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themaribatpit · 3 years ago

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Jasonette July Day 19: Mistakes

Written by: The Maribat Pit Prompt: Mistakes Rating: T

Soulmate AU - red string of fate around the ankles, references to other versions of the myth

A/N: This might become a mult-chap, we’re not entirely sure. Comment on this post if you want to see this story continue. There will be some Adrien/Chat Noir salt.

Marinette often heard stories about the ‘red string of fate’, the idea that there was a soulmate out there who was chosen just for her. No one believed her when she told them she could see a red thread looped around her ankle. No one really explained what it meant, they would just tell her that she would grow out of that silly superstition. She would look down at the floor, towards her ankle, where she could clearly see the red string tied around it. Maybe they couldn’t see it, but she could, clear as day. When she became Ladybug and fought alongside Chat Noir, he would go on and on about how they were soulmates and destined for each other. When she became Master Fu’s pupil, she asked him if he knew anything about it. “What brought this on?” he asked curiously. “I see this red string around my ankle, I’ve known about it ever since I was little. Everyone says it’s just a legend or a silly superstition.” she explained. “Around the ankle is a new one, but it’s also the oldest version of the legend,” Master Fu explained, “most prefer the version where it’s around the little finger, or a woman’s little finger and a man’s thumb.” “What does it mean?” she asked, “no one will tell me.” “It means the string will lead you to the person you are destined to be with,” he explained, “it may stretch and tangle, but it will never break.” For many years, she brushed aside other boys and their advances, much to the chagrin of anyone who knew the real reason why. Whenever Chat Noir rambled on about them being soulmates, she knew it wasn’t true. It was infuriating, really, as she would look down at the red string leading away from him. She would tell him that she was in love with someone else, because someone else was out there waiting for her. Not that he would listen to her, but still she always kept him at arm’s length. Some might say that her standards were too high, never mind that some boys just could not take “no” for an answer. She thought about using Kaalki to find her soulmate, opening a portal directly to them. The only problem was she only knew which direction the string was pointing, and not having a clear idea of where she was going could lead to complications. Marinette kept her head held high through Lila and Chloe bullying her, and the teachers doing very little to stop them. She didn’t hate Adrien as much as she did on that first day of school, but he had done very little to stop his childhood friend from bullying people. Marinette had been humiliated, insulted, and almost kicked out of school on multiple occasions. Chat Noir, on the other hand, was only in love with the idea of her. He had absolutely no clue who she was under the mask, and vice versa. There were times when Marinette felt like she couldn’t step one toe out of line without someone breathing down her neck about being the bigger person. She felt like she was the only one bearing the heavy burden of carrying the Ladybug mantle. She took being a heroine seriously, but she knew that she couldn’t do everything perfectly. Sometimes Chat Noir was more of a hindrance than a help, and this continued for many years. When days felt tough for Marinette, she only needed to look down at the string around her ankle and remind herself of what it meant. It meant that someone out there was waiting for her, destined to love her with all their heart and she would love them in turn. So Marinette kept her head down by day, and as Ladybug she would fight to bring an end to Hawk Moth’s reign of terror. Whoever her soulmate was, they would know the truth about her, they would love and accept her. Sometimes she would wonder if Master Fu had chosen wrong when he decided that she should be the next Guardian of the Miraculous. The red string on the other hand would stretch or tangle, but never break. She could be certain that her soulmate was one choice that couldn’t be a mistake. Most of Jason’s earliest living memories were spent in hiding. He would hide under the table with the family dog in his arms, while the adults around him argued. When he got older, he would scurry back to the crevices in Gotham’s streets, hiding from whoever he just stole from. All the time he’d worry they could see the glowing red thread wrapped around his ankle. He could never understand what it meant, he assumed everyone had one at the time. When his questions were met with mockery or indifference, he stopped sharing his curiosity about it. It would always be glowing in the corner of his eye, like a bright light on a summer’s day. One day he wandered into a bakery inside Gotham’s Chinatown. He was waiting for the shopkeeper to look away so that he could grab a pastry without them noticing. Their topic of conversation turned to a ‘red string of fate’ and Jason was intrigued. Supposedly, the thread around his ankle bound him to someone. That someone was the person he was destined to be with forever, his soulmate. He left the shop empty handed, hoping to try his luck finding food elsewhere. If his soulmate was out there, whoever they were, they were going to be sorely disappointed. He remembered thinking, whoever decided to pair him up with someone had made a terrible mistake. If his soulmate could see him now, they would probably think so too. When he encountered Batman that fateful night in Crime Alley, his whole world had drastically changed from that night forth. As Bruce Wayne took him under his wing and as he took on the Robin mantle, a secret part of him had hoped that he was becoming someone his soulmate could be proud of. Still he kept it to himself, Alfred would occasionally find him staring off into space whenever he was alone. If Jason asked Bruce about it, he would probably tell him that he needed to focus on other things. The glowing red string was the last thing he would see at night before letting sleep take him, this time, he wasn’t afraid. When she was 15, Marinette woke up one morning to find the string no longer glowed bright red. Instead it was grey and limp, and she was desperate to know what this meant. At the first opportunity, she ran to Master Fu, he was the only one she could confide in about this. He lowered his head, almost unwilling to tell Marinette what it meant for fear of how she would react. He told her solemnly, it meant that her soulmate had died… Elsewhere, a bomb was counting down the seconds until it could go off. Jason had been battered, bruised and broken, but as long as his heart was still beating he still had a chance. Ten… He pushed against the locked door. That damned clown had locked him in, probably for the sheer delight of it. Nine… He had only just noticed the bomb, he had to find a way out of the building and fast. Bruce, Alfred, Barbara, Dick and...he looked down at his ankle, his soulmate...they were all waiting for him. Eight… This was all a mistake, he had been led into a trap. He hoped that Batman would arrive just in time to save him. He would probably slap him upside the head after he had recovered, and lecture him about being far too reckless, but at least he’d be alive. Seven… Strength was leaving his body, most of which was probably beaten out of him moments earlier. The fighting spirit that always burned like a raging inferno inside of him was dimming. Six… In those last few seconds, all he had left in him was a silent apology. Wherever his soulmate was, he wished them nothing but happiness. He was sorry that he couldn’t meet them for the first time. He wanted to tell them that the mere idea of them gave him hope. Hope that quite literally hung by a very thin thread, but it was what kept him going all these years. It kept him going through living on the street, through pushing himself to meet Bruce’s expectations, even through the ordeal he had just endured. All he needed to do was look down and remind himself that whoever chose him to be someone’s soulmate hadn’t made a mistake. The reason he wouldn’t get to meet them was because of his mistake. Five...four...three..two...one. Marinette didn’t know how to mourn someone she had never seen, met, or even spoken to. All she knew was that for the next three years, the string around her ankle was limp and grey. The legend said that it would tangle, it would stretch, but it would never break. Sometimes she would lay awake at night and wonder what could have possibly happened to her soulmate. Had they even noticed the red string around their ankle? Did they even care about what it meant? How did they die? Was it an accident or did someone kill them? These were questions that kept Marinette up at night as she gazed up at her bedroom ceiling. She didn’t notice that the string was slowly starting to regain it’s glow, though it remained very dim. She barely paid any attention to it anymore, and thought the faint red glow was just a trick of the eye. It was a cruel reminder of what that thread meant and what she looked forward to. By the time she was 18, Marinette decided she needed to get out of Paris. She wanted to be a designer, but she also thought a change of scenery would be good for her. She kept the Miracle Box with her when she moved to Gotham City, to keep the rest of the Miraculous from falling into the wrong hands. Around this time, the thread around her ankle began to glow bright red, just as it had done a few years ago. She was honestly curious to follow the thread and see where it led, but Plagg and Tikki were unsure about it. They could sense that something was amiss with the thread reignighting, and they had a bad feeling that the forces of creation and destruction were involved. That’s how Marinette found herself pacing around her dorm room, trying to think of an explanation. “How can you tell?” she asked them, “Maybe whoever did this chose someone else to be my soulmate? Someone who wasn’t dead.” “That’s not really how this works, Marinette.” Tikki told her. “Well, not according to Master Fu anyway,” said Plagg, “if the string is turning red again, that means whoever it is was brought back to life.” “But that’s impossible...is it?” Marinette looked at them, not that long ago she had fought a man who wanted to use them to bring his comatose wife back. Was it really so impossible? “Long ago, we were forced to grant such a wish.” Plagg confessed. “Plagg!” Tikki hissed, “you’re not suggesting that maybe…” “I am,” Plagg told her, “and she needs to know if she’s going to go herring off looking for someone who might be dead.” Plagg turned his attention back to Marinette, “long ago, someone did acquire the Miraculous and they did use it to grant one wish…to make them young and strong forever.” “How did they do it?” Marinette asked, a little afraid of their answer. “We created what humans call ‘The Lazarus Pits’. Anyone who bathed in its waters would be healed, rejuvenated, even snatched from the jaws of death.” he explained “Tikki’s healing magic is infused in the waters, that’s the healing part.” Marinette looked over at Tikki, “So what’s the catch? It can’t be that easy, can it?” “Well, the more they bathe in them, the more it destroys their mind,” she explains before giving Plagg a pointed look. “It heals them on the outside, while their mind is slowly destroyed.” Marinette is slightly horrified by the thought. “Can it bring someone back to life?” She asked, they exchanged worried glances. “Yes, but...Marinette, the person they were could have easily eroded away.” Tikki explained, but Marinette was growing tired of imagining and daydreaming. She had to see for herself the person that her soulmate had become, so that’s how Ladybug set off to see where the red string led.

#jasonettejuly2021 #jasonette #adrien salt #maribat #maribat adrien salt #ml x dc

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ilikekidsshows · 4 years ago

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I Was wondering if you could talk more about the conflict in Syren please?

The most important thing about the conflict in 'Syren' is this: it's not actually about the relationship between Ladybug and Cat Noir, it's about the relationship (or lack thereof) between Master Fu and Cat Noir. But, because Master Fu was still using Marinette as the go-between between himself and Adrien, Marinette ended up being the target of Adrien's ire towards Fu. The divide between Cat Noir and Ladybug in 'Syren' isn't caused by either of their character flaws or a misunderstanding: it's caused by Fu.

A very easy to miss detail in 'Syren' is that Adrien didn't know that all their rules weren't coming from the Kwamis or Ladybug. When Ladybug tells him that she'll "talk to him about it", the existence of a "him" comes as a surprise to Adrien. At the start of the episode, Adrien being upset at his partner keeping things from him of seemingly her own accord was 100% justified. Even if he's more annoyed at her than he should be considering someone else is literally telling her not to tell him anything, Fu was creating a link between himself and Ladybug in Adrien's eyes. It's like when your region manager comes up with a new crappy policy but your local manager is the one who delivers the news so you end up upset with them instead. Fu was the one who demanded secrecy, but made Ladybug tell Cat Noir about it. Fu even further put Marinette in the role of a bearer of bad news by not really addressing her concerns over Cat Noir's growin frustration, only giving her some vague metaphor that meant she had to come up with some way to soothe her partner herself. He didn't give her a reason.

Adrien was being asked to put to up with a lot. He has to put his life on the line to protect Paris, he has to keep all these secrets and he has to make himself available whenever there's an Akuma. But nowhere is there a written rulebook that says he has to be happy about it. Ladybug calls them partners because, to her, they are. They carry the same burdens and responsibilities. However, they are not equal. Only Ladybug gets to know who the part-time heroes are, only Ladybug gets to know how the part-time heroes get their powers. Whenever they need a part-time hero, Ladybug abandons him in the middle of the fight to go get backup, a process which's details are unknown to Adrien. If Ladybug can just go and fish up a partner whenever, why does she need Adrien? If Cat Noir isn't treated any different from a part-time hero, who never get to know any of the details of anything, what's the point of him being one of the only two full-time heroes? If only Ladybug is necessary in the process of saving the day, what is Cat Noir even for?

