Chloe and Nino were right behind him. There was no one he would trust more, or at least there wasn't anyone close enough to avoid the imminent danger. Honestly, he had no idea what his plan was. Sure, now the miraculous were less endangered: Ladybug had given he fox miraculous to someone she trusted, Nino was wielding the peacock was turned in Le Paon and Chloe was now Queen Bee. They had a team, a real one. But the lupav… From what he'd gather they were an organized group with every resource necessary to reach their goal. As for them… their backup was improvised an unprepared. It will have to do.

Just as he readied himself to call Ladybug and set a rendezvous a loud noise shattered what little sanity he had left. The manor, his house… It was gone! There was no place to come back to. He and Felix would live in the streets and… Felix! He was inside the house!

"No!" he shouted as he rushed to get to his brother. He couldn't lose any more family. Why didn't they want to leave something for him to hold on to?

Chloe and Nino shouted after him, but he couldn't care less. He had to get to Felix. Maybe it wasn't too late. Perhaps if he rushed him to a hospital they could still save his life. Hope, nevertheless was slipping past him quicker than he could launch himself on the rooftops. Nothing had ever been so slow.

Finally, the rubble laid beneath him. no corpses were in sight. Shit they must be under this whole mess. Desperation twisted in his chest as he used his cataclysm to rid the propriety of any trace of the building. What he saw only scare him more. There was nothing underneath the havoc. His panic roses. Had he accidentally tuned Felix into nothing with his power? God, he just killed his brother. No. Shit.

"Ad!" he could almost hear how he screamed for him as he expired. Tears gathered in his eyes. If only he was a little more selfish he would let himself go right, there and then to meet with who had been his protector all of his childhood. This was where he drew the line. No more forgiveness for himself nor others. He adopted an offensive stance, ready to kill. "Ad!" he wished the voice would go away.

Suddenly a hand was grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. He didn't think. He did. And what he did was throw punches blindly. He would do a better job if only the voice would go away! "Hey! Hey!" someone grabbed his wrists, he panicked. "Hey! Look at me. Everything is fine. Calm down." Felix, wherever he was talking from- probably his own imagination- was right. He had to stay calm. Taking a deep breath, he opened his eyes to the greatest sight he'd had in his entire life. Felix. He was alive and only withstand a few bruises. He didn't realize he was hugging him until his brother returned the gesture. Sobs escaped his lips as relief overflowed him.

"Sh. It's okay Ad. I'm here and fine. I got out myself and Barbie out in time. The house collapsed afterwards. Everything is fine." He assured, drawing circles in the superhero's back.

"Fe, I'm so sorry. I know I have every right to be mad but I'm sorry I left you behind. Please don't leave me. I need you…" he answered because it was true. Anger hadn't completely dissipated but it didn't matter now because the brothers were both alive and hugging each other. When they finally pushed away the rest of the team was arriving at the scene.

"What happened? Is everyone okay?" asked Ladybug worriedly. Chat nodded.

"Yes, they evacuated in time. There were no casualties." He assured. It only took an encouraging smile from his brother for him to switch into hero mode. "Alright everyone, the enemy acted first. It's a good thing that what they wanted is safe somewhere else, but they are not going to stop. We have to find them and make sure they won't be able to hurt anyone else."

"Okay… who exactly are we fighting? because this doesn't sound like an akuma." Asked Volpina. He guessed they needed to know the truth.

"No, it's not an akuma. Hauk Moth was already defeated. His miraculous is in my power for the moment." Everyone looked crestfallen, and his partner seemed to feel betrayed. He'd have to talk to her. "No, this is bigger. We're facing a group called the lupav they want to get the miraculous and destroy them. Problem is they are well trained. You remember the man with the wolf mask?" nods. "He was just an apprentice of the group. The others are far worse."

"What's the plan?" Nino's voice broke him because he had nothing. Not even a start. When he ducked his head, the answer was clear enough for Ladybug to jump to the rescue. There was a reason he'd fallen in love with her.

"Okay if they are as good as you say we have to take them to a trap. We need a vantage point and exterior help if we want to have a chance." She declared, and the nervous tension disappeared replaced with anticipation. Fear didn't go away, it was merely turned into strength. They had gotten the right team.

