Another installment in everyone's favorite saga. Well, some people's favorite saga. My favorite saga. Still keeping it pg (for now ;P). Per some people's suggestion, I've added a bit of a warning to ch. 3. I guess a couple of you guys couldn't stomach some mild creep. Seriously though, if anyone feels this needs bumped up in rating, pm me and I'll think about it. Another serious note, sorry I've been on such a long hiatus. I got really sick, and never felt up to updating anything. Thanks to some encouraging words from some of you, I was inspired to continue on with this story (it really is one of my favs to write). It still took a while for me to feel good posting it, but here it is. Hope you like it, you sick freaks.

Ladybug's POV:

"Ladybug!"

It was in that moment that I realized I loved my partner.

It was also that moment that I lost him.

I stare in abject horror as Hawkmoth stabs Chat in the stomach, and I see his cane skewer through my partner. Screeching, I stumble forwards, stretching my hand out as if I could somehow reach him that way. My kitty stumbles backwards, briefly making eye contact with me before looking down at his stomach, as if he too can't fully comprehend what has just occurred.

And then he careens over the edge and tumbles downwards.

It's as if time slows down. My brain struggles to process what I'm seeing. When I finally understand, when I begin to rush forward, it's too late.

All I see is Chat's body on the concrete. Limbs splayed out in odd angles against the ground. Eyes shut. Blood pooling around him. I turn around, ready to attack Hawkmoth, but he's gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Just like Chat. I turn back to my partner, my best friend, realizing just what this devastation is doing to me. I loved him. I loved him, and I had watched him die. What had I done? What had I done?!

A scream rips its way out of my throat as I slip to my knees, banging my fists against the metal beneath me till they begin to bleed.

Marinette's POV:

I wake up screaming.

I try to move, but I can't. It's so dark. I can't see. I can't move. All I can hear is screaming. I thrash about, desperately searching for an escape. I'm trapped. I'm suffocating. I need out! I need air! Why can't I see? Where am I? Am I the one screaming?

As I continue to thrash about more violently, I find myself tumbling downwards. The screaming is louder. Am I the one screaming?

My head smacks off the floor. The tumbling finally frees my movement, and I go scrambling out of my confines. It takes me a moment to breathe, to gather my bearings. Am I still screaming, or is it simply echoing in my ears? I had been asleep. That memory. I'd dreamed of that fateful day again. Remembered it. I wasn't there. I was in a bedroom. It's okay. I had simply been trapped in a blanket. Wrapped up. That's why I couldn't move. My hands reach up to my neck to try and help me breath-

There's a collar.

And then it all comes rushing back. Coming to try and find out who Hawkmoth was. Being caught by Chat Blanc. The collar. His horrid little "game." Hawkmoth...

No. No no no. I won't think about that. I can't. I won't go back there. I won't!

I violently roll around on the floor, clutching at my head. "Make it stop. Make it stop!" The screaming is back. It's ripping at my ears. Ripping at my throat. Am I the one screaming? "Please, make it stop!"

There's the sound of something opening. The door, perhaps? Then there's light. The screaming only grows in intensity. Somewhere in the background, as if I'm hearing them from underwater. I scream, trying to pull away as something touches at me.

"Don't touch me. Please don't touch me!" I beg the creature prodding at my side, shaking me, to let me go, trying to twist away. "Don't touch me!"

"Marinette!" How does it know my name?

A slap to the face is what finally brings my crumbling psyche back to reality. I blink, fully taking in the room I'm in. It's the same room as before. I try to breathe, but ultimately end up choking on the air. Panting, I manage to crawl away from the blankets before wretching, ultimately spitting up what amounts to barely even a puddle of liquid.

When was the last time I've eaten?

"What got into you?" The enraged words cause me to freeze in terror. "Why were you screaming?"

I don't turn around, terrified of being punished. "I-I...I was...It was a nightmare..." Tears trail down my cheeks as finally I regain control of my full senses, noting the clawed hand gripping my shoulder. If it were anyone else - well, almost anyone else - it'd be comforting, but now it's just a reminder of what I've been experiencing.

Chat Blanc makes it sound pathetic. "A nightmare? A nightmare had you screaming? You weak girl."

One of his hands slips down to the bottom of my shirt, starting to make its way up. "No!" The knee-jerk reaction happens before I can stop it, and I yank myself away before throwing myself to the floor in a cowering mess.

"No?" He sounds so enraged despite his calm tone, causing me to shake even more. "You're saying no to me?"

"Please-" I whimper pathetically, scrunching my eyes shut tight, "Please don't touch me. N-not after..." I bite my lip, remembering what Hawkmoth told me when he was last in here. I'm not supposed to say anything about what he did. "It hurts."

I don't even realize I'm clutching my stomach till he wiggles his hand beneath me and prods it, causing me to let out a gasp of pain. "I never hit you there. How did you get hurt?"

"I-uh-fell from the bed."

"You're lying. What happened?"

I try to pull away from him, but he tugs me back and spins me around, claws digging into my neck as he forces me to look him in the eye. "C-Chat Blanc, please, don't make me say-"

"Did someone do this?"

I shake my head furiously. "N-no."

His eyes narrow as he leans closer in, our noses almost touching before his eyes suddenly fill with realization. "Did...did he do this?"

"No!" I nearly scream the word before realizing my mistake, hands flying to my face as Chat Blanc releases me.

"I'll kill him for touching what is mine."

"C-Chat-" I choke out, but he doesn't give me the chance to finish, storming for the door.

"Sit, princess. I'll be back." After opening the door, he glances back at me, eyes glowing with rage as he smirks. "You're mine to touch, mine to play with, mine to torture, mine to kill. He'll learn that lesson the hard way. You will do well to learn that too. I'm not one whose willing to share; I'll be back to mark my territory later."

Then he's gone, and I fall back down into a heap, shaking and crying.

ooooooooooooooooooooooh! A real cliff hanger, right? Guess you'll just have to keep reading this shiz if you wanna know my biz :p pm me with any cool suggestions on how you think the story should go, always looking for neat ideas to incorporate. Shoutout to pinksakura271 for kind support and making a great suggestion for this chapter. luv u all, and read you next time.