HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Okay, time for the finale of Cat in the Rafters! Hope you enjoyed this story! I know I did. I wanted to post this before Cat Blanc and Félix aired, and again, no spoilers for the Season Finale, please!

Now, Marinette's been abducted by her partner-gone-mad and it's up to Viperion to rescue her. Marinette would transform, but she's sort of stuck in a wedding dress... Yeah, unless you've seen Phantom of the Opera, you'll have to read the chapter in order to get the idea.

Cat Noir was dragging Marinette down the stairs to his lair again. Marinette was struggling to break free.

"Let go of me this instant!" Marinette screamed, tears in her eyes and fighting back with all of her might. "Please!"

"Down once more to the dungeon of my black despair! Down we plunge to the prison of my mind! Down that path into darkness deep as HELL!" Cat Noir screamed in song.

He rounded on Marinette in a rage, snagging both her wrists and getting his face into hers.

"Why, you ask, was I bound and chained in this cold and dismal place?! Not for any mortal sin, but for the wickedness of my abhorrent face!" He sang.

"I never asked, and didn't you put yourself in this position, Cat Noir?!" Marinette asked. "I-I-I mean you chose to run away and live down here, didn't you?!"

Cat Noir's harsh scowl melted a little bit. He opened his mouth to say something, but...

"Track down this maniac, he must be found!" A mob sang from up above, getting their attention.

Marinette smiled. Cat Noir on the other hand...

"See what I mean?!" Cat Noir asked angrily before continuing to drag Marinette down. "Hounded out by everyone! Met with hatred everywhere! No kind words from anyone! No compassion anywhere!"

"That isn't true, kitty! Remember what we went through! The fans, the importance to our team, everything!" Marinette pleaded, trying to reason with him.

"Of course I remember, but that doesn't change anything!" Cat Noir shouted as he kept dragging Marinette into the dark. "Princess! Princess, why?! WHY?!"

"HEEEEELP!" Marinette screamed, still trying to get away from him.

Nathalie and Viperion soon made it to the banks of the lake.

"The hand at the level of your eyes." Nathalie sang, lifting her hand up to her eyes.

"The level of my eyes..." Viperion added, his hand up at his eyes.

He looked across the huge body of water in surprise.

"Wow. When Marinette told m- er, her fiancé that there was a lake beneath the Palais Garnier, I guess it wasn't a dream." Viperion spoke.

"His home is across the lake," Nathalie spoke as she pointed away. "I'm too scared to keep going. Believe me, I tried."

Viperion gave Nathalie an unamused look as the older woman started walking away.

"Nathalie," Viperion said, getting her to pause. "Thank you."

Once she left, he sighed in annoyance.

He held out the side of his lyre and pulled up the contacts section on the phone feature, contacting Carapace.

Up in the opera house, the chaos was ensuing and people were gathering up pitchforks and lanterns. The heroes were trying to calm everyone down, but the illusion Rena conjured up faded and it was pointless to cast another one.

"Ugh, that snake better not waste any more time!" Queen Bee griped.

"He's doing the best he can, I'm sure!" Rena insisted.

Carapace's shield started going off, with Viperion's symbol on it. He opened up the screen on the shield.

"Viperion," Carapace said. "You okay? Any luck finding Marinette?"

"I'm on the right track, and I'm almost at that cat's lair. Just gotta get across the lake." Viperion summarized.

"Lake? What lake?" Carapace asked.

"There's a lake underneath the building," Viperion said. "One of those things you gotta see to believe. How's it going up there?"

"Not so well," Carapace admitted. "The illusion wore off, everyone else is trying to shout for calm, but nothing. People are forming a mob."

"What is this, the Dark Ages?" Viperion questioned. "They're up against an insane Miraculous owner with a damaged Miraculous."

"Either way, you might wanna hurry up and get Marinette out of there, dude," Carapace stated. "I don't think these peeps are gonna be too patient. They're already following where you went. So save Marinette and get Cat Noir's Miraculous back stat!"

"On it." Viperion said before hanging up. He then collapsed the lyre, turning into a rebreather. He held it to his mouth before diving into the lake to swim out to Marinette's rescue.

"Track down this maniac, he must be found! Track down this maniac, he must be found!" A mob sang as they started to follow where Viperion went.

The mob was headed up by some of the senior staff who'd been under Adrien's control, meanwhile the heroes were covering the rear, trying to reason with everyone.

