All the heroes were preparing for their next attempt, the last attempt. All or nothing, this would be their last chance.
Ladybug watched her team, as guilt ate her up inside. She turned to look at Rena Rouge and Carapace who looked scared but determined, which only increased her feeling of guilt. She had already explained the new plan and they had both decided to trust her blindly.
She turned to look at Chat Noir, her partner, the one who had been with her since the first Akuma, her beloved Chaton, who always tried to cheer her up... and she was about to use him as...
"I can't do this" thought Ladybug, walking away from the other heroes, being followed by her partner. Then, Chat Noir approached and squeezed her hand.
"Calm down, my Lady," he told her with a smile trying to hide his fear "I fully trust you."
"I wish you wouldn't, this shouldn't even be an option, and you shouldn't agree."
"It has taken me time to learn what it means to be a hero, but at the end of the day, we are here to save people, if you must sacrifice me to end this nightmare, do it, my Lady."
Ladybug felt the tears burn her eyes, she really didn't want to do this...
Taking a deep breath, she turned to the rest of the team.
"We are about to face the most powerful Akuma we have ever dealt with, this battle has been long and exhausting, after today it will all be over, no matter what happens today, you guys are wonderful and I am grateful to be able to fight alongside you."
Everyone present was motivated when they heard his words, it was now or never, time to save Paris.
A few minutes later...
The young heroes watched the scene in front of them with fear, the Mothers Wrath army was intimidating, both in size and power, but they would not be intimidated, they could not afford it.
" You know the plan, are you ready?" Ladybug asked seriously.
"Yes, Ladybug!" declared everyone present, Ladybug smiled, moved by their words.
"All right, you know what to do."
They all launched into what would be the toughest battle ever seen on the streets of Paris.
Ladybug and Chat Noir stood in the path of Mothers Wrath's army. The others were behind.
"This is as far as you've come, Mothers Wrath!"
"No, that's not true" announced Mothers Wrath perfectly calm "There are not only mothers here in Paris, and they all need help to make this world a better place for our children."
"No! We're going to stop you this time!" declared Chat Noir.
That said, they all launched into battle. They all attacked head-on, covering each other, but this time there were no feints or decoys, this time it was all or nothing.
"Is this your idea? To attack wildly?" Mothers Wrath asked amused "They're just making it easier for me."
None of them answered as they all kept advancing and to Mother's Wrath's surprise, they were getting closer, their warriors were being pinned down and thrown to the sides as the squad of heroes advanced.
Mothers Wrath decided to interfere as she saw how the heroes kept advancing, it was strange, she assumed that they would be tired enough to defeat them easily, after all, she didn't want to hurt them, but apparently, these children were more foolish than she expected.
Mothers Wrath approached them menacingly and when she was close, she expanded a couple of her ribbons to catch the closest heroes, those being Rena Rouge and Carapace, as she had them in her grip, they began to fidget.
"Easy there, can't you see I just want to protect you?"
"Well, you're doing a lousy job, you're hurting us!" claimed Rena Rouge.
"That's because you guys are only going to get hurt doing something as dangerous as playing heroes."
"We're not playing!" claimed Carapace "We don't like having to take risks either, but we'll do what it takes to protect the ones we love! You're working for someone who's been hurting adults AND CHILDREN!"
Mothers Wrath seemed surprised to hear Nino's defense. The two heroes continued to claim.
"Many children have nightmares because of that villain!"
"Some are bullied!"
"Many have to hold back their tears!"
"This is not healthy!"
Mothers Wrath listened to both heroes calmly while they let out all the frustration they have bottled up, then lowered them to the ground and took out her fan, a warm light flooded the place again.
"My poor children, I'm sorry you're in pain, just hand over your miraculous and I promise this will be over."
The feeling was overwhelming, the two teenagers were about to give in, then Rena Rouge gave Ladybug a look full of guilt.
"I'm sorry..."
At that moment, both Rena Rouge and Caparace prepared to hand over their miraculous, undoing their transformations, but before the light dissipated, Pegasus shout cut through the air.
"Voyage!"
Beneath Rena Rouge and Carapace's feet, a portal opened, transporting them to safety.
Mothers Wrath frowned but didn't give it much thought as long as the fox necklace and turtle bracelet were in her possession.