A very important aspect of the scene where Adrien almost gives up his powers is this: Adrien has no idea what kind of help Ladybug will bring. All he knows that his powers are useless against Syren. All he knows is that, once again, his help, which used to be all Ladybug needed, wasn't enough so Ladybug had to go get someone else. And he wasn't being told why he wasn't being told anything. Maybe it was because Ladybug needed someone better to help her and they were just screening potential candidates. Maybe Adrien was making things easy by removing an unnecessary piece from the proceedings. Because, if he was being treated as equally expendable as a part-time hero, that meant he would be easy to replace, right?

When Adrien gets the powerup and helps Ladybug defeat Syren, he tells her "Thank you for keeping your promise, My Lady." This is an interesting line because it tells us that, after meeting Fu for mere moments, he already had him figured out from context clues. He knows Fu approaching him was thanks to Ladybug and that taught him that, even if Master Fu doesn't consider him as important as Ladybug, Ladybug does. And that's enough for him.

I'm fully convinced that Fu telling Marinette: "there's a right time for everything," was nothing but a dodge. I have a feeling he's been warding her off with that for a while, considering she says something similar to Cat Noir in the scene before Fu says it. We learned from Fu's relationship with Marianne that, for Fu, waiting for the right time can literally mean decades. This is why this episode, in the grand scheme of things, isn't about the Ladynoir relationship even if it does give some nice fodder for it; it's about Fu.

The thing about the way Fu's character is presented in the show is that something about him gets introduced in a throwaway or innocuous manner, only for it to end up being really important later. Fu mentioning his past mistakes came back to literally haunt the main characters in 'Feast' and even Fu's reaction to the monster was foreshadowed by 'Sandboy', where the seemingly silly bedsheet ghosts cried out his guilt in the demise of the Order of the Guardians, and Fu responds by fleeing.

Fu has been running his whole life. He was taken away from his family by this mysterious order who never taught him anything properly, and who then all died in a cataclysmic event caused by Fu's mistake. Fu lost the book with the Guardians' secrets almost immediately after. With the huge responsibility of the Miraculous on his shoulders and no knowledge to go on if anything went wrong, Fu had little choice but to hide the best he could and hope for the best.

We see in the opening scene in 'Backwarder' that Fu being willing to let anyone use a Miraculous is a new attitude, one most likely fostered by his closer association with Wayzz. Wayzz generally seems to be the one between them with the better head on his shoulders, which is the opposite of the Marinette+Tikki and Adrien+Plagg partnerships, where Tikki can often cause Marinette's catastrophizing to spiral while Plagg's advice to pretty much anything is "be happy, do crimes". However, Wayzz is very put together and wise, which is most likely why Fu chose him as his companion.

Still, considering how Fu was perfectly content with playing his role as an anonymous benefactor to our heroes, he still wasn't ready to be a mentor. He only started telling Marinette things because circustances brought Marinette to hunt him down and the Lucky Charm literally started telling her to seek out Fu every once in a while. But, considering how Fu's go-to response to a problem is still "run away" by the time 'Feast' rolls around, he didn't do Cat Noir the same courtesy. Ladybug he had to stay connected to because she'd need to come pick up a Miraculous from him every once in a while, but Fu preferred to live in a way where he was ready to pack up and disappear in a moment's notice and that would be easier if he had fewer personal connections to miss.

The thing about Fu is that he's low-key going through a character arc behind the scenes of the narrative. 'Syren' is the first time Fu gets character development in the show's current timeline. And the lesson for Fu in 'Syren' was: sometimes change happens, and you'll need to make the best of it. Fu only gained the solution to the recipe because Marinette helped him, because someone else was in on the secrets. So Fu revealed himself to Adrien. We still don't know how much Fu told Adrien but, considering how little Adrien was ready to listen to him in 'Party Crasher' and how he looked like a sympathetic outsider in the scene where he and Marinette were saying goodbye in 'Miracle Queen', they definitely didn't meet up as often as Marinette and Fu did.

Still, 'Feast' is when Fu basically completes his character arc, deciding to trust Marinette with his life's work by naming her his successor once it's time for him to retire. I'll note that he never properly discussed this matter with Marinette, because of course Fu's not gonna learn anything from his own experience as being given a huge responsibility as a child just like he didn't learn anything from being left alone and without answers as a child since he didn't approach Adrien because he recongized his own situation, he did it because the situation forced him to do so. Fu has a character arc in the show, but I'm not sure it went into a good direction considering the other characters.

One final thing about Fu's character arc is that he never truly overcame the urge to run that had been his creed for almost his entire life so far. We see in 'Miracle Queen' that he'd prepped a full "in case of my demise/disappearance" package for Marinette. Fu had probably been counting the days he'd vanish since 'Feast', when he left his massage shop behind.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous tales of ladybug and chat noir #ml meta #syren #long post #it's dunking on fu hours #popular

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quicksilversquared · 4 years ago

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The Wavering Peahen: Chapter 7

When Nathalie started feeling oddly ill again, both she and Gabriel were worried that the Peacock Miraculous might somehow (impossibly) be to blame again.

So naturally, they pick someone else to be the Peacock for a bit. You know, as a test subject. Except the new Peacock… doesn’t exactly know that.

links in the reblog

Marinette was really glad that the picnic broke up as soon as the ambulance vanished around the corner, because she couldn't get home fast enough.

Was the pin real? It had to be, since otherwise Tikki wouldn't have sensed it. But why on earth would Hawkmoth think that giving Lila a Miraculous would be a good idea?

And how did Lila's strange illness fit into it all?

"I suppose she could just be sick and that part could have nothing to do with Hawkmoth at all," Marinette told Tikki as she dug the Miracle Box out from under her bed. She had to talk to Wayzz right now and see if he could shed any insight on the absolutely astronomical levels of crazy that the past half-hour had been. "But she's been sick for most of the time that Pavona was out and about. Why would Hawkmoth let someone who was sick fight alongside him? If I were him, I would want someone healthy out with me. Whenever I'm sick, I don't do as good of a job fighting. Sneezing and coughing just throws me off and leaves me open to attacks. I mean, maybe he doesn't have any other choice, depending on what happened to Mayura, but still."

"Normally I would say that it's probably just a coincidence, but the Peacock's energy seems off again." Tikki was frowning. "I would have thought that Hawkmoth would have fixed the Miraculous once he got his hands on Master Fu's translations, and it certainly seemed like that was the case when Mayura started coming out to battles all the time. I might be wrong, since I'm not the expert, but my guess is that Lila got sick because of the Miraculous."

"I'd just ask- what was it, Duusu? But honestly, if his energy is off, I don't want to charge in headfirst. If I get sick like Lila, then I won't be able to fight as Ladybug." Marinette glanced over the box, then tapped the section for the Turtle. "So I want to talk to Wayzz first. He was the one who was always with Master Fu, so maybe they talked about whatever was going on with the Peacock." There was also the issue of whether it would even be safe to pull Duusu out when she wasn't transformed. If he felt any loyalty to his previous holders- which he might, after being with them for what was really a decent amount of time- then she might be running the risk of him seeing her identity and then escaping and bringing it back to Hawkmoth.

She wanted to believe that that wouldn't happen. That Duusu would be excited about being saved. But she had heard stories about kwamis getting attached to terrible holders before, when their viewpoint got warped around so that they thought their villainous holder was in the right, and as one-half of Paris's superhero team she just couldn't take any chances.

"Hopefully Wayzz and Master Fu discussed the Peacock," Tikki said as Marinette pulled the Turtle out. "If they didn't, we're going to be going in blind."

"Not completely blind. Wayzz is sensitive to what's going on with the other Miraculous and the auras around them. It should help." A green light flashed across the room, and Marinette grinned as Wayzz showed up. "Hey, buddy!"

"Marinette! I sensed a disturbance- a change in the aura around the Peacock- wait! It's close- very close- it's inactive!" Wayzz spun around in a wild circle, then made a beeline to the pile of fabric that was Lila's scarf, digging through it until the Peacock pin was exposed. "You have it! It's here! It's broken, but it's here! Duusu has been saved!"

"So it is broken again," Marinette confirmed. "How would it have gotten like that again? Are the Miraculous really so easy to damage?"

Wayzz shook his head, one paw stroking the Peacock pin as he talked. "Not at all! It's just that when it was fixed last time, it was not fixed correctly. Master Fu saw to that. When he was writing down the translation for that particular spell, he deliberately wrote down one step incorrectly. The spell would appear to fix the Miraculous, and then gradually wear off as time goes by. He did that just in case he lost the translation or it was stolen from him, since he knew that it would make things very difficult for you if the Peacock was fixed for good." Wayzz sighed. "I believe that he thought that the 'repair' would wear off a whole lot sooner, but those sorts of things are hard to control. I suppose it did end up doing what it was meant to, though."

"Eventually, yeah." Marinette grinned, then sobered a little. "Though I honestly would have preferred that it take out Mayura instead of Pavona. Then we would have at least gotten an insight to who Hawkmoth might be. With Lila, though, I just know that the only reason she's connected is because she doesn't like Ladybug."

There was a chance, of course- probably (hopefully) a really good chance- that Duusu would be willing to help and give them clues towards Hawkmoth's (and Mayura's) identity, but clues could only go so far. There were millions of people in Paris and the chance that she and Chat Noir would actually put together the supervillains' identities with only a few clues was pretty low. They could call up the police to help, of course, but even the police didn't know everyone in the city.

"I wonder how much manipulation went into getting Lila to go along with Hawkmoth," Wayzz commented. He raised an eyebrow at Marinette's dubious look. "...if any?"

Marinette shook her head. "I doubt that there was any manipulation. He probably offered up the Miraculous and she took it right away. And I'm definitely not going to let Lila get away with that. She's old enough to know that she shouldn't be working with a supervillain."

"I think even a little kid knows not to work with a supervillain!" Tikki agreed emphatically. "Remember that little kid that got akumatized a month after the attacks started and was super upset about it? He couldn't have been more than six or seven, but he knew that working with a supervillain was a bad thing and wouldn't calm down until you convinced him that being akumatized didn't count as working with Hawkmoth."

Marinette nodded. That had been pretty heartbreaking, actually, and she and Chat Noir had ended up running a whole publicity campaign affirming that akumas weren't responsible for their actions and that they were victims, not villains. No one chose to be akumatized, they had said- which wasn't strictly true, presumably Mayura had allowed herself to get akumatized to create Scarlet Moth and Marinette wouldn't be surprised if Lila had willingly and eagerly accepted a corrupted butterfly (or five) as well- and people shouldn't beat themselves up over it. People should try to avoid getting akumatized or causing akumatizations, of course, but they weren't the villains. Hawkmoth (and Mayura and Pavona, of course, but they hadn't been around at that time) was.

Of course, that was entirely beside the point at the moment. Lila hadn't been akumatized this time around, she had accepted a Miraculous from a supervillain willingly. That was different.

"I can probably say that a classmate of Lila's found the pin on her and alerted me at once," Marinette decided after a moment's pause. "So that's how we found it, and that's how we establish the first connection. Then we add on that the Miraculous has been broken and her symptoms are consistent with the use of a broken Miraculous, so we're positive that it wasn't planted. Or wait, no- I shouldn't mention planting at all, that would be dumb of me. I can just say that that's, uh..."

