The Price of One || Miraculous Ladybug Fanfiction

Chapter Twenty-Two: Kindred Hearts

Emma stared up at the blank ceiling of her room - questions running around her head in circles. ‘My name is Emma Agreste’ She reminded herself. ‘I love to spend time with my family, and doing my ballet in the studio. I have a pet hamster and my favourite food is camembert cheese. I’m a Gryffindor and the youngest child in a family of five. My Mom and I love to make dinner together while Dad and I love a good run in the park.’ She tried to remind herself.

But there was another voice inside her head. ‘No! Your name is Emma Bisset. You live alone in a studio apartment because your parents don’t come home anymore and your only sibling is dead. You’re all alone and you have no one to turn to.’

Emma groaned, getting up as she stalked to her kitchenette, preparing some warm milk as she splashed water on her face. She was never really good at giving herself pep-talks - that was Hugo’s job. He always knew the right thing to say that would make Emma feel like herself again whenever she faced these sleepless nights.

She ran her eyes around her small apartment - a reminder of just how lonely she really was. She sighed, burying her face into her hands when she heard the screaming - a signal that Hawkmoth had found his next victim. She groaned. “Not again.”

- - -

“It’s been the seventh akuma this week!” Ladybug complained. They had just finished defeating Dr. Misery - a surgeon who had lost his wife in a surgery he had been in charge of. “Tell me about it.” Cygnet muttered, rubbing her eyes with a yawn.

“Hawk Moth seems more aggressive than usual, no?” Cat Noir observed. “Usually, his akumas are once a week, or they each have at least a few days in between them. Something must’ve changed.” He turned to Cygnet.

“Do you know something about this?” He asked as Cygnet rubbed her chin - trying to remember the stories her parents told her. “Hmm...not really. I mean, I know that Hawkmoth is more determined than ever, but I don’t know the reason why. Only the Ladybug and Cat Noir of the future know his identity - to keep an eye on him.”

“Wait - we end up catching Hawk Moth?” Ladybug asks as Cygnet nods. “Yeah, but he was released from prison a few years later on some kind of deal he made with the judge.” She says as Ladybug raises an eyebrow. “What kind of deal?” She asks curiously - hoping to find some clues.

“The judge saw the humanity left in him.” Cygnet shrugged. “The only reason he got any years at all was because he killed someone - but no one knows who it was. Just that his identity was kept secret for the good of all of Paris.”

“Wait. Hawk Moth...killed someone?” Cat Noir asked in horror as Cygnet solemnly nodded. He looked at Ladybug. “How could the judge have let him get away with that? How could we have let him get away with that?” He asked angrily. “Don’t worry, he served about a decade.” Cygnet told him. “But trust me. The new Hawk Moth is….much worse.” She mused.

Ladybug and Cat Noir share a look with each other. “New Hawk Moth?” She squeaked. “Evidently, someone else got a hold of the butterfly miraculous.” Cygnet tried to explain. “She calls herself Papillion. But she didn’t want Ladybug or Cat Noir’s miraculous like Hawk Moth had.”

“What did she want?” Cat was brave enough to ask. Cygnet inhaled sharply. “She wanted chaos. She wanted blood on the walls, screams echoing off the eiffel tower. She thrives in the downfall of others.” Cygnet said quietly. “She’s dangerous because she doesn’t love for anything, and is willing to do anything to get others to suffer at her hands.”

Ladybug shuddered. “I’m glad we don’t have to deal with that right now. At least until we get our adult powers.” She added. Cat Noir nodded sadly. “Papillion must’ve had a hard life to want to do what she does to innocent people.” He tried to sympathize. Emma shook her head. “Don’t feel bad for her.” She said sharply. “She doesn’t deserve it.”

Ladybug was stunned by the hatred in Cygnet’s eyes. “That hatred sounds kinda personal,” Cat Noir said slowly, looking at Cygnet. “Did she do something to you?” He asked as she snorted. “Papillon is the reason why I could become...this.” She said, gesturing to her super suit. “She’s the reason why I can wield the black swan miraculous.”

Cygnet hadn’t always known the true secret behind the black swan miraculous until recently - right before she had decided to come to the future. Bunnyx had told her the truth - the reason why her mom hadn’t allowed her to join the legion with that specific miraculous.

She hadn’t been a stranger to the miraculouses. She had been allowed to borrow the mouse miraculous before on a rainy day, back in the times when there had been a particularly vicious akuma, and her parents wanted to make sure she had a way to return home safely, but the black swan miraculous had always caught her attention - almost like an obsession.

Of course, it was only natural for her to want a miraculous of her own. Hugo had the tiger miraculous and Louis had taken up the snake miraculous after Luka had stepped down, wanting to settle down from the life of a superhero and have his happy ending with Kagami. They had both joined the legion, and Cygnet had been the only one in her family who wasn’t a superhero. But now that she finally was a superhero, she wasn’t really sure if she wanted to keep being one when she returned to the future. If being a superhero meant having to suffer a horrendous loss, she would gladly return the miraculous.

Ladybug and Cat Noir’s eyes widened - both of them realizing what this meant. Ladybug put a hand on Cygnet’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, Cygnet. Maybe if Papillion comes earlier, we can defeat her, and-” She was saying, but Cygnet put a hand up to stop her. “If you guys mess with the timeline, the future will be affected. We have to let time play its course.”

Cygnet wanted to take the words back. Tell her parents she didn’t mean them at all - to kill every teenage girl in Paris if it meant stopping Papillion. But those were selfish thoughts, and Cygnet had a greater responsibility to her city than to herself. She yawned noisily to cover the fact that she was ready to break down and cry. “Look guys...It’s getting late. I’ll see you guys at patrol tomorrow.” She said, waving goodbye as she leaped away.

Cat Noir raised an eyebrow. “You think she’ll ever tell us what happened? She’s been here for months!” He exclaimed as Ladybug groaned, shaking her head. “Cat Noir! Don’t you think if something really horrible happened to you, you would just randomly share it with a bunch of strangers?” Cat Noir scoffed. “Strangers? We’re not strangers!”

“How are we not strangers? We don’t even know each other’s names!” Ladybug exclaimed. “Psh! That doesn’t count! We know the deep stuff about each other.” He reasoned. “The deep stuff?” She deadpanned. “Yeah, you know. Like how I know your favorite color is pink. You’re kind, and your family and friends are your first priority. You love to watch the sunrises as a reminder of a new day: the deep stuff.”

Ladybug couldn’t help the blush that rose to her cheeks. Her earrings suddenly beeped louder - interrupting the moment. She gave her partner a small smile. “I’ll see you later, Cat Noir.” She said, winding up her yoyo. “Bug out!”

Cat Noir sighed - lovestruck. He suddenly shook his head - trying to make sense out of himself. From a few blocks away, Ladybug was hiding behind a skyscraper. She wasn't the only one whose heart was confused.