The other heroes were still fighting their newly recovered protectors and seekers, so Mothers Wrath decided to contact Hawkmoth.
"I don't want to have these here, Ladybug might take them, come get them."
"You can use them to give your warriors more power."
" I don't need them, I already gave them the power they need to accomplish their mission, if you want to run the risk of Ladybug overtaking me at some point and you're left with nothing, that's your problem, my priority is to protect my children and you asked me for Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous, so I won't waste my time protecting these."
Hawkmoth, from his lair, writhed in fury as he weighed his options. On the one hand, it was dangerous for him to go out, even with the strength and agility provided by the miraculous, he wasn't exactly a warrior, on the other, this might be his only chance to gain more power. This was the first time one of his Akumas managed to get a miraculous, true, they weren't Ladybug's or Chat Noir's, but it was still important.
"Go to the Eiffel Tower, I'll meet you there."
"So be it."
Mothers Wrath watched the battle in front of her and turned to one of her caretakers.
"I have some business to take care of, I'll be back soon."
"Understood, mother."
Mothers Wrath headed for the Eiffel Tower, where Hawkmoth was already waiting for her.
"Give me the miraculous," said the man in a serious voice.
Mothers Wrath frowned.
"I don't like your manners, you must say 'please'."
"I'm not playing."
" Neither am I, you created me to be everyone's mother in Paris, when have you ever seen a mother who doesn't care about manners?"
Hawkmoth had to hold his tongue before speaking.
"Give me the miraculous, please."
Mothers Wrath smiled complacently as she handed him the necklace and bracelet. Hawkmoth eyed both miraculous with great satisfaction, now he just needed the rest, Ladybug's and Chat Noir's in particular, he was so close...
" I have a question for you, what do you need the miraculous for?"
"What?"
"The miraculous, what are they for?"
"That's none of your business."
" Watch your tone."
Hawkmoth frowned, irritated at Mothers Wrath's attitude. On the one hand, he could threaten to take away her powers, but he suspected that, if he did, it would cost him greatly, after all, this was the first Akuma to get him not one but two miraculous. On the other hand, that information was unnecessary for her. Perhaps a middle ground was necessary, he could appeal to her maternal instincts that were what gave her her powers in the first place.
" I need the miraculous so my child can grow up in a suitable environment."
Ok, that was pretty vague about its purpose, but it would serve to distract Mothers Wrath.
"I see, you have a son. How old is he?"
"He's... wait, you don't care about that."
Hawkmoth frowned noticing how the words almost escaped him, Mothers Wrath's powers must be affecting him, but she wasn't using the fan, that was impossible, unless...
Furious, he looked up and met Mothers Wrath's expressionless face.
"You're not using your fan, how did you get your powers to evolve?"
Mothers Wrath smiled slightly.
"A mother's potential is limitless, for our children we become doctors, teachers, storytellers, and even soldiers. Did you really believe that you would be able to control such a force? "
"I gave you your powers and I can take them away."
"Give it a try."
Hawkmoth set out to reclaim the Akuma, but didn't get far before a pair of chains pierced his palms, as he screamed from the unexpected pain, Mothers Wrath approached him and snatched the miraculous.
"Give them back!"
"I will," said Mothers Wrath indifferently "when you learned your lesson, you are the reason why many children of Paris have to endure their pain, you have harmed the children of Paris in a worse way than a hit could do, you have a son, but you do not consider his safety by creating monsters like me to whip Paris, you have to learn your lesson, and if there is only one way to teach you, so be it."
Hawkmoth was dragged by the seeker's chains, twisting in pain. Mothers Wrath smiled as she sensed another presence behind her back.
"Miss Mayura, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Release Hawkmoth!"
Mothers Wrath gave her an expressionless look as she shook her head.
"Not until he learns his lesson."
"Do it now! I know you sent your warriors to imprison Hawkmoth! You're on your own! You must obey!"
"He refused my lesson, no one escapes a mother's punishment."
Madura proceeded to attack Mothers Wrath, she had waited until she was sure that all her warriors had withdrawn before beginning the attack, Nathalie Sancoeur had trained in martial arts, with the power of her miraculous, she could deal with simple Akumas without a problem.
But that was where she was wrong, after all, Mothers Wrath was born from the fury of a ruthless woman like Audrey Bourgeois, a disciplined swordswoman like Tomoe Tsurugi, and a born and highly lethal leader like Sabine Cheng.
