Fluff gets boring after awhile.                                                                                           -Colorado

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Paris was in ruin. Ladybug watched as the city, her city, went up in flames. People were crying for her to help on the streets below. She was alone facing the monster. Everyone else had been defeated. Her faithful partner, who she thought she could always count on, never showed. She wasn't sure what the fatality rate was. She didn't want to know. It would be even harder for her to try and fight. She wasn't even sure if her Lucky Charm could repair things. Paris had never seen this much damage before. Ladybug had lost, hadn't she? Things had gone so incredibly wrong. How had things ended up like this?

The day had started out normal. Adrien was absent, but she figured it was just for a photo shoot or something. It certainly wasn't the first time Gabriel Agreste had pulled his son out of class. She had a physics test and had gone out for lunch with Alya and Nino. They had made plans to visit Adrien after school to drop off make-up work, and ask him what he was up to.

Turns out they had never gotten the chance.

Every Parsian would remember what they were doing when the attack started. Her mother had been riding the subway home, her father had just put a loaf of bread in the oven, and Marinette had been in the middle of literature class, discussing Les Mis.

The first attack came as an earthquake spanning across the entirety of Paris. Students quickly sat underneath their desks, as Mme. Bustier ran out of the classroom. Books fell, Marinette saw her balcony begin to crumble from the window. She had never been religious, but she remembered praying that her parents made it out safe.

Suddenly, the earthquake stopped. Marinette saw her father run out of the bakery with the customers. She breathed a sigh of relief as she saw classmates slowly come out of their desks.

Earthquakes in Paris were incredibly rare. Most of them had never experienced one before. It had started as quickly as it stopped. Marinette knew that aftershocks were a thing, and they weren't exactly out of the clear. Yet, none came.

Mme. Bustier came back into the classroom with M. Damocles in tow. She had gone to try and get answers, unfortunately, the principal had none.

"Alright students! I know we just had an exciting earthquake, something that Francois Dupont has never dealt with before, but please try to remain calm." M. Damocles addressed the class. "We are trying our best to find answers for what has happened. Newscasters are still trying to figure-."

"The Agreste mansion collapsed!" Alix, never one for respecting authority, yelled.

It was quiet for a whole second, before the class broke out into chaos.

"WHAT?"

"Is Adrikins okay?"

"Where did you hear that?"

"Are you sure?"

"Is that the cause of the earthquake?"

"What the fuck?"

"Language!"

"What the fuck?"

"Students, please!"

A stampede of 15 people crowded around Alix, who had been looking up different news reports whilst M. Damocles had been talking.

"I repeat:" Nadia Chamack grimaced, looking down at the report. "After an earthquake that hit Paris this afternoon, the Agreste mansion has seemed to crumble to pieces. We are unsure if there are any survivors or who was in the house at the time. We received these pictures from an anonymous source this afternoon." Nadia pulled up photos of a demolished mansion.

The class gasped, Marinette felt tears well up in her eyes. The mansion had been reduced to nothing but rubble. If Adrien had been there, he wouldn't have been able to survive.

'Please, Adrien, please tell me you're still out there.'

"Seismologists are still trying to figure out the cause of the earthquake. It has not been confirmed whether or not this was natural sources or an akuma's doing. Ladybug and Chat Noir are not on the scene, most likely trying to deal with the earthquake themselves." Nadia continued. "That is all we have for now, but we will keep Paris updated as new information comes in. I repeat-."

Alix turned off her phone. A heavy silence weighed over the class. Marinette saw Nino begin to cry into Alya's shoulder. Chloe let hard tears fall down her face, her face affixed into a permanent scowl.

"That asshole!" She shrieked. "Adrien, should be here safe with us. Instead Gabriel Agreste had to pull him out to class and now we don't know if he's dead or alive. What? We're all thinking it! My father will hear about this. I'm going to take Gabriel's ass to court, I-." Chloe let out a sob, running out of the classroom.

