After school was almost the same. Adrien had fencing practice and Marinette had to go show another design with their father. By the end of fencing practice, Adrien joined Marinette at Le Grand Paris, where he met with other various designers and had dinner.

Dinner seemed especially lean today, Adrien could feel Nathalie's eyes on the two of them. Did she knew they cheated their diets? Either way, Nathalie remained silent as they ate.

Once they got home, Marinette stalled, as much as she could. "How did you know about that bakery?" She asked, catching him by surprise.

"I've always seen it and I tried their food once when Nino had brought some for Alya." He didn't like to lie to her, but there was no other alternative.

"Remember when I said that I was having some sort of identity crisis dreams? That lady, the one who helped us at the bakery? I see her often, it's weird." Adrien looked down at her.

"That is weird, but then again, she is a really nice lady. I wouldn't mind if she showed up in my dreams either."

"Adrien? Do you think Mom will ever come home?" Adrien froze.

"Mom?"

"She left when we were six almost... She hasn't come back. You think that's why I dreamt of the lady?" Adrien didn't know what to think. SHe knew his mother too. Even in this world, she's gone. Even with an adopted daughter, she - "Adrien?"

"I think... It's time for you to go to bed, Mari." He spoke softly, leaning closer to her and leaving a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Good night." She was hesitant but murmured a good night.

Adrien laid in his bed, his thoughts jumbled, regarding his mother. What was the purpose of her leaving? Why would she leave them at such a small age? With a father that works them to the bone without rest, where is she to take care of them?

Maybe she had her own reasons. Maybe she left a note. Who knows but Adrien had no right to be so selfish towards his mother like that.

Adrien pulled out his phone, going into his photo gallery. There were unfamiliar albums, some that had covers of them, then group photos. He continued scrolling until he reached the album titled "Agreste's".

Pictures, formal pictures of him, picture previews of Marinette and him, old photographs of his father and his mama. He scrolled through the pictures of him and his mama, her blonde hair that cascaded over her shoulder and her beautiful smile and green eyes.

"You'd think she would be here." Adrien glanced over his shoulder, seeing the black kwami floating over his shoulder. "A world was created and altered. Marinette became your sister. Tikki did that so you could protect her but perhaps she could only change so much."

"I'm grateful Tikki did this. However, it still makes me question... Why? How did this happen? What happened that Mama Cheng said, 'If I had my daughter'?" Adrien went to his window, looking out at the night sky.

"Are we going out tonight?" Plagg asked, following behind Adrien.

"The outside world is a little more fun now. Why don''t we go stir up some trouble?" Plagg's tail swished slightly as Adrien shook his head.

"You enjoy this, don't you?"

"It's been centuries since I've been the 'bad guy'. It brings back memories." Adrien rolled his eyes.

"Memories of almost killing of an entire civilization in the 14th century?" Plagg gave a knowing smile. "Plagg, transform me."

The night was much more cooler than the day had been. Chat Noir vaulted across the cloudless sky, from roof to roof, towards the Eiffel Tower. He stood at the top, taking in the whole city.

"It's not the same without her here." He thought out loud.

"The nights have gotten colder without her." Plagg added.

"Lovesick, are we?"

"I could say the same to you." Adrien wouldn't deny it; he was lovesick. Between Marinette and Adrien, there was love, but it was different. Different and taboo to do. However, Chat Noir was a different issue. Adrien didn't seem to have a red string. Chat Noir's red string was still tied to Marinette. She didn't know they were the same person, but she despised him.

"How am I supposed to contact her? Will I have to yank my arm out of my suit every time?" Chat asked.

"Due to the situation, I have enhanced the suit. If you press your index claw to your arm once, the suit will register what you're writing and send the message." Interested, Chat decided to test out the new feature. He pointed his index finger to his forearm and pressed down gently. The tip of the claw glowed a soft green.

"Ooh, this is cool."

"That will be one wheel, please."

"When we get home." Chat began to write on his arm.

"Good evening princess." Chat wrote. He watched the ink and how it cleared, before a pink writing started to replace it.

"You've reached the forearm of Marinette Agreste. I'm currently asleep right now, so please leave a message after the ellipses ..." Chat chuckled, swiping his arm.