"Extra confirmation that she was indeed the one holding the Peacock most recently," Wayzz suggested. "Or that that makes it undeniable that she was Pavona, that way you're not suggesting that there was any uncertainty about Pavona's identity once the Peacock came to light."

Marinette jabbed her finger at him. "Yes! I like that. Hang on, I'll write that down. Now, next question- how soon should Chat Noir and I tell Paris about Lila? Right away, or do you think we might be able to catch Hawkmoth off guard if we don't publicize that Lila's identity was discovered?"

Tikki perked up. "Ooh, the second one! I would talk to the police and the hospital right away, though," she added. "To make sure that no news stories run about Lila's collapse. Maybe it's not likely, I don't know, but just in case."

"They probably wouldn't release names for several days anyway, but that's a good idea. The police will understand why we don't want to risk tipping Hawkmoth off, in case he doesn't already know somehow." Marinette pulled out her phone, opening the secure messaging app that she and Chat Noir used and shooting her partner a message. She wanted to let him know what was going on as soon as possible. If they could both be there when Duusu came out, that would be great. As she sent it, another thought hit her. "Wayzz, will it be dangerous for us to pull Duusu out considering that his Miraculous is broken? Will it affect us like it affected Lila?"

Wayzz shook his head. "It shouldn't. Lila got to the stage that she's now at by repetitive use of the Miraculous. Heavy repetitive use, and recent, from what I'm sensing around Duusu's aura. Which is odd, considering that Hawkmoth hasn't been active today...or this week at all."

Marinette gasped, stabbing one finger into the air as a revelation hit her. "That's how Lila got the photos! Today she had pictures of herself with all sorts of famous people, including Ladybug," she added to Wayzz when he looked confused. "To make her stories seem more true. I figured that she had just been using Photoshop, but I bet all of those celebrities were actually sentimonsters plus a poster behind her."

"Somehow, I am not surprised." Wayzz let out a long sigh. "Fitting that that would be her downfall, really. She must have used the Peacock's powers a number of times in a very short timeframe to become as ill as she did at the end. You will simply be pulling Duusu out and not transforming or using his powers, which means that the broken magic from the Miraculous won't affect you at all."

"Good." Marinette let out a long breath- that was a load off of her shoulders- and then checked her phone as it buzzed. "Chat Noir is available now. I'm telling him to go to Master Fu's old parlor- Hawkmoth never found that, so it should be private and safe enough. We can pull Duusu out there, so both of us can talk to him at once." She slipped the Turtle bracelet onto her wrist. "Is there anything I should be bringing along other than the Miraculous, Wayzz?"

"Some fruit, if you have some to spare!" Wayzz told her. "Duusu loves fruit, and I'm sure that the lying girl didn't give him enough. She seems the sort to only give the bare minimum and then snap when asked for anything more, which- ironically- would have just sped up the rate at which she was affected by the Miraculous being broken. You don't have to take a ton, but a snack would be nice."

Marinette nodded, already headed for her trapdoor. "That's easy enough. We always have fruit sitting out for snacks. No one is going to think anything of it if an apple and a couple of bananas go missing, that's what they're there for."

It took almost no time at all to grab the fruit, gather up the pin (and the scarf) and then hightail her way over to Master Fu's old shop. Going in felt a little odd- she had to slip in a back window as Ladybug instead of going in the front door as Marinette, and the shop had a distinctly abandoned feel to it instead of feeling like a home- but it was the best place they had to work out of. Chat Noir was already there, waiting anxiously in what used to be the living room.

"What's going on?" Chat Noir wanted to know as soon as she came in. "You said it was urgent? There's not some sort of invisible akuma or something, is there?"

"No, no akuma," Ladybug told him, pulling a pillow and a box that sometimes served as a sort of table over next to him. "There was an, ah, incident at one of the local parks not very long ago. Lila Rossi- you know, the liar girl- she passed out and fainted. And when Marinette was checking her over, she found...this." Ladybug reached out, depositing the Peacock on their box-table. Chat Noir's eyes went wide. "And Tikki and Wayzz have confirmed that it's the real thing."

"No way! That's- but how was Lila- I mean, I guess it makes sense considering how Pavona acted, she always seemed to think that she was more of a threat than she actually was. But- wow." Chat Noir let out a long breath, still staring at the Peacock. "How lucky is it that she just happened to be sick and passed out right then? Now Hawkmoth is down an ally, and maybe we'll get some sort of lead."

"It's not entirely luck, really." Ladybug tapped the Miraculous. "You remember how we thought that it was broken before, right? And that Hawkmoth fixed it? Wayzz said that Master Fu didn't write down the correct translation of the spell. He altered one step so that it would look fixed and feel fixed for a short while and then wear off. So the Miraculous has been making Lila sick, and then she used it a bunch- that's what we're assuming, at least- to fake some photos with famous people, and that was enough to push her over the edge into- well, she hadn't woken up yet from what I heard, so who knows? Maybe she's in a coma."

"Oof, that's- well, honestly, that's well-deserved." Chat Noir let out another breath. "It's a good thing that we found that out with the supervillains, at least. Imagine if we had gotten the Peacock back somehow and tried to fix it ourselves! That could have been really dangerous."

"I wouldn't have done anything to it without consulting all of the kwamis first," Ladybug told him. "And then I would have made sure to have Wayzz keep an eye on it, since he's best with the auras. I wouldn't feel confident enough to fix a Miraculous myself without supervision to actually use it afterwards without triple- and quadruple-checking to make sure that things actually went the way they were meant to. And- and Master Fu would have known that."

Chat Noir nodded. "That makes me feel better. I'd be pretty lost if you got sick and then vanished off of the face of the earth."

"I'd stop way before getting to the coma stage, believe me. One cough, and that Miraculous would be retired to a corner until I could contact the Order." Ladybug took a deep breath, her eyes returning to the Miraculous. "I haven't talked to Duusu yet. I didn't think it would be safe to at home, and it made more sense than interviewing him by myself and then trying to remember everything to pass it along to you. Besides, if Duusu gives us a lead to who Hawkmoth is, we should both be here."

"Ooh, fingers crossed that we get a good lead." Chat Noir settled down, shifting anxiously on his heels. "Ready to talk to him now?"

Yeah." Ladybug gave herself a shake, then straightened and turned her attention fully to the Miraculous, focusing on pulling Duusu out without actually touching the Miraculous. It took a minute, but then the Miraculous lit up with blue light. It glowed for a long moment, and then a blue bubble popped free. It glowed brighter and brighter, and then burst. Duusu yawned widely, then blinked blearily over at them. After a moment, his eyes widened and he shot up in the air.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Duusu exclaimed. "I've been saved! You would not believe the terrible people that I've had to put up with, it was awful!"

As it turned out, Duusu was an absolute gold mine of information. Maybe he couldn't say the names of his former captors, but he could certainly talk and talk (and talk some more) on about them until there was absolutely no doubt in Ladybug and Chat Noir's minds about who Hawkmoth and Mayura were.

And then Duusu kept talking, on and on and on. He complained about Lila ("Such a little brat, and so full of herself!") and about Mayura ("I don't know why she's going after a married man, he's hardly a looker or kind or a good dad or anything, no redeeming qualities at all!") and about another, previous holder, who apparently had been kind, if perhaps a little manipulative sometimes, and who was currently in some sort of cursed coma related to her use of the Miraculous in Hawkmoth's sub-basement lair.

Ladybug had to roll her eyes at sub-basement lair. What kind of unnecessarily dramatic (and rich) villain needed two lairs in the same building? It was absolutely excessive and ridiculous.

"Okay, so Hawkmoth is Gabriel Agreste, Mayura is Nathalie Sancoeur, and Emilie Agreste isn't missing, but a former Peacock and is hidden under the house," Chat Noir summed up once Duusu finally stopped talking for a minute in favor of inhaling some of the fruit that Ladybug had brought along. Her partner looked more than a little shaken, his face so pale behind the mask that Ladybug was starting to wonder if she would have to call for another ambulance. "Uh, is there any way to- to get her out of the coma? To heal her, I mean?"

"Once my Miraculous is properly fixed, the energy that I sapped from my users should slowly return," Duusu told them. "Well, as long as the they have my Miraculous on them. It won't work without that contact. They might need a little medical attention and maybe a boost from a potion or two to get the process really going, but unless the damage runs deeper than I can sense, it should be a pretty straightforward process to fix everything!"

Ladybug nodded, part of her mind already combing through the potions and spells that she and Chat Noir had gone through together. There were a couple that might be of some use, though she would want to do a bit more digging through things and consulting with the kwamis before she gave anyone any potions.

There was also, of course, the question of how they were meant to heal Lila- and possibly Nathalie as well, depending on how she was doing- without running the risk of them taking the Miraculous and running with it. Handcuffs and 24-7 supervision could only go so far when magic was involved.

The other part of her mind was- well, it was mulling over the discovery of the supervillains' identities. After all, that was what she and Chat Noir had wanted to learn for months now.

She wasn't as surprised as she thought she would be, really.

Part of it was the fact that she had suspected Mr. Agreste before. He had had the Miracle Book and had a butterfly as his brand's logo. He had a motive with his missing wife. He had the money and job security needed to vanish for hours on end to somewhere secluded and safe to unleash his akumas on the world. And, to top it off, he wasn't a very nice person. It was pretty easy to imagine that he would think that the rules didn't apply to him and that causing other people suffering and fear and distress was just a minor inconvenience that could easily be ignored.

And then the other part... well, both she and Adrien had commented on how odd it was that Lila, Nathalie, and Mrs. Agreste had all come down with the same symptoms at separate times. Once Lila collapsed and Marinette found out that she had been Pavona and the Peacock Miraculous had been what had caused the odd illness, that oddness had been nagging her from the back of her mind, begging to be noticed.

Marinette hadn't paid it as much attention as she might have otherwise because there had been a lot going on that had also needed her attention, but if she had had a couple minutes to give it a proper think over, she probably would have come to the same conclusion that she had now. With that one piece of the puzzle it would have all snapped into place anyway, even without Duusu's helpful comments. He had just sped the process along and ensured that they were absolutely 100% positive about the supervillains' identities.

"I guess the most pressing question now- well, other than how to fix the Miraculous- is how to deal with defeating Hawkmoth and then approaching all of the stuff with Lila," Chat Noir said hesitantly after a few moments had passed. "Mr. Agreste is out of town at the moment, I've heard, though he's coming back- er, tomorrow, potentially? At least that's what I've heard."

Ladybug blinked at that, puzzled, before giving herself a shake to refocus. How and why Chat Noir knew Mr. Agreste's schedule off of the top of his head was anyone's guess, but it also wasn't immediately important. If she remembered, maybe she could ask him about it later. "I got to talk to Tikki and Wayzz about that before coming here, actually. We thought it would be a good idea to go to the police and catch them up on what is going on, and then they could restrict what information gets released so that we don't tip Hawkmoth off about Lila collapsing and us getting the Peacock back ahead of time."

"And should we tell them about who Hawkmoth and Mayura are, or just Lila's identity?"

Ladybug let out a long breath. Honestly, she wanted to talk to Tikki about that to really feel good about her decision. After all, she was just a teenager with experience fighting akumas and pretty much all she had talked about with Master Fu was in regard to their battles, not what she should do once they had figured out who Hawkmoth was. "I mean...maybe? I don't- I don't know if I want to risk them trying to take over now, but I'm coming up a bit blank on ideas."

