Marinette just went home for lunch. She didn't even bother to tried to talk to Adrien. She ate lunch in her room to avoid her mother. She would asked about her foul mood and Marinette didn't want to talk to her about it. She just picked at her food.

"Um, Marinette," Tikki spoke.

"Yes?" she replied, but didn't look up at her kwami.

"I talked to Plagg today."

"Oh?"

"Chat is having hard time sneaking away right now so he may or may not be in future fights."

"Great.."

Tikki bit her lip. Everything would be resolved if they knew their identities. But if Adrien running around with his tight schedule there was no way to get them to be alone. Because at this point Tikki would just pop out of Marinette's purse right in front of Adrien.

"Why couldn't he tell me yesterday?"

"Huh?"

Marinette turned her chair to face Tikki. "Chat. He could have told me in battle yesterday. It would have taken him two seconds to tell me." She turned away. "I guess he can't talk to me either." She just pushed her plate and buried her face in her arms.

Tikki just patted her on the head. She prayed Plagg would be able to talk some sense to Adrien.

Lunch was terrible.  There was no reason for Adrien to be home, and he decided to take it in his room to get a good start of the homework from the first part of the day.  He sighed and rubbed his eyes as the words on the paper jumbled together.  Maybe sleeping would be better.  Both had merits. He could even sleep through the rest of school, but that wouldn't help him at all.

Adrien walked to his bed and laid down.  He made sure to set his phone alarm before he shut his eyes. It was super comfortable after his sleep at his desk the night before.

"Adrien," Plagg said.

"What?"

"I saw Tikki today and told her you might not be at all the fights for a while." 

Adrien's eyes snapped open. "What?!  Why?"

"Because you need to get some rest and recover. Besides, you don't have to skip every fight. Just take some time off if you need to. Ladybug will be fine without you for a bit," Plagg answered.

Adrien sat up, "I can't do that. We're a team.  I need to be there for her."

"You'll be useless to her if you're falling asleep in the middle of battle," Plagg said, giving Adrien a stern look. More sleep would help Adrien's mental state tenfold.  Then he could focus on other getting his grades back up and not having to worry so much.

Adrien sighed and fell back into his bed. "Whatever..."  He didn't have the energy to argue.

Plagg frowned but didn't push it. "Also, I think you need to talk to someone, anyone, about this. Bottling it up is going to hurt you more."

"There's no one I can talk to about this. I can't tell anyone my secret."

"You could tell Marinette.  She already wants to know what's wrong, and she seems to be friends with Chat Noir.  Plus, you're going to have to tell her sooner or later if you date her. She'll be upset if you randomly disappear during dates."  Plagg landed on the bed next to Adrien as he spoke.

"I can't tell Marinette. She'll be mad at me for letting her tell me about embarrassing things."

"She's mad at you for not talking to her.  Do you want a relationship with her or not?"

Adrien rolled onto his side to face Plagg.  "Of course I do! This will all blow over soon.  There's no need to tell her about Chat Noir.  Now I'm going to take a nap."  Adrien laid back down and closed his eyes, ending the conversation.

When lunch break was almost over, Marinette stood in front of the entrance of the school. She was waiting for Adrien. She was planning to corner him and make him talk. Alya was against it, but Marinette didn't care. Marinette glanced at her phone. He should be here soon. Class started in 15 minutes. When Adrien finally arrived, Marinette marched right over to him.

"Adrien Agreste," she said angrily. "Something is going on and I want to know."

Adrien froze as Marinette marched up to him.  "I.. Uh... We need to get to class," he said as he tried to sidestep her.  Of course. Marinette was not having that.  She continued to block his attempts to pass her.

"Marinette, please...  I can't be late to class..." His eyes scanned for ways to escape the conversation as other students started filing around them and into the building.

Marinette let her anger get to her and was glaring at him. She just crossed her arms and ignored his plead. "Why won't you talk to me? I thought we were close."

