Chapter 12

Wolfsbane gasped in pain as she felt herself get hit in the side with a strong attack. She went flying off her feet and crashed to the ground. Turning around, she found one of the monsters had converged upon her, a large battering ram in its hands. What kind of a monster was this one? Someone that had a bone to pick with everyone that got in its way? She flipped back to her feet and launched another attack, fighting as hard as she could.

She expected to be using this sort of power against Cat Noir; that had been the plan. To take down Cat Noir and to get back at him for all of the betrayal he had sent Wolfsbane's way for betraying her. But now she had to defend her home, her mother, everything she had ever known. If there was any way she was going to get away from her abusive father, it was going to be in Lyon. She couldn't have it be destroyed. She wouldn't let it be destroyed.

And she continued to fight, over and over again as hard as she could. Soon she found that she and Cat Noir were outnumbers. While fighting the akumas that were encircled around them, even more had come their way. She grunted as she was kicked in the stomach, stumbling backwards, then was hit from behind. Beside her, she heard Cat Noir crying out as he fell to the ground as well. Looking over at him, Cassie brought her hand up to her throat. I don't have a choice, she realized. "Wolf Rush!" She cried and a bright white glow came around her golden broach.

She grinned as the familiar surge of power encompassed her body. Her ears twitched as she used her enhanced hearing to listen to the monsters that came her way. She raced forward with her enhanced speed and started to blast through as many monsters as she could, knocking them left and right as more and more continued to press in upon her and Cat Noir.

"Let's see how you can handle this!" Cat Noir declared. He took out his metal pole and elongated it, started to swing it back and forth as he fought against the akuma monsters as well. He and Wolfsbane alternatively traded places as they took on the akumas that continued to come towards them wave after wave. But the circle continued to press upon them closer and closer until they were back to back, pressed upon all sides.

"Cataclysm!"

Wolfsbane could hear the desperation in Cat Noir's voice as he pulled out his special power. Leaning to the side, he started to run his hands along each of the akuma monsters, releasing darkened butterflies up into the air as he did so. Wolfsbane moved as quickly as he could ,taking down as many of the akumas as she could as well, but for everyone they took down, two more came up in its place. They continued to fight as hard as they could. The fight continued to wage on.

There was a low beeping sound and Wolfsbane cried out when she realized that her time was running out. Hearing another one, she realized that Cat Noir was running out of time as well. But the akumas continued to press in on them. Soon Wolfsbane found herself pinned directly between two akumas and getting squeezed harder and harder.

"Ugh!" She groaned. "There has to be something we can do!" She cried, feeling herself starting to get squeezed even further.

"I'm trying!" Cat Noir replied. He let out a wheezing cough as he was squeezed as well.

I should be enjoying this, Wolfsbane thought, watching as Cat Noir's face started to turn red with the lack of oxygen, blood pooling at his face. This was what I wanted. But it's not working out the way it should be. I should be taking him down. All of a sudden she felt her energy zap away from her and she fell to the ground, feeling a pile of akumas land on top of her.

Hearing a groan behind her, she realized the same happened to Cat Noir. It was a brief, fleeting thought seconds before an insurmountable amount of pain landed on her sides, causing her to scream in pain. All of a sudden there was a whipping sound, wind rushing by them, and the pain lessened. Coughing, Cassie sat up, realizing that she had transformed back out of being Wolfsbane. Fangg rested in her lap breathing heavily, tongue sticking out his mouth.

"Fangg, are you alright?" Cassie asked, bringing him up to her face.

"I'll be okay once I get something to eat," Fangg replied quietly, ears drooping.

"Cass?"

Cassie whipped her head to the side and gasped when she spotted Adrien starting back at her, lying on his stomach on the ground. He slowly pushed himself up onto his arms, eyes lowering to the kwami that sat in her lap. Then they rose to her face once more, widening even further as reality sank in. Cassie's gaze then turned to the tiny black figure lying on Adrien's shoulder and she realized that the tiny black creature was his own kwami, Plagg.

"Ade…" she murmured. It hit her all at once. He has a kwami. He was never around when Cat Noir was somewhere. He was as hurt and bruised and tired…always bragging about Cat Noir in his letters…about as late as I've been…I've never seen them together…Cassie lowered her gaze to Plagg once more and she brought her hands up to her head, Fangg dropping to her lap once more. "No," she muttered, shaking her head. "No, no, no! No! I can't…I don't…what…"

"Cass." Adrien winced as he got to his knees. "Cass, it's…" he trailed off, struggling to deal with the realization as well.

