The ink glowed, almost ominously on his arm.

"My room. Once the lights go out." If Chat Noir hadn't known better, he'd be excited to receive a message like this. However. He knew the reasons behind her words – to continue their argument from earlier.

Adrien had just bid Marinette a good night and this was the message that awaited him on the other side of his door. He simply rolled his eyes and went to take a shower.

It had nearly been half an hour and Adrien was dried, dressed and ready for bed. "Are you ready?" He looked towards Plagg. He was sitting on Adrien's pillow, munching on a chunk of camembert. Usually, Adrien would say something about him eating on his pillow, but he couldn't.

Instead, he carefully picked up the kwami, holding him to his chest. "Plagg, I'm sorry. I went too far last night. The kwami was caught off guard, until he sighed.

"I'm sorry too. Things have been tough for the both of us. However, I don't necessarily forgive you for what you said..." his voice trailed off, looking up at Adrien. "I was proud of you today. You are one of the first Chats to ever do anything without a Ladybug." He put a small paw to Adrien's shirt and Adrien smiled softly.

"Are you complimenting me?" He sang, poking the top of Plagg's head gently with a finger. Plagg huffed and swatted his finger away.

"I didn't mean anything I said." He floated out of Adrien's hand with his tiny arms crossed. Adrien chuckled.

"'I was proud of you today'." Adrien tried to imitate the cat's voice. Plagg hissed at him and Adrien laughed, scooping the kwami back to his chest. "But really, thank you Plagg, thank you for believing in me. Chat Noir is not a sidekick, he's a hero, too. He's just as important as Ladybug." Plagg remained silent and Adrien continued to hold him until the kwami began to purr. Adrien pulled him away slightly, petting him gently.

"Yeah, yeah." He moved out from under Adrien's finger. "Come on, someone is waiting for you across the hall." Adrien nodded.

"Plagg, transform me."

Despite the lights being off, she was sitting on the sofa, her legs crossed and her arms against her chest. Marinette shone peacefully and beautifully in the moonlight, but Chat Noir could tell that she was like a bomb waiting to go off.

"Good evening, princess." He started as he slowly slinked into the bedroom.

"Don't 'princess' me." She snapped. She hasn't looked up at him once.

"Then don't put yourself in dangerous situations and stay away from akuma attacks." Her head snapped to him, a glare in her eyes.

"Oh, but you can?"

"I have a suit, Marinette."

"Is it indestructible?"

"I've yet to find out." She stood.

"So just because you have some fancy leather suit that may or may not be indestructible, you think that means you have the right to gallivant all around Paris?"

"Yes. There's magic in my suit, meanwhile, you're just limited to your skin."

"So if you get injured, does that mean those get healed right away?"

"Usually, but it's mostly with the aid of Lady-"

"Then stop being an idiot Chat Noir! Don't be so reckless! Ladybug doesn't exist!" She shouted at him while he blinked in disbelief. "She's not here to save you, she's not here to heal you, she's not-" Chat grabbed her wrist and pulled her in. His hand grabbed her chin and tilted her up, leaning in to silence her.

It was only momentary, but god, did he miss her. He wanted to cradle her, kissed her until she turned blue, but the moment was only so short lived. She pulled away out of his grasp quickly, her hand crossing his cheek.

It stung and she took a couple steps back, trying to regain her breathing. "Whether you know it or not, I've been doing this for many years, Marinette. I'm not the stupid kitten you take me for!" His voice rose only slightly and she could feel the sting on her own cheek. "If that's all you have to say, I'll be leaving for the night." He turned, without looking at her.

"C-Chat, wait!" She called as he went to her window and leaped up, before disappearing into the dark skies without a glance back.

The cool wind was welcoming to his heated face. His fists were clenched, his claws digging into his palms as he jumped from roof to roof until he arrived at the park. "Kid, are you okay?" Plagg asked. Chat Noir remained silent, if his suit really wasn't indestructible, his claws would be digging into his flesh.

They both pushed it – her with Ladybug and him with that kiss. Marinette was right. She usually always was right, but the only thing was that Adrien didn't want to admit it. At least, not at that moment. Chat Noir arrived at the park, bringing up dust on the floor. He kicked some left of debris from Sparkle's candy cage. Was it an understatement to say that he was mad?

"Cataclysm!" The urge to destroy, to utterly abolish something and have it turn into ashes grew.

"Adrien, settle down, I get it, you're shaken up." Plagg had to dance around Adrien. Those dark clouds around him were word sensitive.

The rustic magic itched at Chat's paw and he quickly looked around, his eyes scanning the area for something to destroy. A tree? A trash bin? A light post. His nails swiped at a nearby lamppost, the metal rusting and snapping in half. A quarter of the part was now enshrouded in darkness as he tried to regain his breathing.

It wasn't until a familiar beeping that Plagg spoke up. "Better?" Chat sighed, laying down on one of the benches that was shrouded in the dark.

"Detransform me." A small flash of green revealed Adrien in his pajamas. It was chillier at night, but the last place Adrien wanted to be was in the confines of his room. "I'm sorry Plagg."

