"Nonononononono NO!!" Buckets of tears ran down Hawkmoth's face, as Chat Noir's mask wore away. "I wanted a happy family. All of this...for... NOTHING!"

He dropped to his knees, watching the tears stream down his face. He was still in control of Marinette. He was still in control of Ladybug.

Only Ladybug can reverse the effects of an akumitised person...

But he couldn't give Marinette her Miraculous back. At least, he couldn't right now, because now, he needed to make his wish more than ever. He needed a family: that much hadn't changed.

There had to be a way that Hawkmoth could be happy with, both, his son and his wife. Nathalie waited patiently for the request, Ladybug's miraculous in hand.

"Nathalie..." Hawkmoth whispered, barely audibly. At first, he wasn't sure if Natalie had actually heard him.

"Yes?" She asked, having listened intently to everything Hawkmoth had been mumbling beforehand. Her grip on the Ladybug Miraculous became tighter.

"I need you to do me a favour. For Adrien. Please." The last word sounded so broken, so desperate. How on earth could Nathalie say no to anything at that time? Could she even find herself to say no if it meant her own demise? Probably not. She gave a shaky smile, patting his back like a mother would when nursing her baby.

"What would you like me to do, sir?"
_____________________________________

A gasp escaped Marinette's lips when the face behind Chat Noir's mask was revealed.
"A-A-Adrien..." She couldn't believe her eyes. This whole time she had been batting down Chat's attempts to get closer to her, when really, she should have been encouraging it.

If only they hadn't had to hide their identities. All would have been well. She wouldn't have been akumitised. She wouldn't have felt heartbroken, because Adrien would have already been hers.

I can't back down now. I'm no better than Hawkmoth, so what gives me the right to deny him of Adrien's miraculous?

Although she wasn't quite sure whether that was her talking or Hawkmoth had just gotten into her head, when she wiped away her tears.

So with that, she sent Chat Noir's miraculous to Hawkmoth, ignoring the doubts she had about it. "I'm sorry...Adrien," she whispered. Watching his miraculous disappear, she knelt down and caressed his forehead. "I really am sorry..."

All of a sudden, a figure came swinging into view with a spotty yo-yo but an expressionless face. Nobody saw her entrance though, as the school was still empty; nobody could see Alya recording.

Ladybug...?

Marinette's jaw dropped, absolutely flabbergasted.

No. How? Why?

The older looking Ladybug didn't wait to lunge at Marinette. They had to reverse the effects before Adrien died, because once someone dies, not even Ladybug can bring them back.

(A/N: That might not actually be true, but in this story it is. It's called imagination.)

"Cookie Cutter!" Screeched the new Ladybug, diving on top of her.

(A/N: I bet none of y'all have ever shipped Marilee/Nathanette before...)

Nathalie, the new Ladybug, wrestled with Marinette in the floor, trying to figure out where the akuma was. She hadn't actually seen Gabriel akumitise the young girl, after all. She had only assumed it wasn't in the rings.

"Hawkmoth!" She yelled into Marinette's face, whilst the younger girl continued to squirm.

Gabriel must have weakened her.

Marinette, speaking for Hawkmoth, screamed urgently, making sure his son didn't die, "THE BAG!"

Nodding, Nathalie ripped the heart shaped bag from Marinette and tore it in half, hastily. As the akuma fluttered away, Nathalie took out her yo-yo and swung it towards the evil butterfly.

"Um... mIrAcUlOuS lAdYbUg!"
Everything went trippy as the red glitter thing whizzed around Paris, returning cars to its old position and swapping Cookie Cutter's weird outfit back to Marinette in her cute little pajamas.

All had changed back. Or had they? Panting - more from fear than exhaustion - Nathalie kneeled beside Adrien, shaking him ever so slightly.

"Adrien? Adrien!"