"How about the Louvre? I know there is a bunch of valuable stuff there, but Ladybug can fix the damage. Plus, it has a lot of passageways and rooms that can be locked individually. If we're smart enough we can turn most of what is in there into potential weapons." Proposed Queen Bee. Adrien was proud of her. This was the girl that the world deserved to know and admire.

"Sounds good to me. We'll just have to evacuate." Agreed the polka-dotted heroine.

"I'll be the bait to bring them there as soon as they show their faces." Proposed Chat. No one seemed to like the idea, so he explained. "I can recognize them easier than you. They won't be wearing masks. Plus, it's not the first time I've been the distraction. I know what to do." Reluctantly everyone nodded.

In no time they were at the Louvre setting everything. Volpina evacuated the zone as Ladybug directed the preparations. They locked some of the doors to corner them easily and placed the objects in the exhibits carefully. A sarcophagus was hidden in a janitor's closet, artifacts used in the construction of the building of the palace were hanged to the ceiling as dead weights with the potential of knocking people out at the very least. At some point in the process managed a moment to feed Plagg and talk to his counterpart.

"Ladybug I'm really sorry about not telling everything that happened with Hauk Moth. It happened during all the problem with the guy in the wolf mask and when we talked after it happened you were so worried I just didn't think about it. I was too worried about you. I'm so, so sorry." He explained, rambling for he had no idea how to explain himself. He guessed the fact that it would mean sentencing his dad had stopped him too.

"It's okay, I guess." She answered and the hurt dissipated. "Thanks for taking care of me Kitty. I know it's you who is scared now, and I swear I won't let you down."

They smiled at each other, their relationship was mended and their promise to care sealed once more.

It only took a couple of hours for the lupav to march upon Paris, destroying everything they came across. The pit in Chat's stomach grew. This was it. He would have to face his mother. Worse of all he had to kill her. The rest of the team had already accepted that death was unavoidable in this battle. They wouldn't stop like the akuma because they weren't victims. The responsibility weighted down on them, but they kept going. Heroes do that after all.

Adrien perched himself in a lamppost, ready for the impeding doom. "You know this is rather aggressive for a protest. Plus, I can't quite see your cause…" he joked and cringed. Usually he came up with something better, but fear and guilt had settled in him.

"You're rather cute. Such a shame you're on the wrong side." Declared his mom and he realized she was the leader. Alice. He ordered himself. It would be easier to fight her if he only thought of her as Alice.

"Well the wrong side is rather relative, don't you think? I mean in my mind your side is wrong. After all, your perception…" he never finished that sentence. He had to flip himself to avoid being shot. This people weren't going to play around. Good, neither was he. Guiding them to the Louvre was child's play. Not getting hurt on the other hand was an exploit.

He ducked into the galleries and took his place near the reception. The lupav arrived and as soon as they entered the golden edges of over a hundred master pieces fell on top of them. At that moment Volpina detonated the bomb in the ceiling. Rumble crushed them as they distracted themselves with expensive ornaments that rained upon them. At least twenty deaths were now on their conscience. They all considered stopping but pushed through the thought. Good people were counting on them.

As another wave came heavy voluminous objects were launched their way making them trip. Le Paon used this to their advantage as he knocked them unconscious as soon as they touched the ground with his fans. They seemed harmless enough, but they had sharp edges and if turned with the necessary strength the cut even cut threw some materials. As Nino did that Volpina gathered all the weapons and threw in the direction of the rest of the team.

All armed with precision weapons, they started shooting people as they descended the stairs. Everything was working out better than planned. Even with this and more defenses it was soon clear they were outnumbered, and their enemy was starting to find alternative entries. Well so much for little tricks. Thanks to the dropping security walls they separated the leaders from the less prepared masses. Volpina multiplied as she and Queen Bee took it upon themselves to stop them. Ladybug and Chat stayed were the bosses were trapped. Le Paon guarded the barrier.

Volpina basically turned the flute into a sword as all the versions took a fencing position a swung. Blows were thrown and evited but soon Alya, the real Alya was surrounded. The copies had been vanquished one by one. She was stuck and alone. Don't think. She ducked and turned. She kept that on circling in her own axis, a leg stretched knocking them all off the ground. No time to rejoice, one of the fallen woke up and pulled her leg knocking her off her feet. A kick shattered her ribs. Adrenaline made her stand up and return the blow, but another attacker was already on her back. She was back on the ground crushing the idiot that clung to her shoulders. She rolled away from her personal battle until she hit the stairs. Grunt. Pain.