So basically, Mayura was in trouble.
Despite her attacks, Mothers Wrath evaded and struck with immense precision, as a result, Mayura ended up literally biting the dust.
Mothers Wrath crouched down to be at her height and said sweetly:
"Poor little girl, don't worry, I'll take care of everything" then added ominously "but defying mom has consequences, you'll have to be punished."
*******************************************
In the meantime
The battlefield was still crowded and the young heroes were still fighting.
Ladybug knew that Rena Rouge and Carapace had to lose their miraculous for the plan to work, but that didn't stop her distress as she watched Mothers Wrath take Trixx and Waizz with her.
Watching her return, as she dragged Mayura behind her, she knew it was time for the next step, her stomach clenched in anguish as she watched Chat Noir turn pale.
"We can look for another way out" she whispered to him as Chat approached his side, but the boy shook his head.
"My Lady, this Akuma has gone too far, if my sacrifice is what you need to save Paris, I'll take it happily."
That was what bothered Ladybug the most, how Chat was so willing to sacrifice himself just because she said so, sometimes she wished her partner would argue with her, that he would force her to find another solution, they were partners, Chat Noir was not inferior to her, he had never been, but he always expected her to take the initiative and create a plan, a plan that sometimes involved her Chaton getting hurt.
That was so morally unfair, she was only fifteen, why did she have to make those decisions?
Ladybug had no more time to think when Chat Noir took her hand.
"The time has come, my Lady."
Ladybug swallowed her guilt, fear and uncertainty and began to move forward at her partner's side.
Mothers Wrath handed Mayura over to one of her punishers, who had already taken Hawkmoth away. Then, as she turned around she saw Ladybug and Chat Noir pounce on her. Before any of her allies could react, Ladybug shouted at Pegasus.
"Now!"
"Voyage!"
At that moment, the portal opened at Mothers Wrath's feet and the three of them were transported to the square where the statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir lay.
"Clever of you, my children, my seekers will take a little time to find us," said Mothers Wrath before adding ominously, "but they will find us, besides I know how to fight, I'll keep them busy while they arrive."
The three of them began to fight, Ladybug calculated that they would have approximately seven minutes before Mothers Wrath's henchwomen would arrive, they had to move fast, recover the miraculous from the fox and the turtle, snatch the akumatized object from Mothers Wrath and use the miraculous cure to fix everything.
Mothers Wrath was a terrifying villain, she had the intelligence to lead her troops to subdue Paris, but her hand-to-hand combat was even worse.
The skill she showed in fighting with her fan rivaled Tomoe's skill with a sword, and her reflexes were clearly Sabine's.
" You'll never get our miraculous, Mothers Wrath!"
"Oh, but I don't want your miraculous."
Both heroes looked confused at the villain's statement.
"What do you mean?"
"The one who wanted your miraculous was Hawkmoth and he can't control me now, I don't want to fight with you kids, I just want to protect you, I don't need your miraculous, the powers I have now are enough, if you promise me that you won't fight against me anymore, I'll give you back these two." She said while showing them the miraculous of the fox and the turtle.
Ladybug looked wildly at Mothers Wrath and realized that she wasn't lying, she really was willing to leave them alone if they would let her, she had even trapped Hawkmoth and Mayura to punish them. A part of her, a dangerous dark part of her, thought it wouldn't be so bad, Mothers Wrath had punished Hawkmoth, Mayura and Lila Rossi, the three people who made Marinette's life so difficult, she protected young children and only attacked those who had hurt someone before.
But she knew that wasn't right, Mothers Wrath's methods were too extreme, her reign of terror had to stop.
"We cannot let you continue, I understand that you only seek to protect all children, I understand that you have only attacked those who have hurt others, but, even so, we are here to stop you, you do not have the right to take justice into your own hands, there are other ways to do it. You can't see them right now, but we'll take care of purifying the Akuma so you can see clearly."
"I see clearly, Ladybug, I don't need your help."
The fight started again, but this time Mothers Wrath was more ruthless than before, so much so that, within a few seconds, she had cornered them, she had also injured Ladybug's right leg making her limp and had sent Chat Noir lying on the ground flying.
"Stop fighting! I don't need your miraculous, but I'll take it if that's what I need to do to make you stop!"
