Ladybug rubbed her eyes, clearing her blurring, waking vision. She sat up slowly, attempting to look around the blurry, bright and colorful world around her.
"Need any help?" A seemingly pale arm was extended out to her, and the voice sounded very familiar.
Ladybug couldn't quite put her finger on who's voice she was hearing. Her vision was still blurry, but she somehow felt that she trusted this person. Ladybug reached her suit-covered hands out to grab the pale one, who helped pull her to her feet.
She stood face-to-face with the blurry figure in front of her. Ladybug could tell from her feminine figure and voice that this unknown figure was a girl. Her hair seemed wavy and dark.
"Where am I?" Ladybug's own voice echoed out into the color-bursting world around her.
"You are safe, Ladybug. I can assure you of that, but what I can't say is that you're close to me anymore. We're growing further apart with each new second that comes with your powers," the feminine voice replied to her, and finally her vision was beginning to clear up.
"M-Marinette?" Ladybug almost fell back, gasping at the sight of her own familiar face, completely unmasked but not in a reflection.
"Wait Ladybug, don't be afraid! I'm really Marinette," Marinette put a hand on Ladybug's shoulder comfortingly.
"B-But... That's impossible! I'm Marinette. How are you- who are you? What's going on?" Ladybug began to panic, seeing as she was really looking into the blue eyes of who she used to be.
"Hey, calm down first. I know you're looking for an explanation, and I do have one. You're really Ladybug, and I'm slowly falling away from you. Our bond is falling apart and- I actually was hoping you'd know how to solve this," her civilian form shrugged, trying to hide her own worries.
"But I am Ladybug, and I am Marinette. I was Marinette before I was Ladybug. Aren't I both?!" Ladybug's voice began to raise, causing her civilian form's face to sadden.
As much as she didn't want to believe that Marinette was right in front of her, she could feel it. It was a feeling she couldn't describe, but a sense as well. There was a warming presence that faded only when Marinette turned away or stepped further from herself. It was somehow... colder and more empty without her form close.
"You know I'm Marinette... Look, I'm still within you, but I'm falling away. I don't know why, but I'm being pulled further and further from... this place. Please, I know I can't- you can't reveal your identity to Chat Noir, but please talk to his kwami. Ask him if he could hide while his kwami comes out. He may have more answers than I could provide," Marinette told Ladybug.
"How- I just don't know how all this is happening! If I'm Ladybug, then how do I have all your memories and personality and-" The heroine rambled, feeling emotional. To her surprise, she was hugged by her own self. The warmth returned to her, and Ladybug buried her face in the shoulder of Marinette.
"We're a soul. Souls don't always carry memories or personalities, but I think we're splitting. I can't get back to our main host," she explained after pulling away, causing Ladybug to shiver slightly at the emptiness. Marinette's eyes fell over Ladybug and observed the newer physical changes.
"Oh... Do you see everything I do... or are you just trapped here?" Ladybug asked her, shifting sadly.
"I'm actually not completely sure, but I don't think I know what's going on with yo-our life. Most of the time, it feels like a coma-like sleep, where I'll see some parts of my old life come back to me, and I basically relive it. The rest of the time, I'm trying to resist the pulling away, but it just feels like I'm slipping away," Marinette explained, looking down with the same kind of sadness.
"I know one thing that will make you- or me try to hang on!" Ladybug pointed out with a smile, trying to push away the terrifying uncertain feeling that surrounded the both of them. Marinette glanced up, tilting her head curiously. "I confessed to Adrien and told him how you feel," Ladybug admitted, watching her mouth drop. Marinette's face suddenly fell under a red blush and she squealed.
"You did what??!" Marinette shrieked, falling flat on her butt as if she would've done normally.
"I confessed. He knows that we- I, you like him. Guess what?"
"What did he say?! Ladybug, why?!" Marinette cried out, gently shaking her shoulders before falling to her knees dramatically.
"I wish I could replay it to you," Ladybug laughed, thinking of how she'd tell herself, then she thought of something. What if she fixed everything? Would this Marinette have all the memories she'd experienced, or would Ladybug lose it when they became one? What if they forgot this moment?