Back in her stance, she jumped over a couple of men to get to one of the ropes in the ceiling. Alya swung herself over the fight and let herself fall onto the one guy that made most of them fall like dominos. No time to celebrate. Pain in the back of her head. Blackness claimed her.

Queen Bee had troubles from the first instance.

She had launched her trompo to someone. She had no weapon now. Duck, cover. Attempt a hit. More blows landed on her that she could throw. A brunette attacked from behind. Her spine cracked. Yet, she used the momentum to flip behind the women. She grabbed her from the armpits and threw her to an oncoming trio of enemies. Bullseye.

A shot. She evaded it by pure miracle. She turned, stroke. Now she had the gun. Good. With one quick check that none of her teammates were closed she started shooting anything that moved. A mere blur in her peripheral vision caught her eye. A man was getting a massive gun ready. She shot but she was out of bullets. She ducked and propelled herself to another zone. Something sharp hit her back. Her trompo!

She mounted said item and with a switch of her wrist the cord was released, and she spun at great speed. People couldn't aim at her clearly anymore. The cord was strong. Taking an end in each hand she chocked everyone in her way. A dozen fell quickly. A shot threw her transport of balance. Momentum threw her into a wall. Groan. Dizziness. Her trompo didn't stop and she let go of consciousness.

Le Paon was glad for the pillars on his sides.

He expected his role to be easy. It wasn't. More and more were at the door. He was outnumbered. His fan cut someone's throat. Oh God. A man was on his left a knife gashed his leg. Blood. The edge of the fan hit his head. A duo on his left grabbed his legs, lifted him, slammed him into the door. His vision blurred. He hit their ankles, broke them, did a flip, saved his head.

Some fire weapon cut some bars. They started to cross. He collapsed a pillar on top of them. A moment of celebration. A Leg clashed his jaw. Stunned, he let them stick him between the bars, barely able to move. A kick to his joint. A bazooka aimed at his face. "Beauty's weapon!" the bazooka changed. Less harmful. He moved slightly. A shot missed, hit the bars instead. Weakened them enough to break. He was back on.

Too many people. Pain in his leg. Panic. Nausea. Pillars. He threw his fans, ran towards the falling columns, tossed them, barricaded the door. Fell on the way. Got up. Fell into nothingness.

Running. Chat and Ladybug had to get to another room. Next traps. The way was blocked. Five more persons. They were screwed. Turning their weapon to make shields against the bullets. Trying to get closer. Failing. This was impossible. They'd done crazier things but then fear wasn't so strong, and desperation didn't fill them. They couldn't help thinking that this was their limit. Don't. keep fighting. Save yourselves. Save the others.

"You think this are the last ones?" murmured Ladybug. Chat looked around. His mother was nowhere to be seen.

"No." He separated his baton in two, kept turning a half and used the other to hit the legs of their enemies making them fall. "Hm. Looks like I swept them of their feet with my charm." They laughed in hysteria before continuing running. Standing in the Napoleon exhibit, they realized they prepared nothing in this room. They were supposed to go the other way. Too late. The lupav were coming their way with menacing smirks. Time to improvise.

…..

Exhausted as they were, the leaders of the lupav just seemed undefeatable. This was it. They tried and now the two most powerful miraculous were in their hands. Well, almost. Neither hero would stop this easily, they'd keep going even without their powers if it was needed. Chat stood up first, taking a defensive stance before Ladybug. It was just a matter of planning for they hadn't used their powers yet. If only they could come up with something.

A chuckle was heard, and Adrien felt like crying. He'd dreamed of that sound for so long and now he feared it. He feared what he had to do. Their enemies parted, and Alice came through looking fresh and rested. Just like she looked like the day she left to try and exterminate the family she had once taken care of. Ladybug tried to stand but he pushed her back down. This woman was… was the devil as much as it hurt to admit it. A demon he should face.

