Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ladybug always thought of Chat Noir as a pretty easy-going guy. He never really was phased by anything, and nothing ever got to him accept a blow to his ego. He was a little reckless sometimes, and his puns did bother her, but hey, he was her partner. He still cared about Paris as much as she did, and was always right by her side. Often he would be there to comfort her when she felt down, give her confidence, and take hits for her (which she didn’t like, but Chat insists is only necessary for her to be able to purify the akuma). He was a steadfast anchor for her to hang onto, no matter the puns.

So when she heard quiet sobs and a lot of things being hit on her way to nightly patrol, she thought it was an akuma.

Ladybug snuck behind the giant chimney on top of the roof the supposed akuma was on. She pulled out her yoyo and was about to text her partner until she heard the akuma speak.

“I hate him! Why can’t I be like everybody else! It’s not fair!” Ladybug suddenly froze in recognition of the voice. That was no akuma. That was Chat Noir. What happened?

She came out from behind the chimney. “Chat? What’s wrong?” She asked in a concerned tone, startling him.

“L-Ladybug? Oh, hi, um...H-How much did you hear?” Chat Noir cautiously spoke, body rigid.

“Enough to know that something’s made you upset. Why are you crying?”

“Oh, heh, it—it’s not that bad. Just a little family drama, you know,” Chat said, scratching his neck. He tried to smile but it came out more like a grimace.

“Kitty, look at yourself. It’s easy to tell that it’s a lot more than ‘not that bad’,” Ladybug said in a soft tone. She had never seen this side of him. She just kind of assumed that nothing in his life would make him feel this way, although now, in this moment, she could never be more wrong. “Come, sit next to me. Tell me what happened.” She sat down on the edge of the roof and patted the spot next to her. Chat came over and sat down.

He took a few moments before finally opening his mouth again. “It’s just—my father. He...He found out that I’ve been sneaking out at night to go to patrol.” Chat wiped his eyes with the back of his gloved hand. “I had to lie and tell him it was to see my friends, and he got really mad. I’ve been homeschooled all my life, and when I ran away to go to school, I got in major trouble but he eventually let me enroll anyway. I was ecstatic because I’ve been locked away all my life, with no friends except for one my father thought would promote better connections for himself. He reprimanded me and told me that he already let me see my friends in school everyday, and—and...”

“And then? What happened? It’s okay,” Ladybug comforted him. She had no idea his life was like this. He just seemed so...happy all the time.

He took a deep breath, then spoke. “He said that I’m a disgrace to our family and that he’s pulling me out of school.” Chat’s voice was raw and full of sadness and anger. “That I should be grateful for all that he’s done for me, and, giving me no chance to argue or at least say something, sent me back up to room. That’s when I transformed and came here. It was too lonely all by myself.” There were a few seconds of silence before he suddenly spat out, “He’s kept me locked up in our home, thinking that’s the best for me because I don’t get to choose. He decides my after-school activites, my hobbies, and even who I should be! And he never cares about what I have to say. To him, I’m like some—some—puppet he’s just pulling the strings with!” Chat Noir was breathing heavily, eyes starting to fill with tears again. As Ladybug was starting to understand the full extent of his words, she realized why Chat was so outgoing and a little reckless at times while using the ring. Being Chat Noir was also an escape for him, an open window where he could go out and be himself without being repressed at home. She felt angry and sad for him after hearing him pour out his story. He didn’t deserve the life he had now. And to think that she had thought his life was happy and full of fun. She’d spent her time confiding in Chat Noir, and never noticed that he needed the same too. Someone who could understand him, and listen to him. But maybe she could fix that.

“Chat. Look me in the eyes,” Ladybug said, grabbing his shoulders and turning him towards her. He looked up, emerald-green eyes full of sorrow. She let her thoughts come tumbling out.

“You are not a puppet. You are not a disgrace. And, most importantly, you are not alone. You are who you say are. No matter what everybody else says, especially your father, you are you. You’re the brave, caring, outgoing, pun-loving Chat Noir, and my partner. I couldn’t ask for anyone better, because you are one of the best people I know,” Ladybug said, smiling. Chat Noir seemed a little shocked at her words. He blinked, like he didn’t believe she actually thought of him so highly. “In fact, if something happened to my silly kitty and he couldn’t be Chat Noir anymore, I’d follow suit.”

“You really think so? Like, you aren’t just lying about all this to make me feel better?” He asked, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Of course not! I’m telling you the absolute truth. And even though I can’t be there the whole time to help you through this, just know that I’ll at least be here, every patrol. If anything happens, let me know. I’ll always listen to what you have to say, even if your father doesn’t.”

Chat Noir’s face lit up with a giant smile. Ladybug pulled him in for a hug, and he squeezed back and buried his face into her shoulder. She felt Chat’s muscles relax, and his breathing slow.

“Thank you, Ladybug. Thank you so much,” Chat murmured into her shoulder.

“No need to thank me. I don’t mind your company at all.”

They stayed like that for a while, arms around each other and squeezing. Both had smiles on their faces, eyes closed, relishing the presence of each other. It was just her and her kitty, and she wouldn’t be content with anyone else. They probably would never have left each others’ arms if they didn’t have patrol to do.

Too soon, they broke apart. They still had to fulfill their duties as superheroes. Chat stood up, an amused glint in his eyes, any traces of the miserable, sobbing Chat gone.

“Ready for patrol, m’lady? First one to the Eiffel Tower wins!” And with that, they took off and disappeared into the starry night, laughter echoing through the air.

Chapter Text

Marinette woke up with a yawn, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. She wasn’t able to sleep that well last night because there were so many thoughts about Chat Noir plaguing her mind. She was really worried about him, and hoped that he would be okay. She reached her arm out to check her phone and saw that it was 6:15 a.m. Oh well, she might as well get up early for once.

She sat up and climbed down her ladder to get ready for the day. Tikki was still asleep, so she tried to do it as quietly as possible. Of course, being the clumsy Marinette that she is, she managed to knock over her mannequin and wake Tikki up anyway. The kwami flew over to Marinette’s side and sat down on the table in front of her.

“Wow, you woke up early for once! Alya will be impressed!” Tikki praised her.

“I don’t know. I’m just so worried for Chat Noir,” Marinette said while tying her hair into her normal pigtails. “What if he gets akumatized? And he reminds me of Adrien. His father is really strict and overbearing, too.”

“Don’t think about it too much, Marinette! No matter what happens, I’m sure Chat will figure it out. Anyway, he has you if he ever needs someone to talk to.”

At that, Marinette smiled. “Yeah. Well, I should go eat breakfast now. Hide, Tikki.” Marinette went down the two flights of stairs to go greet her parents and eat breakfast.

“Morning, Mom. Morning, Dad,” Marinette waved at her parents.

“Good morning, Marinette. Up so early?” Her mom asked.

“Wow, I’d almost think my daughter was akumatized!” Her dad commented, pointing a wooden spoon at her like a sword. “Begone, evil villain!”

Marinette giggled. “No akuma here today. Hopefully Ladybug and Chat Noir can take a break from supervillains for a little while.”

After she had eaten breakfast and grabbed her bag, she walked the short distance to school and into Mme. Bustier’s classroom.

“Hi, Alya!” She waved to her best friend and sat down next to her.

“Marinette! You’re early!” Alya looked at her with wide eyes.

“Hey, I can be early if I try hard enough.”

“No offense girl, but you should try harder more often then.”

“Maybe, yeah,” Marinette replied. She was about to say something else when she was interrupted by a loud wail from Chloe.

“Oh my gosh! Adrikins!” She gasped, holding her phone out in front of her.

“What is it, Chloe?” Sabrina asked her.

“His father pulled him out of school because he found out that my Adrikins was sneaking out!” Chloe cried. She started to dramatically sob and covered her face with her hands. While Sabrina tried to comfort her, Marinette turned back to Alya.

“His father isn’t letting him go to school anymore?!” Marinette asked, panicked.

“And for sneaking out? That doesn’t seem like Adrien at all. He’s too scared of his father,” Nino added in from the seat in front of them.

Alya nodded. “I know. Why would he do that?”

