, I had been reviewing the last battle and it seemed to recognize him. That and that I found something interesting that it could do." She plucked it off of her head and held it out towards her partner. It was only right to reveal this bit of information to him. They were partners after all. "Dinnertime!"

Chat jumped at her shout and looked at her as if she had officially lost it. However, once Tim opened his canine mouth and revealed the same footage as before, the cat boy focused his attention on the clip. She carefully studied his expression. His emotions were as plain to see. What the hell is this? What did he mean "they're alive"? MASTER?! DIMENSIONAL!? However, towards the end where it focuses on the pirate's list of food, a corner of his mouth turned upward for a slight smile. He must've gotten that happy vibe that it gave off. He must've noticed the relief each of them expressed at that moment. Just as she had.

"It takes recordings. Recordings that are activated by special keywords." She theorized.

"Recordings? Do you think it might be recording right now?"

"I believe it might be." she saw his expression shift from awe to cautious. "Don't worry, it's the reason why I gave it to Marinette. Don't want to get my transformation on camera." she let out a nervous laugh at her lie.

He seemed to understand now. Nodding his head in agreement, "Smart, as usual, My Lady!"

Not really…"Now, onto the other thing, I brought you here for…"

"Wait there's more?" She nodded her head and explained the rest of her plan to him. How she wanted to visit the pub and question the bartender. She even told him that she had a new word in mind to test on the kwami. The cat's tail waved back and forth and he broke out into a toothy grin. "Sounds like a purrfect plan to me." she made a face at his pun which only made his grin grow.

"Well then-" she patted the metal ground beside her, "-shall we test it out?"

The cat answered her by strolling over and sitting beside her. He gave her an award-winning smile that nearly had her do a double take. She was used to cocky and goofy grins or smirks not those kinds of smiles. It was too gentle! Her heart fluttered but she ignored the feeling. It surely wasn't what she thought it was. There was no way after all.

The heroine gazed at the ball. "Alright, Tim-"

Chat cut her off. "Wait you named it Tim?"

"Well...yeah, I didn't want to refer to it as the golden ball. Besides, I don't know it's real name and-" another interruption by Paris's resident cat.

"We could easily figure that out! Just ask it." She looked at him as if he had grown two heads.

"It can't talk," she informed him.

He smiled and kept his head high. "I still think it can work."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, you ask him." she carefully pasted the kwami into his claws.

The cat hero carefully held the fat ball in his hands. The golden creature's tail swayed back and forth. Chat brought a fist to his mouth and coughed dramatically. "Alright! So, What is your name?"

It was silent and Marinette was about to give him the classic "I told you so" when the kwami's mouth opened and a video flickered on, she slammed her lips closed. It seemed to be old. The subject was Allen, she recognized, but he looked smaller. His eyes were bigger and innocent. He had his hand out towards the screen. She noticed that his other was covered by a large oven mitt. It made her curious.

"What is it?" little Allen squeak and Marinette had to hold her squeal in. He sounded adorable and looked like an angel. Opposite of another child she knew very well.

"Not it, he. That's Timcanpy." a large redhead man answered, his voice was slurred but sounded slightly harsh. She read it as slightly because she thought she heard some underlying fondness. The child, however, didn't seem to notice.

"Timcanpy…" he broke out a smile. "Hello, Timcanpy!"

The video clicked off and Ladybug found herself impressed. She learned the kwami's name and it actually answered Chat's question. Her eyes flickered to her companion. She could see the gears in his head rotation. He must've been thinking of more things to ask. She hoped to god that he wouldn't ask about tracking the supers.

"I wonder if it could tell us about…Allen? Was that his name?" she nodded her head at his question.

"It's worth a try."

"Alright! So…Timcanpy? Tell me about Allen."

The kwami halted before showing a screen once again. This time it had a picture of the albino on it. The subject was turned facing the camera and smiling. On the screen were words that flashed red. "Access Denied" Huh, so it does have restricted areas.