"We're all on edge." He didn't know the extent of Marinette's condition, but he could only assume that her dreams stressed her out. That and the so-called "criminal" that was visiting her often.

Adrien laid an arm over his eyes, taking slow breaths. He felt the familiar pressure on his arm and he sighed tiredly. "'Chat, I'm sorry.'" Plagg read. "'You're right, you're not some dumb kitten, I just-'" Adrien cut Plagg off, swiping the writing off his arm. Plagg sat on Adrien's chest, looking up at the boy expectantly.

"Is it wrong to ask for a break? Is that so much to ask for?" Plagg nodded silently, looking back as more writing appeared on his arm.

"'Please, where are you?''' Another wipe. ""Chat, would you listen-'" Swipe.

"Where-"

"I'm sor-"

"Please-"

"She really seems like she wants to apologize." Plagg looked up at Adrien as he continued swiping at his arm mercilessly. "She can probably feel the ache you're feeling."

"Good," Adrien laid back down sighing. Silence. Nothing was heard, except for the paired breathing, in the distance, the sound of a flying airplane and the rustling of the trees in the wind. "Maybe with that, she can know how I feel."

It was far away, but there was the sound of music. It was bell-link, kind of like a music box or a wind up box. Adrien glanced down at Plagg, whose ears twitched as they picked up the sound. Except for the couple of night owls who liked to walk around the Parisian streets, music was definitely out of the ordinary.

"Adrien.." Plagg started. Adrien sat up, looking down at the new writing that appeared on his arm.

"Akuma."

"Oh, what now?" He sighed exasperated, confirming Plagg's and his own suspicions. Not only that, but if she was the one to confirm the akuma, it meant that she was out there with it. "Transform me."

Hopping over rooftops, Chat Noir quickly made it to the source of the music. It was in the school court yard. Lights shone towards the middle of the courtyard, shining down on a figure standing in the center. Black loafers, black dress pants, a red vest with one blue and one yellow coattail, with a frilly dress shirt peeking from the vest. And to top it all off, a black top hat. In his hands, he was winding a small, black music box.

The song that played was a sorrowful one and it felt like this akuma was more saddened than it was angered. "Chat Noir." The cat felt chills down his spine from his hiding spot in the shadows. "I ask for the Miraculous of Destruction. Please hand it to me, before I destroy the school."

"Uh, how about we don't destroy the school?" Chat felt writing on his arm.

"He's a toy maker." Was she here? The akuma turned to the source of Chat's voice.

"Won't you please donate to my toy drive? A boy like you doesn't know how to handle a toy like that." Toy drive? His ears twitched as he heard something scratching the metal roofing behind him. He turned to the sound and his nose could faintly pick up the smell of wood.

"It's a puppet." The writing on his arm made him stand as the sounds of creaking, wooden joints filled his ears. He stepped back as a faceless, creepy wood puppet started limping towards him. Many more wooden puppets started to climb up the walls of the school, going to him.

"My name is Charpentier. If you don't donate to my toy drive, I have no choice other than to have my lovely puppets to remove them off your finger." Chat could hear the tinkle of the music box go faster and he noticed that the puppets started moving at a faster pace too.

Jumping off the roof and down into the corridor of the second story, Chat tried any of the doors, so he could find some temporary solace to think of a plan. To Chat's misfortune, all the doors were locked. He cursed under his breath, until he saw a door ajar down the hall. He rushed for the door, quickly, but silently closing the door behind him. He held his breath as he heard the puppets creaking and scratching past.

He breathed out, his night vision adjusting to the darkness. He found himself in the library. He stood, when he heard some shuffling come close beside him. Chat Noir spun his baton and took a step back, pointing it to whatever was in there with him. When his eyes settled on the figure, he let out a loud sigh.

"Good lord, Mari-" He brought his baton down. "What in the world you doing here?" There was silence as he whispered harshly at her, until she hit him upside the head. "Mari, ow!"

"You kept erasing messages!"

"Yeah, because maybe you were the last person I wanted to hear from right now?" He rubbed his head. "And what are you doing here, putting yourself in danger. You really don't care what happens to you, don't you?" Marinette shushed him. She was wearing a coat over her sleepwear, pants instead of her usual shorts.

"The... Akuma. It's the music box." Chat Noir blinked. "How did Ladybug do the thing?" He stared at her until she rose her eyebrow in expectation.

"Well, what we used to do, is that we would get the item with the akuma and destroy it. Ladybug would purify the akuma and with her magic, bring everyday back to normal." She nodded.

"Can you purify?"

"I'm the Miraculous of Destruction, what do you think?" He deadpanned.

"Okay, so then we can't break his music box to get the akuma out." She sighed, tapping her fingers to her chin thoughtfully. "How did you get Sparkle's akuma to come out?" Chat's mind fluttered to the small child from earlier that day.

"Well, I just thought how I would deal with a child – you either fix the problem or let the child run its tantrum."