“Whatever reason why, I’m sure it’s a good one. Adrien wouldn’t go and run off just for fun,” Marinette confidently stated. The whole thing was setting alarms off in her head. Something felt off. Where had he been going, anyways? And with the knowledge that his father would most likely be angry with him if he was caught? Maybe he ran off to go visit one of his friends—

Oh. Oh. Oh no. Right as that thought appeared, it hit her. She realized where he might have been going. The exact same thing had happened to Chat Noir last night. Was Adrien Chat Noir?!

Later that night, Adrien sighed as he flipped to the next page in his history textbook. He had as much fun with Ladybug as he could before going home, and facing the inevitable.

No more school. No more friends. No more going out. No more of the free life that he used to have. All good things must come to an end, after all. He just had hoped that it didn’t apply to him. With no school, his father scheduled more photoshoots for him, which meant that he couldn’t even have a little more freetime. He still could text and call his classmates, but it wasn’t the same. And it probably never will be. Chloe had bombarded him with texts earlier in the morning as to why he wasn’t there, and decided that if he told Chloe, she would surely tell everybody else, letting them know what had happened to him, too.

He held his head in his hands as he studied. Plagg was next to him eating cheese, as always.

“I don’t get it. Most kids would take the chance to never go to school again without a second thought,” Plagg piped up. “You should be happy! And, if you were like me, you would be able to spend more time with some beloved Camembert! Want a bite?”

“No thanks, Plagg. Unlike you, I enjoy other things than stinky cheese. Like having friends and going out,” Adrien replied, sighing again.

“Then why don’t we go out right now? Transform and go visit your precious lady love.”

“I would, but if Father or Nathalie walked in and saw that I’m gone, I’d be in a bigger hole than I am now.”

“Whatever floats your boat, kid. Just saying.”

They worked in silence for the next hour, Adrien on his studies and Plagg on his cheese. Nathalie checked in every once in a while to make sure he wasn’t gone.

If his father barely trusted him before, there was no way there was any trust left anymore.

Adrien thought back on his life before receiving the Cat Miraculous and going to school. It had been torture to sit inside the cold and empty mansion while he longed for his mother, and his father grew more and more distant. He remembered being able to only watch as his father took down the old family portrait in the main hall. That one showed his mother carrying him as a toddler and hugging his father, everybody smiling and happy. Then he retreated back to his room when he saw a drab, empty portrait with only Adrien and his father get hung up in its place. He remembered crying at night, wishing he had someone to talk to, anyone. To ease through the pain of losing the only two people who had loved him at the time: His mother physically, and his father emotionally.

Adrien dreaded going back to that life: The one where he was alone and locked up, only going outside to model. At least he had Plagg with him. And when there was an akuma attack he could go out too, although he felt a little guilty thinking of it as an escape. He would have to avoid patrol for a while though; hopefully his lady would understand. She was willing to listen and understand last night, which he appreciated a lot.

He sat there for a while until someone knocked at the door.

“Adrien?” It was his father. “I need to talk to you about something.”

Adrien got up and opened the door. He looked up and met his father’s emotionless gaze.

“What is it, Father?” He asked, his voice void of emotion as well. It probably was more punishment, like always.

“It’s...about our family. Come, follow me. I need to show you something.” With those words, he turned around and briskly walked to the stairs. Adrien followed suit, questions filling his mind. He knew better than to say them out loud, though.

Nathalie watched with a careful eye as Mr. Agreste led his son into his office. She knew what was happening, and silently hoped that Adrien would be able to stop it.

He was Chat Noir, after all.

Chapter Text

Ladybug sat on the same rooftop where she had found Chat Noir the last night. She already had called and texted him, hoping he would answer, but it was to no avail. She wasn’t surprised, though. Chat was probably going to play it safe for a few days before coming back to patrol. Who knows what would happen if he was caught going out again .

She decided to relax and sit down to enjoy the quiet night before starting patrol by herself. There was a lot to think about, after all. Like Adrien being Chat Noir. She had taken it in already, but it still seemed so surreal to her. Like she could watch Adrien transform and still not fully believe it. She guessed that that’s probably what happens when you figure out a secret someone’s been keeping for years. But aside from that, she had been so blind. They looked so alike, everything matching up besides the hairstyle. Tikki had assured her that the magic of the Miraculous made everyone to turn a blind eye towards the identities of Miraculous holders, so maybe she hadn’t been as oblivious as she’d thought at first. But still. It was the same guy of whom she’d spent hours adoring his face in the pictures on her wall, computer, and phone. And in real life, too. She’d been so caught up with her giant crush on Adrien that she never even gave Chat Noir a second glance.

Thinking about it, she realized a second thing that night: Did she love Chat Noir as much as she did Adrien?

Her mind’s automatic response was, “Yes! Of course you do! It’s still Adrien, after all.” But now, she knew better than that. She didn’t want to accept it, but ever since day one when Adrien had apologized to Marinette for falsely accusing him, she had been putting him on a pedestal. A really high one. She thought that he was amazing, and flawless, and, well, perfect. That he could do no wrong, and easily replace her as Ladybug. Thinking about it though, it wasn’t exactly very healthy for her emotionally. It made her even more scared of the thought of confessing her love to him, because the image of Adrien she had in her mind was way out of her league. That image was way out of anyone’s league.

But digging deeper, as she got to know him better, she started seeing a different Adrien. One that would smile brighter and laugh harder when he was truly happy. One that would make a not-so-subtle pun. One that would make finger guns at Nino when leaving. Every time it happened, you would always see Adrien visibly perking up and a glint in his eyes that wasn’t there before. But it never lasted long. Every time he realized what he was doing, he would suddenly stop and put back up that facade of the perfect Adrien the public put him up to be. He’d wear that model smile he always gave for the cameras again, and it would look like nothing changed. It pained her that Adrien’s life consisted of so much hiding. Hiding his secret identity, hiding from his father, and hiding anything else Paris didn’t think was perfect. And because of her crush, she was never there to support him before.

But as Chat Noir, Adrien could show all those parts he was hiding. He could make puns, flirt, act like he owned the world, and basically do whatever he wanted and nobody would care. If the personality that sometimes peeked out as a civilian was the outer layer of Chat Noir, then Ladybug was happy. Because if that was who he was underneath, she’d much rather get to know and love that part of him. At the time, she hated to acknowledge it but she sometimes found her partner’s puns funny. During battle, his flirting made her heart skip a beat a few times, but she always blamed it on adrenaline from fighting akumas. She had started to form a crush on Chat Noir, too. She just never wanted to accept it because she didn’t want to be unfaithful to Adrien, who just happened to be the same person.

So if that was the truth, it meant that she really did love all sides of Adrien. She loved both the kindness and the puns, the selflessness and that smug aura he always gave off as Chat Noir. And she’ll be there for him no matter what. She couldn’t come visit and risk getting caught yet, but maybe sometime in the future she can finally pour her heart out to him. Because she wasn’t scared anymore. She knew Adrien would always be by her side, and he’ll learn that she will be, too.

Adrien followed his father into his office, confusion etched on his face. What family secrets would they have in the office? Maybe that was why he was rarely allowed to go in there. His father was hiding something and just wasn’t ready to show him yet.

They walked to the end up of the black and white room, and stopped in front of the painting of Adrien’s mother.

“Adrien, I have been meaning to tell you this for some time, but I have held it off until now. With that school out of the way, you’ll perhaps be a little more compliant,” his father said, drawing out the last word. Gabriel’s little comment about school and his compliance made anger flare up in Adrien’s chest, but he calmed himself down as he knew it wouldn’t go well if he talked back. He was too curious to find out what the little piece of information his father had been hiding was.

Gabriel motioned for his son to stand next to him, then turned around and placed his fingers on some of the golden triangles on the painting. They caved in, and suddenly they were moving downwards. The mansion had a secret undergound basment? What for? What was so important that Adrien’s father had to hide it so heavily?

The elevator went underneath the floor to reveal a vast basement. The ground was covered in grass, and there was a bridge that led to the center of attention: a high-tech looking incubator that could hold a person. Adrien marveled at it all, shocked that this had been underneath him the whole time.

“What is this place, Father?” Adrien asked, looking up at him. The elevator had finally reached the ground and they both stepped out.

“That’s what I’m about to show you,” Gabriel replied, and walked over to the bridge and across, Adrien on his heels. They stopped at the coffin-like incubator.

“You see, your mother hasn’t exactly been ‘missing’,” Gabriel stated, hands behind his back.

