Guess who's back, back again. I was hoping to have this chapter out sooner, but me being the moron that I am, managed to somehow give myself some form of food poisoning. Fun times. Thank you so much for all of the awesome reviews on the last chapter. Feedback is always much appreciated.

Just as a quick note because a few people have pointed this out. The fact that there's no clear line between flashbacks and reality which makes it confusing is entirely intentional. It's supposed to represent how confusing and jarring it can actually be to experience a flashback so you experience the jolting, confusing feelings with the characters as they do. A lot of you had picked up on the intentionality of it, but just in case some people haven't, I thought I'd best quickly explain.

CAUTION: This chapter contains descriptions of a panic attack that may be upsetting to some readers.


Chapter 9: Detached From Reality

"Marinette."

Marinette stumbled around in the darkness, reaching out blindly. Slowly and cautiously taking small steps forward, Marinette shuffled her feet along on the ground in the hopes that she wouldn't trip and fall. The high-pitched, weak voice that called to her echoed all around her, rendering her unable to make out which direction it was coming from. All around was nothing but a dark void. Empty and black like the furthest reaches of deep space. Had Marinette gone blind? Was this some sort of limbo? Was she…dead?

There was no sound, no smells, and the only thing Marinette could feel was the ground beneath her. It was the only sensation that assured her that she was in fact awake and alert. That and the occasional weak call of her name from an unknown distance. A voice that was normally familiar and comforting to Marinette. It was warm, reassuring and chimed like a clear bell. A voice that so often called to Marinette in her dreams, crying out for her, pleading with her…never letting her forget.

"Marinette."

Breathing in a shaky breath, Marinette took another small step forward, almost feeling herself lose her balance slightly as there was nothing around her to allow herself to get her bearings. It had felt like the voice was getting closer. Her ear had tingled as the sound of her name reached her. The sound caressed her skin, causing her hair to stand on end and a shiver to run down her spine.

Why couldn't Marinette just be allowed to forget?

"Marinette."

"Tikki?" Marinette's voice was raspy, rendering her unable to shout.

Her throat felt incredibly dry like it had been rubbed with sandpaper. She suddenly became aware of a dull, throbbing pain at the back of her head. Her limbs felt weak as if they were made of jelly. Marinette forced herself to press on though, trying her best to ignore the painful sensations travelling throughout her body.

"Please help me, Marinette."

"I'm trying!" Marinette called back. "Just tell me where you are!"

"You know where I am."

"Tell me how to help you!"

"You must fix what is broken."

"I don't understand!" Tears began streaming down Marinette's face, and she pulled at her hair in frustration.

At this point, it sounded like Tikki was right next to her, talking directly into her ear. But Marinette couldn't see anything. Nothing but an endless darkness.

Marinette shakily raised her hand and reached out towards the area where it sounded like Tikki's voice was coming from. Through the empty air, Marinette slowly felt around for her small red kwami. Not once did she come into contact with anything. Around her was nothing but an empty abyss. She was completely alone. Isolated in a never-ending void. Doomed to always reach out for things that were not there. The longing for her faithful kwami would never be quenched.

She was gone.

Likely gone forever.

Marinette had tried everything. But…Tikki was never coming back…

An explosion of aching and longing tore through Marinette's chest, leaving her body feeling exposed to the elements. It was like someone had reached a hand into her chest and churned her organs up inside her, leaving her there broken and damaged beyond repair. Marinette was unsure how she hadn't bled to death at this point. Everything was slowly chipping away at her brain, taking a piece of her mind and sanity away with it, leaving the inside of her skull filled with nothing but pink mush that couldn't function properly as a human being.

Her burns could be healed. The psychical wounds could disappear. But the scars would always be there. Her mind would always remain damaged. There was no cure for the mental wounds that night had left her with. No hope of ever getting better. No hope of ever being normal again.

At those thoughts, the sensation of Tikki floating next to her disappeared. No longer could Marinette hear her sweet, reassuring voice. Now Marinette felt more alone than ever. Tikki was growing weaker, much like herself in some respects. It was all her fault that Tikki was in this mess. Marinette would never forgive herself for what happened to her kwami companion. Her dear friend.

A white light suddenly and gently radiated down towards Marinette, causing her to squint and look up at the source. It shone bright above her, starting off tiny before growing larger and larger and larger…

Marinette's eyes gently fluttered open before she abruptly closed them again, blinded by the brightness of her surroundings. Everything initially appeared white, burning her eyes as they struggled to adjust, having been shrouded in darkness for so long.