"Maybe we can bypass it by using other keywords." she theorized.

Chat nodded. "It's worth a shot." the cat handed the ball over to her again and she swore she saw him paw at the creature's tail like the cat he is. Her eyes focused on Timcanpy. He had a large Cheshire-like smile on his face. Something about it seemed odd to her. Other than the fact that he had teeth full of canines. It had a mischievous feel to it. Like he knew something she didn't was purposely withholding it from her.

She hummed before finally speaking out the word that she had planned to use the entire time. "Poker."

If his grin could widen even further, Ladybug swore that it would rip his tiny face. His mouth opened and a scene started to play. From what she could gather, they were on a train. A very vintage train if the seats where anything to go by. She would assume that it was the VIP section if only it lacked what she assumed a VIP section would look like. She expected coaches both long and short. A fancy bar with expensive drinks and glasses. People in expensive clothes that came from brands as expensive as Mr. Agreste's.

She expected to seen people in modern clothes. Women in a fashion that didn't threaten to crush their rib cages and men in hats that weren't as tall as the Eiffel or looked like they were rolled around in the dirt. Nor did she expect obviously middle to low working class men and women that dressed in clothes that looked like they were from the turn of the century or the late 19th century. Where are they? The seats were mostly wooden with a small cushion support. However, it still looked extremely outdated.

Her eyes focused on the main subjects. It was Allen and the Pirate again, but this time they had another companion. He was pale, sickly pale. His hair was black but one strand that hung in his face was pure white. His ears were pointy like a fictional elf. His eyes were somewhat sunken in. If she was honest, he looked like a cliché vampire if his large cape was anything to go by.

"Don't be so depressed, Kro-chan." she heard the pirate try to comfort the vampire.

The vampire sniffled as big fat tears welled in his eyes. "It can't be helped, can it? No matter how much I tried to explain they wouldn't believe me. That's why…" he trailed off as if remembering something.

That's when she noticed that the vampire was wearing a strange uniform. From what she could see through the cracks of the cape, it was black and silver. The silver seemed to shine and that made her wonder if it was some type of fabric.

"Yeah, I know how you feel. As you would expect they got angry at me too." Allen responded with a trace of empathy in his voice.

"It's fine! Even if you can't go back as long as a man can still breathe it's all good." the pirate cheerfully added before giving a suggestion to the weeping man. "Why don't you take a look around the train for some fun? It's the first time you've ridden one, isn't it?"

"Y-yeah. That's true. I'll walk around for a bit." the man rose from his seat and with a small parting wave, set out on his adventure. The other two sat there for a while. It was starting to stretch out to an hour. It made her wonder if the creature had a skip option.

She heard Chat sigh next to her. "Might as well get patrol done with while we wait for time to pass."

Ladybug agreed to that. She released Tim and the ball flew beside her and Chat as they swept the city. A task that usually took about two to three hours depending on what had occurred that night. Every so often they would check the video and see that the boys were growing antsy and bored in their vintage seats. Yet nothing changed. She heard them have small talk, but it was mostly the redhead complaining about a man named Bookman and the memorizing he had to do later that day. Sometimes, she would see them open a file and write things down. Maybe a report of some kind?

The duo decided to go the bar prematurely that night. Since it didn't look like the video would continue with anything interesting. Chat looked over at the ball and he pointed at the screen. "Hey look! They're getting up!"

Her attention diverted to the recording and she saw that they were, in fact, getting up and moving around. Their expressions were irritated and concerned, respectively.

The pirate cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "Kro-chan! Hey!" He sighed at the lack of an answer. "How do you spend three hours wandering around on this small train?"

Three hours?

"Could it be that he got lost…?" Allen hummed.

Chat spoke up at that, "Unlikely. Who get's lost on a train that only goes one way?" she nodded her head in agreement with his statement. Something had obviously held the other up.

