Switched

Chapter 8 - Nightmares: Part 1

"Little kitty on a roof, all alone without his lady..."

Adrien heard a voice singing his song softly from a distance. It sounded like his own voice, but something about the way he spoke sounded off.

"Chat...Noir?" Ladybug asked, confused. Adrien was just as confused as Ladybug. Who is this guy? he wondered.

"M'lady?" the figure said as he stood up and ran over to Ladybug. "I thought I'd lost you! I'm so happy to see you!"

"What's happened to you? No, don't tell me. We're going to fix everything," Marinette said to him.

There was no doubt that this was the Chat Blanc Marinette had written about in her diary. He thought Chat Blanc was only a nightmare, but everything around him seemed too real. The emotions from Ladybug and Chat Blanc felt too real. Adrien hated the thought of him being akumatized. How...how did this happen? he thought. Seeing himself this way made him very scared.

"Now that you're back," Chat Blanc continued, "we'll be able to fix everything! All you have to do is give me your miraculous!"

As he shouted that, he jumped onto Ladybug to take her earrings. She pushed him off of her. "My miraculous? What's wrong with you Chat Noir!" she shouted back.

Chat Blanc apologized and asked Ladybug politely to give him her miraculous. When she told him she would free him from the akuma, he became soft and vulnerable. He wanted to be free. Adrien could tell. It was him after all, right? Although, the akuma was too strong against him. His will to be free was overpowered by his pain. Adrien needed to know what had happened to him. He wondered what could have possibly made him turn into this creature.

When Ladybug asked him where the akuma was, he pointed to his heart and said, "Here, but it's already broken."

He tried to take her miraculous from her again. Adrien tried to yell to Ladybug so he could help, but she didn't know he was there. She wasn't responding to him.

Ladybug pushed Chat Blanc away, her eyes full of fear, and jumped off of the building she was standing on in a desperate attempt to run away. Chat Blanc followed her, shouting, "Now you're breaking more than my heart, Marinette!"

She was startled by the mention of her name. She was saying things such as, "No, that's impossible!" and "I never told you anything!"

This whole scene was too much for Adrien to handle. He was unable to help Marinette since she didn't know he was there, so all he wanted to do was escape. He had to escape this nightmare, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't leave. Just get me out of here, he thought. I've seen enough of this.

He couldn't leave. He was forced to watch the whole scene play out, unable to do anything about it.

Chat Blanc threw multiple cataclysms at Ladybug. The power Hawkmoth gave him must have been unlimited cataclysms of any size. He was given a lot of power, considering Paris was in ruins. She was able to dodge all of them as she did anything she could to save him. Save me Marinette, was all Adrien could think. I don't want this. I'm trapped. Please free me from this pain. Somehow, he knew that's what Chat Blanc was thinking. He could feel the entirety of both Ladybug and Chat Blanc's emotions. That only made the situation harder to bear.

He didn't think the situation could get any worse, but then Chat Blanc made Ladybug fall into the ocean. As she plummeted into the water, Adrien felt all her fear. She just wanted Chat Noir back. She wanted to save him and get this over with, but he kept making the situation harder for her. He could almost hear what Chat Blanc was thinking. I hope this will help you understand. Please, Marinette, I need you to understand.

The scene around him changed to where Ladybug was under the water. They looked at the horror under the water in unison. Ladybug and Hawkmoth stood frozen in time. It was obvious a cataclysm had destroyed them. Ladybug was dead.

I...killed...her... Adrien thought to himself. There's no way this is real. I'm not capable of something like that! I knew my power was dangerous...but... I would never let this happen!

Adrien felt his eyes fill with tears. He was telling himself the scene around him wasn't real, but somehow he knew it was. He had never been so afraid of himself. He felt like he couldn't escape his guilt. He felt trapped inside himself. Even if he didn't remember doing this, he knew deep down that all this was real.

When Marinette went to touch the statue of herself, trapped under the water and destroyed by a cataclysm, it disintegrated. The dust disappeared in the sea. She was gone.

"Stop! Please! Let me leave!" Adrien shouted. No one could hear him. He felt so alone. "SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!" He shouted louder. He fell to his knees and let out a scream. No one heard his cry.

He noticed Ladybug pulling herself out of the water. He followed her out, tears still in his eyes. I have to stop this, he told himself.

He could feel Marinette's overwhelming anger. Not towards Chat Blanc, but towards the whole situation. Towards Hawkmoth. Towards the pain her partner was forced to endure. She was scared, but determined to save her friend. Adrien admired her strength. She was handling everything so well.

After Ladybug and Chat Blanc had a talk, Chat Blanc came to the conclusion that the best way to end his pain would be to destroy the world. He was fully prepared with a huge cataclysm, ready to do the job. His despair was unbearable.

"Chat Noir, please stop!" Ladybug yelled.

The world around them was filling with the light of the cataclysm. I'm a few seconds, everything around them would be obliterated into nothing.

I'll save you, Chat Noir, Adrien could hear Marinette think to herself as he slowly regained consciousness.

He shot up in the bed and gasped, dripping with sweat. He couldn't seem to get his breathing under control. What have I done?