Hey!

Welp, this chapter actually has quite a chipper ending for something that is so solid in angst! These babies are in for a lot of surprises. I just can't wait to get back to Lulla-bye in the next chapter. (Though, there's going to be another fight scene, and I suck at those. Anyone got any advice?)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

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Breathe

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Adrien struggled to breathe, the shallow breaths he was taking not carrying the oxygen to his lungs. His gut clenched with dread as he stared at the phone in Alya's hand. His eyes flicked to Marinette again and he shook his head, not willing to believe what his brain was trying to tell him. It all made sense, but he refused to accept it. Because if he was right… if he was right…

"What's that?" he asked, his voice strained. His mind was screaming, pleading for Alya to tell him that she just happened to get a phone that looks exactly Ladybug's, or that she had found it left on a table somewhere, or something like that. Anything but the truth.

"I found it in Mari's bag," she said quietly, sounding both awed and horrified. "It was ringing. Ch-Chat Noir was calling her."

"Dude, he's been texting her," Nino breathed. "You won't believe this."

"Please don't," he whimpered so quietly he wasn't sure the others heard him. He was sure that he was incredibly pale right now, and he wanted to sit down. He knew what he was going to say, and he didn't want to hear it. Hearing it would make it real...

"She's Ladybug," Nino went on, his voice shaking a little. "Chat Noir is texting her and calling her Ladybug."

"I can't believe this," Alya murmured. "I can't… she can't be." She looked over at her friend in horror. "She can't be Ladybug, because if she is then she can't purify the Akuma and…"

"She'll never wake up," Adrien finished. His voice cracked and he started walking towards her, a dumbfounded look on his face and a tear rolling down his cheek. This couldn't be happening. He fell down into his chair, reaching out towards her, his hand clutching her limp one tightly.

"I wonder who the girl is," Nino was saying quietly. "The one who got hurt. Do you think she's here?"

"Nino…" Alya said, staring at Adrien and Marinette, sad eyes widening in realisation.

"Does that mean that Chat Noir is here too?"

"Nino."

"Oh my god, what if Marinette is the one he…" He finally seemed to notice what Alya was staring at and his breath left him as it clicked. "Oh."

Tears were streaming down Adrien's face as he stared at Marinette. She was so still and pale. If it weren't for the shallow rise and fall of her chest, anyone could have mistaken her for dead. It was shattering to see her like this. His Princess. His Lady. How had he not noticed sooner? Why had he not tried harder to save her?

"This is my fault," he croaked, repeating his words from earlier.

"Adrien, no…" Alya said.

"I didn't… I couldn't…" He looked down at the floor in shame before he turned back to the girl on the bed. "Please wake up," he begged her. "Please, Mari. I can't do this without you. I can't… She has to wake up. T-there has to be some other way. There has to – She can't-" The room was so quiet that the beeps of the machine were painfully clear, and you could easily hear Adrien's elevated breathing.

"Adrien, slow your breathing," a small voice commanded, making Alya and Nino look about in confusion. The voice was so quiet they were sure that they weren't supposed to hear it. "You're starting to hyperventilate. Don't hyperventilate, purr!"

"P-purr?" Nino questioned.

"Yes!" the voice said, much louder now. "Purr! It helps relieve stress, promotes healing… Look, purring is good, okay?!"

"Who is even-"

"P-Plagg?" another voice piped up. It was small and broken, almost sounding like it belonged to a child. It was accompanied by sniffling and a quiet sob.

"Tikki…"

The other two watched in astonishment as a small black creature popped out of Adrien's jacket. The boy didn't even have the energy to look annoyed or angry that it had just exposed him. It drifted down through the air and landed on Marinette's chest. They watched as a similar looking red creature crawled out from where she had been hiding in the nook of Marinette's shoulder, under her hair. Her bright blue eyes were large and filled with tears. The poor little thing look devastated as she made her way to the black Kwami.

Plagg was uncharacteristically serious, taking Tikki in his arms with a sad, understanding look. One of his arms stroked at Tikki's back as she let out a shuddering sob. He didn't say anything. He knew exactly what she was going through. They'd both been through it so many times, and there was nothing you could say. He couldn't promise her that everything would be alright, that her girl would pull through. He couldn't tell her that, because there was no guarantee. And he refused to give her condolences. Her girl wasn't gone yet, and he wasn't going to be negative in anyway when she was in such a fragile state. All he could do was hold her and comfort her.

"I'm here," he said quietly.

"Sh-she didn't have time," Tikki cried. "She didn't have time t-to transform. I c-couldn't do anything. I couldn't help her! She – she's my… I can't lose her, Plagg! She's st-still so young. I can't lose another one. I can't, I can't, I can't!"

