Once they found a hiding spot on a roof, Adrien jumped off of the shield and turned to the man.

"Who are you?" he asked immediately. "And how do you know who I am?"

"Wayzz, detransform." The suit melted away as a tiny turtle kwami flew out of a bracelet on his wrist. Plagg flew out from Adrien's shirt to meet the kwami, Wayzz. Left behind was a tiny older man who looked up at Adrien with a grimace. "I'm getting too old for this."

"Wait, aren't you the…"

"I'm Master Fu. I am the Guardian of the Miraculous," the man said.

"Why… you have a miraculous, too?" Adrien asked.

"This is Wayzz," Master Fu said, pulling a strawberry out of his pocket for the kwami. "When I sensed Ladybug was in trouble, I hurried here."

"But, so, you know that I'm… that I have…"

"That you're Chat Noir, yes," Master Fu finished with a grin. "Don't you remember me?"

Adrien thought for a moment and then nodded in surprise, remembering him as the old man who he had helped in the street on his first day of school. Plagg flew out from Adrien's shirt and flew over to Wayzz for a hug.

Adrien started to ask, "Did you—"

Master Fu interrupted, "Once Wayzz is recharged, you'll have to transform. We have to save Ladybug before she surrenders to Hawkmoth."

"I don't think we have to worry about her doing that," Adrien said. "She'll most likely come after me first for my ring."

Master Fu took a step towards him, "Don't worry. I have the power of protection. She won't take your Miraculous from you."

"But how can we even save her? She's the only one who can purify the akumas."

"We'll have to hold the akuma ourselves while she recovers. Then, she can purify it, and we'll finish off the other villain," Master Fu said, looking confident.

Adrien nodded to himself, "There's one other thing. She was about to detransform when she was… you know. What will happen?"

"We'll have to purify her in a safe spot, secluded. No one can see," Master Fu said.

Adrien nodded turning to Plagg as Master Fu called, "Wayzz, transform me!"

The two heroes darted through Paris searching for the akumatized Ladybug. Chat Noir was impressed with how quickly the old man could move.

They didn't have to search very long. Soon, Lady Beetle was blocking their path.

"Chat Noir," she said meanly.

"Ladybug," he replied with a smile. "It took some getting used to, but I like the new look."

She held out her hand, "Give me your Miraculous."

"If you want it, come and get it," Chat Noir called. He leaped from the roof and landed on the adjacent one, starting a game of chase between him and Lady Beetle. He knew it wouldn't last long, but it would buy him some time to figure out how to deakumatize her.

Master Fu was at his side, riding on his shield.

"How do we get the akuma?" Chat asked.

"The same way you defeat every other villain. You have to destroy the object it entered."

Chat groaned. "The earrings."

"We'll have to make sure we do it out of public sight. I'm not sure what will happen if we break the earrings," Master Fu said.

"Has this never happened before?" Chat Noir asked.

"Not in my time as the Guardian," Fu replied.

Chat hoped the man never told Marinette that. She would be devastated if she knew she was the only Ladybug to be akumatized. He didn't have time to dwell on that thought, though. Lady Beetle was closing in behind him.

"I'll be ready with my shield," Master Fu said, turning to face her.

Chat turned, too. They were out of the middle of the city, far enough that they could fight without notice for a couple of minutes.

"Enough running, kitty," Lady Beetle said. "Give me the ring before you get hurt."

"I'd caution you with the same, Bugaboo," he smiled.

Ladybug pulled out her yo-yo and flung it at him, wrapping around his arms and holding him tight. He struggled to get out before he saw a green glow expanding around him, pushing the yo-yo string off and freeing his arms. Master Fu had shielded him before her rope hit. Chat crouched into a fighting position.

"I don't want to fight you, Ladybug," he said.

She replied by flinging herself in his direction and kicking. He blocked her leg and engaged in combat. He pulled out his baton and used that to block and attack. This was the first time he was aware when fighting Ladybug. Though he knew there were countless times he was used by the villains as a pawn against her, he never remembered the fights. She was good, and he struggled to keep up with her punches and jumps.

Lady Beetle pinned him to the ground, reaching for his hand while casting her yo-yo at Master Fu to block his shield. Chat Noir kept his fist tight and squirmed under her. She moved her hand back to his face and held him still.

"Open your hand, or I will," she threatened.

Chat Noir stopped moving and looked up at her. "One kiss and I'll give you the ring."

Lady Beetle hesitated before grabbing at his hand again. He kept his fist tight and struggled once again under her grip. She had just pried his fingers open and was pulling the ring off his finger when he heard the man shout behind him.

"Chat Noir, now!" Master Fu called.

On instinct, Chat Noir called for his Cataclysm. He reached up and touched Lady Beetle's earring before she had time to react. Chat saw Lady Beetle begin to transform, and because the Guardian of the Miraculous was standing behind him, he pushed her off of him and closed his eyes, pretending to not know who she was.

"The akuma! I'll take care of Ladybug," Master Fu said. He scurried around Chat Noir to where Chat knew Marinette was laying, confused.

"What do I do?" Chat asked.

"Just grab it and put it in your bell."

Chat used his baton to fly higher into the air and grab the butterfly. He slowly pressed it into his bell, where it disappeared and caused his bell to glow a lavender color.

"Interesting," he heard Master Fu say under him.

Chat Noir went back to the roof but stayed facing away. "What?"

"The earrings are unharmed. Once her kwami rests up, she will be able to retransform," Master Fu said.