"Expect a visitor tonight." Marinette groaned. As desperate as she was to know what he had to say, she was tired. She wanted to sleep.

"Do you have to?"

"Would you rather remain clueless with strange, questionable dreams?"

"..."

"Well?"

"..." Marinette sighed. "Very well."

"See you soon." There was a stop Adrien wanted to make first, before seeing Marinette.

Chat Noir made another stop to the Dupain-Cheng residence, slipping through the trap door and into the old room. As much as he hated to snoop, and much to Plagg's teasing, Chat had to open a few boxes.

Scrapbooks. The dates went back several years, almost all of them were older than him. He picked the oldest one up, flipping through it.

"Isn't that Marinette?" Chat's ears twitched and he smiled sadly. A teenage girl, shoulder length blue hair tied in pigtails with ribbons. Her cheeks were fuller and the smile was different.

"That's Sabine, Plagg." It was mostly all in Mandarin but it wasn't hard for him to read. A couple diary entries and many photographs of travels.

Flipping through the photographs, Chat put that down and picked up another, a red scrapbook with a small Eiffel Tower on the cover. He flipped through it, finding travels to France and other countries, but it seemed like Paris was a frequently visited city.

"There's a journal entry." Chat skimmed through it.

"There was a popular bakery that had just opened when we visited. There was a boy, who was running around with a sack of flour and he bumped into me, covering me in it. He was very apologetic and very kind. It was hard to talk with him however, since all he spoke was French and I could barely understand. We had bad translation sessions, but they were nonetheless enjoyable.

His name was Tom Dupain. We had become good friends, but it was sad when I had to go. We exchanged addresses and we often wrote to each other. His handwriting was always a mess and the stationary always had a distant smell of pastry and gingerbread, but his messages were always sweet.

Every year, when we would come to Paris, he would welcome me with open arms with more Mandarin. And I with more French.

"So that's how they met."

"Who wouldn't fall for the baker's child? You did." Plagg mused.

"Can you blame me? But I guess now I see where she gets her clumsiness from." Chat shook his head with a chuckle. "Oh Mari." He sighed.

"We should get going, loverboy. You don't want to overextend our stay." Chat nodded, saving his place for later and put the scrapbook back.

As he maneuvered around the boxes, he banged his knee on a large box. Chat muffled his curse as the box knocked over. He quickly tossed everything inside the box and was quick to slip out before he was caught.

"So much for stealth." Chat rolled his eyes, making his way back home.

Marinette had been pacing for hours. "'Expect a visitor'. 'Expect a visitor', he said. I've been waiting for almost an hour. You'd think even a criminal would have some class." She huffed, sitting down on her bed. "Maybe if I turn off the lights and pretend to be asleep, he'll stay out." She wondered out loud, but she spoke to soon.

There was a gentle tap on her window and it opened. The black leather figure landed on his feet with a gentle thud. Marinette glared at him and he smirked, bowing formally.

"Good evening, my lady."

"You're late." She snapped. Chat straightened, walking across the room to her.

"Aw, did you stay up, waiting for me?" He questioned playfully and Marinette rolled her eyes.

"You said 'expect a visitor', so I was expecting you promptly." Chat sat on her computer desk chair, spinning in it several times before facing her.

"I'll keep that in mind next time. Time management is key for an Agreste after all, and I must make you first priority before doing my crimes." Marinette crossed her arms.

"Don't sass me."

"Don't test me." Chat smiled and Marinette puffed her cheeks.

"So. Did I 'behave' today?" She asked, messing with her duvet cover.

"Besides being an 'obese black cat', you did." She cringed.

"So you hear that?" Chat chuckled.

"I told you, I've got eyes on you." She let out a huff. "Your dreams. They do mean something." Marinette came closer to the edge of her bed.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Chat stared at her for some moments before letting out a sigh.

"Whatever I tell you, it may sound ridiculous but It's up to you on whether you want to believe me or not." She leaned back slightly, blinking.

"You're not going to lie to me, are you?" She asked.