"I can't…I didn't know," Cassie finally choked out. "If I knew..I can't…I wouldn't' have. I wouldn't have done it. If I knew it was you. I swear, Ade, I didn't know!" She watched as Adrien's face clouded with hurt, betrayal, sadness, and confusion all at once, green eyes darkening, standing out around the bruise the encircled his eye. He lowered his head, bringing his hands up to his hair as well.

"No," he started to murmur himself. "No. No! No! Why is this happening to me?!" His agonized shout echoed across the empty streets. "Why? Why? Why?!" A loud screamed escaped his throat as he leaned forward, resting his forehead on the ground. Then he fell silent, pressing his palms against the concrete.

"Ade…" Cassie whispered again, watching as her cousin worked through his emotions of figuring out how badly they had tried to defeat each other…kill each other. She tried to kill her cousin. "Oh my God," she murmured.

"Oh my God." The voice came from behind them and Cassie twisted around to find Ladybug standing behind her, eyes and mouth wide open, staring at the two. Adrien pushed himself upwards and looked over at Ladybug. Her eyes shifted and stared at him. "Adrien," she whispered. "I don't…understand…" Then she shook her head, de-transforming so that Tikki appeared at her side.

"Marinette," Adrien whispered back. He got to his feet, brushing off his knees as he did so. Cassie slowly stood up as well. First Adrien, now Marinette…it should've been harder to figure out who was behind the identities of her enemies. But for one to be someone so close to her…?

"Well, looks like the cat's out of the bag," Plagg remarked as he, Tikki, and Fangg all moved near each other. Fangg snarled towards him and he hissed back. Tikki moved in between the two of them and pushed them apart.

"Look, this isn't what we should be focusing on at the moment," She declared, glaring at the two. "We have to stop Hawk Moth!"

"I don't get why he wanted to attack here in the first place," Fangg commented, tilting his head.

"As a distraction," Cassie said after a second. She ran a hand through her hair. "Ade told me in a letter…he's always trying to take over Paris. He must've found that we were here and tried to take us down here before leaving Paris unattended."

"But how would he know that?" Adrien demanded.

Marinette shrugged, turning away for a moment. A strange sense of silence settled over the three superheroes. Cassie lowered her gaze to her feet, trying not to look at Adrien once more. It would make it too real that her cousin was Cat Noir. When she transformed into Wolfsbane she literally became Wolfsbane; her thoughts and emotions transformed from those of her own to the ones of the entity that had been passed along for ages. When she was Wolfsbane, she wasn't Cassie. But to know she had become that close to killing him and being killed by him…

The others had to have been dealing with the same thoughts; of becoming a different person while using the abilities their Miraculouses gave them. Finally, Fangg broke the silence.

"So what are we going to do?" He asked. "Paris is under attack and we're all here."

"We have to stop Hawk Moth," Marinette said as if it were obvious.

"Yeah, but how?" Adrien questioned. "We've fought against his akumas on more than one occasion and we keep losing."

"Right," Marinette agreed. "But we haven't taken down Hawk Moth." She shook her head. "He's the one that's controlling all of them, and if they're as strong as these guys were," She gestured around the clearing that had just been filled with akumas. "Then it's going to be hard. We can't take them down without taking down the source." She looked Cassie and Adrien in the eye and Cassie could see she was pushing 'Marinette' aside and was taking on the persona of 'Ladybug' without having transformed. "We'll have to go up against Hawk Moth himself."

"Yes, well, we can't do that without getting something to eat first," Plagg pointed out. He turned to Adrien and dropped down onto his shoulder. "I'm starving," he said. Then he looked up at his ward with a concerned look. "If Paris is taken down, there won't be any more Camembert."

"I'm glad you have your priorities set straight," Adrien said sarcastically to his kwami. But he smiled a little, reaching up and running his finger over his head.

"Yeah, we should get these guys something to eat," Cassie added. She picked up Fangg and gently held him in her hands. "Then we'll go after Hawk Moth. We're not too far from the house." She tilted her head back towards the house they were to stay in that past weekend. "Let's get them some food."

The three hurried back as quickly as they could go, running through the eerily quiet streets. Once arriving back at the house, they quickly took in some food, giving others to their kwamis as they came up with a battle plan. They weren't sure it was going to work, but they had to try something. As it was, it was the only plan they had so far.

"We're going to have to fight him together," Marinette declared once they were ready to go. "All three of us." Adrien and Cassie nodded back to her. "Tikki, spots on!"