"I can hear your thinking," Marinette chuckled, but it wasn't genuine. It was more like an agreeably upset chuckle that she forced upon herself, "I'm scared too, Ladybug. I've been all alone, only being able to feel human again by reliving my own memories from before getting the Miraculous. Sadly, none of those included Adrien." The girl pouted as she thought about her green-eyed blond crush.
"Well... just in case I can't bring you back," Ladybug felt her voice stiffen at the idea, watching Marinette's eyes fall downcast, "Do you want me to tell you what Adrien said about you? What Chat Noir also said about you?"
"Chat Noir? He said something about... me? My civilian self?" Marinette asked, and Ladybug nodded in confirmation. "I mean if I have to- die or... something and my soul has to leave, I think I'd want to carry that kind of thing with me."
Ladybug froze as the memory began to play around them, from her perspective. Marinette watched in amazement at this new memory.
"You don't even know her, Adrien. You only have memories of how she acted around you and... trust me. It'll only hurt you in the end, seeing as you probably won't even see her ever again."
Ladybug cringed at her own voice, but Marinette didn't do the same. Instead, she watched intently from her alter ego's point of view.
"You think I don't know her?"
Adrien's voice came across as challenging, and slightly irked by the disbelief. Marinette felt her heart flutter slightly, and it affected Ladybug as well.
"You know, Ladybug... You weren't wrong. I... I don't even think he does really know me. All he's seen me do is trip up and act like a buffoon," Marinette admitted, to her own discontent, "You're the one everyone loves."
"Please, continue watching. You'd be surprised," Ladybug turned her attention back when Adrien's voice came falling through the air around them.
"Marinette Dupain-Cheng is a bright, caring, kindhearted girl with the biggest passion for fashion-designing. She always looks out for others, and if I had a choice, I'd say that she deserves to be a superhero. When has Marinette ever put herself before someone else? Even in akuma attacks, she helps her classmates escape. According to Alya, she's too busy helping people, that she always ends up being affected by the akumatized. She's selfless, giving, and always there to be a friend to anyone who needs it. I know her more than you think, Ladybug."
"He knows you, Marinette."
Marinette's blue eyes were focused on Adrien's piercing green eyes that seemed to stare right at her. Once his gaze fell, she felt her heart fall. Her own breath hitched, and she felt an overwhelming desire to... just hug the boy. She felt so distanced from him, and he was confessing his love to her, in front of Ladybug! She watched as he lifted his gaze lifted back to meet her eye contact from the memory.
"I know she's gone now, but she's not dead. If there's even the slightest chance she return, I won't give up on her. She's worth waiting for."
Adrien's words came out more softly, and it was obvious that he was telling the truth. To Marinette's dismay, the memory cut off there, only leaving the bright, empty space around them.
"He loves you," Ladybug faintly spoke, looking away.
How was it that she was separate from Marinette? How could this be? She thought it was jealousy, but she didn't recognize the fear. Was she not even Marinette anymore? Was she not even the daughter of her parents? She wasn't Alya's best friend, but Chat Noir's partner. That's all she was, and Chloe didn't realize it.
"Ladybug," Marinette spoke sympathetically, watching as the heroine wrapped her arms around herself, wanting to curl inward on herself. "I know what you're thinking, and it's not true. I mean, we are the same person... but not. It's just- we're separating now. We've always been one, but something is pulling us apart. Please, talk to Chat Noir's kwami," she begged, pulling the upset part of herself into her hug once again.
"I don't exist. Has everything been a part of my imagination? A false part of my memory?" Ladybug questioned, feeling vulnerably weak. She wanted to cry, she wanted nothing more than to just wake up without the mask from this dream, and to have all parts of herself together once again. Ladybug exhaustedly collapsed on the shoulder of her civilian self, unable to take the weight of anymore emotion.
"We were one. Look, I bet a kwami can explain this better than I can. Ask Chat Noir to speak to him. We can get some answers," Marinette promised her, "This won't be a goodbye. Good luck, Ladybug! Also, let Adrien know I- um... I'm okay in here. Let my parents know, but don't let anyone know exactly where. Kwamis are exceptions."
Ladybug nodded stiffly before releasing her from the hug.
Before she knew it, her own blue eyes flew open to see the concerned face of her partner. "Ladybug! Oh my God, I thought you died!" Chat Noir hugged the crabby, groggily awakening heroine.
