A/N: Before your wondering, yes this is the original Take My Hand that was pretty popular a few months back. I deleted it originally due to some bullying and harassing emails I was getting about it. I decided to do a little rewriting and editing and share it again. I'm not expecting the popularity it had before, which is fine. This is being done for the readers who supported me before. Plus, any new readers who may wish to enjoy it.

So please enjoy.

Take My Hand

Prologue

Marinette watched as she saw her partner in the distance. It was near the end of patrol and as usual, they met up to share anything of interest that they found on patrol. Chat Noir had spotted her as easily as he always did and hurried to meet her. With his quick reflexes, he easily landed on the building, landing directly beside her. He leaned forward, bending to eye level with her. He had that smirk on his face that told her that he was about to begin flirting with her. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Have a good patrol I assume."

"Only because I got to see your pretty face, my lady," he stated, that smirk was ever present. There it was. She let out an unimpressed laugh and pointed to her mask.

"My face is half covered by a mask," she reminded him.

He shrugged, and stood upright once again. "Even so, I know you're very beautiful, and knowing I get to see you, makes my day."

She laughed again. "So I take it that patrol was boring and uneventful."

He stood, and looked down at her. A little bit of his smile was gone, but she could still sense his playful mood. "Yeah, it was pretty boring."

"Yeah, nothing to report on my end either," she stated. She stretched and took in the fresh spring air. It was warm out and was almost time for summer vacation. It was Marinette's favorite time of year to do patrol's. "Lovely night, don't you think?"

She stole a glance at him and found him looking out over the city, a calm expression was on his face in between him stealing glances at her. "Hey, Ladybug."

Calling her by her full hero name caught her by surprise. He never used it really. He always referred to her as 'his lady'. She tilted her head as she looked at him. What was going on? Did something happen, or did he see something?

"What is it, Chat?"

He turned to face her, and she realized how nervous he seemed. "I...I've been wanting to say something to you for a while now."

Her heart raced and her eyes went wide. She had been dreading this day for so long. The day he'd confess or ask her out in a non-flirty way. She could easily dodge the flirting by brushing it off playfully. She didn't know if she could if he directly told her about his crush. She didn't want to hurt him, but the fact of the matter was, she didn't love him. She loved her classmate, Adrien. "Chat, my powers running out," she lied, covering her earring with her fingers. She felt the every loving need to run away and get away from this situation, that she desperately wanted to get out of.

He wasn't convinced. In fact, he flat out knew she was lying. He took a step towards her. "Lady...that's not true." He was frowning and she knew that she was caught in her own lie. "Why are you lying?"

His question stung, and she knew she was caught. She looked down in shame. She was embarrassed by her need to lie to him, but she felt like she had no choice. She felt backed up into a corner. "Because I know what you're going to say."

"How could you?" he asked, though his voice was louder now.

Marinette pulled her hand away from her earring and her hand fell back down to her side. She had no idea what she was supposed to say, or how to answer him. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. If she was just herself, she'd be having a panic attack by now. "You're going to tell me that you like me, and want to go out on a date with me."

Hs eyes widened. "How is it you know?" he gasped. "I haven't told anyone!"

"Everyone knows," she stated flatly.

"Those are rumours," he yelled. "Yeah, they're true, but I never verbalized it to anyone but my Kwami. How it is you know I'm in love with you?"

She dreaded hearing those words. More than she realized she would. They stung and she felt a heavy weight hit her. She knew, but hearing it from him was something else entirely. Especially since he went beyond and jumped right into using the word love. It was too strong of a word for her.

"Your sacrifices," she answered. "Always jumping in front of me to protect me. The flirting. What you've told people about us." He said no words, and he stood there in silence for what felt like forever. He looked at her with such sad eyes. She knew she had hurt him, but she knew this was unavoidable. "You're my friend, my partner. I trust you above all else. I can't do this without you."

"But...I love you," he told her. His face was stone serious, and held no emotion in it, though his voice did. It was shaky and full of emotion. Hurt, regret, sadness, maybe a little anger. "What's wrong with me?"

She felt hurt and regret of her own. "There is nothing wrong with you," she stated. "I just don't feel that way about you. Besides…I love someone else."

He grabbed either side of her shoulders, and his green eyes stared into her blue ones. He seemed to desperately look for another answer. Something other than the truth about her feelings for someone else. She knew, though, that he couldn't find such a lie. She was telling the truth. His eyes went wide at the last second, and she could see a small part of him shatter. And it was soul crushing. "Someone…else?"

She knew he needed answers, and she knew they needed to end this conversation. She had to tell him exactly why she was rejecting him. "Yes, a classmate."

