Author's Note: Thank you so much for the positive feedback you guys! I honestly hadn't planned on continuing this story, but all your support has been really encouraging! That said, I sure hope I don't disappoint with this update, and thanks again for being patient with me.

As with the previous part, this story follows a non-linear narrative, so apologies in advance for any confusion. Please enjoy :)

The Other Half of Us

Part 2

A white butterfly fluttered in the darkness, hovering just beyond the entrance to the abandoned construction site. Adrien immediately recognized it as one of Hawk Moth's, but although it had already been purified, it wasn't flying away.

Felix?

The creature danced out of his reach when he tried to grab it, and Adrien gave chase as it led him inside the ruins.

"Why doesn't dad like me?"

Felix came to a dead stop in the middle of the hallway, causing Adrien to walk into his back with a small 'oof'. "What makes you say that?" he asked slowly, turning around to face his twin.

Adrien rubbed his chest with a pout. "Dad never lets me watch whenever you go to dress up and get your pictures taken," he whined. "He makes me stay home all the time and he always treats me like a baby!"

"I – I don't know, Adrien…"

No one knew really, how Felix came to be Gabriel Agreste's favorite son. Perhaps his father had seen more potential in him, or maybe it was because he tended to act more mature than most children his age. Either way, no one in the mansion dared to comment on the way Mr. Agreste would dismiss his younger son so blatantly in favor of his older.

But Felix didn't let it go to his head. He tried his best to make Adrien feel loved as well: spending his free time playing with him, sharing his snacks and collection of toys, giving him the attention he so craved from a parental figure. Adrien never resented him for being blessed with their father's affections, knowing that his twin always looked out for him. He loved his brother dearly, and the two were as close as siblings could be.

"Hey." Felix took his hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "You know you'll always have me, right?"

"Mmhmm…"

Clearly dissatisfied with the answer, Felix dug his fingers into Adrien's sides instead, eliciting high-pitched squeaks and giggles. "Come on, say it!"

"Ahaha – Felix, NO – stahp it – HAHAHA – okay okay! I'll always have m-my big brother!" Adrien laughed helplessly, his cheeks beginning to ache from smiling so hard.

"Five minutes isn't that much older." Felix stuck his tongue out at him, his eyes lighting up with mischief as Adrien batted his hands away. "You still have that bubble soap we bought last week?"

"Uh huh, what about it?"

"Remember Nathalie? Dad's new helper? I heard she has a fan in her office…"

With identical grins on their faces, they raced each other back to their room.

Ironically enough, Hawk Moth did not believe in luck.

Every little detail in his grand scheme of things had to be carefully orchestrated and precisely executed, but never let it be said that he was not a man of opportunity. If he saw an opening, he took it without hesitation. If there was anyone in Paris with enough negative emotion to serve his needs, he would infect them with his akumas, no questions asked.

And if one of those people happened to be his own son, then so be it.

"Chat Blanc," he said, watching the boy clad in white leather open his eyes for the first time.

It was fitting, really. There was no better host for his dead son than his surviving twin, and while the power of one Miraculous wasn't enough to restore him fully, it had already planted the seed deep inside Adrien. Hawk Moth had created a special akuma for this very purpose, fueling it with energy from Chat Noir's ring. Felix's essence would grow over time and his mannerisms would start to bleed through before long, but he needed Ladybug's Miraculous for the resurrection to be complete.

"Welcome back, my son," Hawk Moth greeted him with a dark smile. "You have a lot to catch up on, but we have work to do before you'll be able to stay for good."

"Yes father," came the obedient reply.

"Excellent. Now, Felix, I don't suppose you could draw Ladybug out of hiding?"

"Leave it to me," Chat Blanc purred, curling his right hand into a fist as it pulsed and crackled with red energy. "I have an idea. Get me some soap, and I'll take care of the rest."

In the distance, muffled cries could be heard from a locked box tucked away in a dark corner of Hawk Moth's lair.

"– part of the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s. An interesting complication that came up during battles resulted from the use of black powder at that time. Not only did the thick smoke from all the gunfire make it hard for soldiers to see, but the gunpowder itself was also highly corrosive. Smokeless powder wasn't introduced until – oh, there's the bell! Read up on the rest of the chapter over the weekend and I'll resume the discussion next week. Class dismissed!"