It took a few seconds for Marinette to realise that she was lying down on something soft, though from her chest upwards, she was angled up slightly at what felt like a forty-five degree angle. Her whole body felt heavy, like it was made of lead. She also felt sore and achy, like she had just been run over by a bus, and the dull, throbbing pain in the back of her head continued as it had done in her dream. Much like in her dream, her throat felt like she had swallowed a mouthful of sandpaper, leaving it feeling incredibly dry and scratchy.

Slowly, Marinette allowed her eyes to flutter open again, making sure to give them time to adjust to the bright light. The room around her was mainly white in colour. White ceiling and white walls which were occasionally interrupted by colourful posters warning against flu and other bacteria. The floor, however, was a light blue, reminding Marinette of a hazy sky on a warm summer's day.

She was alone in the small room, laying down on a large bed with crisp white sheets pulled up over her body. On the footboard at the end of her bed was a small soap dispenser, and plain counter tops were next to her, along with a red emergency button.

A hospital room?

What had happened? What was going on?

Panicking, Marinette looked down at herself to see a large needle sticking out of her hand, wrapped carefully in bandages, keeping it in place. Nothing was connected to it and the needle looked empty. She twisted her hand at every angle, looking at the needle in confusion before she noticed her bare arms. Her bare arms exposing her…

NO!

Gasping, Marinette pulled her sheets up as she realised she had been dressed in a hospital gown, her clothes neatly folded in a chair towards Marinette's right. Marinette could see the blood staining her white shirt.

Without thinking, keeping her eyes firmly locked on her black jacket, Marinette flung herself out of bed. Her vision blurred, turning slightly red around the edges as it suddenly felt like she was underwater. As that happened, Marinette stumbled forward, reaching her arms out to collapse onto the chair, burying her face in her clothes as she tightly gripped her jacket with her fingers.

Her vision finally cleared, and the dizzying sensation slowly went away, leaving her capable of lifting her head back up and picking up her jacket. Marinette carefully slipped herself inside, making sure not the knock the giant needle sticking out of her hand as she did so. Marinette sighed with relief once she was safely inside, but had the damage already been done? What if someone she knew had seen?

At those thoughts, Marinette's heart leapt into her throat, almost choking her.

Hearing footsteps echoing down the corridor outside getting closer and closer, Marinette swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat and jumped back into bed, pulling the sheets over herself to hide as much of her body as possible. She grew increasingly uncomfortable and warm in her jacket, but she didn't care. She needed to keep it on.

The footsteps stopped outside of the door to the room where Marinette was before the door opened. A woman walked in, dressed in doctors' attire, and carrying a clipboard in her hand which she continued to read, not looking up as she closed the door behind her. Marinette watched her with wide frightened eyes as she approached the bed.

Finally, the doctor looked up and jumped slightly before smiling once she realised that Marinette was awake.

"It's good to see you wake, Miss Dupain-Cheng." The doctor smiled, pushing a strand of brunette hair behind her ear.

She looked over the papers on her clipboard again before looking back up and raising a confused eyebrow as the collar of Marinette's jacket peeked out from behind the sheets she was under.

"I –" Marinette rushed to try and explain.

"Don't worry," the doctor continued to smile warmly at her, "we doctors have seen much worse, trust me."

"It's not that, it's just…ha-has anyone else seen? Other than doctors?" Marinette stuttered, afraid of the answer.

Thankfully, the doctor shook her head.

"No one's been allowed to see you for the time being. I think your parents and a friend of yours are waiting, but we just need to give you another check-up before we let anyone in. It'll probably be another half an hour before they see you I'm afraid," the doctor explained before writing something down, biting her lip as she did so.

"Now Miss Dupain-Cheng, can you tell me where you are?"

"A hospital?"

"Very good. Can you tell me what happened?"

"I…" Marinette trailed off as all that came back to her were brief flashes.

Chat Noir grinning at her, pinning her against his body in the alleyway. The moment where Chat Noir had tried to take off with her, rambling insanely about how he needed to stash her away somewhere. Rena Rouge coming to her rescue before yelling at Marinette to run. After that, it was all a blank. Whenever Marinette tried to force herself to remember anything after that, it was like her mind kept hitting a brick wall, preventing her and locking her out from seeing those memories. Obviously something bad had happened for her to end up in hospital. Her whole body continued to ache, and the back of her head kept throbbing painfully.

"A little bit of memory loss is perfectly normal after a head trauma." The doctor kept writing.

"Head trauma?!" Marinette gasped.

"Oh don't worry, dear, it's nothing serious. You just required a few stitches, that's all," she explained, "they should dissolve on their own in a few weeks. You got trampled on by the crowd fleeing Chat Noir, Miss Dupain-Cheng. I'm guessing you must have hit your head as you fell. As for the rest of your body, you were quite lucky; just some minor bumps and bruises. You weren't the only one injured though. The hospitals of Paris have been so busy these past few hours with victims."