"I- What happened?" Ladybug groaned at the pain that now shot through her legs, rubbing at her eyes as she sat back up.
"Well, battling Evil Mirror, and when I asked you why you wanted to get hit, you told me something didn't end. After I asked you why, you said something about being permanently masked, then one of Evil Mirror's victims were abusing their powers in confusion and accidently knocked you off the roof you were standing on," he explained, a pouty expression forming. It was obvious he was really really worried, and all she left him with was the short response of being masked permanently.
"Look, I- I just..." Ladybug struggled to word everything correctly, but her weird dream came to mind.
I met... myself? Or at least the civilian part of myself. That was the strangest dream. Was it even a dream or was it a warning? Maybe it was a hallucination.
"I need to talk to your kwami."
Chat Noir's worry turned to confusion. "My kwami? Why?" He asked, wondering how he would introduce his lazy kwami.
"I need to chat with him," she replied without thinking.
A smirk overcame her partner, and suddenly she didn't feel so bad about "dying" in front of him. He waggled his eyebrows, earning a groan from his unfortunate partner. "Puns, my lady? I didn't knew they were your style."
Ladybug rolled her eyes and said, "Let's beat Evil Mirror, then you could go hide somewhere, detransform, then let your kwami come out to speak to me."
Chat Noir replied, "Sounds like a good plan. So, about beating Evil Mirror... We need to not get hit by her powers or else she could unmask us publicly. With that, could take our miraculouses, then Hawkmoth would get full power and we'd all be doomed for eternity."
"Yeah, yeah. The usual plan: you distract, I grab the object. Just be careful, Chat," Ladybug instructed him, not wanting to risk his identity.
"As always, bugaboo! What do you think is the akumatized object?" Her partner asked her.
"Maybe it's the... Oh, I don't know! Everything is silver! Do you have any ideas?" Ladybug searched with her eyes from the safe distance they peeked at the akuma from. She attempted to stand, but her legs pulsed in pain, "Oh my gosh! Did I fall on my legs or what?"
"Maybe it's her boots? And yes you did. Are you alright? Do you want me to retrieve the object for you? Is it too dangerous? Oh heck, it's too dangerous for you," Chat worried, picking her up.
"Don't pick me up! I'm fine!" Ladybug hissed, "My legs aren't broken! I just fell a few stories!"
Chat Noir sent a deadpan glare to her, and she huffed, crossing her arms frustratedly. "I don't want you getting hurt or revealed."
"I'm fine! I swear!" Ladybug argued, wiggling out of her partner's grip to stand by herself. She winced at the ache, but bit her lip back to keep from making any noises to indicate she was in pain.
"Okay, okay. Just be really careful," Chat agreed, pulling his arms away.
"I will, Kitty," Ladybug giggled forcefully, ignoring the ache in her legs. Pain shot up through her legs, but she felt they weren't broken. There seemed to be no bones sticking out, but she could've crushed something in there when she hit the floor. She didn't remember hitting the floor, but she needed to figure everything out quickly so she could talk to Chat's kwami and get her transformation ordeal over with.
With a quiet limp, she pulled out her yoyo and swung over to get closer to the akumatized victim.
"Hey Reflekta-Wannabe, look over here! Evil Mirror? Who came up with that name? Hawkmoth is getting really lame when it comes to naming villains," Chat Noir rambled, earning the annoyed attention from Evil Mirror.
"Why are you heroes asking to get turned back?! You're going to make this way too easy for me!" She shot her powers toward him, and he jumped out of the way.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug quickly summoned her item, and received a red carpet with black spots. "Okay, seriously Tikki? A carpet? How can I get Evil Mirror's boot with a carpet?" She quietly whined. Obviously she knew her kwami wouldn't send her a useless object without a reason for it, so she'd have to come up with a plan quickly.
Ladybug searched around with her eyes, envisioning possible scenerios in which she could grab the boot.
"Have you been reflecting on your poor choices lately, Evil Mirror? Oh, have you seen any evil queens asking about the fairest in the land? It all so turns out that it's me," Chat Noir's distracting was irritating the villain. Ladybug couldn't think of anything else but to throw the carpet at her, grab the boot, then run.
