Miraculous Ladybug Oneshots

Ladynoir #4 ~ I Can't Save You ~

The following are a collection of stories told by an eye witness of Aspik's many tries to save Ladybug from the villain "Desperada." The witness does not wish to reveal his identity.

Try #25: "They stayed underground all day." 

     As soon as Aspik returned to the past, he begged Ladybug to let them stay underground for a little while.

      "I've already tried to save you--" he stopped before he could reveal the number, fearing she'd lose faith in him if he did. Twenty-five times? That was twenty-five too many.

      "I think it's time to switch it up," he decided to say instead.

      "Okay," she replied, eyes full of trust.

      Ladybug spent all their time underground thinking up brilliant plans for them to use. Every time she tried go use them above ground, though, Aspik grabbed her arm and begged her to wait a little bit longer.

      It felt like they were down there for hours in the smelly, quickly cooling sewers. Finally, Ladybug had had enough. She said they had to fulfill their duties as heroes. Another example of how much better at this job she was.

      Aspik agreed and crawled out of the manhole first, scanning the area and then pulling his partner out of the hole. Less than ten seconds later she disappeared and he was back in the past.

      It was his fault. He didn't scan well enough.

Try #201: "He almost sacrificed himself."

      He knew what he needed to do. He couldn't keep letting this happen. If they were going to defeat Desperada he was going to need to step into his role and powers. As Chat Noir, it was his job to distract the akumatized victims while Ladybug defeated them. That was what he was good at. He was not, on the other hand, good at planning and logic like she was. He was good at physical tasks, she was good at mental ones, that was what made them such a great team.

      Plus, he couldn't keep doing this. It had been roughly a day and a half since he had slept, and even though his energy was refreshed every time he used his Second Chance, the mental toll never got lighter.

      "I'm going to sacrifice myself," he announced, arriving in the past again.

      "What?!" Ladybug exclaimed. "Adrien—"

      "Aspik," Adrien corrected. "But I've thought this through, M'L—Ladybug. This is the best way for this to work."

      To his surprise, a bit of fear crossed Ladybug's face. "What if I fail?"

      "You won't," Aspik waved her off, a bit surprised to see her hesitant at all.

      "I—" she thought for a second, then her expression hardened. "No, Aspik. I need you, and I need your help. Please, just stay with me a little longer."

      How could he say no?

      "Okay."

Try #2, 042: "He broke down for the first time, Ladybug was an angel."

      "I can't do this anymore," he fell to his knees in front of her.

      "Are you okay?" she asked, sinking down next to him and gripping his shoulders tightly. Normally he would be overjoyed at any physical contact from her, but it only made his agony worse.

      "I haven't slept in weeks," he whispered, hoping she wouldn't hear him. "I've seen you die 2,000 times. If I can't protect you long enough for us to win in 2,000 times, I've failed."