"Ladybug!" Adrien instantly sat up, his head spinning. He groaned and put a trembling, ungloved hand to his head. Wait...ungloved? His mind flashed back to that strange, long nightmare. He glanced up and looked around, panicking for a moment. He sighed, realizing he was still in the alleyway. No sceams. No pendulum. "What...what happened?" He muttered to himself, the memories rushing back to him. Imperiumal... Adrien slowly stood, swaying dizzily. The alleyway...Blaze... His thoughts were all jumbled, but soon he got them into order. The falling roof...Ladybug!

"Adrien, are you okay? The akuma got away." A little voice sounded from Adrien's shoulder. Adrien glanced only to see his kwami, Plagg. "You should've stayed with Ladybug." Plagg accused, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I need to transform! Ladybug's still hurt!" Adrien said, completely ignoring Plagg's comment.

"Adrien, wait, you need to listen to me. The akuma knows-"

"Claws out!" Adrien interrupted Plagg, his mind focusing in on one task. Find Ladybug. One green flash later, Chat Noir was running out of the alleyway, throwing the past experience and that strange dream with Imperiumal out of his mind. He would worry over that later.

"Ladybug!" Chat yelled, bursting from the maze of alleyways. Instantly he was met with a horrifying view. Half of the buildings in front of him were either completely destroyed or partially by fire. Burnt wood and debris was scattered across the streets, and the air strongly smelled of smoke. There was barely anyone out.

However, the one detail that stuck out to Chat Noir the most was the small pile of dust that used to be the corner of a roof that had fallen on Ladybug before he had left. If there was this much destruction, then Imperiumal was still out and about. Devastating Paris. Instantly Chat ran towards the small pile of dust, looking around for any sign of Ladybug.

"Ladybug?" Chat called out, frowning when no one answered. "Ladybug!"

"Chat Noir?" Someone answered back. For a split moment Chat thought it was coming from the dust pile, but it wasn't. It came from behind him. Chat quickly turned, only to be met face to face with Alya Césaire. She stumbled back a few steps, her eyes and mouth wide open in shock. "You're alive?" She almost whispered the strange phrase. Soon more stragglers caught sight of Chat Noir, and they ran over, their faces lighting up.

"Of course I'm alive." Chat said, uneasy. Something was off. The small crowd of people didn't say anything, and Alya just gaped at him.

"Where's Ladybug?" Chat asked the crowd, his voice sounding foreign to the silence.

"I don't know. After you chased Blaze, she got up and swung away. I think she went looking for you. No one has seen her since." Alya said, her voice sounding weak. "Chat Noir...? What happened? Did something happen with the akuma? Did you defeat him? Why were you gone so long?"

Why were you gone so long? Chat repeated the question in his head, realizing that he had no idea. "I... Don't know... How long have I been gone?"

Alya suddenly looked very uncomfortable, as if she were afraid to tell him. She glanced at the people around her, some shrugging, others gesturing for her to continue. "You left five days ago."

Chat's eyes widened. "F-five days?" He repeated, sputtering. He was gone for five days? How? What did Imperiumal do to him? "And you haven't seen Ladybug?"

Alya sadly shook her head. Chat's hope diminished, and he turned back to the pile, trying to think logically. Trying to think like Ladybug. "Well, Imperiumal isn't caught yet..If he were, then everything would have returned back to normal." He said, thinking out loud.

"Imperiumal?" Alya repeated, stepping up behind him. "What are you talking about? Are you okay?"

Chat looked over at Alya. Everyone still thinks he's Blaze. "What he said was a lie. His name is Imperiumal, not Blaze." Chat said. He had to find Ladybug. He took his baton in hand, glancing at the crowd of people before turning and running away. He extended his baton, vaulting himself onto a roof that was cracked and burnt. "If I've been gone for five days, that means Adrien's been gone as well." He said to himself, pacing the rooftop. "And where's Ladybug?"

"It's Chat Noir! He's back!" Someone shouted. Chat's head whipped towards the voice. It was a man, and he instantly had his phone out, other people gathering around him and pointing up to Chat Noir.

"What happened? Where's Ladybug?" Another man shouted.

"Are you going to stop Blaze?" A woman yelled.

"He's terrorizing the city!"

Chat leaped off of the roof, walking towards the group of people. "Everyone, I need you to explain things to me. I've been asleep for five days." Chat explained calmly, everyone dead silent.

"Blaze has been attacking homes, starting fires everywhere!" The man with the phone explained, his forehead creased with worry.

His name's Imperiumal! "And you haven't seen Ladybug?" Chat asked.

Almost everyone shook their heads, except one woman. "I..I think I saw her. She was on top of the Eiffel Tower, but she wasn't doing anything to stop Blaze." Her tone suddenly turned accusing, but Chat paid no mind to it. The name was what was bugging him. Imperiumal! His name is Imperiumal!

Despite this minor annoyance, Chat Noir's hopes instantly shot up, and a smile spread across his face despite the attacks caused from Bla-Imperiumal. "Thank you. I'll talk to her, and we'll stop Imperiumal." Chat said, nodding to the group before leaping away.

"Imperiumal? Does he mean Blaze?" He heard someone say behind him, and his mind screamed. No! It's Imperiumal! Chat wanted to tell everyone, to make everyone correct themselves. He didn't know why he was freaking out over this, but he let it happen anyway. There was no problem with wanting to tell everyone the truth... Right?

