Musical glossary:

Rubato (Italian: 'stolen/robbed')- Musical term for the elasticity of music, most often expressed in time, or rhythm. In essence, by 'stealing' time, or borrowing it, rubato allows the performer to achieve greater musical expression and freedom. The player may deviate from strict tempo regularity by stretching certain beats, measures, or phrases and compacting others, in a musically correct method of atonement.

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Ladybug was falling. Her body felt like it was floating, yet she could see a myriad of objects zooming past her: buildings, vehicles, street signs, people, as if her world had been rotated ninety degrees and gravity was pulling her across the street instead of towards the earth. She dropped down (or was it sideways??), further into the blackness. Time seemed to have slowed down, although she couldn't be sure. It was as if she were a stone that had been dropped into a vast ocean, its currents violently rushing past.

Where am I?

She looked up towards the only source of light, which dimmed more and more as she fell. When it was merely a speck, she wondered if she'd plunged into a complete, terrifying darkness, all alone. Was there no way out? Fear gripped her chest, and she struggled to hold in a whimper.

A sudden brightness blinded her and someone, or some thing, caught her, preventing her from falling any further. Panicking, she squeezed her eyes shut against the onslaught of lights, and she struggled to wrest herself free. She squirmed and tried to shove the unknown entity away, but it was all in vain, as she was merely squeezed even tighter. The unknown force was simply too powerful to fight off in her confused and disoriented state, and although the grip wasn't rough or painful, it was firm and unrelenting.

"Let me go!" she cried, still scrambling to get away. "Please, somebody help!!"

She felt someone's face lower next to hers. "Easy, easy, it's just me. You're okay," a deep voice cooed, their warm breath tickling her ear.

Her struggles ceased; she knew that voice.

"Chat...?"

Ladybug forced her eyes to focus, and they traveled up to meet his. She felt her body relax a bit as she looked into the familiar green glow. Could it really be him? How much of this situation was real?

"What happened? Is it really you? Am I... is this a dream?" she asked.

Chat Noir gave her a self-deprecating smile. "As much as I'd like to joke about being the man of your dreams, you're actually awake right now."

Ladybug quirked an eyebrow. Well... he certainly sounded like the real Chat.

She ignored the sudden heat in her face and asked, "Where are we? How did I get here?"

She felt Chat shrug as he held her, his face mirroring her own look of confusion. "It's... I'm not exactly sure how to explain." His eyes looked distant as he recounted what happened. "I saved the people from the vehicle that the akuma threw, and then started running back towards you guys. But I saw that she had you cornered, and I realized I wasn't going to reach you in time. I was so scared. But then, like..." His face scrunched as he tried to articulate what happened, as if he were still trying to make sense of it himself. "Something stopped me. I got this feeling, this urge, that I needed to go inside this building. It seemed like a really stupid idea, but it's like I couldn't ignore it. So, against my better judgment, I followed it. Then when I was inside, I heard Plagg's voice in my head. He said... 'BLACK HOLE'."

Ladybug blinked. Black Hole? Why did that sound so familiar...?

"So I repeated the words, and just like with Cataclysm, this... power activated in my hand; one I've never used before. And then it was like, somehow I knew what to do next. I put my hand on the wall and I focused, thinking about you and your location. I made a hole appear under you, and you fell through it. And then you landed here."

Ladybug's eyes grew wide. She realized that the power he was talking about had been briefly mentioned in Fu's writings and records about other miraculouses, but no other details had been available.

"Chat, that–that's remarkable," she breathed. "You discovered a brand new power when it was needed the most... That's amazing! Thank you."

Chat looked away, cheeks reddening. "I-it was nothing. Just doing my job." He cleared his throat, then nodded at the Lucky Charm in her hands. "S-so, uh... I noticed that you've got an interesting looking lightbulb there. Got any ideas?"

Oh. The Lucky Charm... she'd somehow managed to hold onto it during her odd trip through the black hole.

Right on cue, her earrings rang out their first beep.

She shook her head. "Not yet. But let's go back outside so I can look around and see what we can use."

"Good idea," he replied with a fond smile, then seemed to be waiting for her so he could follow.

Her face felt warm again, and she added awkwardly, "Uhh... you're gonna have to set me down first. I'm fine now, really."

