A/N: Am I still using dumb cat puns as chapter titles? Yes, yes I am. Do I plan on stopping any time soon? No, no I do not. Anyway, there's no violence or blood but there is sin, like serious sin. Also, sad Chat Noir. You'll see. Meaningless disclaimer: ML- not mine. Ladybug, Chat Noir, and the Adrinette squad? Not mine, either. Inferno and Origami are such minor characters that I don't need to claim ownership. Shadowspell, however, is mine. Use her concepts all you want, but maybe mention me in your author's notes to inspire your followers to check out my work? I'd really appreciate it. Onwards and upwards!

Chapter 3: MewMean So Much to Me

Marinette had known this would happen. That didn't make it suck any less.

She was currently dodging the smoke bombs of Inferno, a fireman who had been akumatized after being falsely accused of arson. She had first degree burns on her right foot and left arm from where she'd leapt through the wall of fire to get out of the building. He had targeted the school specifically to get at her. Guilt churned in her stomach for bringing this upon everyone, putting them in danger.

Why was this wackadoo targeting her? Because Hawk Moth found out about her status as Chat's girlfriend and was trying to use her against him. The villain had assumed correctly that Chat would give up anything, including his miraculous, to protect her. She dove behind a low wall, feeling the heat of the blast from his flamethrower pass over her head. Her breath struggled out in desperate pants. Smoke inhalation was slowing her down. Inferno's face mask protected him from any such trivial worries. She fingered the ring Chat had given her as she rolled to the side and began to run in a crouch along the wall.

Chat had to be freaking out about now. This was the seventh time this had happened and he got anxious whenever they were separated, preferring to hover over her to protect her when she didn't really need it. She appreciated the gesture, but it made it a lot harder to slip away to turn into Ladybug so she could fix the mess she'd created. Once she'd caught her breath and gained some distance, she called on Tikki to transform her and she leapt into the fight, disabling Inferno with her yoyo long enough for Chat to get his akuma-infected mask and smash it with Cataclysm. She threw her lucky charm, a fire extinguisher, into the air and repaired all the damage from the fires. She felt her own lungs clear and the sting from the burns fade as the ladybug swarm swept over her in a cloud of sparkles.

She did the fist bump with Chat and bugged out before he could ask her where Marinette was. One positive from this whole situation was that there was no time wasted flirting during fights and Chat stopped being quite as reckless in protecting Ladybug. The downside was that, now that he was no longer distracted by her superhero persona, he was constantly fretting about her civilian one. It would have been endearing if it didn't always get in the way of keeping Paris safe. She would have to talk to him about priorities on their next patrol. She called for spots off and jogged out to Chat Noir.

"Hey, Chaton. I'm okay, I was just hiding in the post office..."

He threw his arms around her and squeezed her tight. "Don't ever scare me like that again! I was terrified for you, Princess. Are you sure you're okay? I saw the burn on your arm..."

"Ladybug's healing light fixed me up. Seriously, silly kitty. I'm fine. You shouldn't worry so much," she said gently, holding his hands.

"But I do worry. Ever since Chloe outed us, you've been a target. Not just for Hawk Moth, either. Don't think I don't know about the reporters and the fangirls just because you try to keep it from me," he scolded.

She flinched guiltily. "I just don't want to upset you. You've got enough on your plate as it is without fretting over me. It's not that much trouble, and you are certainly worth any trouble even if it was. I'm alright, truly."

"Maybe it would be safer if we... took a break?" he suggested tentatively.

She scowled. "I'm not going anywhere, you stupid furball. You're stuck with me. There is not a chance that I am ever leaving you. No matter what," she promised.

"Marinette..."

"Shhh. You're changing back. You need to go, but you can visit me tonight. You won't have to hold the transformation for long because I found a solution to our problem~" she sing-songed.

He swallowed visibly, a smoldering heat in his emerald eyes. "I look forward to it," he purred, pecking her on the lips.

Then he was gone, away across the city. Marinette sighed. She felt the ache of exhaustion deep in her bones.

At least things can't get any worse than this, she thought.

She was wrong, of course.

Chat Noir slipped through the darkness of the Parisian night, anticipation tingling under his skin. He was looking forward to seeing his Princess again. Yet his mind was plagued with anxieties. It was his fault that Marinette was constantly in danger from akumas. His fault that the press wouldn't leave her alone. His fault that her life had been turned upside down. He was terrified that every akuma attack would be the one that would take her away from him.