“I’m sorry, what?” Adrien asked, bewildered. His father didn’t answer, and instead went and pressed a button on the tube in front of them, causing it to reveal what was inside.

It was his mother.

Adrien gaped at the seemingly peaceful body of Emilie Agreste, not able to comprehend what he was seeing. Out of all these months that she had been missing, his mother was  here?! And possibly still alive?

“Your mother fell into a coma after using the damaged Miraculous of the peacock too many times. I was devastated at first, not knowing what to do, until I found a book that had given me a solution. It also happened to be the same book that you stole,” his father said. Adrien winced, but luckily Gabriel continued.

“It said that if you combined the Ladybug Miraculous of creation, and the Cat Miraculous of destruction, you would be granted any wish. And once I get my hands on them, I shall wish back your mother, so we can be a family once again.” Adrien stared at him, frozen, everything in his body screaming that something was wrong . His plans somehow reminded him of someone else’s.

Wait. Was he...?

“But I couldn’t do it myself. So I used the Moth Miraculous that I had found a while back and...” Gabriel trailed off. He then suddenly spoke again. “Nooroo, dark wings rise!”

Adrien watched, horrified, as Gabriel Agreste, his father, tranformed into Hawkmoth.

“I became Hawkmoth,” he finished.

Adrien stood still, looking between the sleeping body of his mother and Hawkmoth, otherwise known as his father. He heard Plagg give a quiet growl inside his blazer.

His mind couldn’t wrap around all this new information. He was overwhelmed, his breath catching. All this time, his father was the same person who had wreaked havoc across Paris, and made innocent civilians cause harm others.

“I know this is a lot to take in, but you can help. Join me, and we shall gain the Miraculous together, and reunite our family. Don’t you want to see your mother alive and well again?” Gabriel held out his hand, giving him a smile. Although Adrien hadn’t seen him smile for months, this just made it worse. He was okay with harming others and using them to get what he wanted?

Adrien took a step back, then another. He started to hyperventilate, making him dizzy. His head was reeling, his vision blurring around the edges. No. No. No no no no no.

Doing the only thing he could think of at the moment, he ran.

Chapter Text

Nathalie Sancoeur was never one to lose control of her emotions. Being the secretary of possibly the world’s most intimidating fashion designer and an exceedingly strict father, she needed to know how to keep her face straight and her emotions in control. Otherwise, she could be reprimanded, or at the worst, fired.

But she wasn’t a robot. She was bound to break someday. And apparently, that “someday” was today.

It was just a few days before Adrien was caught sneaking out and pulled out of school. She’d been making her way to Adrien’s room at around eight at night to update him on a change in his schedule, when she heard an unfamiliar voice in the room with him.

At first, she had just thought that Adrien was on the phone with one of his friends from school, so she turned around and decided to tell him later. But right as she started walking, she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard Adrien say something to his “friend” that caught her off-guard.

“Hey Plagg, time for patrol. I don’t want to be late and worry Ladybug again.”

She figured that this conversation was most likely confidential. She respected everybody’s privacy, and usually left them alone when she found herself in a similar situation, but something about it made it extremely hard to resist. Curiosity won over her and Nathalie walked to his door and ever so slowly, opened it marginally, allowing a thin line of sight for her to see what was happening. She watched with wide eyes as a small, black figure flew up into view.

Was that a kwami?!

“Uggghhhh. Why can’t I finish my cheese first?” The kwami complained.

“You know it’s our duty. Ladybug would be disappointed,” Adrien replied. Realization slowly dawned on her as she started to comprehend what was happening, stifling a gasp as it clicked in to place.

“Plagg, claws out!” A flash of green light surrounded Adrien, confirming her thoughts. Nathalie watched, shocked, as he transformed into the black-leather clad superhero otherwise known as Chat Noir. He then leapt out of the window, staff extended, into the night.

She stood there for a few seconds, dumbfounded, before shaking herself out of her trance and walking quickly to her office. She had to remain professional, at least when people could see her. So she entered her office instead, not very subtly closing the door behind her. She could only hope that no one would come knocking. She sat down at her desk and buried her hands in hair.

Adrien was Chat Noir.

She guessed that she should have expected it, though. The two looked extremely similar, and sounded the same, too. She was surprised she didn’t make the connection herself, just by looking at their faces. Additionally, she’d known him ever since he was a baby. He had a heart of gold and loved jokes, especially puns. Adrien made an excessive amount of those as Chat Noir. It also explained how much Ladybug merchandise Adrien had requested to order the past year or so. The boy had a giant crush on Ladybug, and it was very obvious, from his flirting to the lovestruck smiles he gave her whenever she wasn’t looking. Sadly, it was also obvious that Ladybug didn’t feel the same way.

But aside from that, Adrien being Chat Noir wasn’t the thing that was bothering her. The thing that was bothering her was that his own father was Hawkmoth. How would Gabriel react if he knew that he had come this close to killing the only remaining member of his family? How would Adrien react? She wasn’t sure, but she knew it wouldn’t be good. One thing she was did know however, was that it would tear their relationship apart even more than it already was. The dark irony of the whole situation was almost comical. Paris’s supervillain, and one of Paris’s superheroes, were living under the same roof without even knowing it. Though that might have been because of how much Adrien’s father neglects him. No matter how much time he spent with Ladybug, her luck just didn’t rub off on him.

Then her head shot up as she remembered something else, as well. She was Mayura. She had aided Hawkmoth in his sick ways to steal the Miraculous from two teenagers, one of whom turned out to be Adrien. She had joined in his twisted games, too blinded by her love for him to decline.

Thinking back, it came to her that her love for him ended up controlling a lot of things in her life. When she and Emilie used to be friends, and Emilie had ended up with Gabriel instead of her? She couldn’t stop herself from being jealous and heartbroken. It caused them to drift apart, and they eventually lost their friendship. When Emilie reached out to Nathalie to be their assistant? She couldn’t help but to accept, because she just wanted to see her old friend again and her love. When Gabriel had asked her to be Mayura? She blindly agreed, just because she was so smitten by his unwavering devotion to his wife. She was chasing someone who was still desperately clinging to a tiny hope that he would get his wife back. This depressing fact had only reeled her in at the time, too easily taking the bait. Furthermore, she was desperately holding on, as well. She was hoping that someone who still didn’t know how to move on from his wife, of whom was now in a presumably vegetative state, would eventually love her back. She did miss Emilie dearly, but if Gabriel kept going like this, he was going to go insane. And so far, it looked like he was.

But back to the topic of her being Mayura, she she realized that they could have been the cause of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s deaths several times. Guilt washed over and squeezed her chest. Deep down, she cared for Adrien and would be heartbroken if she learned that he had died. Who was she, helping put two teenagers , and the rest of Paris, in danger just because she thought it would be a good way to get Gabriel to love her back? Terrible, that’s what she was.

For the next few days, she avoided Adrien as much as she could. For the first time in all her years working for the Agrestes, she let her emotions get to her. So she just simply walked away when they did. Nathalie formed a plan to leave a letter with the Peacock Miraculous for Adrien, so he could take it back to Ladybug. She just needed a few days to work out her internal conflict and be able to act calm and contained around Adrien first.

Hour by hour passed and she just couldn’t seem to do it. She was uncharacteristically terrified of the outcome. What if Adrien hated her afterwards? She cared for him too much to take that risk. It seemed like every time she worked up the courage to do it, it would suddenly disappear when she was face-to-face with Adrien. She hated being stuck in this position.

But when she saw Gabriel leading his son to his office, most definitely about to tell him his true identity, that did it for her. Adrien was undoubtedly going to be highly upset, and would most likely take comfort to know that someone was on his side. Normally, she didn’t like to interfere, but at the moment he had no one, not even Ladybug. If she really did care for him, then she would take the risk of going through with her plan.

As discreetly as possible, she grabbed the Peacock Miraculous from behind the painting of Emilie. She then made her way to her office, picked up a pen and paper from her desk, and started writing.

Chapter Text

Adrien sprinted towards the elevator, fiery flames of anger and betrayal fueling him as he pounded the button to go up. Tears were streaming down his face, but he didn’t seem to notice.

His father was Hawkmoth, and that was all he cared about right now.