The day slowly inched by, Chat Noir impatiently waiting at the top of the Eiffel Tower, pacing back and forth. His mind was still dizzy, and a headache had started to form. The interesting thing was, the headache hadn't started until he started thinking about that pendulum again. What had it done to him? He groaned and sat down. His stomach was growling painfully, and the sun was just beginning to set. He knew he had to get home soon, but he had to see Ladybug first. He had to make sure she was safe.

"C-chat? Chat Noir?" Ladybug's voice came quiet at first, with no strength, but it grew in volume as she appeared on the railing, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Y-you're safe?" She lightly jumped off of the railing, taking a tentative step towards Chat.

"Yes! Yes I'm safe!" Chat exploded, running towards her and leaping into a hug, squeezing her tightly. "Everyone was telling me you had disappeared, and that you weren't doing anything to prevent Imperiumal from attacking!" The sudden action sent a shock of pain from his head throughout his whole body, but he ignored it. Ladybug was safe!

"Woah, woah Chat. Slow down." Ladybug said, taking Chat's shoulders and pulling him away, her face serious. "Imperiumal?"

Chat sighed, the headache becoming worse. For some reason, he couldn't get the image of the pendulum out of his mind. It was becoming hard to focus. "Yeah. He said his name wasn't Blaze. He said it was Imperiumal." Chat explained, once again beginning to sway. He blinked slowly, the image of the pendulum still in his mind. He felt so dizzy... like he was falling…

"Hey! Hey Chat! Chat, can you hear me?" Ladybug asked, steadying him. Her eyes filled with concern. She walked him to the middle of the Eiffel Tower, leaning him against the main support of the tower.

I found Ladybug... His thoughts echoed, and as Ladybug continued to call his name, she seemed to drift farther away. It sounded like he was underwater, everything muted and mushed together in a chorus of confusion.

"Chat, you gotta listen to me! Chat!" Ladybug shook his shoulders, but his eyelids once again felt heavy. Hey..this is familiar…

"Ladybug..." He whispered, her face beginning to blur. Gabriel Agreste. You can't go back to sleep! Your father is looking for you! He suddenly snapped out of it, blinking his eyes rapidly. His headache slowly subsided, and his vision came back into focus. The image of the pendulum was long gone from his mind. "I need...to go..." He said, trying to stand, but Ladybug held him down.

"No. You're not leaving until I know you're okay." She said firmly. So stubborn!

"Okay." Chat said, his hearing clearing as well.

Ladybug smiled softly, but it soon washed away, replaced with concern and confusion. "What happened to you? What happened just then?"

"Well... I followed Imperiumal into the alleyways, leaving you behind..." He felt a pang of guilt, but he quickly shook it away. "And then he cornered me, and I fell...asleep." He trailed off. Something was just barely out of reach, and it troubled him.

Ladybug frowned, even more confused. "You fell asleep?" She repeated, looking to the ground as she thought over this new piece of information.

"What happened to you? Why have you been gone? And why haven't you stopped Imperiumal?" Chat asked, wanting answers of his own.

Ladybug looked back up at Chat Noir, and Chat could tell that things hadn't been too easy for her while he was out. "I saw Blaze... or... I guess Imperiumal... leave the alleyways, and you weren't there. I tried to stop him, but he told me that...that he was holding you hostage. That he was controlling you." She paused, the memory obviously painful to her. "And he said he would kill you if I tried to stop him." She choked on the word 'kill', but she continued on. "So I stopped fighting. I ran away. He started attacking homes, starting wildfires, and I couldn't stop him. He kept reminding me about you, that your life was on the line." She stopped, moving her gaze from his.

Chat looked at the ground for a second, before bringing his eyes back to Ladybug. He reached up and moved her head, so that they were looking at each other. "But it's okay. I'm right here, and now we can stop Imperiumal. Together, as partners. That's what we are, after all."

"Yeah...partners." Ladybug said, smiling as well. She wiped at her eyes and stood, helping Chat Noir stand as well. He wobbled a little, and she steadied him.

"I'm okay."

Ladybug nodded. "Do you remember anything else about Imperiumal? How did you fall asleep?"

Chat dug deep in his memories, trying to grasp a firm hold on them. "I...I think he had a...pendulum." He said, the experience slowly coming back to mind. "Yeah, a pendulum. He used that to lure me to sleep." Right as he said pendulum, his headache began to form again, and he slightly panicked before pushing the thoughts of the pendulum far away. The headache slowly subsided.

Ladybug nodded again, piecing it all together. "Then he used you as a hostage, so that he could continue attacking." She smiled. "I'm glad you woke up."

Chat smiled back. "Me too." My father... Chat's smile faded away, and he walked from Ladybug, looking towards his home. He could barely see it from the dim light of the setting sun. Ladybug walked over to him.

"Do you need to get somewhere?" She asked.

Chat looked over at Ladybug, nodding. "I'll be fine. No Imperiumal is going to rock me to sleep." He said, taking his baton in hand.

"Okay. I believe you."

"Tomorrow, at this time, meet here. We'll hunt down Imperiumal." He said, jumping off of the Eiffel Tower. My father... I need to see him.