"Oh my goodness, do you ever shut up with your dumb puns and mirror jokes?! I don't even want to turn you into a villain because then you'd probably be cracking jokes about whatever you become!" Evil Mirror groaned. Suddenly, she was hit by the falling carpet, and in anger, she released the laser at whatever, but it hit the cat superhero.
"Chat Noir!" Ladybug yelled out, but when he was shot, his suit turned white and his eyes were purple. Of course, Chat thought he turned back to normal, and he scattered away.
A purple akuma mask appeared over Evil Mirror's face, and it seemed that Hawkmoth was likely reprimanding her for not taking the miraculous purely.
Ladybug swung over to meet her partner quickly. "Chat! It's okay!" She called out, hanging onto her yoyo string to avoid stepping on her sore legs.
"Wait... I didn't change back?" Chat asked her, looking down at his white suit in confusion.
"No! Thank goodness, I thought you were going to change back in front of everyone. You're just taking the appearance of Chat... Blanc instead of Chat Noir now!" Ladybug giggled, hugging him for a second before pulling away quickly. She was honestly thankful as well to finally have Chat uncorrupted by an akuma after getting hit.
"Hey, I could grab the boot now! It's not like she could do anything else to me now. We just need you uncorrupted so we can purify the akuma. But did you seriously just throw the Lucky Charm at her?" Chat asked her, chuckling.
"You try doing something creative with a stinking carpet! But now, you could be my shield since her powers no longer affect you. I guess it was a good call," Ladybug smiled, earning a grin from her partner.
"I'd be honored to protect you, my lady. I am your knight in shining black armor. Er- I mean knight in shining white armor, which suddenly sounds way less cool," Chat's grin fell, and he pouted in disappointment.
"But you're my dork in shining white armor," Ladybug protested, releasing herself from the safely of the yoyo to let her feet on the ground, "Yee-owch. I mean meow."
"I'm carrying you," Chat simply said.
"No," Ladybug rebelled, crossing her arms childishly.
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"Nope."
"Yep."
"I'm fine!!!" She stomped her foot to make a point, but regretted it immediately as she fell over, whimpering.
"I can see that," Chat Blanc teased playfully, lending a hand for her.
Ladybug finally surrendered and took his offer to be carried via piggyback. He leaned down, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, then slipped her legs carefully through Chat's arms, so the joints could rest on his elbows. He begun to walk out, and a laser was immediately shot toward Ladybug, but Chat quickly caught it before it would hit her by raising his hand. Chat put her down in a safe area, then ran over to grab her the object.
"Why are you a villain? I thought you'd change back to your civilian form," Evil Mirror asked grumpily.
"My civilian form is not very evil, so I guess this is who I'd be as an akuma! Now, give me your boot," he demanded. To his surprise she handed it to him with no hesitation.
"You're just going to give it to me? Like that? No struggle? Wow, I wish all the akuma victims were like that," Chat bumbled, breaking it. However, no blackened butterfly flew out of it like it would normally. Nothing happened.
"Wrong object, cheese-brain," Evil Mirror replied insultingly, causing Chat to pull his fingers back sassily.
"At least I'm not a... a meanie!" He argued back, unable to think of insults.
Ladybug growled and stood to her feet painfully. She used her yoyo to trap the victim in a coil of her string in an attempt at holding her still.
She limped over and gently pushed the yoyo-trapped victim on the carpet. Ladybug rolled the carpet around the victim like a burrito, releasing her string from the duty of holding her hostage.
"Maybe it's the hair clip?" Ladybug looked at Chat questioningly.
"Yeah, go ahead and try it," he encouraged her with a smile.
His partner gently unclipped the barrette from the victim's hair, broke it in half. Quickly, she purified the dark butterfly then returned her Lucky Charm carpet, helping soothe and completely eliminate the pain she felt in her legs and the damage done by the akuma. Chat's leather suit changed from white back to black, then all the people who'd taken the appearance of their their akumatized selves were changed back as well.
"Pound it!" The heroes fist-bumped each other to congratulate on a job well done.
The victim's silver body and hair were changed back to her original state. She looked around in confusion, and Ladybug kneeled down to give her the barrette back. Tears immediately welled up in the victim's eyes.
"Hey, are you okay?" The heroine asked the girl.