"I'll never stop fighting!"
"If I have to cut off your ears to make you stop, so be it!"
At that moment, a pair of daggers came out of her fan and aimed at Ladybug's ears, they were so fast and she was hurt, she wasn't going to be able to avoid them, she closed her eyes, waiting for the sharp pain... but it didn't come, instead something worse happened.
In front of her stood Chat Noir with both daggers stuck in his chest. The young hero had tried to protect her by becoming a human shield. When he saw Ladybug's horrified expression, but that she was physically fine, he pulled the daggers out of his chest, causing bleeding in the process, and Chat Noir collapsed.
"NO! CHAT NOIR!" Ladybug bowed doen next to him as she looked for a way to fix him.
"Don't worry my Lady, it doesn't hurt much" lied the boy with a slight smile.
"How could you!" pleaded Ladybug to Mothers Wrath, who stood stunned a few steps away from them "You said your duty was to protect the children of Paris! Let me tell you, neither Chat nor I are adults!"
"No... this shouldn't happen, I didn't want to hurt him, he's a good boy" stammered Mothers Wrath, clearly affected.
At that moment, Mothers Wrath put her hands to her head and began to cry.
"Now is the time, my Lady, go get her."
"I can't leave you here!"
"I'll be all right at the end of this."
"But..."
"Do it, my Lady, please..."
Ladybug watched her companion with a mixture of sadness and determination.
She turned to Mothers Wrath, who was still affected by having attacked Chat Noir, so even though she fought, Ladybug managed to overpower her and in one swift move, took off her necklace. She broke the chain, but nothing happened, so she decided to see if she could break the locket, she couldn't ask Chat Noir to do it because he was weak. When she lifted her face to look for a stone to break the charm, she saw something that made her freeze, Chat Noir's chest was not moving, he was not breathing....
Ladybug ran to his side, but in vain.
Chat Noir had died in front of her.
At that moment, a black and green light enveloped the boy's body, undoing the transformation.
Plagg floated in front of her with a sad expression as Adrien Agreste's body lay in front of her.
Well, that explained a couple of things, complicated others and overall Marinette had no idea what to think about it, because in front of her, her beloved companion had died.
No matter what bad or foolish things Adrien had done, he didn't deserve to die.
"Hey, Marinette, calm down" Plagg told her, but it was easy to hear the pain in her voice "when you purify the Akuma and use your "Miraculous cure", everything will go back to the way it was before."
But that wasn't true, nothing would ever be the same, not even the chaos caused by Chat Blanc compared to the pain of seeing Chat Noir's lifeless body. Ladybug believed that after years as a heroine, deaths would stop hurting, considering that by winning, people came back to life.
But seeing Chat Noir dead....
Tears burned her eyes, the lump in her throat wouldn't let her speak and her body refused to respond, but she was Ladybug, the hope of Paris.
Using all her strength she broke the necklace, which turned out to be a locket with a photo that Marinette recognized, it was the photo from when they had dated Zoe and Marinette felt the lump in her throat tighten further.
Ladybug snapped the photo and the black butterfly appeared.
" No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" Ladybug said in a muffled voice "Gotcha, bye bye little butterfly."
Ladybug didn't have a Lucky Charm at hand, but she already knew how to use the cure without it. She closed her eyes tightly, thinking about how she wished to erase the memories of the punished, repair all the damage and resurrect her companion.
"Miraculous Ladybug" she said in a weak voice, as the swarm of ladybugs covered Paris.
When she opened her eyes, she saw how Adrien was still motionless, which made her hold her breath in terror, until she saw that he was starting to wake up. The boy looked around, disoriented, until he saw Ladybug and smiled.
"I told you you would make it, my Lady"
"Get out of here before someone sees you." the stern tone in her voice seemed to surprise Adrien, but noticing his appearance, the boy decided to transform and retreat.
Ladybug then walked over to where the three women were standing, all three of whom were disturbed for everything that happened.
"Are you feeling well?"
-"This is not my first rodeo" Audrey answered trying to sound indifferent "Neither Tomoe's. Sabine, are you feeling okay?"
Ladybug turned to see her mother, refraining from hugging her as she wished, instead she offered her hand to help her up.
"Don't worry about me," she said trying to smile "I just want to go home." Sabine sounded disoriented until she seemed to remember something "The girls! Where are Marinette and the others ?!"