"Aren't you cute? Trying to spare your partner. Don't worry I'll make sure you're dead when we make her scream in pain. That would be lovely, wouldn't it?" she sneered, and he wondered where had the voice that sang him lullabies gone. Maybe forgetting she was… had once been his mother could be easy. Maybe not.

"Why are you doing this? You used to have your own miraculous, what changed? Why would you try to exterminate your own family?" he said and regretted it instantly. The more he should try to reason with her the most difficult it would be to get rid of her.

"There is no such thing as family. They were just a game. A way to get closer to the miraculous." When the words left her mouth his heart broke. During years of abuse he held on to the idea of her love but now they had stolen it from him and his rage was blinding. She did not deserve love. She did not deserve life.

He lunged forward, baton high in the air. She simply moved aside. He rolled and made a low swing. She jumped and kicked his jaw. He shook it off and punched. She twisted his arm and elbowed his stomach. He stepped backward, jumped and kicked. She flipped him. His ribs shattered.

In the floor he just thought about everything that had just happened. It seemed she was untouchable. No surprise, she had studied his movements for moths. On the other hand, he had nothing. Nothing new. His Lady already used her Lucky Charm and was way too close to transform back. His cataclysm was intact, but he couldn't figure out the right way to use it. If he destroyed the structure he risked hurting the other miraculous holders, yet he could think of nothing better. Any other way was blocked. Wishing his friends could react fast enough he yelled for his power and quickly put his right hand in the closest column. Springing to his feet and taking his Lady's hand he took off, narrowly ditching bullet shots. Just as they made a sharp left pink light blinded him. Ladybug had just transformed back. Torn between saving themselves and betraying his partner's trust once again he froze for a second. Seriously? This is when his loyalty comes back.

"Chat?" she murmured seeing his closed eyes and trembling body. She was in shock about transforming back in front of him but couldn't allow herself the moment to get back under control. She tugged his arm and dragged him along, noting with a small smile that her partner kept his eyes shut to respect her wish to keep her identity a secret. What did she do to deserve such a great friend? Either way she did need a way to transform back into Ladybug and to maintain Chat's transformation for that matter.

As they ran through the halls of the Louvre she asked herself where she could get food over and over. Until it hit her: they weren't far away from the museum cafeteria. She should be able to find a cookie for Tikky there. And whatever her partner's kwami ate. Miraculously they made it there intact to which she sighed in relief. "Kitty were in the cafeteria. I'm going to get Tikky something to eat. You should do that as well." She advised as she took a cookie package for a bar.

"But you…" he started.

"I'll hide. Now hurry. I doubt the collapse will keep the busy for too long." As she talked she hid behind one of the bars. Tikky seemed so exhausted it made her heart ache. She softly called her name and was relieved when the small goddess opened her eyes. she passed her the sweets and smiled softly as she wolfed down on them. Distantly she heard Chat talk to his kwami.

"You sure about this? I mean she's horrible but she's still…" said a voice she didn't recognize. Plagg she recalled.

"I know. But what else can I do?" interrupted the superhero, his voice so defeated Marinette only wanted to hug him until everything got better. God, she missed akuma attacks right now. Everything was easier then.

"Maybe trapping her will be enough." Suggested the god of bad luck.

"Plagg, I just fought her and couldn't manage to hit her. If I trap her she's going to find a way to break free and we'll be back to square one. I really don't want to do this but if I don't kill her this won't ever end." Chat's voice wavered, and she could almost hear how he was holding back his tears. "I have to do this before I lose my nerve. Plagg claws out!"

"Tikky, spots on!" when she met him again he seemed stronger than ever, contrarily to what she had imagined. "Any ideas?"

"They know our moves we have to come up with something new." He affirmed to which she couldn't help but agree.

"Maybe my Lucky Charm…" she began but was cut off by him shaking his head.

"They know that too. We need to throw them off balance." They both stayed silent for a second before his eyes lit up with an idea. "Remember when we fought Black Owl? We faked giving him our miraculous. How about we do something like that?"

"You mean transform back? We'll be defenseless." She countered.

"I don't mean ours. I told you I have the butterfly miraculous. We could use that to catch their attention." He proposed. It wasn't a god plan, but it was better than nothing. Except if…

"I have a better idea. Hawkmoth wanted both our miraculous to combine their potential. What if one of us combines it with their miraculous and at the same time gives the other extra powers? We'll both be stronger." She offered.