"Plagg, claws out!" Adrien cried.

"Fangg, howl up!" Cassie cried.

With a bright glow coming from a set of earrings, a ring, and a broach, the three teens morphed into Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Wolfsbane. Once they were all transformed there was another bright flash of light, this time coming from her earrings and shining at her yo-yo as well. Ladybug's eyes widened in surprise and she held onto her yo-yo; closing her hands around it, her entire body started to glow. When she opened her eyes again, they were filled with a sense of determination.

A power surge.

Wolfsbane smiled.

"Lucky Charm!" Marinette cried, throwing her yo-yo into the air.

Hawk Moth gritted his teeth as he watched his akuma monsters get taken down one by one by the three Miraculouses. This wasn't the way things were supposed to go. They were supposed to have been taken down, he was supposed to take over Paris, and he was supposed to take their Miraculouses.

"All of my akumas," Hawk Moth said, raising his hands. "Fight hard. Don't give up. Take down Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Wolfsbane. Take their Miraculouses! Bring them to me!" He lowered his hands, tapping them down onto the platform, the vibrations running through his feet and down the legs of the Eiffel tower. He watched as wave after wave of akumas continued to attack the three Miraculouses and watched as the three continued to take them down.

This wasn't working.

They weren't doing what he had expected. How hard was it supposed to be? Even some of his first akumas that attacked him were close to defeating them each time. And now there were hundreds, thousands coming in his way and he couldn't stop them. Hawk Moth gritted his teeth together, tightening his jaws as the seconds passed and more and more akumas were released into the sky. Ladybug's special power had to have run out by now but as the seconds passed she kept going. She must've gotten stronger somehow, the others too.

"Well, they've never seen my special power," Hawk Moth murmured, his eyes darting this way and that to follow the trails of all of the akumas that fluttered by him, escaping as quickly as they could. The three superheroes were getting closer now. He had to make his move. "And now they're going to get a sneak peek." Hawk Moth raised his cane and tapped it against the ground once more. "Wings of Change."

A pair of bright wings slid out of Hawk Moth's back and he leapt off of the balcony, swooping towards the ground. Gaining speed as he went, Hawk Moth spun his cane left and right, taking down his own akuma monsters as he passed by them. Butterflies erupted from their broken pieces and fluttered away as the human he took over reverted back to their normal selves. And he continued to speed towards the three Miraculouses. He then pulled himself high into the air and beat his wings as hard as he could, causing a great gust of wind to fly forward. It took down even more of the akumas that were in his way and caught Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Wolfsbane in the blast, knocking them off their feet and crashing into cars behind them.

They were soon back on their feet and standing in front of Hawk Moth. "You're going to pay for trying to take down such a beautiful city," Ladybug declared, pointing at him. "I know you want our Miraculouses, but you didn't have to hurt so many people!"

"Why do you think I'm breaking my hold on them?" Hawk Moth raised his cane and tapped it on the ground three times. All of the akumatized monsters came to a sudden halt.

"What?" Wolfsbane gasped, looking around. "What's going on?"

"He's breaking his hold on them," Adrien noted.

Hawk Moth grinned. There was a sudden blinding wave of purified butterflies fling through the air until the only ones with powers left were himself and the three superheroes. They had never seen the extent of his powers before, now they were getting an up-close and personal look. And it was the last look they were going to get.

"Now that you see the kind of power I can exhibit, you may as well give up now," Hawk Moth said telepathically. He watched as the three superheroes brought their hands up to cover their ears, slowly realizing that the voice was coming from inside their heads. "I'd hate to make your fight against me to painful." His eyes narrowed a fraction and he sent a shock of pain through their heads, causing Ladybug to fall to her knees. His eyes narrowed even further when Cat Noir braved through the pain, teeth gritting, to grab Ladybug's arm and help her back to her feet, leaning her against his side. "But this pain shall be a mercy compared to the other pain I'm about to put you through!"

With that, he used his wings to shoot forward and punched Cat Noir hard in the stomach, sending him off his feet. The sudden surge of wind as he flew by caused Ladybug to loosen her grip to Cat Noir and she was flung to the ground as well.

"Wolf Rush!" Wolfsbane cried, bringing her hand to her broach. It gleamed as it took in her special power and soon she was moving at the same blinding speed as Hawk Moth. The villain smirked as he arched through the air, Wolfsbane racing after him. She pulled out her scythe and slashed towards him, the blade catching him on the leg. He growled in frustration, she wasn't supposed to be able to hit him at all. It wasn't how it was supposed to work.

