Ladybug had detransformed back into Marinette in secret. She ran all the way home, with the realisation that her loyal friends, the Kwamis, were gone. She began sobbing with sadness again. She reached the bakery and ran inside.
Her parents met her. 'Oh sweetie, we just saw the news!' Tom said. Sabine hugged her. 'Don't worry honey, everything will be okay! We all believe in Ladybug and Cat Noir! Monarch may think he has won but don't worry! Ladybug will fix everything, you'll see!'
It was at this moment Mari wanted to tell her parents the truth more than anything. She had so many questions for them. What if Ladybug can't do it? What if she doesn't have the strength to go on? What if she feels so completely defeated, she just wants to give up? What if she feels like she's lost everything?
Mari continues to sob. 'Honey...' Sabine said, stroking her hair. 'All of Paris believes in Ladybug. She has all of Paris behind her! Ladybug is not in this fight alone if we remain strong and stand with her! What do you say?' she smiles, pulling her out of the hug and looking into her eyes as Mari felt a bit better.
'That's my girl!' Sabine smiled. She wiped the tears out of her eyes as Mari managed a slight smile.
'Thanks mom!' Mari said softly.
She went upstairs and as soon as she opened the trap door, she ran over to the miracle box, hoping... praying... that by some miracle the Kwamis would all come flying out and this was all some crazy nightmare.
Luka walked up to the bakery about five minutes after Mari got home, knowing home would be the first place Marinette would come back to.
'Hello Mr and Mrs Dupain-Cheng' Luka greeted them, in a more sombre tone than usual.
'Oh Luka...' Sabine sighed. 'Marinette is taking the news pretty hard.'
'I think she really needs a close friend like you to cheer her up right now' Tom added.
'Maybe if you could talk to her. Let her know we all need to be behind Ladybug. If we all stand together, all of Paris will never let Monarch win!' Sabine smiled.
'I will do my best' Luka replied, managing a small smile.
'That's my boy!' Tom smiled.
Luka walked slowly up the stairs to Mari's room and knocked on the trapdoor. He could hear muffled sobs coming from behind it followed by a quiet 'Come in.'
He opened up the trapdoor and saw Mari sitting on her loft bed. She was already in her pyjamas. She looked at Luka, her cheeks wet with tears and her eyes red from crying.
'Luka...' she whispered.
'Melody...' Luka replied sadly, as tears started coming down his cheeks as well. He hated seeing his beloved melody sad. He climbed sadly up to her loft bed, Mari was holding the miracle box in her lap as Tikki sat silently on the bed in front of her, her eyes welled with tears also. Luka sighed and sat behind her and put his arms lovingly around her waist. Mari sighed at his touch and managed a slight smile. He could always say so much not saying anything at all.
'I was hoping that by some miracle they would all be here to greet me when I got home. That this was all just some nightmare I would wake up from' Mari said softly, sniffing back tears. 'But the nightmare is real. The box is empty. They were more than our allies; they were our friends. And now I've lost them. And it's all my fault!'
She puts the box down and turns around and sobs into Luka's shirt.
'Shhh....' Luka says, rubbing her back soothingly. 'This is not your fault my angel. It was Risks doing.'
'Yes, it is! I didn't know it was Felix that I gave the Dog miraculous to. I thought it was Adrien, but it was Felix. I made a mistake. Now, because of me, I lost them! I failed as a guardian.'
'No, you haven't my angel. This is merely a setback. We'll get them all back. One by one, we'll get them all back... I promise you.'
Luka kisses her hair gently as Mari relaxes at his loving, gentle touch.
'Cat Noir said the same thing' she said, stifling a giggle.
'And he's right. Great minds think alike my melody.'
'I should have known it was Felix. Something was telling me that something about his behaviour was off, but because of Risks influence, I was blinded to my gut feeling.'
'There's no way you could have known that my melody. Don't blame yourself for that. It's Felix's fault for betraying you like that.' I swear, if I ever meet that guy, I'm going to knock him into the next millennium Luka thought to himself.