Hearing Sabine's question, Tomoe and Audrey became alert.
"Don't worry, they are safe."
The three mothers turned their eyes to see Ladybug.
"Are you sure?" Sabine asked with teary eyes.
"Yes, I am, I'll make sure that they arrive safely with you."
"Thank you, Ladybug."
With that, the three women left the place.
Ladybug looked up at the sky, exhausted from the battle.
The nightmare was over ...
But something told Marinette that the worst was yet to come.
After all, the war would not end until Hawkmoth and Mayura were stopped once and for all.
Feeling as if the weight of the world was on her shoulders, she hurried to collect the miraculous of her temporary heroes, then headed for the bakery, where the three women she had fought so hard to beat sat with expressions full of regret.
"Mom!"
Marinette couldn't hold back her tears and ran to hug her mother, who immediately reciprocated. After a few minutes, Chloe and Kagami showed up, both of them looked tired, as if they had run a marathon, and the six of them merged into a group hug, in which Kagami and Tomoe looked a bit uncomfortable.
The six spent a good time like this, until Andre, Zoe, Tom and Kagami's grandfather arrived looking for them.
They all dined together in the midst of a silence full of fatigue and regret. When everyone left for the night, Marinette transformed and headed towards the place that had been the Miraculous team's headquarters during Mothers Wrath attack.
Su Han was waiting for her there with a stoic expression.
"I see you finally got the victory."
"I don't know if I can call that a victory."
Su Han sighed and led her inside the castle.
"Do not be so hard on yourself, you are young and yet you have the leadership of a seasoned general on the battlefield."
Marinette was a bit surprised, although she knew that Su Han had come to respect her, this was rather unspoken, the old master did not like to talk too much.
"That sounded like a compliment, master," Marinette said with a smile.
"I don't make compliments, I only establish facts."
Marinette smiled at him again as she walked to the room where she had connected to the universe.
"I need to do that thing again."
"What 'thing'?"
"The "talking to the universe" thing"
"Marinette, do not be disrespectful, communicating with the universe is a gift coveted by many masters and guardians within the Order of the miraculous, it is not something as simple as a 'thing'"
"Well, I have to do the 'thing'."
"Are you looking to piss me off? Because if that's the case you shouldn't be playing with something as special and sacred as that."
Marinette sighed.
"Sorry, I'm tired, but I can't sleep, I have this feeling that I should do this as soon as possible."
From the moment she had used the miraculous cure, Marinette had the feeling that something bad was coming.
She sat in the lotus position in the middle of the room she had previously used, she thought that she would have to focus to enter to the white room, but just by closing her eyes she was already inside and the door seemed to vibrate waiting to be opened.
Upon opening the door, Marinette was engulfed by energy again and this time the universe did not whisper to her ... it screamed at her, which only increased her headache.
Opening her eyes, she saw Tikki and Su Han looking at her expectantly.
"These weeks are going to be crucial, I'm going to have to change the rules of the game."
"From the moment you took your position as guardian, you have done nothing but change the rules and traditions of the order of the miraculous" Su Han said in a stern voice, then added with pride leaking into his voice "Every change you have made It was to improve your performance as a guardian. How bad can a couple more changes be?"
"Well..."
********************************************
As Marinette predicted, the next few weeks were tough.
The universe had entrusted her with a way forward to defeat Hawkmoth, she had to create a balanced team that she could blindly trust... something Marinette would not find easy.
Her instincts, probably enhanced by her connection to the universe, helped her create a series of tests for the temporal holders. The experience they had using the miraculous was invaluable, but it wouldn't do any good if she didn't trust them.
To her delight and relief, Kagami, Chloe and Luka passed their tests without any problems. Max and Kim were a bit more difficult, they had potential and she may at some point trust them, but this wasn't the time for maybes.
In Kim's case he lacked maturity.
Max's case was different...
A week after Mothers Wrath, Max had caught her attention during a night patrol, upon arriving at the boy's room, Ladybug noticed the nervousness of the young genius.
"Max, did you need something?"
The boy looked at her with regret in his eyes, then held out his hand and handed her a USB.
"What is it?" asked the heroine.
"This USB store all the files of the Mothers Wrath incident, including the whole disaster, all the victims and the identity of the Akuma." said the boy regretfully "I know no one knows who they were yet, but there could be a fuss when it's discovered."