"Right." Chat Noir leaned back on his pillow, clearly deep in thought. "Well, if we want to surprise Hawkmoth- Mr. Agreste- then we want to get him before he has the chance to find out about Lila. So I think we should find out when he's going to be back for sure, and catch him coming off of the plane."

"Hopefully Mrs. Rossi hasn't contacted him already." Presumably she wouldn't have- after all, with Lila likely in a coma, Mrs. Rossi was probably too overwhelmed to think of doing anything like contacting Lila's employer- but it never hurt to shut down those possibilities before their advantage could get spoiled.

...honestly, it was a bit questionable as to if Mrs. Rossi knew about Lila's modeling at all. Somehow Ladybug doubted it.

Chat Noir frowned. "I hadn't considered that. But assuming that she hasn't yet, maybe we could ask the police to ask her not to spread any news about Lila? Then Mr. Agreste would come back unprepared, and we could catch him and Na- er, Mayura at the airport. If he tries transforming there, everyone will see him and he'll know it."

"If he knows that we already know, it might not matter," Ladybug pointed out, but she could see his point. "I think that's a good idea."

"If it helps, Mrs. Rossi doesn't know about Lila's modeling!" Duusu chirped helpfully, finally emerging from the slowly shrinking pile of fruit. "It was all a secret! I'm not sure if she would have allowed it or not if she had known, but Lila didn't really tell her mom anything. She can't stop it if she doesn't know about it, right?"

"I feel like Lila took that approach with most things," Ladybug sighed. She looked over at Chat Noir. "I feel like we probably thought about everything. Ready to go talk to the police?"

"In a minute?" Chat Noir had curled up on himself, his eyes on Duusu. "I'm just... I know we have to work fast, but everything is still sinking in. I just can't believe that everything is coming together and finishing so quickly."

Ladybug nodded, re-settling on her cushion. Honestly, they could use a few extra minutes before they headed out, just to decide what they wanted to say. "I know what you mean. I never imagined that we would learn Hawkmoth's identity this way. It feels really strange to be planning his defeat instead of just beating him during a battle."

"Mm-hmm." Chat Noir had a rather funny look on his face. "...yeah. But I- I'm glad that we did find out this way, instead of during a battle. Now we can, uh, prepare."

"Exactly!" Ladybug smiled over at him. There was a fair amount of trepidation creeping in- now that the shock was starting to recede, there were a whole lot of possible problems and things to consider that were threatening to overwhelm her. The takedown wouldn't be terribly complicated, but how they wanted to deal with the fallout, and getting Duusu help, and what should or shouldn't become public, and- and-

But that could all wait. Right now, there was finally- finally- an end to all of the endless battles in sight, and she wanted to focus on that.

Gabriel Agreste was pleasantly surprised when he woke up on the last day of his business trip to a continued lack of news about any sort of superhero-supervillain activity in Paris.

If he was being entirely honest, he hadn't been completely positive that Lila would follow his instructions to not go out with the Peacock, even with his threats. Her ego was big enough to fill a mansion, and she had proven time and time again during her time as Pavona that she thought that her strategic planning was eons better than anyone else's, even though that was nowhere close to being true. He had had to whack her and her ego back down to make her into an even remotely competent partner, and he had worried that she would just bounce back and act out again without him there to issue corrections immediately.

Perhaps he would have had a more restful week had he collected the Miraculous from her before heading out on his trip and simply returned it afterwards, but his worries about if Lila would disregard his orders hadn't really surfaced until it was far too late to do anything about it.

"I do wonder how we should approach using the- the bird," Gabriel murmured to Nathalie, letting his voice drop into a whisper so that none of the other passengers in first class would overhear. "Like how much longer we should allow the girl to use it. We're not going to get any closer to the jewels with her assistance, but you seem to be feeling better now that you've had a break from using the pe- using the bird."

"I'm inclined to believe that my illness was a coincidence, given the fact that Ms. Rossi has not complained about feeling sick despite the rigorous pace you've set," Nathalie told him. "And I've been thinking about my return as well, and came up with a potential approach. If you bring her back out onto the battlefield for a couple of fights- let me finish, Gabriel, do not interrupt- and then reclaim the- the bird. I will use it and look just like her, atrocious outfit and all, and then we can take them off guard. They will be expecting a weak opponent and an easy monster and instead, come face-to-face with- well, me."

Gabriel hmmmed, stroking his chin. "Ah, yes. I like that idea. You might have to tr- to use her form before," he added, glancing around to make sure that no one was listening in. Thankfully, it seemed as though everyone in the rows around them either had headphones on or was asleep. "To get used to the difference in height and the, ah, outfit." He had to shudder at the thought. Pavona's outfit was one of the most garish and tasteless things that he had ever seen. Frankly, it was a bit concerning that Lila was spending so much time around fashion and had still managed to come up with that. "Speaking of Ms. Rossi and her health, I think it might be prudent to call her up for a shoot before you return, just so that we can see her in person and ensure that she isn't hiding an illness."

Nathalie tapped at her tablet. "Of course, sir. How soon should the shoot be?"

"After several attacks. She has gotten some time off from them, after all." Gabriel tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair, a sharp staccato as he thought. "Let's allow for three or four in quick succession. That way, if she has any symptoms, they should be at a detectable level."

"A solid plan, sir."

Gabriel only nodded in acknowledgement.

The remainder of their flight passed quickly. Gabriel sipped away at the wine that he had bought earlier in the flight- enough to take the edge off of the mind-numbing dullness of travel, not so much that he would appear remotely incapacitated once he had to get off the plane- and sketched while Nathalie took advantage of the airplane Wi-Fi to take care of her emails and plan out both his and Adrien's schedules for the next two weeks.

It wouldn't do to return behind schedule, after all. There was a lot of work that went into running a company like Gabriel, and it was getting harder and harder to fit everything in around their increased number of akumatizations without anyone noticing. Every spare minute had to used wisely.

Hopefully everything would be sorted out soon. With Nathalie's suggested plan, Gabriel figured that they should have the Miraculous in their hands by the end of the following week. Then they would have Emilie back, so there would be no need to continue the time-consuming akuma attacks, and she would be able to help both him and Nathalie with their work. They could get caught up, and then Gabriel would be able to expand several of the fashion lines and use his extra time to continue growing the business into a few new countries.

Emilie would probably insist on them going to a few of Adrien's fencing tournaments or basketball games or something, but Gabriel could always bring along his tablet so that he could continue working and wouldn't be wasting so much time on such frivolities.

"We got an email from Adrien's school yesterday afternoon," Nathalie commented as the plane started its descent, swiping at something on her tablet and then setting it aside as the announcement to put electronics away came over the intercom. "I hadn't looked at it before, since it wasn't marked as urgent, but it sounds like there was some sort of incident during one of their class outings. It doesn't go into details, but I suppose we should ask Adrien about it."

"I imagine that it's just some schoolyard drama, but yes, I suppose." There was, of course, the off chance that something moderately interesting had happened, but based on prior emails the school had sent out, it was far more likely that someone had tripped and scraped their knee and then someone else had felt faint at the sight of the blood or something ridiculous like that. "I do wish that the school was a bit more discriminating about what they bother parents about. If I wanted to know about every inconsequential detail about what is going on at school, I would ask Adrien."

Nathalie nodded. "Precisely. I suppose that they had to deal with complaints from overly-involved parents who wanted to know every detail about what their kids were doing and that's why they felt the need to send something out- and for something that didn't even happen on school grounds or during school hours, either."

"Ridiculous."

Nathalie nodded, and they fell silent as the plane finished its descent and landed. As soon as they were stopped at the gate, Nathalie was up and pulling their carry-ons down from overhead. They were almost the first people off, striding up the jetway towards the airport. It would mean a longer wait for their luggage, but Gabriel much preferred that over sitting in the plane for any longer.

"Do you think that you'll be checking in on Ms. Rossi tonight?" Nathalie asked. "To update her on the plan?"

Gabriel shook his head. "No, for several reasons. Since she's Adrien's classmate, she's likely to be aware that I was gone as well, and she's likely find out that I returned today. That's the problem with us including her at all. She's too high-maintenance and spoiled. I worry that if I tell her that I'm going to be taking the pin back ahead of time, she'll try to stab me in the back and run off with it. I'll give the attacks a break for another day or two, then do an attack and visit her afterwards. I think that would be best."

"And then when you want to take the pin back, just do it the day of," Nathalie agreed as they stepped into the airport. "Wise choice. I'm looking forward to not having to deal with her anymore. Or, well, not having to deal with her on that side of our lives. I suppose she still serves a purpose as a spy at the school."

Gabriel sighed. Honestly, he would rather not have to deal with such an unpleasant child, but she was a mildly useful tool. "Yes, at least for a while longer. As soon as we get-" he lowered his voice "-the Miraculous, then we can drop her like a hot potato. She's a pain in the rear at photoshoots, she's been holding up the entire proce-"

He never got to finish his sentence. Out of nowhere, Nathalie got sent flying as a black pole slammed into her back, and Gabriel found himself hog-tied and dragged sideways abruptly, with no chance to defend himself. His face hit the floor with a smack and his nose started stinging as he was yanked across the cheap airport carpet, fibers and dirt and stray tiny stones scraping across his skin. The sensation- along with the tearing noise that was almost definitely coming from either his jacket or his pants or both- was a distant concern, though, behind the absolute panic that was welling up in Gabriel. He thrashed frantically, trying to catch sight of who had roped him, but there were too many people around. There were shouts of surprise and panic from the crowds as people started running away, tripping over luggage and other people as they did.

Gabriel was yanked across another few meters of carpet before coming to an abrupt stop, still face-down on the carpet. There was something uncomfortably sticky across his cheek, and now-

Now there was definitely a foot pressing down on his back, holding him down. It didn't feel that big, so Gabriel tried to thrash.

The foot pressed down harder, clearly stronger than its small size indicated.

"Look at what came off!" a male voice called, and Gabriel twisted his head just enough to see Carapace straightening up, a scrap of fabric in hand. Just a little further back- where smooth floor switched to rough carpet- Gabriel's red and white-striped clip-on ascot lay on the floor, having apparently popped off-

-wait. Carapace?

No. No no no no no no no-

"One butterfly-themed brooch!" Carapace announced, waving the scrap of cloth around. "That was easy!"

"Nice!" a female voice cheered, and Gabriel's eyes shot over to where Rena Rouge and Chat Noir were handcuffing Nathalie, who... well, it looked like she might have been thrown into the coffee shop area when she was initially hit by what must have been Chat Noir's baton. "No last-ditch transformation attempts!"

"What-" Gabriel croaked, his mind spinning as he tried to piece together what was going on. It sounded like they knew that he was Hawkmoth and Nathalie was Mayura, but how was that even possible? They had been careful! They had made sure to not go in and out of the mansion from as Hawkmoth and Mayura- well, at least not from any visible entrances or ones that could be connected to the mansion- and they had never been unmasked in front of anyone. They made to detransform in hidden spots that didn't have any cameras, if they decided to detransform somewhere that wasn't in the mansion. "No, I'd like that back, it- it has a picture of my wife in it, it's very special to me-"

Carapace snorted. "Yeah, I bet it's special to you, Mr. Supervillain."

"Welcome back to Paris," Ladybug said cheerfully from where she stood on top of him, her friendly smile a little too wide, a little too toothy, just on the edge of dangerous. "By the way, you're under arrest."

Paris flew into an uproar as soon as the news of Hawkmoth's defeat reached the public, shock and joy filling the streets. The police wasted no time in releasing the official story that Ladybug and Chat Noir had fed them, which was that a classmate found the Peacock Miraculous on the civilian Pavona while administering first aid following Pavona's collapse. She had grabbed it to give to Ladybug and from there, the superheroes had been able to piece together the clues that led them to Mr. Agreste and Ms. Sancoeur.