Marinette gasped. 'Oh no, Su-Han! What is he going to say when he next sees me?!?! He might take Tikki away from me!' Tikki looked up at Mari, worriedly.
Over my dead body Luka thought to himself.
'Don't worry about that my angel. If he wants your miraculous, he'll have to answer to me. We will let him know we can fix this; we can get them all back. Cat Noir is right, we will get all of the miraculous back, one by one. With or without powers, I will help you in any way I can, until Monarch is finally defeated. You have all of Paris behind you, you heard them cheering your name. I haven't given up on you, Cat Noir hasn't given up on you, and neither has Paris. Don't listen to what Monarch says. You haven't let anyone down.'
'You're right Luka!' Marinette smiles in reply. 'Sorry, I made your shirt all wet with my crying' she smiled, trying to wipe the tears away from her face.
Luka smiled lovingly at her. 'You know what it reminds me of? When you sobbed into my shirt that day you broke down in the park. When you trusted me with your secret. You made a mistake too then, but who doesn't make mistakes? Remember that was what Master Fu said too! And you overcame that mistake and together we will overcome this one.'
He holds up his left hand with the promise ring and places it over hers, so the promise rings are touching as he intertwined his fingers with hers.
'Remember my promise to you Marinette' he whispers, as he lifts her hand up to his face and kisses her hand gently.
Luka whispers in her ear. 'I love you, my melody. And I'm not going anywhere.'
Marinette sighs. 'And I love you, my prince.' She leans her head on his chest.
'No matter what happens, just know I'm here to help you. Forever and always' Luka says softly.
Mari smiled. 'Thank goodness we finally found out where Risks akuma was. Cat Noir almost risked revealing his identity to me. Thank goodness he didn't or I might have had to deal with Cat Blanc... again...'
Luka smiled in sympathy and squeezed her hand.
'Wait, you told me before when you had to deal with Cat Blanc the first time, a future miraculous holder helped you, didn't they?' Luka asked her.
Marinette gasped. 'Bunnyx! She told me that I give her the rabbit miraculous in the future! Which means...' she smiles.
'We will get all the miraculous back!' Luka finished.
'Also, Bunnyx didn't show up today. Which means this is meant to be. I WILL get all of you back my Kwamis! Even you, Nooroo and Duusu! I promise!' Mari says as she puts her right hand on the miracle box.
Tikki smiles.
Luka kisses her hair. 'Get some sleep my angel. I should go soon.'
'Wait... will you please sing me to sleep Luka?' Mari asked him.
Luka smiled. 'How about I hum Marinette's Heartsong to you?' he replied.
'Yes please...' Mari replied, lying down on the bed.
'Lay with me Luka...please?' Mari whispered.
He blushed a little, but lay beside her, spooning her, and hugging her with one arm as he gently stroked her hair with his free hand.
He began to hum Marinette's Heartsong. Mari sighed happily and even Tikki found it soothing as they both started to fall asleep.
After Mari and Tikki were both asleep. Luka carefully gets up and climbs down the ladder. He comes downstairs, and Tom and Sabine are watching an announcement on the TV.
Nadja: "The mayor has just announced that tomorrow will be a day off for everyone to spend with family and friends to stay positive and do what makes them happy. In the words of Mr Banana, stay peachy!"
'I think that's a wonderful idea!' Sabine replied. 'Hard for that awful Monarch to akumatise people who are happy and getting along!'
They look up and see Luka.
'How is Marinette?' Sabine asked.
'Asleep now, but I think she's happier' Luka replied with a smile.
'Oh good!' Sabine replies.
'Feel free to stay the night my boy! I'm sure Marinette will appreciate you having breakfast with us in the morning! I can make my famous French toast!' Tom smiles.
Luka smiled. 'Sure, I'll text my mom, but it shouldn't be a problem.'
Arnaka texted back that was fine for him to stay the night.