"Chloe!" Sabrina followed after her, grabbing both of their bags.

"W-well," Mme. Bustier let out a shaky breath. "Considering recent developments, I think we should all take the rest of today off. Go spend some time with loved ones."

Everyone gathered their stuff, all worried about their missing classmate. Marinette tried to wipe away the tears, but her thoughts kept getting to her.

'Adrien is dead. I never got to tell him how I felt. He's gone and there's nothing I can do. I should've been there as Ladybug. I should've done something, how could I have been so stupid?' Her mind mourned as her heart denied the truth.

Alya grabbed her, pulling both her and Nino into a hug. And then they cried. Right there in Mme. Bustier's classroom, they all began to cry. Marinette felt her legs give out as she sank to the floor, Alya and Nino went with her.

Marinette couldn't recall what her classmates were doing. It didn't seem important. Even the earthquake seemed unimportant now. Because Adrien was gone. Forever.

'No. He can't be gone. He probably wasn't in the house when it happened. Not if there was a shoot or publicity event.' Marinette realized. Adrien wasn't sick, and they hadn't heard from him all day. Which meant he was busy. Which meant that he was doing something for the Gabriel brand, which meant that he was alive.

"Guys. We don't know if he's gone yet." Marinette, poked her head up. "He's probably alive! I mean, he was busy all day because we didn't hear from him, right? A-and they never do shoots in the mansions, so-."

Alya and Nino exchanged a doubtful glance, tears shining in their eyes.

"Marinette..." Alya began

"Don't Marinette me! He can't be gone! He just can't be. I'll show you two." Marinette pulled out of the hug, running to the nearest supply closet.

"Marinette," Tikki whispered, coming out of her purse.

Marinette paid no attention to her, quickly transforming and swinging away.

Adrien was still alive. And Ladybug would find him.

Looking back on it now, she wished that she hadn't. Maybe then Paris wouldn't be going down before her.

But Ladybug two hours ago didn't know what would happen. She had one goal in her mind: to find Adrien and to do that, she had to return to where it began.

The Agreste mansion was unidentifiable. Instead of a proud and tall house, a mountain of rubble awaited Ladybug. She gulped, trying to not cry again. There was no good in sobbing, it wasn't going to get Adrien to safety any faster. Looking at the rubble that surrounded her, reality truly began to sink in.

Something catastrophic had happened here.

People had been in that mansion, people who were now crushed under the rubble. Even if Adrien had made it out safe, had Nathalie, his well-meaning secretary? Had his father, who Ladybug knew he still loved, managed to survive? Had Gorilla?

News reporters and curious civilians had managed to surround the gates, speaking in hushed whispers. Respect for the dead had even affected the most unashamed tabloid writers. When they saw Ladybug drop down on top of the rubble, the crowd fell silent. No one had dared enter the gates, too scared about what they would find.

Ladybug, crazed with grief and desperation, had no such apprehensions.

"Adrien!" She called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "If you're here, please say something! Adrien!"

No answer.

A rescue helicopter hovered over the site, as a team broke through the gates.

"Adrien? Are you here? Adrien?" Ladybug continued as the teams began to sort through the rubble.

"Adrien, are you safe?" A civilian suddenly spoke up.

"Nathalie, are you okay?" A woman with hair similar to the secretary spoke up.

"Gabriel! Where are you?" A news reporter called.

"Adrien! Nathalie! Gabriel!" Ladybug continued to call, scouring the site for any sign of life. The crowd followed her lead. Ladybug had smiled at the scene, so proud of her city for being there to help.

"Adrien! Nathalie! Gabriel!" They continued, and Ladybug dared to walk to the other side of the mansion.

"Adrien! Nathalie! Gabriel! Adri-!" Ladybug felt the call die in her throat as she took in the sight of a figure.

The figure was about as tall as her. She noticed that its hair, arms, and neck seemed to be the color of Paris' apartment buildings. The tan was constantly cracking and shifting, similar to how her balcony had.