"If we're going to do that we might as well combine our miraculous. Aren't they supposed to give infinite power to the person wearing them both?"

"But then it'd be only one of us against them all. Plus, we don't know what could happen. Infinite power is too much responsibility." She declared, looking at him straight in the eye in a way she knew he had trouble saying no to.

"Fine. But if it gets out of hand we combine them." He compromised, and she nodded. It seemed fair.

He passed her the broch and she hastily put it on, giving the poor butterfly kwami no time to properly introduce himself before she called the transformation upon herself. The power that flowed her blood was so intense she almost fainted. If this happened with the broch what would happen with Chat's ring? She didn't intend to find out. Turning to her partner she summoned a butterfly and let it fly towards her best friend. The shape she feared so much installed itself around his eyes. instantly she knew what power he needed.

"I give you the power of knowing the other person next move before they do it." She declared and soon her partner's mask had changed ever so slightly to make place for a golden embroidery. Well, at least the rest of his costume was intact. She hoped his power was too. It was a strong power, she wondered why Hawkmoth had never used it against them. Did it depend on the person and his/her potential? A question for another time.

Loud footsteps approached and they both went into defensive pose. Within the minute they were once again surrounded. Seemed like everyone had made it out alive. At least they were hurt while him and Ladybug were refreshed. His mother stepped forward once again and before the attack came the back of his head warned him about the round kick. He ducked and used the momentum against her, throwing her to the ground.

Even with his new-found advantage the fight was hard. She seemed to figure out the situation fast enough and started changing her movements last minute, confusing him and shortening his reaction time. That didn't stop him, thought. Like a dream he heard his crush call her Lucky Charm in her own battle and wonder what to do with whatever it was she got now. He trusted her to take care of herself and brought his attention back to his own problem. He was now fighting against four lupav and it was getting harder to figure out what he was supposed to do. Reality and prediction mixed themselves in his mind making him dizzy. Almost like a dream he felt himself falling. His legs had taken a hard hit. Suddenly his mother's face hovered over his just like when she woke him up for school.

"I guess it's time for you to go meet your other friends." She declared but just as she was about to give the final blow with her dagger her face contorted in pain and she fell to the side. Chat didn't understand at first, his mind occupied with the death of his friends. The death he had caused by getting them in this mess. When reality came back to him Felix was finishing up their mother and he couldn't help but be glad he didn't have to stop her heart.

Fear, however, soon replaced everything else. Felix! He was going to get hurt! No, no, no! almost as in chorus the rest of the group turned to him and he had to back off. His brother fought them off bravely, but it was clear he ha no chance against the bigger number. Forcefully Adrien Forced himself back up just in time to intercept a blow aimed for the oldest Agreste. For a couple of minutes, they fought side by side until a strangled scream left the grey-eyed 's mouth. He'd been stabbed. Adrien wanted to crouch down next to him but knew it was already too late.

He was dead before he hit the ground.

Red colored his vision and he lost himself in the violence of grief.

An hour later he found someone holding his wrist and calling his name desperately. Slowly images came back to him. His partner, Nino, Chloe and Volpina were looking at him. He'd been pinned to the ground by them all. Why did they do that? The fight wasn't over.

"It is over Kitty. We won." Reassured Ladybug. He must've talked out loud. "You killed most of them. The rest are in prison. We won. We're all okay."

For a second, he was relieved, but the reality hit him again. Hard. Felix was gone. He'd died protecting him. His mother had been killed. But Felix… He would never be able to make up for lost time now. Sure, there had been mistakes on both parts and betrayal, but it was all overshadowed by the love they had always shared. He thought of it all.

Of everytime Felix got into a fight to help him.

Of the bedtimes stories he would tell him when their parents were away.

Of every afternoon spent in the garden.

Of every birthday present.

Of every Christmas they shared the other's present.

Of every time they stole cookies together.

Of every letter.

Of every 'I love you'.

Of every sick day and chicken soup plate.

Of every hello.

Of every goodbye.

Of every secret.

Of every smile.

Of every lie.

Of every football game.

Of every make-belief they ever built.

Of every small discovery.

Of every conversation.

Of every joke.

Of every 'congratulations'.

Of every sign of love.

Of everything he just lost.