The two opened a metal sliding doors and was greeted with quite a sight. It was their companion along with some other men. Three grown males and a child that looked sick. They all sported poor clothing. Their clothes looked dirty and dusty. As if they had been in a mine or something. One of the men sparked her interest. He was perhaps the most normal looking guy in the picture. And she could say without any protest that he was fairly good looking. His hair was surprisingly shiny and wavy. His eyes were hidden by thick glasses that seemed to have a spiral in them. A cigarette sat in his mouth and the smoke from it waved in the air, almost hypnotic.

The man gave the two a questionable hum, "Sorry, right now young kids aren't allowed to enter here."

Ignoring the man, Allen questioned their companion. "What are you doing, Krory?"

With a shaky voice, he answered, "Th-These people invited me to play something called Poker…and then before I knew it, it turned out like this…"

The man gave him a grin. "Now sir, let's have another match. What will you wager next?"

"N-no, but…"

"Hey, hey you running away? You've already accepted the match haven't ya? If you're a man stick with it 'til the end!"

Allen decided to intervene by stripping himself of his coat. A black and silver coat. The trimmings to the seal were all silver. Even the buttons. The thing that made her curious was the seal. It was like a star but not. It held some similarities to the rose cross that she saw on the trio's black and red uniforms. Even the symbols on the seal looked the same. Maybe this was his old uniform?

"All the trimmings on this coat are made of pure silver. If I bet this for all of Krory's clothes, will you have a match with me?" his comment made her do a double take. All the trimmings were pure silver? That's one expensive coat.

"That coat must be worth a fortune," she mumbled to herself forgetting that Chat could hear her.

"Yeah, and his betting with it. I want to say that's careless but I saw the video of him playing poker in the bar. So maybe, he has a fighting chance?" Chat made a valid point.

"Maybe…"

The pirate seemed to be thinking the same thing. His expression was that of bewilderment and unsureness. "H-hey Allen?! What are you saying?"

"Alright." the man grinned.

The four of them went back and forth. The three men lost an article of clothing with each and every round. The frustration on their faces grew intense as they kept losing to Allen. It was unbelievable.

"Call." he spread out the top winning hand in poker.

"Royal…Straight…Flush…" the men read it off in unison. Disbelief on their faces.

"I win again," Allen spoke as if it was the most nonchalant thing ever.

The men threw their cards and cried out "Damn it!" they huddled close and whispered words to each other while eyeing Allen. Whom was shuffling cards with a large smile on his face. The pirate was whispering to him and as they talked Allen's grin grew sadistic and she swore that the boy grew devil horns.

"Damn, one more time!" the man with the glasses cried out one more time.

"Alright." he expertly shuffled the cards between his hands that it almost looked like a magician's trick.

"That Allen, he's wonderful!" the vampire man, Krory, cheered from the sidelines. They played one more round, which they unsurprisingly lost. This time they called it quits and when the train came to a halt, they shuffled outside. Allen held their stuff out to the group with a beaming smile on his face. One that was full of hope and innocence.

"Here you go. I don't care as long as I got my friend's stuff back. It's hard to be naked at this time of year, isn't it?"

The man puffed his chest out and straighten his shoulders. "Boy, We haven't sunk so low as to be pitied by you."

"So, why are you grabbing for them?" True to his question, the three were desperately reaching for their clothing items. All of them had a hand on them.

"Oops." the man gave a fake laugh. Once they got their bearings, the glasses man sighed in relief. "Well, that's a relief. To tell you the truth we're doing outside work at the mines starting today."

Allen tilted his head and curiously asked, "Where are you from?"

The man's answer was slightly cryptic, even though it was self-explanatory. "From everywhere! We're bad mannered orphans who've become wanderers." The way he had said it made her think he was more than meets the eye.

Suddenly, the boy held out a necklace to Allen. The pendant was enclosed in his tiny fist. "Thanks." his voice was weak and sounded rough from sickness.

"Eeez, that's your treasure! Wait, wait, I have something to give him instead." the glasses man rustled through his pant's pocket.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Allen shook his head. His expression was still as bright as ever.

