"I am Blaze! The strongest akuma in all of history! I will burn my way to victory!" This so called Blaze was just another akuma. Just another delay to Chat Noir's schedule. He sighed in frustration as he stood on the Eiffel Tower, gazing at the akuma from afar. It seemed as though the akuma was based on fire. Great. Just what I needed. He thought to himself bitterly.

"Chat Noir, I see you showed up early." Ladybug's voice sounded behind him, and he turned with an eyebrow raised at his lady.

"How could I ignore the screaming, ball of fire?" He asked, gesturing with a hand down at the fire akuma.

Blaze was obviously a boy. You could tell from his voice, which, annoyingly, was still screaming at the top of it's lungs and laughing maliciously. He was wearing a childish jumpsuit with fire designs traveling across his entire body. Around his neck was a red band that looked a collar. His jagged hair was dark with just a touch of gray, making it look like smoke. Over his face was an orange mask that looked remarkably like a ski mask. His eyes glowed a brighter, lighter orange, with no visual pupil. All in all the akuma looked like a wannabe superhero who had seen the bottom edge of a deal.

Ladybug narrowed her eyes at Blaze, clearly not impressed. "Hawk Moth must be running out of ideas." She said, her hands on her hips. Chat merrily shrugged. "Well, let's stop Blaze before he burns down all of Paris." She said. Chat nodded silently and after a leap and a short fall, the two superheros were running towards the akuma, baton and yoyo spinning at high speeds.

Blaze instantly turned around, fire burning brightly in his held out hands. "Look who decided to show up. The bug and the cat." He said with a crooked grin.

Chat and Ladybug stopped running, their weapons spinning as they watched Blaze with careful eyes. However, Chat wasn't too worried. It was just another akuma after all. "So what happened this time?" Chat asked, his expression showing his bored attitude.

Blaze cocked his head, confused. "What happened?" He repeated.

Chat sighed. "What got you akumatized? Couldn't blow out your birthday candles? Sparkler wouldn't light?"

Blaze's eyes narrowed. "My home was burnt to the ground, and now all of Paris will feel my pain!" He shouted, holding up his hands, the flames licking the air.

Ladybug and Chat glanced at each other before turning their attention back to Blaze. "Sounds about right." Chat said with a shrug.

With a ferocious war cry, Blaze threw both of his flames, Chat and Ladybug easily dodging and racing towards the akuma.

"Gonna have to do better than that!" Chat called out.

"I was just warming up." Blaze said as he put his hands together, swirling together more fire.

Chat stifled a laugh, Ladybug shooting him a glare. "Sorry, but it's funny! Warming up, get it?" He said to Ladybug.

"Not now Chat."

The two superheroes couldn't finish their short conversation. They were interrupted by a huge fireball blasting in between them.

"Woah! I felt heat on that one!" Chat called out, knowing he was annoying Ladybug. That was part of his job after all.

Blaze growled at the heroes and launched another fireball, then another. Ladybug and Chat Noir took one glance at each other and nodded, each coming from different sides of Blaze, weapons ready. The fire akuma frantically fired fireball after fireball, his teeth clenching in fierce concentration. Chat was almost to Blaze when the akuma suddenly screamed and jumped in the air, slamming his fists onto the hard cement once he landed. Instantly a shock wave of orange and blue flames erupted around the akuma, throwing Ladybug and Chat Noir back. "Enough! I've had enough!" Blaze continued screaming, sounding like a spoiled toddler who couldn't get the toy he wanted. The moment didn't last long. Blaze tilted his head up, glancing at the building behind Ladybug and Chat Noir. Without a word, he created another ball of fire and shot it up into the building. The ball loudly impacted the top of the building, the roof shattering. A chaotic storm of cement, burning wood and glass came crashing down, showering down on top of the two guardians of Paris. Blaze cackled and took a step back, watching what his fire had done.

"Ladybug!" Chat yelled, sidestepping a large wooden beam that crumbled on impact to the ground. The air was thick with smoke, making it hard to see anything. He couldn't tell where the next beam of wood or piece of rubble would fall.

"I'm over here, Chat!" Ladybug called back, and if Chat squinted just enough, he could see a faint figure hopping and scurrying around beams and chunks of wood and concrete. "Don't move, I'm coming!" She yelled, and he could see the figure start to come closer. She didn't take another step.

Chat's ears suddenly perked up; something was coming towards them. It sounded like moaning, or...the creaking of wood. "Ladybug! Look out!" Chat shouted, sprinting towards that still faint figure.

That strange moaning was coming closer, and soon the cause of it all came into view. It was the largest section of roof that had broken away from the building. The wood was on fire, and Chat only had a second to leap back or to be crushed. The burning wood collapsed onto the ground, throwing up another lungful of smoke in Chat Noir's way. "Ladybug!" Chat shouted again, covering his eyes with his arm to ward off the sparks and smoke. Once it settled, he ran towards the rubble, desperately clawing at the smoking wood. This couldn't be it! After all she had done, not some weak wood could stop her...could it?

"The bug got squashed!" Blaze exclaimed. Chat turned his head, glaring at the underestimated akuma. "Uh, oh! Poor kitty's all alone." Blaze said in a child like voice, pouting all the while.

Chat quickly got to his feet, fists and teeth clenched. He took a step towards the taunting akuma, but something grabbed his tail. He turned, and his eyes widened. It was Ladybug. She was trying to climb out of the rubble, but obviously she was stuck. Without thinking, Chat raised his hand. "Cataclysm!" He shouted, placing his hand on the chunk of roof. The black spread, covering the section of roof and turning it to dust. Ladybug groaned and pulled herself out of the remains of the roof, her hand over her leg.