Ladybug was surprised to hear Max's explanation, but before she could ask him anything, the boy spoke again.
"Ladybug, I know you said that Mothers Wrath was a victim of Hawkmoth, logically I understand, my mother, Markov and myself, we all have been Akumatized before, so logically I understand that the people who formed Mothers Wrath are not responsible for their actions," expressed the genius boy to then add with frustration "but I can't help but resent them, my mother was one of the punishers and to see her and see what she had to do... I can't forgive them, at least not now. So Markov deleted every record of the incident, absolutely everything and we transferred it to that USB, there is no record on any other source. We destroyed everything, including the recordings from the security cameras of the mayor's office and all amateur footage was erased even from the personal devices of every inhabitant of Paris. Markov knows who they are, but he claims to be able to hide it even from me."
"That's right, Ladybug, which is why I ask to speak to you alone."
Ladybug was a little surprised at the little robot's request, but agreed. When they were sure that Max could not hear them, he proceeded to project a series of images that put Ladybug on her guard. They showed the identity of Chat Noir...
"Markov, that..."
"I will erase this information from my memory immediately, I just wanted you to know that Chat Noir's identity is safe, check two hundred and forty-three times just to be sure."
The young heroine felt relief wash over her.
"Thank you Markov."
"There's something else I wanted to discuss with you, Ladybug." Markov said seriously "I think it would be better if you don't use Max as a miraculous holder, at least not at the moment, he must heal and he is not capable enough to balance his feelings with the responsibility that heroism implies." Markov stood in front of Ladybug's face, who couldn't help but marvel at the AI's emotional capacity "Please, I beg you not to make Max fight until he is ready."
Ladybug smiled kindly at him.
"I would never force anyone to fight, Markov." She said extending her hand, in which the little robot landed "In fact, I've been thinking about it, don't worry, I'll talk to Max, I don't want him to think he did anything wrong."
After an honest talk with Max, the boy understood that Ladybug was not punishing him for not being able to forgive Mothers Wrath immediately.
"It's not a definite thing, I may need you at some point" Ladybug assured him.
Later that week, she had the same conversation with Kim, explaining that she wanted to wait before using him again.
Kim seemed a little disappointed, but accepted the heroine's decision.
The hardest part of her team's purge was Rena Rouge and Carapace.
They were two of the first temporary heroes, their experience and skill were undoubted.
But the question was, could she trust them?
Marinette meditated for days before deciding to put Alya and Nino to the test.
Since Max had erased all information about the Mothers Wrath incident, Alya had been scratching for information everywhere. Marinette knew that when Alya put her mind to it, she was a very good investigator, and Nino was always supportive, so she decided to give them a test to check their ability to keep secrets.
Marinette felt a bit guilty, she felt as if she was setting up her once friends, but she needed to be sure she could trust them.
She decided to entrust the fox and turtle miraculous permanently to Alya and Nino, but not before warning them that no one else was to know their secret identities. Remembering when Waizz had tried to take her and Chat Noir's miraculous, she instructed the kwamis that if they judged Alya and Nino to be untrustworthy, to each take the other's miraculous and return to her. In the meantime, she would try to stabilize her connection to the energy of the universe, which was beginning to affect her civilian life, and dealt with certain problems with Chat Noir.
It broke her heart to see them return after two weeks.
Apparently, since Ladybug had been out of reach due to greater forces, Alya thought it would be a good idea to ask "Ladybug's best friend," Lila Rossi, for help.
In asking for her help, the Italian had made up a fanciful story that Ladybug was injured, and that, if she had the miraculous that had belonged to her grandmother, the fox miraculous, she would be able to heal her.
Nino looked confused as Alya explained to Lila that the power of the fox miraculous is that of illusion, Lila continued to spout stories, getting to the point where Alya almost confessed to Lila that she was Rena Rouge.
Trixx had managed to stop her, but Alya didn't seem the least bit sorry for her slip. Trixx explained to her that the only miraculous with the ability to heal was Ladybug's, but Alya didn't listen.
Nino had tried to convince her to keep their secret identities, well, secret, but Alya had begun to argue that Lila could help, that it was irresponsible of her not to take advantage of Lila's help, that surely Lila knew some secret about the fox miraculous that she didn't....
