The feelings and the melody. Nothing could separate the other when it comes to making beautiful music. Anger, anguish, happiness, greed, and all kinds of emotions inspire form in many ways. 

Gwen closed her eyes as she sat in the lonesome band room in school. She gripped her sticks as she beat the bass drum with her foot. Raising her sticks, she brought them down and gave a few beats on the floor tom-tom and the high tom-tom. She hardly recalls how MJ's songs went back in the old days. 

The adrenaline when the cold air from the smoke screen fills the stage. The girls grinning from ear to ear at her and signaling her to beat the drums. Gwen missed that. Skipping out on band practice to save people put some distance between her and her friends, especially with MJ who she would argue the most. 

Gwen didn't realize how her arms automatically beat on the drums, gathering the sweat on her head and strain in her arms. She grinned as she beat them and beat them, remembering clearly the loud screams from their fans. 

Their chants and posters. Their constant fights in the crowd would make her play more based on the fights. 

"You came back."

"...Of course, sorry about the other day."

Gwen grinned, grabbing his hand as she made him look through the curtains. Seeing all the smiles from the crowd made her more excited. Now that he's here to see her. She looked down at him, seeing him staring at the crowd too but she noticed the faint blaze burning from his iris behind his broken glasses. 

"I..." he started, slowly turning around to face her. He gulped, looking at her closely. Every single moment drawn to her made his lung collapse, making him clench his fists. 

"Gwen, I..."

Gwen frowned, making him stop. He looked down at the ground before shaking his head, looking up at her, and grabbing her hands in determination. "Wait for me. I will make it right, I promise."

Gwen stopped, her stick leaning on the high toms as her hand trembled. She slowly dropped her hands to her sides, seeing how empty the music room is. Her eyes dimmed as she realized something. 

That day is getting close. 

Gwen sighed, wiping away the stray tears and putting away the sticks before grabbing her bag. She turned to leave when some clapping made her look to the door, surprised to see Adrien and Kagami at the door. 

"Omen? Kagami? Is your practice over?" Gwen frowned, shrugging her bag to her shoulder. 

Adrien smiled, "There's band practice and thought we should go too. I couldn't help but hear the drumset earlier. I didn't know you were so good, Gwendy."

Gwen chuckled, rubbing her nape. "Thanks. Wait, I thought you guys have fencing classes."

"We do," Kagami deadpanned. "But we're not going."

Gwen's eyes widened for a second but later raised a brow at Adrien who chuckled nervously. She shrugged and walked out with the others following. She couldn't help but look back, seeing them talk comfortably with each other. She sadly smiled, looking forward and heading to Luka's place. 

🕸🕷🕸

They stepped out of the car and walked to the houseboat. Adrien walked ahead and gave a helping hand to the girls. Kagami gladly gave him her bag but Gwen decided to keep hers while teasing him that she never saw him being such a gentleman but they both started playfully arguing with each other. 

They noticed there was nobody on deck and decided to walk to the band room. They all saw everyone there and also noticed Marinette comfortably talking with Luka while playing the guitar with him. 

"They're so cute together," Mylène awed at Marinette and Luka as she sat on the sofa with Alix and Alya. 

"So true," Alix smiled. 

"Sure are," Alya agreed. 

"You think?" Adrien asked, making the girls flinch and turn to the three. 

"I agree. That boy and your friend seem to get along very well," Kagami spoke next to Adrien. 

"Marinette seems relaxed, that's nice," Gwen smiled, crossing her arms to her friends. 

"Adrien! Kagami! Gwen!" Alya's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Your father let you out?!" Alix turned to Adrien and later turned to Gwen. "And since when did you have today off?"

"I got my paycheck today," Gwen shrugged. "I decided to leave early and just hang around before they bumped into me," she pointed to Adrien and Kagami. 

Adrien nodded, "We're officially at fencing practice right now, but–oh no, Kagami. Isn't this the wrong address?" 

"Oh, dear, I think you're right," they both chuckled as Gwen sweatdropped at them. She walked over to Alix and sat next to her on the floor. 

Not far from them, Marinette sadly frowned at how easily Adrien laughed with Kagami. Luka took notice of this and smiled, "It's a good thing Adrien's found someone he can get out of the house when Gwen's not around."

Marinette turned to Gwen, seeing her casually talking with Alix. How can the girl be relaxed when Adrien's having fun with Kagami? Doesn't this upset her?

Marinette gasped as Adrien turned to them and waved. Marinette looked down and moved away from Luka, removing the guitar strap and handing it to him, grabbing the tray with drinks, and walking towards them. 

"Hi, Adrien. It's cool you couldn't come alone. Oh–I mean, you came with someone," Marinette stammered before turning to Kagami. "Hey Kagamoo–Ah, Kamoogi–Uh! Kagami"

"Nice to see you too, Marinette," Kagami nodded. "Have you come to watch your boyfriend rehearse?"

Marinette's eyes widened as everyone quietened down and turned to her for her response. She grew nervous as she didn't know what to say as she's been put on the spot and turned to Gwen. 

"I will not be your second choice!" a voice muffled from the top deck.

"But you've always been my muse, please!" another voice shouted back.

They stopped as they heard shouting from the top deck. Everyone stepped out to see what was going on while Luka walked over to Gwen, wrapping an arm over her shoulder. 

"Hey, I haven't seen you in a while. I'm hurt," he teased while Gwen chuckled, shaking her head. "My mind's been going everywhere. Sorry, I couldn't see you more often."

"It's fine," Luka smiled as they both walked up the stairs, oblivious to Adrien's stare at them. 