Adrien felt like he'd been stabbed.  They were incredibly close. He talked to her more than anyone else.  But he couldn't tell her this, even if Plagg insisted he go ahead.  

"We are close, Marinette. Trust me when I tell you that you're my closest friend. But this is something I can't talk about.  I'll be fine.  Just, please, let me get to class before we're late.  My father will know if I get in trouble at school.."

Marinette didn't say anything to him. She just turned away and walked away from him. She felt tears forming in her eyes. She quickly wiped them as she walked to class. She did everything that she could and decided just to leave him alone.

Adrien felt his heart sink as she walked away.  He had just pushed away his closest friend while ignoring Plagg's advice to do the opposite.  The way she was walking and the quick swipe of her hand to her face was more than enough to know he'd hurt her way too deeply.

Despite wanting to be on time, Adrien hanged back and walked slowly. He had just enough time to make it into the classroom and sit at his desk before the teacher started class.  Not that it mattered.  It wasn't like he could focus, anyway.

Marinette didn't talk to anyone else for the rest of the day. She was too upset to deal with anyone even Alya. For the rest of the week and the next two weeks there was non stop akuma attacks. Marinette was going insane and it didn't help that when Chat did show up he was useless. After every battle, she tried to talk to him, but he was gone after she purified the butterfly. It hurt her that he didn't want to talk to her. She could tell there was more to his dilemma. 

Every night she would go out to her balcony hoping he would be there. Maybe he would talk to her, but he never showed up. One Friday night Marinette stood on her balcony watching the city go by. She clenched her hands on the rail. Again no signs of Chat. Marinette let out a sigh and turned around to go back inside.

"Marinette," Tikki spoke. She was floating in the air.

"Yes?" her owner replied sadly.

"Why don't we go to Adrien's house?"

"Why? He won't tell me what's wrong."

"He will trust me." Tikki couldn't take it anymore. Going over to his house was the only chance for a reveal. Once Adrien knew Marinette was Ladybug, then things could finally get better.

"If you say so.." Marinette didn't bother to argue with Tikki. She knew she would pestered her until she went over there. Marinette went back inside her room and grabbed her purse and a jacket. It looked like it was going to rain. She told her parents she was running over to Adrien's and left their apartment.


When Marinette arrived at Adrien's house, she rang the doorbell. She leaned against the gate waiting for someone to answer. A few minutes pass and there was no response. Annoyed Marinette rang it again. She waited and still no answer so she rang the bell again. Nathalie finally came over the intercom.

"Yes?" she replied.

Marinette was surprise she was still there so late. "Um, it's Marinette. Can I please talk to Adrien?"

There was a long pause. "I'm sorry, but Adrien isn't allowed to have any guests over anymore."

"What!?" Marinette nearly screamed. Her anger was getting to her again. 

"I'm sorry, Marinette."

Marinette bang her fist on the wall. "You will let me in at once!" But there was no answer. Tears were now streaming down her face. She then ran off toward home.

Two more weeks passed.  Two more weeks of sending akumas and watching as Adrien slowly broke.  Gabriel wasn't sure how he had lasted this long, and the prolonged process was weighing heavier on Gabriel as the time went on.  
 
Making akumas was becoming a chore.  He didn't even bother to name them anymore.  Their troubles were so petty they barely had a theme; just drones with generic attacks and very little need for his intervention.  They worked towards the miraculous without second thought and failed even as Adrien stopped showing up at fights.  They were nothing more than pests to push his plan forward.
 
At one point, Lycca reminded Gabriel there was a very real possibility Marinette would try to visit.  He didn't see how this was a problem until the kwami reminded him they wanted Adrien to have total isolation, and letting her over would ruin that.  So, he made the decision to ban guests without even telling Adrien.
 
That discussion with Nathalie hadn't gone too well.  She wasn't as detached as she let on.  He still remembered it clearly.  
 