Hawkmoth and Mayura's identities had been known as soon as the arrest was made, of course. People in the airport had seen the superheroes making an arrest and waving a pin around, and it was easy enough to put two and two together. The police had initially declined to confirm the reason for the arrest, but it hadn't been long before it was obvious that no one was buying it.

The public then turned to the next question: Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth and Nathalie Sancoeur was Mayura, but who was Pavona? Perhaps she hadn't been on the battlefield as much as Hawkmoth or Mayura, or for as long, and really she had been more or a minor annoyance for the superheroes (and a source of amusement for the rest of Paris, who rather enjoyed seeing the supervillain constantly getting beaten up), but she had joined the supervillains and needed to face the consequences.

This time, the police declined to release any names right away. They might have confirmed- with Duusu's help and with the recording of Hawkmoth recruiting Lila that they had found at the Agreste mansion- that Lila's participation was 100% voluntary, but since Lila was underage, they wanted to be more careful.

Needless to say, the superheroes were not thrilled about that, particularly once Lila's estranged father appeared and looked like he might be moving to use his connections- connections that did exist, unlike the ones that Lila claimed- to keep Lila's involvement on the down-low. She would still go to jail- no connections could make the evidence go away- but no one would know. Everyone in her class- in the whole school, really- would remember her as the super-cool, super-nice student who was going to save the world, only to be suddenly felled by an illness and then vanish.

Lila didn't deserve that. She had been a supervillain by choice, and that made her fake everyday-superhero persona an insult to everyone who actually dedicated their lives to helping others.

And so the superheroes tipped the scales, so to speak. All it took was them mentioning in the ex-supervillains' hearing range why Lila had taken ill so suddenly and intensely that she had collapsed and spilled the beans. Gabriel Agreste had been so thoroughly infuriated about the fact that Lila had gotten sick from her own entirely selfish use of the Miraculous instead of just by using the Peacock for his cause that he had told reporters who Pavona had been himself during a press conference several weeks after his arrest.

Once upon a time Adrien might have felt a little bad about manipulating his father to do his dirty work for him, but not anymore. After all, Lila deserved to be exposed, and Mr. Agreste really couldn't get in any more trouble than he was already in.

Besides, Mr. Agreste had made Adrien put up with Lila during photoshoots and study sessions that Adrien had objected to, so if he looked at it that way, his father owed it to him to ensure that Adrien wouldn't have to listen to his classmates gushing about and worrying over Lila for who-knew-how-long going forward.

As was to be expected, the truthfulness of the story was questioned when it first broke, but it didn't take people long to figure out that there was no point in Mr. Agreste lying. In fact, since his identity had been figured out due to Pavona's collapse, he was bound to be pretty motivated to take her down with him.

Besides, Lila had, in fact, passed out at a park and was still in the hospital. All of the details fit, and Paris was convinced.

After that, it wasn't long before the police confirmed Pavona's identity. Lila's father had raged, but at that point, there was no point in denying it any longer. Everyone knew the truth, and it wasn't long before all of Lila's other lies came to light, too.

Lila's reputation was in the trash and- well, no one could say that it wasn't very well deserved.

"Well, at least one good thing came out of Lila being here," Adrien commented as he and Marinette watched the latest news coverage on the upcoming supervillain trials in her family's apartment. Ever since they revealed their identities to each other, they had been practically attached at the hip as Adrien came to terms with his father's betrayal and anxiously waited for news about his mother's condition. It had been hard at first, but now that Mrs. Agreste was definitely on the mend- as the only non-villainous Peacock holder, it had been a unanimous decision to let her use the Miraculous to heal first while they figured out security measures for healing Lila and possibly Nathalie- he had been much more cheerful. "After all, she sort of caused Hawkmoth's downfall, even if it was sort of indirectly and very much by accident."

Marinette giggled, curling closer to his side. "Ooh, imagine her face when she realizes that. She joined Hawkmoth to try to cause my downfall, and it completely backfired on her."

"D'you think it would be rude if we sent her a thank-you card as superheroes once she finally gets healed?" Adrien mused, and then immediately shook his head. "No, never mind, that would be rubbing it in. Not a very good look for superheroes."

"I think that there will be plenty of people reminding her of that without us chiming in." Onscreen, the news gave way to a commercial break and Marinette muted the TV so that they didn't have to listen before turning all of her attention to Adrien. "I'm glad that everything worked out in the end, at least. It'll be nice to have our class go back to normal."

"It will be," Adrien agreed. He smiled over at Marinette, reaching over to take her hands. "Though I wouldn't mind there being a few changes to our old normal, Buginette."

Marinette's answering smile was shy. "Oh? I don't suppose the changes that you're thinking of just have to do with the fact that we won't be skipping class all of the time to fight akumas?"

"That'll be a bonus, sure, but it wasn't what I was thinking of." Adrien flashed a smile at her before his eyes dropped down to their joined hands. "My Lady, I was wondering- well, you know that I like you and, uh, I was kind of maybe getting the impression that, uh..."

Marinette couldn't hold back her grin as her poor kitty floundered. She let him try to recover for another second or two, then leaned forward and cut him off with a kiss. Adrien startled, then immediately melted into the kiss, his smile so wide that she could feel it.

The last couple of weeks had been tough, what with Adrien's father getting arrested and then immediately having to deal with getting the Peacock fixed so that they could start healing Mrs. Agreste (and eventually Lila), but they were past the worst of it now. Now they could start moving on and settle in to a new normal.

And honestly, neither of them could wait.

#Miraculous Ladybug #My writing #The Wavering Peahen #marinette dupain cheng

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airi-p4 · 4 years ago

Text

Last Chance - Chapter 9 (END)

AO3

HI! I’m very happy to offer you the last chapter of this fic. It’s more like an epilogue, from Adrien’s POV and focused mostly on him and Chloe.

I want to thank you for reading, especially if you read it all until the end. Thank you very much 💙 And yes, this one may have ended, but I have more fics almost finished waiting for their turn to be posted. Until very soon ;)

_____________________________________________

Adrien’s POV

After Chloé faints due to Alya’s chloroform, I carry her to one side of the room, to where my friends are and we sit there in silence. It’s not like we plan to listen to what Marinette and Luka have to say, but it’s impossible not to hear with all the echoes of the quiet room. I let Chloe rest on my lap. I’m worried about her and her injuries, but I’m also worried about Marinette and Luka, too.

But It seems it’s going well… Finally on the same page.

I’m happy for them, even if it still hurts. Before I can think more, my mind gets automatically called out at a sobbing sound.

Chloe.

“Chloe, are you ok?” I ask her, sofly not to startle her. Alya and Nino gasp.

“Hey! Didn’t you tell me the chloroform lasted for 30 minutes!? Why is she awake already?”

“I don’t know! It worked like that on that movie I saw some weeks ago!”

“Nino! You were supposed to check about it! You have to check the facts!”

“Sorry, Alya, but that’s usually your job so…”

“I can’t believe you… Should I put her to sleep again, Adrien?”

I glance at Chloe before answering Alya’s question. She’s still crying. Only crying.

“No… No need. She’s not going to interfere anymore. She’s accepted their happiness. Just like me…”

Chloe’s sobs continue, almost silently. I can’t help it but feel sympathy for her. Our feelings are the same, aren’t they? One of my hands caresses her hair while the other moves to her hands, which she welcomes and squeezes tightly.

I’m not paying much attention when Luka asks Marinette to wait for him and he approaches where we are.

“Chloe, I know you’re awake”, he says.

Of course he would know. He has a good hearing. Chloe acts like she is asleep, holding her tears deep inside her heart.

“I’m sorry, Chloe. I guess my percentages weren’t wrong”.

Luka waits for an answer that doesn’t come, so he continues.

“Chloe. I need you to give the ring back”

I can feel Chloe’s body jumps a little in surprise, but remains immobile.

“Chloe, don’t make me repeat it”

I would get angry at Luka if it wasn’t for the devastated face he’s making. He clearly doesn’t want to hurt Chloe anymore and I can empathize with that feeling. This is hard for everyone, but it must be done. Even I understand this much.

“Ugh! Take this stupid ring, I don’t need it anymore!”

Chloe quickly uses her sleeve to dry her tears and toss the ring aggressively on the floor. Luka sighs in disappointment.

“Not the Black Cat Miraculous, Chloe, the other ring...”

Oh, the Black Cat Miraculous. I forgot she still had it. Plagg is going to be angry… I make sure to pick up the ring and I put it on before Chloe catches it again. I don’t think she’s planning to use it anymore, but with Chloe... you never know.

“Ugh! Fine! Take this cheap shiny thing! I don’t need it anymore! CHEATER!” she finally gives in with a scream, tossing her engagement ring farther and angrier.

Ah, it seems Chloe’s usual pride is back… This means she’s feeling better... I’m glad.

“Don’t you dare use it to propose to her! You’re better than that” she gives him a final warning before her face hids in by my coat again.

Propose…? Could it be…?

“As if I would do something as low as that…”

Yes, that’s most likely.

“I’m sorry, Chloe. Thank you for everything. I hope you find your happiness…”

Luka’s hands collect the ring and approach Marinette again, who is still waiting. Then, he takes a little box out of his pocket. Of course. That’s what he did in London while I was convincing Master Fu. That was the perfect ring for Marinette. Even I thought that. A beautiful diamond at the center with some pink diamonds surrounding it in a form of a flower- her trademark flower. The diamond had some blue highlights that made it even more perfect.

So he bought it in the end. That’s good.

“Oh my God, Luka! It’s the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen!” Marinette squealed, accepting it.

"Should I be offended?" Plagg complains, narrowing his green eyes.

"Plagg! Not now!" Tikki scolds him.

“But Sugarcube, just look at those two! I've never seen my kid this hurt before! The blondie too!”

Plagg’s words hold so much truth it hurts. I’m not ok but I have to force myself to be. For Marinette’s happiness. For our partnership too.

“It’s ok, Plagg. Marinette is happy now. I very much prefer her being happy with Luka than devastated and alone. She hasn’t been interested in me for a while. I know my place. I’ll be ok”

“Adrien…”

I pat Plagg’s head as he likes it. I missed my kwami friend… I wish I didn’t have to say goodbye to him anymore… Maybe I could try asking Marinette? I doubt she would agree but why not?

“Chloe, are you ok?”

Chloe is not crying anymore. Instead, she looks up at one of the torches of the room, letting the light pass only through the space in between her fingers.

“I’ve tried to hurt Luka with these hands. I’ve tried to destroy them. I’ve been in the way until fate couldn’t be avoided anymore… I deserve this… I hate it but I accept it. I’ll try to be a better person from now on. I promised Luka… Maybe, if I had been a kind person from the start Luka could have loved me as I love him…”

Chloe doesn’t deserve to be unhappy… but how are we supposed to get on their way when they look so happy? The happiest I’ve ever seen… We must accept their feelings. We had our chance and we have no choice but to move on, giving them our blessings and wishing for their undoubtedly successful happiness...

“Chloe, Luka cares for you. I know he wouldn’t have proposed to you if he didn’t. You’re a good person. Don’t you ever think you’re not extraordinary, because I know you are”

“I know… But at the end I’m the one who’s all alone… Can I really find another love someday, Adrien? Why can’t I be loved?”

Her answer pains me because I feel the same way. Do I deserve this? For forcing my feelings on My Lady until the reveal? I regret that… a lot. Not noticing Marinette when she was in front of me… I guess it was bound to happen…

I hope she can be happy with Luka now...