When he made it up and out the office, he had planned to run out the door and never look back. But right as he was about to push it open, he suddenly bumped into his body guard, who was glaring down at him. So instead, he turned around and flew up the short set of steps and into his room, slamming the door behind him. The sound echoed throughout the whole house and shook a few loose items. He was expecting his father to come and knock at the door at any moment, but he never did. At least he could be left alone.

The image of his mother’s body, and Hawkmoth standing next to her, burned into his mind. He didn’t want to believe it, but it was just so real. Too real. Reality always came to bite Adrien back. No matter what he did, no matter what he thought, his life would always take a turn for the worse. When would he finally get his peaceful ending? Everything was crashing down, and the world was taking Adrien with it. He leaned against the wall and slid down, every inch of his body trembling. He pulled his knees to his chest and sobbed.

He couldn’t believe that his father was the one that forced him and Ladybug to put their lives on the line, just for his own selfish reasons. The public had always thought it wasn’t that serious, but if Hawkmoth did end up succeeding and taking the Miraculous, then there would be no Miraculous Cure to fix everything. And his father knew that perfectly well. But what he didn’t know was that his enemy was his own son. Like they always said, ignorance is bliss. How much Adrien just wanted to go back and forget all of it couldn’t be put into words. Nothing could. But his thoughts continued anyway.

The prospect of being with his mother again of course sounded wonderful to him. For years he had longed to see his mother’s smile again, hear her voice, and feel her hands ruffling his hair. But the only thing that was left of her was the constant ache in his chest, and the distant memories of her. He had always wished for something, anything, that would bring her back to life. But now that it was here, he didn’t want it anymore. When his father had held out his hand and asked him to join him, several questions had went through his mind. Was the sacrifice of innocent civilians worth the exchange? Was the sacrifice of the destruction of Paris worth the exhange? Was the sacrifice of two teenagers who were forced to become superheroes, to carry the weight of Paris on their shoulders worth this one exchange? No matter how much Adrien wanted to see his mother, he knew the answers to those questions.

Plagg flew out from the pocket inside his blazer, expression full of anger and sorrow. He landed on Adrien’s knee, and spoke in a soft tone.

“Kid, I—I don’t know what to say. Your father is horrible, he...” Plagg drifted off, a tear falling from his face. Adrien looked at the kwami through watery eyes and blurry vision.

“It—it’s okay, Pla—agg,” he got out through hiccups.

“No, kid. It’s not okay. Your father neglecting you was bad enough. But now he’s also Hawkmoth? To hell with him. You don’t deserve this at all,” Plagg said, flying closer to his face. He hugged his tear-stained cheek, and Adrien closed his eyes. They sat in silence, numb and empty, until Plagg caught a flash of dark purple in the corner of his eye.

Plagg suddenly jerked up and turned around, causing Adrien to follow his line of sight. When he saw what it was, he fumbled to get up and hurriedly backed away. He wiped his eyes with his sleeve. There was an akuma. And it was after him. His father wasn’t asking for Adrien to join him. He was forcing him. Like he’d always done the last few years.

“W—we need to go. Now,” Adrien said, panicked. His kwami nodded.

“Plagg, claws out!”

Transformed, Chat Noir extended his staff and launched himself out the window. He glanced behind him and saw that the akuma was still chasing him, dark wings flapping firmly despite the strong winds. He knew Ladybug was out on patrol at this time, so he vaulted across their patrol route, hoping to spot the unmistakable red-and-black super hero swinging by somewhere. He used his staff to call her.

“Ladybug. You need to get over here, quick,” Chat said urgently.

“Chat? I thought you were lying low for a while. What is it?”

“An akuma,” he replied gravely. “It’s after me. I’m following our patrol route. Can you head back?”

“What?! Yes, I’m coming now. I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright, thanks.” Chat hung up and quickened his pace. The little butterfly was catching up.

After about a minute or so, the two heroes finally spotted each other from a distance. When they got close enough, Chat Noir stopped to bend over and catch his breath. Unfortunately, that was the time slot the akuma needed. Ladybug looked around for it until she saw, horrified, as it came from behind Chat Noir’s shoulder and morphed into his bell. A purple-outlined mask appeared in front of his eyes.

“Hello, Chat Noir. I am Hawkmoth. But you already know that, Adrien,” Hawkmoth spoke, voice full of menace.

Chat clutched his head and squeezed his eyes tight, trying to block out Hawkmoth’s presence. “No! No! I’ll never join you!”

“Even if it’s for your mother?”

“Shut up!”

Ladybug placed her hands on Chat’s forearms and shook him gently. “Kitty, you can do this. You’re strong, remember? You got this.” Chat tried to control his emotions and focus on Ladybug’s voice. She believed in him. He could do this. For Ladybug.

“Do you know how selfish you’re being?” Hawkmoth spat at him.

“Like I’m the selfish one. You’re the one going around and hurting people!”

“Your mother has the chance to be saved, but here you are, cowering with Ladybug. What would Emilie think if she knew that you didn’t want to help her?”

Adrien started to falter, taken aback by Hawkmoth’s words. The wall he had put up inside him started to crumble. What it really true? Suddenly, an unwanted and powerful force came over him, taking control of his actions. His mouth started moving against his will.

“I’ll join you, Hawkmoth,” Chat Noir said, the words sounding foreign and so, so wrong in his own voice.

“Chat! No!” Ladybug shouted, taking a few steps back as she watched a bubbly, purple substance envelop her partner. But she froze when she noticed that it was starting to recede.

Adrien was trying to fight back the akumatization, using his thoughts of Ladybug and unwant to join his father to push back. But he couldn’t ward off his negative emotions no matter what he tried, which allowed Hawkmoth’s powers to start turning the left side of his suit white. He fought to not give in to the magic, fought to turn the white back to black. But it wasn’t working.

Ladybug shook herself out of her trance and reached out to grab hold of his bell to try and break it. Her fingers were a millimeter away, when all of a sudden they were touching a bumpy and hard surface. The purple coating was protecting the item from being broken. She pulled her hand back and watched, helpless, as the magic encased Adrien, shaping him, changing him. It was halfway through when he cried out and gathered the will to miraculously stop the transformation. A single dark purple butterfly wing fell out of his bell.

But the left side of him was still white. He was still under the influence of Hawkmoth. Was he...a half akuma?

“Chat?” Ladybug asked cautiously.

“I don’t know what happened, it—“ Chat cut himself off with a wince, bending over as he seemed to internally fight back some inner force. He then abruptly straightened again and narrowed his eyes, that were now full of cold hatred, at Ladybug. She gasped, eyes widening.

“No one is going to control me ever again. Starting with you, Ladybug.”

Chapter Text

Chat Blanc pounced on Ladybug, claws bared. She fell backwards and rolled over to shake him off, standing up again.

“What do you mean, Chat Noir? I’d never take control of you!” Ladybug shouted.

“Don’t pretend you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Chat snarled back. “You’re always the one ordering me around, telling me what to do. It’s all about—“ He suddenly froze and bent over, clenching and pulling his hair. “I can’t hold it off much longer. Grab the bell!”

Ladybug acted quick and ran over to do as he said. But right when she reached out, Chat’s head shot up and he grabbed her arm, flipping her behind him. She landed with a thud a few feet away, the wind knocked out of her. She got up again and morphed into a defensive position.

“Chat Noir, fight it! This isn’t who you are!” Ladybug shouted.

“It’s Chat Blanc, now,” he corrected her icily, continuing to attack Ladybug.

Shivers ran down her spine as a wave of familiarity washed over her. She recalled hearing the Chat Blanc she’d seen in the future say almost the exact same thing. The akumatized half of his suit looked perfectly identical, as well. Would he have the same powers? Oh, she really hoped not. She never wanted to witness that future again, and that gave her all the more reasons to purify her partner’s half akuma, now.

But it never was that easy, was it?

“Cataclysm!” Chat Blanc yelled and swiped at her yoyo while she had flung it at him, attempting to destroy the weapon. Luckily, she’d pulled it back in the nick of time. Chat ended up accidentally hitting a lamppost instead, avoiding it as it fell to the ground.

