Marinette groaned, letting her head thump on her desk, her assigned book propped up in front of her. "This is impossible!"

"What's wrong Marinette?"

"This book is what's wrong! I don't know what Madame Busiter was thinking! I can't read three chapters of this by tomorrow!"

"Oh, what book is it?" Tikki asked, floating to try to read the cover.

"It's the Hunchback of Notre Dame," Marinette said, "and it's so boring!"

"How is it boring? You just started it?" Tikki pointed out.

Marinette grabbed the book. "'It is this day three hundred and forty-eight years six months and nineteen days since that the good people of Paris were awakened by a grand peal from all the bells in the three districts of the City, the University, and the Ville.' See, who the heck talks like that?"

"Marinette, that is literally the first sentence. You're not even giving this book a fair chance!"

"Tikki, I don't have time to give it a fair chance! At any moment an Akuma is just going to show up and whatever homework time I have is going to be eaten up. Maybe I can just look up the cliff notes version…"

Tikki hovered in front of Marinette's computer screen. "Marinette, you should at least try before you give up. Maybe you'll actually like the book if you give it a chance!"

"Yeah, and maybe Hawkmoth will just hand over his Miraculous…"

Marinette gave Tikki a flat look.

Tikki gave Marinette a flat look.

Marinette rolled her eyes. "Fine, but I'm reading it on my balcony!"

Tikki giggled and followed as Marinette climbed her ladder. Marinette stood, her eyes scanning the skyline out of habit.

"Huh, that looks like smoke…"

Book forgotten, she moved closer to the railing of the balcony, following the plumes of smoke to-

"Notre Dame Cathedral! It's on fire! Tikki, spots on!"

As soon as the transformation took hold Ladybug threw her Yo-yo out swinging across the river. Tourists and Parisans alike had been escorted off of Ile de la Cité, congregating on the shore of the Seine to watch when Ladybug landed.

"What's going on? Is there an Akuma?" Ladybug asked one of the police officers.

"If there is we haven't seen it! God damn traffic is slowing us down!"

Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo. "I'm going to see if I can find it!"

"If an Akuma did do this, you better make 'em pay!"

Ladybug gave the officer a sharp nod.

Three laps around the island were starting to make her question whether an Akuma was behind the fire. She was used to panic of an Akuma fight but this...this wasn't it. No one was running from a threat, instead everyone seemed to be flocking to the church just standing there, watching it burn. She landed on a roof, her eyes frantically scanned for some outrageous outfit that would signal a supervillain but...

Chat Noir landed next to her. "I saw it on the news. Have you found the Akuma yet?"

"I don't think there is one," Ladybug admitted. "What do we do?"

"What we can. Have you tried a Miraculous Ladybug yet?"

Ladybug's looked at her partner. "No!"

She tossed her yo-yo into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Her Ladybugs swirled the structure but all it did was reset the fire back a little. Nothing like what she was used to with her spell.

"Why didn't it work?" she demanded.

"Maybe you needed to summon your Lucky-charm first?"

"I'll recharge and try again."

"I'll go let the firefighters know," Chat offered.

She tossed out her yo-yo and swung into and landed on a lower roof top and released her transformation.

Marinette dug into her purse for a macaroon. "Tikki, hurry."

"Marinette, I don't think this is going to work," Tikki said sadly, taking a small bite of cookie.

"It has to! Please hurry."

Tikki took a larger bite. "Marinette the problem is-"

"Are you ready?"

"Yes, but-"

"Tikki, spots on!"

Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo and swung to where the firefighters were gathered around Chat Noir.

"Okay, let's try this again! Lucky Charm!"

Ladybug caught the bucket that her Lucky Charm created and immediately tossed it back into the air. "Miraculous Ladybug!"

Her ladybugs swirled around the art that had already been pulled from the burning cathedral and Notre Dame herself but once more it just set the fire to like it was when she first arrived.

"I-I don't understand..." Ladybug said.

"Ladybug, I think you just put the art that they saved back into the burning building!" Chat Noir said, looking at where the pile had been.

Ladybug looked at the now empty spot and then back at her partner.

As one they ran into Notre Dame.