Marinette barely had time to pack up before Alya was pushing her and Nino out the door. Recognizing that her best friend was in 'reporter mode', she quickly shushed Nino's half-hearted protests as they were dragged to the empty courtyard behind the school, away from prying eyes.

"Geez Alya, what's all this about?" Nino complained, rubbing his wrist where he had been grabbed none too gently.

"You won't believe what I found out last night!" Alya exclaimed proudly, whipping out her trusty phone and typing away. "Mr. Agreste thinks he can hide it from the world, but he's no match for my investigative skills!"

"Alya, what are you talking about?" Marinette was equally confused. As enthusiastic as Alya could be, it was hard to follow her at times.

"THIS!"

Nino and Marinette leaned back as Alya practically shoved her phone in their faces. On the screen was a snapshot of the pin up board in her room, cluttered with news articles and post-it notes.

"You mentioned something about Adrien having a twin, right? I've been doing some digging recently, and it turned out that he did, a long time ago. His name was Felix, he was the older twin, and he died in a car accident when they were six."

Marinette covered her mouth with a gasp. Nino's jaw dropped.

"I know right? It wasn't easy getting my hands on this info. Mr. Agreste probably tried to keep it under wraps, but the media always finds a way!"

"Hold on, that can't be true," Nino interjected, shaking his head. "I remember asking Adrien about his family once. He told me he'd been an only child all his life."

"My research is never wrong!" Alya shot back, stamping her foot in indignation. "Maybe it's still a painful topic for him so he didn't bring it up."

"But he didn't look sad or anything when I asked. He said – and I quote – 'It's just been me and dad for as long as I can remember.'"

Marinette tuned her friends out as they argued back and forth, trying to sort out her thoughts. She trusted Alya's skills, so Felix had to have existed at some point. And Nino had always been able to read Adrien like a book, so he had to be telling the truth too.

It didn't make any sense. Why couldn't Adrien remember his own brother?

"Dad?"

It was like talking to a statue. Gabriel Agreste stood tall and silent, an immovable figure in the middle of his study. Cold, calculating eyes gazed out the window as he watched the sun set beyond the horizon, his back to the door, and a small tilt of his head was the only indication that he had heard the question.

"Where's Felix?"

"...He went away for a while."

"Oh. When's he coming back?" Adrien shrank into himself as his father turned around and gave him a hard look. He didn't answer for a long time, and then:

"He'll be back, I'll make sure of it. Now, don't think about him anymore."

Too frightened to press the issue any further, little Adrien fled the room.

When he was sure his remaining son was gone, Gabriel walked over to the phone on his desk. "Nathalie," he said, paging his secretary. "I want you to schedule Adrien an appointment with the family doctor next week…"

"NO!"

Adrien gasped violently as his eyes snapped open, jerking upright in his bed. The silence of the night was punctuated by his labored breathing, his bedsheets clenched tightly in his fists as he shook himself back to awareness.

It had been that nightmare again, the one where he found himself dangling by the back of his neck at the hands of Roger Cop, screaming helplessly as his partner, the love of his life, plummeted to her death. No matter what he did (no no please –), no matter how far he reached (almost there just a little bit more –) or how hard he struggled (catch her catch her CATCH HER –), he would always be forced to watch Ladybug's face twist into sheer terror as her yo-yo slipped out of his grasp, leaving her freefalling to the ground below.

Logically Adrien knew that she was safe, that it was just his vivid imagination tormenting him in his sleep, but that horrified look on Ladybug's face was one he never wanted to see again. He hadn't had that nightmare in a while, so suffice it to say he didn't appreciate it making a guest appearance out of the blue. Slowly catching his breath, it took him a moment to register the dull throbbing sensation at the back of his head. Groaning in discomfort, he rubbed at the pained spot gingerly.

Ever since that mild concussion he'd gotten two weeks ago from being thrown out the window, he'd been seeing flashes of a mysterious boy everywhere. Sometimes Adrien belatedly found himself looking to the side or reaching out his hand, as though expecting someone to be there. He had lost count of the number of times he'd managed to get a glimpse of that boy, only because it was hard to tell the subtle differences between the stranger and his own reflection.