Suddenly flipping around, Hawk Moth brought up his feet and kicked Wolfsbane right in the face, sending her reeling backwards. Cat Noir and Ladybug took her place and immediately launched their attack. Ladybug let out a cry of effort, throwing her yo-yo forward and it encircled around Hawk Moth, slapping his arms to his sides. With his wings pinned to his back, Hawk Moth felt himself starting to fall. Cat Noir followed up as he leapt after him, bringing his metal pole high above his head and slashed it down.

Hawk Moth sent out another telepathic blast and the two Miraculouses lost their grips, falling to the ground. Suddenly free, Hawk Moth pushed open his wings, breaking the hold of Ladybug's yo-yo and surged backwards. He landed on the ground and spun his cane in his hand. "Now, this is starting to become very boring," he said in a slow drawl. "Let's see what you can do up close!"

With that he launched himself into an attack once more with Ladybug, Cat Noir, and Wolfsbane encircling around him. Every time he knocked one of out the way he turned back to the next one and took them down, before turning to the last and doing it all over again. Over and over the four continued to spin as they were locked in battle; his cane a great weapon against the metal pole, scythe, and yo-yo that alternatively came flying his way. Finally, with a blinding burst of speed, Wolfsbane shot forward and rammed right into his chest.

"Argh!" Hawk Moth flew backwards, losing his grip on his cane. He slammed hard onto the ground and his cane scattered away from him. Looking up, he hurried after it, but Ladybug's yo-yo got there first. It started to pull back towards her, but he grabbed onto the toy end and was pulled towards Ladybug as the retractable line started to reel in.

"Wha-?!" Ladybug cried in surprise, realizing that Hawk Moth was coming closer to her at a fast paced speed. Hawk Moth brought up his knee and hit her in the chest, knocking her backwards. The yo-yo came lose form his cane and he followed up with a hard crack of his cane against the side of her head.

"Ladybug!" Cat Noir cried. He growled, turning to Hawk Moth and elongated his metal pole. "Alright Hawk Moth, now you have to deal with me."

Hawk Moth rolled his neck and shoulders. "Shouldn't be too hard," he murmured. "You're so much weaker than Ladybug. It should be easy to take you down." He chuckled as Cat Noir's green eyes narrowed, a growl escaping his lips. "You're just her little pet, always doing the dirty work for her while she takes all the glory."

Shaking his head, Cat Noir clenched his hand into a fist. "You're wrong! Ladybug and I are a team! We have each other's backs!"

"Less talking and more fighting," Wolfsbane pointed out. She brought a hand up to her broach. "I don't have much time left."

"We don't need a lot of time," Cat Noir declared, bringing his hand up. "Five minutes is all I'm going to need to take his guy down." A deep, rumbling, purr exuded from his chest. "And it's going to be purr-fect."

"I'd like to see that happen," Hawk Moth replied, mimicking his growl.

"And you're going to see it soon," Ladybug declared, standing up as well. "Say your prayers Hawk Moth, you're going to need them." She looked over at Cat Noir and nodded. "Go get im' Cat Noir."

He nodded back. "Cataclysm!" He called and his left hand glowed a dark black, taking on his special power. That's interesting, Hawk Moth thought. He's never tried to use his special power against a human before. This should be very fun. With that, Cat Noir shot forward and started to swing his claws around towards Hawk Moth. Hawk Moth continued to use his wings to keep himself just out of Cat Noir's reach, bouncing back and forth with each swipe that came his way. Hawk Moth blocked each of his shots out of the way. "Wolfsbane, now!"

All of a sudden there was a rush of air and Hawk Moth felt himself falling backwards. He crashed to the ground with Cat Noir standing a few meters away. He nodded over to Ladybug. "Ladybug?"

"Right!" Ladybug threw her yo-yo towards Hawk Moth and kept his arms around his sides once more. "You can do it, Cat Noir."

Cat Noir moved towards Hawk Moth and brought his hand down, striking him in the chest. Hawk Moth screamed with rage as the butterfly pendent on his chest popped off. Ladybug raced forward and grasped it in her hand. There were multiple flashes of light at the same time. Hawk Moth's eyes shifted over to Cassie as she transformed back from Wolfsbane, falling to her knees with Fangg hovering by her side. His eyes widened. Cassie is Wolfsbane…Marinette is Ladybug…he thought. Then his eyes landed on Cat Noir once more. That means…

Then he spotted Cat Noir's eyes widening in recognition as Gabriel looked up at him. Then the realization struck Gabriel and settled in his stomach. "D-Dad?" Adrien gasped.