But she was so capable. He had to remind himself of that sometimes. From the very first attack targeting her, she had been calm and collected. She had often helped him drive back or subdue an akuma until Ladybug could get there. Her tardiness to these fights was starting to get on his nerves. He adored his Lady, but lately, she had been unreliable in her timing. She always showed up, but usually late, already exhausted and annoyed with everything.

She had started favoring an attack where she bashed her yoyo right into the face of the akuma victim hard enough to daze them or knock them back. It made him wince in sympathy every time. He hadn't been aware that Bugaboo even had such a brutal streak. It was effective, though. It surprised the villains and Hawk Moth that the usually gentle, tiny Ladybug was becoming more like her partner, favoring smashing things with force and not an insignificant amount of anger. It threw them off long enough to win and for Ladybug to capture the akuma, fist bump Chat, and run off faster than usual. She knew that he had Marinette, so he was pretty sure that she wasn't offended at his lack of romantic attentions, but it seemed like she was still mad at him for some reason. He had no idea what he could have done.

The second the chaos was fixed, he would rush around, trying to find his Princess. She would appear, always unharmed, always forgiving. It made his heart swell with affection every time she vowed that she was okay, that she didn't hate him, that she wanted to stay. He had really lucked out in the girlfriend department.

He arrived on her terrace and did his special knock. Her welcoming call was soft enough to not be heard by her parents below, but his sensitive ears picked it up. He lifted the door, always left open for him, and dropped through. Marinette had her back to him, turning on little electric fairy lights strung up around her room. She flicked off the overhead light and suddenly the room was wrapped in a magical atmosphere.

She turned to him and his breath caught. Her hair was pinned back from her face by a gold comb and her blue eyes shimmered in the sparkly light. His eyes dropped from her face and his jaw dropped with them. Under her silky kimono-like robe, she was wearing only a black and pink bra and pink plaid pajama shorts. Her feet were bare. His breath hitched when she smiled shyly at him.

"Do you like it?"

"You're beautiful," he whispered reverently.

Her cheeks blushed rosy. "You're looking handsome yourself, tomcat. Are you ready to see my solution?" He nodded vigorously. "Okay. It was so simple once I started thinking about it." She pulled out a strip of satiny black fabric from her robe pocket. "It's a blindfold. Once you start beeping, I can put it on to eliminate temptation of looking at your secret identity. What do you think?"

"More time with you? Wearing this getup? I think that is the single best idea I've ever heard."

He peeled off his gloves and shimmied out of the top half of his suit, baring his chest. Marinette hummed in appreciation. They came together like a train crash. All the stress and guilt of the past few weeks channeled itself into energetic passionate exchange. Their kisses were frantic, firm, as though wanting to press together so hard that the shape of the other person's mouth would be left outlined on their skin once they parted. Teeth were employed more than tongues, and Chat's pointed canines made it interesting. It was a good thing that Chat had taken off his clawed gloves because they both dug fingernails into each other's skin. Pain barely registered. All they could think was a collective pounding of monosyllables: Close. More. Need. Want. Kiss. Touch. Moan. Purr. More. Heat. Love. Grasp. Good. More.

Oh.

God.

Please.

Don't.

Stop.

I.

Need.

More.

Of.

You.

When the inevitable beeping came, Marinette drew out the strip of cloth, tying it around the upper half of her face. She couldn't see anything, but that wasn't a problem. They'd mostly been doing this with eyes closed anyway. The dark didn't bother her. She heard a faint whoosh and felt a tingle sweep over her skin. She reached up and felt around his face, brushing the skin around his eyes with her fingertips. He was out of the mask. She was never even tempted to look. Chat stripped out of his casual clothes and was back in her arms seconds later. They continued more slowly, more gently. For once, they had all the time in the world.

They fell asleep curled into each other like nesting dolls, a perfect fit. They woke sleepily the next morning and Marinette thanked her lucky stars that she'd asked Tikki to make herself scarce and had locked the trapdoor to her bedroom to prevent nosy parents. Her blindfold was still on. She smiled and felt for Chat. She found the top of his head and buried her fingers in his hair, petting just how he liked. He purred drowsily, not fully awake. She smiled at how cute he sounded.

"Good morning, Chaton," she murmured in his ear. He nuzzled her neck and inhaled her scent deeply.

