Author's Notes: Sorry if everything seems really fast-paced. I'm honestly just kinda tired so my writing is off. I just finished finals and finally get a spring break, so I should be doing better soon.

P.S. I don't own Miraculous Ladybug or any of its characters. I mean, I wish I did, but I sadly do not.

- Chapter 3 -

Marinette

I look up at Chat Noir, terrified. No. No, no, no, NO! He can't be here!

"Chat, you have to get out of here right now," I hiss quietly. "Leave me. The Akuma is using me to get to you. Please! Please, just leave! I can't let him do that to you!"

At this point I'm leaning towards him against my restraints, trying to get him to understand. I watch as Chat's face hardens in anger. "No. No, I can't leave you, Marinette. I would never leave you, no matter what. I don't care if it's a trap, I'm not losing you!" He looks at me, and then down towards my chains. He pulls gently on them, testing their strength. "Ok, I'm going to get you out of here. I can break the chains, but it will be noisy so we'll have to leave fast," he says.

"Chat… please… don't do this…" I feel tears run down my cheeks as I feel Chat tug harder on the chains, until they snap. He gently lifts me off the ground, and holds me close. He then jumps up, into the rafters, and starts running nimbly across them. I can't stop crying, I'm just so scared that the Akuma is going to find us any second. I just know he will. There's no way we're getting out this easy. Unless… unless there's something bigger here. Maybe… maybe the Akuma wants us to escape.

Behind us, I can hear the mocking laughter of the Akuma. "Now now, Chat Noir. Be a good Kitty and kindly return the Ladybug to where you found her. After all, she is supposed to remain here, so we can't just have you taking her, now can we?" the Akuma's voice fills the warehouse, echoing eerily throughout it.

Chat stumbles as he hears the Akuma say something about Ladybug. "What did you do to Ladybug?!" Chat calls out.

"Oh, I haven't done that much. In fact, I don't even have her at the moment. You do."

Chat nearly drops me at that, before stumbling to a halt. He stares down at me. "You're… you're…" His voice breaks, and he looks away. I squeeze my eyes shut. If I just close my eyes, and count to ten, I'll open them and see my house. I'll wake up and find that this was all just a bad dream. I tentatively open my eyes again, and am instantly faced with a harsh reality.

"I'm sorry, Chaton," I murmur. "I couldn't do it. He… he… he took my miraculous. It's gone. It's over… I'm so sorry…" I start crying all over again, when I feel a hand on my cheek. "Hey, hey it's ok. It's going to be ok. We'll get through this, just like we always do," Chat says sincerely. "But first, I have to get you out of here."

He picks me up once more, before resuming running across the rafters. I can see an open window nearby, and start to feel a faint spark of hope igniting. We're going to make i-

I cry out in pain as a beam blasts into me, throwing me from Chat's arms. I look up, seeing him reaching out for me, calling my name, before he too is hit by a red beam and thrown down. I reach for him, desperately, trying not to let myself give up. 'We'll get through this, just like always…' I hear Chat's voice in my ear, and then our hands meet.

I'm jolted upwards as Chat pulls me towards him, and he extends his baton, safely suspending us between two beams. "I told you," Chat whispers. "I'm getting you out of here." He retracts his pole, dropping us safely to the floor, before whirling around to face the Akuma who is perched deftly above us. "Come now, Kitty. You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?" he sneers.

Chat growls back up at him, before jumping up to meet the Akuma. I watch helplessly from below as they fight one another. The Akuma lunges forward, lashing out with a wooden pole he'd picked up, and Chat bats it away easily. I force myself to look away, and start trying to find an exit. I carefully weave through cluttered boxes and a few fallen beams, looking around closely for an exit. "Now now, Ladybug, where do you think you're going?" the Akuma asks as he lands in front of me. I yelp in surprise and try to stop, and end up promptly falling down. Typical. I look up, terrified, as the Akuma looms over me, and pins me to the ground. I squirm below him, trying to break out of his grasp, when I hear Chat shout "GET OFF OF HER!" and watch as his bat comes down on the Akuma's head.

He stumbles, dazed, and I shove him off me roughly before turning and bolting. More of the paralyzing white beams shoot past me, and one narrowly misses me before I duck behind a corner, and I thank my lucky stars as I find the exit not far off. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," I hear the cold voice behind me. "Unless you want to say good-bye to your precious Chaton."

I slowly turn around, eyes widening as I find Chat stuck against a wall. His cataclysm is active, but the Akuma has caught his arm and is now threatening to use the deadly touch against Chat. I freeze, paralyzed. "What… what do you want?"

"You and Chat Noir's miraculouses of course. But then again, I also want you."

He… he WHAT?! I look closely at him, and suck in a breath. It's… it's Luka. I can recognize his bright blue eyes, and his leather bracelet. That must be where his Akuma is! But wait, why does he want… me?

"I… I… uh… ok. Fine. Just let him go."

"MARINETTE! DON'T DO I-" a threatening push from the Cataclysm silences Chat.

I step forward on shaky feet, and I feel tears threatening to spill out from my eyes. We were so close, and yet… It's over now. Hawkmoth won, and I'll never see anyone ever again. The tears spill over. I feel myself stop, and I start to break completely.

"Mari… don't make the wrong choice…" Luka says, moving the Cataclysm closer to Chat's face. He flinches away, then freezes as it moves even closer to him, just inches away from brushing against him.

"NO!" I shout, and I start towards Luka once more.

Chat looks over at me desperately. "I… I'm sorry, Ladybug. I… I can't let you do this." Just before his own Cataclysm is about to hit him as Luka desperately thrusts it forward, Chat shouts, "Claws In!"

Chapter 3 End