"Adrien?" Ladybug whispered, narrowing her eyes.

The figure turned, and Ladybug let out a gasp. The figure had all black eyes.

"Hello, Ladybug." It cooed, a grin coming over its black lips.

"W-who are you?" She took a step back, one hand hovering over her yo-yo.

"You don't have to be scared. I don't want to hurt you." The figure stood, facing her.

She noticed a large circle in the figure's chest with the symbol of cracked earth. Around it were other smaller circles filled with symbols. Ladybug thought one looked like fire, another a volcano, another a blizzard. It seemed like a darker version of Ryuko's circle to control her powers.

The hair and build was the exact same as Adrien's... it was him. It had to be.

"What happened to you, Adrien?" Ladybug heard her voice crack.

"I'm not Adrien, not anymore. I am Disaster." The creature let out a horrible laugh.

"You've been akumatized. Please, let me help." Ladybug begged, taking a cautious step forward.

"Don't worry Ladybug, you can be a great help to me." Adri-Disaster smiled at her, but it only made her feel more unnerved.

"Did you do this?" She asked, trying to keep her voice calm. If Disaster saw that she was scared or defensive, who knows what would happen?

"Do you like it? I think I did a fantastic job." Disaster looked around, still smiling.

"Why?" She grabbed her yo-yo when he wasn't watching.

He hadn't attacked her yet. In fact, he seemed to have no interest in attacking her. But, his smile, his laugh, his unnerving voice was all too familiar to Ladybug.

She had long since stopped trying to forget the sunken Paris, the destroyed moon, the crying boy who had begged for her to make things better. The crying boy that had called her by her true name, who had claimed they had loved each other once upon a time.

Ladybug would not let Disaster become another Chat Blanc. She forbade it. 

"It's what he deserved." Disaster sniffed, his voice low. "He tricked me. He hurt you. He lied about my mother. I'm glad he's dead."

"W-who?" Ladybug gulped, already fearing the answer.

"Hawkmoth. My father." He growled. "That good for nothing sperm donor of mine, and hurt us long enough. It was about time someone took care of him."

"You killed-?" Ladybug began to scream, but she quickly steeled herself at Disaster's hard glare. "You killed your father?"

"I did." He said, shrugging. "And I would do it again, too."

"A-Adrien, that's not right." Ladybug tried to reach out to him, but he smacked her hand away.

"Oh and I suppose being a terrorist is?" Disaster scoffed.

"No! But now that we know who he is, we can bring him to justice! Give me your akumatized object and we'll make everything okay, please Adri-?" Ladybug reached out to him, only to be met with him kicking out her legs from underneath her.

"You want to bring him back!" Disaster howled, tears beginning to fall from his face. "You want to bring back that horrible man who has hurt this city for years! No! You won't bring him back. He's finally gone, I'm finally free!"

"Adrien, please! This isn't right!" Ladybug pleaded.

Disaster's face curled into a disgusted sneer. He began to hover over the rubble. His icon in his chest changed to one of fire.

"I'm not Adrien anymore, Ladybug." He cackled, fire beginning to replace the cracked stucco. "The name is Disaster!" Fire erupted from his hands. "I didn't want to hurt you," his voice oozed with fake sympathy, "but you leave me no choice."

"Adrien, wait!" Ladybug reached out a hand as fire began to surround her.

"Listen to me, Paris! Your perfect golden boy is gone! I killed Hawkmoth for you, and what was your response? You apparently want him back!" Disaster yelled, catching the attention of the news cameras that had been set up. "Well," he chuckled, "I'm afraid that's not happening. But if you want your happy reunion so badly I am more than happy to send you down to him!" Disaster cackled, letting fire cover the streets.

Ladybug grabbed her yo-yo, zipping out of the fire and onto a nearby building. Disaster noticed her escaping, and she braced herself for an attack. Instead, he only smiled at her.