They walked up only to be met with Anarka arguing with Jagged Stone. They could only blink as Jagged brought his piano on top of his bus as he played music in the background and tried to reason with Anarka.  

"You know perfectly well you were my first choice. You're the only one, Nanarky," Jagged tried, making Luka's and Juleka's eyes widen in disbelief. 

"Nanarky?" they frowned. 

"You can't fool me, pirate," Anarka glared at him. "I bet you threw your guitarist overboard again!"

"No, I swear, I didn't. She sailed away from me, she left me in the lurch!" Jagged looked away in despair but stopped as Anarka wasn't buying his crap. 

Jagged, instead, pulled out an album, and showed it to them. The cover consisted of Jagged and Anarka playing their guitars while wearing masks. Gwen hummed, hearing that album once. "Look how perfect we were together. Come back and play with me, Nanarky," he blew her a kiss. 

"Jagged and our mom?" Juleka and Luka turned to each other confused. Anarka blissfully smiled at the memories but stopped and turned to her children, shaking the thought away, and turned to Jagged with a glare again. 

"We're not co-captains anymore. I sail alone now, skipper!" she stormed off as Jagged now sadly played a sad song, disappointed to not be heard. 

He instantly put up happy music as soon as he saw Marinette with the group. "Marinette! You're here! The awesome designer of these rock 'n' roll shades of mine. I'm sure you can help me. I need a guitarist like yesterday. Do you play guitar?"

Marinette blinked, surprised by his mood swing. "Me? Guitar? I-I can play a few notes on the flute, but I don't think.."

Marinette grimaced as Jagged started playing sad music, now making her feel bad. She felt a hand on her shoulder, seeing Alya nodding in Luka's direction. Marinette turned to see Luka standing beside Gwen but Adrien stood between them and converse with Gwen. 

"No wait, Jagged," Marinette grinned. "I know the perfect musician!" 

Jagged started playing happy music again, excited for Marinette's friend. "Really? You rock, Marinette!"

Marinette walked over and pointed to Adrien. "I'm sure you know Adrien Agreste. He's the cutest–uh–the greatest model–I mean, musician in the world!"

Everyone gasped as Gwen sweatdropped. She didn't know Adrien could play the guitar. 

Adrien nervously rubbed his nape, "Well, I know a few chords, but I'm more of a pianist actually."

Jagged frowned, looking at Adrien. The boy has no edge at all. He turned to the rest of the group, looking at Gwen and Luka. "Uh, okay, you sure? How about that young dude or that young lady with awesome shirts? Don't you think they're better equipped for the job?"

Marinette turned to Gwen and Luka and smiled brightly. "Of course! You're right, Jagged! Luka can let Adrien borrow his guitar and Gwen can teach him to play, can you guys do that?" she turned to Luka and Gwen. 

Gwen sweatdropped at the girl. Just what was she doing? She hasn't played guitar in a while. She basically learned from Theytube or from Betty. 

"If you like, Marinette," Luka smiled at the girl, handing his guitar to Adrien. "Put it to good use, Adrien."

"I'll do my best, thanks," Adrien smiled. 

Gwen's senses flared, making her eyes widen as someone landed on the Liberty sign on the houseboat. 

"Jagged Stone!" an akumatized lady shouted, glaring at the musician. "So you fire me and now you want to replace me with what? A school kid?"

Kagami raised her arm as she protected Adrien while Gwen looked around, assessing the situation. 

"Vivica?" Jagged Stone frowned. "Is that you?"

"There's no more Vivica! There's only Desperada now. If I can't be your guitarist anymore, I'm going to make sure nobody can!" Desperada pulled out her gun-trumpet and aimed at Adrien. Before she can pull the trigger, Anarka stormed out to face Jagged. 

"Ah ha! You ship rat! I knew you were lying. Vivica didn't leave you. You dropped her just like you would drop me before!" Anarka fumed, glaring at the man while Jagged groaned, turning away. 

"What?!" Desperada turned to Jagged in pure disbelief. "You were thinking of replacing me with her?!"

"Hey!" Anarka now aimed her glare at the villain. "I'm much better guitarist than you, and I was his first choice!"

"In that case, you'll be my first choice too!" Desperada jumped and fired her gun-trumpet at her. Anarka poofed as she now appeared on Desperadas' guitar case. "I never miss a musical note. Vivica always hits her targets!"

Gwen instantly reached out, grabbing Kagami's wrist and pulling her to Adrien before the girl could act. Kagami gasped, turning to Gwen but the girl gave her a sterned glare. Desperada noticed the shift and turned to them, aiming her trumpet at them but Gwen grabbed the guitar from Adrien and swung, smacking her in the face. 

The others gasped and winced as Desperada cried out as the guitar visibly broke as it hit her. 

"Everybody out of the boat!" Gwen shouts as everyone screamed and ran away. Marinette was the first to hide as Luka grabbed Gwen's hand and ran away. Adrien ushered Kagami to hide and ran after them. 

Desperada seethed, turning to find the girl who ruined a perfect guitar on her.  She saw them about to leave the boat and jumped in front of them. 

"Where are you running to, snake?!" Desperada glared at Gwen. 

"Stop it, Vivica!" Jagged shouts, making Desperada turn to him. "You're giving rock 'n' roll a bad name!"

Desperada didn't hesitate to fire at him as Penny opened the bus door. "Jagged? No!" she called out but she was also shot too. 

Desperada turned to the group but gasped as Ladybug knocked her over with her yo-yo. Desperada accidentally dropped her trumpet as it disappeared. 

"I may not play guitar, but I do play the yo-yo. Care for a duet?" Ladybug smirked, twirling her weapon.

Desperada opened her guitar case and pulled out her axe guitar, "Solo!"

