Hi everyone!  SylveonKwami here.  Hope you're all excited for this update... sorry that it's late.  I had exams, and though I still have one tomorrow, I'm already prepared for it... so I get to spend time on Wattpad writing a chapter for you all!  Yay!

In honor of this chapter being the 10th chapter, it's gonna be extra long.  Double yay!

Anyways, let's get started.  Don't forget to vote and comment if you liked it!

Enjoy \(^u^)/

Marinette

"All good?" she asked Adrien, and he nodded.  She was about to place him back in her bag when...

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng, please return to your class immediately."

She gulped.  She'd only gone to fill up her water bottle and-

Oh crap.

She hadn't brought her water bottle to school today.  And she'd told everyone she'd gone to fill up her water bottle.  She almost smacked herself in the face.  How stupid!

"You should probably get back to class," Adrien said worriedly.  Marinette nodded curtly, and put him in her bag.  Once everything was in order, she briskly walked back to class, planning what she was going to say.  

Miss Bustier, it isn't what you think-

I was just going for a drink.  I forgot that I forgot my water bottle at home.

No, I was not sneaking out of class, please don't check my belongings!

Wait, why would she do that?

Augh!

Finally, she made it back to class.  She opened the door and-

Police officers.

There were police officers in her classroom.

Marinette felt as if her heart had stopped beating.  She hadn't done anything wrong!  She was Ladybug for crying out loud!  She couldn't tell them that, but still...

Panicking, she felt herself drop to her knees.  "I'm innocent, I swear!" she cried out, almost crying from the pressure.

Almost at once, the entire class started laughing.  Shocked and a little confused, she got up and saw that even Alya and Nino were trying to hide their smiles.  "Wh-What's going on...?" she asked.

"You were a close friend of Adrien Agreste, yes?" asked one of the officers.

"Well, uh, yeah, we're very good friends, since the beginning of the year- at least I think we're good friends, he's sort of distant towards me in class sometimes, but we hang out a lot after school-" She took a deep breath.  Here she was, rambling to the police.  "I mean, yes, officer, I knew him very well."

"Excellent," Roger said.  "All of you, you're coming with us."

One by one, everyone who the police requested got out of their seats.  When Alya and Nino were out of their seats, Marinette rushed to greet them.  "What's going on?" she whispered.  "I'm not in trouble, am I?"

Alya giggled a little.  "No, girl, you're fine.  Police are looking for people who knew Adrien really well, for questioning.  I told them you knew him well, and since you were out of class, we had to wait for you.  What were you doing anyways?"

"It's none of your business," Marinette said, not wanting to sound mean, just off-put by the way everyone laughed at her.  They'd all act the same way if they were her!  

"Sheesh, okay," Alya said, muttering something under her breath.  Marinette didn't even feel like apologizing- Alya had laughed at her too, after all!  

Ugh, what a glorious way to start a Friday.  

It took about half an hour, but eventually the class had arrived at the police station.  "Okay," Roger said.  "You'll all be called one by one.  What you say to us is confidential, no information will get out to the public.  Do you understand?" he asked, and everyone nodded.  "Good.  When you finish, please wait outside.  First up is Chloe," he said, and the blonde followed him into the question room.  Everyone else went back outside, where a couple officers watched them carefully.  It must be because we all could be suspects, Marinette realized.

"Do you guys, uh, want to meet at my house for the project this weekend?" Marinette asked.  "My parents aren't home, so we'd get the space to ourselves."

Alya looked away, looking upset.  She was about to say something, but Nino stepped in and spoke for her.  "That'd be great, Mari.  We can get it all done together."

"Y-Yes," Marinette replied.  She felt Adrien put his hands on the outside of her bag, and she placed her hand against it reassuringly.  She knew he could hear what was going on, and he was probably nervous for her.  She blushed a little thinking about it.

Marinette sighed.  These situations were so... stressful.  Everyday, she risked Adrien to be revealed.  Everyday, the identities of Ladybug and Chat Noir could be revealed not only to the world... but to Hawk Moth.  And since she couldn't purify the stupid akuma, it was still out there, probably searching for them.  All the stress was making her push people away... and she needed her friends.  She didn't need them against her in all this.