It confused him to no end, especially when the boy had started to appear in his dreams as well. Felix, he was called. Big brother, he responded to. It felt so surreal watching his dream-self interact with him, seeing snippets of moments between them, tinged with a hint of familiarity. There was the possibility that those dreams were memories, but that couldn't be true since he was an only child… right?

A loud snore jolted Adrien out of his thoughts, and he turned to see Plagg sprawled out on a cushion next to his bed, surrounded by tiny crumbs of cheese. One quick glance across the room confirmed what he already knew: the kwami had just returned from devouring his midnight snack, the empty plate on the night stand a dead giveaway.

Adrien shook his head with a small huff, making a mental note to refill it in the morning as he slipped back under the covers.

If the flock of dead pigeons decorating the park and rusted antennas on countless rooftops were anything to go by, it was clear that Chat Blanc couldn't wait to see Ladybug again.

The people of Paris had begun to question where their beloved superheroes had disappeared to. Neither of them had made an appearance in a long while, and the escalation of the bizarre events plaguing their city was getting out of hand. The authorities had tried their best to apprehend the perpetrators and clean up the damage, but they were running out of ideas.

And so was Marinette.

It's all my fault. I should have told him, I should have TRUSTED him.

Ladybug and Chat Noir had been a duo ever since the Miraculous and their guardians had entered their lives. They were two halves of a whole, partners till the very end, and there was not one supervillain either of them had faced without the other. The shock of discovering that Chat was Adrien had shaken her badly, but her cowardice had been no excuse to hide the truth from him. All in all, they were simply two sides of the same person, and there was no one else who could relate to that better than her.

Chat was – IS my partner, and Adrien's my friend. I can't give up on them now, not after everything they've done for Ladybug and me.

It had taken a good number of pep talks from Tikki to accept that she couldn't change the past, that she had to deal with the consequences of her inaction. Chat Blanc was running rampant all over Paris and she had to stop him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to do it by herself. She needed a plan; rushing blindly into battle to confront him was suicide.

I have to fix this. I WILL fix this. No matter what it takes.

Which was how Alya and Nino found themselves in Marinette's room one afternoon, watching her wring her hands nervously. She had invited them over to discuss an urgent matter, and the uncharacteristically serious look on her face had been enough to set off warning bells in their heads.

"Marinette, is everything okay?" Alya asked, exchanging worried glances with Nino.

"I… I need your help. I can't do this alone, not anymore," Marinette said, opening the pouch at her waist. "But first, there's someone I'd like you two to meet."

"Say that again."

"…"

"Plagg! What do you mean, 'Ladybug knows'? Tell me!"

The kwami darted out of the way as Adrien lunged at him, flying towards the ceiling where the teen couldn't reach him. "Forget I said anything!" he denied a little too quickly for Adrien's liking.

Eyebrows furrowed deeply in thought, Adrien tried to recall the fight against Quicklace, his eyes widening in realization when he finally put the pieces together.

Ladybug knows who I am.

"She told you to keep quiet, didn't she?" Adrien demanded. Plagg didn't answer, and that was all the confirmation he needed.

Nothing could compare to the pain of utter betrayal that stabbed his heart at that moment, knowing that his beloved Ladybug had hidden the truth from him. Even Plagg, annoying as he could be, his one constant companion during the lonely days away from his friends, had been in on it. After all he'd done, respecting her wishes to keep their identities a secret from each other, loving her more than his selfish desire to find out who she was behind the mask… How could they? Didn't they trust him?

Adrien had never felt so alone as he did then. He couldn't count on his family to be there for him (especially his family, because what kind of father didn't show up when even the mayor of Paris could make time for his daughter; couldn't even manage a simple 'no' but let his call go to voicemail instead), and now even his closest partners had abandoned him too?

Hurt slowly gave way to anger, and a bitter feeling began to swell in his chest. In the heat of the moment, Adrien forcefully wrenched his Miraculous from his finger and threw it into the wastebasket across the room, ignoring Plagg's alarmed protests.

"Just leave me alone!" he yelled, stomping over to his bed and burying himself under the covers. Plagg kept head-butting him through the sheets, apologizing frantically and pleading with him to please put the ring back on, but Adrien refused to budge. The kwami eventually gave up after a while, and it took everything in him not to react as Plagg switched off the lights and bade him a soft goodnight, foregoing his usual cushion to curl up on his chest.

