Chat Blanc's Return

Defeated At Last

Yoyo and baton at the ready, Ladybug and Chat Noir took off into the night, goal set to defeat Sandboy. The child, she reminds herself, doesn't mean to cause harm. He is simply being taken advantage of, and no matter how much she wants to blame his powers, she has to remember they originated from Monarch. It is his fault, not the child's. (Although, when you remember what your love did to the world, it's hard to think clearly.)

Chat Noir, however, can only think about Chat Blanc, a nightmare (reality?) he knows as his akumatized form. But the thing is, he's never been akumatized. And he knows this. But as he lands on another building and looks at his partner's face, remembers her tear-filled eyes and heartbroken face, he doesn't think he wants to know more. What could he have done to have shaken her up that badly? (He never wanted to hurt her, but now that he has, he wants to make sure he can prevent it. Even if it means giving up his miraculous–a last resort.)

(He never wants to harm his lady. He'd easily give up his freedom so she could be guaranteed safety. Chat Noir would never tell Plagg, though, for the kwami would go dormant, and then Adrien would be forced to carry the ring so it doesn't end up in harm's way. And Plagg knows this.)

"Okay, Kitty," Ladybug says, bringing them both out of their thoughts. They bypassed a few streets, finally catching up to the akuma and her nightmare. Chat Noir's surprised his nightmare hasn't come yet. The version of his lady that hates him—the version of Marinette that wouldn't want him to come by her balcony again. (He really needed to explain that, didn't he? Why he hadn't come back for two hundred and eight days?)

She exhales, finally coming to a stop, Chat Noir stopping after a moment as well. Up ahead is Sandboy, flying around, and next to him, on a nearby chimney, is Chat Blanc, having supposedly given up his search for the two. His legs kick the brick of the chimney as he hums a song, one that haunted Marinette's dreams, one that would never leave her head during her panic attacks:

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

(She came up with several following verses, just because she couldn't bear for it to be one line. "Little ladybug on a roof, right next to her kitty," was her most recent one. And it wasn't any good in her opinion, but she was gripping her hair as Tikki forced her to think of a verse so she could distract herself. She would never do anything that wasn't about Chat Blanc or Chat Noir during her attacks, so Tikki resolved to do something that involved him, but involved thinking so she could try and distract herself, even if just a bit.)

(It worked because she wouldn't be hyperventilating, but afterwards, she would just sit there, crying. Sobbing.)

"Chat Blanc," Ladybug says with full faux confidence. Chat Noir can tell from her trembling fists and too-confident voice, her stance which she only does when she's nervous. He wonders, does Chat Blanc know her well enough to notice these things? "Please, come here."

Chat Blanc drops to the roof, but in his wake, a red-spotted figure sits. Ladybug, but not his lady; no, this is the lady of his nightmares. But knowing his sweet princess is Ladybug? He doesn't fear anything he did before. He doesn't fear losing her. He doesn't fear her hating him. Degrading him. Saying he needs to renounce his miraculous because he's being too silly. And because he doesn't fear anything anymore, the nightmare-ish Ladybug starts to disappear. But she doesn't notice, calling on her lucky charm. She's gone before it lands in her hands.

He doesn't fear losing his lady anymore. Not after finding out, that even out of the suit, she still is the only one who notices him, knows all of him, and still cares for him. Loves him.

Ladybug, on the other hand, is trembling as she faces the white cat who inches his way to her, arms wide as if she would actually hug him. She still fears Chat Blanc—is still terrified of him. Even with the small reassurance that Chat Noir, her knight in shining black leather with green eyes, blond hair, and tan skin, is by her side. It's hard to see Chat Blanc's face and not see the helplessness as he spoke, the desperation in his eyes, the destruction that he caused.