"Alya Cesaire," the officer called as Chloe walked outside to wait with them.  Without a word, Alya got up and followed the man inside.  

"Marinette, are you okay?" Nino asked her once Alya left.  "You don't seem yourself these days."

"Yeah, I'm fine," Marinette lied, but she knew that Nino knew she was lying.  There wasn't any way she could be more obvious.  Nino seemed to take the hint though, because he left her to talk to the other guys.

"Hey, Dupain-Cheng~" Chloe said, moving towards Marinette.  She scowled; perhaps it was better if Nino never left after all.  

"What do you want, Chloe?" she asked, not expecting a response she would like.

"I know you're up to something, Marinette," she said, getting all up in her face.  "And I won't stop until I find out what."

Marinette tried to put on her best poker-face.  "What do you mean, Chloe?" she asked, hoping she would never catch on to what actually was happening.

"Today, you left class to fill up your water bottle without even bringing the thing to school.  I know your game," Chloe added, before Marinette could protest.  "You left at the same time yesterday too.  I know you're sneaking around, and you're lucky Miss Bustier only allows one person out at a time and you're lucky I respect her rules.  I'm going to find out what you're doing, and trust me, you won't like it," she sneered, and walked off.  It took a little while for her heart to stop pounding.  If Chloe found out what they were hiding... it would literally be the end of the world.  

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng," Roger called, Alya standing beside him.  She passed Alya (who didn't even try to greet her) and followed Roger into the questioning room.

"Miss, today we're here to just ask questions.  Just questions, okay?" he reassured, showing that he had no weapons on him at the moment.  She nodded, just wanting to get this over with.  This time, she was actually lying to the law.  Which was a crime.  It's not like she could tell them the truth, but still... she could get in real trouble this time.

"When was the last time you saw Mr. Agreste?" he asked, a pen and paper in his hand.

"Wednesday, after school," Marinette confidently answered.  "Me, Alya, and Nino went for ice cream, as I'm sure they told you."

"Yes, yes, Miss Cesaire did," Roger said, writing some notes down.  "Have you heard from Mr. Agreste at all?"

"No sir," she replied.  "I wish I have.  We all wish that."

"Yes, I can see that," he said absently.  "Do you know some things he does in his free time?"

Oh boy, don't I ever, Marinette thought, thinking about how she had his entire schedule memorized.  "His main hobby is fencing, but he also takes piano and Chinese lessons.  He also models for his father in the free time," she said.

"Do you know any people who Mr. Agreste had bad ties with?  People who could be suspects?"

"No sir," Marinette said.  "Adrien was always friendly, at least from what I saw.  I never saw him get into arguments, except with Chloe.  But they never lasted more than a couple hours," Marinette added quickly.  Though she disliked Chloe, she didn't want her to get into trouble.  "Maybe the latest akuma has something to do with his kidnapping," Marinette said.  She didn't want to entirely lie.  "Maybe he was shrunk by the akuma, and since Ladybug couldn't purify it, he is still out there somewhere."

"Hmm, yes, Gabriel Agreste did say his son was out late that night," Roger said, writing some notes on his notepad.  "That is not a bad idea, young lady.  Of course, this all wouldn't have happened if Ladybug and Chat Noir did their job properly."

Marinette had to bite her lip in order not to yell at him.  She imagined Adrien doing the same.  It wasn't their faults.  Shrinkinator had been an... interesting akuma.  He was much more violent and unpredictable.  It would be hard to de-akumatize him when the time came.

"Yes sir, you're right," Marinette replied curtly.  She didn't like talking about herself behind her back.  Wow, that sounded weird to say.

"Okay, you've finished," Roger said, leading her out of the room.  "Thank you for your input."

"It's nothing," Marinette muttered, because this was the police after all; did she really have a choice!?