The train started to roll once again and the man finally pulled something from his pocket. It was a rectangular pack. He threw it to the albino with a shout. "Here!" Allen gazed at the gift and she recognized it as the cards that the man played with and that was in Alya's video. "Please let us off with that okay!?"

The man's voice became distant until Allen was forced to pull his body back in the window and return to his seat. A pleasant smile still on his face. The video clicked off and Tim closed his mouth before flying and landing on Chat's head. Ladybug chuckled at the sight. The cat was looking upward while trying not to disturb the kwami on his head. His eyes were full of childlike wonder and awe. It was a very pure expression that she hadn't seen on him before. Her traitorous heart fluttered like a butterfly and she brushed it off as the wind once more. Besides, it wasn't like she was feeling…things other than friendship for her partner. No that was just a ludicrous thought.

"I guess he's taken a liking to you." she giggled.

The cat looked her way and dramatically raised what she assumed to be his eyebrows, but due to the mask, the only thing that moved was his mask. "Of course! I am the cat's meow!" his pun had her rolling her eyes in exasperation.

"Of course you are Kitty, now let's get this interrogation done. It's getting late and I don't want you to be late to any important appointments in the morning." she semi-teased. She didn't know what he did. She wouldn't want this to affect his civilian life too much.

Speaking of…I wonder if he is a student like me. We don't know each other's ages and he could be way older than me. Was it wrong to ask for his age? There are millions of other people in Paris. There's bound to be other men who have the same age as him. Asking for his age wouldn't reveal her or his identity. NO! you shouldn't be wondering any of this at all! Get it together! But the desire to know was starting to chip away at her perfectly built walls. No! remember real heroes think with their head!

The duo proceeded to leap from their posts onto the concrete sidewalk in front of the establishment. She looked a moment to examine it's exterior and smiled at the name. Its colors and name made it obvious that it was a tribute to Chat Noir. Maybe he secretly comes here on weekends to bask in the glory? She played with the idea of his civilian self-hanging out with friends in the place, secretly basking in the glory of it being named in his honor. Or maybe he walks pass it with a smirk while going to school. Again, she toyed with the idea.

Ladybug decided to turn her attention to her partner and she saw him looking at the name with a blissfully surprised expression. Guess, he didn't know it existed. Again, his innocent expression made something inside her turn. Irritated at the feeling, she huffed. Her breath came out in a misty white cloud before fading away.

It's getting cold. She didn't do cold so well. It made her groggy and tired. As well as slow. And now would not be the best time for her to not be at the top of her game. With new powerful people running amuck with powers that even her kwami could not fathom and with no idea if they were on their side or not, it was like a bad time to be slowed down.

"Well, shall we?" Chat purred next to her.

The heroine gave the cat hero a swift nod. Together, they entered the establishment. It looked exactly how it had been in the video. Except for this time it was a bit busier. Odd for a weeknight. Once they had entered, a hush fell over the crowd. All eyes locked on them. Each wondering what the superheroes of Paris were doing in a place like this. They awkwardly grinned and waved before walking towards the bartender. The very same one from the video. The bartender was a middle-aged man with a fluffy mustache. His hair was as inky black as the counter he was currently wiping down. He kept his wise eyes trained on them yet seemed semi-uninterested in what they were there for.

"Excuse me, We would like to ask you some questions?" she asked politely.

"What would ye like to know, Mademoiselle Ladybug?" his voice was rough but polite and professional.

She preferred if there weren't so many people watching their transaction, but she wanted this over with an done. She did have a test to study for back home. "Can you tell us about the man you saw here yesterday?"

"White hair, red tattoo, was in the news recently?" Chat specified for her.

As expected, he gave a nod. "Yea, I saw that boy here. Ain't nothing I've ever seen before. Is that trend for kids nowadays?"

She chuckled a bit at his question. "Can you tell us anything unusual that he did or that maybe happened?"

"Besides, being a complete devil at cards," Chat added with a smirk.