As the girls fight, the group ran away and hid by the bridge. The group panted as Gwen glanced back, frowning at the villain. Gwen needs to help, Desperada could be a tougher opponent like Mayura. 

"Are you okay, Gwen?" Adrien asked beside her. 

Gwen deadpanned as she barely noticed him next to her. "What are you doing here?! Go hide! Both of you," she turned to Luka and Adrien. Adrien stopped in his tracks, "Woah, I'm not leaving you. You're going to be in danger, I will keep you safe."

"What did I just say? Get out of here. I'm not taking no for an answer," Gwen glared at him.

"I'm not leaving," Luka stood beside her.

"Well, me either," Adrien crossed his arms, now looking at Gwen to see if she can change her mind. 

Gwen's eye twitched, did Adrien completely forget that she's also a hero? She needs to leave! She turned around and peeked at Ladybug's fight. The hero can barely hold out. 

"Where's Chatnoir?" Luka frowned next to her. 

"He might not make it here in time," Adrien grimaced.

"Then we must help Ladybug," Luka frowned but Gwen grabbed his hand, refusing to let anybody get hurt. She looked around but couldn't find anything. Looking down at her bag, she went through it and brought her drum sticks out. 

"This could work," she muttered to herself. 

"...You're not going to stab her this time, right?" Adrien sweatdropped, not knowing how Gwen's plan could work here.

"I'm not that violent," Gwen frowned. 

"You broke my guitar with her face," Luka pointed out. 

"I'll pay you back but I'm not that irrational. I need you two to leave. I'll distract her–" 

"No."

Gwen expected many things when it comes to Adrien. She swore to his father that she will keep him safe. She swore to herself that she won't bring him any more harm. She surely didn't expect Luka to snatch her sticks and run out to the clearing. 

"Luka!"

Luka faced the enemy as he started hitting the sticks together in a rhythm. Desperada noticed the tune and turned around. She seethed, seeing the boy from earlier. 

"Another musician?" She pulled out two small trumpets and started firing at Ladybug and at Luka. 

Gwen instantly tackled Luka out of the way as Adrien ran after them to help them. Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Desperada, wrapping the cord around her waist. Ladybug gripped her yo-yo tightly and turned around, pulling the villain away from them.

Desperada screamed as she landed on the bridge. Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around the bridge and pulled, breaking it apart and bringing everything down on the villain. Ladybug turned back to the others and looked around for an escape. She spotted the sewers and ushered them to hide. 

🕸🕷🕸

The four ran through the sewers for a few minutes, making sure to stay far from the manhole cover. Ladybug stopped, making the others stop too, and pant in exhaustion. 

"You shouldn't have put yourself in danger like that," Ladybug sterned, looking at Luka. "But...thank you."

Luka smiled, ignoring Gwen's slight glare. "You can count on us whenever you need help."

Ladybug smiled, "I appreciate it, but when you're dealing with a supervillain, it's better to have a partner with superpowers. Speaking of which..." Ladybug opened her yo-yo and started calling Chatnoir first. 

"Cat got your tongue? Leave a message."

Ladybug sighed and called Ghost-Spider next. Gwen felt the vibration in her bracer and moved her arm slowly to her back. 

"Hey, I'm probably home. I'm just avoiding someone I don't like. Leave a message, and if I don't call back, it's you."

Adrien and Luka sweatdropped at Ghost's random message as Adrien glanced at Gwen in disbelief. Gwen blinked and chuckled.

Ladybug sighed, closing her yo-yo. "Okay...Lucky Charm!" she threw her yo-yo in the air as the little magical ladybugs dropped a gong into her hands.

Gwen's eyes widened at what Ladybug will have to do. Understandable. Ghost nor Chat is here to help. 

"I'm going to have to leave you guys for now, but I'll be back soon," Ladybug placed the gong on her hip and they all stopped as they started to hear rocking guitar music from above. 

"I'll find those brats sooner or later, Ladybug!" they hear Desperada shout from the streets. 

"I can handle this," Ladybug reassured and turned to Luka, pointing to the drum sticks. "Could I...borrow that, please?"

Luka glanced at Gwen who nodded at him. Luka smile and handed the drum sticks to her. 

"Thank you, meanwhile, find a place to hide. All three of you!" she turned away and ran to the manhole. 

Luka and Adrien glanced at each other. Luka grabbed Gwen's wrist and started pulling her along to hide. Adrien blinked but shook his head, running after them. Gwen looked around, hoping to find a good hiding spot to get away and change. 

Adrien was quick to spot a room and run inside. They were surrounded by lockers and thought it would be perfect. 

"You can hide in here," Adrien urged Luka to one of the lockers. "It's a bit tight for the three of us. We'll go in another one."

"Okay, see you later," Luka nodded as Adrien closed his door and turned to Gwen, and nodded her to leave. 

"You won't leave, right?" Gwen whispered, giving him a pointed look. "If you need to pee, hold it." 

Adrien deadpanned, knowing she was talking about the incident with Simon Says and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Trust me."

Gwen stared at him for a while and nodded, walking out of the room and punching her fists. Adrien waited for a while and opened and closed a random locker while quietly sneaking out of the room. 

"How about a little nap while we wait for Ladybug to come back?" Plagg flew out of his pocket and grinned. 

"No, it's time for Chatnoir to make his entrance," Adrien smirked as he transformed into Chatnoir. 

🕸🕷🕸

Marinette arrived at Fu's place with haste. Fu noticed she was alone and nodded, knowing Gwen was busy with something. With that, he walked over to the gramophone and pulled out his miracle box, placing it on the ground between him and Marinette. 

