Miraculous Dragonus (Lila Rossi x Male Reader)

Arc 08: Chapter 03: Dark Rise, Part 3

Cat Noir knew he didn't have much time left before he changed back, but he needed to find Ladybug. She'd gotten a head start on him when he was comforting Amber, and he had no idea where she could have gone. She can't have gotten far, he thought. Her transformation should've given out by now.

His thoughts wandered a little to what she had done against his evil copy. She controlled it, but she clearly didn't know how she did it. And the power must have scared her a little.

Cat Noir didn't have too many problems with his Cataclysm and what it did. As long as he was careful and clear-headed everything would be okay. True, certain times had left him a little shaken, but in the end he ultimately blamed it all on Hawk Moth. But whatever power Ladybug had unlocked... something told him he couldn't blame Hawk Moth for it.

A high pitched voice spoke in reassuring tones from an alley. Cat Noir immediately recognized the voice. Tikki . His ring beeping rapidly, Cat Noir slipped into another alley and transformed back to his regular self, Plagg falling into a heap in Adrien's palm. Adrien handed his kwami a piece of Camembert. "Eat quickly, Plagg. I think Marinette might need some help." He said urgently.

Plagg took a bite out of his cheese. "I'd want some help, too." He replied through a mouthful of the cheese. "Especially if I used that power."

Adrien threw his kwami a quizzical, worried look. "Is it bad? Is she going to..." He didn't even want to finish the thought.

Plagg belched. "No, she's not, though it... I'm not sure how to describe it. It's been forever since one of my wielders used it." He answered. Shaking his head, Adrien opened his jacket and Plagg flew in, then the two raced to the next alley, where Marinette was crouching and silently crying.

Tikki flew over to Adrien. "Thank goodness you're here." She said quickly. "I've been trying to tell her everything's okay, but she's really tearing herself apart over this. I don't know if she'll listen to me anymore."

Adrien nodded and sat down next to Marinette. "You okay?" He asked gently.

Marinette sniffled. "No. I don't know what happened and I'm afraid something terrible is going to happen." She said, tears dripping down her face. Adrien put a hand on her shoulder. "You did it to save me." He told her. "It can't be all bad, can it?"

"I felt so cold." Marinette replied. "So, so cold. Colder than I've ever felt in my entire life. And what it felt like, controlling Catastrophe. I could feel his... whatever he had for a soul. And I could feel your soul, and Darkseeker's, and even Dragonus's. I could feel his fear. And..." She gulped. "I almost enjoyed it. I almost enjoyed it, and I don't know why. Maybe some kind of monster woke up, like Madame Luck is trying to take over."

"Hey." Adrien said, wrapping his arm around her. "You're not a monster, and you're not going to become one. Besides, the ladybugs fixed everything. You'll be fine." The teenagers' attention was caught by Tikki clearing her throat.

"Actually." the cherry red kwami began, sounding like she had bad news. "The ladybugs... don't undo things like that. What you did, Marinette, was unlock an ability every Ladybug has. Or rather, most Miraculous wielders have. It's not unique to any particular Miraculous or Box. Essentially, the power allows you to control and bend darkness to your will. A specific set of criteria has to be met, and unfortunately, a lot of our enemies meet it."

"So we could be dealing with Hawk Moth controlling people like that, or Dragonus?" Adrien asked, a little alarmed.

Tikki shook her head. "I don't think so, at least for Hawk Moth. He'd have to know it exists, since he'd be using it for evil. Marinette's use of it came from a place of goodness and love." She said, pointing at Marinette. "I'd worry more about Dragonus using it, since he likely knows about it. The description of the power was put into the spellbook for the Dark Box."