Truth Seeker

Chapter Four

"Adrien? We need to talk," Plagg said, trying to sound a sincere as possible. But when you're munching loudly on a piece of stinky cheese, it probably isn't very convincing. He hastily shoved the rest in his mouth.

"I've already told you, Plagg! I am not getting that camembert deluxe package!" Adrien said exasperatedly, eyes still fixated on his computer screen.

Plagg hit the power button and hovered in front of Adrien as the screen went black.

"Hey, turn that back on!" Adrien protested, reaching for his mouse. Plagg blocked that too and bopped Adrien on his nose. 

"Pay attention! I'm not talking about cheese. I want to talk to you," Plagg said.

"That's a first," Adrien muttered. 

"Just listen! What's going on? A lot of people have been noticing that you're acting differently, and not in a good way."

Adrien sighed, but reluctantly spoke. "It's Ladybug. Every time I look...well, anywhere online, her name is in the headlines. But it's not what I'm used to. Everybody thinks she's one of the bad guys now, and she's saving the world anyway. If I still believed she was good, I would probably be more obsessed with her than ever. But now I see it...like it's all fake. Like she doesn't really care anymore, and is just putting on a show."

Plagg hesitated. So...what should I do? I guess go tell sugar cube what he said...but that will probably have to wait for now. I'll go visit her tomorrow.

"I'm sorry, Adrien. But I know she's still good. Those stupid rumors some random person put online are not true. You have to believe it," he pleaded. 

"Sure, Plagg. I do," Adrien said gloomily. He pushed Plagg out of his face and immediately turned on his computer again, once again gazing at pictures of Ladybug. 

Plagg sighed as he floated over to the couch. For the first time in a while he had lost his appetite, and decided to watch TV instead.

But almost as soon as he sat down and pressed power on the remote, he heard a gasp and a clunk, followed by quiet gasps. 

Plagg zipped up and over to Adrien, once again hovering in front of his face. "Adrien! Adrien, are you okay?"

Adrien didn't answer. He was clutching his head, and his face was oddly red, a butterfly shaped glow on the edges. Plagg gasped, and pulled Adrien's ring off, zipping away.

He was getting akumatized, and Plagg had a feeling that he wouldn't be able to resist it.

________________

Adrien gasped, dropped his phone, and almost immediately began to cry. This was by far the most convincing evidence he'd seen so far, and he just couldn't take it anymore. He half consciously saw Plagg float over to comfort him, but it wasn't enough this time. The love of his life was a traitor. Every word, every smile, every laugh...they were all lies.

In the last few days, the things he'd seen so far were theories like her acting to convince Cat Noir, and how the reason she asked so much questions sometimes was to get inside information which she then reported to Hawkmoth. But this was different. It was as if all of Adrien's worst fears came and blew up in his face.

This time the user had posted a video instead of the usual picture and a short explanation. Whoever it was was wearing a blue hoodie with the hood flipped up and baggy jeans, making it hard to identify their gender. The face was also blurred out.

"This is my final piece of evidence that Ladybug is not only a fake, but one of the enemies. I assure you that not a single part of this video is edited, besides the blurring of my face to keep my true self a secret," said the user. Adrien thought the voice was awfully familiar...

The user didn't say anything else after that. The user quietly turned a corner and into an alley, where the faint shape of Ladybug was standing and whispering to a very tall figure, presumably Hawkmoth, who was nodding and taking something. The user turned the camera to themself and nodded, confirming what everyone was thinking. She was giving him her miraculous. He murmured something in reply and leapt away. Ladybug watched for a moment and then walked away, ending the video. There were already about a hundred comments, but Adrien didn't read them. He couldn't.

Adrien was quite intelligent, and could usually spot photoshopping and editing when there was some. He had watched closely to see, and sure enough, the only editing in sight was the blurring of the user's face. 

He felt a tug on his finger, and sent Plagg his silent thanks.

Suddenly he felt someone in his head, and he immediately knew what was happening.

"Truth Seeker," said a melodious female voice. "I am Lady Luna."

"What? Who is Lady Luna?" Adrien said, clutching his head and groaning.

"Ladybug has been a traitor, even though you have always thought you could trust her? I have given you the power of finding the truth, and you can get revenge on her. But in exchange, I need Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculous. Do we have an agreement?" 

"No...no..." Adrien said, feeling himself give up even though it was against his will.

"Yes, Truth Seeker. I can help you if you'll let me." Lady Luna said.

A black and purple mist swamped him, and Adrien knew he couldn't fight it, no matter how desperately he wanted to.

But one thing stuck in his head before the transformation: who was Lady Luna?