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You must pick an ally you can trust to fight alongside you on this mission. Once the mission is over, you will take the miraculous back and return it to me."

"Desperada's relentless," Marinette frowned, looking at the jewels. She noticed Pollen's miraculous was not here and assumed she was still in recovery. "There's no room for error with her–there'll be no second chance." As she said this, her eyes focused on a mint-green bracelet. "Or maybe this one."

"The snake's power is a very strong one, Marinette. Whoever uses it must be wise enough, not to be tempted to manipulate time for their own personal gain."

"I understand, Maaster Fu. I know just the perfect person," she grinned. "I can't believe I didn't think of him before; a perfect match."

🕸🕷🕸

Chatnoir ran to the nearest manhole cover and started climbing up the ladder. He certainly wasn't expecting Ladybug to come back quickly and fall on him. They expected a brunt when they fell but were surprised that they were hanging in the air. Looking up, they saw Ghost sitting on the ceiling and waving at them as her other arm was stretched out to catch them with her web. 

She lowered them and jumped down to meet them. 

"We must stop running to each other like this, ladies," Chat smiled. "Let's take care of this guitarist and her seriously bad music." 

Chat blinked as he noticed Ladybug on the ground and desperately looking for something. "Uh, looking for something, Ladybug?"

Ladybug gasped and grinned in relief, picking up the miraculous. "Yeah, I have to find Adrien Agreste!"

Chatnoir and Ghost-Spider stiffened up. Both for different ideas, by the way. 

"You want to entrust him with a miraculous?" Chat's eyes widened, glancing at Ghost who has been quiet. 

"You're not supposed to know, but, yeah. He's the perfect guy for this mission."

"No."

Ladybug stopped and she and Chat turned to Ghost, confused. "What?"

"I don't think it's a good idea," Ghost shrugged. "I mean, the boy may have spirit and everything but we're not sure if he's good for the job. From what I heard from that miraculous, it's very sensitive when it comes to time. Are you positively sure Adrien Agreste can handle it?" 

Ghost moved closer to Ladybug and leaned to her ear. "And not by personal feelings? Anything happens to him and it will be in our hands."

"What are you talking about?" Ladybug frowned, not knowing where this is coming from. "You got Nino to be a hero, did you think about his safety too?"

"Yes," Ghost blunted. "Whenever I see him, I make sure he's in my vision. I'm just asking you if you're sure Adrien can do it."

"Well yes," Ladybug nodded. "I won't let anything happen to him."

Ghost bit her lip. What if it's the miraculous who chose him? She doesn't want the boy on the front lines. She doesn't want him near danger. 

Chat, on the other hand, felt offended. Why did Gwen second guess Adrien to not be a hero? Is he not good enough? What's with her?

"You know," Chat accidentally spat. "You can trust me and my incredible nose. If Adrien's down here, I'll find him for you," he turned to Ladybug. Chat ran ahead as Ladybug followed. 

Ghost only sighed, clenching her fists. She won't let anything harm the boy. She slowly walked after them as they finally reached the closet room. Chat walked over to one of the lockers and grinned, opening it for them. 

"Adrien's in there."

Ladybug slyly smirked at Chat. "Your incredible nose failed you this time."

"Chatnoir? Ladybug? Ghost-Spider?"

The three turned, seeing Luka stepping out of his locker and seeing Adrien's locker empty. "Have you defeated Desperada yet? Oh, where's Adrien? Luka turned to find Gwen in the lockers but Ghost grabbed his arm as they informed him of the situation. 

"Um, maybe he took off and hid somewhere else. Let's split up and find him," Chat nodded as he saw Ghost sigh, looking at the empty locker. Chat turned to Luka and gently pushed him inside his locker. "Hide in there for the meantime," he winked and closed his locker. 

 The three heroes stepped out of the room and split up. Chat glanced at Ghost as she turned a corner and hid, making sure he wasn't followed. 

"Plagg, claws in." He detransformed as Plagg flew out of his ring. "Plagg, Ladybug needs me. She needs 'Adrien'!" he grinned. 

"If you ask me, this whole idea is worse than cheese in a can," Plagg jealously narrowed his eyes at him. 

"She thinks I'm the perfect guy for this mission," Adrien grinned. 

"You can't be Chatnoir and another superhero at the same time! Which means that you're not the perfect guy for this mission," Plagg turned away.

"Her Lucky Charm told her I am," Adrien grinned. 

"That's not how it works," Plagg sterned but rolled his eyes. "Why am I bothering? You're not even listening"

"This is my chance to finally protect Gwen beside her. She can finally trust me," Adrien grinned, grasping his dog tag. 

"Adrien!" Adrien stopped as he heard Gwen calling him. He grinned, walking out and seeing Ghost alone. 

"Hey, is everything okay?" Adrien ran towards her. He yelped as she smacked his head. "What was that for?"

"For running off when I told you not to," Ghost glared at him and crossed her arms. "Listen, I need you to hide and not come out until Ladybug, Chatnoir, and I finish this mission."

"What?" Adrien blinked. 

"Look, Ladybug is planning to give you a miraculous and you're not getting it. You're staying on the sidelines," Ghost spoke as she tapped on her bracer to find the nearest safe spot for the boy. 

Adrien's eyes widened as his mouth dropped in disbelief. She didn't...trust him? "Wait, Ladybug's going to give me a miraculous? Why aren't you letting me?"

"You're not ready yet," Ghost glanced at him. 

"What?" Adrien frowned. "What is that supposed to mean? Do you not trust me?"

"I don't trust that you'll be safe," Ghost tried. "Look, you're my best friend. If anything happens to you on the field, it will be on me. Not on Ladybug, not on Chatnoir or Fu. Me. I won't be able to live with myself if I lose another friend."

