Author's Notes: So, this is my first fanfic. Ever. So, keeping that in mind, I would love some comments as to what I can do to improve, and some ideas for chapters, new fics, etc. Anyways, enjoy!

P.S. I do not own Miraculous Ladybug or any of its characters - if I did, I would be in Paris right now, living the dream!

Chapter 1

Ladybug

My ears were ringing.

"Ladybug!" "Stay with me!" "I can't lose you… too…" "PLEASE!"

I blinked, my vision blurry. I tried to move my head, but it felt leaden. I squinted up, the sun beating down on me mercilessly, a black figure with a golden halo above me. Chat. I sigh in relief, knowing I could trust Chat no matter what. He was always there for me. Always…

Everything is fuzzy. I can't see, and I feel something sticky running down my cheek. Was that blood? I didn't know, and was too tired to care. I hear a faint beeping, Chat frantically yelling, and then… nothing. There's nothing - not even the darkness.

- 2 hours earlier -

Chat Noir

I bound gleefully through Paris, barely containing my excitement. Today was the day, I was going to do it. I was going to confess to Ladybug. Sure, she had rejected me before. Sure, she says I'm "a really good friend," but all in all, I just know that it will work out in the end. If… if it doesn't… No. I can't think about that. It just has to work out, I know it will work out.

Suddenly, my ears twitch. I could have sworn… no. Had I really heard someone screaming? After all, I had just dealt with an Akuma this morning with Ladybug - which was also when I happened to ask her to meet me at the Eiffel Tower around 9:00. So, I brushed it off. It was nothing, just the paranoia of constantly fighting Akumas getting to me. But then again… it couldn't hurt to check it out, right?

I extend my baton, leaping over roofs and houses, until I hear it. "Mommy?" a small voice whimpered. "Mommy, where are you? Please, come back!"

I immediately perk up, following the voice. As I jump down into an alleyway and round the corner, I see a little girl, no more than 5 or 6, crying out desperately for her mother as she clutches a plush rabbit to her chest.

"Are you ok?" I ask gently.

She squeaks in surprise, and wobbles around to face me. Her big eyes are filled with tears. "M-My Mommy… she's gone!" She choked out.

"What's your name?"

"Alina."

"Well, Alina, I'm Chat Noir, and I promise you, I will find your mother," I reassure her.

She only sniffles in response. I sigh, turning and looking around for some clue as to where the girl's mother could have gone, only to come up empty-handed. I turn to kneel in front of the girl, asking "Where did you last see your mother?"

She grips her rabbit closer, and points behind me. That doesn't make sense, I think, squinting into the shadows. I just looked there.

A cold hand suddenly lunges out and grabs my shoulder.

I stiffen, and instinctively reach for my baton, preparing to fight back. Grasping it firmly in my hand, I whirl around to the intruder, and am about to strike when I hear someone scream "NO!"

It's the little girl.

She rushes forward, pushing me off my attacker and hugging them fiercely. "Mommy!" she sobs, burying her face in what I can now tell is a women's shoulder. The woman looks dazed, barely registering what is happening. It's as though she is in a trance.

I try to talk to her, try to ask her what happened, but she just blinks dumbly at me.

Growling in frustration, I quickly take the girl and her mother to a safe place before leaping off to find Ladybug. After all, surely she will know what to do. I sigh wistfully as I think of her, conjuring her face in my mind, with sky blue eyes, bluish-black hair, and a smile that could light up even the darkest of shadows. I am drawn back to reality as the Eiffel Tower comes into view, and I see My Lady swinging over. I quickly reach the tower first, and wait quietly for her. As she touches down, I gently reach down and pull her hand to my lips for the customary kiss. She snorts, but doesn't pull away for once. I take that as a good sign, and give her a cocky smile. She simply smirks down at me, and pushes me away by the tip of my nose. I snort.

"Ok, I had something I wanted to tell you," I start slowly, trying to work up my nerve.

"I… I… I SAW AN AKUMA!" I shouted. Ok, so that was not what I wanted to tell her… but… oh well.

"Well, I mean that's nothing new," she says, confused.

"No, this one is different. They seem to be able to… drain people. I don't know how - I just saw a victim. And I don't know what to do."

"Hmm… well, can you show me her?"

She gets interrupted by a scream. We whirl around, searching for the source. My ears twitch as I hear another cry, and I quickly jump off the tower, trusting Ladybug to follow. We quickly reach the source, and it is another child. This time is an 11 year old boy, whimpering over his mother, her head lolling to the side. Ladybug stumbles in shock at the sight.

"This… this is what they do," I whisper.