“Let’s find out what my new powers are, shall we?” Chat Noir asked with a smirk. “Cataclysm!” His hand lit up with black particles again. The half akumatization had granted him unlimited Cataclysms. He lunged at Ladybug, this time aiming for her. She gasped and jumped out of the way, unscathed. But she wasn’t out of the woods yet. He ran at her again, eyes full of rage, showing no remorse. She avoided him and used her yoyo to swing farther away. She watched as he used his staff to follow her, then turned around and continued to swing away.

The akuma had taken away who Chat Noir used to be, and left a cold, hard shell. She knew that he had to be facing a warring conflict inside, trying to fend off the effects of the akuma. A pang of guilt hit her as she ran away again. But he was relentless, launching himself at her over, and over, and over again. She didn’t know what to do. She was forced to keep blocking and fleeing, fear seizing her in a vice-like grip. He let up no chances to rip away his bell, and if she tried to he would attempt to Cataclysm her again. She tried calling her Lucky Charm, but it never even touched her hands as Chat Blanc had Catalcysmed it while it was falling. She hated that she couldn’t do anything to save her partner, but if she was Cataclysmed there would be no chance she’d be able to help at all later on. Even half akumatized, Chat Blanc was the strongest akuma she had ever fought, present and future.

When stepping back to throw her yoyo at a chimney to get away once again, Ladybug tripped and fell to the ground. Cursing her clumsiness, she hurried to stand back up and then looked around for Chat, but he was nowhere to be seen. She turned around in a slow circle, yoyo at the ready. Her heart was almost beating out her chest.

“Surprise,” Chat Blanc whispered in her ear from behind her. Ladybug took in a sharp inhale, startled. She tried to jump out of the way, but it was too late. She felt his hand graze her leg, and she braced herself for the searing pain that was about to come.

But there was none. She looked up in confusion, and saw that Chat Blanc’s hand was still emanating black particles. Did the Cataclysm not work because he was only half possessed? She prayed that it did and would continue to malfunction.

Chat Blanc snarled in frustration and continued to chase her. She still had to avoid him because if his powers did happen to work, she would actually be injured. Ladybug heard her earrings suddenly beep from using her Lucky Charm earlier, and she panicked. There was no way she’d be able to run. Chat, and posisbly even Hawkmoth, were about to find out her secret identity, and she wouldn’t be able to stop it. She couldn’t very well leave an akuma alone, but she didn’t have a choice. The best way to go was to find a way out.

While searching for a way to flee unnoticed, she saw that Chat Blanc had all of sudden faltered in his steps. His Cataclysm disappeared and his ring beeped. The akumatization had stopped working again. He held an unsteady gaze at Ladybug, his posture stiff and slightly trembling.

“Keep fighting it, Chat Noir! I’m going to get your bell,” she called out to him, hope starting to light up inside her again. She got close to him and took hold of the bell triumphantly, about to finally break it. But when she started to pull it off his suit, she felt Chat’s hand wrapping over hers and squeezing hard.

“No!” Chat snapped and kicked her knees, causing her cry out in pain, before prying away her fingers from the object. His hand started igniting with a Cataclysm again, and it flickered on and off until Ladybug backed away. Her earrings beeped, reminding her of the dire problem she thought would have been solved a few seconds ago.

“Run. Please. Before I find out who you are!” Chat Noir pleaded with her, his voice strained.

“No! I will save you! I’m not going to run!” Ladybug cried, her voice cracking.

A purple mask appeared on in front of his face again. The connection was thin, Hawkmoth’s face fuzzy and flashing on and off, but his message was still clear.

“What are you doing, Chat Blanc?! Get her Miraculous!” Chat ignored him and clutched his head, letting out a growl. Hawkmoth was about to say something else, but then the mask disappeared. Chat spoke to Ladybug again.

“Run. This akuma is still in my head and I can’t fight it forever. Go.”

“But—“

“Go!”

Tears welled up in Ladybug’s eyes. It tore her into pieces to see Chat like this. She stood heavily conflicted, her heart telling her to stay and her mind telling her to run. She had no idea which one she should listen to. Chat Noir looked up at her and their eyes met. His gaze silently begged for her to run and that he would be fine. That he could handle the half akuma by himself. She knew that she had promised to always be there for him to help fight his battles just a day ago, and she knew that Chat would mostly not be fine, but as a superhero, she couldn’t risk listening to her heart. Not now, no matter how much she so badly wanted to.

Taking one last look at her beloved partner, she ran into the night.

Chapter Text

Marinette was considerably late to school the next morning, sprinting as fast as she could to her classroom. She opened the door as silently as possible, trying to sneak in unnoticed by Mme. Bustier, who was writing something on the chalkboard. She tiptoed to her seat next to Alya and sat down her bag quietly.

“Girl, you alright?” Alya whispered to Marinette. “You look like a living trainwreck!” She gestured to Marinette’s full appearance, and Marinette gave a weak smile in return. Her clothes were wrinkled because she had ended up sleeping in them, her usually neat pigtails messy and disheveled, and dark, heavy bags sat under her eyes. Alya was very accurate in her description.

“I...was up all night doing a project. For fashion. Designs. Yeah, that,” Marinette lied, stumbling over her words.

“Couldn’t you have done that project in your free time after school?” Alya shook her head. “Nevermind, I have some big news for you. People claimed that they witnessed Ladybug fighting an akumatized Chat Noir last night! Can you believe it?” Alya asked excitedly. Marinette almost choked on thin air. She tried to look excited as well, raising her eyebrows in fake disbelief, when underneath there was a whirlwind of emotions swirling inside her. She glanced at Adrien’s seat in front of her and noticed it was still empty. The ache in her heart increased.

“R-really? I just assumed that super—“

“Marinette, if you’re going to come in late, can you please not disrupt the rest of the class while doing so?” Mme. Bustier scolded Marinette.

“I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” Marinette sunk down in her seat, cheeks burning red. Mme. Bustier nodded and continued to teach.

She had to push down the urge to just suddenly run out of school and transform. Even though a loose and unattended akuma was probably extremely dangerous, she couldn’t just ditch school. Not now, when so far everything looked okay. If Chat Blanc did happen to get out of control, however, she would ditch class, even if she was denied permission to leave the classroom.

Aside from her worries about Adrien, she was also internally frustrated that she couldn’t share her very valid excuse to leave class to everybody. Although she really did value her secret identity, she sometimes wanted to just spill and tell everybody why she’s been running off. It was so irritating that she would save Paris, only to be repaid by getting in trouble with her teachers and her parents. She didn’t know how Adrien managed to handle it, having so many extracurricular activities and modeling.

Marinette hoped that he was handling his possession, too. She knew that he was most likely struggling, but as before, she couldn’t leave class yet. She was going to need some backup, anyways, so leaving now while she was unable to gather the other superheroes would be even more dangerous.

The rest of the day was a blur. She was on the edge and jumpy, paranoid that Chat Blanc would be there behind her. When Alya and Nino asked if she was okay, Marinette had tried to pass it off as being tired. All that was on her mind was finishing the school day and finally going to hunt for Adrien. She couldn’t pay attention at all in class, and her teachers had become increasingly annoyed at her lack of effort to stay involved with the lectures. Realistically, however, you couldn’t exactly blame her. The poor girl was just worried for her kitty, who was out there all alone. He had no one to turn to, no one to ease him off of the pain and the stress.

After the long hours trapped inside the school walls, the last bell finally rung and Marinette was free to go. She rushed out of the classroom, without so much as saying a goodbye her friends, and hurried home as fast as she could. She greeted her parents and ran up the stairs into her room. Then, she pushed aside her dresser and grabbed a key that was hanging from a necklace she had tucked under her shirt. When she was granted the duty of the guardian, she had carved out a secret compartment behind her dresser to hide the Miracle Box in. To keep the key for the compartment safe, she wore a necklace with a clip for the key. Now, she removed the key from her necklace and crouched down to unlock the compartment.

Taking out the red, black-spotted box, she opened all the spots and viewed the jewelry, considering her options. Most of the wearers’ identities had been discovered by Hawkmoth when Chloe was akumatized, but finding a new hero would mean that they would only be getting a hold of the ropes and a little faulty. She needed to pick from people she already had given a Miraculous to before, even if their identity was already known by Hawkmoth. Luka would be good, because if one of them got Cataclysmed or something worse, he could reverse it. And Nino, too. Shelter would be immensely helpful against any Cataclysms. Marinette picked up the Snake and the Turtle Miraculouses, holding them tight in her palm.