"This is all your fault." He giggled and flew away.

Ladybug stood there, breathing heavily. She slowly got out her yo-yo and began to call Chat Noir. He went to voicemail, and Ladybug choked back a sob.

"Chat, please get to the Agreste mansion soon. I don't know how much you've seen on the news, but please. I need you, mon chaton. I'll explain more when you get here."

Chat Noir never showed up. There were no more part-time heroes. There was only Ladybug.

The police and fire department had tried to tame Disaster, he had defeated them in a flood. The army had gotten out their tanks and weapons. Even bombs couldn't prevent Disaster. He took them out in a blizzard. Ladybug tried to prevent civilians getting involved, but there was no changing their minds. Disaster took them out easily with fire.

With every passing second, Paris looked more and more like the ruined Agreste mansion. Ladybug had managed to get ahold of a TVi to warn civilians. They needed to get out of Paris. The sooner that they left, the better.

The few highways that were still usable were crowded with abandoned cars. It was faster to run out of Paris than to risk being stuck in traffic. Disaster, mercifully, turned his attention away from them. He seemed set on destroying the city, but nothing more.

But how many people didn't make it out in time? How many innocent lives have been lost? How many parents, children, spouses? What about her family? Her friends? Were her mom and dad okay? What about her grandpa? Did Alya and NIno make it out in time?

Where was Chat Noir? No, better question, where the hell was Bunnyx?

She was supposed to be their last resort, right? Well, Paris was burning down before Ladybug! She would consider this pretty last resort! Yet, the time traveling hero remained to be unseen.

Ladybug hadn't realized that Bunnyx had been Disaster's first victim. She had been burned before she could even try to escape.

It was hopeless. No one was coming to save them. The world cowered before Disaster as he continued his rampage. Police, firefighters, the army, they had been nothing. Ladybug had presumably stayed behind to fight, but everyone knew the truth.

There was no chance of winning this one.

So, back to the beginning. Ladybug watched Paris burn before her as civilians tried to escape.

"Get out of here!" Ladybug yelled to the civilians that had formed around her. "If you stay here, you will lose your lives! Is that really what you want? The nearest escape route is two blocks down. Go!"

The crowd got the memo, and began to run. Ladybug sunk down on top of the rooftop. It was the same rooftop that her and Chat Noir had rested on so many times. One with a perfect view of the Eiffel Tower. She choked back a sob. Where was her partner? Where was her city?

Think, she had to think! There had to be something she could do. A cackle interrupted her. She looked up to see disaster setting fire to a nearby building.

"Disaster!" Ladybug shouted, seeing the monster turn at the sound of her voice.

"Ladybug? What are you still doing here?" He momentarily stopped setting fire to Paris. "You should be feeling the city with everyone else, shouldn't you?" He didn't exactly sound angry, more amused. The grin on his face certainly made him seem humored by her.

"I'm staying here." She stood up, crossing her arms. "Paris is my city and I will not abandon it in my time of need."

Disaster stopped, staring at her. He frowned, matching her stance. He seemed to be debating something, before he finally shrugged and turned away.

"Then you will die here." He said, starting to set fire to the building she was on.

"So be it." She stared at him, never looking away from his eyes. They were soulless black pits. Her Adrien, her loving and kind Adrien was gone.

"Not so lucky now, are you?" He giggled, smirking.

Ladybug blinked, his words catching her off guard. It hit her like a sack of bricks what she needed to do. How could she have not seen it before? How could she have forgotten?

Despite herself, she began to laugh.

"W-what are you doing?" Disaster took a cautious step back in mid-air. "Why are you laughing? Why aren't you cowering? Or escaping? Ladybug, you're about to die!"

"Because, Disaster," Ladybug continued to laugh. "You have just reminded me why I never lose. And why I certainly won't lose today."

"Wha-?"

"Lucky charm!" 

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:)