Ladybug just grabbed whatever she could. She had no idea if it was important, culturally significant or not. She just grabbed and ran.

Paintings, small sculptures, anything that had even a little bit of gold.

Run into the burning building.

Grab.

Hand the art to a firefighter, run back in.

She was about to make another trip when Chat Noir grabbed her around the middle.

"Chat, let me go, I need to get back in there!"

"M'Lady, you're about to change back!"

A trill sounded in her ear, backing her partner up.

One minute left.

"Keep going. I'll be right back."

"I know," Chat Noir said, letting her go.

"Ladybug!" A firefighter tossed her a water bottle.

She nodded her thanks and swung back to the roof top that she had charged on the first time.

"Tikki, why didn't it work?" Marinette asked as soon as the kwami was free from her earrings. She wiped sweat from her brow. "Normally Miraculous Ladybug puts all of Paris back the way it was!"

"I was trying to tell you," Tikki said, watching Marinette pour her a cap full of water, "since an Akuma didn't start the fire I don't have the ability to fix this! I can only put it back the way it was when you first got there!"

"Why to when I got there?" Marinette took a drink from the bottle.

"You were the first one with a Miraculous to get here, so that became the default!" Tikki drank her cap of water. "My powers always default to when a Miraculous starts affecting the world around it. Otherwise I might end up setting too much back the way it was."

"How much could too much be?"

"Dinosaurs," Tikki said.

Marinette sat down on the roof. "It's my fault..."

"Marinette, that's ridiculous! You didn't start the fire."

"Tikki, it's Notre Dame... Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"

Tikki tapped on the hand that was still weakly wrapped around the water bottle. "You can drink that and help Chat Noir and the fire fighters get out as much art as possible!"

Marinette nodded and chugged the bottle of water as fast as she could, while Tikki ate the backup macaroon.

"Marinette," Tikki asked as her chosen got to her feet, "are you going to be okay?"

"...Ask me later. Spots on."

Ladybug barely landed before she was once again running into the burning building grabbing whatever she could.

Chair, painting, probably a bible, another chair.

She saw Chat Noir help some firefighters cut a painting down.

Bible, art, sculpture, her knees.

No...

Not now...

Notre Dame needed her…

Bible.

Chair.

Something...

She had to find something...

No idea what this was but it was shiny...good enough…

She went to hand it to a firefighter but instead of grabbing the piece they grabbed her by the elbows and pulled her out of the church.

"What are you doing? I-" she tried to suppress a cough. "I c-can keep going."

"They made the call, we're pulling out," the firefighter explained.

"NO! Please I-"

Something rumbled above.

She knew that sound.

She thrusted the art into the firefighter's hands and grabbed them into a fireman's carry. This felt more like an Akuma battle.

She ran to where they were loading Notre Dame's art to move to a safe location. She heard another crack behind her, spinning to find the threat.

Ladybug watched the spire fall.

"Ladybug?"

Ladybug followed a clawed hand on her shoulder to Chat Noir. "I-"

"Are you hurt?" Chat Noir asked, knelling to her level.

Ladybug looked down. She had fallen to her knees, the firefighter had gotten awkwardly to their feet and was handing the art to another team member. She nodded.

Chat Noir pulled her into a hug. He was shaking.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir."

They looked up at a fire chief who was flanked by two other firefighters.

"We're going to take you to an ambulance, okay."

"We're fine," Chat Noir said.

"Forgive me, but I don't believe you."

Ladybug didn't believe him either; her partner was pale and flushed at the same time. His shoulders jerked like he was trying to hold back a cough.

"Go get checked out before you go."

It was an order, a gentle one, but still an order.

"Is, is there anything else we can do?" Ladybug asked.

The chief's shoulders sagged. "I wish there was."

Ladybug nodded.

The firefighters helped them walk over to the ambulance that was waiting. The paramedics swarmed the two with the energy of those who were relieved that there was finally something they could do.

She answered their questions, endured their prodding, and accepted the oxygen mask and the water bottle. Eventually she and Chat Noir were allowed to leave by the paramedics.

Not by the reporters.

"Ladybug-!"

"Chat Noir-!"

"Why didn't you save the building?"

"Do you have any comment on the fire?"