And Chloe… she keeps crying and I don’t know what to say to make her feel better. I hope it’s ok with just holding her hand for a while… She looks so… fragile. Was she always this beautiful? I feel as if I’m meeting the real her for the first time.

Why is my heart beating faster…?

_____________________________________

After the magic light ritual is officialized, Alya, Nino and Master Fu congratulate Marientte and Luka on their engagement. I’m holding Chloe’s hand, who is hiding her tears behind me. But we stay as mere spectators for the time being. Chloe’s injuries are healed, and Pollen is hugging her cheek. Plagg has returned to me too.

“Are you ok? I can still destroy the world, if you want me to...” He offers me.

“No, Plagg. No need to do that”

Plagg pouts at my answer and I hold him into my hands.

“Thank you, Plagg. I missed you, my friend”

“Adrien!” Plagg loudly sobs.

I finally take the courage to approach Marinette and Luka, holding Chloe’s hand so she comes too. The new guardians welcome us with a hurt but sincere smile.

“Marinette, Luka. I’m happy for you”, I say.

“Thank you, Adrien”, they say, but their attention is more focused on my childhood friend.

“Chloe I-”

“Oh, no! Don't you dare to apologize, Dupain-Cheng! I'm not pitiful, you hear me!? I'm not being dumped, I'm the one dumping him! He’s utterly ridiculous!”

Chloe is actually heartbroken, but she’s strong enough to put an act like that. She really is something, isn’t she? She surely is fond of her pride. I can see Luka giggle in relief.

“Thanks Chloe, for everything. You are today's hero”

“Thank you, Chloe”, Marinette joins her fiancé.

“Hmph! You're all ridiculous…” she whines. but murmurs something in a low voice later. ‘ Great, now I feel even worse… ’

Is that a blush? Cute. Wait- what? Since when is Chloe cute ?

Before returning to my plane, Marinette and Luka use the rabbit and the snake Miraculous to go somewhere. I’m sure they’ll be back soon, so I focus on Chloe.

“Are you ok, Chloe?”

But she never answers. She just hugs me tightly in need of comfort. A comfort I need as well. Her tears don’t stop as I hug her back.

“It will be ok, Chloe. It will be ok…”

_____________________________________________

When Marinette and Luka return, they take the Miraculous box with them and we walk to my plane. Marinette and Luka have agreed to let me Plagg stay with me, and it makes me very happy, even if that’s going to be in a few weeks, after figuring out the new guardianship. Before getting on the plane, Master Fu speaks.

“Take care on your trip back to Paris. I'm not going. I'm old and I have some past mistakes to fix. I'll stay at the temple, helping the acolytes to make up for my irresponsibility”

“Oh, just when we had met again... “ Wayzz cries.

“You can come anytime with the horse Miraculous. I'll be happy to see you”

After a collective hug, Marinette speaks again, in regret.

“Sorry for all the trouble I caused you…”

“Don't say that, Marinette. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your help. Every one of the team had fulfilled their role perfectly. You chose well your team”, Master Fu smiled proudly at his disciple.

“But I did nothing...?” Nino shrugs, surprising everyone and making Alya laugh.

“Wasn't the chloroform necessary at last? That was your idea. Of course you did your part!”

“Ruuuude!! You're all ridiculous! I'm the one who did the most difficult part! You should be grateful I’m part of the team!!”

“Of course, Chloe. We totally are” Luka smiles at her, his words filled with total honesty.

The rest of us join him in agreement, surprising Chloe, whose face turns slightly red.

“Ugh. Whatever! Losers...”

She's acting all strong but she's heartbroken inside. So Chloe…

“Thank you for everything Chloe. You're extraordinary, don't let anyone make you believe you aren't” Luka says, patting the top of her head softly, and her gaze lowers to her feet, holding her tears.

“You're ridiculous… if I was that extraordinary you wouldn't be dumping me…”

I can see how Marinette tries to say something, but she’s cut by Chloe before any sound can leave from her mouth.

“Ugh! Let's go back already. My hair is a mess!”

“She'll never change… excuse her, ok?” I smile, conflicted, while my teammates giggle at her reaction. I can see how all of them love her in their own way. I’m glad.

“Of course, Adrien”

Of course Luka would know her well, too. Seeing the happy couple together reminds me I still haven’t congratulated them. I take a deep breath in order to find my determination.

“I want to congratulate you for your engagement. I have no doubt you'll be the happiest couple around. Congratulations”

“Thank you, Adrien”, Luka says, turning his face to Marinette.

“I- I'm sorry Adrien… for hurting you and-”

“It's okay, Marinette. I get it. I'm happy for you”

This is actually painful. But it must be done, right? I wonder if this is how Luka felt for such a long time. I can’t help it but to admire him even more now.

“Have you thought about my advice? About moving on…” he asks me.

“Not really. Who would want to be with me, anyway? Money or looks are the only reasons people come after me. Nobody cares about me as myself”

“What about Chloe? I think she still likes you…”

“Chloe? Are you serious? No offense, Luka, but she's… well, you know”

“She's changed Adrien. You saw it. It's true she's… special in her way… but there's kindness in her heart. And she loves you for who you are, not for your status”

Luka is right. I doubt he would have dated her if he wasn't convinced of her change.

“Are you sure…?”

“Maybe…?”

I don’t know if I should even be considering this. But at least I can be around Chloe as a friend, right? It will probably help both of us.

_____________________________________

“Take care Master! I'll miss you!” Marinette hugs him.

“See you again, Master. Take care of your health”, Luka gives him a handshake, but Master pulls him in a hug he welcomes.

“You too. I'm sure you'll be happy. And now the box is safer under two guardians protection”

We can see Master Fu waving at us when the plane takes off. Sitting next to me is Chloe, who squeezes my arm strongly. I forgot she was afraid of take off and landings. She recovers her calm after the plane stabilizes.

We are seated at the back of the plane. Nino and Alya are sleeping in exhaustion, Marinette and Luka too. No wonder. It’s been a long day- week. It’s quiet on the plane when Chloe breaks the silence.

“Aren’t you mad, Adrien? You love Marinette, don’t you? How can you stay so calm...?”

“Yes, I love Marinette. But I’m not mad. I’ve already resigned a long time ago… I’m happy for her now”

“What about destiny? You were meant to be together… If only-!” her teeth clench.

“No, Chloe. It was never meant to be. Things with Marinette went well only when I followed Luka’s advice. After he left, I tried to figure out things on my own, but I always messed up… I wasn’t fair to Marinette. I was selfish and treated her possessively. But Luka is different. He cares about her needs and wishes. I couldn’t do that. Marinette loved how Luka treated her, not me. She loved my image and Luka’s actions incarnated in me. It was only natural she broke up with me after noticing. Destiny was not meant to be for us. It was Luka from the beginning…”

“That’s ridiculous! Why didn’t you work harder!? Marinette LOVED you! I know she did!”

“Maybe yes, maybe not… What’s the point now? I got to understand Luka’s feelings and he was right all along. I should have cared for Marinette’s happiness over my own. Aren’t you the same, Chloe?”

Chloe lowers her face before giving me an answer, reflection on her feelings and actions.

“I- I was unfair… I used tricks to get closer to him… Lies. Of course he would hate me. I tried to change my heart and become kind like Marinette, but I couldn’t… Luka is good at figuring people out. He could easily tell when I wasn’t being honest. It was so annoying! But then… I had a fight with my mom and I couldn’t hide my sadness… But he didn’t laugh at me for crying like a stupid baby. Instead, he said he liked me better when I was sincere and… ugh… so frustrating...”

“It’s ok, Chloe, cry as much as you want…” “I love him so much, Adrien! What I’m supposed to do now? I can’t force him to go back with me when he looks so happy… If this is karma for all my wrongdoings from my school days then it’s so cruel… I already regretted all of that! Why do I have to suffer all this torture?”

I- I don’t know what to say. I comfort her in silence, but she finds her own answer before I can come up with mine.

“No… I bet I deserve this. I only could approach Luka because I used dirty tricks. I’m a bad girl. I’m evil. That’s why I can’t be loved. Marinette is different. She’s light, radiant. She’s always honest and pure. Just like Luka… I can’t blame him for choosing her over me, it’s only natural”

“What you did is admirable, Chloe. I don’t think you’re evil. You’re just clumsy expressing your feelings. Luka was right: you have changed. I can clearly see the kindness in your heart. You are very strong and honest for letting Luka go despite loving him” I assure her.

It doesn’t feel like she gets my answer as a satisfying one, though.

“As if you are one to talk… And even if that’s the case, how am I supposed to recover from this? What’s going to happen to all the wedding preparations? I really don’t want to cancel those. And I don’t want to explain anything to anyone. I don’t have the strength to do so, not right now…

“Maybe Luka could use that? You know…” I suggest to her.

Chloe looks hurt and angry at me, tears jumping from her eyes when she quickly turns face to look at me.

“NO! I’ll never forgive him if he does! He didn’t choose anything at all, it was just me! Everything is according to my tastes. How can I let him get married in the place that speaks ‘Chloe’ everywhere? I don’t want that. Ridiculous!”

Well. I can understand that. But she put a lot of effort on it, so she must be sad it will go to waste.

“But it’s quite a pity… I know you were really excited about it”

Chloe shrugs.

“I was. And now I can’t ever marry. I’ve already resigned…” she says. Suddenly, her eyes start shining. “Unless…”

I nervously gulp. I know THAT look. “Unless...?

“Adrikins…” she turns to me and holds my hand, her begging puppy eyes fixed on mine. “We are friends, aren’t we?

“Yeah?” I ask, trembling a little while she continues.

“It’s my dream to get married, you know that…”

“Ye- Yes… You used to say that all the time as kids. Why?”

“Would you marry me?”

WHAT? Did I hear it right? Me? Marry Chloe? How can she expect me to say yes after everything that just happened? Is this a joke? I can’t!

“WHAT!? No no! No way! We’re not even dating! Impossible!”

“No, Adrien, that’s not it. I mean a ‘fake wedding’. Just acting, so I can at least enjoy my real wedding once… please, Adrikins! Marry me!”

I- I don’t even know how to feel about this. I’m both happy and disappointed? Her puppy eyes are making it difficult for me to reject her...

“No No NO, Chloe, this is so wrong! Why me? You don’t even love me!”

“I loved you when we were kids and until I stupidly fell for Luka. I don’t have anyone else to ask! Please…!”

What? I blink a few times. Chloe did…?

“You loved me...? Really…?” I ask her, incredulously.

Her face immediately tells me she’s offended by my answer.

“OMG Adrikins, I can’t believe you! I even confessed to you before you dated Marinette! How dense can you be!? You even said: ‘I love you too, Chloe, you’re such a good friend’. Those words still sting me, you know?” she shouts.

I remember that… I- I was really bad at reading people’s feelings, wasn’t I?

“Ah… I thought… I’m so sorry Chloe. I didn’t know you meant- I’m so dumb…”

“See? I demand compensation! If you want me to forgive you, you have to marry me next month. I’m never forgiving you otherwise” she fusses, crossing her arms.

“Whoa, Chloe, don’t need to be so harsh! You know I didn’t want to hurt you!”

“But you did! And I demand an apology for breaking my heart. So help me make my dream come true. Please…?”

Ah, sh*t. Her puppy eyes again… I feel weaker now.

“Hmm… It’s true I feel bad, but a wedding…”

“It’s ok, Adrikins! It’s just a fake wedding, just to make my dream come true. Please… You’re the only one I have left now!”