The next morning Adrien woke up in a daze, blinking his eyes blearily as he silenced his alarm. His head was spinning, his mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton, and there was this sore spot near his collarbone. He rubbed at it absently, trying to relieve some of the sharp ache building up in the area as he contemplated taking a sick day. The pain disappeared after a few minutes, but while he felt well enough to make it to school, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was forgetting something.

Dragging himself out of bed, Adrien made his way to the bathroom, walking past the untouched plate of cheese on the nightstand.

"If you don't stop humming the Mission Impossible theme, I swear I will choke you with your own headphones. What part of being covert do you not understand?!"

"Relax, I know what I'm doing! I help Adrien sneak out all the time. Sneaking in is exactly the same, just the opposite!"

"That doesn't even make sense. And you watch too many spy movies."

"Where do you think I learnt how to disable alarms?"

"Oh for the love of – hurry up and get us in already!"

"…"

"Well?"

"We're in. Ha! I've always wanted to say th– OW!"

"Shut up and follow me. We don't have time to play around."

"What's with you? You barely batted an eyelash when you got kidnapped by that old Pharaoh at the Louvre, and now you're acting like you've lost your wifi signal."

"I can't help it, okay? I know I can be reckless when it comes to my blogging, but this isn't about me anymore. We need to save Adrien, and Marinette's risking her life to buy us some time while we find Plagg. I didn't realize how much danger she puts herself in every time she becomes Ladybug. For all we know, Adrien could be ripping her to pieces right now! Or what if Hawk Moth comes back and turns us into –"

"Alya, calm down! Look, I get that you're worried, but you need to trust Mari. She knows what she's doing. With her luck, we'll be in and out before anyone notices. Hawk Moth thinks he's won, and he's going to want a front seat to see her get beaten – not that she will, of course! It's also likely that he'll assume she's on her own, so he wouldn't count on her asking us for help. They're not exactly the best odds, but have a little faith, okay?

"Yeah, you're right Nino. Mari's counting on us, we can't let her down."

"That's the spirit! Now, is there some kind of secret basement in the blueprints? All the bad guys have one, and I bet that's where we'll find Plagg!"

"…Next time we have a movie night, I'm picking."

Adrien opened his eyes to cloudy, moonless skies.

It felt as though someone had been using him as a punching bag; the cold concrete beneath him seemed to press against every sore muscle in his body, and he shivered as a light breeze grazed his skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake. Groaning in pain, he carefully rolled over and pushed himself up.

"This wasn't supposed to happen."

Instincts flared to life and the teen immediately jumped to his feet, valiantly ignoring the way his legs trembled from the effort. He lifted his arms in front of him as he shifted into a defensive stance, a spike of panic rushing through him when he noticed the absent ring on his finger.

What happened to my Miraculous? Where's Plagg?

Thinking back, he faintly remembered going to school and attending photoshoots, but even then the memories were a little too fuzzy for his liking. There had been some kind of haze clouding his mind, and everything seemed to have passed him by in a blur. Now that the fog had been lifted, he found himself able to breathe again, able to focus on what was happening around him.

There was a sudden movement on his right, and he spun around just in time to see a tall, dark figure emerging from the shadows, cane in hand. It was hard to read the man's face under his mask, but Adrien knew without a doubt that he was standing before Hawk Moth himself.

This is bad. I can't transform, and I'm in no shape to fight. What do I do?

"Felix."

The name struck a chord in him, but it wasn't because he'd been hearing it in his dreams. The way Hawk Moth said it, the words resonating with longing and bitterness, it was all too familiar…

Adrien's eyes widened.

Dad?

Hawk Moth frowned at him. "This isn't over," he hissed angrily, tapping his cane sharply against the ground. A swarm of black butterflies converged on him seemingly out of nowhere, and when they dissipated Hawk Moth had vanished into thin air, leaving Adrien alone on the rooftop of the dilapidated building.

Wait, that's it?

Like a puppet whose strings had been cut, the teen dropped his arms and collapsed to his knees with a breathy exhale. All things considered, he didn't think confronting his sworn enemy would turn out to be that anti-climactic. He had expected a fight to the death, at least a dozen threats – hell, even an army of akuma-possessed supervillains! Hawk Moth retreating so easily without any resistance was too good to be true, but if his bad luck had decided to take a back seat for the moment, he wasn't about to complain.