Nathalie entered his office at his call.  "Yes, sir?" She asked warily.  She wasn't expecting to be summoned.
 
"Nathalie, I've decided Adrien is too busy to have guests over.  I want you to turn anyone who comes away."
 
She bit her lip, nervously before answering, "Are you sure that's a good idea?  He's been stressed lately.  Wouldn't it be better to adjust his schedule for some free time?"
 
"I know what I'm doing, Nathalie.  He has work to do, and guests get in the way."
 
He watched as she fidgeted, obviously wanting to say something but not knowing if she should.  Finally, she answered, "You can't honestly believe doing this is going to help...  He's already up all night doing homework, working all day at school and modeling, and completely withdrawn from his friends.  The stress is killing him.  He needs more time to himself."
 
"Nathalie.  What do I pay you for?" Gabriel asked, his expression distant.  
 
"I am to manage and enforce Adrien's schedule as well as managing your schedule and business appointments," she answered without hesitation.
 
"Correct. I do not pay you to question my rules or act as Adrien's mother."
 
Nathalie's eyes narrowed as she calculated how insubordinate her next answer could be while remaining employed.  "With all due respect, I don't think I'm his mother but managing Adrien's life does indirectly put me in a caregiving position..."
 
"Again, you're not his mother.  Nor are you a babysitter.  You don't need to worry about anything other than what I tell you," Gabriel reiterated a little more sternly.
 
She stared blankly at him as she answered, "Yes sir."
 
"Good.  You may get back to work."
 
She turned to walk out while muttering under her breath, "Iris would be disappointed in you..."
 
That was three days ago.  Gabriel had let Nathalie leave without further discussion.  She was going to do as he said.  That was all that mattered.  But her words left a stabbing pain in his heart.  
 
He looked up as the doorbell rang.  It seemed he would know for sure if she would do her job.
 
 
The past two weeks had felt just as bad if not worse for Adrien. Once he pushed Marinette away, he felt no reason to talk to Nino or Alya even though both tried. He had no time for socializing, so why bother trying?  It would just give him more time to focus and try to show his father that he was still capable and willing to work hard and get good enough grades to stay in the public school. 
 
Unfortunately for him, he was caught in a cycle of ever worsening conditions.  The first two weeks of little sleep made it extremely hard to get back to a state where he could stay awake in class. His work and extracurriculars continued to eat up precious time that could be used on catching up. He had to read the chapters while doing his homework, leading to more sleepless nights. His presence at akuma fights dwindled to the point he realized he was doing nothing of value. Why bother showing up when he was a hindrance anyway?  All the more time to play catch up to his every increasing workload.  Ladybug was more than capable to handle the akumas.
 
Adrien yawned as the sound of the doorbell pulled him out of his thoughts.  Probably a package or something; even if it was later than usual.  It's not like he was expecting anyone.  Nino was still banned from the house on principle alone, and he doubted Marinette would suddenly forgive him and try to talk again.  Besides, he had homework.  So much homework after last week's double photo shoots; all needing to get done before the weekend’s scheduled activities.  He wasn’t sure how he still looked photogenic enough to be considered a model with his ragged appearance.  Must be the makeup.
 
The second ring caught his interest.  Nathalie wasn't the type to let the doorbell go.  He was sure she was working late tonight.  He stood and headed to the window to see if he could tell who was there.  Plagg followed beside him and they both looked out to see Marinette.
 
"Oh, your almost girlfriend is here.  You should go down and let her in," Plagg said, eagerly.  He was a little more excited than Adrien would have thought. The kwami had been pushing him to talk to Marinette for the last two weeks even as Marinette gave up on talking to him.
 
Adrien opened his mouth to say something when the doorbell rang a third time.  He could barely see from the angle, but it looked like Marinette was talking into the intercom.  It looked like the conversation wasn't going well.  He could hear her muffled yelling but could not make out the words. 
 