She had closed the openings of the Miracle Box and started to put it away before she hesitated. One more wouldn’t hurt. Chat Blanc had been the strongest akuma yet. If they were going to fight as a team, they needed to be able to work together well. So maybe someone who was compatible with either Viperion or Carapace. Like...Alya! She would definitely up Carapace’s capbilities, like how Chat Noir did her.

Satisfied, she gathered the three Miraculouses and locked the Miracle Box away. It was time to get her partner back.

“I don’t see him,” Viperion called back to the group, craning his neck.

“It’s already 5, we’ve been searching for two hours,” Rena Rouge added in. The quartet had been traveling Paris in search of Chat Blanc ever since Ladybug had found them and given them their Miraculouses. Unfortunately, he was nowhere to be seen, which was worrying.

“Where could he have gone?” Ladybug asked, biting her lip. “It’s my fault, I shouldn’t have left him alone.”

“It’s okay, it wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t risk Hawkmoth learning your identity,” Viperion reassured her.

“Yeah du—I mean, Ladybug!” Carapace corrected himself. “You’re doing your best.”

Ladybug sighed. “Thanks, yeah. We can take a break now.”

The four heroes sat down on the rooftop and tried to plan their next move. When no one spoke up, they all knew that they were completely, and utterly, stumped. Of course, they had already warned the mayor about Chat Blanc. The city was told to be cautious when going outside, and so far the citizens of Paris had heeded their advice. But apart from that, they had no idea what to do. Chat Blanc was nowhere to be found, and Hawkmoth was staying in the shadows.

“Do you know how he got akumatized?” Rena Rouge spoke up, breaking the silence and hoping it would lead to at least something.

“No, I don’t. Well, actually kind of? I have a guess,” Ladybug replied. “But if I share the whole story it might compromise his identity.”

“What if you filter out some parts?” Carapace asked.

“Yeah, I can,” Ladybug answered. She took a deep breath and then started. “Two nights ago, on my way to nightly patrol, I found Chat Noir crying on a rooftop. He confessed to me and said his dad...well, I can’t say exactly what his dad did but it was unfair and upset him greatly.”

“Was it abuse?” Rena Rouge piped up, concerned.

“No, no. Okay, maybe yes. At least not physically,” Ladybug cringed. “There was a bit of emotional abuse, though.”

“Really? Chat Noir always seems so confident and carefree all the time. Does his dad treat him like that often?” Viperion asked.

“I don’t know, actually. It sounded like he does,” Ladybug said. “Anyway, fast forward another night and he calls me while I’m on patrol to meet up with him. He said that an akuma was chasing him. I see him, and he stops for a moment to catch his breath. But that let the akuma morph into his bell. I’m guessing that something more must have happened between his dad or maybe Hawkmoth was late to the show. Most likely his dad, though.”

“So maybe use his dad as bait? Wait no, Chat’s identity,” Rena Rouge remembered. They sat in silence, wracking their brains for ideas, until Viperion sighed and spoke up.

“We can’t do anything, can we?”

“Actually, I may have discovered Chat’s identity by accident,” Ladybug fidgeted with her fingers.

“What?! You guys are so strict on identities. Especially you,” Rena Rouge pointed out.

“I know, it was by mistake,” Ladybug winced. “But I could go and grab his dad by myself, and once Chat Blanc comes back I could hide him and call you guys to come over.”

“But what if his dad or you gets hurt?” Carapace asked. “Or if his dad doesn’t want to come?”

“Oh, his dad better come. We’ll make him if we have to. And if one of us gets hurt, I’ll take the risk. Viperion can set a Second Chance beforehand, too. I’ll do anything to get Chat Noir back. I feel so guilty for running away,” Ladybug said quietly, then paused. “Can I tell you guys something?”

“Of course, du—I mean, Ladybug,” Carapace nodded. The others did the same. Ladybug smiled and and took a few seconds before she spoke again.

“When I first found Chat Noir crying, I realized that I didn’t know a lot about him. We’ve been fighting side by side for two years, yet we didn’t even know what each others’ general home life was like. I just made assumptions about him and didn’t even think about asking about them.” Ladybug crossed her arms protectively. “I shut him down so many times, and I kind of...forgot he was a person. I didn’t think that he was more than annoying puns and flirting, that he could have more emotions underneath. That he did care about more than he let on. I should’ve been there for him, to listen to him.” She trained her eyes to the ground. “Ever since that night, I’ve been starting to think that the reason he was so lonely was partially because me.” Ladybug took in a shaky breath. The group said nothing, absorbing what Ladybug just confessed to them. She guessed that they agreed with her and thought it was her fault, until one of them spoke up.

“It really isn’t because of you,” Viperion stated. “We all make mistakes, but it doesn’t make it your fault.”

“I’ve seen Chat Noir when he’s around you,” Rena added. “He lights up and his smile is bigger than any other smile he’s given the cameras. In a way, you’ve eased his loneliness by just being there.”

“He even told Nadja Chamack that he wouldn’t enjoy being a superhero without you,” Carapace said.

“Really?” Ladybug asked, a smile playing on her lips.

“You have been there for him, just not explicitly. And I think he knows that,” Viperion declared. Ladybug slightly tilted her head in thought, before standing up.

“Maybe I shouldn’t be too harsh on myself. You’re right,” she said. “Thank you for listening. Anyway, we should start the plan now. I’ll go get his dad, and you guys stay here. I’ll be at this location,” she took out her yoyo and typed it in to show them. “I’ll call you when he’s hidden and Chat Blanc has arrived.”

“Sounds good to me,” Rena stated.

“Wish me luck!” Ladybug called out, and with that she swung away.

Chapter Text

Little kitty on a roof

All alone without his lady

Sitting out in the night

His fingers cold and shaky

‘Cause his lady ran away

Ran away, ran away

Far from the kitty who

Told her she couldn’t stay

Far from the kitty who

Hurt her like a rabid stray

Don’t run, don’t run

No, please do run

This white and black cat

Can’t have his fun

Don’t let him do that

No, please do run

Don’t let the little kitty

Cat have his fun

This little kitty can’t

Damage his bell

Can’t scratch it without

Hurting him as well

Oh, he wants to

Oh, he pleads

Let him free himself

From this endless misery

Where has his lady run

Where has she gone

Has the big bad moth

Captured her and

Made her his pawn

Will it all be his fault

Will his lady blame him

‘Cause this terrible result

Is rather quite grim

Here the kitty sits

Out in the night

He’s shivering and shaking

His heart wound tight

Fight the moth’s control

Fight it, fight it, fight it

He won’t give in to it

Stop, stop, stop it

It’s the moth’s fault

Yes, it very much is

He’s been controlling him,

The little kitty, ever since his

Mother vanished without

A trace or a hint

Can’t seem to accept

The truth, no he didn’t

Now the little kitty on a roof

All alone without his lady

Knows what he must do

To make everything less shady

Yes, kitty’s coming for the moth

He’s running and jumping now

Beware, for Chat Blanc

Hawkmoth’s going down

Chapter Text

Mayura sighed. What was she doing? She had vowed that she wasn’t going to use the Peacock Miraculous again. Was going to help Ladybug a valid excuse? It’ll have to do.

When Gabriel shared with her his new akuma and how it had happened, she had to resist the urge to say out loud what she really thought about it. Akumatizing his own son was just going too far, especially if it meant he was using his son’s emotions to help himself. Originally, she didn’t want to get too involved and was prepared to leave only a short letter there for Adrien. But now with him akumatized, she would be the only one left who could tell Ladybug who Hawkmoth was. It was one way she could make up for her actions.

So that’s what led her here, navigating across Parisian rooftops, and searching for someone who had been her enemy for a year and a half. Gabriel did fix the Peacock Miraculous, and she was partially grateful for him caring for her. However, she knew now that he probably did it so it would be easier for him, and not her. But no matter why, she enjoyed this new feeling of power. She could feel the Miraculous’s magic from within her. It also meant she didn’t have to worry about getting sick again.

“Mayura?” She looked up. Ladybug had spotted her.

“I don’t mean to cause you harm. I’ve come to aid you in the defeat of Hawkmoth,” Mayura put her hands up.

“Mhm. I’m not dumb, tell me what your plans really are.”