"Good morning, my Lady," he mumbled sleepily, moving his arm to drag her closer.

Marinette froze. Of course. Of course it had been too good to be true. Why in the world would he pick clumsy, stammering, useless Marinette over Ladybug unless she smelled like the hero? It had never been about her, not really. He just noticed the similarities between her and his partner and projected his feelings onto the civilian identity. Despair overtook her. For a moment she had really believed that she was special for some reason other than her miraculous. What a fool she'd been. She bolted to her feet like lightning, yanking herself out of his arms.

"Get out."

"What?" he muttered, starting to wake up more fully.

"I said, get out!" she yelled.

"Princess? What did I do? Tell me what I did wrong," he pleaded.

She was glad she couldn't see the wounded expression on his face. It would only have made this hurt worse, knowing he was hurt, too.

"You called me your Lady," she spat.

Adrien felt all the blood drain from his face. His limbs were stiff. He couldn't move. How could his half-asleep brain have betrayed him so? The pain in Marinette's voice was killing him. He could see the tension wracking her shaking frame from her position standing next to the bed. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, holding her robe closed as though trying to hold herself together. He reached to comfort her, mouth opening to make an apology, but as soon as his hand brushed her elbow, she flinched away violently.

"Don't touch me. I should have known. I should have known I was always a stand-in for Ladybug. It couldn't have been anything else. God, I was so stupid," she sobbed.

"Princess, please. I'm sorry. It was one mistake. I was half-asleep. Don't let one screw up on my part wreck this. It's you I love," he pleaded.

"I don't believe you," she said brokenly, voice cracking. "I need you to go."

"I'm sorry, Princess. I can't do that."

"I thought I made it abundantly clear that I do not want to talk to you."

"Then we don't have to talk," he agreed quickly. "I just need to keep an eye on you in case Hawk Moth sends an akuma after you. You're really upset and people have been turned for less. Just because you're furious with me doesn't mean I want any harm to come to you."

"Fine," she bit out. "Go put on your clothes and change back into Chat Noir so I can get this thing off my face."

She waited impatiently until he told her that he was back in uniform. She ripped the blindfold from her eyes and tossed it aside. She turned her back on him to change into a casual dress in a baby pink. She scraped her hair up into a twist and secured it with the pretty comb that had been removed sometime during last night's make-out session. She refused to look at him. She curled up in a ball on her bed and slowed her breathing, pulling herself together. After several minutes had passed without any sign of a black and purple butterfly, Marinette asked if he could go now.

"It's probably been long enough. Princess... Look, can we talk about-"

"No. I need some time. Some space. Just go."

He left, even though it killed him. Marinette let herself cry the second Chat was gone. How had everything gone from so wonderful to so awful so fast?

There was another akuma attack over the weekend. Madame Bustier got fed up with paperwork and became Origami. Ladybug ended up with hundreds of paper cuts from the deadly folded crane airstrike. She fixed everything with the lucky charm, a pair of scissors, and there was the usual cheering, but when the reporters swarmed, they had no interest in the fight that had just occurred. They wanted to know about Chat Noir's relationship with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Ladybug actually got pushed out of the way by Nadia Shamac so the anchor could get an interview with the male half of the Lucky duo. Chat glanced over at her in concern, reached for her shoulder, but she smacked his claws away. She bugged out without a word of goodbye.

The fun times continued on Monday, when she walked into class. Apparently, Chat had been evasive in the interview about their status. Students wanted to know the dirty details. She only snapped that they were on a break. This sent her classmates skittering away. If normally patient and sweet Marinette was ready to bite their heads off, it was time to run. Despite wanting to be left alone, she couldn't help but feel abandoned when they all ran off.

Tuesday, she reached her breaking point. Alya had entered a young journalists' competition and won first prize. She was happy for her friend, really, but she couldn't get in a word edgewise to tell her so over all of the congratulations of the other students. She was edged out of the crowd surrounding her best friend and she had a profound sense of being left on the outside.

On lunch break, she went home to help her parents in the bakery, hoping she could at least feel useful by whipping up a few macarons, only to find that the temporary help they sometimes hired was working behind the counter and she wasn't needed after all.

The final straw was the news story. She was sketching in an art room by herself, radio on to try and drown out her feelings with the noise. The broadcast that came on was an editorial that theorized that Chat Noir and Ladybug themselves were to blame for the akuma problem. They had showed up at the same time all this started, which couldn't have been a coincidence. The author even went so far as to offer the opinion that they were "two spoiled kids who caused uncountable emotional damage in their quest for attention."