He placed his forehead against the window and reached a hand longingly up against the glass as she resorted to beating the wall before running off.  "Marinette..."  What had just happened?
 
"I can go get her.  I'll tell her to come back," Plagg said quickly.  He flew forward about to go through the glass when Adrien grabbed him.
 
"No.  I don't want her to find out about me from you," he answered as he turned away from the window.  Anger was starting to boil through him, and he turned to head toward the door.  He needed to talk to Nathalie.  
 
“But Adrien… You need to talk to her.”  Plagg basically pleaded.  Adrien had never seen him so dead set on something other than cheese in the entire time they’d been together.  If he wasn’t so tired, he might have actually thought about it.
 
“You’re not getting her,” he answered and point to his pocket with one hand while reaching for the doorknob with the other.  Plagg ducked into his pocket as he left his room and marched to Nathalie's small office (which was next to his father's large one).  He didn't bother to knock, too upset to care.  
 
"What did you do to Marinette?" He asked.  He had meant to yell and let loose some of the feelings he'd been bottling, but his words ended up sounding more like a defeated whine.
 
Nathalie looked at him like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming semi.  "Adrien? You saw that...?" 
 
"Yeah.  From my window."
 
"I'm so sorry...  Your father doesn't want any guests.  He didn't tell you?"
 
"No..."  Adrien paused, trying to decide if she really meant it.  The upset part of his mind convinced him she didn’t.  “It’s fine though. I understand.  You’re just being my father’s perfect employee, like always.”
 
Nathalie frowned.  “Adrien…” 
 
He didn’t let her finish her thought, not wanting to talk to her anymore. "Is he in his office?"
 
“Yes.  But..”
 
Adrien ignored her and left the room, walking a few feet to the left to get to his father’s door.  He was beyond knocking, still wanting to be able to vent somehow.  His father looked up in mild confusion. “Why are you doing this?!” Adrien yelled without a second thought. Four weeks of bottled emotions were suddenly ready to explode.
 
His father frowned.  “Excuse me?”
 
He was playing dumb. He had to be.  How dare his father act like he wasn’t doing anything wrong when he was literally tearing his life apart?  “Ever since the fashion show you’ve done nothing but making my schedule a living hell!  I haven’t been able to sleep in weeks, and I have no time to do anything that I want to do!  Not to mention you threatened to pull me from school.  And now you made sure to cut off any chance I have to spend time with my friends?  Why?  What do you want from me?”
 
He thought he saw a flash of sadness cross his father’s eyes for the smallest second, but maybe he imagined it. Gabriel took a deep breath before answering calmly, “Calm down.  I didn’t not teach you to take your stress out on other people.  You know how to manage time, and you have Nathalie to take care of your schedule.  This should not be an issue.  I think you need to go back to your room and rest.”
 
Adrien stiffened.  How could his father be so terribly out of touch that he could do all this and not feel anything?  He was literally breaking in front of him and all he could say was ‘this shouldn’t be a problem’?  He could not keep in a yell of pain and frustration.  He couldn’t stand to be in the same room any longer and turned, exiting the room by slamming the door.  He ignored the small movement that was Plagg shivering in his pocket and headed back to his room.
 
Slamming his father’s door wasn’t enough.  He needed to slam his door too as he stormed into the room and went straight for the bed and let himself fall into his pillow, trembling, as tears threatened to finally escape. When had his home turned into a prison?  A prison with three meals a day, no visitation, and some outside time only if he continued being the perfect son he was required to be.
 
“Adrien…” Plagg whispered as he flew from his pocket landed next to him on the bed.
 
“I give up, Plagg.  I can’t get my grades back up, I can’t keep up with my work, and I can’t even be a decent Chat Noir.  You should go find some other miraculous holder.”
 