"Hunt out this animal who runs to ground! Too long he's preyed on us, but now we know! The Phantom of the Opera (the Phantom of the Opera) is here deep down below!" They sang. "He's here, the Phantom of the Opera..."

Down in the lair, Cat Noir was looking at his fingernails, suddenly interested in them. In his other hand was the wedding veil. There was a gate up around the lair.

"Hurry up!" He barked out to a curtained area.

"Okay, okay!" Marinette spoke as she came out from behind the curtain. She was wearing the dress she saw down there before.

Cat Noir examined her and he said, "Beautiful."

Marinette rolled her eyes before singing in demand, "Have you gorged yourself at last in your lust for blood?! Am I now to be prey to your lust for flesh?!"

Cat Noir sighed and said, "Claws in."

"Adrien, stop this!" Plagg scolded as he came out of the ring. "This is coercion!"

"Zip it, Plagg!" Adrien ordered before turning to Marinette. "That fate which condemns me to wallow in blood has also denied me the joys of the flesh. This face - the infection which poisons our love."

Marinette scoffed, turned her back on him, and said, "You're wrong about that."

He scowled before coming closer to Marinette. He sang, "This face which earned a father's fear and loathing. This mask, this dark unfeeling scrap of clothing."

Marinette looked at him with a pitying face. Tikki had a similar expression.

"Pity comes too late!" Cat Noir crooned as he forced himself onto Marinette, roughly putting the veil on her head. "Turn around and face your fate!"

He spun her around and pointed to his naked face, then sang, "An eternity of THIS before your eyes."

Marinette sighed, then sang, "This haunted face holds no horror for me now. It's in your soul where the true distortion lies."

Adrien's face softened at Marinette's point. She was looking him in the eyes the way she used to back when they were still a team. He looked down in contemplation.

Sloshing of water was heard nearby.

"Wait. I think, mon cher, we have a guest," Adrien spoke while snagging her arm. His eyes glared out to his peripheral vision. "Sir."

There was Viperion, soaking wet, glaring death at the cat, hanging on to the bars of the gate, his lyre ready for a fight.

"Viperion!" Marinette shouted.

"Sir, this is indeed an UNPARALLELED delight," Adrien sang sardonically as he started moving away from Marinette. He made his way to the chair. "I had rather hoped that you would come. And now my wish comes true. You have truly made my night."

He sat like a petulant child on the throne, meanwhile Marinette was glaring at her former partner.

Viperion ran his free hand through his hair to get the water out and he hissed out, "Free her! Do what you like, only free her! Have you no pity?!"

"Your boyfriend makes a passionate plea." Adrien sang back with a sarcastic spit.

"Luka, there's no use arguing with him!" Marinette said, trying to reason with her fiancé.

"I love her! Does that mean nothing? I love her!" Viperion crooned, looking Marinette in the eyes. "Show some compassion!"

"THE WORLD SHOWED NO COMPASSION TO ME!" Adrien shouted back.

'He's deluding himself,' Marinette thought. 'The damage to the Miraculous is REALLY screwing wtih his sanity. I showed him compassion. Our teammates did too. The citizens loved him! Where did he get this idea? Wherever he got it, he's gone too far and he's too far gone.'

"Chérie, chérie!" Viperion sang, looking at Marinette desperately. "Let me see her!"

"Be my guest, sir." Adrien said as he pulled a lever to lower the gate.

Gaining entry, Viperion breathed and said, "Sass, scales rest."

Changing back into Luka, he dashed over to Marinette and held her in his arms. Sass floated to Tikki.

"Tikki, are you okay?" Sass asked.

"We're good. He didn't do anything other than make Marinette get changed." Tikki confirmed.

"Marinette, are you okay?" Luka asked soothingly. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said as she relaxed into his embrace. "He just forced me into this dress."

"I have to admit, it looks good on you." Luka spoke.

Marinette giggled as she looked her fiancé in the eyes.

"Sir, I bid you welcome. Did you think that I would harm her?" Adrien sang as he took up something from behind the throne before walking towards Luka from behind.

Marinette and Luka were very focused on each other, and they were about to share a kiss. Unfortunately, Luka forgot about something...

"Why should I make her pay for the sins which are yours?!" Adrien sang as he caught Luka in a noose and magically made it suspend in mid-air.

"NO! LUKA!" Marinette screamed with tears in her eyes as she saw Luka dangling. He was kicking his legs and struggling to get out. Cat Noir was laughing like a maniac.