Her puppy eyes don’t stop staring at me until I lose and agree to help her.

“Ok…” I finally answer, giving in.

And her face illuminates.

“Really!? Are you serious Adrien? Because I really want to celebrate my wedding and I don’t want to keep my hopes up just for you to step down at the last moment”

Has she always been so radiant when she’s happy? Is that me making her this happy? My heart skips a beat.

“It’s only actors, right? For the photos. I’m a model. I can think of it as a favor for my childhood friend. But wait- You don’t expect me to kiss you, do you...?”

“I want you to, yes. Aren’t you an actor as well? It should be easy for you. But I’ll understand if you don’t want to...”

AGAIN. Those hurt puppy eyes… I can’t-!

“O- ok then. I’ll do it. For our friendship...”

“OMG! Thank you so much, Adrikins! I love you” she hugs me.

Was my heart supposed to skip a beat now? Damn it, she’s cute… This is making me happier than I could have ever imagined…

This is bad.

_________________________________

At the end, Marinette and Luka didn't use the Wedding preparations previously set for Luka and Chloe. Instead, they looked for a quiet little church in a rural French area to get married. Who would have thought Master Fu had a license to officialize weddings? The ceremony was held only for them and the kwamis.

I've never seen anyone as happy as them in my whole life. And I'm happy for them too. I heard they are preparing a bigger wedding ceremony with their families and friends in some months too. They’re planning their honeymoon too- a world tour using the Horse Miraculous. I have no doubts nothing can get in their way anymore now. They’ve found their forever.

On the other hand, not wanting to waste or cancel the wedding preparations that cost her so much, Chloe asked me to fake a wedding so at least some of the money spent finds some purpose.

I'm not sure why I agreed, but here I am.

The groom .

With my family members at one of the rows of benches, Chloe's family in the other one. My friends and Chloe's friends are there too. Marinette and Luka as well, happily in love as always. Nino, Alya and their baby... even Jagged Stone and his crocodile are there within the guests.

And then, the official in charge of the wedding.

My body is tense, and before I can react, the wedding march music starts, and Chloe- the bride - appears down the aisle with her father.

Wow! She looks stunning… Has Chloe always been so beautiful? Is it because of the wedding dress? Why is my heart beating so fast? This is a fake wedding! No need to get nervous here!

And Chloe smiles at me and I feel like I'm about to pass out. She's glowing. How? Not any other woman except Marinette has ever made me feel like that. What's wrong with me? This is Chloe! Same Chloe as… damn! She's still glowing. What’s wrong with the lights?

And the priest starts talking.

"Welcome. We've reunited here today to-"

"Chloe… this is still a fake marriage, right...?"

"Of course"

And her answer gives me shivers down my spine. Of course it has to be fake, right? Right?

Is there supposed to be guests in a fake wedding? That priest is an actor, right…?

"Yes, I do" my words came out automatically, without thinking, hypnotised by Chloe’s beauty in front of me.

It’s been a while since I’ve felt butterflies in my stomach. Could I be falling for her...? For Chloe…? She keeps looking even more gorgeous and radiant every second I stare at her. My head is spinning, and I can’t think properly anymore.

"You can kiss the bride"

"Yeah, totally fake…" Chloe smirks and kisses me passionately.

What?

And I can't hold myself for kissing her back. Pressured by the stares of the guests and the feelings Chloe is awaking in me. It feels good…

“Congrats!”, “Congratulations!”, “When is the honeymoon?”, “When can we expect a baby?”

Are these really the questions supposed to be asked during a fake marriage...?

Before I can react, Chloe approaches me again, and kisses me. I’m not sure what makes her kiss me again but I can’t complain. I feel like Chloe is starting to grow on me. She has really changed… hasn’t she?

But I can feel my face become white as a ghost when the priest comes and tells me: “Congrats, I’ll make sure the papers reach the official authorities. I wish you and your wife happiness”

My father is looking disappointed through Nathalie’s tablet, the gorilla is tearing up and Chloe’s mother is praising her daughter, while her father is giving her a thumbs up, crying in happiness for his daughter. And finally, Luka and Marinette are there, looking at me with a sympathetic smile.

I gulp.

MY WIFE…?

What have I done?

THE END

#fic: last chance #airipyon #airip4 #my fic #It's completed!!#thank you for reading #lukanette fic

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voemae582 · 5 years ago

Text

The Truth Changes

Chapter 4: Is Blue Warm or Cold?

Let it be known, I wrote this chapter before I watched reflectdoll and Desperado. And I'm so angry with how Marinette and Adrien acted, but most importantly the writers... Enjoy. Also I post the story on my Fanfiction.net page under Voemae Patterson and on Wattpad under Tia_Patterson!

Meanwhile Chat Noir made his way across town and hid in an alley way to transform back. Plagg flew out of his ring in a panic.

"Plagg calm down, we need think of a plan, maybe she was bluffing and Ladybug is fine."

Plagg shook his head, "Kid this is serious, I can honestly tell you, she was telling the truth. We need to find Master. I have a feeling Tikki's with him, which is good."

"Tikki?" Adrien asked.

"No time to explain, lets go!" Plagg flew in the direction of Master Fu's massage place with Adrien close behind him.

They took back streets and alleys to avoid any Marionettes in the area. It didn't take long before they finally reached their destination and took cover inside where they were greeting by Wayzz. They entered the massage room to find Master Fu and Tikki talking. Adrien saw the polka doted Kwami and put two and two together. It was Ladybugs Kwami.

"Tikki!" Plagg shouted and he wasted no time flying to her side. "What happened?"

Master Fu put his attention to Adrien who was still confused. Where was Ladybug? Why didn't she have her kwami? "Adrien, come and sit."

"Master Fu, Marinette, she's the girl akumatized. She's my friend."

He nodded. "Yes, well without Ladybug we're in quite the predicament."

Adrien clenched her fists and grit his teeth, "Please entrust me with saving them both."

"Everyone whos fought alongside you has been turned into a puppet." He stroked his little beard and turned his head away from Adrien and whispered, "She must've done that on purpose."

"What?"

"It's nothing." He waved his hand to signal there was nothing to worry about.

Tikki, Plagg and Wayzz sat at the middle of the table. "Oh Master, it's not her fault! We must save her from being a puppet." Tikki chose her words carefully as to not reveal Marinette was Ladybug.

"I understand the situation. Ladybug knew she would be caught, and purposely took out her earrings to prevent Hawkmoth from finding her using the connection between the akumatized." He pondered for a moment and the room fell silent with thinking. "But," He broke the silence. "I can not ignore the fact that she did fall into this situation."

"Master?" Wayzz questioned.

"Don't worry, I chose her for a reason, that being said I have to wonder what she'll do. Or if she can snap out of it."

"I know she will." Adrien stood up. "Because she's Ladybug." They all looked up at him as he radiated the confidence he lacked a moment ago. "I'll focus on snapping Marinette out of it, try and find the item that's been akumatized then free her. But, Chat Noir can't catch the akuma, or fix what's been destroyed. Master Fu, please let me use the Ladybug miraculous."

Fu stood and turned to get more tea, "Absolutely not. It's far too risky."

"But-!"

"But this may be our only sound option right now. As for the cat miraculous, you cant use both at the same time. And I don't feel good having both miraculous near each other while you're fighting. I suppose I could also-" Just then a crack echoed in the room. His age was catching up to him and he cracked his back... As always Wayzz was worried for the master and helped him sit back down with the tea. "We almost lost the Bee miraculous once, we can't afford making these same mistakes." He shook his head, he knew he wouldn't be much help, but he couldn't do it alone. "We need to move location, she might come here."

"Why would she come here?" Adrien asked. The Kwami's looked at Fu to make an excuse.

Fu cleared his throat. "Your friend Marinette, yes, um she, she's been in my shop before, to get a muscle relaxer!" Not his best moment but he was going to roll with it. "You know how kids are these days, stressed about school and such. So I gave her an old Chinese remedy to help her out... Of course she still seems a bit clumsy..."

Adrien chuckled at the last comment. "No, that's just her."

Fu saw his sincere smile as he thought about her. "I see.." He smiled. "Well, lets move location of the box carefully first, then get a plan started."

"I've got an idea." And so it was decided where the box would be moved to...

Half an hour later after mast Fu settled Adrien transformed back into Chat Noir. "Until we figure this out, I'll go and patrol the surrounding area. I need to help those who have not been caught."

"What ever you do, don't go looking for her." He warned him.

"Which one?" He joked before leaving the building.

Master Fu saw as his Chat Noir figure jumped over a building. "The only one."

"Oh master... What should we do?" Tikki hovered next to him looking out the window.

"Where there's a will, there's a way." he sighed. "For all our sakes, we can only wait and see if she has a stronger will then the darkness in her heart."

About twenty minutes past and Chat Noir saved a few hand fills of civilians and hid them from the akuma. He made sure to stay low and out of sight trying not to cause a scene. All the while he was trying to think of a plan. He was alone, without his Lady. He was worried, but he didn't know for who more. Marinette or Ladybug?

It was already night and the stars were bright. a lot of the city lights were off because there were people hiding. For the most part if Porcelain had no need for them, the marionettes had free will to go home or do anything they wanted as long as the didn't rebel they could live a normal life as a porcelain doll. Until she needed them that is, and took control of their body's again. The brightest lights were the Eiffel tower, which is where Chat Noir assumed Marinette was based. The day had been the longest time anyone has ever been under an akuma's affects and trance before.

No one knew what was supposed to happen next. Where was Ladybug, the hero of Paris? The Parisians began to worry. Every time that day Chat was asked where she was or heard a rumor of her disappearance he quickly retorted it stating she was well and they were just thinking of a plan.

He returned to his mansion per master Fu's request for the night. Adrien wanted eagerly to go and try talking to Marinette but was stopped every time by Plagg. He agonized over the thought of pain and suffering she was feeling, alone. Plus he was scared sooner or later Ladybug would break, not that she would ever lie.

Checking on his father was impossible since the Gorilla stood outside his bedroom room and Natalie probably wouldn't let him into the office. Little did he know his father was better then okay. Because he had finally found a suitable victim to capture all the miraculous.

In his lair Hawkmoth reveled in the army before him. "Your progress is taking much longer then I expected, but you told the truth, Ladybug hasn't shown her face yet. Meaning you did capture her, and Chat Noir's the only one left. He is the only one left, right?"

Far from the Agreste Manor, sitting at the very top of the Eiffel tower looking at the night sky above her was Porcelain. "Yes, I assume he'll be no trouble. And before you ask again, I do not know where to find the guardian of the box." She technically wasn't lying, she didn't know where master Fu could be, its not 100% certain he'll be at his home. She knew how to manipulate her powers so she wouldn't crack.

Suddenly she felt a pain and all her muscles stiffened making her feel weak. "If you're lying to me I will take away your victory!" Hawkmoth threatened her.

"Why- argh!" She struggled to talk with the pressure he forced on her. "-would I-ugh, why would I lie to you!?" He finally released her letting her gasp for air.

"If I find out you were lying to me or are plotting something, not only will I take everything away from you, but I'll get a professional to do it instead." He chuckled. "You might know her. She tends to fib a bit."

If Porcelain wasn't wearing a mask you'd see the anger in her eyes and her teeth ready to break from clenching them to hold her tongue. "Lila." She hissed through her teeth.

"Correct. Instead of getting your revenge on her I'll replace you with her. So don't forget your end of the deal."

Marinette felt a stab in her heart. Even Hawkmoth preferred Lila. Why was she not good enough? "Why would you trust a liar like her?"