“Don’t say that.  You’re a great Chat Noir.  Just rest tonight. Do what you have to this weekend.  And then you can talk to Marinette on Monday.  Tell her everything.  There’s no danger with her knowing who you are.  She’ll support you. It will be alright,” Plagg whispered, curling up next to his partner in a rare show of affection.
 
“Marinette…” he whispered, more to himself than anything.  Why had he pushed her away?  Why didn’t he just tell her like Plagg told him to?  He missed her.  He wanted to be with her right now.  He sat up, confusing Plagg, and stood.  “I need to get out of here.”
 
Plagg’s eyes widened as he floated up from the bed.  “What do you mean?”
 
“I can’t stay in this house any longer. I have no control over my life.  I need to get out of here.”  He walked closer to the window.
 
“No.  Surely you’re not going to run away?  You know your father reinstalled the motion sensor. You won’t get anywhere.”
 
“Doesn’t matter.  We’re going.  I’ll talk to Marinette tonight and then figure out what to do.  I can’t stay here.”  He turned back to Plagg and the kwami noticed a lack of clarity in his eyes.  The kid was not in the right mind to make this decision.
 
“You’re in no condition to go anywhere, especially as Chat Noir.  Go lay down.”  Plagg commanded.
 
“We’re going.  Plagg…”
 
“Wait!  Don’t!  You could be…”
 
“Claws out!”  It was too late.  Whatever Plagg wanted to say was cut off as he was pulled into the ring.  Adrien shrugged off whatever worries the kwami had and opened the window.  The cool night air, wet with slowly fally rain, felt wonderful after being cooped up for so long.  He headed out into the city without a second thought.
 
 
“It’s time,” Lycca said.  They were in the butterfly room already.  After Adrien’s display of emotion in his office, it was clear they needed to be ready.  Tonight was the night.
 
Gabriel nodded solemly, “Lycca, Dark Wings Rise.”
 
He transformed with less enthusiasm than usual and reached out a hand for one of the butterflies.  He didn’t have any long introduction tonight.  This was going to be a long battle.  He filled the butterfly with dark energy and let it go.  It didn’t need his input to know its target.
 
 
Chat Noir was too distracted to notice the small, black butterfly fighting the rain to catch up to him.  He didn’t notice as it landed delicately on his ring and burst into dark energy that the ring absorbed.  But he involuntarily froze where he stood as soon as the telepathic link between himself and Hawk Moth was established.
 
“Hello, Chat Blanc.”
 
“Hawk Moth…” Chat whispered despite already being partially influenced by Hawk Moth’s powers.
 
“Yes.  You’re feeling trapped, controlled, unable to think for yourself.  I can give you the power to get the freedom you seek.  All I need are..”
 
“The miraculous…”
 
“Right. You will have these powers and your freedom even if you give me the ring.  So, will you get them for me?”
 
Chat paused, as if trying to remind himself what making a deal with Hawk Moth really meant.  But he wasn’t thinking clearly, and the small amount of dark energy already making its way through him felt welcoming.  “Yes.  I’ll do it.”
 
The rest of the dark energy flowed through him.  His once black costume faded to pure white and the short claws on his gloves grew sharper.  The ring itself changed to white with a red paw pad with little claws visible where there used to be none. 
 

Chat Blanc’s green eyes glinted dangerously as the transformation was complete.  Suddenly, whatever he was worried about no longer mattered.  He was free to do as he pleased.  He smiled and headed out toward the city.

After Marinette returned from Adrien's, she went straight to bed. As Marinette slept Tikki was wide awake. She was looking out the window as thought about everything. Something off, but she wasn't sure what. Adrien's dad being more over bearing and the recent akuma attacks didn't feel like a coincidence. She looked back at Marinette. Tikki was tempted to wake her up and have her got to Adrien's room as Ladybug. But she wasn't sure how well that would go. It could be risky seeing how Adrien's house has a security system. Tikki just sighed and flew over to Marinette. No use dwelling on this. Monday morning was a chance to a do reveal. She was positive Plagg would be thinking the same thing. Tikki curled up on Marinette's stomach and closed her eyes. Unfortunately she didn't get a chance to fall asleep. She felt a sharp pain in her hear and let out a scream.