 Adrien's eyes widened as he realized what was Ghost's dilemma. She's afraid he'll end up like her best friend. 

"I'm not him."

Ghost blinked. Her heart pulsed painfully in her chest as she stared at the boy. Seeing the fire burning in his eyes as he glared at her. She gasped as she completely started to see him differently. 

"I'm capable of taking care of myself," Adrien continued. "I don't need you to protect me. This time...I will protect you."

Ghost goes to speak when her senses flared behind her, seeing Ladybug running towards them. Adrien moved away from Ghost and faced Ladybug. 

"Where were you? Is everything okay?" Ladybug worriedly stood in front of him. 

"Yeah, I was just hiding a bit further down until Ghost found me. I thought it'd be better f Desperada couldn't find us three in the same place."

"I need you."

Adrien and Ghost blinked at Ladybug's choice of words. "Me?" Adrien frowned. 

"Adrien Agreste, here's the miraculous of the snake, which grants the power of Second Chance. You will use it for the greater good," Ladybug handed him the miraculous. Adrien stared at it in awe and grabbed the box. "Once we defeat the supervillain, you will return the miraculous to me. Can I love–uh, trust you?"

Adrien looked at the box and glanced at Ghost who stared intently at the box in his hands. He looked back down at the box and nodded. "Yes, Ladybug." He opened the box as mint-green light flew around him as a snake kwami flew in front of him. 

"Amazing!" Adrien beamed at it. 

"Greetings. My name is Sass, and I'll be your kwami," Sass nodded. 

"But what am I supposed to do?" Adrien frowned. 

"All you have to say is 'Sass, scales slither'," Sass smiled as Adrien pulled the bracelet and glanced at Plagg who shook his head. Looking back at Ladybug and Ghost, he wore the bracelet as it turned silver. 

"Sass! Scales slither!" he shouted as the kwami flew into his bracelet as he transformed with a harp in his hands. His blonde hair was now decorated with blue tips and his eyes turned snake-like with the blue mask on his eyes (Yes, I changed his mask. I hate the original). 

The three heroes started running towards the nearest manhole cover. Ladybug attempted to call Chat but the hero didn't respond. 

"Chat! I found Adrien! We're going to go after Desperada. Meet us under Trocadéro square fast," Ladybug spoke as she hung up. 

"I hope I don't disappoint you, Ladybug, Ghost-Spider," Adrien smiled at the girls. 

Ghost climbed up the hole and looked around as Ladybug continued to converse with him. 

"I know you won't. You're perfect. Uh, perfectly capable of defeating Desperada! We need all the odds in our favor. Desperada is a fearsome opponent," Ladybug smiled while Ghost rolled her eyes. 

Ladybug used her Lucky Charm as a saddle dropped in her hands. "I would have preferred a horseshoe for my first mission," Adrien subconsciously joked, making Ladybug laugh. 

"I love your sense of humor," Ladybug smiled at him, making him blink. 

"Really? Thanks!" he grinned. He couldn't recall a time making Ladybug laugh at one of his jokes as Chatnoir. 

"If anything goes wrong, the Second Chance allows you to go back in time to the exact moment you activated it," Ladybug informed. 

"Got it," Adrien nodded and used his Second Chance. 

"We now have five minutes. Within this time range, you can go back in time as many times as you want. But after that, when the head of the snake goes back in place, you'll detransform," Ladybug pointed to his bracelet, seeing the little snake slithering in time. 

She opened her yo-yo and frowned. "Still not Chat...come to think of it, we're okay without him."

She was unaware of Adrien's deadpanned expression. 

"Now that we have your power, you and I are going to make an awesome team," Ladybug grinned as Ghost coughed. Ladybug chuckled, "The three of us."

Ghost sighed, shaking her head. She climbed out of the manhole and hid behind the nearest car as Ladybug and Adrien followed. Adrien sat next to her and glanced at her but Ghsost patted his leg with the back of her hand. 

"Focus. Don't get distracted," she murmured. 

"Where is she?" Ladybug frowned, standing up and looking around for Desperada. It has been odd as the streets are now quiet. Ghost's senses flared and tackled Ladybug as her back was struck and poofed away. Ladybug gasped as Ghost-Spider disappeared. 

Adrien's eyes widened as he hid back in the car. Plagg appeared and flew next to him. "Awesome team, all right!"

"Give me more time," Adrien clicked his bracelet, now going back in time to the sewers. 

"Now we have five minutes–"Ladybug started but Adrien interrupted her. "Before I transform back, I know."

Ghost's eyes widened and turned around. "We didn't make it?" she asked. 

Adrien shook his head, "No, but I used my power of second chance. No time to wait for Chatnoir. We're fine without him. You'll see, we're going to make an awesome team–Aspik, Ladybug, and Ghost-Spider."

Ladybug's eyes widened in awe. "Aspik? Wow! You've only just started being a superhero and you already seem to have all of this down."

"Guess you made the right choice, Ladybug," Aspik smiled, glancing at Ghost as the three started climbing up the manhole. 

Ghost sighed, shaking her head. She climbed out of the manhole and hid behind the nearest car as Ladybug and Aspik followed. Aspik sat next to her and glanced at her but Ghsost patted his leg with the back of her hand.

"Focus. Don't get distracted," she murmured.

"Where is she?" Ladybug frowned, standing up and looking around for Desperada but Aspik grasped her wrist and pulled her back. 

"No, wait. The first time, Desperada's fire came from there," he nodded to the Eiffel Tower. 

