*whispers* It's baaaccckkkkk...

After a longer than expected hiatus, Better Together is back. I started by rewriting a significant portion of Chapter 19 (the entire Paris portion at the beginning of the chapter has been reworked and I urge you to go back and read it. I am proud of the changes I made and I believe they will help with a better understanding of the story as a whole).

And now, here is Chapter 21. I will warn you, there are some graphic descriptions in this chapter. If you would like to avoid those, please skip the paragraph starting with "His stomach churned" and ending with "catacylsm." There is another OC introduced here. I hope you will all welcome her to the story as we move forward.

A huge thank you to seththeshallow who has never stopped believing in this story and encouraging me to push forward. Without you, I don't know that anyone would have gotten to see any of the world I built, and I am grateful for you every day.

If you are reading this and you are enjoying it or you want to talk about Miraculous Ladybug in any way, please come find on on Tumblr: n3rdlif343va or Twitter: nerdlife4eva

Thank you to everyone for their patience! I hope this was worth the wait.

Everyone in the room took a collective breath, focus directed toward the bed as Gabriel collapsed forward. Adrien wanted to rush into the middle of the embrace, wanted to be a part of his family and clutch the mother who he had gone without for so long, but his feet were frozen. Even with as much as his heart yearned to feel his mother's arms around him, his mind was screaming at him to wait. The sickening mix of hesitation and elation sloshed in his stomach.

Marinette couldn't watch the scene in the corner of the room. It felt private and being a witness to it made her feel like a voyeur invading in a moment that wasn't hers. Eyes averted, she noted that she apparently wasn't alone in her awkwardness. Caine's face was cast downward, hands clutching his opposite elbows, thick eyebrows pulled together in contemplation. Marinette noticed his sullen posture, the slump of his body against the window was subtle but present making her wonder exactly what was going through his mind. To her right, a mixture of tears and whispers floated from the bed. She wanted to leave, but felt obligated to stay.

"Children," Master Fu spoke stepping toward them, urging the kwamis from his side and into the arms of their human partners. "Why don't you take some time to yourselves? When Lavande is up to speaking with you, I will call for you."

There were times that Master Fu's dismissal felt like a punishment, leaving Adrien with a dissatisfied chip on his shoulder. This time, the dismissal was a welcome to excuse to escape. Turning on his heel, clutching Plagg tightly to his chest, Adrien wrapped his fingers around Marinette's wrist before racing from the room.

He wanted to run. There was still a hanging darkness dancing on the edge of every thought and Adrien felt it tainting his view of the world. A few days ago, he would have been nothing but overjoyed to hear his mother's voice again. Now though, he felt terrified. The terror was shaking through him, scrambling every thought and fueling his feet to hurry them into the hallway.

"Hey!"

It wasn't the calm, relaxed manner of speaking that Marinette had come to associate with Caine. He wasn't looking for their attention, he was commanding them to stop. Pulling free of Adrien's grip, Marinette slowly turned, wincing as Caine invaded their personal space.

"I want to talk you."

The scowl was on Caine's face and laced through his words. Adrien stared at the man who shared his last name, waiting with irritation prickling his skin. He wanted to be away. He wanted to hide away with Marinette and their kwamis and pretend their world was normal. Instead he stood, frozen again with the shackles of respectful obligation.

"Not here," Caine nodded his head back toward the closed down, pushing passed them as he stomped down the hall. His shoulders were curled forward, eyes trained on the ground. Caine's posture was no longer easy-going and conveyed a level of stress that neither teenager could understand.

On the left wall of the hallway stood another wooden door. Marinette knew they must have passed it when they walked toward Lavande's room from the garden, even though she couldn't recall its existence. Eyes wide, she followed Caine through the doorway, feeling Tikki's tiny body shiver against her chest. Tikki shook her head, silently asking Marinette to wait for an explanation. Strings of confusion and worry created the suspenseful song of apprehension that crescendoed around them.

The wooden stairs creaked under their feet as they ascended the spiral staircase. Unlike the rest of the house which was full of natural light from oversized windows, the staircase was lit by hanging lanterns. The walls were a deep burgundy color, smooth to the touch and ice cold. They seemed to be climbing directly up the middle of the house, the lack of windows making Adrien feel the unrelenting pressure of claustrophobia. A tiny push broke through the pressing intimidation, and Adrien spied through hazy eyes Plagg's tiny hand resting over his heart.

The green eyes of his kwami were darker than Adrien remembered, much in the same way his had changed colors over the course of their struggles in Tibet. Wherever Caine was taking them, Adrien knew as soon as they were released, he would be carrying Plagg away for a long overdue discussion.

Marinette was desperately trying to orient herself as they reached the top of the staircase and pushed through another heavy wooden door. The room in which they stood was cylindrical in nature, with windows alternating across the walls, dark wood planks creating the repetitive pattern of bright light and dark oak. To the right there was another door and Marinette found herself wondering if another similar staircase was hidden behind it.

The furnishings were simple. A small bed with a woven quilt of seemingly random fabric squares stood to one side, while two dressers of cherry oak stood to the other. In the middle there was a single rug, colors wrapped together in a tight braid. The color scheme of the quilt and the rug matched, causing a tug of familiarity in the back of Marinette's mind. She was desperately trying to tie all her thoughts together when Adrien made a strangled noise next to her.

Framed by the window panes, highlighted by the lowering sun was a long blond ponytail, remarkably similar to one that they had left behind in Paris. The figure attached to it was slight in build, with unremarkable curves. "Chloe?" Adrien asked, feeling the uncertainty in the question. Rationally, there was no way that Chloe could be standing in the tower-like room in the middle of Russia. But the woman standing with her rail straight spine facing them, couldn't be anyone but Chloe.