That pushed Marinette over the edge. The sting of the report was that it was half true. They weren't deliberately causing this, but Hawk Moth was akumatizing people to target the heroes, to draw them out so he could take their miraculouses. It really was at least partially their fault. She felt something inside her give way. She yanked out her miraculous and shoved them in her purse. Tikki cried out and asked her what she was doing. She was trembling uncontrollably. There was a charge in the air. Something had changed, within and without.

"I think you need to get these to a safe place, Tikki."

"Marinette, what do you mean? The safest place is with you!"

"Not right now, it's not. Please, Tikki. Trust me. Nobody needs Ladybug. They don't need me."

Tikki reluctantly flew out the window with the purse to parts unknown. She was alone. Again.

Marinette dragged her hands over her face and saw her reflection in the windowpane. She had charcoal dust from her drawing pencils smudged all over her cheeks, heavy around her eyes. Marinette felt cracks beginning in the dam that held back her emotions. She turned away from the window and towards the door, which had a window, dragging her hands through her hair, mussing it from its place pinned on her head with her golden comb. She saw the students on the other side of the glass duck their heads and look away from the mess that was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Chloe passed the window and eyed her disdainfully, scoffing the word "pathetic" under her breath. And the worst thing? Marinette believed it.

The frail barrier holding back the torrent of her emotions snapped and collapsed. All of her fear, anxiety, self-hate, doubt, and loneliness came crashing over her in waves. The voice in her head was screaming: Useless! Pathetic! Weak! Worthless! They'd all be better off if you just disappeared! Klutz! Walking disaster! What damage have you fixed that wasn't your fault in the first place? Who could love a nothing like you? Certainly not someone as confident and great as Chat Noir.

Over the noise in her mind, there came the sound of quiet flapping. She saw the purple and black butterfly flutter in through the window she'd released Tikki from. She tried to run, she really did, but the butterfly passed right through her hands thrown up in defense and settled into the gray dust on her face. A warm, strong presence flooded her consciousness.

Oh, you poor girl. So underappreciated. So unseen. No one notices how hard you work to help them, to keep them safe. But I notice. Even your own Chat Noir is blind to how special you are. To be second fiddle to someone like Ladybug is a shame. A crime, even. You feel powerless, alone, invisible, but I see you. I can give you power. I can help you take revenge on those who ignored you. All I need is the miraculous from each of Paris' heroes. Can you do that for me? the voice requested, smooth as honey.

It comforted her, soothed the ache in her chest. But there was something- some reason why she shouldn't say yes.

I- I don't- I don't want to hurt anyone. I don't want revenge. I just want someone to see the real me. To love me for who I am. I can't accept your offer, she protested.

You don't have to harm a soul. I can give you a power that will keep them safe. So they never have to be vulnerable or afraid ever again. They will be grateful to you for saving them. They'll adore you. Don't you want that? he persuaded.

His voice wormed its way into the cracks and corners of her brain, dulling her resistance. It filled her to the brim with a sort of drowsy contentment. He made her feel safe. She was so tired of not feeling safe. The man on the other end of the voice cared about her. He wanted to help. She felt her resistance slip.

I want that, she agreed hesitantly. I don't anyone to hurt like I hurt. But if I fight Ladybug and Chat Noir, I might hurt them. They've helped so many. It doesn't feel right.

Oh, my dear girl, the voice purred.

It sent a shiver through her. She wanted to make him happy, too. She wanted to please him. She needed to please him. She was his.

The miraculouses are simply the price you must pay for the power to help people. That's all I want in exchange for helping you, simply what belongs to me. The Lucky duo is just being stubborn in keeping what is rightfully mine. You will be righting a grievous wrong in addition to helping all of Paris. You have been banished to the shadows for too long now, my dear girl. I would say it's high time you put others there. What do you say, Shadowspell?

She wanted this. She needed it. He needed her. Someone needed her. It felt so good to be needed. How could she refuse?

"Yes, Hawk Moth."

She felt the black fog bubble over her skin and she welcomed the cool stinging sensation like an old friend. She sighed in relief as it consumed her, swallowed her whole. When the darkness seeped into her skin, she stood as a new woman, no longer the weak mess of a girl who had stood in this room mere minutes ago, but someone strong, confident. Someone even better than Ladybug. Someone willing to do whatever it took.