"Adrien," Gabriel replied, voice hoarse. He swallowed hard as he gazed at his son, his enemy. "Can't say I saw this coming."

Adrien held his breath as he leaned against the far wall of the bakery. His hands were filled with sweat and he was sure he would pass out just from how fast his heart was beating as opposed to the heat on that warm day. Every few minutes he would look over towards the door to see if Marinette had left her house yet. She was usually so punctual, what was taking her so long this time?

It had been almost a month since Paris had been saved by himself, Ladybug, and Wolfsbane and things were getting back to normal. Well, as normal as things could be; patrols for Hawk Moth—his father—and akumatized monsters were mandatory for each day and everything that was found was messaged to Cat Noir and Ladybug for them to follow up on. The way of life had changed a little bit, some residents were too afraid to go outside in case they would be attacked once more others refused to let anything take over the way they lived and went about their lives as usual.

Except for him.

His father still lived in the house and yet Adrien was in the process of leaving. At the moment he was staying at Nino's place and there was nothing short of happy to be with a family that knew what truly being a family meant. His relationship with Cassie was strained. Knowing it was her as Wolfsbane was a hard pill to swallow and yet she was still his favorite cousin. It was her alter ego that his own alter ego was trying to destroy, not Cassie. If they could push that aside somehow…maybe re-worked history…History. History was always hard to get around. His history with his father was next to impossible to break through. He couldn't stand to be around his father anymore, not knowing what had happened with Hawk Moth and seeing that his father's actions after his revelation didn't change. He was still short with Adrien, bossing him around when he got the chance. Maybe it was too hard for him to come to terms with it, with everything that had happened. Maybe it was easier for his father to pretend like nothing happened.

Their conversations when running into each other consisted of hellos and goodbyes and, honestly, that was how Adrien wanted it. It was hard enough to know his father had so much power that legal ramifications may not touch him. Still, that wasn't the point.

He needed to talk to Marinette. Over the past month they worked well together as Cat Noir and Ladybug, not mentioning what was going on in their personal lives—though that had caused many awkward moments until they got their groove back—and focusing on the work that was needed to rebuild the city. As Adrien and Marinette they didn't speak much and there was a lot he had to say.

"Adrien?"

Turning to the side, he found Marinette standing at the street corner, her hands on the straps of her backpack. Adrien's eyes moved to her hand and his heart sank when he found that she wasn't carrying a brown paper back as she had the rest of the times she had brought breakfast for him. "Marinette," he said, taking a few steps towards her then stopped.

It was as if a canyon stretched between them rather than a few steps.

Marinette tilted her head and waited for him to say something. Adrien chewed his lower lip and took in a deep breath. "I wanted to apologize," he finally said. "For everything. For keeping my secret, for not trusting you, for yelling at you like that, for keeping me other secret,"—that, though, was a decision the two of them had made so it wasn't entirely his fault—"…everything." Marinette nodded. "And I wanted to explain myself."

"You don't have—"

"Yes," Adrien interrupted her. "Yes, I do. I need to explain everything." He took another deep breath. "It's been going on for a long time but…my father's been beating me. At first it was an accident, I believed it way anyway. I hadn't gotten a good grade on a test and he whacked me in the face. Almost immediately he apologized and said it wouldn't happen again. But it did. Again and again and again. And before I knew it, it was just the way we worked and I did my best to keep away from him. My father was already pretty strict but it got to the point that I was completely terrified of him. The long nights working on his fashion line and his late night drinking didn't help matters much. And for a long time I didn't think anything was going to help me." He met Marinette's eyes and a sigh escaped his lips.

"Before I really got the chance to get to know you," he continued. "I mean, we've been friends for a long time and we knew each other, but we never really knew each other. Being paired up for this project really helped and it made me feel like I could be myself around you. So much of myself that it kind of scared me because I had to keep it hidden for so long. I wasn't lying about those things I said about you before; that you're fun and compassionate and always looking out for everyone else. I guess the only thing that I wasn't honest about was how long I've liked you."

"Adrien…" Marinette trailed off, unsure of what to say. Or maybe unable to find her words. There was a lot that she had to take in.