Caine crossed the room, laying a gentle hand over the slight shoulder. Marinette couldn't ignore the delicate way Caine was touching the woman, almost as if he was scared to break her. When a sigh escaped the still unidentified person, Marinette felt a sense of relief circle through her body. She had made that same sound before, every single time Adrien touched her, no matter what form he was in. It was the sound of love and comfort, and suddenly Marinette thought she understood Caine's contemplative looks in Lavande's room.

Soft words were exchanged that Adrien strained to hear, wishing he was transformed so he could borrow Plagg's ears for the moment. Needing his own reassurance, still reeling from the confusion of the identity of the other person in the room, Adrien laced his fingers through Marinette's, squeezing as a silent plea not to let him go. He squeezed harder as the blond ponytail turned away from them, replacing it was a set of ice blue eyes.

Unlike Chloe's, this set of eyes was circled with a dull red rim, darker on the right iris than on the left. The woman's face was softer than Chloe's but wrinkled in lines of stress instead of laughter. Despite the oppressive heat, she wore long sleeves pulled over the back of her hands and long pants which hung loosely to her ankles. She was unbelievably thin, and Adrien found himself shaking his head at the image, knowing that a healthier, happier one should be in its place.

"Hello, Adrien," the woman spoke with calm tone that made Marinette think of a mother deer moving gently over her baby. Her long graceful neck, thin limbs, wide eyes and serene movements also gave her a deer-like appearance. Marinette had an insane desire to hug the woman in front of her, even with the alarms bells going off in her head about the woman's use of Adrien's name.

"Ms…." Adrien trailed off, unsure of himself. He saw Caine nod, a sad movement with a pleading emotion in the caring eyes. "Ms. Zoe?" Adrien took a step forward, letting Marinette's hand drop from his own.

"It is nice that you remember me," Zoe spoke quietly, the long neck bowing toward Adrien, "I certainly remember you. I see your hair remains unruly as always."

Marinette couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. Zoe's eyes were startling, but everything else about her made Marinette feel welcome and safe. There was a quiet elegance to her, a softness that seemed to be completely natural. She didn't pretend that the similarities to Chloe's physical appearance weren't there, but the personalities were on opposite ends of the spectrum.

"And you," Zoe was now directing her questions toward Marinette, "are you the bakers' daughter? The little girl who used to spill flower all over the bakery?" It was Adrien's turn to chuckle, patting Marinette on the back while her cheeks flushed red.

"I'm sorry," Marinette peered at her feet over Tikki's shoulder, "I don't know who you are." Tikki snuggled tighter to Marinette's chest, hiding her face. Glancing to Plagg, Marinette noted him copying Tikki's motion. A sense of dread began to slither its way through Marinette, an evil snake preparing to poison the unexplainable warm comfort that had spread inside of her.

"That's okay, dear," Zoe stepped forward, limping to her right side. "I am Chloe Bourgeois' mother. But you may call me Zoe." Stumbling, Zoe reached out to Caine's offered hand, smiling tenderly at him as she righted herself.

Adrien's chest constricted painfully. At first, he would have sworn it was from discovering both lost mothers in his life alive and well on the same day. But as Zoe continued to approach him, he knew there was something more. "Stop!" he said, flinging a hand out, halting her progress toward them. "Don't come any closer!" He felt the haze pouring over his vision as Plagg whimpered against his chest.

Placing himself in front of Zoe, Caine stared disapprovingly at Adrien. "She won't hurt you." He was scowling at them, lacing an arm around Zoe's waist to guide her further backwards. "She is a victim like your mother, but she escaped on her own. And not without consequences, mind you." Bending at the waist, Caine seized one of Zoe's pant legs, rolling it up.

Dark red scars appeared around Zoe's ankle, reminiscent of the angry spirals that had overtaken Lavande's skin. The area underneath was wasting away, thin almost to the bone and obviously weak. Marinette felt the sickness slam up her throat, clamping a hand over her mouth to prevent it from escaping in any form.

"She didn't have your cataclysm trick," Caine spoke gruffly, every word smeared with resentment. "She did what she had to do to get that thing off." Dropping the fabric, Caine moved to the other leg. Lifting the gauzy fabric he revealed a gold ring, clasped without a seam around Zoe's ankle. It was thick and menacing in the same way Lavande's earrings had been.

Adrien backed up. He knew without a word what Caine was going to ask of him. Plagg whimpered again in his arms, both of them knowing without acknowledging it, that transformation was out of the question. He didn't want Chloe's mother to be in pain, but he didn't have the physical strength to help. "I can't," Adrien whispered, still backing toward the closest door.

"Because she isn't your mother?" Caine didn't yell, instead he growled, deep from his chest. Marinette almost wished he had screamed at them, feeling that it would be far less threatening.

"No," Adrien shook his head, trying to find words in the middle of his fear, "I'm not strong enough." It was a weak answer, but Adrien could barely find the strength to speak the words. Hitting the door with his back, he groped for the handle. "I'm sorry," he whispered, tears springing to his eyes, "I'm so sorry." He flung the door open and fled.

Three knocks sounded on Adrien's bedroom door. In response he pulled the covers tighter over his head, willing the world to go away. Plagg was somewhere else in the room, leaving Adrien alone to stew in his own thoughts.

Marinette pushed the door open, blinking into the darkness as she balanced a tray on her hip. Dinner had been served to her in her room, a knock on the door and a tray left by someone she never saw. Adrien's tray had remained untouched, until Marinette had lifted it from its place in the hallway.

Hours had passed since Adrien had fled the tower room, leaving Marinette behind to stare at the pleading eyes of Zoe and Caine. She had promised to talk to Adrien, before making her own fleeting escape from the emotionally charged room.

