4. Trap

A/N: Hi again! Thank you so much for reading this - you guys are awesome. Thanks for alerting/reviewing! I might be MIA for a few days after writing this one, but I'll aim to be back sometime later in the week.

This is the first dramatic oneshot...please don't hate me. Don't worry, they won't all be so sad!

Trap: The truth about Hawkmoth just might shatter Chat Noir. And if that isn't enough, Ladybug witnesses it all unfold.

They stood at the start of a long, dark hallway illuminated only by a long string of flickering fluorescent lights. Ladybug wondered if Chat Noir was just as worried as she was. Of all the villains they'd ever faced, none was more formidable than this one. Hawkmoth. The master of many, ensnarer of any. His lair sat at the end of the hall, behind a pair of foreboding steel double doors.

Ladybug tried to calm her sprinting heart. "We're going to have to do this eventually."

Chat looked over at her. "I know," he said quietly.

"Look," she looked down at her feet, "if something happens to me-"

"-No, don't say that. We are going to be fine."

"But if he makes either of us-"

"He won't," Chat said sharply.

"How do you know?"

They met eyes, and a silent promise passed between them. They'd watch over each other. Always, until the end. Whatever that ending might be.

Before Ladybug knew what she was doing, she started to walk. Chat fell into step at her side.

"What do you think we'll find behind those doors?" he asked.

"Let's find out."

When they reached the doors, they paused, knowing once they were inside there was no turning back. And in that moment, Chat gently took her hand in his. Their fingers interlaced. We go together.

They each turned a knob and the doors swung open silently. Ladybug had been expecting a dark dungeon of a room, with Hawkmoth standing in a corner, watching some kind of surveillance camera setup. Chat Noir had been expecting a laboratory, with photographs and string attaching things to corkboards, with a caped man babbling at his plans like a maniac.

What neither of them expected was Gabriel Agreste standing in a round, white room, surrounded by iridescent butterflies. He was facing the door with his hands clasped behind his back, as if he had been waiting for them.

"It's about time you showed up," he said, giving them a jagged smile. "I know you were counting on the element of surprise, but I'm afraid you're rather predictable."

Chat Noir stiffened. Ladybug looked over at him, but he was staring at Gabriel with a mixture of fear and disgust.

"It's been you, this whole time? You're Hawkmoth?" she asked, completely shocked. Poor Adrien, he'd be heartbroken if he knew.

"Of course."

"You can't win. You know this."

Gabriel gave her a disconcertingly calm look. "I disagree. The mere confession of my identity was enough to distract you from hearing the doors lock behind you. My security system will ensure that the only way you leave is by my personal confirmation. And, as you probably guessed, the only way that will happen is if I receive your Miraculouses. You have my assurance that I'll keep my word. As long as you do as I ask."

"Never," said Chat in a trembling voice. His hand tightened around Ladybug's.

"I figured you would say that. I've taken the liberty of setting up some insurance in case you both proved to be difficult. I'll bet neither of you looked up when you walked in, did you?"

Ladybug's stomach seized. It was too late to do anything – there was a whooshing sound, and a barred cage dropped from its suspension above them. They were trapped like zoo animals on display.

"Don't bother trying to use your powers to escape. My kwami told me...under duress, of course...how to build this cage so that it would be inescapable, even with your considerable abilities."

Chat's hand clutched hers still tighter. Typically Ladybug thought they could get out of any tight corner, any terrible situation. But something felt different this time. Chat was not acting like his usual self. He was not confident or funny or witty. He looked truly scared.

Before either of them could act or say anything, Gabriel gave a mirthless laugh and transformed into Hawkmoth. He moved his hands in an upward motion and two white butterflies froze, controlled.

"These are pure akumas – they won't turn you into villains," he said nonchalantly. "They'll just put you temporarily under my power. They will make you extremely susceptible, and you can carry out my simple order without any…resistance. You'll forgive me, but I find it needless and tedious to physically fight a battle I know I can win with just my mind."

"No!" Chat shouted as the butterflies began to fly to them. "You don't understand! You can't do this!" His face was extremely pale, which made his green eyes stand out even more. He let go of Ladybug's hand.

Hawkmoth didn't react. He simply continued to make the butterflies follow his captives, no matter how much they moved around the cage. Unable to escape, Chat turned his back, curling into a ball and sliding to the floor. Ladybug backed herself against the side of the cage, a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead.

Then a butterfly landed on her shoulder and Ladybug gasped. A strange feeling of passiveness stole through her – it was as if she was awaking from sedation. Her brain understood what was happening, but she couldn't control her actions. She felt Chat go still at her feet and knew he was affected too.

How could they possibly get out of this?

"You will remove your Miraculouses and give them to me." The order echoed in her ears.

Against her will, Ladybug watched as her hands went to her earrings. Chat removed his ring. And then it occurred to her what was about to happen. Filled with fear but unable to fight it, Ladybug knew that without their Miraculouses, their masks would dissolve – and sure enough, she felt a rush of wind and knew she was Marinette again.

And Chat…she didn't know if she could handle knowing who was beneath that façade. Afraid of discovering his identity, she instead focused her eyes on her hand as it stretched out through the bars and handed over her earrings. But as soon as she'd fulfilled her command, the butterfly emerged from her shoulder and flew back to its master. She had command of her body again.

And it was then that she brought her eyes up to where her partner was still curled in on himself in the corner. She couldn't resist her curiosity anymore. She saw blond hair, a blue shirt. A pale arm wrapped around his face. His head rested on his knees. His other arm deposited his ring into a gloved hand, and a butterfly fluttered away from him and out of the cage. As soon as it had gone, he shivered and put both arms around his head.

Hawkmoth smiled as he pocketed their Miraculouses, seemingly uninterested in finding out their identities. He turned his back on them and walked away to admire his prizes. He hit a small button at his desk, causing the cage to lift and the doors to unlock. "You're free to leave," he said coldly, not even turning around. He figured that without their Miraculouses, the two ex-heroes were powerless against him. They were no longer worthy of his attention. And who would believe them if they told anyone he was Hawkmoth? No one would take the word of a mere teenager seriously.

Marinette knelt beside her partner, who hadn't so much as moved.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

"No," was his honest reply. "We need to get our Miraculouses back, before he does something terrible. We need a plan."

"My promise still stands. I'll help you. Until the end. You'd do the same for me."

"But I didn't! If I'd known it was Gabriel Agreste…I should have known. I should have seen-"

"You couldn't have done anything – there was no way you could have known…no matter who you are. You don't have to hide your identity from me."

"You don't understand. Of all people, I should have been the one to see this coming. I'm sorry; I could have prevented all of this."

Marinette put a hand on his shoulder – he was trembling. "Why?"

Slowly, he lifted his face to look at her, momentarily taken aback at seeing her instead of the familiar alter-ego. And she understood why Chat had been so affected by the discovery that Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste.

Because she was staring into the distraught face of his son.