Ladybug

I freeze, staring in horror at the scene before me. The woman looked half dead, giving off a cold, lifeless stare. I shuddered in horror. What DID this to her? I wonder. No Akuma has ever dealt this much damage before, and in secret. A chilling thought suddenly occurs to me. What if Hawkmoth grew stronger? What if he, too, found a secret recipe? I shiver, chilled to the bone, before turning my attention back to Chat.

"We need to find what did this as soon as possible, so I can defeat them and cure all these innocents," I say, with a glance towards the kid and his mother. "God knows what could happen if this Akuma where to roam free much longer."

He nods in agreement.

"I'll look for tracks, though I don't know if I'll find much - there wasn't anything at all at the last crime scene."

He starts carefully poking around, and I get lost back in my thoughts. What kind of Akuma could have caused this? Surely not one of the normal ones - no, this one is far too patient. They have a goal bigger than just petty revenge. They want to utterly destroy someone, but who?

I blink in surprise as Chat suddenly calls out to me, "I found something!"

I immediately head over to where he's crouched, looking down at the ground. Here, the grass seeping through the cracks in the ground are ever so slightly crumpled. I look at him, impressed.

"But, how do we know it's not just the kid or his mom?" I ask.

"It's too light to be any normal human, otherwise the grass would be completely crushed," he replies with ease.

"Can you track them farther?"

"Yes, but we need to get the kid and his mom to safety first."

I nod, heading back over to the child, and quietly say, "It's time to go," before gently leading him over to where some bystanders are and pass him off, asking them to take him and his mother to the nearest hospital. With that taken care of, I turn my full attention back to Chat and the tracks. I follow him as he leads me forward through alleyways, over houses, and so on and so forth until we reach an abandoned warehouse.

"How cliche," I hear Chat mutter.

Cautiously, we walk forward, only to find the door locked. Chat steps back, about to break it down when I whisper "Don't!"

He looks at me, confused, and I simply reply with, "If we knock down the door, we lose the element of the surprise."

"Not if you never had it to begin with."

We whirl around, and there, a few feet behind us, is the Akuma.

I suck in a startled breath as I take in the Akuma. He is ghostly in appearance, pale as snow, with a shock of white hair to match. He gives an unsettling grin, clearly enjoying our shock.

"It's cute, you thought you could actually outsmart me, but clearly, you can't. I'll always be a step ahead of you, and there's nothing you can do about it!" he taunts.

Chat stiffens beside me, clearly getting annoyed, and I quickly calm him.

"Don't listen to him, we have been fighting for over a year together, and we have yet to be defeated. We can do this. Come on, Chat! Don't let him get to you! If he does, you'll just let him win!"

That seems to snap him out of it. He shakes his head slightly, before he narrows his eyes at the Akuma. "Ok, what do you want? And what are you doing to all those people?" Chat questions.

"You'll soon find out!" The Akuma suddenly lunges into action, shooting a blinding white beam at me. Chat tackles me out of the way before it can hit, and we roll round and round until, for once, we stop with me on top. I smirk down at him, before leaping off to dodge another attack.

"Lucky Charm!" I shout.

Just before I can catch a red-and-black mirror, a white beam hits me in the chest. I stumble, before crumpling, watching as my charm crashes to the ground, and shatters.

"LADYBUG!"

Chat Noir

I watch in horror as a single white beam is shot from the Akuma, right at where Ladybug is busy trying to call her Lucky Charm. Instinct kicks in, and I'm running towards her, desperate to keep her from danger. I'm too late. I watch, helpless, as she stumbles, then falls, her Lucky Charm shattering.

"LADYBUG!" I cry out.

I try to run to her, to help her, to save her, but the Akuma has other plans. A white beam narrowly misses my nose, causing me to screech to a halt.

"Ah ah ah, Kitty." I growl, because only Ladybug can call me that, and he hurt her. "I wouldn't go dashing off playing hero just yet. If you do, you'll only end up just like her."

The Akuma smirks triumphantly, and I hear Ladybug's earrings let out a warning call.

5 minutes. That's all I have. 5 minutes before her identity is revealed to the world. I can't let that happen.

I lunge at the Akuma, batting away his attacks with my staff, and land a crushing blow to his gut. He simply stumbles back a bit, before collecting himself and smirking once more. "You really think one pathetic little hit will do much to me?" he sneers.

I feel rage filling my system, I know it makes me reckless, but I could care less. I relentlessly attack them, blinded by my anger, until I hear high pitched noise. I let out a cry of pain, and sink to the ground, covering my ears, and when it finally stops, I look up again.

Ladybug is gone.

Chapter 1 End