"I understand your doubts and concerns. As a criminal, I wouldn't believe myself if I were you, but Marinette Agreste, I will not lie to you." She didn't know whether to take his word or not. He extended his hand to her and she leaned further away. "I'll shake on it. Trust me, Marinette." She started at him longer, more at his hand. After a couple more moments, she leaned forward and took his hand.

Chat's grip was firm and reassuring. Marinette felt as if she had felt this hand before, she felt as if she has known this person for years of her life. Ironically, she felt safe in the hands of this person. Like she could trust him.

Chat let go of her hand and she could feel the spark disappear. Chat ran his hand through his hair and settled into the chair, Marinette grabbing a pillow to hug, to distract herself from staring at him.

"Your dreams. What do they revolve around?" Marinette fixed her hair behind her ear, looking down into her lap.

"There's spots. Black and red, almost like a... Like a ladybug. And... The Parisian night skies." The dreams started coming back to her. It felt like she was flying through the starry skies, standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower, looking down at the city of Paris.

"Mari?" The voice was too familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it, but it snapped her out of her reverie and looked at him.

"You can't call me that. Only my brother can call me that." Chat rose his hands up in apology.

"Sorry." He could hear Plagg snickering in the back of his head. "You were saying?"

"Oh. There's a ladybug thing, nightly escapades, the thrill of flying through the night..." Her voice trailed off as she looked towards her window. Chat rubbed his thumb against the bottom of his ring, processing her dreams.

"Marinette, do you know of the Miraculous?" She turned to look at him.

"The Miraculous are magical jewels that grant the wielder a specific power. Papillon has the power to create heroes. You, Chat Noir, have the power of destruction." Chat blinked.

"How do you know all of this?"

"My papa had a book on it in his library, but the book disappeared." His mind flashed back to a memory of a couple years ago, finding a book of the Miraculous in his father's safe, behind his mother's painting.

"Do you know that there's another half to the Miraculous of Destruction?" Marinette shook her head. "The Miraculous of Creation. The jewels were earrings and the heroine, she... She was known as Ladybug." Marinette sense the change in him. He propped himself on his knees, avoiding her gaze. His ears drooped slightly and his tail was lifeless. Somewhere, deep in her chest, she felt an ache.

"What happened to Ladybug?" She asked, softer than she wanted to. His ears twitched.

"Before I go into this explanation, I have to break something to you." She straightened.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I'm... I'm not going to ask you to believe me, but I want you to keep an open mind about what I'm going to tell you." Marinette fidgeted under his serious gaze but gave a curt nod. "This... This world that we live in? It's not real. It's a creation made by Papillon. To be blunt, we are living in an alternate universe."

"Alternate universe?" She repeated. Chat nodded. "And how... How did you come up with that idea?"

"I'm not crazy, I swear." Marinette stared at him before letting out a long sigh.

"Go on, Chat." He smiled warmly.

"In our world... Ladybug and Chat Noir were the heroes of Paris. Paris didn't know it needed heroes until Papillon showed, creating akumas of off evil emotions in search for the other Miraculous. When the Miraculous of Creation and Destruction are joined, the wielder gains an immense power... That's what Papillon is after."

"So how did Papillon get ahold of the Miraculous of Creation?"

"An akuma went to some cathedral. Ladybug and I, we were trying to handle it but she had have to been one of the toughest akumas we've faced. The cathedral started to be destroyed and we were distracted... She was thrown out the cathedral while I was trapped inside. I believe Treble Maker got to her and took her earrings."

"And this 'Treble Maker', she took them to Papillon?" He nodded.

"With... With the power of the Miraculous of Creation and Champions, he created a whole different world... Where Ladybug doesn't exist and I'm the bad guy." He couldn't look up at her – he could feel his chest constricting and his eyes watering.

"You... You seem to have been close to Ladybug." Marinette hid half of her face behind the pillow. She was showing sympathy. She didn't want to, not to this guy, but her chest was aching. Chat let out a painful chuckle, looking at the hand with the black ring.

"She was my other half. She was my red end." He whispered and Marinette remained quiet.

"Wait... If I'm the end of your red string... Does this mean... I was Ladybug?" She gripped her pillow tightly.

"Kid..." Chat clenched his fist, taking in a deep breath and letting out a shaky sigh.

"No, you weren't Ladybug."