As soon as she arrived outside, she pulled out her phone, watching as Nino was called in next.  She caught Alya and Chloe talking to each other- what was that about!?  Too bad she couldn't care less at the moment.  She opened up Alya's Ladyblog.  She wanted to know exactly what people were saying about this akuma attack, even though Alya had no footage.

She saw Alya's latest post: 

Hey Ladybloggers!

Not sure if you've heard, but there was an akuma last night.  And he... got away.

That's right.

Ladybug couldn't purify the akuma.

I... honestly don't know what to think.

This akuma honestly sounded weak, from the way the news put it.  I couldn't get any feed for you guys (sorry!) but if this akuma was as weak as he sounded, something's wrong with those two.

What do you guys think?

Marinette had to put a hand over her mouth at the comments she read.  Some were sympathetic, but most were disappointed, hateful comments.  Comments about how she and Chat refused to show our faces after the incident because they were too "embarrassed" to show their faces.  Comments about how they should be "ashamed" of themselves for not keeping their city safe.  Marinette had to stop herself from crying.

Do they even know how hard it is to fight these akumas, day after day, when we're still figuring out who we are, figuring out our lives.  We're 16!  It's impossible to do, yet we do it.  And we alone deal with the consequences.  If they knew... maybe they wouldn't be so quick to judge.  

This is not our faults.

Me and Adrien need to get this sorted out.

...and Alya should try to control her comment section.

It took another hour or so, but eventually the police were finished with them.  They walked them back to the school, and Miss Bustier informed them she was extending the assignment deadline to Tuesday.  Since there wasn't much school time left, no one really did any work.  Soon enough, the bell rang, and everyone was dismissed.  Instead of meeting up with Alya and Nino, she went to the other side of the school, so she would be alone.  She opened her bag, and both the kwamis flew out.  Plagg held Adrien, who looked a little grumpy that he was being held that way.

"PLAGG, I said ask me first before you do this," he muttered.

"Aww, come on kid, you know I don't care about that stuff," Plagg returned.

"Guys, we need to do something.  We need to restore our names.  Everyone thinks we're trash.  I read the comments on the Ladyblog and- and..." she had had it.  She just broke down crying.  How people be so cruel to her and Chat!?  After all they did for them!?

"Aww, Marinette, please don't cry," Tikki said, wiping the tears off her face.

"Princess, whatever you read there, ignore it," Adrien said sincerely.  "People don't know what they're talking about.  We're allowed to mess up."

"N-Not if it puts the world in danger," Marinette countered, sniffling.

"What should we do then?" Tikki asked.

"We need to transform.  Now.  While everyone is still at school.  We need an audience.  We need this message to get out," Marinette said, straightening her stance.  

"Oh there's no way in hell that he's tranforming," Plagg said.  "I'm not squashing myself inside that tiny thing!"

"That tiny thing is your MIRACULOUS, Plagg," Adrien said, looking tired of dealing with his kwami.  "It won't be for long.  Please," he added, trying to give puppy-dog eyes.  Plagg sighed.

"FINE!  Only because I like ya, kid," he said, sighing again.

"Ready Tikki?" Marinette asked, and her kwami nodded.

"Tikki... SPOTS ON!"

"Plagg, CLAWS OUT!"

There was a bright light, and both of them were transformed.

"I may not of thought this through," Chat said, realizing that there was no one to carry him.  He start falling with a yelp.

"Heh, I got ya," Ladybug snickered, catching him in her palm.  He gave her a thumbs up, and she lifted him to her shoulder.  He climbed on gratefully.

"Hang on, I'm gonna use the yo-yo," she added, and she felt Chat's tiny hands grip her shoulder.  Lauching it, she and Chat flung on her yo-yo to the front of school, in front of the students.  Everyone looked up, surprised.

"It's Ladybug!" some of them shouted excitedly, while others looked away in disgust.  Ladybug looked down at Chat, who looked nervous.  She realized that no one knew he got shrunk yet.  How would people take that?

"I'd like to say a few words," Ladybug said.  She didn't ask for permission, she was Ladybug.  She wasn't trying to be rude or anything, it's just she felt she didn't have to ask permission to- ah, forget it.