Marinette's eyes opened up and she sat up. "Tikki!? Is there something wrong? I heard a scream." Before the kwami could answer Marinette's mom came into the room. She quickly explain to her mom that she had a bad dream and luckily she didn't linger and went back downstairs.

"Something is wrong with Plagg," Tikki answered after her mother left.

"What?" Marinette was so confused.

"Him and I are connected. If something bad happens to one of us the other feels it."

"What could have happened?"

"I'm not sure, but it was painful." Tikki floated up in the air. "Marinette, I'm sorry, but we have to go to Chat's house. I need to make sure he's okay."

Marinette just nodded her head. She got up from her bed and went down to the lower level. She was about to change clothes, but Tikki told her there was no time. So she just grabbed her rain coat and quietly opened the trap door. Since Marinette had no idea who Chat was Tikki had to lead her there. The lights were out which meant Marinette's parents went to bed. Marinette quietly walked down the stairs and left the apartment.

Once outside, Tikki took off and Marinette followed behind her. It was raining hard which made it hard to see Tikki. Marinette pulled the jacket's hood over her head. It was no use though. As she ran it made the hood fall off. They turned a corner and Marinette ended up tripping due to a hole in the sidewalk. She fell and landed on her knees.

Chat leaped over buildings while occasionally glancing down at the deserted city below.  The rain paired with the time of night meant no one should be out.  He had the night to himself.  Or so he thought..

He just happened to glance down as a running figure tripped on a small hole.  He landed on the building he had been aiming for and then jumped down, curious why someone would be out in the rain, running in their pajamas.

He recognized her as he landed in front of her and he smiled.  Marinette.  Just the girl he had been hoping to see; though, he couldn't really remember why he wanted to see her at this point.

Chat reached down and took her hand as she was recovering from her fall.  He gently pulled her up, a small grin on his face.  "Why hello there, princess.  What brings you put on such a dreary night?"

Marinette was relieved that Chat found her. If he was transformed that meant Plagg was okay, right? She mumbled thank you and when she looked up at him, her heart stop. She noticed his change in appearance at once. Marinette knew the answer already, but she asked anyway. "Chat, what happened to you?"

Chat shrugged at her question, unconcerned.  "Nothing much.  I was having problems, Hawk Moth decided to drop uninvited, he made some promises, I made some promises, and now we're here.  I think I look good in white.  What do you think?"

Chat paused for a moment, as if listening, and then shook his head. "Yeah, yeah.  I'm not wasting time.  There's all the time in the world.  In fact, I'll get them in my own time.  When I feel like it."

He focused his attention back to Marinette.  "Sorry about that.  It's like having an annoying roommate.  You should get home before you catch a cold.  I have things to do.  Later."

With that, he leapt back to the rooftops and disappeared.  He had one target in mind, and he made it there in record time.  The akuma's power had made it possible for him to travel without needing his staff.  

The office building was silent, its employees already gone for the night.  Chat smiled.  He was about to call out his cataclysm when the power silently travelled through him and appeared in his hand.  It was still black despite his change in appearance.  Oh well.  He could get used to this.

Chat ignored Hawk Moth asking him what he was doing. This didn't concern him.  He placed his hand on the building's roof and let the cataclysm go before jumping to another building to watch.  Seeing his father's fashion empire go down in smoke was extremely satisfying.

Tikki made it all the way to Adrien's house.  She looked back at Marinette hoping her reaction wasn't too bad.  Tikki then let out a gasp.  Marinette wasn't there.  She took off and went back in the direction she came.  Tikki hoped she was okay.  She had a terrible feeling about all of this.  Tikki did not sense Plagg's presence at the house.
 
