Hello one and all! My name is Ulti and here I have your daily dose of Ladybug angst! :D Naw, don't worry, no one dies. (in this one at least)

This was a writing prompt on took HOURS but I'm really glad with how it turned out.

Read & Review!

xXx

"No one will save you," Villain-of-the-week smirked at him, as if that's enough to scare him.

"Oh? And what makes you so sure?" Chat replied. From where he was sitting, he looked around. Ladybug was no where to be found.

Well, it was still early. He thinks. Ladybug might still be looking for little miss villainess over here. Yes, that's exactly what's happening.

"Oh it's quite simple," they answered, "No one knows you're gone."

Ookaaay. That meant it was still early in the , of course, would come to wake him up once Adrien neglected to show up for breakfast. Seeing he was not in his room, she would assume he had already left for school. His father didn't care, which would mean that they, of course, wouldn't know he was gone.

But what about his friends? Surely they would care and notice right? After all, Nino always meets up with him before school. Unless Nino thought Adrien was sick…

Oh shit.

He was gonna be here a while.

Unless he saved himself.

School was almost over, and Adrien was no where to be found.

Granted, it wasn't really all that weird. Adrien has been absent before (those days being absolutely horrible!). Sick days, photo shoots, they weren't unusual, to say the least.

Rather, it was the nature of Adrien's disappearance that was concerning.

According to Nino, Adrien neglected to pick up his phone. After calling Adrien's house, it was deducted that his family didn't know where he was as well.

He was just gone. Without a trace.

It was becoming rather hard to study.

BAM!

Everyone, Marinette included, jerked their heads to the door.

"Aw geez, I'm late aren't I? I'm really late."

Everyone stared at the model. his hair was disheveled, a mess. Bags drooped under his eyes, clothes hastily thrown on.

He was a mess, to put it bluntly.

"…I'll excuse it just this once. Please, just take your seat."

Adrien nodded, rushing to his seat next next to Nino. People continued to stare.

"A-alright! enough staring! Back to work! Get back to your notes!" The teacher shouted.

Everyone rushed back to their work. Well, except for Nino, who was pestering Adrien about what happened, most likely.

Actually, that was a good question. What happened?

"Why hello, my lady~! What brings you here on such a fine night?"

Ladybug looked behind her. Chat Noir grinned back at her, looking particularly talkative tonight.

Although he did look tired.

"I'm patrolling," She replied, "There might be another akuma out."

He raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh?"

"Yes. My classmate was gone almost the whole day."

"Is it possible they were just sick?"

"No. I said almost all day, remember? They came bursting in during science class. They were a mess. They claimed they were kidnapped."

"Kidnapped? By who?"

"He… didn't know. A strange creature that disguised itself as his friend."

"That definitely sounds like an akuma."

"Yes I know, we need to hurry before it kidnaps someone else!" She ran off, knowing Chat would follow her.

"WAIT NO!"

Ladybug halted, looking back at her partner, who just barely managed to catch up. "What!? What wrong!?"

"You can't go that way!"

She tensed. What did Adrien say about that akuma? "Why not?" He hesitated. "Why not Chat!?"

"Hold on! Let me talk why dontcha!" Chat shouted.

Shouted. He shouted. Chat never shouts. Not at her, at least.

Now that she looked at him, really looked at him. Everything about him seemed off. Chat's costume looked a bit grayish, dull. Even his stance seemed off. He was standing upright, tense, like her. Even in serious situations, he had never been known to give off an aura like this. Cold, indifferent, emotionless.

A shapeshifter.

"You're not Chat," she whispered, "Who are you? Where is Chat!? What did you do to him!?"

'Chat' looked taken aback, if only for a second, then he smiled. "Alright, you got me," they replied.

Their face began to morph. They grew taller, almost towering above Ladybug. Facial features sharpened. A larger nose. Darker, longer hair. Plump lips. They were beautiful. They were deadly.

They knew where Chat Noir was.

"You asked me who I was," they said, "I am the Illusionist, and I am here to gather your miraculous." they held up a white ring. "I have already collected Chat Noir's-or should I say Adrien Agreste's miraculous. Now all I need is yours."

Wait what? Adrien and Chat… Were the same person?

She disregarded it for now. Right now, she needed to focus.

"So before at school.. That was you?"

They nodded. "Yes. You see, I prefer to work in secret. So I disguised myself, to not arouse suspicion."

Ladybug nodded, eyes darting back and forth. The bracelet on their wrist was highly out of place. Score.

"Alright," she said, "I have one more question. Is Adrien alive?"

"For now," they answered, "Stop stalling. Either you give me your miraculous, or i take it by force. What do you choose?"

The Illusionist gasped as Ladybug's yo-yo wrapped itself around their wrist, yanking them closer to the heroine.

"Force."

FIN