Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Time was the domain of the Rabbit. But she could only watch, listen, observe. Never interfere, tamper, change.

Until today.

Bunnyx lazily strolled through her warren, surrounded by burrows leading to all pasts and futures-even ones that never existed. A wry smile tugged at her lips as her white-gloved hand brushed a burrow containing a memory of her fourteen-year-old self scowling at her haughty former classmate, Chloe Bourgeois. The smile disappeared when she noticed that the burrow beside this memory was dark.

Just a void leading into oblivion.

She furrowed her brows as black bled across other burrows, destroying those futures. Spinning on her heel, her sapphire-blue eyes rapidly scanned her warren. Her panic only increased as one by one, all the burrows became dark, past and future erased in a single heartbeat.

Only two Miraculouses were powerful enough to do so.

"What have you done, Ladybug and Cat Noir?" she whispered.

A single burrow caught her eye, its memory flickering like a weak candle almost devoured by the darkness. Bunnyx sprinted towards it before it could also disappear. Unsheathing her white and blue umbrella, she charged into the burrow, half a second before it lost the future it contained.

The warren was silent. No past to learn from and no future to look towards. Just the present, unfolding like the pages of a book with no end.

Chapter Text

The sky wept for her loss.

Guilt and regret crushed Ladybug, a burden heavier than the sky weighing down on her shoulders. She buried her head in her arms and pearly tears trailed down her cheeks. She could pretend that they were just because of the rain.

The light patter of footsteps, which she strained to hear over the roar of the water pouring from the heavens, announced Cat Noir's presence. The wielder of the black cat Miraculous was wearing his trademark grin, but it faltered when he caught a glimpse of her tear-stained face.

"What's wrong, M'Lady?" he asked softly.

Everything, she wanted to say, but she remained silent.

He waited for a few more seconds for her to reply, but when she pressed her lips together, he sighed-the sound barely audible-and Cat Noir sat beside her, his leather-clad legs dangling over the edge of the roof. His clawed hand brushed hers and when Ladybug didn't pull away, he took it as an invitation to intertwine their fingers. He squeezed her hand gently, his emerald-green eyes with their eerie slitted pupils saying what he would not: I'm here for you.

It was a small comfort, but it didn't ease the remorse churning in her gut, greedily swallowing her hope and confidence.

Cat Noir noticed the akumas first. His cat ears twitched and then he leapt to his feet, releasing her hand. Ladybug wiped her sky-blue eyes with the palm of her hand and then she climbed to her feet. The black and cat and the ladybug stood side by side, Paris sprawled across the ground ten feet away from the roof, the Eiffel Tower-a marvel of iron girders-dominating the city of lights.

It wasn't just one akuma, Ladybug realised with horror. It was a whole swarm of them!

Bile rose in her throat as she remembered her mistake. The word seemed inefficient to describe the depth of what she had done. She took a step back from the edge of the roof subconsciously.

The swarm of akumas materialised in the form of a man's head, obscuring the Eiffel Tower. Faint traces of a butterfly mask could be seen around his eyes and above his thin mouth, making him instantly recognisable. Hawk Moth. Shadow Moth. Her sworn enemy.

"People of Paris." His face twisted into a cruel smirk. "My name is Monarch. Ladybug and Cat Noir can no longer be entrusted with your protection. The Guardian has allowed all the Miraculous to be stolen and now she will not be able to defend you against my might. Ladybug, Cat Noir, surrender your Miraculous to me or watch these innocent citizens suffer. Make your decision now and let us see how you repay the trust of the Parisians."

"We'll repay their trust by continuing to protect them!" Cat Noir snarled, standing at the very edge of the roof. One more step and he would fall. Don't cats always land on their feet? Ladybug wondered distantly. "You may try to manipulate us, Monarch, but we will not be ensnared by your lies!"

The people milling across the cobblestone streets raised their gazes toward him and a murmur rippled through the crowd. They felt grateful, relieved, even hopeful.

The peace shattered when Cat Noir glanced at his partner. "Isn't that right, Ladybug?"

She startled, like a deer caught in headlights. "O-of course, kitty," she stammered. Even to her own ears, it sounded weak and pathetic.

Tension surged through the crowd as they shifted in discomfort. Accusations were carried on the wind. Ladybug flinched when she heard them.

"Isn't your Miraculous the most powerful?"

"Do you really believe that you and Cat Noir are not capable of defeating Monarch? You've already done it so many times, we've lost count!"

"Are you even worthy of being called a defender of Paris?"

Their baleful stares pierced her, even from this distance. She took a few more steps back, trying to hide in the shadows.

Concern flickered in Cat Noir's eyes as he turned to face her.

Monarch's hateful laugh split the night air, audible even over the severe storm lashing the city. "Do you believe me now, people of Paris? Your beloved superhero is nothing, but a coward!"

Coward. The word echoed in her ears. Her brain unhelpfully supplied more. Useless. Failure. Worthless. 

"M'Lady?" Cat Noir whispered, his voice lost to the howling wind and torrent of rain. "Don't listen to them. You can still fix this-"

"No, I can't," Ladybug spat and it was a relief to finally release all the bitterness building up inside of her. "This is a mistake even my Lucky Charm cannot undo!"