The man stopped wiping the counter and hummed in question. His intelligent eyes gazed up and away as if he was lost in thought. It took a minute or two before his face brightened and he returned his gaze to them. "I do believe I saw him wandering about when I went to take the trash out. Poor lad seemed lost."

Lost…That helps…not. "Is that all?" she asked.

He hummed again. "I think I saw him head towards that one bakery around…21:00(9:00). I assume he went there because an hour later, I saw him walk past the back with a bag with the bakery's logo on it. Couldn't tell ya where he went after that because some punks decided to start a ruckus in here."

"What bakery was this?" Chat questioned.

"The…eh…Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie? I think."

"I see." She eyed her partner and gave the man a swift nod along with a polite smile. "Thank you for your time."

He gave a good-natured chuckle. "I hope you find your friends."

The cat next to her made a face before shaking his head. "Friend is a term that we would use…loosely with them." Ladybug agreed to that. The man eyed them before shrugging his shoulders. The man continued to clean his counter as they made an exit.

Once outside the shop, Ladybug turned to her partner. "Well, that yielded little results. All we know is that he went to a bakery."

"Not just any bakery! The best bakery in Paris! Or…" he sounded a bit sheepish. "…so I've heard. Anyway! Don't worry! We'll get them soon, Bugaboo." she rolled her eyes at the nickname yet made to move to tell him off for it.

"I hope so." A half-lie. She did want to find them soon, but she needed to figure out the kwami in her possession first. If she could either find a way for it to delete or lock those recordings of her and Tikki then she would actively go forward in using Tim or "Timcanpy" to lead them to the supers. That or figure out their location without Tim's help. It would take a lot of detective work. Nothing she wasn't familiar with. How else could she deduce what was an Akumatized object and what was not? Of course, this wasn't going to be easy.

"Hey, did your Kwami tell you anything strange regarding the supers?"

He gave her a puzzled expression before shaking his head. "No, Plagg is very unreliable when it comes to giving information."

"Oh, well mine told me that she had recognized their power."

"So she knows what it is?"

"Not exactly, she said it's like a miraculous. Like something she should know, but she has no clue what it could be. But she also told me something far more worrisome."

"What?"

"That it was more powerful than her."

There was a loud sigh as Adrien crashed into his bed. He felt another craving for something sweet. He was reminded of the hot chocolate that he had enjoyed at Marinette's house. He smiled at the memory. The hot chocolate made up for the strange disappearance of his and everyone's foods that day. He thought that it was an Akuma but one transformation later proved that it was in fact not one. Still, the event had him scratching his head.

A yawn ripped from his throat. The shoot had started late since Vincent's Rival-not-rival had taken the spot before them. The incident had him wandering back to that woman. She looked so familiar. Where did I see her? He couldn't for his life place where he saw her. Another yawn broke passed his lips.

"Kid, maybe you should hit the hay. You look like you're dead." he heard Plagg offer. "You had a rough day."

That comment made him think of the beginning of his day. It started with his father acting strange and weird. He was more on edge and agitated. So much so that when engaged, him and Adrien got into an argument. It turned his morning sour. Then he lost his food at lunch. Slept through Physics, his favorite subject because of last night late patrol. One that he had to do by himself since Ladybug hadn't shown up. Then his schedule is set back because of Silvia and her antics. It didn't help that he was still tired from the night before yesterday. They spent the night combing through Paris for the new supers. Then tonight, they had patrolled once more and questioned the bartender at "The Cat's Pub". That didn't leave enough sleep for him to function off of. Now it was late and he was starting to feel the exhaustion seep into his bones. It was chaining him down to his bed. Not that he was complaining. Sleep seemed like a blessing right about now.

"I guess you're right." he murmured and turned his body sideways. Burying himself in the sheets.

"I'm always right." Adrien gave a hum. There was a silence in the air and the model saw his world going dark.

"Sweet dreams kiddo."

.

.

.

