There's no way out.

I can't fight them all off.

These thoughts rolled through Ladybug's head as she surveyed the astounding number of guards. She was vastly outnumbered. Her eyes glanced up at a chandelier as it swung gently in the middle of the room.

Gabriel chuckled. "You look afraid," he said, interrupting her thoughts.

Ladybug shook her head. No matter what, she couldn't admit her fear. She had to remain strong. Although, it'd be nice for Chat Noir to show up.

"In your dreams," she hissed and smirked, pushing away her doubts.

Chloe leaned over Ladybug's shoulder and whispered into her ear. "Let's see how fearless you'll be when this knife is plunged in your shoulder."

Ladybug clenched her fists. She hated being taken advantage of. Especially by Chloe. "Empty threats? That's not good for your image, Ms. Bourgeois," she played.

"Mrs. Bourgeois you mean," Chloe cackled. "I'm marrying the Prince you know. And once that happens, I'll have absolute control over Parisilia!"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at Chloe. She then laughed awkwardly. "Uh, I mean, I'll have absolute control by the King's side of course."

Ladybug laughed, desperately ignoring the fact that the doorway was filled with armed guards. "You two are fools. You both want absolute control. How do you think things will turn out?"

"Good?" Chloe guessed.

"Wrong," Ladybug replied. "Eventually, you two will fight over ideas and power and the King will put an end to it, Chloe! Meaning, he'll kill you at any costs. He's just using you!"

Chloe pondered this thought for a moment while Gabriel growled. "Enough! She is spreading lies," he yelled. He turned his head at the guards. "Capture her!"

The guards came charging at Ladybug. She widened her eyes and quickly reached for her yoyo. She moved out of Chloe's grasp and flung her yoyo at the chandelier.

Soaring through the air, she inspected the room. Guards were yelling and throwing their swords up at Ladybug in a desperate attempt to stop her. One sword flew dangerously close to her leg and pierced the skin. The pain caught the superhero by surprise and made her lose grip of her yoyo and fall to the ground.

Ladybug crashed to the ground, and luckily, she didn't land on a sword in the process. She groaned in pain; her entire body was numb from the fall. Her vision was blurry and she could barely make out the figures standing above her. Then, she fell unconscious.

The guards hoisted the superhero to her feet and dragged her out of the room. Gabriel smiled in satisfaction, following them.

"Wait," Gabriel called out just as the guards were about to put Ladybug in a jail cell. "Follow me."

*

Adrien sat on his bed, his head down in shame. He let Ladybug down. He let everyone down. He was supposed to be a hero. The boy stared at the silver ring on his finger.

Plagg frowned and sat his head on Adrien's lap. "It's not your fault those dummies are keeping you here," he mumbled.

"Yes, it is my fault. If I had not left the Kingdom in the first place, I wouldn't have put everyone in danger," he replied angrily.

"Calm down," Plagg said.

Adrien buried his face in his hands. "I just wish this wedding would be over with already."

The door swung open all of a sudden and Plagg quickly hid. Adrien glanced up and nearly fainted. "No," he breathed in shock. He fell to his knees. "No."

One guard was holding a lifeless looking Ladybug in his arms, her limp arm swaying ever so gently in the air.

Gabriel cleared his throat. "Ladybug is dead," he proclaimed.

Adrien felt his world crash down on him. His lady was dead. His love. His heart. His soul. All because of him. Because he couldn't save her. Adrien's breath hitched and tears began to spill out down his cheeks.

"No!" he cried. He squeezed himself and doubled over, warm tears staining the carpet beneath him. He sobbed loudly.

Gabriel nodded at the guard, signaling him to take her away. The guard walked off with Ladybug while Gabriel slowly approached his crestfallen son. He gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Son, if you had only respected my wishes, it wouldn't have come to this," Gabriel said.

"Shut up," Adrien growled. He smacked his fathers' hand away. "Leave me alone!"

Gabriel narrowed his eyes. "Oh, so that's how it is." He stood up and towered over his son. "First order of business; respect."