"Of course I don't trust her you fool, but she'll do her job. And who knows, after she does get me what I want perhaps she'll become even more adored with her lies then you'll ever be with the truth."

"Forget you! I'll get you what I promised by using my powers for their own good!" She stood up and yelled at the sky. "I can't concentrate with you nagging in my ear!"

"I'll check back later." Back in the lair Hawkmoth cut the communication with Porcelain. "Dark wings fall!" And turned back into his formal attire as Gabriel Agreste. "Natalie, I may need your assistance tomorrow." He turned around to face Natalie who held a clipboard to her chest never showing more then a poker face.

"Of course. I would be happy to, sir."

"Right, go get some rest, it'll take a toll on you tomorrow."

She shook her head. "I'm fine, I've had all nighters before doing work, but you should get some sleep, we have a big day tomorrow. I'll watch over things for the night."

Back at the tower Porcelain looked over the Paris buildings to a small shop with it's lights still on. It was her parent's bakery. They were still up so late. She had the urge to go and visit them, but something stopped her. She was ashamed.

"Damn it." She held her head in her hands and cursed at the world. It all seemed so unfair.

Last month she was adored by her friends and she adored them. Marinette was hanging out with everyone, and sure, once in awhile Lila would tell a lie, but she learned to ignore it. Over time she just left Lila alone and avoided her as long as it didn't affect anyone, but now, how did she end up like this. Her mind got foggy and her memories blurred together. She could only remember the bad parts.

Porcelain had forgotten the good inside of Marinette, and it scared her, not because she couldn't remember anything good, but because she didn't actually care. She couldn't even remember how her morning started. It had only been hours ago but she couldn't think of her parent's and their kind words. What she did remember was Lila. The lies. Alya ditching her in her time of need. Adrien's rejection. Her parent's pitying her. Ladybug.

Oh lord Ladybug. It was always Ladybug. Even Chat Noir prefers Ladybug. Adrien would probably prefer Ladybug. Alya would prefer Ladybug. Her parent's would be better off with a daughter like Ladybug.

Porcelain stopped gripping her skull with anger and let her arm frail onto her knee. She was Ladybug. But Ladybug wasn't her. No, she used to be Marinette. And Marinette is no Ladybug. Marinette's clumsy, a coward and a complete mess. Over a boy. A boy who didn't even like her. Or notice her. She was just a friend. She was a nobody. A wanna be fashion designer.

Marinette was always good at over thinking things, but Porcelain was the queen of over thinking.

A tear appeared from the dark hole of the mask where the eye should be and rolled down the porcelain surface. All her terrible negative feelings came crawling into her heart. Her chest hurt, it felt like something was pulling at her heart strings until they snapped. A punch in the gut. Her head ached and felt like it was on fire and going to explode. Water leaked from her eyes. She shook all over and couldn't breath. She was panicking. She hated this feeling of helplessness. This feeling of depression and anxiety. Eating at every nerve and cell in her body, until she snapped.

And she screamed.

A burst of red deflected from her like a ring of fire around her and widened until it disappeared into the night. She hunched and tried to calm herself. At this moment she knew she messed up. Hawkmoth had increased her emotions of betrayal before he went to bed leaving her to wallow in self loathing. She had no choice but to blame others.

Time had passed and she was walking around on the tower trying to control her emotions and also devising her plan while sewing a scarf together using the red thread she possessed. She had puppets guarding the castle.

"M'Lady." a Marionette approached her.

"Speak, but do not call me that." She ordered him still continuing to make the scarf.

"Several Marionettes whom are not under your control at the moment have asked for an audience with the great poupée de porcelaine."

"Very well."

A few moments later Nino, Rose, Juleka, Mylene, Ivan and even Luka appeared before her. They stood in front of her and She could tell by their faces what they wanted to say. This small group was made up of Kitty Section. The band Marinette designed for. Her closes friends other then Alya.

Nino was outwardly distraught making him the first to burst out his feelings. "How could you do that to Alya!"

Rose and Juleka stood on both sides of him and held his arms as if he would try to attack Porcelain. "This isn't what we practiced" Rose tried to calm him down.

Apparently practicing and deciding what they would tell her ahead of time was the plan to convince her to stop. Little did they know, the longer Marinette was under the Akuma's control the more she lost herself. It had already been too long for logic and reason to save her.

Ivan stepped forward and started first. "Marinette, we're sorry. All of us. We knew you didn't like Lila for some reason but we didn't take your feelings into consideration and hung out with her."

Porcelain's eye twitched in annoyance. "You think this is because I didn't want you guys to hangout with someone I don't like?" She cracked her neck and continued. "True I despise Lila, and I didn't want anyone to hangout with her, but that's because she's a liar, and constantly tortures me, not because I just don't like her! Marinette wasn't so shallow she'd try to monopolize you guys!" She took the wooden controls from her side pockets and the thread connected to Nino and pulled him in front of her.

"Nino!"

Nino could still talk and looked her in the eyes. "I thought we were friends?"

Knowing Hawkmoth went to bed Porcelain got close to his ear so no one would hear her, and she whispered in Nino's ear, "Are you secretly Carapace?"

"H-how did you-?"

She asked more loudly so everyone could hear, "Are you? Answer the question!"

"N-No!" He gulped.

"Perfect." Porcelain watched his arm start cracking until it just shattered revealing a wooden surface. She let him go giving him free will.

Nino stepped backward away from her and tripped falling on his back. "AAARUGH!!" He yelled in pain. It felt like every bone in his body shattering even though it was just his arm. The pain continued for what seemed forever. He finally bit his tongue on the pain and sat up gripping his wooden left arm.

He had control of his body except for his left arm that was now wood. "What's happening!? I only told one lie! I shouldn't have shattered anything! It should just be a crack, right!?" He yelled at her confused and scared. The others ran to aid him.

"So you admit you lied to me." She started to walk in a circle around them and their eyes followed her every move.

"What's going on with his arm!?" Mylene spoke up.

She sighed, "True, a lie would usually only give you a crack, but, the bigger the lie, the more severe the injury." She winked. "Don't you wanna know what I asked him?"

Luka stood up, "Marinette, this isn't you."

Again telling her who she was. People just couldn't take a hint. "My names Not Marinette!" She yelled and took control of them making them stand in a line. "It's poupée en porcelaine! Now leave before I decide to shatter you all." She demanded more then requested. With a point of the finger she forced them to walk out.

"Wait!" Luka pleaded as his legs led him to the elevator. "Marinette! Please, wait, I just want to talk!"

She froze them for a second. The were in mid stepping pose facing the opposite direction of her. Staring at his back she asked, "If you stay here you'll be broken one way or the other. Are you willing To risk the damage?"

Juleka tried to look at her brother, "Luka, don't."

Luka had a soft smile on his face. "Sorry Jules, you'd do the same for Rose."

"Touching..." Porcelain mocked. "Your answer?"

"Yes. I'm okay with that." He spoke louder.

Porcelain walked up to him and examined him for any crack. He was telling the truth. She snapped her fingers and the rest of them walked to the elevator and left. She took away their speech temporarily so they wouldn't interfere until they left.

For the next minute they stood in silence just looking at each other. She wondered what he was looking at her for, what was he trying to find. She focused on his eyes. They were a clear blue, not like hers, his were deeper. Clear with no clutter. Why were his blue eyes so... Warm?

"Cold." He muttered.

Porcelain snapped out of her thoughts, "What?"

"I finally caught a glimpse of you're eyes behind the mask, when the light hits you just right, and they were cold."

She covered the eye he was focused on and turned her face slightly to hide her other. "Blue is cold."

He realized how rude that might've sounded. "No sorry." He scratched the back of his head and looked at the ground. "It's just that, your eyes are usually so warm."

For a second she thought he read her mind. Her eye brows furrowed and she made him stand up straight and look at her. "What nonsense are you spouting? Everyone knows blue is a cold, cold color."

He stood quietly and let her make her point. Studying her actions and moves. Trying to find an ounce of Marinette. He focused on her every detail. Her perfectly place hair in a bun with a red ribbon. The intricate detail on her dress. The carefully placed paint strokes on her mask and especially the way you can see her expression through her eyes.

"Do you ever dislike being in a band with your little sister, and her friends?"

Luka was caught off guard by the question. "What? No, of course not. I love my sister and her friends are mine too." No cracks, he was telling the truth.

"Really? You never feel childish being around them?"

"No they're awesome." He smiled knowing he had nothing to hide.

Porcelain grunted. "Do you even have friends outside of them?"

He nodded, "Yeah, I see them all the time."

"Ever wish you lived in a house like normal people?"

"I love living in a boat."

The two of them went back and fourth for quite a while. Porcelain started to run out of questions. She asked petty things like fights with Juleka, or stealing candy when he was young. Despite his looks he wasn't really a 'bad boy'. He was sweet and kind and honest. She hated it.

"There's got to be something you don't want to admit to! So admit it!" She was getting frustrated. "There's got to be something you lie about. And I'm going to find out."

He went silent and thought about something. Porcelain noticed he was hiding something. She was about to confront him with more questions, but he beat her to the punch. "I never want to lie to the girl I like."

She taken aback. "What? Who?"

"Marinette." He said confidently.

"You're a liar, no one likes a nobody." She wasn't convinced.

"I do." He breathed. "Because to me, she's not a nobody. She's-"

"Like an everyday Ladybug, nice, good, perfect and all that crap!" She turned around as to not face him.

"No." He replied. "Ladybug isn't perfect. I don't know her personally so I can't say much about her personality. But no ones perfect or good at everything. Especially Marinette."

She felt a tug at her heart and the corners of her lips weigh down.

"Marinette isn't perfect, she's clumsy, and stammers, and sometimes it's like she's always in her head."

"You've made your point-"

"But I love that about her. She might fall a lot, but that only means I get to catch her. Her stammering is the cutest thing I've ever heard. And to be able to look at her when she's lost in thought is the greatest privilege I can have." He smiled and you could hear the passion of his words. "She has all the qualities of a super hero, but that's just one part of her, she's also an amazing girl."

"Stop it." She gripped both her upper arms.

"Her designs are incredible! She works hard and deserve every good thing in her life. She apologizes even if she's not in the wrong. And she's honest to a fault, that makes her unique because now a days there's nobody that honest. She tries to help those in need. She messes up, but she she'll try again until everything's fixed."

"I said enough!" She turned around waved her hand violently and took his speech away. She stomped in front of him only three inches from his face. "These are all lies!" She aimed her sight down and he mouthed something to her. 'I love you'.

She backed up and held her fists at her side. "Why aren't you breaking!?" She shouted almost pleading. For some reason she was running away from love. Perhaps she didn't deserve it. "Lie!" Her voice got shaky and she got close to him and he mouthed it again. she hit his chest with her palms and her forehead landed on his chest. "Lies! All of them!" While one hand hit him repeatedly, the other slowly reached for her mask and slid it off letting her take a deep shaky breath.

Without knowing she had let control of him go and felt his arms wrap around her. "I love you, Marinette." And she let his chin rest on her head. "You're the song playing in my head, and the rhythm my heart beats too." There they stood on the Eiffel tower, embraced in each others cold china hold, with the warmest blue eyes.

"No.." A whisper was barely heard.

"Did you-" Luka started say before being pushed away.

He caught a glance at her face without the mask, her sapphire eyes glossed over with denial, and there was a notable break under her left eye.

"Marinette wha-?"

"My. Names. Not. Marinette!" With a wave of her hand she made him leave, immediately. As soon as she could no longer see him she fell to her knees and hung her head. "Damn it..." The lights of the Eiffel tower then turned off as if on que.

The next day was sure to be chaotic.

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