In the darkness, a light shone through. It grew and grew before engulfing everything. The brightness forced him to cover his eyes. When it faded, he found himself in the middle of a street in Paris. The sky was blood red with gray clouds floating about. There was large black crescent moon hanging up there. His eyes wandered to the buildings around him. He saw wreckage for miles.

"What happened?"

Piles of suspicious dust littered the street like spilled pepper. Smoke curled through the air, raising from all over. It was eerily quiet. What had occurred here? Where was Ladybug? He gazed down at his hands and found that he was not transformed. His ring sat comfortably on his hand yet it felt lifeless and dull. Where was Plagg?

"A-Adrien?" he heard a stranded voice cry out. The sound made him turn so fast that he should've received whiplash. He saw, to his right, a girl buried in the wreckage. A dark pool was around her. It was hard to tell in the black light of the moon. But he recognized the girl immediately.

"Marinette!" he ran towards her side.

She coughed and more dark liquid ran from her mouth. "It…hurts." she moaned. He instantly knew what she was referring to. The boy didn't hesitate to get up and start pulling bits and pieces off of her. It was hard not to do with without the use of the miraculous but that didn't stop him. Soon it got to the point where he could safely pull her out. He cradled the broken girl in his arms. Her breathing was labored.

"Hot…it's…I feel…burning." she let out a string of coughs as she tried to continue her broken sentence. The boy softly shushed her and ran his hand through her velvet bangs.

"Save your strength. Let's get you somewhere safe." he wrapped his arm under her legs and picked them both up off the ground. She groaned and moaned in his arms and he started on his way, trying to find a hospital or any place to patch her up. When he was about to round a corner, he heard mechanical turning. His head turned to the source. There was rubble that was moving on its own. It was too big for one human to move by themselves.

It seemed that Marinette had heard the sound too because she gripped his shirt and tugged weakly on it. Her voice was now a low whisper of pleas not to stop moving. To not investigate the sound. To just run away. But why?

"D-Don't…it's…An…Ah…"

The rubble broke open and out came a monstrous balloon. It had large cylinders on it's body and a face that looked like it was screaming in agony. It pointed the cylinders towards him and the ends glowed. That's when he realized what they were. Cannons!? The trigger was hit and Adrien ran off. His feet hitting the broken up and cracked concrete road. An explosion rippled behind him. He did not waste time by looking back at the destruction it caused. He ran and ran for what seemed like hours. Everything seemed to loop. It was making him frustrated beyond belief. The monster was still behind him. Blowing a few shots every chance it got. Luckily, he managed to avoid them all. Or so he thought.

A sound cut through the air and his instincts screamed to get down. To crouch or duck. So he did. However, he stumbled and that cost him dearly. He fully expected to have his head blown clean off by a cannonball but instead, he received a scream from his companion. In a panic, he looked her way and saw that her leg had gotten nicked by the shot. There was a half hemisphere shaped hole at the top of her lower right leg. Blood was running from it. He swore, how could he be so clumsy. To his ultimate surprise, stars began to creep from the wound site. Big black stars. That crawled around, down, and up her leg. His eyes flickered to hers and he saw the fear and agony in them. They were bubbling with tears.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine!" he cried. The statement was more for him that it was for her.

She shook her head and tears rolled down the sides of her face. "It's….late…too late."

"No! Don't say that!"

Stars reached her face and began covering it. He saw her eyes open for one last time and her mouth move. At this moment, the beast shot through the air and the sound made his ears ring. He winced but focused on the dying- NO! I refuse to let her die here! Her mouth formed words that he could not hear. But they looked familiar. A sight he had seen before but did not know from where.

An image of his mother mouthing the same words appeared in his mind and he choked. The girl in his arms stilled and her skin turned an ash gray. And she crumbled in his arms. Like sand. Her words still running through his mind.

"I Love You."