Every ounce of her control had been needed to keep herself from storming after Adrien. By nature, she wanted to fix everything, heal every wound, and repair all signs of damage. She could have transformed in the tower, hoping for the best with the lucky charm call that another bag of healing dust would fall from magical origin. But she didn't, and this fact alone had kept her pacing through her own room, barely able to stomach the carefully plated dinner resting on the dresser. When worry had finally overtaken sense, Marinette had found her way to Adrien's door, only hesitating slightly as she pushed inside.

There was no doubt that Marinette was the source of the footsteps and the small clink that was occurring outside of Adrien's blanket burrito. Even without touching her, he felt his body settle, allowing him a moment of relief from the torturous ache in his chest. Reaching a single hand from under the covers, he sighed when Marinette's fingers wrapped into his own. The touch was a physical personification of hope, and Adrien clung to it until he was able to sit up.

"Hi." Marinette eased onto the bed, letting Adrien drape himself over her lap. "There is food, do you want me to feed you?"

Adrien felt himself laugh at this thought, almost accepting the offer to see if she would go through with it. His Marinette would though. She would carefully cradle his chin and feed him every bite, without a second of hesitation. Smile twitching at the thought, Adrien pushed the blankets from his shoulders and hummed when Marinette rose to retrieve the tray. His voice was still missing in action, but his smile seemed to be enough as the tray was fitted over his lap.

Tikki flew through the room, arms carrying numerous pieces of camembert cheese. She found Plagg, tucked into a pillow, staring blankly out of the open doors to the room's balcony. She didn't speak, as she laid the cheese at Plagg's feet, carefully unwrapping a piece and placing it in his hands. Plagg bit into the cheese, eyes still unflinching as if he was entranced by something they couldn't see.

Both cat partners ate in silence, their ladybug counterparts stroking their backs throughout the process. The actions were so mirrored, it would appear to an outsider that one set was controlling the other. As the food disappeared, the mood in the room lifted, letting all four of them take shaky breaths.

"We need to talk." Adrien was the first to speak, addressing his sentiment to the entire group. Without a word, Marinette stood, moving to close the balcony doors and stuffing a pillow at the seam of the doors to the hallway. It wasn't expert level sound-proofing but it was going to have to do.

Tikki lifted Plagg from the bed, holding his chest flushed to her own and bringing his limp body to Marinette. Accepting him, Marinette pulled him close, rocking her arms and humming a soothing melody.

"I'm not a baby," Plagg huffed, although his shoulders relaxed as he slumped into Marinette's caresses, leaving his point entirely moot.

"Everything is dark," Adrien spoke, barely above a whisper and to no one in particular. "Everything I see has a darkness to it, even the sun seems to be on a dimmer switch." The statements had an air of unconsciousness to them, passing through Adrien's mind and directly out of his mouth without a filter.

"For me too," Plagg mumbled, shifting in Marinette's arms to stare at his teammates in turn. "Xiao's temple, the magic he used to create it, was far stronger than I anticipated. Fu has underestimated his brother. Whether that knowledge is useful can only be told by time."

The bright green was returning to Plagg's eyes, and his small body snuggled contentedly against Marinette, even in spite of the conversation. Experimentally, Adrien reached for Tikki, pulling her to him in the same manner in which Marinette was holding Plagg.

Warmth spread over his chest, sinking into his rib cage and slowing his heart. His body lost its prickly edge, and he found himself laying back against his pillows. Marinette was always a source of comfort for him, but Adrien had never considered that Tikki could provide the same balance. Calm and chaos, destruction and repair, ying and yang, there were all characterizations of the same idea. "Does he know about…?" Adrien pointed a finger upwards toward the ceiling.

"Yes," Tikki answered, placing a hand over Adrien's heart, "Fu studied the wounds and the trinket on Zoe's body to prepare him to treat your mother's wounds."

"Then why didn't he treat Zoe as well?" Marinette felt the flare of indignation and frustration.

"Because of the ring," Adrien didn't know where the answer came from, but he knew it was right. The nods of both kwamis confirmed his assumptions.

Plagg sat up, remaining tangled in Marinette's arms. "The ring on her leg is made of the same hateful spells that created Lavande's earrings, and most likely the dagger. Xiao is messing with ancient magic, the kind that fueled hatred strong enough to start wars. According to Fu, while Xiao is strong and skilled, he doesn't have sustainable control over these forces. And that makes him even more dangerous."

Four chests heaved out heavy breaths. "If Cat Noir is able to remove the ring…?" Marinette glanced around, waiting to be screamed at.

"She might have a chance," Plagg weakly confirmed, his hands circling each other with apparent nerves. "But she would need the dust too. And Master Fu would have to remain here to treat her."

"How long has she survived like that?" Adrien's mother had faded away in the matter of hours, Zoe couldn't possibly have been a resident of Caine's house much longer than that. Even without the stab wound, her body seemed to be dying.

"Zoe has been hiding here for six months," Tikki let the small gasp from the humans dissipate, "she removed the other ring herself, with the aid of Caine."

"But how?!" Adrien couldn't believe his ears. Six months would certainly have meant death for his mother, how had Zoe survived for so long?

"True love's kiss," Tikki said, eying Adrien and Marinette for a reaction.

"She's Chloe's mother though," Marinette chewed her bottom lip in confusion, "isn't Chloe's dad her true love?" Obviously he wasn't and potentially it was Caine instead, but that was too messy and confusing for Marinette to process.

"Not all love is simple. Not everyone is lucky." Tikki sighed.

With that thought hanging between them, the four of them curled under the covers of Adrien's bed, piling together in the center. The conversation was nowhere near over, but they had all lost the will to continue. Heavy eyelids dropping closed, they slept tangled together in a protective hold.

Moonlight snuck through the parted curtains, coming to rest over Adrien's face and stirring him from sleep. Thoughts came rushing back to him, causing him to poke at Plagg until the black kwami relented to the prodding. Together, they moved through the room and out onto the balcony.