*

Ladybug's eyes opened abruptly. She was in a jail cell and her head was pounding. A sharp pain was felt in her leg and she winced. That's right. She remembered being cut with a sword while trying to escape.

She groaned and tried to stand, but her legs wobbled and gave out. The pain began to pile on and it was unbearable for her. Ladybug bit her lip and tried to ignore the pain. She needed to look for a way out of her cell.

The bars were thick and cold, evenly placed around Ladybug, enclosing her. Directly in front of her was the door with a large padlock on it. Getting out through the door was definitely off the table.

Her Lucky Charm could help, but she'd have to hide before her transformation wore off or else a possible guard on duty would see and know her secret. But right now, that's the only option she had. She needed to stop Gabriel.

Ladybug grabbed her yoyo with shaky, bruised hands. She was about to throw it in the air when a pair of footsteps were heard approaching her. She quickly put away her yoyo and pretended to be asleep.

"...I can't believe it. Gabriel is actually going along with it," one guard said.

His partner laughed. "I can. Gabriel is willing to do anything for power. Once the superhero is dead he'll achieve that."

There was a pause, but then the first guard continued talking, this time in a hushed voice.

"What about the Prince? He seems to like the spotted girl. Don't ya think he'd revolt against his father if she was dead?"

"Duh! Adrien thinks she is already," the second guard replied. "Once he's married to Chloe, the King will straighten him out."

Ladybug internally gasped. Adrien thought she was dead? What happened while she was unconscious?

"Ah, that's right," the first guard chuckled. Ladybug heard the jingling of keys and the door squeak open. "Let's see if she woke up yet."

Ladybug squinted open an eye and observed the guards inching closer to her. They had a sword on their belts but didn't look ready for a sudden attack. Maybe Ladybug could escape?

A large, strong hand gripped her arm and that's when Ladybug moved. She grabbed the guards' arm and threw him up against a wall. His partner gasped and backed away with widened eyes.

"She's escaping!" he yelled. He began to run away.

Ladybug had to act fast. She flung her yoyo at his legs, it wrapped around them, and he fell to the ground. His head slapped against the concrete, knocking him unconscious.

Ladybug dragged the guards into the cell and locked it. She sighed with relief, but it didn't last long. Her body still ached with pain. She needed medicine for her wounds or else they could get infected.

Ladybug limped over to the door. She grabbed her yoyo and held it securely in her hands. Using her Lucky Charm, it was possible that medicine would be provided for her. That could help.

She threw her yoyo up into the air. "Lucky Charm!" she exclaimed. A red flash filled the room, and then a small bottle fell from the sky and into her hands.

She examined the label. It said "Medicine". Huh. That's simple enough.

Ladybug opened the lid of the bottle and poured some of the ointment on her hands. Then, she applied it gingerly to her wounds. It sizzled with pain, but in a few seconds, the injury healed.

"Wow, this stuff really works," Ladybug said. "Maybe I could keep it?" She set the bottle aside, feeling refreshed already.

"Tikki, spots off," Ladybug yelled out loud. But nothing happened.

"Huh?" Ladybug voiced in confusion. "Why isn't my transformation coming off?"

Her eyes glanced at the spotted bottle of ointment. That's probably why. She can't detransform until the Lucky Charm is returned.

Ladybug grabbed the bottle and played with it in her hands. There was no physical damage done, so what would happen? She didn't know, but she'd return the Lucky Charm anyway for the sake of detransforming. Tikki was probably wore out. "Okay," Ladybug called out. "I'll return it."

She threw the bottle into the air and yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

A red flash washed throughout the room. After that was complete, everything seemed to be the same.

"Tikki, spots off!" Ladybug yelled. Finally, the command was accepted. A red flash lit up the room and Tikki flew out of the earrings and landed into Marinette's hands.

"I'm so tired," Tikki mumbled.

"I know, and I'm sorry," Marinette said. "You were in the earrings for a long time."

"I'm gonna need a lot of cookies," Tikki said.

Marinette laughed slightly. "Got it. But first, we're gonna need to find some. And considering this is a castle with a large cooking staff, that shouldn't be too hard."