A sob broke through his throat. Why did it have to be her!? He would've gladly taken her place. He cursed everything under the sun. He curse the moon for still hanging in the sky. The clouds for still floating around the moon. The wind that still blew gently. And, most of all, he curse God for taking her away too soon. Before he had a chance to reply. Before he could say…He choked up another cry of anguish. He would give anything to bring her back…

"Do you wish for your love to be revived?" his eyes snapped upward. In front of him was a round figure with sickly gray skin. He wore a large coat and top hat. The hat was decorated with thorns and blue roses. Ones that reminded him of Marinette's eyes. The clown-like man had an enormous grin. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of pince-nez spectacles.

His throat was blubbery as he spoke out. "What?"

"Do you wish to bring her back, my boy?" his grin remained fixed.

Bring…her back?

"Why you can. With this-" the clown waved his large hand and a black skeleton popped from the ground. It was strange. The skull had no sockets and it's teeth were razor sharp. Its arms were long and slender, save for the double-sided disks that were at the end of each. They were hanging from it's arms. The only thing connecting them was a black wire. The disk's edges were sharp like a knife. Deadly if used the right way. Her legs were the same as her arms yet they had no feet. Just pointed needles. It was strange. "-Magical body I created. Just slip a soul in and it shall walk among the living once more. You can get your darling Marinette back from that awful God."

Desperation filled his core. Could he really? Was it that simple? Could he…with?

"Just scream out your dearly beloved's name to the heavens. Her soul will be called back down." the being instructed. A spark of determination swelled in him. He would do it. For her! He opened his mouth and sucked in as much breath as he could find. "Remember, to do it as loud as possible. You want her to hear you right?"

Yes, he did! He wanted her to hear. To come back. He needed her to come back. This was the only way. A voice whispered no in his head. But he pushed it aside. With a loud voice that was peppered with desperation, Adrien screamed out to the heavens her name.

"MARINETTE!" thunder roared and purple lighting crackled down from the sky. It hit the skeleton's skull head on. Her name was written on the forehead in beautiful cursive. A star opened up above it and the body started to move.

"A-Adrien?" he heard her voice sound from the machine. He was flooded with relief. Tears ran down his cheeks like waterfalls. He had done it! She was back. His friend! Oh, happy day! "You…you…"

"Marinette!" he held his arms out, reach to embrace her.

"You…How...DARE YOU!?" the anger that twisted out of her was unexpected. What was wrong? What had he done? "How could you!? Do you realize what you've done!?"

"Ma-Marinette?" he whimpered. Why was she so angry? He brought her back. Wouldn't' she be happy to be back? To be alive? To see him?

The clown grabbed him by the shoulders and kept him in place. He tried to move but there was no use. He was too weak. The clown laughed. His laughter was sinister and sent chills up and down his spine. "You belong to me now, Marinette! Kill this boy now! That's an order!"

The skeleton moved off its frame and came towards him. Panic engulfed him. Kill? Kill?! KILL!? He struggled some more as the thing brought it's arm up and whipped it behind her. She cried out with so much hatred in her voice. "I HATE YOU, ADRIEN AGRESTE!" she whipped it towards him. A scream tore from his throat as the disk spun at him.

Adrien flew up from his bed. His body was drenched in sweat and his eyes were watery. His mouth opens in a silent scream. His breathing was haggard. He looked like he either ran a marathon or ran for his life. He saw the blanket of his bed covering his lap and he visibly relaxed. It was just a dream. A dream…that…just a dream. A horrible dream at that. It was vivid and terrifying.

"I HATE YOU, ADRIEN AGRESTE!"

The cry gave him shivers. He looked around and saw that his room was still relatively empty. His eyes wandered to the window and he saw the moonlight pour into his room. However, the thing that made his heart jump was the shape of the moon itself. It was crescent-shaped. Exactly the same as it was in his dream.

It was safe to say that Adrien did not go back to sleep that night.

Soo…at first, I was planning on having Marinette experience the dream, but I was like "Hey…why not make Adrien suffer instead?" So yeah…poor sunshine child.

Ciao-su~!