Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

I am so sorry for the hiatus, but hey, at least the plot finally starts.


Noticing the very sharp brass knuckles the ghost was wielding, Marinette gave an annoyed sigh before launching herself forward. It looked like it would be a trial by fire for her. No Alya to save her now if things went wrong like they so often did.

To her surprise, the ghost didn't try to attack her with his weapon, but merely sidestepped her. She charged forward again, but once again it was to no avail. She jumped up, trying to launch a kick at him, only for him to grab her ankle in a way that, while it did not injure her, it did leave her in an out of balance situation. He pushed her forward, causing her to tumble out of the way. She winced, not so much from the pain as from being completely unused to such a calm, cool, and calculating fighting style. It rather unnerved her. Who had he been before he had been a ghost?

She wasn't going to try and find out. It'd be just one more secret lost to the void.

Carefully, she backed away, waiting for him to charge her so she could ambush him with the magic she was slowly stockpiling in her fists. He didn't do this however, nor did he dissipate. Instead, when she launched herself at him a second time, he raised his hand and grazed her leg (rather painfully) with the claws. Despite her searing leg, she knew she had to keep this up.

Her friends, well, classmates anyway, were in danger. Nino was the closest she had to a mortal friend, and he had gone home for lunch. Alya wasn't able to get into the school, so she wasn't in danger.

This girl was, to be completely honest, a surprising amount of challenge. Félix cursed inwardly because he had allowed himself to grow soft, and because of just how far he was pushing himself. If he pushed to hard, then he'd lose control, and... he didn't want to think about what would happen. No matter what, he needed to end this fight soon if he was to protect Adrien.

That was when the ghost and the mortal noticed Adrien staring at them, both awe and fear in his eyes. "Félix," he asked, trepidation beginning to crawl in now that things were at a standstill. "What's going on?" Before he could get an answer, he fell to the ground, gasping for air. Seconds later, a horde of spectral pigeons flew through the window, each of them seeming to bleed purple and black butterflies.

About to rush to the boy's side, Félix's eyes widened before he squeezed them shut. It would barely help if he lost the delicate control he had maintained for years, but it was the placebo effect it had on him that counted. "So he's finally come back," he murmured.

"What, are these friends of yours?" Marinette asked while ripping one of the pigeons apart.

"No, but if you can't even summon a weapon, then you'll never be able to face the one truly commanding these flying rats."

"Hey! Wait, command?"

Taking a deep breath before opening his eyes, he looked directly at her while walking to the coughing Adrien, slashing through pigeons as he went. "If I am not mistaken, these are lichborn. Specifically, they are tied to a lich called Hawk Moth. If we are ever to defeat him, then you will need to put aside your petty attacking of anything that is not the norm and work with me."