"Plagg…" Adrien started, the questions in his mind tripping down never-ending staircases to break at the bottom.

"I should have warned you," Plagg said, dropping onto Adrien's shoulder, unworried about the lack of eye contact. "I should have told you what could have happened, what did happen. I'm sorry, kid, I thought I could control it."

Reaching up to snag the small black body, Adrien brought his knees up to place Plagg on top of them. "Did you know?" he asked, concern and question painting his model features, "did you know it was going to be that bad?"

Black ears twitched as Plagg shook his head. "I don't think there was any way for me to truly know, but I should have been more cautious. We could have been pulled in. As Xiao's weapons, we would have destroyed the world." Plagg choked on the last few words, tears catching at the bottom of his green eyes.

"We didn't get pulled in though, you helped me fight it, whatever that was." Adrien still had no idea what they had actually been fighting in the temple. He kept returning to the description of darkness, knowing that it wasn't quite good enough.

"Hate," Plagg shuddered, "Xiao is surrounded in hate and building an army to effectuate the spread of it. Hate is so powerful, it turns good men evil, let's people have excuses for the most vile of actions, and poisons the world. All of our world's greatest wars have risen from hate, and it looks like Xiao is prepared to march against the world." Plagg's head dropped to his hands.

Anger. Irritation. Spite. Those were all words that hinted at the emotions accompanying Adrien's current perspective of his world. All of those words, when placed together, formed the foundation for hate. Xiao was forging weapons, building an army, and prepared to bring war out of his hate. "He hates Fu," Adrien stated simply. It wasn't a question really, as Adrien had felt a flutter of that hate in the same direction.

"It is more than that, but yes, essentially, Xiao's hatred of his brother is fueling him to sinister practices." Plagg left Adrien's lap momentarily to float back into room, returning to his place with camembert in hand. "He wants revenge, on a family who devalued him and a brother who was content to leave him behind. His revenge won't be cold though. It will be bathed in a warm bath of blood."

Realization flooded Adrien. In the same way Dark Cupid had been convinced that hate could conquer all, Xiao believed that hate was a force strong enough to tear the whole world apart. But Xiao was wrong. Where there was hate, there would always be love to fight it; another ying and yang balancing the world. The hate plaguing Adrien and Plagg had been fought by the love bestowed upon them by Tikki and Marinette. His mom had broken through her coma of hate by the love expressed in his dad's kiss. And Zoe, she was surviving the constant onslaught of hate, being absorbed by her skin through Xiao's trinket, through the constant love radiating from Caine. "Love conquers hate," Adrien declared, watching Plagg nod, "so now what?"

"Now," Plagg heaved, sinking back onto Adrien's legs, "we return to Paris. We build our own army. And we fight."

Marinette awoke to the knock at the door, sitting up in the empty bed. Panicking, she glanced around the room, noticing the mop of blond hair peeking over the top of a chair on the balcony. Tikki and Plagg were curled together on Plagg's pillow, and Marinette could smell the faint hint of syrup wafting in through the interior door. Throwing the covers back, she let her feet press into the plush carpet as she made her way onto the balcony.

Adrien was asleep, curled onto the lounge chair with his knees pulled tightly to his chest. His position reminded her of a dozing cat, and she chuckled as she bent to kiss him lightly on the temple. When he stirred, she encouraged him from the chair, guiding his sleepy form back to the bed and easing him under the covers. For only a second it looked as if he was going to protest being put back to bed, but his eyes dropped closed again and his breath immediately fell into the even cadence of slumber.

She watched over him for several minutes, waiting for the tension in his shoulders to finally relax into a deeper state of sleep. Tracing a finger down his cheek, Marinette bent again to place a kiss against his slacked jaw and then soundlessly slipped from the room.

Carefully stepping over the breakfast trays, she flushed with embarrassment realizing that both trays had been placed outside of Adrien's door. If Mr. Agreste found out that they had been sharing a room, he would surely have an embarrassing lecture for both of them. Not wanting to linger on that possibility, she scooped up a single tray and took the few steps across the hall to return to her own room.

Despite the sugary sweetness of the thick syrup, the waffles felt like sandpaper in Marinette's mouth. Every bite was a struggle, each forkful forced passed the ever-present lump in her throat. She needed to talk to someone who could help her make sense of everything going on, but she had no idea who to turn to. Reaching for her cell phone, a surprising find on their first day at Caine's home, she opened her photo gallery to flip through pictures of familiar faces.

Guilt slammed into her stomach, making the waffles churn as the walls clenched against their contents. In her shaky hand rested a picture of her and Alya, taken only weeks prior, before their double date with Nino and Adrien. It felt like looking at a past life, one that Marinette could barely recall as she let the tears finally begin to fall. They splattered on her phone as she quickly moved to call the one person she knew was smart enough to untangle this mess.

Sleep hadn't come in days. Alya sat at her computer, staring blankly at the screen wondering if it was possible that her eyes were permanently open now. Her body was exhausted, but her mind wouldn't let her rest, no matter how many hours Trixx had spent lecturing her on the subject.

It had also been days since she had seen her partner. On their last day together, they had separated only moments before transformation, Volpina flashing Queen Bee to the safety of the rooftop before flashing off to ensure their joint anonymity. It had terrified her to leave Queen Bee behind, but she knew the rules and she had to trust her partner. Still, she had awaited patrol that evening with a heavy sense of worry, flashing back across the rooftops thirty minutes early.

The sight of the black and yellow shoulders had Volpina diving toward the ground, snagging Queen Bee into a tight hug. There was no resistance as Queen Bee threw her arms around Volpina's waist and clung to her partner for reassurance. When they had finally separated with an awkward laugh, Volpina had tugged Queen Bee to the bench, begging for the details of whatever had scared La Papillion.