She felt his grip tighten on either side of her shoulders loosen slightly, but they remained. She tried to be strong, but she felt her entire body begin to shake. Perhaps he didn't notice because he was shaking too. She needed to be free of this situation. She couldn't help it if she was in love with someone else. She couldn't just will herself to fall in love with someone else. It didn't work that way. "Chat, I'm sorry. We're friends, and that's all."

He slowly nodded, but his gaze fell and he looked down at his feet. His arms fell down to his side. She tried to give him a friendly smile. "You know, I even consider you a best friend. You know things about me no one else does."

It didn't seem to help. Her heart sank further. He took a step back from her and looked away. "Stop lying," he said. It was like poison to her. It hurt and that hurt moved through to every fibre of her being.

"I'm not lying," she protested. "I do care about you, I'm just not in love with you."

She couldn't have predicted that he would suddenly turn and run. He leapt away, jumping from roof top to roof top, leaving Marinette alone, still shaking. That was even worse than her worst nightmare. She could hear her earring begin to beep. She had three dots left. She didn't care. She could have run out of dots and untransformed and be stuck on this roof and she still wouldn't care. "Chat...I'm so sorry."

8 8 8

How could he have been so stupid? How could he actually believe for a second that the woman of his dreams could love him? The woman who invaded all of his dreams, thoughts, and hopes. Everything he ever did was for her. Why wasn't he good enough for her? He jumped down from a rooftop, and down into an alley and when he did he untransformed. Adrien collapsed to the ground. His Kwami, Plagg appeared beside him and looked at his user.

"You could have handled that better," Plagg told him. "It's not like she said she hated you. She said you were important to her."

Adrien covered his face with his hands, and a new wave of emotions was coming over him. Plagg took a seat on his shoulder and shook his head. "Listen, Adrien..."

The kwami stopped when he suddenly saw a black butterfly approaching them. Plagg flew off of Adrien's shoulder and turned to the teenager. "No! Adrien! Snap out of it!"

It was too late, the butterfly attached itself to Adrien. A pink outline of a butterfly surrounded his face. With quick thinking, Plagg moved to Adrien's right hand and snatched the ring off of his finger. Plagg had to get the miraculous away from Adrien as fast as possible. He couldn't stop this from happening. The kwami took off into the darkness, flying as fast as his last remaining magic could carry him. Without his user, Plagg couldn't stay in this world much longer.

While in a trance, Adrien's head was filled with Hawkmoth's thoughts.

'She rejected you? That's awful! You've been nothing but a great partner to her, and for what? For her to fall in love with somebody else?'

The words crushed Adrien, and only made him angrier. Adrien's eyes narrowed. "I'm better than them! I know I am!"

'It's a disgrace! Give up your identity as Chat Noir! Become Chat Blanc, and get me the miraculous stones! In return, I'll help you crush ladybug and the one who stole her from you!'

A sickening grin fell over Adrien's lips. "It's a deal."

8 8 8

Marinette had returned home, and fell onto her bed. She untransformed at that very moment, and Tikki looked at Marinette sadly. Marinette seemed to stare at the wall behind Tikki. Tikki floated down to the bed and landed on the comforter next to Marinette. "I messed up, Tikki."

"You didn't mess up," Tikki replied. "You were just honest."

"He's so angry with me," Marinette stated. She curled up into a ball and hugged her legs to her body. "I feel awful."

Tikki was about to open her mouth to say something comforting, but her eyes looked up to the open window to Marinette's balcony. She let out a gasp that drew Marinette's attention. The teenager sat up and looked at the window, expecting to see someone. She saw no one. Then something dropped in and fell to Marinette's bed. She jumped in surprise, but then she realized that it was a little creature that looked like a black kitten. In its paw's was a silver ring.

"Plagg!" Tikki cried. Tikki was at the creature's side and turned him to his side. He was shaking.

"What is that?" Marinette asked.

The creature looked hurt, though Marinette could see no wounds. Tikki looked at Marinette with worried eyes. "This is Plagg, this is Chat Noir's kwami."

Marinette's eyes went wide and her gaze shot up to the open window, fully expecting to see a strange teenage boy's face looking in at her. There was nothing. She looked back at Tikki who looked to be on the verge of tears. "Why do you have the Miraculous?" Tikki asked Plagg.

Marinette noticed right away the ring that Plagg was clutching into like his life depended on it. Marinette gasped. "What happened to him?"

"He doesn't have much time, Marinette, you need to put on the ring before he disappears! He's using all his remaining magic to stay here," Tikki explained. Tikki took the ring from Plagg, and Marinette quickly put the ring on her finger. It took only a moment for Plagg to look up at Marinette and Tikki. He seemed a little stronger already though still incredibly weak. Marinette was still worried about Chat Noir's kwami here, and couldn't help but imagine his body, bloody and mangled. She had the worst images going through her head. "Tikki," he stated, his voice made it clear that he was in a lot of pain. "Hawkmoth...Chat Noir…possessed."