The three run away to hide as Aspik spotted a red rose and grabbed Ghost's hand, handing it to her. 

"As a thank you for both of you choosing me," Aspik smiled but Ghost's eye twitched as Ladybug smiled. "Oh! Uh, thanks!" she blushed. 

Ghost's senses flared and pushed both of them out of the way as she felt a knocking pain in her head as Desperada jumped down and threw down her axe-guitar, making her disappear. 

Ladybug gasped as Aspik ran away to the subway. Plagg flew out and smirked at him, "Awesome team, all right!"

"I just need more time," Aspik tried. 

"To do what?! Charm Gwenchy?! Or defeat the villain?!"

"Second Chance!" Aspik clicked his bracelet, taking him back in time to the sewers. 

"We now have five–" Ladybug yelped as Aspik jumped and pulled Ghost away from the manhole. Ghost yelped as Aspik threw her over his shoulder and grabbed Ladybug's hand, running further away. 

"Trust me, we've been through this before," Aspik spoke as Ghost squirmed in his hold. 

"Shouldn't we wait for Chatnoir?" Ladybug's eyes widened.

"No need. let's try a different exit this time."

"So you saved our lives several times already? I knew," Ladybug's eyes softened as Aspik smiled back at her. 

"We'd make an awesome team? I hope you're right," Aspik spoke as he held Ghost's thighs. 

"He can read my mind too," Ladybug smiled. 

Ghost sighed and glanced at Aspik. "Okay, can you tell us what were the disadvantages of Desperada? What happened when you were back in time?"

"Um...I couldn't figure it out. She kept firing at you, Ghost," Aspik winced as Ghost hummed. 

The three climbed out of the manhole near the Eiffel Tower and hid behind a van. Ghost broke the door and started hotwiring it to leave as Ladybug sat next to Aspik. 

"This seems okay," Aspik looked around. 

"Focus. Don't get distracted," Ghost murmured as she pulled out the wires, not looking back at them.

"Adrien," Ladybug smiled but stopped as she couldn't reveal his identity. "I mean, snake–"

"Call me Aspik," Aspik smiled. 

"Aspik, you really are a super–" Ladybug stopped as Ghost-Spider webbed them both into the van and jumped out of the window, tackling Desperada off the van. Aspik's eyes widen and ran out to help but Desperada aimed her trumpet at him. 

Ghost-Spider instantly pushed him out of the way as she disappeared. Aspik gritted his teeth and rolled under the van as Plagg appeared once again. 

"Awesome team, all–"

"I know!" Aspik clicked his bracelet as the three heroes tried and failed continuously to defeat Desperada. 

Again, again, again, and again. 

The three heroes ran away and Aspik desperately tried many times but to no avail to save Ghost-Spider from self-sacrificing herself for them. 

As they ran, Aspik turned to Ghost. "You know, Gwen?"

Ladybug's and Ghost's heads snapped in his direction in disbelief. "Gwen?!" Ladybug turned to Ghost. 

"I'm also Chatnoir and I've been in love with you for a long time," Aspik continued as Ghost glared at him. 

"You son of a–" she disappeared along with Ladybug. 

Aspik tried every alternative but things kept going wrong, again, again, again, again, and again. 

Aspik clicked his bracelet one more time and gritted his teeth in frustration as Ladybug explained the power of the snake miraculous for the nth time. 

"We now have five minutes. Within this time range, you can go back in time as many times as you want–"

"Sass," Aspik sighed. "Scales rest." He detransformed as Sass tiredly flew out of the bracelet and onto Adrien's hands. 

Ghost noticed and jumped down to meet Sass. "Hey, you okay?" Sass only tiredly nodded. Ghost pulled out a small grape from her brace as she started making a small system to bring small foods and handed it to him. 

"But..." Ladybug frowned, confused about why Adrien would give up on the miraculous. 

"It didn't work," Adrien sadly frowned. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't the right choice for you after all."

"No! You have to be the right snake. I guess I must've done something wrong," Ladybug frowned. 

"No, it's not you. I just can't protect you two. I never managed to save you," Adrien turned to Ghost. 

"We can try again," Ladybug tried but Adrien shook his head. "No, I can't bear seeing Desperada capture you every time without ever being able to save you."

"How many times did you see us..." Ladybug frowned as Adrien handed her the miraculous and turned away from them. 

"I've been trying for months. It was the 25,913th time. I don't know what to do anymore!"

"But–" Ladybug frowned but Ghost placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her and walking over to Adrien. 

"Hey," she softly spoke, getting his attention. "It wasn't your fault for doing this. You weren't ready for this miraculous. At least not yet. So don't blame yourself for this. It's ours to bring our personal emotions into this mission." Ghost glanced at Ladybug and nodded. 

"Maybe one day you can be a hero to everyone in Paris, but you know that you're someone's special hero deep in their hearts," Ghost turned to him, making him look at her with widened eyes. 

Ghost turned to Ladybug and reached her hand out for the snake miraculous. "I think I know someone who can defeat Desperada."

Speaking of the culprit, Luka ran over to them. "Ladybug? Ghost-Spider? Oh, I see you found Adrien. I'm glad, I was worried."

Adrien blinked, turning to Ghost who stared at Luka, grasping the miraculous. "Brave? Determined? Caring? Why don't you give him the miraculous?" he smiled. 

Ghost turned to Ladybug as Ladybug turned to Adrien with a smile. "Thank you for saving our lives so many times, Adrien," she leaned over and pecked his cheek. 

Ghost's eye twitched but left it be. 

"I'll go and hide," Adrien smiled. "I'm sure you guys will succeed."

Ghost nodded as Adrien ran to hide and turned around, walking over to Luka.

