Return of a Killer

Lost

Hawk Moth stared in horror as he viewed the battle through the eyes of Pathosine. Everything he had fought for, half of the reason he had hurt half of Paris, his assistant, his own son, had just perished and crumbled to dust in front of him. Ladybug was dead, and she had taken her miraculous with her. Without Ladybug, there would be no way to repair what had been done. There would be no way to bring back Emelie and restore his family.

A sudden wave of the most powerful negative emotion he had ever felt washed over Hawk Moth, breaking his stupor. Oddly, it felt familiar, like an old friend whose face had long since faded from memory. He searched for the source of such a powerful flood of emotion, finding that the emotions were still growing, expanding and becoming more and more painful and overwhelming by the second.

While the power of such negative emotion nearly blew him away, it confused him how familiar they felt, since their origins were inside Chat Noir. He felt that akumatizing someone like him would really be something to remember, but he had no recollection of such events. Hawk Moth, though confused, decided that it was an opportunity best spent now.

He had thought the malice in Style Queen had been powerful enough to make a masterpiece, but to capture a miraculous holder in such a state would be more powerful than he could ever conceive before this very moment, and a miraculous of pure destructive power at that. He quickly drew his power out of Pathosine, sending the akuma in the hurricane of guilt and shock and sorrow that was Chat Noir.

Something inside of Chat snapped in the aftermath of Ladybug's final breath. This was all the akuma's fault. If this akuma had just not come, Ladybug would still be alive. He wouldn't have killed his Ladybug. He managed to pull himself forward and grab onto the wire of the yo-yo, only to hit the ground as the akuma let go of the yo-yo. Pathosine had transformed back, and was an innocent civilian once more.

He ignored the beeping from his ring as he desperately crawled over to the dust that once made up Ladybug. It wasn't just a superhero that was dead. It was a girl, a beautiful and brilliant girl, a girl with a civilian life, a girl with friends and family and people wondering when she was coming home. It was his first love. Just moments ago, he was holding her living, breathing body. Just moments ago, she had said her last words to him for only him to hear. Chat Noir scooped up some of her ashes in his shaking hands, unable to keep it from slipping between his fingers as his vision blurred with tears. He didn't even notice the akuma go into his ring.

Suddenly, all he could hear was a familiar voice, saying " Chat Blanc, I am Hawk Moth. The loss of Ladybug puts us in a position that is regretful for us both. Agree to help me, and everything will happen as it is meant to, with Ladybug by your side, her and her miraculous intact."

He just wanted Ladybug back, he didn't want to be a murderer. He didn't want to be her murderer. If he could get her back, everything would be okay again. He looked up, " Just this once, Hawk Moth, I will fight alongside you. For Ladybug."

And as the darkness consumed him, his mind brought up a sight he did not expect to see.

It was him as Adrien, happily dancing with Marinette like she was his lover.

Her hair looked cute when it was down...