'You can sleep on the sofa bed in the living room Luka, it's quite comfortable' Sabine smiles.
'Here's one of my spare shirts you can sleep in' Tom smiled, handing him a shirt.
'Thank you, do you mind if I have a shower as well?' Luka asked.
'Of course you can, I'll get you a spare towel!' Sabine replied.
She handed him a fresh towel and he went to the bathroom to shower and get changed. Tom's shirt was so long on him, it looked almost like a nightgown.
While he was getting changed, Tom and Sabine set up the sofa bed.
'I think I'll just wear my jeans to bed under the shirt. They're quite comfortable anyway' Luka said when he came out, feeling slightly embarrassed at the thought of just wearing a shirt and boxers.
'No problem. Good night, Luka!' Sabine said.
'Night my boy! Sleep well!' Tom added as they went to their bedroom.
'Good night. You too' Luka smiled as he laid down and drifted off to sleep.
Adrien meanwhile, had gone to visit Kagami as Cat Noir. It was becoming a nightly routine for them now, ever since he revealed his super hero identity to her. At least it was a way for them to spend even more time together, especially with their strict schedules.
Kagami smiled when she saw Cat Noir smiling lovingly at her in the window. She opens it. Cat Noir takes her in his arms. 'Ready?' he whispers. 'Always' she smiles as he leaps out the window and they sit together on a nearby rooftop.
They couldn't talk in Kagami's room in case her mother overheard them. Being blind had increased her sense of hearing that much, she could hear a pin drop in the next room.
'Claws in' Cat Noir said, detransforming into Adrien. Plagg disappeared into his jacket to silently eat a piece of Camembert. Adrien would much rather be himself around Kagami, and she preferred that too. They had a lot to discuss tonight. Their hearts were heavy from the turn of events that day.
Kagami sighed. 'I felt so bad, putting Rena in danger like that and not realising it.'
'I put her in danger too, I disobeyed Ladybug and used my cataclysm after she warned me not to. If not for you saving her, I shudder to think what would have happened.'
'We all took a lot of risks today, thanks to that akuma' Kagami replied sadly. 'And now, Monarch has all the miraculous.'
'Except the ones he truly wants. And Ladybug and I are never going to rest until we get each and every one of them back!' Adrien says determinedly as Kagami smiles in admiration and squeezes his hand, making him blush slightly. He sighs.
'What's wrong Adrien?' Kagami asks him.
'I can't help but feel partly responsible for losing all the miraculous to Monarch. If I had taken your advice and stood up to my father earlier, maybe Felix wouldn't have been on that train impersonating me and Ladybug would have never given him the miraculous of the dog in the first place.'
Kagami looked sad. 'That was my fault too. I shouldn't have been so hard on you.'
Adrien puts his hand on hers. 'No Kagami, I'm glad you were! You're so right, I've been living under my father's shadow for too long now. I need to start living my own life and learn how to say no.'
Kagami smiles at him. 'You did text me earlier that the trip is cancelled anyway. I thought maybe you had stood up to him.'
'No, my father just said he'd changed his mind. I mean it was a stupid idea to begin with. And I really didn't want to spend months with Lila and her lies' he replied disdainfully.
'Well, I for one am glad because I get to see you every night' Kagami smiles.
Adrien smiles back. 'Yes, that's one good upside. Also, I hadn't even had time to consider who was going to be the cat miraculous holder while I was away. Ladybug still needs me, even if not for every mission. I know that now.'
'But now, she'll need you more than ever, Adrien' Kagami smiled at him. 'All of Paris needs you... And... I need you...'
'You're right, Kagami' Adrien replied as they moved closer and closer to each other and kissed each other passionately under the pale moonlight.
Adrien smiles lovingly at her. 'Anyway, let's get you home, m'lady... Plagg, claws out!'
He stands up and holds out his hand to her. 'Shall we?' he whispers softly.
Kagami smiles and blushes as she takes his hand and Cat Noir holds her close as he vaults away back to Kagami's room.