She saw Marinette standing in the middle of the sidewalk.  She had a dazed looked on her face.  Tikki flew in front of her.  She could see tears in Marinette's eyes. "What happened!?"
 
"Chat," she said slowly. "He's been akumatize." Marinette shook her head.  She couldn't believe what she just said.
 
"What!?" Tikki looked alarmed.
 
"You heard me! And it's all my fault!" Marinette crouched down on the ground and started to cry. "I should have asked you to take me to his house sooner!  All those absences were a sign that something was wrong!"
 
"No, no!" she flew down to her face. "Marinette, look at me." her owner looked up. "It's not your fault." She paused.  Tikki felt like this was her fault.  She should have seen this coming.  Why didn't Plagg tell her about Adrien's emotional state sooner? "You need to keep it together.  You're the only one who can save him.  If you gather too much negative emotions Hawkmoth will akumatize you."
 
Marinette's lips trembled as the kwami spoke.  She just nodded her head and wiped her eyes.  Marinette then stood up. "So how do I purify him? I don't know where the akuma would be."
 
Tikki was quiet for a moment.  She wasn't quite sure herself.  Adrien was obviously Chat Noir when he was akumatize.  Other wise he would have taken a different form, right? Unless the akuma are naturally drawn to a miraculous item.  She closed her eyes to think harder.
 
"Tikki?" Marinette poked her.
 
"The akuma could be in his ring," she finally replied and opened her eyes.
 
"How do I free it then?  I bet I can't break it."
 
"I'm not sure.  This has never happened before."
 
"I can't believe it's possible."
 
"Of course it's possible.  You're still human and it's natural to have negative emotions."
 
"So should I try to take his ring?"
Tikki went quiet again.  There was only one way to be sure. "Marinette, there's someone who can help.  He would know the answer."
 
"Who is it?"
 
"The Guardian of the Miraculouses."
 
Marinette's eyes widen. "There's a guardian?"
 
"Yes it's his duty to watch over the miraculouses and choose their owners."
 
"So he picked me...?"
 
"Yes.  In fact you have met him twice.  Now follow me we can't waste anymore time."
 
Marinette just nodded her head.  She felt a knot in her stomach.  How would the guardian react to this?  Will he blame her and deem her unworthy?
 
The two girls headed south and eventually made it to his place.  When the stopped in front of it, Marinette recognized the place.  It belong to that old man Tikki took her to when she was sick.  Was he the guardian this whole time!?  Marinette stared at Tikki looking for a confirmation.  Tikki just nodded her head.  They then went inside.
 
They approached his door and right when Marinette was about to knock, they heard a voice telling them to come in. Marinette opened the door and saw the guardian sitting on the floor in front of a table.  There was green turtle kwami floating next to him.  There was a set of tea sitting on the table.  The tea looked warmed.
 
"Welcome, Ladybug," said the old man. "Or should I say Marinette." he motioned her to sit down.
 
"You know my name?" she asked and did what she was told.
 
"Of course," he said.  He handed her a cup of tea. "I have been watching you since day one.  Also Tikki reports to me."
 
Marinette looked up at her kwami and she just smiled at her.  She grabbed the cup and sat it down in front of her.
 
"My name is Fu." He took a sip of his tea. "Please drink.  You look cold. "
 
"I caught in the rain," Marinette replied.  She didn't take a sip of her tea.  She was too nervous.
 
"Down the hallway is a bathroom," Fu said as he pointed in that direction. "It's on the right.  Why don't you go dry yourself off?"
Marinette just nodded her head and got up and made her way to the bathroom.  She closed the door behind her and turned on the light.  She saw a towel hanging on a towel rod and grabbed it.  She threw off her raincoat and started to dry her body off with the towel.
 
Meanwhile Tikki used this opportunity to talk to Fu.  Judging by his behavior he knew what was going on.  "She doesn't know Adrien is Chat Noir."  She spoke in a hush tone so Marinette didn't hear her.  "I want it to keep it that way.  If she found out now it might really affect her.  She was a mess, after seeing what happened to him."
 