In the end Nino had given in.
Trixx had become so angry at Alya's stubbornness and how she was dragging Nino with her, that he was about to scream to her face, but Waizz stopped him and that same night, they both took each other's miraculous while the pair slept.
Trixx looked sad, he really loved Alya, he had tried to help her before, but the girl was stubborn to a fault.
Ladybug had visited them both that night.
First to Nino, who upon seeing her had been saddened and honestly terrified as he tried to explain to her that he had misplaced the turtle's miraculous.
Ladybug had talked to him, explaining that she had both miraculous and concluded that Nino had not wished to reveal his identity to Lila, but had been willing to do so to make Alya happy...that would be a problem.
Ladybug told him that she would talk to Alya and depending on what she told her she would make a decision regarding the two of them because, apparently, Nino was willing to go down in the same boat as his girlfriend.
Then, she headed to Alya's house.
Alya, unlike Nino, was furious and came to the conclusion that Hawkmoth had stolen her miraculous. When Ladybug explained that she had it, she calmed down a bit, but she called her out on such a bad joke.
"I can't believe you played such a bad joke on me!" Alya complained "I like pranks, but you really scared me!"
"I didn't mean to play a joke on you Alya." said Ladybug coldly.
"Well! I hope so!" said the girl, ignoring the heroine's cold tone "To be honest I didn't think you had that kind of sense of humor."
Ladybug didn't answer, just stared at her, which made Alya uncomfortable.
"So..." said Alya trying to cut the tension "What happened, why did you take my miraculous?"
"'Your' miraculous Alya? I thought I made it clear that miraculous are not possessions, but responsibilities."
"Well, yes, but..." Alya looked uncomfortable and unsure what to say.
"I instructed Trixx and Waizz to take their miraculous and leave if they felt you two were not fulfilling your responsibilities."
"Trixx! How could you?" claimed Alya to the illusion kwami "I've been doing a good job as Rena Rouge!"
"Being a good heroine is part of your responsibility" Ladybug said and when she saw that Alya was about to open her mouth, she hurried to add "Protecting your secret identity is the other part."
Alya looked confused for a few moments, but when she got the message she replied.
"Don't worry, I was only going to reveal my identity to Lila!" Alya said, as if it was nothing "She's our friend, no problem.
"Alya, there is a problem, a big problem, I trusted you and you were about to reveal something so important to your friend."
"Our friend, Ladybug" said Alya, stubbornly "She just wants to help, Lula says that the fox miraculous has the ability to heal."
"Lila is wrong, Alya. The only miraculous capable of healing is the ladybug miraculous. And another thing, Lila is not my friend."
"Ladybug! You don't have to lie to me to protect her!"
Ok, this was already going too far, Marinette hated lies, she hated having to hide her identity from her friends and family, but for Alya to accuse her of lying?
"I'm going to make it clear to you. Lila Rossi is not my friend, not now, not ever. I am a heroine and I take my job seriously, befriending a civilian, who by the way has been a victim of Hawkmoth more than three times, is not wise and could jeopardize my identity and her safety, so stop spreading the word that we are friends, we are not." Ladybug said letting out all her frustration, she took a couple of deep breaths and looked Alya in the eyes, when she saw her she noticed that the girl was not going to let the subject go, so with great regret she informed her "I'm sorry, I thought I could trust you, but you have disappointed me, you can't be Rena Rouge anymore."
Marinette knocked Alya out and carried her to her bed before the reporter had time to complain. Seeing her sleeping, doubts flooded her, she had prepared for the worst, she would have to revoke the miraculous, Alya was not going to give it up voluntarily. The worst thing was that by forcibly retouching it, Alya would lose her memories of once being Rena Rouge and would never be able to use the fox miraculous... ever.
"Is there no alternative, Waizz?"
"I'm sorry Ladybug, but if she refuses to give it up, there is no choice."
"I understand."
Truth be told, the idea of taking Alya's memories, even if it was to protect the miraculous, felt immoral, but there was no choice. After finishing, and being careful not to wake Alya, she headed to Nino's place. She couldn't let Nino keep his memories as Caparace, not when he knew Alya's identity, so she did the same.
And so, Ladybug lost her fox and her turtle.
If that had been difficult, nothing could prepare her for what was next.