"Get your motorcycle now! Raise up your hand to the level of your eyes! Nothing can save you now," Adrien sang, before his face lit up with an idea. "Except of course, Princess..."

"Me?!" Marinette asked as she looked between her fiancé and her ex-partner.

"That's right, Princess," Adrien cackled before running over and grabbing her wrists. He forced her onto her knees on the floor. "Start a new life with me! Buy his freedom with your love! Refuse me and you send your boyfriend to his death!"

Marinette looked at him in fear.

"This is the choice!" Adrien sang as he let go of her and shoved her to the ground. He went over to his pipe organ before pounding the keys. "This is the point of no return!"

Marinette looked at him in fear as she saw the monster her partner had become.

"Plagg, stop him!" Tikki shouted to Plagg. "He's mad!"

"It's out of my hands, Sugarcube! I've tried reasoning with him, but the damage to his sanity is irreversible at this point!" Plagg apologized.

Marinette's fearful look turned to pure hatred and rage. She started breathing heavily.

"You know... There was a time when I cried for your sake, and felt bad about your situation... But now all of that's gone! Now those tears are filled with nothing short of hatred!" Marinette spoke, angrily.

"Angel Song... I'm so sorry!" Luka grunted. "I tried to save you, but nothing came out of it."

"There's no point crying for help," Adrien taunted, a wicked smile still on his lips. "Too late to run from me, too."

Marinette threw the veil off her head, shouting in tears, "You traitor! I had faith in you! You and I were a team! But now I have to say farewell to my fallen partner and former friend! Everything that's happened between us, any and all affection we might've felt for each other is GONE! Deader than dodos!"

"Marinette, if you tell him what he wants to hear, then everything's over for me! I don't want to live my life without you," Luka grunted again. "Besides, he's put you in a no-win situation!"

"He's right. Either way you choose, I win this game," Adrien cackled before looking at Marinette. "So Princess, what will it be? Are you going to stay with me in exchange for his life, or is he gonna die?"

"YOU SICK CAT!" Luka shouted, struggling to break free from the noose. "You're asking her to LIE to you to save MY sorry ass?! That's messed up!"

"Kitty..." Marinette whimpered.

"We're past the point of no return, Princess. This is the final threshold." Adrien stated.

"DAMN IT, MARINETTE! TELL HIM "NO!" I DON'T CARE IF I DIE, JUST TELL HIM NO!" Luka hollered. "DON'T MAKE YOURSELF A PRISONER JUST TO GET ME OUT OF THIS BIND!"

"Luka doesn't deserve this! Nobody does!" Marinette shouted. "You're being unreasonable!"

"That he is, Marinette. He's crossed the line now." Plagg agreed.

Not listening to his kwami or Marinette, Adrien stated, "Mr. Snake's life over there is the goal. You need to earn that prize."

"No, don't, Marinette... I... Fought my hardest to set you free!" Luka stated, still trying to get out of the mess he was in.

Realizing he wasn't going to relent, Marinette stated, "I... I was so stupid! You... The one person who never lied to me unless it was about our secret identities... I was a fool to think you were the same guy from back then. But you're not - not anymore!"

Adrien rounded on Marinette and shouted, "You try my patience!"

Marinette gasped and jumped back.

Adrien recoiled when he saw he was scaring her. The blonde pulled back before civilly demanding of her, "Choose. Now."

Marinette looked between Adrien, Luka, the kwamis, and back again a few times. Her face fell, and she started thinking.

Luka had informed her of what Nathalie told him. Adrien's restrictive lifestyle was like being in a cage and he was miserable. Being Cat Noir was his only way out. Luka also told her all about Cat Noir's father being Hawk Moth, Nathalie being Mayura, the events that caused the Black Cat Miraculous to get damaged, the reason that Gabriel became Hawk Moth in the first place. Everything.

Marinette knew it: the damage sustained by Adrien's Miraculous wasn't his fault, and thus the erosion to his sanity wasn't totally within his control either (that is, unless he took off his Miraculous after the fact and stopped using it altogether, but that was beside the point). But the way he was acting and all of the horrendous things he'd done was inexcusable.

On the one hand, he was all alone and was like that most of his life, even as Cat Noir. But at the same time, his actions isolated him. So he broke out of one cage in a fit of fury only to put himself back into another one of his own design. But rather than try to break out again, he tried dragging others (her) into it against their will.

It was sad.

She sighed before singing, "Pitiful creature of darkness. What kind of life have you known?"