"Did I miss something?" Luka glanced at her.

Ghost shook her head. "Hey. I usually don't give these out like candy like some people. But I know deep inside your heart and mind that you would be capable to do this mission. I ask of you if I can trust you enough to trust us."

Luka's eyes widened as Ghost face him. His eyes burned and nodded to her words. "I will."

"Luka Couffaine, this is the miraculous of the snake. It grants the power of Second Chance. You will use it for the greater good and not use it for your own personal gain, if you're willing. Once we succeed, you will return the miraculous to us. Can we trust you?" Ghost stated as she raised the miraculous box. 

Luka looked at it hesitantly and nodded, grasping the box. "Desperada attacked my family and my friends. So if I can help you anyway, I will." 

Luka opened the box, only to be blinded by mint-green light as it flew around him and flew in front of him as Sass smiled at him. 

"Greetings. My name is Sass and I'll be your Kwami," Sass introduced himself.

🕸🕷🕸

Adrien ran and hid as Plagg appeared in front of him. Adrien sighed as he grasped his dog tag. 

"Ah! At least, you've come to your senses," Plagg smiled. 

"I'm not sure Gwen will have very fond memories of her experiences with me. She's right. I'm not capable to protect her."

"Don't worry, Gwenchy will be there to protect you forever!" Plagg grinned as Adrien smiled back. 

"Yeah, I'll make it up to her as Chatnoir."

🕸🕷🕸 

"All you have to say is 'Sass, scales slither'," Sass nodded as Luka did exactly that. Ghost will not admit out loud that the costume fits Luka the best as it matched his hair and his personality. 

It fit him great. 

Ghost's senses flared as Chat appeared beside her, grinning at her. 

"Just in time, Chatnoir," Ladybug smiled at him. "I'd like you to meet–"

"Viperion," Luka introduced himself. "Can't wait to work with you."

Ghost nodded and climbed up the manhole, adjusting her lenses from the mask to look around. Her eyes narrowed as she spotted Desperada, looking around at the Eiffel Tower. 

Looking around, Ghost started thinking up a strategy. 

She couldn't get any ideas from Adrien and started to think logically. It seems Desperada would get them instantly as they get out. Perhaps, they need to be under her nose somehow. 

Glancing at her team, she started to put things together. Climbing down, Ladybug used her Lucky Charm as a saddle dropped on her hands. 

"Perhaps you would've preferred a lucky horseshoe for your first mission," Chat joked to Luka. 

"Chat!" Ladybug deadpanned at him but Viperion shook his head. "No need. Ladybug brings enough luck for all of us."

Chat nodded as Ladybug thanked Viperion. "Desperada's at the top of the Eiffel Tower," Ghost informed. "Let's take her vantage point away from her."

The team nodded and followed Ghost's lead. "We're going to need your Cataclysm and my strength, Chat," Ghost informed. 

"At your service, Kitten!" Chat smirked as Ghost stopped in a spot. Chat used his cataclysm and touched the wall, causing everything to fall down. The others jumped away as one of the legs from the tower bursts down. 

Ghost clenched her fist and threw it back, punching the ceiling and breaking it apart. She and the others jumped out and hid as Desperada fell off the tower. 

Ladybug peeked out and looked at Desperada to think up a plan and turned to the others. "All her weapons come from her guitar case. We have to prevent her from using them, then destroy the case. Ready?"

Viperion nodded and clicked his bracelet. "Second Chance."

The four bolted towards Desperada as they fought her head-on. Desperada dodged their attacks but Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo around her wrists and pulled. Chat lunged himself at her and swung his staff but Desperada was too quick and threw Ladybug at him, knocking them over and firing at them. 

Ghost cursed as they need Ladybug and she was gone. She turned to Viperion, "Again!"

Viperion nodded and clicked his bracelet. He saw as Ladybug, Chatnoir, and Ghost-Spider stood in front of him and grasped Chat's wrist. "Wait." He turned to Ghost, "She got to Chat and Ladybug. Perhaps, Ghost should attack her first as an initiative, just to grasp how we're going to corner her."

Chat hesitated as he didn't like Ghost being bait but Ghost nodded, liking the odds in their favor. 

"All right, you three up the tower. I'll go. If anything happens, you three continue without me. I trust you guys," Ghost nodded and gave a fist bump. 

Ladybug and Viperion smiled and pounded their fists with hers. Ghost glanced at Chat. He contemplated but he trusts her judgment and pounded her fist. 

"All right, let's go," Ghost ran out of the clearing as the three jumped to the Eiffel Tower. Desperada spotted Ghost and started firing at her. Ghost dodged every single one, jumping around her as the others looked at the fight. 

Viperion pulled out his harp, thinking back to the moment he started playing with the drumsticks earlier as it distracted her. Looking down, Ghost webbed Desperada's eyes, making her exclaim in shock. 

Ghost bolted and pounded her fist on Desperada's abdomen, making her fall to the ground with a crack. Ghost raised her fists as her blasters turned on and aimed at her. Hearing the crackle, Desperada reached for her trumpets and fired at her, hitting her chest. 

Ghost disappeared, making Ladybug and Chat grit their teeth but they will keep going as she said. 

Viperion nodded to Ladybug and Chatnoir to leave and started playing the harp. Desperada turned to the music as the web was still stuck in her eyes and fired but Ladybug and Chatnoir threw their weapons at her hands. 

Desperada screamed as her trumpets flew from her hands. She goes to grab another weapon but Ladybug wrapped her yo-yo on one of her hands, pulling it to a side and Viperion jumped down to trap her other hand in his harp. 