Chat's eyebrows flew up, finally realizing that she was still nestled in his arms. "O-oh! Right! H-here you go," he stammered, quickly setting her down onto the floor. They looked at each other, wringing their hands and chuckling awkwardly.

She turned and began to walk away when she felt him gently grab her arm.

"Wait," he said, his expression turning forlorn. "I-uh... I wanted to apologize. For what my father said. He said a lot of really horrible things to you, and you don't deserve any of it. He wasn't always like... like that. I know he was just trying to turn us against each other, and I wanted to argue back, b-but it's like I'd open my mouth and nothing would come out, and I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry."

She turned her body around to face him completely. Was he really apologizing for what had happened back there?? She had to consciously fight the urge to step forward and wrap her arms around him, as overzealous physical affection probably wasn't what he needed right now. Especially not after what Hawkmoth said to him about her and her... motivations.

"Chat...You don't have to apologize. The things Hawkmoth said, the things he does... you have no control over any of it; none of it is your fault. You're not responsible for his words and actions. The man currently wearing the butterfly miraculous isn't your father. He's a villain, and extremely mentally disturbed. He'll do and say anything to achieve what he wants."

Chat looked away, his fists squeezing tightly. "B-but... what if he's right, about some of it? Do you really need me? Would it be better for me to just hand you my miraculous so you could wish for him to go away, or wish for his miraculous back? I'm partly responsible so I should be the one to accept any consequences. Would I be more useful if I simply disappeared? Would it fix everything? Would it... save him and make him go back to normal?"

Ladybug felt her body stiffen and a sudden nausea settled in her gut.

Chat still loved his father. He wanted to save him.

She looked up at him, her determined eyes meeting his fearful ones. "Chat... don't ever think for a second that things would be better off without you. Take a step back and look at the whole picture. You literally just discovered a new power, in the middle of battle, to save me from an akuma. That's incredible!"

Chat's cheeks flushed and he looked away, rubbing his arm shyly.

Ladybug continued, "If you don't trust yourself yet, then trust me. I don't need your miraculous." She slowed down, emphasizing each word clearly. "I need YOU."

"I..." he gaped at her, at a loss for words. A wave of emotions flickered through his face in quick sequence. Shock. Relief. Affection. Hope. Finally, he replied, "Th-thank you for saying that. You have no idea how much that means to me. And... I do trust you. It's just... I just feel so powerless whenever he's around, almost like I revert back into being a little kid, too afraid to talk back, too weak to act. Sometimes it feels like I'll never escape him."

Ladybug gulped and decided to chance stepping closer. She took his hands into hers, squeezing firmly, her eyes searching his to make sure her actions weren't unwelcome.

"I can't imagine how you must be feeling. But I assure you, you're doing the right thing. It'll take time for you to feel more confident around him, but I know you can do it. We can defeat him. YOU can defeat him. I believe in you, Chaton. I believe in The ladybug and cat miraculouses are back together where they belong, and as a team they can bring back balance. Together, our magic is greater than his. And I'll do everything in my power to help you be free of that man."

Chat bit his lip, gazing at her fondly, looking like he was moments away from tackling her with a hug. Instead, he shook his head with a dreamy sigh. "I don't deserve you, My Lady."

Ladybug ignored the heat that rose to her face, and booped him on the nose. "Stop saying that, you silly cat. You deserve every possible good thing to happen to you."

Chat raised her hands to his lips and left a lingering kiss. "You're already the best thing that's ever happened to 'Chat Noir'. Thank you," he said softly.

"I–I..."Her breath caught slightly, the huskiness in Chat's voice producing a pleasant tingle that traveled down her spine. "Y-you're welcome," she managed to stammer out.

"Also... I know this isn't the time, but after we defeat this akuma, I'll tell you everything about my mother. She's the reason why we did everything. We were trying to save her. She's... well, at first I thought she was sick, but things are more complicated than that. Anyway, I promise I'll tell you everything."

Because I really do trust you, and I need you to know that, his eyes seemed to say as they bore into hers.

She smiled at him. "If she's anything like you, I'm sure she's an amazing person." Chat looked down at her, his emotions threatening to spill out at her words.

He was about to reply when his ring beeped out its first alarm, and they were startled apart.

Chat walked back to her with a smile. Linking his fingers between hers, he said, "Let's do this, Bugaboo. We've got an akuma to take care of."

(Continued in part 2)