"Y-Yeah... I'm so sorry. Was I turned into a villain?" She asked, looking down sadly.
"It's totally fine! We're heroes. We'll always be here for you guys," Chat jumped in, seeing how upset the girl seemed.
"Your hair clip is really cute by the way," Ladybug offered a smile, in which she received a small one back from the girl.
"Thank you," she laughed gently, rubbing her eyes quickly, "I'm sorry about being akumatized again. My twin sister just really got to me that time."
"You'll be okay. Just tell her how you feel, and maybe talk to your parents if she doesn't listen," Ladybug advised, resting a hand on the teen's shoulder.
After she thanked the heroes again and left, Ladybug dragged her partner to the bathroom and shoved him in there.
"M-My lady, what are you doing?" He asked from behind the doors.
"I need to talk to your kwami. Remember?" Ladybug asked, "And don't you dare come out till I'm done. We can't risk identities."
"Yeah, yeah. Fine. Plagg, detransform me!" He dropped his transformation, and a green light shot out from under the door for a few seconds.
"Cheese. Now," a higher-pitched voice demanded to his chosen.
"You need to talk to Ladybug, Plagg. I'm not sure why, but go talk to her. She's standing outside," Chat Noir's voice was muffled from behind the door.
"I better get the entire wheel after this," Plagg sneered, then flew through the bathroom door to meet Ladybug. She gasped a little, seeing the little black ears of a cat on a small creature.
"Aww, you're Chat's kwami! You're a cute one!" Ladybug cooed, letting the kwami land on her hand.
"Thank yooo-what in the name of Camembert happened to you?" Plagg's eyes shifted up to observe her new appearance.
"New powers, like flying and unlimited Lucky Charms. I honestly don't mind those, but I have a big problem at hand," she whispered, walking away from the door so her partner couldn't hear, "I can't detransform."
"Ooh, superhero puberty! Looks like Ladybug hit it before Chat Noir," Plagg laughed, but then turned a little more serious. "How long has this been in effect?"
"Superhero puberty?! Is that a thing? I've been stuck like this for a few weeks now," she whisper-shouted.
"Ooh, that's pretty bad. You're that Bridgette and Marinette girl, aren't you?" Plagg snorted, whispering.
"I... am. Please don't tell anyone. Don't tell Chat," she begged, her eyes widening.
"I won't, but you should go see Master Fu. He might be able to help you with that whole thing," he assured her nonchalantly.
"Master Fu?" Ladybug repeated, unsure of who he was referring to.
"He's the old guy. The one who, you know, gave you the miraculous. Have you met him?" Plagg asked her.
"Nuh-uh," she shook her head.
"Adri-Chat hasn't either," Plagg almost slipped up, but Ladybug didn't catch it.
"Look, I'll leave my chosen in the bathroom, then guide you to Master Fu, then come back for my chosen. Sound good?" Plagg asked, then received a nod from Ladybug in confirmation.
"Hey kid, I'll be back in like ten minutes. I've gotta bring your wife somewhere, then I'll be back for you," Plagg flew through the door to tell Adrien.
"I told you, I like Marinette now," Adrien whispered, leaning against the wall.
"Sure. Toodles!" Plagg left him alone to sit in the terrible smelling public bathroom.
He then led Ladybug to Master Fu's office. On the way, she had some questions.
"Is Tikki dead?"
"No."
"Does your chosen go to a different school than mine?"
"No."
"So my school?"
"Yes."
"My... class?" She asked meekly.
Plagg looked at her exhaustedly.
"Do you really want to know?"
"Probably not... What's a superhero puberty?"
"Master Fu will explain it."
"Am I stuck like this forever?"
"Master Fu will explain it."
Ladybug's wings shifted uncomfortably, as she was a little fearful. He didn't give her a straight-up answer, and that was a little scary. Maybe he didn't want to tell her that it was a permanent thing and deal with her panic.
Finally, they made it to their destination.
"In there should be a short old man, and he will tell you everything. Good luck, Red," Plagg patted her head.
She pressed her lips together for a tense second, then thanked the kwami. He flew away to meet his holder once again, leaving Ladybug to stand at the door, unsure of what answer she'd receive for the scariest situation in her life.
Ladybug hesitated, then pushed the door open. She was ready to take on whatever explanation she'd get.