"Tikki, shh," he hushed her, still stroking her as large tears rolled down her cheeks.

"I can't lose her. I can't loser her," the red Kwami whimpered quietly. A gentle rumble started to come from Plagg. A purr. A comforting sound that lulled around her as he attempted to sooth her.

"Wh-what are those?" Alya eventually breathed, breaking the silence the humans had given them. She had seen the red creature before in Marinette's room, but she had thought it was just a toy. It was a bit of a shock to see it moving, and talking, and letting out heart shattering cries over her best friend.

"That's Plagg and… um, Tikki," Adrien told them, his voice quiet and hollow. Empty. It was as if a quietness had fallen over the room, and speaking loudly would cause everything to crumble and shatter. "They're Kwami. They're part of what let us tr-" He cut himself off a moment before taking a deep breath and continuing. "What lets us transform into Ladybug and Chat Noir. They're our companion. They're with us constantly. They're one ones that chose us."

"S-so… you really are…" Nino's words hung in the air a while before he finally nodded. "But… you said you were knocked out."

"I was."

"Just, not as Adrien, right?" Alya guessed. "You were trying to protect her as Chat Noir when you were knocked out." He nodded again. "And you didn't know? You didn't know who she was?"

"No, she didn't want us knowing who the other was."

"M-Marintte was always scared that if s-someone found out she was Ladybug that Hawkmoth would hurt them," Tikki said. "She di-idn't want anyone to g-get hurt because of her. Especially you, C-Chat."

Adrien didn't say anything in reply, clenching his eyes closed as if he were in pain. His free hand curled into a fist, his knuckles going white.

"What are we going to do?" Nino asked. "She can't wake herself up, and as far as we know, you can't purify the Akuma. So, what can-"

"I don't know, Nino!" Adrien yelled. His voice echoed loudly around the room, a stark contrast to the previous quiet. His eyes closed tight again for a moment before he hung his head, staring at the ground. "Sorry."

"It's okay, bro."

"Seriously, don't worry about it, Adrien. We understand if you snap," Alya said kindly. Her voice was still quiet and sad, but she was now attempting to be strong for him. He looked like he was about to fall apart. "This is… horrible. You're stressed and scared, and you have a concussion. Irritability is a common symptom with concussions."

"Wait, is is?" Nino said. She nodded.

"Still, I'm sorry," he told them. He took a breath. "Nino's right. I can't purify the Akuma. I can only capture them. I make them powerless until Ladybug can purify them. I haven't had to do it in ages, because she's always been there... I can't fix this. I can't just set everything back to how it was. That's not how my powers work. I destroy. That's all I'm good for."

"You know that's n-not true," Tikki spoke up. "You mean more than you could possibly know to her, and she would be telling you just how wrong you were if she were awake! You have saved her so many times before. She trusts you more than anyone else in the world. She believes in you!" Adrien stared at the small creature with wide eyes, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall again. He watched as she deflated from her rant and clung to Plagg. "I can purify the Akuma if you catch it, but that still won't help." Her lip trembled, but she held back her tears, trying to finish explaining. "I can only purify the creature of evil. That won't fix anything. It won't fix any physical damage, it won't turned the Akumatized woman back to normal, and it w-won't wake Marinette and the others up. That's a power that Marinette and I can only do together, like Lucky Charm, or yours and Plagg's Cataclysm. Even if we did do that, th-there's nothing I can do..." Her tears finally over flowed and she burred her head into Plagg.

"Yes there is," Plagg said after a moment. He looked sad. Solemn. Adrien had never seen his Kwami look so serious before. "I think that... I think this is one of those situations that allow us to break the rules."

"P-Plagg, I couldn't!" she gasped. "There's a reason that's forbidden! We-"

"She won't wake up unless you give it a try. Your only other option is choosing a new bug, and we both know that no one here wants that. You won't be able to go back to Marinette, and even then, training the new bug will take a while, and it could be months before she even wakes up. But if you try. If you just try. There's a chance you could wake her up from the inside. No one will fault you for wanting her back. Call it an emergency situation... or blame it on me. I don't care, it's worth it, isn't it?"

Tikki stared at him, her head cocked slightly and an unreadable expression on her face. Despite that, it was still easy to tell that she was torn. Whatever Plagg had suggested was a difficult choice.

"W-what do you mean 'wake her up from the inside'?" Adrien asked. "Do you mean like... transform? I thought that required the phrase, along with us focusing, channelling, and directing the magic. Would it even work when she's unconscious?"

"That is how it works," Tikki told him. "You're right, we can't transform without our chosen initiating it. And Marinette can't do that right now. What Plagg is talking about is something quite different. Something we were forbidden from doing for the privacy and safety of our chosen. He thinks I can wake her up by going into her mind."