A few paces away, Blaze growled. "Little pest. What's it gonna take to get rid of the infestation?"

"Are you okay?" Chat asked, kneeling next to her. She moaned and leaned against him, soot and ash covering her face.

"I'm fine." She said, smiling weakly.

Chat frowned, noticing her hand still hovering over her leg. "No... no, you're not." He said, glancing at Blaze.

"I hate to ruin the mood, but fire spreads, and I have to be there to cheer it on." The akuma said, holding up his hands as he began to back away.

Chat once again stood, glancing at Ladybug as she lay crippled on the ground. Blaze was going to pay. "You're not going anywhere." Chat said, walking towards Blaze.

"Chat, don't!" Ladybug yelled behind him, but he didn't look her way. Blaze was going to pay.

The fire akuma slowly smiled, his hands almost beckoning Chat towards him. "Come now, kitty..No need to twist your whiskers over some sprained ankle! She'll be fine!" He said, just a spark of fear in his voice. He didn't wait any longer. He suddenly turned and sprinted away, his feet pounding on the ash covered ground.

Chat quickly ran after him, his hands reaching behind him and gripping his baton. "Chat Noir! Come back! He's too strong for you!" Ladybug shouted, almost screaming after her partner. But he didn't listen. Her desperate calls slowly faded away, as Blaze led Chat out of the open and into a maze of alleyways.

"Cut the chase, cat! I'm not a rat!" Blaze shouted, his voice turning to maniacal laughs. "Ha! I just rhymed!" He said, the laughs echoing off of the tall alleyway walls.

Chat Noir continued to chase after the akuma, the two winding their way through the tight streets. Chat tried not to think about Ladybug, and how she had tried to stop him. He knew he could defeat Blaze. He was just another akuma; just another villain. Ladybug was out of commision, so now it was up to him to put an end to this wildfire.

Beep! Beep! Chat dug into the ground with his heels, stopping his chase. He brought up his hand, looking at the black ring in despair as one of the neon green pads of the paw blinked away.

"Uh oh! Time's up!" Blaze said, but when Chat looked around for the fire akuma, he was nowhere to be seen. He had stopped at the end of the alleyway, three walls marking the finish of the maze. Chat spun around to the only opening, knowing he had just gotten himself into quite the predicament.

"Where are you?" He asked, subconsciously covering his ring with his other hand.

Two eyes blinked into existence in the shadows, but they weren't orange. They were...Indigo. They were strangely beautiful. "Ah ah ah! The question you should be asking is...who are you?" Blaze's voice echoed, bouncing around Chat Noir, haunting him. Taunting him.

"Fine! Who are you?" Chat yelled, feeling his heart rate pick up faster and faster. There was something about those eyes that were...hypnotizing. Past the eyes he could see a dark figure standing on the roof to his right and for some untold reason, he could tell it wasn't exactly Blaze. But...it was still his voice. Still his laugh.

The black clothed superhero heard clapping, the sound surrounding and filling the alleyway, echoing and bouncing off of the walls. Suddenly, the area seemed smaller than before. "Good! You're getting the hang of it!" Blaze said, the dark figure moving closer. It jumped down from the building, still staying in the shadows. The only thing Chat Noir could see were those dark and deep indigo eyes. "Oh, and I guess I should tell you my little secret." Blaze's voice slowly quieted down to a whisper, and the figure took a step into the light.

"Aren't you Blaze?" Chat asked, not realizing he was taking a step back. He took another, than another, until his heel hit against the back wall, blocking further movement.

Again there was that taunting laugh, but this time it didn't bounce. It only came from the figure, who took another step. A hypnosis pendulum blinked into existence as it fell from the shadows, hanging from the akuma's hand. It slowly drifted from side to side, the bright sunlight shining on the golden surface.

Chat stared at the golden pendulum. It swayed rhythmically, never stopping, swinging the same exact distance every time. The sunlight reflected off of the pendulum beautifully, the bright shine swaying just a split second after the pendulum. It was... gorgeous... gorgeous. He couldn't take his eyes away from the thing. "W-what?" Chat managed to whisper, his voice sounding far away... hollow. His mind was also somewhere far away, floating in some unknown space. Wait...but why?

"Kitty kitty..." The akuma said softly, the pendulum coming closer as the akuma walked out of the shadows. The pendulum! It continued to rock, slowly but surely, and that was all Chat could see. It was all he wanted to see. He blinked, swaying with the pendulum. One foot, then the other, back and forth. Back and forth.

"Blaze...?" Chat was falling. Falling deep, deep, down…

"You still don't get it!" The akuma's voice echoed, somewhere far..far..away... "My name isn't Blaze. It's Imperiumal, and you have made a grave mistake in coming here alone."

Imperiumal... Suddenly Chat felt something cold and hard on his head, and it felt as if the rest of his body was horizontal to the ground. Oh! I fell...when did that happen? He could sense the akuma's presence, kneeling beside him. The pendulum still rocked, and soon Chat Noir's eyes drifted close, the image of the pendulum still rocking in his mind. Somewhere in the distance, he heard a light beep that sounded from his hand... was that a flash of light?

"That's it, little kitten. Isn't the pendulum beautiful?" The akuma asked softly. His voice was so soothing. So... hypnotizing.

Yes...yes, very... very beautiful! I've never seen anything so...pretty...