That had been several days ago and Alya had not been visited by the sandman since. Her body was heavy with the lack of sleep and her mind felt fuzzy and overworked, but she continued to press on, pushing her computer as hard as she was pushing herself.

Stacks of printed papers sat to the left of her desk, tabs in blue and purple marking their appropriate places. The purple marked all of the appearances of La Papillion that she could find, while the blue were tagging the articles about a miraculous holder named Lady Pois. Her costume matched the image Queen Bee had stolen from La Papillion's mind, and Alya had immediately begun to wonder about the possibility of Adrien's mother being a miraculous holder. It seemed unfair that his parents were rich and magical, but Alya had given up her attitude on that subject almost a day ago. Throwing herself backwards against her desk chair, hands running over her exhausted face, Alya jumped when her phone rang. Blindly reaching for the obnoxious object, tears sprang to her eyes as she saw who was calling her.

"Marinette?"

At the sound of Alya's voice, Marinette burst into tears. Her best friend looked confused and also emotional on the other side of the phone, and Marinette couldn't hold it together. The sight of Alya was making her heart wrench painfully in her chest.

"Marinette?!" Alya felt the panic rise as she watched her friend dissolve into a hysterical meltdown. "What's wrong? Is it Adrien?" A million thoughts flew through her head, the exhaustion causing her to become confused about what part of her knowledge was real and what part of it was theorized between her, Queen Bee and the World Wide Web. Did Adrien know that his mother was in pain? Did he know his dad knew that? Where was Marinette? Questions banged through Alya's mind rendering her unable to speak as she gaped at her sobbing best friend. The one thought, the loudest of them all, was that Marinette was alive and not much else mattered.

The hysteria began to edge with every word Alya spoke. Marinette could ground herself in the image of her friend, the dark circles that were characteristic of Alya's inability to sleep when she was researching a topic and the frazzled hair confirming Marinette's suspicions of Alya's lack of rest. Breathing deeply through her nose, Marinette covered her eyes with her free hand, whispering into the phone. "You must hate me."

"Hate is a strong word…" Alya trailed off, eyes flicking to Trixx as the kwami moaned in her sleep. "I was angry, but I'm not now. Now I'm worried." Her words were pure truth as she peered into the phone screen, silently counting her blessings that her best friend had survived. "Where's Adrien?" She raised an eyebrow as she watched Marinette's eyes flick to the side of the screen.

"Asleep," Marinette responded, looking back in time to catch Alya's look. "Not in here," she rolled her eyes, relaxing into the feeling of normalcy. So many intense hours had passed since she had last spoken to Alya, and even their last few moments together had been tense. Now though, it felt almost too easy to fall back into their friendship, a comforting place where Marinette always found exactly what she needed. "Things have been…"

"Weird," Alya finished, getting up from her desk chair to stretch out on her bed. "Around here too. Fu gave Gabriel his miraculous back. Queen Bee let him into her head, and we almost managed to grab that stupid peacock brooch." She was in her civilian form, but it felt completely natural to discuss these events with Marinette. Their last discussion outside of their masks had been clipped and full of hidden frustrations, a startling contrast the ease in which Alya was able to speak now. Maybe it was because there were so many questions, maybe it was because she knew none of them had the answers, but whatever it was, Alya let herself relax against her pillows, prepared to let everything out that she had been holding in since the moment the limo had disappeared across the Paris city line.

"I can't… what… he… when… but he's…" Marinette closed her eyes, forcing herself to breathe again. Processing all of Alya's information was making her head hurt and forming sentences had ceased to be a skill she possessed. Closing her eyes, Marinette rubbed the bridge of her nose as she tried to make sense of her own thoughts. "Mr. Agreste is here. So is Master Fu. We found Adrien's mom. She stabbed herself with a magical dagger and…"

"That's what he heard!" Alya sat straight up in bed, staring down at Marinette's image in the palm of her hand. "When Queen Bee was connected with La Papillion, that's what he calls himself now by the way, she heard a scream in her head. She said it sounded like a woman."

Marinette's whole body shuddered with the memory of that scream and all of the events which occurred immediately after it. Attempting to slow down the onslaught of the traumatic recall, she focused on what Alya had said. "How could he hear her? It's not like she was akumatized. She was possessed by these gold earring things that Xiao put on her." Smacking a hand over her mouth, Marinette realized that she had said too much. Alya nor Queen Bee knew anything about Xiao and Marinette had no idea if the limitations on what they could know had been lifted. Groaning, she flopped back on the bed waiting for Alya's questions.

Watching her best friend carefully, Alya weighed her options. A new name had come spilling from Marinette's ramblings, but it was obvious that Marinette regretting revealing it. Normally, Alya would have pushed to get all of the information, but her brain was already filled with angry bees of pent up knowledge. Letting it go for the moment, Alya instead decided to change course. "What made you call me?" It wouldn't be worth it to ask Marinette where she was or what had happened in the days since they had seen each other. Those questions were better reserved for in person conversations where she could properly judge Marinette's reactions. She could ask, however, what had spurred Marinette to reach out to her, after days of anxiety-producing silence, and that was the path she choose, hoping that more truth would reveal itself.

"Things are bad." Staring at the ceiling, Marinette propped her phone on her chest and tried to sort out a way to tell Alya only what she needed to know. "If someone was hurting, and you knew you might be able to help them, would you do it? Even if they could be bad or you could get hurt along the way… would you help them?" Eyes trained on the ceiling, Marinette gritted her teeth as the image of Zoe ghosted through her consciousness. The angry red markings, the thinning body and the warm smile had haunted Marinette throughout the night.

Studying her best friend, Alya felt the pull of sleep dragging her eyelids closed. Her mind was finally beginning to rest, in spite of all the new information she needed to process. Marinette was safe, and so was Adrien, and her mind was happily allowing this news to stop all of the spinning cogs. With the last breath of consciousness, she sighed into the phone trying to come up with an appropriate piece of advice. Eyes slipping closed, Alya muttered "isn't that our job?" as she finally drifted off to dreamland.