Marinette started walking closer to him, before singing, "God give me courage to show you you are not alone."

"What are you-?" Adrien began cautiously, only for his lips to be smothered by her own.

Marinette's hands were on his cheeks, her lips right on his.

Luka's eyes were the size of grapefruits, the kwamis were watching in disgust, and Marinette didn't seem bothered by anything.

Marinette broke the kiss and gave Adrien a hug.

Adrien was shell-shocked at the contact. The warmth of Marinette's embrace made him think of his mother. He was shaking, and something in him broke. He started to shed tears.

Marinette broke away and looked Adrien dead in the eyes.

His face still wet from the tears, Adrien calmly said, "Plagg, get me the dagger."

"Adrien-" Plagg began.

"Get. Me. The. DAGGER!" Adrien ordered.

Plagg swallowed a lump in his throat before flying off to parts unknown. He emerged with a long dagger in his hands.

"Plagg, you can't!" Tikki pleaded. "He'll kill Luka!"

"You know how it goes, sugarcube." Plagg spoke.

He flew over to Adrien and gave him the knife.

Adrien took the handle of the dagger and started walking over to Luka. The blue-haired guitarist paled. Was Adrien going to slit his throat or something?!

Marinette watched in horror as Adrien's stoic expression failed to change. He held the dagger out, aiming at Luka. Marinette squeezed her eyes shut.

She heard a sound and then there was a thud and groan.

Marinette opened her eyes to see Luka on his knees, the noose cut. Adrien had dropped the dagger, his back to the pair.

"Track down this maniac! He must be found!" The mob sang from above.

Marinette ran over to Luka. He threw the rope away, stood up and caught Marinette in his arms.

"Luka! You're free!" Marinette squealed.

"Take her, forget me, forget all of this." Adrien sang.

"Who is this monster, this murdering beast (hunt out this animal who runs to ground!)!" The mob kept singing.

"Leave me behind, forget all you've seen." Adrien sang, ordering them.

The pair looked at Adrien, who was walking back to his throne area.

"Go now! Don't let them find you!" He sang once again, instructing them to get out of there.

"Rescue Marinette! Save our designer!" The mob continued singing from above.

"Take the boat, swear to me never to tell..." Adrien began to sing.

The pair of lovers kept watching as Adrien sat himself on his chair.

"Too long he's preyed on us, but now we know (this creature must never go free)..." The mob kept singing.

"The secret you know of this angel in hell!" Adrien screamed in song.

They watched as Adrien seemed in agony.

"The Phantom of the Opera is there deep down below!"

"GO NOW!" Adrien hollered, ushering the two away. The pair kept running out of the lair, their kwamis in tow. "GO NOW AND LEAVE ME!"

Adrien was catching his breath, then he fell to his knees in front of the organ. Plagg was the only one left in the lair with the blonde.

"Nice to see you've finally wised up, Adrien." Plagg stated.

The young man didn't respond. Music started playing. He turned around and saw the music box that was sitting on the bedside had opened up and started playing.

"Masquerade..." Adrien sang sadly. He stood up and started walking to the music box. "Paper faces on parade. Masquerade."

He sat down in front of the box and watched as it continued playing.

"Hide your face so the world will never find you." He quietly sang.

Luka and Marinette had made it to the boat at the edge of the lair.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here," Luka spoke. "The sooner we get away from him and fill the team in, the better."

"Oh crap, I almost forgot!" Marinette said. "I gotta go back for a second!"

"Why?!" Luka asked. "You just got away from him. If you go back..."

"The ring." Marinette stated.

Luka got the idea. He gave her a nod as Marinette raced back to Adrien.

Adrien was still sitting in front of the music box, tears about to leak from his eyes.

"Hey Adrien, look who's come back." Plagg said.

Adrien turned around and saw Marinette standing there, a blank, stern expression on her face.

"Princess..." Adrien said. He saw that Marinette was holding out the ring that he gave her.

He approached and took the ring back before putting it back in the box. But Marinette was holding an open palm out.

Adrien gave her a questioning look.

"Your Miraculous." Marinette stated.

Adrien sighed. He took the ring off, then looked at his kwami.

"...Goodbye, Plagg," Adrien said sadly. "...I'm gonna miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Adrien..." Plagg said. He then went back into the Miraculous.

Adrien placed the ring into Marinette's hand. He then took her hand into his own and sang, "Princess, I love you."

Marinette didn't say anything. She just took her hand back before backing away in an attempt to leave.