Adrien was used to hearing random screams while going nonchalantly about his day. It was the hazard of life with akuma attacks, people screaming and running. He ran towards the sound, against the current of terrified students and staff. He changed in a closet and dashed out in between waves of panicking people. He was running towards the threat like always, but stopped cold when he heard a name among the shouts.

"Marinette!" Alya wailed, running towards the danger like him. He yanked her aside and demanded she explain why she was yelling for Marinette. "Chat! If you love her, you need to find her. I haven't seen her anywhere. After how she's been acting this week, I'm worried she might be..."

"Get to safety," he ordered her grimly. "If it isn't her, I'll get her out. If it is... I'll handle it."

Alya actually listened to him for once, sprinting with the other students for the front doors. He redoubled his efforts to make it to the atrium so he could vault his way upstairs. He cursed himself for being so careless. He'd watched her so carefully after their fight, making sure the akuma didn't get her. And now, days later, because he'd been giving her the space she'd said she wanted, he had left her unprotected. She could be-

He swallowed the lump in his throat. He was scared. He didn't want to see if he'd recognize her in akuma form. If he could still see some trace of her deep in her bluebell eyes. He wasn't sure if it would be worse to not be able see a scrap of Marinette at all. He reached the atrium, and the floors above were pitch black. He frowned. It was a good thing he had night vision. He extended his staff and alighted on the balcony on the top floor, where the darkness was most concentrated. A glance at the shadows showed them to be shifting, nearly alive. He shivered and walked faster.

He peered into the darkness. Something seemed wrong about the walls. Frowning, he crept closer and almost screamed when a dark shape stepped into view and knocked on the wall from the inside, like they were on the other side of glass. He squinted and saw that it was Nathaniel, or rather, a two-dimensional living drawing of Nathaniel, outlined like a pencil sketch of moving graffiti. The image waved and smiled, then wandered on his way. He met up with a drawing of Rose and the two progressed across the beige-painted surface, chatting amiably.

What was going on? A sweep with the flashlight on his stick confirmed that the walls were covered in these living drawings. They made no sound, like a silent film. And they were invariably happy, almost creepily so. He scanned the walls for a set of dark pigtails, not sure what he was hoping for. If she was in there, then she wasn't the akuma. He wouldn't have to fight the love of his life. If she wasn't... at least she wouldn't be trapped in a two-dimensional world. His eyes didn't find a trace of her and he slumped half in relief and half in disappointment because her absence from the walls could only mean-

"Do you like them, Chaton?" a voice purred silkily from the darkness.

He whipped around, jabbing his baton in the direction of the sound, a swish of fabric and a flicker in a slightly darker patch of shadow were the only indicators that his adversary had dodged. He heard the soft padding of footsteps and waited tensely for something, anything to come into view. He did not have to wait long.

A girl stepped into the patch of light made by his stick hesitantly, blinking as though the sudden brightness was unpleasant. But her smile was unsettlingly wide and pointy. It was the smile he saw first, a white flash of a grin in the darkness. His heart sank as she came fully into view. There was no doubt that this was Marinette, though she looked completely changed.

She was no longer wearing her usual pink and black outfit, but clad instead in a fierce-looking dress that was a gradient of lilac darkening to violet to gray to black, with an uneven hemline. The skirt swept to the floor in the back and rose above her knees in the front in swaths of gauzy, pleated fabric. Her legs were not bare, however, covered in shimmery gray leggings. Her boots had low heels, but made only soft sounds when she took a step, not loud clicks. The torso of the dress was form-fitting, with silhouettes of black on the sides making her slim waist appear even thinner. A wrap of thin, filmy purple and gray fabric covered her shoulders and neck, and her arms were covered by long gray gloves so that the only skin that was showing was her face.

Looking at her hands, he felt a thrill of hope when he noticed that she still wore his ring. Maybe she was still in there somewhere.

Her hair was swept up and pinned back in gorgeous curls by a silver and purple pin shaped like a butterfly. Her lips were outlined in dark purple and she had gray makeup smudged around her eyes in that same butterfly shape, dripping down her cheeks. Her blue eyes looked more violet, but that could have just been the light. It was only when they fluttered that he noticed the enormous pair of lavender and black butterfly wings protruding from her back. They were blurry at the edges, so that they nearly blended into the shadows.