“I’m not lying. I have valuable information that will be vital in defeating Hawkmoth. His identity would be rather beneficial, wouldn’t it?”

Ladybug’s eyes widened for a second before they narrowed. “And why should I trust that you’re not trying to throw me off course?” She threw her yoyo at her and tied her up tight. She came closer, but not too close, understandably making sure Mayura couldn’t play any tricks on her.

“I’ll reveal my identity.” As soon as the words left Mayura’s lips, she started to think twice about her actions. What if Ladybug ended up turning her in? This was exceedingly dangerous and risky. Logically, she shouldn’t be doing this. And normally, she would listen to that logic. But people change. If she really wanted to go through with this, she’d have to change herself.

Ladybug looked at her with an unreadable expression. “Okay. De-transform. But do you promise to give me the Miraculous afterwards?”

“Yes.”

“Then go ahead,” Ladybug said, hands on her hips. She looked skeptical and slightly amused, of which Mayura wasn’t surprised. If the roles had been reversed, she would have thought it was just a trap as well. But much to Ladybug’s surprise, Mayura said the words and de-transformed.

“You actually did it,” Ladybug said. She studied Nathalie’s features. “I recognize you. Are you...Gabriel Agreste’s assistant?”

“Correct. The Peacock Miraculous is on my jacket.”

Ladybug unpinned the Miraculous and stored it inside her yoyo. “Huh, it’s not broken. Did you fix it?” She asked.

“Hawkmoth did.”

“How did he get access to that information? Nevermind, you said you’d reveal his identity. Spill.” Ladybug leaned forward expectantly. Nathalie complied.

“Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth,” she said, not breaking eye contact with Ladybug. The spotted hero looked surprised, but then furrowed her brows.

“But he was akumatized! That doesn’t make sense. This has to be a trap. Did Hawkmoth force you to do this?” Ladybug paced back and forth, not believing her word. “I’m not putting it past him to sacrifice his partner.”

“I am no longer working with Hawkmoth, or Gabriel for that matter. Although he doesn’t know that yet. Have you ever considered the idea that Hawkmoth could akumatize himself?”

“Hmm. No, actually. I still can’t make myself believe this, though.” Ladybug stopped pacing. Then she whispered something to herself out loud. “Chat Blanc. Did Gabriel reveal himself?”

“He did. Adrien transformed to try and run away from the akuma, but now Hawkmoth knows his identity.”

Ladybug didn’t realize Nathalie had heard her and was startled. Then she looked at her and said, “You know Chat Noir’s identity, too?”

Nathalie coughed. “I caught him de-transforming in his room not too long ago. It was part of what pushed me to make this decision.”

“You know that I still won’t fully trust you probably ever, right?” Ladybug asked.

“Of course. You can turn me in if you want to. I only intend to make things right. For Adrien.”

Ladybug saw the steely look of determination in Nathalie’s face and her eyes softened. “You really do care about him, don’t you?”

“I’ve never done well in showing it, but yes.”

Ladybug stared long and hard at her, conflicted about what to do, before coming to a decision.

“Alright, I won’t turn you in. I’m handing you off to a couple of other superheroes just in case. I can’t promise that the authorities won’t seize you afterwards, but you have my word that I won’t report you. Thank you doing the right thing.”

“I understand fully well. And thank you for serving Paris the past few years. We all appreciate it.”

Ladybug gave her a curt nod and picked her up. She brought Nathalie to the rest of the superhero group, where she explained the situation and dropped her off. The others eyed her warily, but it was only to be expected. It was what she deserved.

Nathalie’s life might be ruined because of this, but right now she felt at peace. It’s what Emilie would have wanted.

Chat Blanc looked at the Agreste mansion. Hawkmoth had tried to force him out of it, but the connection was too weak. Nothing stood in his way now. Nothing gave him a reason to fight the akumatization. He was here, and there was no stopping him now.

He jumped in through his room’s open window, and stopped to look around for a bit. It felt like forever since he was last there. The time when he was crying after his father had told him he was Hawkmoth seemed distant and far away. Of course, that would soon become the biggest mistake of Gabriel’s life. If he had expected his son to obey and stay down under his command, he had guessed horribly wrong.

Chat Blanc exited his room and quietly walked down the stairs. He entered Gabriel’s office and looked around. His father wasn’t there. That could only mean one thing.

“Cataclysm!” He shouted and touched the floor. It gave way and Chat Blanc fell with it. He landed on soft grass and looked ahead to see Hawkmoth, standing in front of his mother’s body, eyes wide in surprise.

“Hello, father. Surprised to see me?” He didn’t give him time to answer. He launched himself across the bridge and called a Cataclysm midair. He held his arm out, aiming for Hawkmoth.

Chapter Text

Making her way to the Agreste mansion, Ladybug replayed her encounter with Mayura in her head. In all her years of seeing her during interviews, with Adrien, or holding the tablet with a call connected to Gabriel Agreste, she never thought she could display more emotion than a raised eyebrow. Then again, she didn’t exactly know her at the time. She put up a wall, like Adrien did. Though she wasn’t sure how or why she joined Hawkmoth, she didn’t resent her as much as she thought she would’ve. Of course, she still didn’t trust her fully, which was only logical. She didn’t harbor any resentment towards her, however.

But putting that aside, Ladybug needed to plan for what was coming next. Now that she knew who Hawkmoth was and why Adrien had been akumatized, she knew where Chat Blanc was. He was hunting down Hawkmoth at the Agreste mansion. Of course, that lead to dangerous possibilities. What if Chat Blanc ended up killing his father due to not being in the right state of mind? What if Hawkmoth took his Miraculous? There were so many other things as well. If Ladybug was going to go in there, she was going to need backup. Identities or not, their lives mattered more.

She pulled out her yoyo and called the other three superheroes in a group call.

“Are you ready?” Rena Rouge asked.

“No, not exactly. Scratch the plan,” Ladybug said.

“What? Why?”

“Screw identities. I need all of you over at the Agreste mansion, now. I’m afraid things will get out of control and some of us will lose more than our identities tonight.”

“Is Chat Blanc there?” Carapace asked.

“Yes. How long will it take for you guys to get here?” Ladybug hid in a tree behind the mansion. She’d have to wait until everybody else arrived.

“About 5 minutes. But what about Mayura? Where can we keep her?”

Ladybug considered it until she spoke again. “It’s okay to leave her there. I think I trust her enough.”

“Really? But she’s—well, a supervillain,” Rena whispered the last part.

“I know. Just tell her what’s happening. She’ll understand.”

She could hear distinct voices from the other end of the call before Viperion came back to confirm that Nathlie understood.

“Are you completely sure about this?” Viperion asked.

“Enough. There aren’t any other options, anyway,” Ladybug said.

“Well, you’re right. We’ll be there soon. Bye!” Viperion ended the call, and Ladybug sat and waited.

“Cataclysm!” Chat Blanc shouted, running towards his father. At this point, he had no idea if the akuma was controlling him or not. It wasn’t like he cared, anyway. His pent-up rage went into his attacks on Hawkmoth, advance after advance. He didn’t need his father. What did he ever do for him? Did he ever even care? For once, Hawkmoth wasn’t in control of him. He was the one slowly gaining the reigns. Just one little touch and he’ll be free from his father’s overbearing hold. He’ll get to watch Hawkmoth’s body rot and turn black, little particles of his corpse flying away into the air. Death had never seemed so satisfying to him before.

Then suddenly, Chat Blanc jumped on Hawkmoth and pinned him down on the ground. He struggled under Chat’s weight, but Chat’s hold was too powerful. He gave a sadistic smile, the look in his eyes almost insane. Finally, Paris would be freed from the wretched monster he had called his father. Laughter bubbled up in his throat, and his father stared at him with pleading eyes, expression full of fear. He brought his hand down to Hawkmoth.

“Stop!” Ladybug had broken the window and jumped through, followed by Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Viperion. Chat Blanc and Hawkmoth looked up, startled. Hawkmoth acted quick and took the opportunity to push Chat off of him and get into a defensive stance.

“Give up, Hawkmoth. I know who you are. You can’t hide anymore,” Ladybug said.

“Really?” Hawkmoth sneered. “This will be child’s play, choosing a couple of teenagers to fight against me.” He swung his cane at Ladybug, who had been inching closer to him. Ladybug dodged and stood beside the rest of the superhero team, weapons at the ready.