Chat smirked, running over and sliding between her legs and dropping the saddle underneath her as she dropped on it. 

Chat grinned as he grabbed the guitar case and threw it in the air. Ladybug smirked as she threw her yo-yo and broke it, releasing the akuma. She smiled as she captured the akuma and purified it, bringing everyone and everything back to normal. 

The magical ladybugs flew down and gently brought Ghost back in front of them. 

Desperada turned back to Vivica.

"What am I doing here?" Vivica frowned. 

Ghost smirked and raised her fist as Viperion, Chatnoir, and Ladybug pounded their fists with hers. "Pound it!"

🕸🕷🕸

Far into the city, Ghost and Ladybug stood in front of Luka who gave the miraculous back. "Thank you for trusting me," he smiled. 

"You were the right choice, Luka," Ladybug smiled. "I'm sure we'll see each other again soon." With that, she swung away. 

Ghost-Spider nodded and guided him back to the boat house and swinging away too. 

🕸🕷🕸

Back at the houseboat, the band started to play one of Gwen's songs as they all just hang out. Gwen stood next to Marinette as she watched them play, watching Ivan play the drums with  thrill, making her smile. 

Anarka and Vivica also played with the band, liking how rhythmic their music is. Anarka's smile instantly dropped as Jagged walked over to them. 

"I know I wasn't very rock 'n' roll to you, Vivica," Jagged apologized to Vivica. "And even if you did eat my cereal and drink Fang's milk, I should've never fired you that way. You can come back if you want, but get your own breakfast, okay?"

Gwen deadpanned and sweatdropped as she used to do the same thing with MJ. 

"I promise, Jagged," Vivica smiled. 

"Besides, I get why Anarka no longer wants to play with me. And I respect her decision, what's past is past, isn't that right, Nanarky?" Jagged turned to Anarka as she nodded. 

 Gwen chuckled as Kagami stood next to Marinette and was silent for a moment before speaking up. "I was wrong about you and Luka, wasn't I?" 

Marinette gasped, not expecting Kagami to suddenly talk to her. "But you'd better hurry up and choose, Marinette. You don't always get a second chance when it comes to love."

Kagami stopped as Gwen chuckled, walking over to the band and giving them pointers. "Well, Adrien and Luka can choose too, right?" Alya spoke up. "And they haven't made their choice yet, either."

The girls turned back to see Gwen teasing Adrien's skills while also playfully arguing with Luka and helping Ivan with the beat of the drums. 

🕸🕷🕸

It was dark by the time everyone left the houseboat. Gwen was walking to her apartment when her feet brought her back to the school. She hummed as she saw the door slightly ajar and entered. 

She spotted the music room open too and peeked inside, smiling as she saw Adrien sitting in front of the drums, grasping the sticks. 

"Hands up, mister. You're under arrest for not playing," Ghost playfully did a finger gun, making him chuckle. 

Gwen walked over to him and dragged a chair next to him, seeing him focused on the drums. It was silent for a moment. Watching him contemplate with himself made her remember their small argument earlier. Her eyes saddened at Adrien's words. 

"I'm sorry."

Adrien stopped and looked at her, seeing her sadly looking at him. Gwen sighed, grabbing his hand. 

"I...didn't tell you what mostly happened with my best friend, huh?" she sadly smiled at him. 

Adrien was silent as Gwen kept going. "Back at my home, there was this dance and I was going to play for my band when a villain appeared out of nowhere, crashing onto walls. I...was new to being a hero and fighting some thugs in the street was boring. So when I saw a giant lizard scaring everybody made me excited. I finally had a chance to defeat a real villain. 

"It begged me to stop as I fought it head-on, not knowing the consequences of what I was doing. It wasn't until I finally defeated it did they reveal their true form," Gwen looked down at her hands, remembering clearly the blood in her knuckles and splitting her skin. 

"It was my best friend," she whispered making Adrien gasp in horror. "He tried to be like me. Like a hero and it cost his life. I'll never forgive myself for what happened that night and it scared me when you wanted to be a hero today. I lost one friend. I can't lose you too," Gwen looked up at him. 

Adrien grabbed her hand and pulled her to his chest, feeling her wrap her arms around his waist. He sighed as he leaned his chin on her head. "I'm sorry for making you think you're like him," Gwen leaned back and stared intently into his eyes. 

"You're right," she stated. "You're not him. You'll never be him and that's okay. But please take care of yourself more and stop worrying about me. I took on the mask like a badge. I can't take it off. You have your life so enjoy it. Even if it's with Kagami or any other girl out there. Live your life to the fullest"

"But I don't want to," Adrien whispered. "I'm here when you need me and I'll never leave you behind."

Gwen's eyes softened, hugging him close as he hugged her back. She blinked away the tears and chuckled, leaning back. 

"You're grabbing the drum sticks wrong if you're going to play," she teased, wanting to lift the tense atmosphere. 

Adrien's eyes widen and look back down at his hands. "Really? I thought that's the way you hold them," he tried as he adjusted his hold, making her laugh.

"And stop fixing her posture," she says as she lightly slapped his back. "Leave your back from stress and just pound the drums to your heart's content."

Adrien grinned as he slightly slouched, used to fixing his posture when playing the piano, and started playing the crash cymbals making her wince. 

"Okay, another approach," she snatched the cymbals and grabbed his hands, making him a certain beat on the toms.

They didn't know how long they lasted but the beating drums masked the speeding rhythm of their hearts as they glanced at one another. 

(っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Next Episode: Startrain ♥

A/N: Sorry couldn't update yesterday, I didn't know my tattoo would take long 🥹 Memes created by halla92455.

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Published: May 14, 2023

Word Count: 8317