After a month of Mothers Wrath, Ladybug was anxious, Chat Noir hadn't been showing up for patrols, and even though they hadn't had a single Akuma so far that month, she was worried.
One night finally, Chat Noir arrived for his patrol. Ladybug had been happy to see him, but her kitten seemed anxious for some reason. He didn't talk the whole ride and didn't make a single joke either.
When they were at the top of the Eiffel Tower, he began to speak.
"Ladybug, I'm sorry I didn't come with you sooner, I've had a lot of time to reflect this month and I've come to the conclusion that I can't be Chat Noir anymore."
Ladybug was silent, perplexed by her companion's words.
"Chat What the hell do you mean?" she said letting out a little fury in her voice "If this is a joke, it's not funny!"
"It's not my Lady, I've been thinking a lot during this time, and I can't be a hero anymore. All this time, I have seen my secret identity as an escape door, my father has never let me be free and I took advantage of my secret identity to get my freedom, but I can't anymore, after Mothers Wrath, every time I transformed, I felt like the power overtake me" explained the boy, showing extremely frustrated and terrified " I can't stop having the same dream, me losing control of my powers, revealing my identity to Hawkmoth and him taking over the miraculous, I tried to ignore them, but I can't anymore" at that moment, Adrien started to cry, letting out all the confusion that had been tormenting him "I know it's cowardly, but I can't stay in Paris, not when I know that my presence here can give victory to our enemy."
Ladybug let him cry, she was tempted to tell him it was just a dream, that everything would be all right, but something told her that wasn't the case.
After unburdening himself, Chat Noir undid his transformation and handed his miraculous to Ladybug.
"I'm going to live with my aunt and cousin in London, my maternal grandparents will be there too, I hope one day I'll be strong enough to go back." Adrien said sadly.
Ladybug stared at him. Part of her wanted to scream at him not to be a coward, that it wasn't fair to leave her alone, to finish what they started together, but another part of herself understood that he wouldn't be able to continue, besides, something told her that her own increased abilities had something to do with it, so she let him go.
She let go of her partner, the one who had once been her first love, she let go of the boy who had been forced to become a warrior without any prior warning, she let go of the one who had once been her best friend.
"I understand," she said after a few moments, "I understand that this is the only decision you could come to, but I want to make three things clear to you."
Adrien swallowed his breath waiting for the heroine to speak.
"Number 1: By the time you go back to Paris, I may already have a new partner" she said seriously, observing how Adrien tensed "Hawkmoth must be stopped as soon as possible, so I can't wait for you, if someone capable of helping me defeat Hawkmoth and compatible with the black cat miraculous appears, I'll give it to him."
"I understand, Ladybug, it would be selfish of me to ask you to wait for me" said the boy resignedly. Ladybug nodded and continued.
"Number 2" she paused a little, making Adrien nervous, then she smiled kindly at him "You will always be my Chaton, no matter who my partner is, you will always have a place in my memory as my first partner and as my friend."
Adrien felt tears flood his eyes as Ladybug looked at him with compassion. Even when Adrien broke Kagami's heart, Marinette had learned not to hate, and though she wouldn't trust him in the same way, that didn't mean she didn't value the time they spent together saving Paris.
Marinette had grown up, her world wasn't going to end because her partner could no longer fight by her side.
"What's number three, Ladybug?" Adrien said, pulling her out of her reverie.
Ladybug stared at him.
"Number 3 is the most important one, are you ready?"
"I am!" said the determined boy.
"Number 3" said Ladybug putting her hand on his shoulder, then she raised her face to show a mischievous smile "You should have waited to give me your miraculous Adrien, good luck getting off the Eiffel Tower."
And with that, she left the gawking young model stranded at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Marinette grew up, but she was still a teenager, she had a right to be mean from time to time.
💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖💖
I'm not dead, but almost.
Sorry for taking so long to update, I had terrible writer's block. This one got worse because I had already written this chapter and it got deleted, then I finished it again and tried to post it, but Wattpad deleted it again and I had to look in my brother's computer for the draft, because when mine was not working I used his, but he came back late from work and didn't want to lend it to me until Saturday morning.
Well, this chapter explains why Adrien is not in my story, at least not yet.
What do you think of the chapter?
Did you like it?
Next chapter we'll be back to the main plot and Daminette in full force.
Thanks for reading and waiting.