And so, the battle begun. Ladybug called her Lucky Charm and watched as a fresh, red rose fell into her palms. What was she supposed to do with this? It was literally a rose, although she should have expected it based on the history of her Lucky Charms. She kept it in her hand, careful not to damage it, and continued to fight against Hawkmoth. Even though there were four of them, Hawkmoth proved to be exceedingly powerful. He managed to prevent any of them from taking his Miraculous, and came close to taking theirs several times. Just like all the other rare occasions he had appeared to fight, he was not an easy target. Rena Rouge had used her Illusion to stall Hawkmoth, and Carapace ended up using his shelter to protect all of them from a surprise attack. The team stalled time under the green shell to recuperate and figure out what to do next.

But they failed to notice Chat Blanc, knees pulled into himself, hands clutching his head. He was waging his own battle inside his mind, the akuma his enemy. He wanted to help, but he was afraid he would end up helping the wrong person. No, he can’t, he won’t, he won’t, he won’t—

He stood up. He sauntered towards where the superhero team stood inside Carapace’s shelter, gait forced and heavy. They all stared at him, then at Hawkmoth, who was currently trying to break the shell. They couldn’t hide forever. Carapace was going to de-transform in a few minutes, and when that happened it wouldn’t be pretty.

Ladybug looked around desperately, trying to think up some type of solution. The panic was getting to her head, and it was hard to focus. If she didn’t come up with a plan soon, their Miraculouses would be taken and they might even be killed. Her team faced her with wide eyes full of fear. Their Miraculouses beeped one by one, only adding to the anxiety created by the situation. Then, the gears in her head started to turn. She looked at the rose, then at...Chat Blanc?

“Stall Hawkmoth for me,” Ladybug said. “And lower the shield.”

“What? Are you crazy?!” Rena exclaimed, throwing her arms out wide.

“Just trust me. There’s no point in hiding now, anyways.”

The rest of them stared at her and glumly nodded. The shield was lowered, and Hawkmoth jumped at them. He was held off by Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Viperion, while Ladybug made her way to Chat Blanc.

“M’lady—don’t come any closer!” Chat Blanc warned. “Please, I’m—I’m going to hurt you!” He started to take a few steps backwards, holding his hands out in front of him. Ladybug only continued to move towards him.

“I’m not running away from my kitty this time. Why would I now?” Ladybug now stood in front of Chat. He was frozen in his spot, hands twitching, struggling to fight the urge to attack her. He recoiled from Ladybug, trying to protect her from him. But he stopped when he heard her speak again.

“After all, I love you.”

Chat stood there, surprised. “W-what?”

“I love you. Will you accept this rose from me, Adrien?” Ladybug held out the rose, and Chat made an incoherent noise. He stuttered, completely stumped by her confession. She stared into his eyes with a passion that Chat would never forget. He hesitantly let his fingers touch the rose. She knew his identity. And she loved him.

Suddenly, the white part of his suit vanished and turned back into black. He fell to his knees as the akuma came out of his bell. Ladybug took out her yoyo and purified the little butterfly that had caused all of this pain to happen. After throwing the rose in the air and activating the Miraculous Cure, she crouched down to look Chat in the eye. He refused to meet her gaze so she turned his head to look at her, and he just stared at her with a numb expression.

“I remember everything.” Chat said. “I almost killed my father, and—and you.” His eyes glazed over and he teetered on the edge of crying.

“No. It’s wasn’t you. It was Hawkmoth’s doing, and don’t ever blame yourself for this. You fought it, and that’s what matters.” Ladybug hugged him, and Chat returned the embrace. But after a few brief seconds they broke apart and stood back up. They still needed to deal with Hawkmoth.

“We’ll talk more later, okay kitty?” Ladybug said. Chat Noir nodded and they ran in to help the other superheroes dealing with Hawkmoth. Once again, their Miraculouses beeped, including Chat’s, indicating that if they didn’t find a way to escape now they would be dead meat. They had tried to bring the fight closer to the previously broken window, but every time they did Hawkmoth would find a way to block them or bring them back. Chat’s currently unstable emotional state was also weakening the team’s coordination, and Hawkmoth kept targeting him thinking he would be the easiest opponent. After the brief victory, everything seemed be going down from there. And Hawkmoth seemed to know that. His actions started to become stronger and more confident, bringing the team even farther from the window. Their time left transformed was down to one or two spots, Ladybug and Chat Noir the lowest.

There were five of them against one, yet they were trapped. Three more Miraculous holders would end up being revealed to Hawkmoth and they would become failed heroes. He would take their Miraculouses, make whatever wish he’d been wanting to make the past few years, and Paris would all blame them. All these years of work, only to come to this? They couldn’t let it. Hawkmoth could not, would not take their Miraculouses. Not when they had come so close, and Ladybug and Chat Noir had found out Hawkmoth’s identity. They had worked so hard to end this. Why did this have to happen to them?

But then, miraculously, the team made it close enough to make a break for the window. With one tiny nod from Ladybug, they all ran for escape. Adrenaline surged through them and they ran faster than they had ever ran before. Hawkmoth let out a frustrated growl and tried to chase after them, but only to find out that he couldn’t catch up. It looked like they were going to make it! Hope flared up in the heroes’ chests, fueling their legs to bring them closer to their means of escape. They made it to the window, and they all jumped for the opening.

Ladybug, triumph and relief coursing through her, was about to go make it out when she suddenly felt an object hit her from the side. It knocked her over and sent her tumbling, and she landed on the ground, dazed. Hawkmoth had thrown his cane at them, hoping to stop one of them from leaving, and succeeded. Ladybug scrambled to get up and ran towards the window again, but it was too late. Mid-run, her transformation wore out and her costume disappeared, leaving a high school student in its wake.

The others saw what had happened and stared in shock from outside, not sure of what they should do.

“Don’t! We can call the authorities. It’ll be less risky,” Viperion shook his head, and the rest of them silently came to an agreement. They started to follow him away from the mansion. That was, except for Chat Noir. He hung back, glancing at his lady and then back at his team, wavering in his resolve. They vigorously motioned for him to follow, but Chat Noir stayed put. He steeled his gaze towards the window, and came to a conclusion. He wasn’t going to leave his partner behind.

Extending his staff, he launched himself through the window in a last-minute attempt to get Marinette back out. She cried out for him to stop, to go back, but he didn’t listen. He ran for her, heart racing, and was about to wrap his arm around her when Hawkmoth appeared from behind him and hit him aside. Chat hit the ground hard and got up again, desperately hoping that there would still be time.

But he was a black cat, after all. The embodiment of bad luck. A green light flashed and Adrien Agreste appeared. He sank to his knees, despair washing over him. Marinette ran over to him and sat down beside him, tears streaming down her face. They hugged each other protectively, their kwamis hiding behind their shoulders. Hawkmoth peered down at them, lips curled up in a taunting leer. He walked towards them, and Marinette and Adrien stumbled backwards until they hit the wall.

The last thing they remembered was Hawkmoth’s cane swinging towards their heads before everything faded to black.

Chapter Text

Yep. I’m sorry. I’ve had fanfic authors give up on some fanfics I like too, but... I’m one of them now.

Hear me out—I don’t like writing this and I haven’t liked it for some time now. And because of that, the plot is getting skewed and the writing isn’t my best because I don’t want to do this anymore. I think that if I kept going, the outcome would be sloppy and poor. It’s adding to some stress on me right now because for some reason my remote learning takes more than 6 hours and I’m creating two animations. I’m not going to force myself to do this to please others, because I have a problem with that and I’m learning how to live life the way I want it. I want to dance, play piano, and maybe write some other pieces with a plot that I will be invested in and enjoy writing.

Anyway, there are plenty of other Miraculous fanfics with a similar plot. Next time I write, and I want something less angsty and more fluffy and fun. I now know that reveals, battles, stuff like that, isn’t my thing.

So yeah. Sorry if I caused any annoyances, any inconveniences, or any bad feelings. You can yell at me, but you can’t change my mind unless some type of inspiring and life-changing miracle happens. I wish the best for those who cheered me on and said some really nice stuff, and I really appreciate it. Thank you!

TLDR; I’m giving up because I don’t like writing this fanfic and I have a lot of other stuff to do.