Smiling softly at the peaceful face of her best friend, Marinette whispered, "thanks, Alya," as she disconnected the call.

Adrien found Marinette pacing across the scope of her balcony, muttering under her breath and shaking her head as she attempted to bore a hole through the concrete with her repetitive movement. Gently placing the kwamis on the top of a chair cushion, he stepped forward to directly intervene in her path, catching her as she distractedly crashed into him.

The blush was back on her cheeks and Adrien was suddenly reminded of their first six months as friends. Marinette had stuttered more than she had talked and ran into so many objects, he and Nino had joked about starting a fund to sponsor her weekly evaluations for concussions. It was during those days that he had begun to fall in love with her, and fall had completed on the day he had discovered her standing in Master Fu's loft. Every day since then had been the product of luck he had never possessed, and he glanced down at Tikki in a silent thank you for whatever part her powers had played in his life. Chuckling as Marinette continued to silently stare at him, Adrien leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Want to tell me what you are ranting and raving about?" There were so many options, Adrien didn't have the wherewithal to even guess.

"Zoe…" Marinette trailed off, letting the name out without thinking. She instantly recalled the terrorized look in Adrien's eyes as he fled from the hidden tower, concern causing her to cup his cheeks in her hands. "I mean how I can help her, not you. I know you aren't ready and that's okay, but I have to do something." Adrien's eyes dropped toward the ground and Marinette felt her heart drop with them. She didn't want him to feel guilty or pressured into helping. The choice to help was hers, and not one that he had to make for himself.

"Kid," Plagg appeared next to Marinette's cheek, the nickname, however, was addressed toward Adrien. "We can do this. If what I have overheard is correct, Master Fu is preparing to send you both back to Paris. This might be our last chance to save Zoe. Our partners will protect us." Even with the fear vibrating in his words, Plagg smiled as Tikki hugged him around the neck. "Love conquers all, remember?"

Plagg's words hung between them as the foursome stood together, human hands clasping each other as the kwamis floated with their arms wrapping them close. The agreement was silent, a nod of Adrien's head without any eye contact with his teammates. He was positive that he wouldn't come out of this unscathed, but he trusted that Marinette would be there to help him through it. With a last determined sigh, Adrien finally looked up. "I'll go find Caine," turning on his heels, he dropped Marinette's hands to walk from the room without another word.

Eyes on Adrien's retreating back, Marinette whispered, "Tikki, spots on."

It had taken twenty minutes of searching for Adrien to discover Caine, sitting silently in an armchair with his head cradled in his hands. Tears were running across his cheeks and Adrien found himself wondering how many people around him were also feeling overwhelmed. He realized, as he stood awkwardly in the doorway of the dusty old room, that the emotions he was feeling were not reserved for him because of his youth. Confusion and heartache could plague everyone, regardless of age or any other factor. Although the realization was sad, it made him feel less alone as he took a cautious step toward his uncle.

Reacting to the sound of footsteps, Caine raised his head to stare at Adrien. The normally calm eyes were filled with stormy darkness, resting on Adrien's face with silent questions furrowing bushy eyebrows. "Sit," Caine said, waving an arm toward the other ancient chair in the room, waiting to continue until Adrien had adjusted himself against the aging fabric. "I never wanted her to have that stupid miraculous. None of you should have them." Heaving a heavy breath, Caine sank against the back of his chair, staring out of the high window overlooking his garden. "Magic is fickle. What is good can be corrupted, and what is bad… well… bad is harder to change. The scale is so easily tipped, it is best not to erect in in the first place."

Staring at his fingers, Adrien could feel the arguments gathering on his tongue. The magic of Plagg had brought Adrien into a world that allowed him to be free. Yes, there had been pain and conflict, but this world also held the greatest love he had ever known. Together, they had accomplished amazing things, and Adrien refused to acknowledge that everything about the miraculouses was bad. Deciding that silence was his best option, Adrien continued to stare at his own interlaced fingers as Caine continued.

"We were in love back then, you know," Caine's voice had taken on a dreamy tenor, reminding Adrien of the way he sounded whenever he spoke of Marinette, "the miraculouses came to us all, but I was the only one to refuse." Adrien sat bolt upright in his seat, breathe catching as his heart began to slam in his chest. "Your mom and dad loved the idea of being superheroes, and Zoe… well Zoe was your mother's best friend and they were inseparable. If your mother was going to be a superhero, than Zoe was going to be one as well." Eyes sliding closed, Caine made a small noise as if he was remembering a great pain. As a single tear rolled down his cheek, Adrien realized that he was. "The day I handed my box back to Master Fu, with a big thank-you-no-thank-you, was the day everything began to unravel. The three of them were always sneaking off, fighting bank robbers or shoplifters or whatever petty crime was around Paris at that point. They left me alone in my own stubbornness, giving up fighting with me on the issue after only a week." His Adam's apple bobbed as Caine tried to swallow.

"There was another miraculous holder, a giant yellow looking creature with a devious smile that began to run with them. I never who he was out of costume, and still don't to this day. But I do know that it is through him that Zoe met Chloe's father, a beast of a man who was the definition of a lion in sheep's clothing. The day I saw them together, lips pressed in vile kiss, I left Paris and never looked back." Caine quieted then, finally bringing his gaze to Adrien's face. "Then one day she was here, a single suitcase in hand, miraculous missing and tears streaming down her face."

Adrien could see that the story wasn't over and braced himself for whatever was coming next. There was still a strained, tense look to Caine's face, a sign that whatever unfolded next was not going to be pleasant.