Adrien suddenly choked on a mirthless laugh, the sound bordering on hysterical. There was no way Hawk Moth could have been his father. Sure he was cold and distant, but he wasn't deliberately cruel, especially not to the point where he would force innocent people to do his bidding. Still, no matter how much he tried to deny it, an uneasy feeling lingered in his chest.

Because how else would Hawk Moth have known about Felix?

Shaking his head, Adrien pushed the thought to the back of his mind. First things first, he had to find a way out. Spotting an open door on the other side, he picked himself up and was just about to head over when a flash of red caught his attention.

Ladybug?

There was a small splatter of crimson near the edge of the roof, the glaring hue a stark contrast against the dusty gray cement. Adrien's right hand began to tremble for some reason, tingling with the sensation of pins and needles, remnants of the familiar surge of power that was channeled into his palm every time he called upon his signature move –

All the blood drained out of his face.

What did I – What have I done?

It was now or never.

"Lucky charm!"

Dropping into a roll as the summoned object fell into her open palm, Ladybug narrowly avoided the metal staff which embedded itself into the concrete where she had just been a split second ago. While Chat Blanc was busy retrieving his weapon, she spent the precious few seconds earned examining the polka-dotted sachet in her hand.

There was a large slit on one end to expose its contents, but Ladybug didn't need to see inside to know what it contained. The smell had been telling enough.

"Two can play at that game!" Chat Blanc sneered at her, twirling his staff elegantly in one hand as the other clenched into a tight fist. "Cataclysm!"

Ladybug spared a grim look at the sachet, and she knew what she had to do.

Claws extended, Chat Blanc pounced.

The two matched each other blow for blow, staff against yo-yo, streaks of red aura in the air where swipes had been dodged. Chat Blanc knew Ladybug's moves like the back of his paw, but she hadn't been his partner without learning how to read him either. She led him around in circles, going on the defensive as she bided her time for an opening.

Chat's bell had to be destroyed, but there was no way for Ladybug to get to it at a distance, not when his staff was able to deflect anything she threw at it. Breaking it at close range was the only option she had, but there was just one problem with that strategy: she had seen first-hand what Cataclysm could do to even the most massive objects, and she didn't want to find out what would happen if the devastating power were to be used on a living person.

"Hold still, you annoying little bug!" Chat snarled impatiently, doubling his efforts to land a solid hit on his former partner. His movements grew increasingly haphazard as anger fueled his strength, putting too much weight into each step, too much force into every blow. He was starting to become unpredictable, and Ladybug knew her window of opportunity had begun to close.

She saw her chance when the next punch came swinging towards her, lashing his wrist with her yo-yo and pulling him off balance before sliding in close, the golden accessory just within her reach –

White, hot, excruciating pain suddenly exploded on the left side of her ribs, and the wind was knocked out of her so fast that she couldn't even scream. Ladybug nearly blacked out then and there, but she focused every last shred of searing agony into her arm instead, driving it forward to smash the open sachet against Chat Blanc's bell.

He stumbled backwards with a surprised cry, shoving her away as the black powder began to corrode the metallic object, eating into it and releasing the akuma inside. "NO!" he screamed, unable to do anything but watch as it fluttered into open air.

Teetering precariously at the edge of the roof, Ladybug struggled to remain standing. She clutched at her side in a futile attempt to stem the flow of blood pouring out, bleeding indistinguishably into her costume. There was a raging sensation spreading throughout her body, seeping under her protective suit and into her skin, burning her alive, but there was still one last thing she had to do.

Ladybug's throw was weak, but her aim was true, and just as her yo-yo snagged the black butterfly out of the air, she toppled over the edge.

"TAG! You're it!"

"Hey, no fair! You didn't say we were playing that!"

"Too bad, little brother! Catch me if you can!"

"Felix, wait!"

Adrien's breaths came out in harsh pants as he chased after the white butterfly, trying to keep it in his sights. It was hard to see past the shadows with the few flickering lights dotting the area, but the creature never strayed too far, waiting for him to catch up before moving on.