"How could you let it burn?"

Ladybug stepped forward into a semi-circle of cameras. "I'm sorry. My powers..."

Chat Noir laid a clawed hand on her shoulder.

Ladybug took a deep breath. "My powers only work on things that were caused by magic. Without an Akuma, my powers…just…didn't know what to do…"

Gabriel looked up when someone knocked his door. "Enter."

Adrien timidly entered the room. "Father, I'm pretty sure you've already heard about Notre Dame..."

"Yes, I've already had Nathalie inform the Mayor that I will donating to help rebuild it after once he's gotten the fund set up. Why do you bring it up?"

"Well, I was wondering if there was anything I could do to help," Adrien said.

Gabriel looked up from his tablet. "Anything you could do?"

"You know, any charity events, public appearances to raise funds or awareness?"

"I'm sure the whole world already knows about the fire," Gabriel pointed out.

Adrien deflated.

"I'll Nathalie look into it, once she finds something suitable it will be added to your schedule."

"I understand. Thank you, Father." Adrien accepted the unspoken dismissal, passing Natille on his way out.

"Sir," Nathalie said, once she was sure they were alone, "I don't understand why you didn't take the opportunity to Akumatize someone."

"Simple, the citizens were too much in shock to get a worthwhile Akuma out of it during the fire. I'll have plenty of candidates once the people have gotten a chance to stew on it for a bit. Besides," He looked her in eye, "I'm not completely heartless."

"I don't see what the big deal is," Plagg said, getting a piece of cheese from his refrigerator. "It's just some big dumb building."

Adrien sat on his couch, watching the news air Ladybug's apology again including her break down.

"It's not just a building, it's a symbol, it's literally in the heart of Paris. It's stood for nearly 900 years and it was practically destroyed today."

"Big whoop, I'm over 3600 cycles you don't see me making a big deal about it. Sides it's not even well built! Scratch your back on the corner and the entire tower just collapses!"

Adrien finally pulled his attention away from TV.

Plagg looked back at Adrien. "What? It's not my fault that they used limestone. I think I did them a favor!"

"Only you would consider knocking down a tower of Notre Dame a 'favor'." Adrien sighed.

"Of course, that made them get better material. Hey, think they'll actually finish it this time?"

"Probably not, the stone never could support the weight of the proposed spires on the towers," Adrien mused. "Plus the world's gotten used to seeing it like this."

"I'm assuming you mean, not on fire," Plagg snarked.

Adrien didn't say anything, watching as reporters talked about what was and wasn't saved.

"Hey."

Adrien looked back at Plagg.

"Are you going to be okay?" Plagg looked sincere.

"...Ask me later."

Marinette had told her parents that she was going to stay at a friend's place. They had wanted to protest but once she admitted that she didn't want to look out her window at Notre Dame they relented.

They also didn't ask which friend.

"Marinette," Master Fu greeted, letting her in. "How are you doing."

"I-I'm sorry," Marinette said.

Master Fu guided her to the table. "Marinette, you have nothing to be sorry for."

"But Miraculous Ladybug didn't work. I let all of Paris down..."

"Marinette, I know how tempting it can be to try to use magic to fix everything. But magic has rules it must obey or there would be chaos."

"That's what I've been trying to tell her," Tikki said.

"I know, I'm just not used to..."

"Being helpless?" Master Fu asked, pouring her a cup of tea.

"Yeah. I'm... I'm a little worried I might get Akumatized over this."

Master Fu nodded. "Stay as long as you like, I will keep you safe."

"Thank you, Master Fu."

"Is there anything I can get you?"

Marinette shook her head. "Is it okay, if I do my homework?"

"Of course."

Marinette opened The Hunchback of Notre Dame. She owed it to Notre Dame.

She finally fell asleep at nearly three in the morning around page 620.

When I heard about Notre Dame, I wished that we had Ladybug to put right back the way it was. But that story wouldn't be genuine. It would have just been denial.

Also Notre Dame wasn't ever finished, there were supposed to be two more spires on the bell towers but the stone wouldn't support it so they were never built.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame was added as there was event in Disney Emoji Blitz that was centered around the movie that finished a day before the fire, so it seemed appropriate.