"We were happy… for months we were happy here together, living in a bubble that was all our own. I worked and when I came home, she would be proudly waving an arm at a table filled to the brim with delicious food." A soft smile, which didn't quite reach Caine's eyes, appeared on his face as he shared the memory. Before he began again, it disappeared, replaced by a look that could only be described as tortured. "Then one day I came home and the house was empty. Furniture was overturned, vases were broken. Every floor of the house showed signs of a struggle. My Zoe was gone, and I knew it hadn't been by choice."

Caine was describing Adrien's worst nightmare. Even before he knew that Ladybug was Marinette, Adrien had suffered through countless nightmares of each of them being captured. After the reveal, and the discovery that his two loves were one person, the nightmares had increased causing many sleepless nights when Cat Noir stood guard over Marinette's window. He had many theoretical plans to find her if she had gone missing, but the chance of it happening still made him feel ill. Any animosity he had felt towards his uncle, fell away as Adrien continued to listen to his story.

"I searched for months. I followed every clue. I came to Paris and screamed at your father, only finding out then that your mother had disappeared too. I had begged him to use to his powers then, to lend me your mother's miraculous so that we could fight together, but his heart had turned dark. The loss of your mother had stolen the will for good from your father, and I knew that he wouldn't be any help." Caine flushed then, a heat covering his cheeks that made him appear younger than the wrinkles and gray hair at his temples. "I shouldn't have left you. I wanted to take you with me, but then I saw you with your friends. I knew that you had found happiness despite your father's coldness. Later, I would find out that you had become a holder yourself. I will never forgive myself for letting that happen."

"I'm happy," Adrien spoke, hearing his words as they filled the gap between them. "I have friends, I have Marinette, but I also have Cat Noir. He is a part of who I am, and I don't regret that." Years of speaking with adults helped Adrien convey his thoughts, even with the hurricane building inside of him. "But enough, how did you find Zoe again?" He didn't want to argue. Adrien had learned long ago that Agreste men didn't fight fair in verbal arguments, himself included. There was no advantage to arguing now, as the Agreste stubbornness would allow neither of them to bend to the other.

"I found her by chance. There were holder spottings in Tibet, so I went, spending days watching and waiting for a sign." Caine had let the subject of Adrien drop, but the narrowing of his eyes told Adrien that Caine wasn't happy about it. "When I saw them, agile soldiers in mock costumes, I knew something far more sinister was going on. I tracked them carefully back to Tibet and from there, across the desert to the landing point where I dropped you. I camped for several days, almost giving up hope when she stumbled over the horizon." The last word was choked, Caine dropping his head back into his hands as if the memory was still happening.

Empathy rose in Adrien's chest. Given what Zoe looked like now, his mind couldn't fathom how she had looked traveling on foot after escaping Xiao's temple of hate. He didn't want to know, and knew that he couldn't stomach the details so he gave Caine a way out. "And now she is here. And we're going to help her." Standing, Adrien crossed the room facing the doorway as he placed a hand on Caine's shoulder. "We'll do the best we can. We help people, that's who we are, that's what our miraculouses mean to us." Feeling the shaking breath vibrate through Caine's body, Adrien dropped his hand and left the room, his determination renewed as he climbed the stairs to return to his partner.

Ladybug stood where Marinette had been, only her figure was still, arms resting on the balcony railing as Plagg floated near her head. They weren't speaking, but Adrien could see the smile on Ladybug's face and reasoned that Plagg had probably been sharing his personal brand of humor with the red heroine. Stepping through the threshold of the door, Adrien wrapped an arm around Ladybug's waist, propping his chin on her shoulder to nuzzle into the side of her head. "Hey," he whispered, careful to avoid speaking directly into her ear.

"Hey," she said, turning to let herself be drawn into Adrien's arms. "Did you tell him?" Her answer was delayed by Adrien kissing her, nodding as he brought their lips together. Smiling, she pushed him back and raised her eyebrows. "What are you up to?" Playfully, she dodged his next attempt to kiss her, arching her back to keep her distance until she got her answer.

"Aren't balconies supposed to be romantic or something?" Adrien was smirking in Marinette's direction, teasingly leaning forward to try to kiss her again. His partner was here, solid and alive and after hearing Caine's story, he wanted nothing more than a few minutes to reaffirm this. He laughed when she continued to lean back, holding her waist so that she wouldn't take them both crashing to the ground. "Romeo and Juliet thought so."

"Romeo and Juliet ended up dead." She realized her mistake when the color vanished from Adrien's face. "That's not… I mean… we aren't dumb and in love, we're smart and in love… and superheroes. We're superheroes!" Marinette waved her hand in front of her own face, in a comical gesture toward her own mask. Her panic was broken when Adrien began to laugh.

"I don't think that we fit the mold for star-crossed lovers," Adrien kissed her nose, jumping when the beeping nose rang from her ear. "What…?" he asked, closing his eyes instinctively as her transformation began.

Shaking out her pigtails, Marinette stood before him dangling a velvet bag between her fingers. It was exactly like that bag that she had produced standing in the airplane cabin. Tucking it into her pants pocket, Marinette bent to retrieve a cookie from the tray and handed it to Tikki. "Give me ten minutes and then I'll be ready," the kwami chirped, chomping into the cookie with a grin on her face.

Five minutes, Adrien thought, sinking into the chair behind him. In five minutes he would be fighting the darkness again, and he could only hope that he would survive it once more.

Neither of them spoke as they climbed the spiral staircase. Ahead of them, Caine was leading the way, also lost in his own thoughts. They had climbed these steps once before as Marinette and Adrien, but now they made their way as Ladybug and Cat Noir.

The heavy door creaked open, revealing Zoe curled on her side on the bed. Her forehead was covered with beads of sweat and her breathing was shallow. A weak hand reached for Caine as he rushed to her side, and she moaned as he pressed a cold compress to her head. Pleading eyes found Cat Noir's, Caine silently begging them to help her and fast. Her survival wasn't guaranteed, but without them there would be no hope.

