who are we (if not who they've made us to be)?

Six

"'What's seen cannot be unseen,'" Marinette quoted Bunnyx. "I made sure that Chat Blanc never existed in our timeline but as a result... I'm the only one who knows about him in the first place."

Everyone was kind enough not to mention how her voice broke.

"You never told him," Adrien whispered, soft but accusing, "You never told Chat Noir."

Marinette let out a bitter laugh. "And what was I supposed to tell him? 'We can't reveal our identities because in an alternate timeline where you know mine, it drives you to insanity and you get akumatized, not only killing me and Hawkmoth but wiping out humanity as we know it. Oh and, by the way, I also have nightmares every night about you trying to kill me and steal my Miraculous in some twisted obsession with bringing me back to life and making everything right again.' I'm sure that would have gone over so well."

Adrien was silent. What was one to say to that?

Douloureux walked up to Marinette, grabbing her hand and holding it tightly. "Bad memories. I make them go bye-bye."

Marinette's head shot up. "No! You can't, I-I need them!"

"Why? Why keep? They make you sad," Douloureux insisted. Marinette gave a bittersweet smile.

"Yeah. They make me sad. They make me very sad, but... they also teach me. They make me smart, and wise. They make me sad, but they make me happy too."

"How?" His voice broke, tears in his eyes. "How? Hurts. It hurts."

Marinette hugged him. "I know it hurts. But there cannot be happiness without sadness, relief without pain. There must be balance. You are hurting now. But think of all the happy times you've had before. Do you remember them?"

Douloureux buried his face in her stomach. His hands trembled from their place clutching her shirt. Happiness? Could he remember happy memories? Yes. Yes, he could remember ice cream with Mama and going to the park with Papa. He could remember sneaking into their bed in the mornings and giggling as Papa tickled him and Mama laughed. He could remember happy memories. Pulling back and reaching into his bag, Douloureux pulled out the first jar. Inside, a stolen galaxy of memories twinkled in the light. It was his Mama's bad memories. Douloureux stared at it. He glanced up at Marinette. She was kind, like Mama, and strong, like Papa. He liked her. Looking down, he gave her the jar.

"Akuma," he said simply. Marinette drew in a sharp breath. Slowly, she reached out and grabbed it.

"Thank you," she said softly. "Don't worry. I'll help you, Douloureux. You're a good boy."

He sniffled. "'M sorry."

"Don't be. You're a good boy." She ruffled his hair. Opening her bag, Marinette gave Tikki a glance.

"Tikki, spots on."

A bright pink light flashed before Ladybug stood in the place of Marinette. The class was in awe. Shattering the jar, Ladybug quickly sent her yo-yo after the akuma.

"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" She let it go, purified. "Bye, bye little butterfly."

Ladybug quickly threw her yo-yo up. "Lucky Charm!"

A photo fell into her hands. A picture Chat Noir had insisted on taking during patrol. He was grinning at the camera, arm thrown over her shoulder and his hand positioned in a peace sign. She was in the middle of rolling her eyes, failing at hiding her smile. A tear dropped onto the picture. Quickly, Ladybug wiped her face.

"Ahem. Miraculous Ladybug!" She threw the photo into the air, and the world around them disappeared. Ladybug blinked and she was back in her classroom.

"W-Whoa..." Alya groaned. "What happened?"

Ladybug winced as a headache pushed against her eyes. "Honestly? I'm... not exactly sure."

"Last thing I remember, Marinette was talking to some weird guy at the front of the class," Nino said, massaging his temples.

"She was?" Ladybug blurted. "I mean, yes, of course she was. Um... there was an akuma. Don't worry though, I dealt with it already." She quickly mumbled an, "I hope."

Her earrings beeped. "Oh, time to go. Um, bug out, I guess?"

She left through the window. Minutes later, Marinette burst in through the door.

"What the hell happened!? There was an akuma and then suddenly I was in a different classroom and Ladybug's telling me that she's fixed it?" Marinette blubbered.

"I... don't remember anything after that boy grabbing Marinette's wrist," Adrien admitted. The rest of the class murmured in agreement. As they tried to correlate stories and figure out what really happened in the spots in their memories, Tikki chewed on a cookie in Marinette's bag.

Marinette, my sweet Marinette, Tikki thought to herself. Just this once, I'll fix everything for you. Don't worry, I'll keep these memories safe. None of you have to worry about them.

(Later, Alya would get home and notice a new video on her phone with the timestamp showing it was taken during the gap in everyone's memory. Curious, she would press play. Chloe's voice would flood her speakers.

"What the hell!? You only just mention this now!? Why are you talking to an akuma in the first place!?")