Fu just nodded his head.  "Yes she needs to stay strong right now."  He then took another sip of his tea.
 
When Marinette returned, she sat back down and decided to drink some of her tea.  Despite drying off she still felt cold.  Her pajama bottoms and shoes were soak after all.  After taking a drink, she removed her shoes and shocks.
 
"Better?" Fu asked her.
 
"A little," Marinette replied.
 
"Well keep drinking your tea.  It will help.  Tea makes everything better."
 
Marinette smiled slightly and took another sip.
 
"Now, I know what happened to Chat Noir.  Wayzz my kwami sensed a change in Plagg's presence earlier tonight and investigated."


She hung her head low.  Marinette felt another knot form in her stomach.  She was afraid what he would say next.
 
Fu could see the fear in her eyes.  "It's okay my dear.  We'll get him back."
 
She looked up and just stared at him.  He was giving her a kind gentle smile.  Her look of fear turned into a look of determination.  "What do I need to do?"
 
"Take off his ring."
 
"That's what Tikki guessed."
 
"By removing the ring it will break the connection between the akuma and Plagg.  The akuma will be set free and you can purify it like normal."
 
"Alright.  I'll get that akuma as soon as possible!"


"That's the spirit!"
 
After Marinette finished her tea, both her and Tikki left Fu's place.  They stopped, when they heard sirens in the distance.  Marinette felt her stomach drop.  She had a bad feeling about those sirens.  She turned to Tikki.  "Should we go check it out?"
 
Tikki frowned.  "It's possible Chat is behind it, but I'm not sure.  If it is him and if we do find him it will be hard to get his ring.  It's dark and raining."
 
"That's true.  Should we just go home?"
 
"Yes, we'll look for him tomorrow.  He'll be fine."
 
The next morning Marinette woke up early and got dressed.  She needed to go grab some cookies for Tikki.  She wasn't sure if she was going to use Lucky Charm when confronting Chat.  Marinette left her room and went downstairs.  They had some cookies in the kitchen.  When she got downstairs, her parents were in the living room watching TV.  Marinette ignored them and entered the kitchen and grabbed some cookies out of a jar.  She placed them on a napkin and wrapped it around the cookies.  She hurried out of the kitchen and started to run up the stairs, but her father saw her.
 
"Marinette," he spoke.
 
"Yes, Papa?"  Marinette turned around and walked over to her parents.  She then saw the TV screen and her jaw dropped.  The news program they were watching was showing Gabriel' Agreste's building.  It was blown to pieces.
 
"Don't go anywhere today.  There's a crazy person at large and the mayor is asking people to stay home."
 
"Aright, I'll be in my room," Marinette said and ran back upstairs to her room.  She closed her trap door and glanced over at Tikki.  "Chat blew up Mr. Agreste's office."
 
"He did..?" Tikki just blink her eyes in belief.
 
"Yeah on the TV they're showing the building.  No one who knows who done it luckily.  But I know it had to be him because who else would blow up a building?"
 
"Good point.  Are you ready?"
 
"Yes."  Marinette walked up to the loft in her room.  She stuffed the cookies in her purse and then opened up the door to her deck.
 
"What about your parents?"
 
"Well, the mayor doesn't want people to leave their homes.  I told them that I would be in my room. "  She climbed on the deck and closed the door.  "This is probably going to take all day and they'll most likely check on me.  Stuffing pillows under the covers won't work if they keep checking.  I'm just going to have deal with their anger later."
 
"Okay then."
 
Marinette took a deep breath.  Chat was friendly to her last night so she hoped he would be friendly toward Ladybug.  "Tikki, spots on!"  Tikki was pulled into the earrings and Marinette transformed into Ladybug.  She then leaped off the deck and went off to go find Chat Noir.