"And the tantrum is what we want to avoid." Chat nodded.

"You said that Charpentier was a toy maker? How do you know?" She shrugged slightly.

"As I went out looking for you, I saw something that wasn't you, cross the sky. I followed it and I saw something that wasn't you, cross the sky. I followed it and I saw it stop in front of the park." She silenced as she heard a puppet drag by. "I saw it enter the park and stood in front of the fountain. There was a box. It was a while as he stared down at it and started to destroy the box and left. Once I saw him head towards the school, I went to see what it was."

"It came to the park?" Maybe it was when he was roaming around Paris in a ball of fury.

"Well, I went to the destroyed box and I saw a flyer that made it through. IT was for a toy drive. Advertisement must have not gone well, so nobody donated." Chat hummed.

"Then I know what we have to do." He looked around the library, then at Marinette. "How good are you at arts and crafts?"

"Is that a serious question?" Chat smiled.

"Then find some paper and start working on some fliers." He stood, looking down at her. "We're going to advertise a toy drive for tomorrow." She stood with a nod.

"Wait, what are you going to do while I make the fliers? " Chat pressed his ear against the door, listening for movement.

"I'm going to try and lead Charpentier away from the school." He glanced over at her. "Write to me when you're done." He pointed his finger to his arm.

"I will." He motioned for her to hide and when she did, he opened the door and closed it behind him.

"Charpentier! I think you're barking up the wrong tree. Why don't we move this puppet show elsewhere?" The akuma turned, the music from the box coming to a halt.

"I don't appreciate this while cat chase you have me doing, Chat Noir." Charpentier spoke up. Chat beamed, using his baton to extend to the school rooftop.

"Too bad, this cat chase isn't over yet." He vaulted to another rooftop, beckoning Charpentier and his puppets to follow. His ears picked up the sounds of the creaking puppets, followed by the chimes of the music box.

They were creepy things, but if he was able to keep up a good speed, they shouldn't' be able to catch up. Chat made his way to the park, hiding in one of the trees. He saw Charpentier's figure stop before the fountain, staring down at the destroyed donation box. He stepped on the rubble, his gaze rising and looking around for the black cat.

"Come out, come out, where ever you are, cat." He called. The puppets crawled all over the park, looking like creepy wooden spiders.

One puppet started to crawl up his tree and with his baton, he hit it in the face. The puppet fell to the ground, clattering. All the other puppets turned to him and he groaned, cursing under his breath. The rest of the puppets started to gather at the base of Chat's tree, slowly clawing their way up.

Chat Noir started knocking them down with baton and even kicking them off, but there was too many. He started hopping from tree to tree, hitting as many puppets as he could. Most puppets missed the jumps, falling to the ground noisily. After enough dodging, all puppets were on the ground, lifeless.

Chat stood on the other side of the fountain, looking at Charpentier in pants. "Looks... Looks like the show's over." The man laughed, tucking his music box under his arm. He reached for his hat, pulling out a tube. Out of the tube was a cylinder with little bumps all over it, switching it out with a similar one from the music box.

"This is only the interlude," He closed the tube and put his hat back on, starting to turn the music box. "Not it's time for act two." He started to play his new melody, it was more eerie and a made a shiver go down Chat's back. The puppets that were scatted around the park started to tremble, disfiguring and changing into spider-like figures.

"Oh, sugar honey iced tea." He started to run for it. The puppets started crawling to him quickly and creepily, making him shudder. "Any time now, Mari..." Chat whispered under his breath as he vaulted up to a roof.

"Done." He sighed loudly in relief as she sent him the message just in time. He started heading for the school, the spider puppets following him in a nightmarish manner and he tried not to look back at them. "Open window and door."

"Perfect, a way in and out." Chat Noir tumbled in through the window, his eyes adjusting to the darkness quickly. Marinette came to him, her coat peeled off and somewhere in the library.

"There should be more than enough to spread around Paris." He nodded and took the fliers, heading towards the door.

"Thanks princess – now, hide." She quickly hid deeper into the library and Chat Noir headed out to the courtyard, finding some puppets waiting for him below. Holding the papers close to his chest, he vaulted towards the Eiffel Tower.

The puppets scrambled after Chat, his ears picking up the eerie tone of Charpentier glowing close. He started to climb the Eiffel Tower, occasionally letting go of a couple fliers. The higher up he went, the more turbulent the winds grew. The more turbulent the wind was, the more air the fliers got.

Chat Noir got to the top of the tower and tossed the fliers up into the air, the wind picking them up. Marinette came out of her hiding spot when she could no longer hear Charpentier's tune or his puppets. She went to the open window and saw as Chat released the fliers. It looked like snow, scattering all around the tower, sheets dancing in the wind across the city.

Chat could hear the tune creeping up on him, the clamoring of the puppets, until both abruptly stopped. He slid down the tower until he found Charpentier, holding a flyer in his hands.

"What's this?" Chat put an elbow on his shoulder, pointing to the flyer.

"That's the toy drive we're hosting tomorrow."