"Wait, going into her mind? What, like some some sort of Professor X thing?"

"If you want something geeky to compare it to, then sure," Plagg said. "It's not like we can do it with anyone. Just our chosen. There's already a link between our minds. A bond between Kwami and their chosen. The same one that allows us to work together the way we do. The one that lets us Kwami see, hear, and feel what they do when we're transformed. There have been some issues in the past, but that was just with doing this casually, not in a dire situation like this. Tikki can go into her mind and try and wake her up from there. It does depend on how strong the Akuma is, and if Tikki can actually reach her. But we're going to find a way to wake her up, okay?" The last part he said firmly, telling them that there was no way they were giving up on Marinette. Trying to assure them that they could do it (so stop moping).

"What if I can't do it?" Tikki said quietly.

"Then we'll find another way to get through to her," he said simply. "But first you have to try."

He put a comforting paw on her back and lead her up to Marinette's face. Tikki took a deep, shaky breath, then pressed her forehead to the sleeping girl's. She closed her eyes, and slowly the spot on her head began to glow. And she stayed like that.

Long minutes ticked by, marked by the continuous beeping of the heart monitor. Everyone stood completely still, breaths held in anticipation. One could have easily mistaken them for statues if it weren't for the tension in the room. They waited. Waited for anything. For Marinette to stir…

Suddenly Tikki jumped back with a shrill scream. Plagg rushed to her and instantly took her in his arms. She was breathing hard, almost hyperventilating, and tears were once again streaming down her face. "So – so much blood!" she whimpered. "So many. They were – We couldn't – All dead. Dead. We couldn't- So much-"

"Tikki! Tikki, shh!" Plagg hushed her frantically. He held onto her tight.

"What?! What's going on?!" Alya cried.

"What's wrong?" Adrien asked at the same time.

"It was a dream, TIkki. It was just a dream. She was dreaming. Calm down!"

"What happened?!" came a cry from the door. They all turned to see an ashen faced Sabine, Tom close behind her. They took in the scene before them, before her eyes fell on the two Kwami and her face crumbled. "Oh, Tikki!"

"Wait, what?" Adrien said in surprise.

"W-what?" Tikki sniffled, seeming just as shocked.

"Is she alright?" she worried, scooping the Kwami up and cupping her in her hands. Tikki was so bewildered she stopped crying completely. "Hold on, do all of you know too? Oh… there's another one."

"Wait… you… know that she's Ladybug?" Adrien asked.

"Of course," Tom answered. "What kind of parent doesn't notice their child sneaking out at night, or gaining mysterious bruises."

"Or when we gain an adorable new family member, even if she does try to hide herself." Sabine smiled, gently stroking TIkki's head with a finger.

Adrien's eyes flicked to the ground, a scowl growing on his face. His father. That's what kind of parent wouldn't notice all those things. Heck, the man was even informed of bruises that were appearing between photo shoots, and the only response he got was 'get the makeup team to cover them'.

"You're him, aren't you?" a soft voice startled him out of this thoughts. He looked up to see Tom looking at him in sympathy. "You're Chat Noir." He gave a small nod. "Thank you."

"Huh?"

"We've seen the two of you fight together, we know just how hard you try to protect her. Even today, you were badly hurt trying to protect her. It's not – it's not something we think kids your age should have to go through, but you still do. And you keep her safe. So thank you."

Adrien opened and closed his mouth a few times, unsure of what to say. What was he even supposed to say? That he protected her because he loved her more than anything and would willingly put his life before hers? Because the world needed her. It needed her more than it need him.

"I didn't think Marinette had told anyone. Not willingly, anyway," Sabine said.

"Ugh… she didn't," Nino said. "We all found out like… ten minutes ago when Adrien tried to call Ladybug."

"Even you?" she questioned Adrien, a little perplexed.

He nodded. "Yeah. She thought it would be safer to keep our identities secret from everyone. Even each other."

Tom let out a whoosh of breath, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Is there anything you can do? I know that she usually fixes everything at the end, but is there anything at all?"

"We just tried to wake her up by sending Tikki into her mind. It didn't work this time. Hi, I'm Plagg, by the way. Do you have any cheese?"

"Plagg! Not now!"

"But I need it!" he whined.

"Wait, what do you mean 'this time?'" Alya pressed, sounding almost hopeful.

"The Akuma is very strong," Tikki said, her voice faint. "She's been forced into horrible, horrible nightmares. I couldn't reach her." She shivered as she remembered the nightmare she had witnessed and Sabine hugged her close.

"Which means we need a weaker Akuma and more strength getting through to her."

"Alright, how do we do that?" Adrien said, a determine look on his face.