"You're Creation. Nothing is impossible for you-"

"Well, this is," she snapped as tears welled in her eyes again. She wiped them away savagely, then turned sharply on her heel. "Don't follow me."

"Wait!" Cat Noir called, extending a clawed hand.

But she was already gone, Monarch's taunting laughter and the angry murmurs of the Parisian citizens following her. A lonely, red-clad figure lost to the curtains of water pouring from the bleak sky, hopping from concrete roof to gabled roof, trying to escape the mocking whispers in her head.

Disappointment. That's all you'll ever be.

Chapter Text

"I'll tell you a tale of sorrow," he whispered, raising his head to the sky, letting the rain wash over his bald head and trail down his face. "The tale of the first wielder to walk astray from her path of justice."

Ladybug said nothing, because there was nothing to say. She leaned against a nearby chimney, crossing her ankles and arms, keeping her balance on the slippery gables of the roof: slick because of the water cascading from the gray sky. 

At least she would not face his wrath. The sad but quiet understanding in his eyes told her that he understood.

"A long, long time ago," Su-Han-celestial guardian of the Miraculous-began, "the Miraculous of the Black Cat was gifted to a man of extraordinary skill. He called himself-" Su-Han waved his hand and a flickering image appeared in the sky. Ladybug squinted to see past the sheets of rain obscuring it. It was of a man, his snow-white chest sculpted beneath his raven-black toga, pinned at the shoulder with a gold clasp. His dark eyes gleamed in his angular face, and he clutched a spear of glowing obsidian in his left hand. Faint words were scrawled under the effigy: All hail Lord Plague, harbinger of doom.

"He fought with great courage, but at last, he was bested in battle by Saphir, the holder of the Peacock Miraculous." The image of Lord Plague lunged with his spear drawn at another glowing silhouette, this man tall and lean, his toga azure and his eyes sea green. But Saphir's jeweled dagger pierced him in the heart, and he fell to his knees, the light fading from his eyes.

"In time, the Miraculous was passed to his sister, Lady Plague." The silhouettes of both Lord Plague and Saphir disappeared, replaced by a lithe woman with jet-black hair falling to her waist and the same inhuman eyes as Lord Plague. She wore a dress of black leather slit up to her waist, revealing her pale, slender leg. A whip of barbed spikes was grasped tightly in her left hand. The inscription beneath her image read: All hail Lady Plague, bringer of death.

"What a creative name," Ladybug muttered sarcastically.

"Her sorrow at the death of her brother knew no bounds and she slew Saphir within a month of receiving her Miraculous." Su-Han paused and, waving a dismissive hand, the silhouettes changed to that of Lady Plague smiling viciously as Saphir writhed at her feet. He clapped his hands together sharply and both images faded like smoke. "But she was not finished. No. She had only begun.

"Italy, France, England and countries all across Europe and Asia suffered from her wrath. True to her name, only decay and destruction followed in her wake. She felled cities and then walked away with no remorse. All bowed to her conquest as her rage spread like the plague. You would know it as the Black Death."

Ladybug raised her eyebrows, the only sign of her surprise.

"And then..." Su-Han sighed. "The holder of the Ladybug Miraculous at that time had the misfortune to fall in love with her." A final image appeared in the sky: a bronze-skinned man in a crimson toga, his gold eyes innocent, a black-hilted sword clutched in his right hand. The words looping across the base of his effigy read: All hail the Scarlet Wraith, heralder of new life. "He pursued her across continents, creation and life following him and wherever his foot touched the ground, the people were cured of the Black Death. They called him a saint, a saviour." When Su-Han's hand caressed the image, it vanished. "Eventually, Lady Plague stopped to listen to the man who had captured her heart.

"Her touch was lethal to all, even those she loved. She could not save him. He too perished from the destruction she had wrought. The people, who already cursed her name, called her a demon from the depths of the underworld. Lady Plague was exiled. She had learned her lesson: she vowed to never love again. But her pain was too great, and it could not be healed. She took her own life, to join her lover and brother in the next."

There was silence as Su-Han ended his story. 

"Why did you tell me that story?" Ladybug asked, unfolding her arms and ankles. She was careful to keep her balance on the rain-slick roof as she strode closer to Su-Han so she could see him in the eye. "I am not in love with Cat Noir."

"But you have made foolish mistakes for love as well." Su-Han's tone was annoyingly mysterious, as if he knew something she did not.

Ladybug's cheeks burned as she remembered. "I didn't need you to remind you. Goodbye, Su-Han," she spat out his name bitterly. "And thanks for the history lecture. It was ever so helpful."

"Wait," he said calmly. "This story was not a reminder. It was a warning. You could be Lady Plague, if you do not learn from her mistakes. Your power is great and so too is your responsibility. Accept it and your mistake as well. Only then will you be able to move forward-"

"And what if I don't wish to?" she hissed. "What if I wish to pass on my so-called responsibility to someone else?"

Su-Han's bushy brows furrowed. "You cannot. Master Fu entrusted you with the Ladybug Miraculous and I respect his decision."

"Well, Master Fu isn't here anymore, is he? And he wouldn't have chosen me if he had known what a disappointment I would be."

"Do not listen to Monarch-"

"Leave me be," she commanded sternly and vanished into the night, the rain swallowing her whole.