"Angel Song, hurry up! That mob's nearly here!" Luka shouted from back at the boat.

"Coming!" Marinette said, before chancing a glance back at Adrien.

"I love you!" Adrien said again as Marinette turned on her heel and ran back for the boat.

Once Marinette was out of his sight, Adrien once again fell to his knees. He took the veil up into his hands and started crying into it, saying once more, "I love you..."

Back at the boat, Marinette got in while Luka shoved off.

"You got the Miraculous back?" Luka asked.

"Yeah." Marinette said as she held the ring in her hand.

"...So what are we going to do with it?" Luka questioned.

"Other than get it back to Master Fu and get the damage repaired? I don't know. Maybe pass it on to someone else?" Marinette suggested.

"I'd volunteer to be the next owner, but I'm satisfied with being a snake." Luka chuckled.

Marinette laughed back.

As Luka steered the boat, the two lovers looked at each other again.

"Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime." Marinette sang to Luka.

"Say the word and I will follow you." Luka sang in reply.

"Share each day with me, each night, each morning." Marinette sang back.

Adrien watched Marinette and Luka leave from the bank of his lair. Tears were still running down his face. He sang out, "You alone can make my song take flight! It's over now, the music of the night!"

Adrien dropped the veil, walked back to his throne, sat down, curled up into a ball, then he pulled a cover over himself.

Everyone who was in the mob arrived at the lair. They saw the covered throne. Fearing Adrien was underneath, the leader tore the cover off, only to reveal that the only thing on the chair was Adrien's mask.

She tenderly picked it up and held it out to the people. The mask glittered in the dim light.

Epilogue

After that disaster, the Palais Garnier was shut down permanently. No more productions were put on, and the building was soon abandoned. Boarded up, no money went into it, and it started falling into disrepair.

Luka and Marinette brought the Black Cat Miraculous back to Master Fu, who repaired the damage and put it back in the Miracle Box. All of the damage that Cat Noir created was repaired with Ladybug's "Miraculous Ladybug" as per usual.

And then Ladybug decided to go public with the announcement that Hawk Moth was gone for good. Needless to say, everyone was thrilled and the city threw a grand celebration to honor the heroes' success and the fall of the super villain.

And for the first time in over a decade, Paris was back to normal. Normal normal. No Hawk Moth, no Mayura, no sentimonsters or akumatized super villains. The Heroes' Garden was fully repaired, too. Though it was clearly hurting her, Ladybug insisted that Cat Noir's statue stay up. Everyone respected it.

That didn't stop Ladybug, Viperion, and company from patrolling and performing other tasks around the city, though. This included wrangling animals that got loose from the zoo, volunteering around town, patrolling in general, etc. Meanwhile, Marinette was continuing her training to be the next guardian of the Miraculous.

She'd also started up her store in Paris that featured all of her designs, called "Marinette by Design." Business was booming, especially since Audrey Bourgeois was at the grand opening herself. The fashion queen also insisted on getting Marinette to help her out if she needed it.

Luka and the rest of Kitty Section were clearly rising up the music ranks, topping the charts on some days, and giving Jagged Stone a run for his money (not that Jagged minded. He was a fan of them and often asked Marinette to design costumes for him. He became a sort of unofficial uncle towards Marinette and the group, too).

And to put the icing on the cake, Marinette and Luka FINALLY had their wedding ceremony. Luka was in one of his nicer suits. Marinette decided that instead of making a whole new wedding dress, she would make some alterations to the wedding dress that Adrien forced her into, including making a whole new veil from scratch. Luka, being the easygoing guy he was, understood why Marinette did so.

Everyone on their superhero team, and the families of the couple were in attendance. They were in the pews of the Hôtel de Ville and Mayor Bourgeois was officiating their wedding.

"I now pronounce you M. and Mme. Luka Couffaine!" The mayor said.

Marinette and Luka shared their wedding kiss. The bride threw the bouquet, and Alya caught it. She laughed and pulled Nino in for a smooch.

Luka lifted Marinette into his arms like a princess and started walking out of the Hôtel de Ville.

All the Miraculous were accounted for, the villains were gone, and Marinette and Luka were finally married. All was, well... Miraculous.

Okay, that's that for this story! I enjoyed writing it! I hope you guys liked reading it just as much! And I couldn't really think of an idea for what happened to Adrien. Let's just say that karma bit him in the ass and bit hard. Same goes for Gabriel and Nathalie.