"Well, for one thing, we're going to get me some cheese. Then we're going to go get that Akuma. Once the Akuma's been removed from the victim, she'll be powerless. Well, mostly. Everything will still be affected. But it will be weak." He nodded. "And there may be a way that I can join with Tikki to reach Marinette."

"No, but he can't!" Sabine gasped. "He's injured! He has a concussion."

"Not to mention Ladybug isn't there for backup," Alya added.

"It will be fine," Plagg waved them off. "Adrien's strong enough. Both of them can hold their own in a fight. We chose them for a reason… well, many reasons, but that's beside the point. And once he's transformed that concussion will heal up in minutes. Advanced healing, and all."

"Okay, then. What are we waiting for?" Adrien pushed himself up off the chair.

"Bro, you sure you're okay to do this?" Nino asked, looking very concerned. He was starting to feel better, but he obviously didn't look it.

"Well it's not like I can't do it. Mari needs to wake up. I need her to wake up. And the only way that will happen is if I go out there and get Lulla-bye's Akuma. And every moment I wait, she's going around putting more mothers to sleep, and kidnapping more babies. And every moment I wait longer is another moment that Marinette has to deal with being trapped in a nightmare! So I kind of don't care how I am right now. Waking Marinette up is what's most important right now." He was met by varying looks of alarm and concern. "What?"

"Dude, you're kinda self-destructive, you know that right?" He just shrugged. "Are you always this reckless when it comes to her?"

"Ah, sometimes. But I only ever do what's necessary. Look, guys, I'm fine." He gave them a weary smirk, imploring them all to believe him. "I'm feeling a lot better. And Plagg is right, as soon as I transform this concussion is going to be gone in a few minutes. Physically, I'll be fine. I won't do anything stupid, I promise. Ladybug may be the brain behind the plans, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve. Besides, I've been following this Akuma all day. I know the deal."

Alya tilted her head, her journalistic side piquing. "Okay, I believe you. What's the deal with this Akuma. Maybe we can help."

Adrien smiled, relief washing over him. "Her name is Lulla-bye. She can fly, she's fast, she sings lullabies that either make you feel sleepy or terrify you, and she has some sort of sonic blast that does this to whoever it hits." He gestured to Marinette. "Whatever got her Akumatized has something to do with babies. She's got six victims so far. The first was a man we suspect is her husband. The police couldn't get hold of his wife when they tried to inform her, so… Other than Marinette, the rest are all mothers, none of their children are older than a month. Lulla-bye has them. Going by the fact that she didn't take my Miraculous when she knocked me out, I'm thinking that she went after the baby first. She puts the babies before anything else. They're her weakness."

"Okay," Alya said with a nod. "Me and Nino will see what we can find out, See if we can find anything that could help, right Nino?"

"What? Oh, yeah, right! We're totally keen to help, dude. You don't have to do this alone just because Ladybug's hibernating… uh, in summer." Alya elbowed him harshly in the ribs and groaned out a sheepish 'ow'.

"We'll take care of her," Sabine assure him. "And Tikki too. It will be nice to finally talk to her." She walked over to him and cupped his cheek with a warm hand. "We know you'll do amazingly."

He blinked up at her, startled by the affection she was giving to him. He wasn't really used to it anymore, and he hadn't expected to have it come from someone who barely knew him. But still, he could feel the love she held for him. It warmed his heart and he gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks," he breathed. "I promise I'll bring the Akuma back as soon as I can. We will wake her up."

"We know you will," Tom said kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Right, Plagg-" He suddenly noticed a lack of a certain black Kwami. "...Plagg?"

"Just a moment!" his muffled voice called from the corner. "Unlike you, that paramedic lady remembered to grab your bag. I'm almost done eating. We're going to need all the strength we can get." He emerged from the bag, tossing half of a cheese wheel in the air and downing it whole. Then he sighed and rubbed his belly. Adrien shook his head in exasperation.

He was about to call for him again, but instead of heading towards him, Plagg drifted over to Tikki, who was still sitting in Sabine's hand. He nuzzled her, mumbling something to her in a lilting language that he didn't understand. It was more sounds than words, but still he understood the comfort it held. Tikki smiled gently at him before pressing her lips to his forehead. He could have sworn that his Kwami blushed, what else could that purple hue on his cheeks be? And that goofy smile...

"Okay, I'm good!" he called excitedly.

"Right. Plagg, Claws Out!" He felt the magic of the transformation wash over and through him, and within seconds he felt himself in his comfortable leather suit. When he opened his eyes, everyone was staring at him in awe.

"That was seriously cool!" Nino breathed. Adrien just winked, gave a two finger salute, then jumped out the window.

He was going to kick this Akuma's ass.