After what felt like hours, it finally led him to the edge of the site, hovering above a pile of sandbags packed into one corner. There was a smaller shape moving beneath it, nudging the top of the stack with heartbroken wails.

"Nonono wake up! Please don't leave me! Not again!"

The realization hit him like a sledgehammer.

"LADYBUG!" Adrien screamed, rushing towards the broken body cushioned on the sandbags. The first thing that came into view was her costume, but that couldn't be right because her sobbing kwami was next to him. It took a few seconds, and he nearly threw up when it finally clicked why there was so much red. Tearing his eyes away from her body, his stomach lurched as his gaze traveled upwards, finally landing on a familiar face.

Marinette?

There had been one time he had turned around in class to hand her a worksheet only to find her napping, head pillowed on her arms and snoring softly. Eyes closed, face lax, she had looked just like she did now, with the exception of one of her pigtails which had come loose during the fall. For a moment, Adrien's heart stopped at the thought that she wasn't going to wake up, that dear, sweet Marinette had gone to sleep for good, and it wasn't until her kwami gently guided his hand towards her abdomen that he noticed the shallow rise and fall of her chest.

I did this…

"All this time you've been right behind me," he whispered, tears spilling over his cheeks as he traced the contours of her face lightly. "I'm so sorry, my Lady…"

Tikki burrowed herself into the crook of Adrien's neck, clinging tightly to him as she continued to cry, and neither of them paid any attention as the white butterfly flew away, disappearing into the night.

"Dude, don't be too hard on yourself. She blames herself too, you know?"

Adrien's broken sob was muffled, his face buried in his arms, unable to even look his best friend in the eye. It was all Nino could do to rub his back in comfort, providing a physical anchor to assure the blonde that he was there for him.

The abrupt change in Adrien's personality had been unsettling to say the least, especially since Nino's last memory of him had been the cold, distant teen he had transformed into over the past few months. Nevertheless, it was good to see Adrien – the real Adrien – again. He looked somewhat out of place in the formal attire Felix preferred, and Nino had graciously lent him a hoodie to wear, if only to hide the crimson stains covering over half of his ashen vest.

Marinette had nearly bled out in Adrien's arms as he ran to the hospital, cradling her to his chest. The magic from her Miraculous had protected her from suffering the full extent of Cataclysm's effect, but the damage had still been pretty severe. She would be hospitalized for at least a month, bedridden and hooked up to an IV drip, but the doctors had assured them that she would make a steady recovery. Adrien had been an absolute mess when Nino and Alya had found him, and they had to practically drag him out of the washroom before he scrubbed his hands raw, sitting him down outside Marinette's room to let him calm down for a bit.

"W-where's Alya?" Adrien managed to ask, lifting his head enough for Nino to see his puffy eyes, red from crying.

"She went to call Mari's parents," Nino sighed, rubbing his neck absently. "Listen, don't worry about your dad, okay? We'll figure something out. In the meantime, you can stay at my place."

"Are you sure? I don't want to impose –"

"Nonsense! What are best friends for?" Nino smiled at him, happy to catch a familiar glimpse of Adrien's old personality peeking through. He stood up and stretched, working out some of the kinks from sitting in the hard plastic chair for so long. "I'm gonna get us something hot to drink. You want coffee, or…?"

"Ugh, no thanks. Just water will do."

"Got it," he laughed, reaching over to give Adrien a one-armed hug. "It's good to have you back, buddy."

The hallway was empty by the time Alya returned from her call, and she poked her head into Marinette's room, acting on a hunch that it was where she would find Adrien.

Sure enough, the teen was slumped over the side of her best friend's bed, one arm cushioning his head as he slept while the other held onto Marinette's hand. Alya felt the urge to take a picture of the heartwarming scene, but the peaceful expressions on their faces ultimately dissuaded her. It didn't feel right intruding on their private moment, and she smiled to herself as she put her phone away.

Beneath the blankets near their clasped hands were two inconspicuous bumps, rustling the sheets as they shifted occasionally. Alya quietly slipped out and shut the door behind her. The Miraculous and their guardians were safe, their companions and partners reunited, and she knew they were going to be okay.

Author's Note: And with that, this story is officially concluded. Thank you for reading, and I hope everyone enjoyed the ride! Hit me up on tumblr if you ever wanna chat :)