Lately, the number of akumatized people had skyrocketed. Ladybug and Cat Noir were fighting every day, sometimes multiple times in a single day. The more time passed, the more exhausted they became. Fortunately, they hadn't caught the illness spreading across the globe, or things would've been far worse.
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All of Paris was on edge. Restrictions to stop the spread of the disease were increasing, but it wasn't enough. People kept dropping like flies. 2020 was a dark year.
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But Ladybug and Cat Noir didn't have time to think about that because they were fighting again. This time, it was Nora Césaire, Alya's older sister, who had been akumatized after the twins were declared sick. Her overprotective nature couldn't take it — not while Alya was already in intensive care because of the same illness. This was the third time that month she had turned back into Anansi.
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— Please, Anansi! Stop! You're hurting yourself!
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— A bug and a kitty-cat don't get to tell me what to do! If I succeed, my sisters will be healed! He promised me!
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Cat Noir was about to complain about the nickname, but a punch to the stomach knocked the wind out of him.
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— Cat Noir! cried his partner as she saw him fly across the room.
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He looked badly shaken. He tried to get up, but every time he started to rise, he collapsed again. For the first time since becoming a superhero, he was bleeding. And it didn't look superficial — blood was running from his temple. The world spun around him, the floor tilted, he saw double... no, really, he had never been this badly hurt.
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— I... I'm okay, my Lady. I just need a little rest...
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Ladybug looked at him with concern but couldn't go to him — Anansi was attacking again. She jumped, rolled, dodged, but couldn't fight back. She was far too tired. She didn't even have enough energy to summon her Lucky Charm.
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Then the building began to give way. It shook and let out a sinister creaking.
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Without thinking, Ladybug grabbed Cat Noir and hurled him out the window. But she didn't have time to follow — the structure collapsed. Cat Noir's eyes widened in horror.
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— LADYBUG!
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His anguished cry echoed down the street. He tried to rush to her, but he could only stumble forward clumsily.
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— No... this can't be real... please... My Lady... no...
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A flicker of hope lit in his eyes when some rubble moved — only to fade when he saw Nora emerge.
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Cat Noir dropped to his knees. He couldn't believe he had lost her. But it was nearly impossible to survive something like that. The proof was in Anansi's injuries: her left leg was completely crushed, one of her arms was broken with the bone sticking out, and her pelvis looked fractured. Seeing that she could no longer fight in that condition — and that she would be healed once purified — Cat Noir purified her. Once freed, the young woman saw the destruction around her and the tears streaming down Cat Noir's face and called the authorities.
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It took ten minutes for the police to arrive, and five more for the ambulance to show up. While they waited, Nora, a trained boxer, lifted as much debris as she could and finally freed Ladybug from the pile of stone and plaster.
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Cat Noir's despair peaked when he saw the girl he loved pulled from the rubble, her torso crushed, blood flowing from her mouth.
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— M-My Lady? Please, I'm begging you, wake up!
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The sound of sirens didn't even register. His whole world had shrunk to the girl in red and black polka dots in his arms. The girl he loved with all his heart and soul. The girl who was no longer breathing.
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They had to tear her body from his arms to see if she could be saved. She couldn't. Ladybug was dead. No one could restart her heart. Her organs had been crushed beyond repair.
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The next day, France declared a national day of mourning for the heroine who had protected them time and time again — and who had paid with her life. In the nationwide grief, the disappearance of two teenagers went nearly unnoticed. A couple was searching for their only daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and a world-famous fashion designer couldn't find his son, Adrien Agreste.
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What no one could foresee was the horror that would unfold at the funeral home. Beside Ladybug's open casket, Cat Noir was crying. Suddenly, his tears stopped, and a peaceful smile spread across his lips. Gently, he whispered:
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— Cataclysm,
as if everything was finally okay.
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With delicate fingers, he placed his hand over his own chest — and instantly stopped his own heart. His final thought before death was that he would finally see his mother... and his Lady again.
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Seeing Cat Noir collapse, the mortician rushed over to check his pulse. He quickly stood up and called for emergency services. But there was nothing they could do. The effects of Cataclysm could only be reversed by Ladybug's magic — and she was gone.
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When a police officer arrived with a doctor, they stopped the mortician's CPR attempt to take over. But the doctor quickly realized there was no point. The chest was soft, like the ribs had disintegrated. In those conditions, resuscitation was impossible.
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The officer — Roger Raincomprix — received a call from headquarters.
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— Doctor, they just told me there's a way to return them to their true identities. Should we try?
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— The injuries caused while akumatized vanish once they're freed from Shadow Moth's control — so it might help.
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Roger stepped forward and gently removed Cat Noir's ring. Within seconds, he transformed back into the boy he really was.
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— Oh my God... it's Adrien Agreste!
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The doctor didn't waste time and tried chest compressions again, but the chest remained blackened and soft. Nothing could be done.
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— Roger, I think we should also see who Ladybug really was. Her family deserves to know.
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— You're right...
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Just as gently, he removed her earrings. And he went pale when he saw her true face.
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— Do you know her?
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— She's a classmate of my daughter, Sabrina... Just like Adrien. I don't know how I'm going to tell them...
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And indeed, it wasn't easy. Tom and Sabine collapsed upon hearing the news — but even their heartbreak was nothing compared to Gabriel Agreste's reaction. His mind snapped. The man who had been akumatizing people in order to gather the Miraculouses and bring back his wife had ultimately caused the death of his own son.
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He was taken to the psychiatric wing of the nearest hospital... and never came out.
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No one ever heard of superheroes... or Shadow Moth... ever again.
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