"Ladybug!  Did you purify the akuma yet?" Chloe asked, running up to her.

"Uh.. no, not yet," Ladybug admitted.  She heard many mutters from the students, and felt the need to add the fact that they had it under control... sort of.  Though they didn't have to know that.  "We have everything under control.  We have heard many rumors, and we wish to share the truth."

"Ladybug!" Alya said, suddenly standing beside Chloe.  "Can I film this for my blog?"

"Y-Yes," Ladybug said, thinking about those comments.  Mari, take those out of your mind.

"You keep saying "we", but you're alone," Alya said, holding up her phone.

"I'm not alone," Ladybug said simply.  She felt Chat tense on her shoulder.  

"Wh-Wha.....?  Is that Chat Noir?" Nino asked, pointing to where he sat on her shoulder.  She nodded, and lots of people approached her to look at her partner.  People were asking questions, but when she felt him shaking a little she shooed them away.

"W-We just want to talk," Chat stuttered.

"First off, we were not embarrassed to show our faces.  We were planning our next move.  We did not need to be transformed for that to happen.  Second, we should not be ashamed to show our faces.  We both carry the burden of protecting thousands of people every second of every day.  It is our burden alone, and although we would not give it up for anything, it is a lot to put on us.  We made one mistake.  A bad mistake, yes, but we are handling it.  Shrinkinator, and Hawk Moth, will be taken down. 

"But, I have to warn all of you, Shrinkinator is very dangerous," Ladybug added.  "He even got Chat, as you can see.  He will not hesitate to do the same to all of you, and he will not hesitate to severely injure you.  If you see him, hide until he leaves, or run.  Don't try to fight him yourselves.  Contact the police, spread the word where you saw him.  It will certainly help us."

"Ladybug, when do you think you and Chat will stop him?" Alya asked.

"We don't know," Ladybug said, because that was the truth.  "But soon."

There isn't anything left to say, Ladybug thought.  "We'll be going now," she said, swinging away.  She heard questions being shouted behind her, pleas and people begging for her and Chat to stay, but she wanted to go home now.  She was finished for the day.  And from the look on Chat's face, she knew he felt the same.

She landed on her balcony, and both of them took off their transformations.  Marinette collapsed on the balcony chair, while Adrien sat near her shoulder.

"Are you okay?" Marinette asked him.  He looked a little spooked.

"It was just a bit... much," he said.  "Having everyone stare at you like that.  But... I think I'm fine now.  Just tell me, did people... really say those things about us?"

"Y-Yes," she said.  

"I can't believe they'd say those things," Adrien said, looking shocked and a little confused.  "It's just... wow.  People can be cruel, I just didn't know they could be THAT cruel."

"Y-Yeah," Marinette said.  "I'm feeling a croissant right now.  You?"

"YES," Adrien said.  "Yes please."

"Don't forget about us," Plagg said, Tikki floating beside him.

"We won't," Marinette replied.  "Let's all go down for a snack.  After today, we all deserve it."

"Yes, yes we do," Tikki said.

Someone else

I was still in chains.  I was beginning to be tired of this... I wanted to be set free.  What was taking them so long!?

"Interesting video," said other me.  "What does this mean?"

"They know who the other one is," said the third voice.  It was deep, menacing.  I was scared of it, while other me seemed to like hearing it very much.

"Follow the direction Ladybug went," the deep voice.  Other me nodded.

We started moving.  Past the school, heading down some streets.  The deep voice told us where we needed to go.

By the time we got there, we were too late.  Ladybug seemed to have vanished.  We were about to leave when-

"Wait!" said the deep voice.  "Look."

We turned and saw it.  

The last bob of a blue-haired head as it retreated inside.

"Good.  That's all we need now," the deep voice said.  Other me nodded, and we left.  I chains tugged against my arms and it hurt.

I don't like this.

WOW this chapter was over 3000 words long.  This was officially the longest chapter I ever wrote.  Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed it!

Anyways, it's getting pretty late here, so I'm gonna go.

Stay tuned for the next update!