It took a moment for the words to fall over Marinette and a moment longer for her to understand. An Akuma had possessed him. Her rejection had made him so angry that he let himself be possessed. Plagg must have stolen the ring in an attempt to keep the miraculous safe. The kwami's must have known how to track each other all along. Marinette looked to Tikki for the information she needed.

"Did he see you, Plagg?" Tikki asked.

He winced but shook his head. "No, he wasn't transformed yet...and he wasn't listening to me at all."

"What do I do?" Marinette asked. "How do I stop him?"

"You...can't!" Plagg exclaimed.

Tikki looked at Marinette with sad eyes. "Ladybug and Chat Noir are very much so a living yin yang. With Chat Noir...literally gone, for now, Ladybug is unbalanced. If you tried to approach him...he'd kill you. Ladybug needs Chat Noir, just as much as he needs her."

"Well, has this happened before?" Marinette asked.

Tikki nodded. "Yes...many times."

Plagg forced himself up to sit up and looked at Marinette. "Most recently," he winced again, but he continued. "He went on a killing spree." He cried out in pain and so Tikki continued for Plagg.

"The last Chat Noir became a serial killer, one the human's named Jack-the-ripper," Tikki said flatly. "He didn't stop until Ladybug was dead. Plagg and I barely got out of there." Marinette's eyes went wide and she gasped.

"What happened?"

Tikki looked down with a sad expression on her face. "Every Chat Noir has fallen for Ladybug at some point or another. The strength of their feelings varied. Sometimes it was mutual, sometimes it wasn't. This time, it was. Ladybug really cared for Chat Noir, but Ladybug, was a prostitute and Chat Noir was a very wealthy doctor. He...went crazy and rejected her when he found out who and what she was. He came back and hunted down her friends, one by one, and then killed her. Afterwards, he threw himself into the river."

"What can we do then!?" Marinette cried. "He's angry and possessed by an Akuma! And he's likely coming after me and the miraculous!"

"There is nothing we can do," Tikki replied, a defeated look fell across her face.

"That's not true," Plagg whimpered. "I'm still connected to him. I'm feeling every emotion and feeling he has. Tikki can feel yours too." Plagg tried to sit up again and then pointed to the miraculous ring now on her finger. "The last Chat Noir was different. His love for Ladybug was superficial, not real. I could feel that. This one, this Chat Noir is pure. He still loves you, I can feel that. You can help him, but only as you."

"What do you mean?" Tikki asked Plagg.

"What can I do what Ladybug can't?" Marinette asked.

Plagg looked at Marinette. "He's too angry at Ladybug for her to even get close to him, but," Plagg pointed to a photo on Marinette's wall of Adrien Agreste, that Marinette had drawn little hearts on. "You love him. You know him, you can get close to him as yourself."

Marinette stared at the professional photo of Adrien on the wall. She felt confusion as Plagg told her that getting close to Adrien would somehow save Chat Noir. "How is that going to...?" Marinette trailed off as her eyes went wide and then she cried out. "It's him!?"

Tikki seemed a little surprised. "Plagg, we agreed we wouldn't snoop and find out who the other's hero was!"

Though still in pain, Plagg chuckled. "Curiosity and cat's, you know the drill."

"So you're telling me, the guy I've been madly in love with...is actually...the insanely flirty Chat Noir...whose been trying to win my heart for the last two years...who not even an hour ago I rejected!"

Plagg nodded and Marinette fell silent, feeling even worse about how she had treated her partner on that roof. "Marinette," Plagg stated, trying to get her attention. "You can save him, as yourself. Adrien is a helpless romantic. I can feel that while he is possessed, he is also very conflicted. You can use both these facts to maybe...just maybe break whatever is possessed, that will give you time to transform and purify the Akuma. In order to pull that off, you will need to reveal yourself to him and anyone else who might be around. Can you do that?"

Tikki looked at Marinette. "You're only going to have one chance at this, Marinette. It sounds very dangerous. Will you try?"

Marinette hung her shoulders and frowned. She had no choice. It was either she tried and somehow managed to save him. Or tried and died a horrible death. And then there was her ignoring this completely. Marinette didn't want to think about what would happen to Paris if she just ignored this. All the innocent people that could get hurt, or worse, killed. She couldn't forgive herself.

She continued to frown, but she nodded at Plagg and Tikki. "I'll do it. Not for myself, but I'll do it for him, and the sake of Paris."

A/N: So I rewrote a few things. Mainly how the confession went. It wasn't the best before. Less yelling, lol. I also added that Marinette wears the ring since we now know in the series that if they aren't wearing the jewelry, the kwami disappears. I know by that knowledge it's a stretch that Plagg could have not disappeared. I'll try to explain that away when I edit the next chapter.

So yeah…that's it for now. Hope it flowed better!