"But I could tell you or let anyone else know because my father wouldn't let me around anyone. It was too dangerous to let people get too close. Nino was the only one that knew all of my secrets. I bet he knew about me being Cat Noir a long while before I had no choice but to tell him." That's what he suspected, anyway. After the battle to save Lyon and Paris, Adrien had told Nino his secret and his best friend had hardly batted an eye; he did his best to recover and act surprised but Adrien wasn't buying it. "But I don't have any of my secrets anymore. Today I'm going to call the police and tell them what my father has been doing to me. They might not believe me, but I've told someone. Someone that matters."

Now Marinette's eyes lit up and she smiled, taking a step towards him. "That's great, Adrien," she said to him, touching his arm for a second. Then she quickly removed her hand as if burned. "I'm glad you're getting some help no matter where you can get it."

"Yeah, me too. But that's not all. I'm also going to emancipate myself. Right now I'm living with Nino and I'll keep doing that for the rest of schooling but I'll be on my own. I'm old enough. I have my own money, my own skills that can get me a job…school…I think I'll be happier."

"Seems like it," Marinette said. Then something clicked with her and her forehead wrinkled. "School," She murmured. Then she snapped her fingers. "That's why you wanted to do the project topic," she said. "On abuse. Because…because you were trying to work through your problems. Because you were trying to reach out for help." She shook her head, lowering her gaze. "I knew something was going on. I could tell. I just…I just wasn't sure. I'm sorry, Adrien, I—"

"—whoa, what are you apologizing for?"

"I should've said something," Marinette said. "When I begged and pleaded for you to tell me something was wrong. You said to forget it and, I should've pressed more. Maybe I could've helped you sooner. I knew…back when you were having dinner with us. I had an idea then. Oh, Adrien, I'm sorry."

"Marinette." Adrien clasped his hands over hers. "It's okay. Everything's fine now. You don't have to apologize. Really."

"If that's what you want," Marinette said with a shrug. Her eyes searched his and she started to turn away.

Adrien moved quickly and pounced in front of her, hoping to keep her from walking away from him before he got everything out. "And there was something else I wanted," he continued, looking her right in the eye. He saw her lower lip trembling. "I want you, Marinette," he said. "I know we've gone around each other for a long time about this, but I don't regret that kiss. I don't regret you. I regret lying about everything and hurting you but I want to see if we can try things out."

"Really?" Marinette asked. Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied his face. "Y-you really want to be with me? Me?"

A chuckle escaped Adrien's lips. "Yes, you," he insisted.

"But…" Marinette's words died on her lips as Adrien took a step forward and placed his hands on her cheeks and looked straight into her eyes. "Adrien…"

"You can tell me," he insisted. "Whatever it is."

Marinette took a step back, allowing Adrien's hands to fall to his sides. She crossed her arms and continued to look at him, tilted her head back and looked at the sky, then lowered her chin and looked at him once more. "I want that too," she admitted. "So much. But maybe we should wait until after you tell the police, to take the pressure off a little bit."

"Oh." Adrien frowned. "Okay."

Reaching out her hand, Marinette took Adrien's in his, squeezing it firmly, comfortingly. "But I'll be there when you do," she promised. "I mean, we have to have each other's backs right?"

Adrien grinned and squeezed her hand back. "Right."

Before he used his alter ego of Cat Noir as a constructive way to release his frustrations, now he could use it to protect Marinette and his friends even further. Adrien reached his free hand into his pocket, his fingers brushing over the butterfly pendent in his pocket.

That was just the way he wanted it.

THE END

A/N: And that was the last chapter and I think the first story where it had story plots filled with an openended ending for you all to fill in! Honestly, I think this could've been better and more fleshed out if I took out the subplot of Cassie, but what are you going to do? I was too deep in the story for that. But, hey, if I do a sequel maybe I'll deal with Cat Noir vs. Wolfsbane and explain what's going on with that and how it's been affected by knowing each other's real identities. Oh and you know, Adrien's relationship with Marinette, of course.

Anyway, thank you all for alerting, favoriting, and reviewing this story. It was my first work with Miraculous and I had the idea as soon as I saw the first episode. Honestly, I think it may have been better if I waited until the end of the season so I could have had more background on Miraculouses and how Adrien and Marinette got their powers before writing it. But I had fun writing it, it was a learning experience for working in this fandom and you guys really helped me with motivation to keep writing.

I'm glad you all enjoyed it and that you stuck around for the entire story. Again, this is planned as a standalone for now, but who knows, I may make another one soon. I know my sisters are working on some so that's exciting as well.

Thanks again.

Cheers,

-Riles