Next to him, Ladybug held the gold dust in one hand and the bag of cat nip in the other. Cat Noir could already feel the distraction of the cat nip dancing around the edges of his mind, and shook his head to clear the fog. Taking a step toward Zoe, his green eyes narrowed as he watched Caine expose the seamless gold ring around her ankle.

His stomach churned as he took in the sight of the vicious red markings, blood red across the expanse of Zoe's leg. The area around the gold ring looked burned and as Cat Noir knelt next to the bed, the distinct scent of burned flesh stuck in his nose. Trembling, he focused his eyes on the joined hands of Zoe and Caine as he quietly called for his cataclysm.

Everything happened at once. Cat Noir growled, a sound buried in pain and terror, as his hand began to glow with the force of destruction. With the remainder of his control, he carefully lowered it, grazing only his fingertips against the gold ring. As soon as his power subsided, he collapsed, a heap of crying despair at the foot of the bed as Ladybug rushed to his side.

Zoe was screeching, thrashing on the bed as Caine attempted to hold her down as he called out to Ladybug. Tearing herself away from her partner, Ladybug grabbed the bag of gold dust and began sprinkling it across Zoe's body as she had seen Caine do on the plane. The screeching subsided, and Zoe laid still, muscles twitching in her legs as the red marks began to slowly recoil to their place of origin at her ankles. Her eyes were wet with tears and unfocused as Caine leaned over her, lost in his own fear.

Twisting, Ladybug shoved the cat nip under Cat Noir's nose. His body shuddered as his hands greedily snatched the bag from her to shove it hard against his face. Every space in his mind was filled with a dark ink, spreading over every thought and infecting every feeling. His stomach was lurching as he continued to fight, inhaling the blocking scents of the cat nip and blindly groping his way into Ladybug's lap.

The door slammed open, revealing Gabriel and Master Fu with mixed looks of fury and concern. Gabriel stormed across the room, hauling Cat Noir off of the bed and glaring at his brother. "I told you no," he spoke through gritted teeth, gathering Cat Noir against his chest as if he was a small child and not a lanky teenager. "I will never forgive you, if…"

"My choice, Father," Cat Noir muttered as he transformed in front of them all, reappearing as Adrien limply lying in his father's arm. "Love not hate," he whispered as he passed into unconsciousness. Speechless, Gabriel turned to leave, carrying Adrien in his arms down the winding staircase.

"I told you…" Master Fu did not have the same malice as Gabriel, but his hard glare in Caine's direction told Ladybug that they had potentially made an uninformed decision. "Come," he ordered, pausing at the doorway with his back still to the room, "you leave for Paris tonight. Gather your things immediately." Disappearing down the stairs, Master Fu gave Ladybug no opportunity to argue.

Pink and red lights filled the small room causing Marinette to take Ladybug's place. Stealing her back against the orders fired at her by Master Fu, she gathered both kwamis into her arms, shifting to allow Tikki to tuck Plagg between them. The kwami was as unconscious as his human counterpart and Marinette could feel the panic welling inside of her.

She made it one step toward the door when a small voice called her name. Sickness still building in her stomach, she turned to face Zoe.

"Don't trust her," Zoe wheezed, her voice raw from screaming and her body weak from separating from the evil control. "Lavande. Don't trust her."

With those words ringing in her ears, Marinette ran down the stairs to find Adrien.

The pilot at the helm of their plane was a quiet man, who spoke in a language Marinette didn't recognize. He had pointed them into their seats, signaling for them to clasp their seatbelts. Adrien was barely on his feet now, recovering only an hour before they were due to take flight. She wanted to talk to him, wanted to understand the darkness creeping in his eyes, Instead he wanted to silently cling to her, keeping his entire body pressed against Marinette's side as his continued to quake.

Plagg was tucked into a healing pillow, braced on Marinette's lap with Tikki sitting beside his head running a small red hand over him as he slept. Master Fu had healed Plagg and placed him in the bed without speaking a word to her, their eyes never connecting during the entire process.

Across the plane, Lavande Agreste leaned against Gabriel. Both of them were dressed in business suits, look every bit the picture perfect image of a power couple. It was perhaps still Zoe's warning ringing in her ears, but Marinette didn't trust the small smile on Lavande's lips or the way her hands curled around Gabriel's arm. Everything Adrien's mom was doing felt possessive and controlling, and Marinette could feel the dislike growing like a beast inside of her.

She needed Alya. Adrien was in no shape to discuss anything that was going on, as he continued to quiver against her in his own quest to relieve the aggressive darkness still fighting inside of his body. Alya could help her figure out the truth. Her best friend would know how to sort through Caine's story and every event that happened since they had stepped off the plane in Tibet. Together, with Alya and Queen Bee, the four of them would decipher the truth, weeding out the adults' motivations to skew their opinions in one direction or another.

The brief consideration of revealing Queen Bee's identity also passed through her tired mind. They needed to all trust each other, now more than ever, and Marinette would gauge the relationship of their teammates when they returned to Paris. If they had grown together, as Marinette hoped they had, then it was time for Queen Bee to shed her secret. They would protect each other, using the miraculouses as they were intended to rid the world of Xiao's growing hate.

Wrapping a protective arm around Adrien and her other arm around the pillow holding their kwamis, Marinette turned to face the window. No matter what happened when they landed, Adrien was not returning to his home. She would make it her mission to protect her entire team, starting with the man she loved and never stopping until the threat of Xiao was no more.

I am participating in the Miraculous Big Bang and will be releasing a completed story based off the continuation of The Last Date which combines the adventure elements of this story and the fluff of The Last Date along with the amazing art of dontcallmebugaboo.