"Without the cleansing light?"

"It appears so," Master Fu replied.

Then, Chat Noir heard soft groans, and he knew Marinette was waking up.

The ground was rough underneath her hands when she pushed herself up. "Where am I?" Marinette said.

Ahead of her was Chat Noir, facing away as he replied, "Ladybug, you were akumatized, but we saved you. We have to go stop Baker's Dozen before the city is turned to dough."

"Why are you acting so weird?" she asked. Then, she noticed the man beside her, and she let out a gasp.

"Here, Tikki," the man said, handing her kwami a strawberry. "Do you remember me, Ladybug?"

"Yes," she answered. "The macarons."

He laughed, "Yes, that's me."

"Why are you here?"

"You were about to kill Chat Noir," he answered.

Chat put up his hands, "I wasn't going to die. But she definitely would've taken my Miraculous without you, Master."

Marinette almost laughed. Then she said, "My par… I mean, the akumatized. Are they okay?"

"I'm ready, Master," Tikki said. Marinette looked down at Tikki and back at the man.

"I have so many questions," she answered.

"Perhaps we can find another time to talk. For now, we need to save the city," Master Fu answered, "preferably before Chat Noir's transformation runs out."

With Ladybug's help, defeating Baker's Dozen was a piece of cake. Chat played the distraction as she and Master Fu strategized a way to defeat. Chat was just glad she wasn't akumatized any longer. He didn't like the look of fury in her beautiful eyes.

He swiped his baton through a couple of dough minions as Ladybug sprung into action, unrolling the foil she had gotten from her Lucky Charm. She wrapped it around a couple of street lamps.

"Chat, ignore the minions. Swipe through the main villain!" she called.

Chat ran forward as Ladybug flung her yo-yo into their chest. With the foil reflecting the sun, the dough melted away and didn't reform quickly enough. Chat Noir's baton sliced cleanly through, revealing Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng.

Ladybug grabbed a wooden spoon from their joined hands and snapped it, beginning to purify their akuma.

"Chat Noir," Master Fu said to him.

Chat touched the bell at his neck, and Ladybug's akuma flew out. She purified it as well and then cast her Miraculous Cleansing Light over the city.

She joined Chat Noir and Master Fu. They knocked their knuckles together, and Chat Noir smiled at her.

"I'm glad you're alright, my lady," he said.

"Thank you for saving me," she answered. Then, Ladybug looked to Master Fu, "Will we see you again?"

"You will, Ladybug. Good job today," he told her. He threw down his shield, and without another word, he was flying away.

Once Master Fu was away and the Miraculous Cleansing Light finished going over the city, Chat turned to Ladybug with a large grin.

She gave him a worried look, "I can't believe I was akumatized."

He took a step towards her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry you felt that much despair because of me. I wish I could have helped more."

"Thank you," she whispered, staring away from him, "for coming to save me."

Chat walked around her so she'd meet his eye, and then said, "You know I'm at your bake and call."

She gave a half-hearted laugh and lightly punched his chest, rested her hand there for a second before removing it. Their laughs faltered as they look at each other. She delicately reached out her hand and brushed his chest again.

His ring started to beep frantically, as did her earrings.

"Can we go somewhere?" she asked. "To… talk?"

Chat Noir leaned forward and wrapped his arm around her waist as he extended his baton up, leading them to the roofs. Once there, Ladybug fell into his arms and hugged him tightly. His transformation lifted, revealing Adrien hugging a distressed Ladybug.

"I was so scared."

"I was, too."

"I… I was going to give him my earrings."

"You wouldn't have done that. You're too strong." He said, running a gloved hand over her hair. He paused. Ladybug didn't move as her transformation lifted. When it was just him and Marinette, he whispered, "I'm really sorry. You know that, right?"

"I know."

He pulled her away, holding her tenderly at an arm's length. "I love you, Marinette."

There was so much she could say. So many things she could still hold against him. How he had lied and played with her feelings for so long. But at the end of the day, he saved her from her akumatization, he was the only person who understood as much as she did how terrifying the events of the day were. And she believed Adrien when he told her he loved her.

She repeated, "I know." Looking at him, she realized she didn't want to think about the past anymore. She reached down, picked up his hand, and placed it on her face. "Can we just start over?"

"What do you mean?" Adrien asked.

"Everything got so messy. But I'm sorry, and you're sorry. And I like you, and you like me. No matter how we got here, we know that. So maybe we should just start over," Marinette said.

"You want to?" Adrien asked.

She nodded, "If you want to."

"I want to."

Then, she leaned forward and pressed her lips firmly against his, her entire body leaning into him as they kissed. Adrien wrapped his arms around her so tightly he felt his fingers nearly brush his own torso. She was on her tiptoes.

Marinette pulled away to look at him. She recognized a tear on his cheek. "Adrien, are you okay?"

"I've…" His breathing was heavy as he struggled to express how important she was to him. "I've never felt so… my father, you know…"

Marinette touched his jaw with her fingers, smiling up at him.

"Marinette, I… I don't want to rush you into things. I don't want you to feel forced to do anything, but… I really need you to be at least my friend. No awkwardness, no more struggling to be… I don't know, normal. I want to be your best friend."

"You are my best friend," she answered. "My partner. I don't know what I'd do without you."

They went to kiss each other again when Marinette's phone went off. She glanced down to see Alya's caller ID. Adrien's phone went off, and he saw Nino's contact info.

At the same time, they looked to each other with terror and said, "The group project!"