(Continued from part 3)

(Mood Music: "Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118" - Franz Schubert, performed by Camille Thomas)

Ladybug gaped. Oh, hell, she groaned internally.

"Chat Noir!" cried 'Marinette', sounding utterly alien to Ladybug's own ears. The look-alike hissed in pain as Prima Donna yanked sharply on her hair.

Chat seemed to come to his senses at her pained voice. "Let her go!" he demanded.

Prima Donna sneered at them, placing her magic wand under the girl's chin, the latter letting out a small whimper.

"I believe you're acquainted with my new assistant. She's going to help me with my next magic trick of getting your miraculouses."

Ladybug took a step forward. "It's not Marinette. She's an illusion. Prima Donna almost tricked me with one earlier."

"What?? How do you know this one's an illusion too?" Chat Noir asked.

"I just do," she replied. "Try asking her a question only the real Marinette would know the answer to."

Prima Donna frowned at them as Chat Noir considered her words.

"Okay... What were you doing earlier, before Prima Donna showed up?"

Marinette's eyes turned pleading, and she answered, "I was... eating ice cream... with you... "

Chat gasped and Ladybug's jaw dropped in shock.

"She's right! It's really her!" he said, horrified.

"NO!! I know she's not the real Marinette!" Ladybug insisted. "Ask her something else!"

Prima Donna glared at her. "No more questions!" she barked, waving her wand and pointing it at Marinette's mouth, and her lips turned into a zipper that slid itself shut. The girl tried to cry out in distress, which only served to agitate Chat Noir even more.

"Leave her alone!!"

"Just for that, I'm changing the terms of our deal," she added, then hefted Marinette over her shoulder and exited through the balcony door.

"STOP!!" Chat yelled as he chased after her.

Ladybug groaned loudly in exasperation as she followed them. The sight of herself being used as bait made her feel sick to her stomach.

Prima Donna made her way to the Eiffel Tower, and once Chat Noir and Ladybug caught up, she proceeded to dangle "Marinette" from the very top, holding on to the ribbons with one hand.

"Please!!" Chat Noir cried. "Don't hurt her! She's just an innocent civilian!"

"Innocent?? As if!!" the magician scoffed. "If only you knew the truth. She's a cheater and a liar! She's just using you, just like she does with everyone else! But now she's gonna make herself actually useful as my assistant, by helping me with my next magic trick."

The two waited in silence as Prima Donna paused dramatically.

"Not only will you give me your miraculouses; you will also bring me Adrien Agreste. Then, and only then, will I release her. Simple as that."

"Just what is your obsession with Adrien?!" Ladybug snarled.

"And why are you trying to keep him away from me?!" Prima Donna countered. " You're the true villains, trying to stop true love! You don't deserve your miraculouses!"

Ladybug looked over at Chat, his eyes full of fear, weighing his options, trying desperately to figure out what to do.

Prima Donna's grip on the ribbon changed, shifting her grip from holding it with all five fingers to only four.

"Oh... by the way, there's a time limit again. Better tell me your answer before I let go!"

"Marinette" fearfully let out some muffled screams and desperately squirmed as she dangled from the ribbon.

"Mari, no!! Hold still, you might fall!!"

Ladybug furrowed her brows, then called, "Lucky Charm!"

A drinking straw.

Great .

Prima Donna glowered at her. "Just for that—" she said, letting go of two more fingers until only one remained. "Marinette" cried in terror as her watery eyes met Chat Noir's, silently pleading for him to save her.

"WAIT!!" he yelled, reaching for his ring, and with a shaky hand, began to twist it off.

Eyes widening in horror, Ladybug reached over and grabbed his hand, halting his movements. "Chat, no!!"

Chat's terrified eyes became misty, and they wordlessly implored her to let him save Marinette.

An idea formed in Ladybug's head.

She shook her head, then whispered to him, pouring her soul into each word, "Trust me."

He was close to hyperventilating and at the verge of tears, but to Ladybug's surprise, he stopped.

She whispered into his ear, "Hand me the napkin in your pocket. Then put your hands behind your back and make a small Black Hole appear behind Marinette."

Chat Noir looked at her in what could only be utter bewilderment. He squeezed his eyes shut as he let out a shaky sigh, then opened them again as he gave her a tiny nod. He reached into his pocket, finding the napkin from earlier that he'd forgotten all about, then covertly handed it to her.

"Okay Prima Donna, you win," said Ladybug, making a show of wiping fake tears with the napkin.

As she did that, Chat put his hands behind his back, almost inaudibly muttering, "Black Hole." The magical hole materialized behind him, smaller than he usually made them, and its matching passage appeared behind "Marinette" without Prima Donna noticing.

Ladybug tore off a small piece of the napkin and chewed on it, then quickly bent down as she put the straw in her mouth. She blew hard into the Black Hole behind Chat's back—

—then to Prima Donna's horror, the spitball went through the fake Marinette's body and she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Chat's entire form exuded relief, quickly followed by rage. He clenched his fists and lunged at Prima Donna while she was distracted, managing to knock her down. Ladybug used her yo-yo to snatch away the magic wand, then broke it into two. She purified the freed corrupted butterfly, then used her Miraculous Cure to set everything back to normal.

Darting towards the edge of the tower, Chat quickly said, "I have to go."

"Wait!" Ladybug called after him, having an inkling of what his next destination would be. "Uh... you're about to transform back! You should recharge before you start hopping around on rooftops. I-it's dangerous!"

Chat clenched his jaw, but nodded, then took off.

Ladybug gave Lila a glare as the latter looked around in confusion, then swiftly picked her up and transported her from the top of the Eiffel Tower onto the sidewalk.

Without a word, she sprinted away, rushing home before Chat could get there first. After what had just occurred, he might freak out if Marinette wasn't there.

Peeking in through the balcony door, she was relieved to see Chat hadn't arrived yet. She dropped her transformation and nervously paced across the room, knowing that Chat would arrive soon.

Not bothering (or remembering?) to knock, Chat burst into the room. He lifted his head to search, and found Marinette at the far end by one of the windows. Dropping down to the wooden floor, he rushed to her side and took her into his arms, choking back a sob.

"Chat!" Marinette gasped, wrapping her arms around him. "A-are you okay? What happened?"

Chat inhaled sharply as he clutched her even harder, so firmly that it almost hurt, almost like she would disappear if he were to let go. "I'm fine, I was just... so scared, " he shuddered, unable to hold back tears any longer. "I was really, really scared."

Marinette cradled the back of his head as he cried, shocked at the amount of fear he'd been hiding from Ladybug. The love in her heart swelled as she realized the incredible amount of trust he'd put in her in spite of everything.

"Everything's okay," she reassured him. "It's safe now."

Upon saying this, however, she saw it: a black butterfly fluttering into the room through the opened balcony trapdoor.

~*~*~*~*~

Sorry for the cliffhanger!!! The chapter was already getting super long 😫

In the meantime, here's some beautiful concept art of Prima Donna by BallerinaCorgi (aka Corgi-Likes-Chat)

Thank you again for reading, and for your patience!