She was beautiful, and terrifying. She looked like a human akuma.

Oh, God, he thought. I did this.

"You never answered my question, silly kitty," she prompted with a smile.

His heart gave a painful pang when she called him that, so similar to his Princess that it ached.

"What are they?" he croaked, already having a pretty strong suspicion.

"They're people. I put them into the drawings and they become happy. And quiet. Once they settle into their new home, they stop with all of that irritating, nonsensical screaming. They're at peace. Isn't it wonderful?" she sighed happily.

This was strange. The closest any akuma had come to wanting to help people was when Bubbler wanted to liberate the kids from the adults, but his agenda got twisted and he ended up sending anyone who didn't have fun up into the sky. Genuinely wanting to make people happy was... odd.

"I'm not sure. I don't think it's right to trap these people, Princess."

"They're not trapped," she huffed. "They're free. Free from pain, from guilt, from suffering. Nothing can hurt them in there. They're safe. Forever."

"But if it wasn't their choice, and they can't choose to leave whenever they want, that's not right. They may be safe, but they aren't free," he pointed out.

"They don't know what's good for them!" she cried, getting agitated. "They like it once they get there. They don't want to leave. And maybe being stuck is worth it if nobody can hurt you."

She looked so sad. So broken. Then her face cleared and she was all smiles again.

"But I can help them. I can help everyone. I just need your miraculous, and Ladybug's. Then I can keep my powers and I can save them all," she said excitedly.

"You know I can't do that, Princess," he sighed.

"Why not? Look, Chaton, you were the only one who saw me, who listened, who cared... I don't want to hurt you, but I need your miraculous so I can stay strong. If I don't do what he wants, I go back to being clumsy, shy, stupid, invisible, worthless Marinette. I can't do that. Please just let me have your ring," she begged.

"Princess, you were always strong. You're not any of those terrible things. You are precious to me. Fight it," he insisted.

"I'm sorry, kitty. I can't. I won't. I want this. I need this," she pleaded.

"That's just the akuma talking. You don't really feel that way," he said.

"Don't tell me what I feel!" she screamed.

Chat hesitated. Akumas magnified all the bad and erased all the good, but sweet, charming, lovable Marinette couldn't possibly think of herself like that, could she? Not his wonderful Princess.

"Marinette, you don't really think that way about yourself, do you?" he questioned quietly.

"That's not my name. I'm Shadowspell now. Come on, Chat Noir. We both know that Marinette was anyone's second choice. When Ladybug wouldn't look twice at you no matter how you fell all over yourself to please her, you settled. There's no shame in it, only in lying about it. I hate liars," she hissed.

"I'm not lying. I was infatuated with Ladybug, and she's great, really! But I love you more than life itself, Princess. That's the truth."

"You're lying!" Shadowspell cried.

"No, I'm not. Come back to me. Please, Princess. Marinette. Come back to me," he urged, voice cracking with emotion.

Her face hardened and she scowled at him. "Fine. You love me more than life itself? Prove it. Die for me."

With that, she darkened and blurred into a feminine shadow with great wings, flew through the glass, and then turned solid on the other side, dropping like a stone.

"MARINETTE!" he cried out, feeling like his very soul was torn in two. "No! Oh, please. No."

He ran to the window and peered out, praying he wouldn't see her broken body splayed on the ground three stories below, only to be knocked back as a dark shape swooped up in front of him. Shadowspell hovered tauntingly a few feet away, easily keeping herself aloft with small strokes of her wings. She laughed aloud at his distraught face. It should have been an ugly sound for the cruelty in it, but it was just as high and sweet as Marinette's bell-like laugh. She winked at him and flew off.

He heard her call, "We'll play later. Right now, I have a city to liberate."

The darkness fled from the room as she vanished from sight, flitting away. The creepy happy living drawings were still there, though. Still smiling. He avoided touching the walls, just in case.

"Oh, Princess. What have I done?" he groaned into the empty sky.

A/N: I am the angst master! Maybe? At least, like, high-ranking angst adept? Anyway, I love akumatizing Marinette. I always have a blast designing her villains. Will I keep up my pattern of posting chapters within hours of each other or will I leave you in suspense? We will have to find out... Just kidding. It's like almost 2 AM and I need sleep for my class that starts in less than six hours. You're going to have to wait at least a day for the next installment, but I have every confidence that you will survive. Hugs, Me.