Marinette glanced downwards in shock, taking everything in that the doctor was telling her. Memories of terrified screams filled her mind. The blood covered face of Rena Rouge after Chat Noir had attacked her. The blood that seeped between her own fingers after she had touched the back of her head, wondering what the warm sensation had been.

Wait…Chat Noir…out during the day?! Had…had he been following her…just like he had promised? Was this disaster all Marinette's fault? If she had stayed inside like she normally did, then none of this would have happened. Or maybe she should have just let Chat Noir take her away. She had no clue what exactly he had wanted to do with her, but at least the citizens of Paris would have been safe. No one would have got hurt in the stampede of frightened civilians, fleeing the terrifying ex-hero in fear for their lives.

"You may regain all your memory, part of your memory or none at all. I'm afraid when it comes to amnesia, all we can do is guess I'm afraid." The doctor sighed. "Now I just need to assess how severe it is."

The doctor asked Marinette many questions. What day of the week it was, what month it was, and even the year. She asked Marinette who the current president of France was, who the mayor of Paris was, what school she went to, along with the names of her parents and friends. Marinette managed to answer them all. The doctor was confident that her memory loss only extended to the minutes leading up to her falling unconscious.

Once she was done questioning an exhausted Marinette, the doctor pulled something out from the pocket of her jacket before pointing it at Marinette's face.

"If you could just keep your eyes on my finger please," the doctor instructed, holding her finger up.

Marinette did as she was told, jumping slightly as a bright light was shone directly into one of her eyes. Marinette followed her finger any time she moved it, all the while the doctor shone the light into her eyes, assessing her.

"Looking good," the doctor mumbled to herself before writing everything down on her clipboard before perking up and smiling at Marinette. "You're doing fine, Miss Dupain-Cheng. You would probably be doing a lot worse if it wasn't for your guardian angel."

That caught Marinette's immediate attention.

"What?"

"The boy who saved you," the doctor explained. "Apparently he found you and carried you all the way to the hospital. Is he a boyfriend of yours?"

"Boy? What boy? I don't have a boyfriend."

"Oh." The doctor frowned. "Well he certainly seemed to care a lot about you. I don't know who he was, he didn't leave a name. He wore jeans and a black sweatshirt with the hood up, so I'm afraid I couldn't tell you what he looked like other than the fact he was tall and thin. He dropped you off here and then he just seemed to disappear."

Marinette frowned in confusion. Could some random person on the street have saved her? Why would they carry her all that way to the hospital? That must have been quite an arduous journey while carrying her dead weight. Surely it would have been easier to have just sat with her while waiting for an ambulance? And why Marinette? Out of the all the victims of the event, why was she singled out by this one strange boy? It all seemed so weird and unbelievable.

"Anyway," the doctor said, interrupting Marinette's deep thoughts, "I need to go and update your records and speak to your parents. I'll send them in to see you shortly. In the meantime, if something happens, just push that red emergency button next to your bed and a doctor will be with you swiftly."

Marinette nodded before the doctor turned and walked out of the room. She snuggled down into her sheets, making sure that her jacket was hidden from view so her parents wouldn't ask her any questions about it. No one she knew had seen, thank goodness. She was beginning to sweat from the heat, but she didn't care. Instead, she continued to stare up at the ceiling, frowning as she thought of the boy who had seemingly saved her. Who was he? Why didn't he leave a name? As weird and confusing as the situation was, Marinette would still like to thank him for what he did.

Tap tap.

Startled, Marinette whipped her head around towards the window on the left side of the hospital room and nearly screamed at the sight of Chat Noir grinning at her from the other side of the glass. Once she had spotted him, her carefully opened the window and climbed inside. His grin faltered as his green eyes took her in laying there on the hospital bed, and something flashed behind his eyes.

"You're okay," he gasped out quietly, but Marinette ignored him. Her thoughts were focused on waiting for the appropriate time to reach down and press the emergency button. She didn't want that crazy cat anywhere near her. All he continued to do was bring nothing but trouble and pain into her life.

Why couldn't he just leave her alone?!

Unfortunately, it seemed like Chat Noir immediately caught onto what she was trying to do. Faster than a bolt of lightning, he leapt around her bed, swiped hold of the button, and waved it in the air, smirking at her. Marinette gazed at him with wide eyes before glaring at him.

"You weren't going to tell on little old me, were you, my princess?" Chat pretended to sound upset.

"Give that back," Marinette demanded flatly, forcing herself to sit up, ignoring the dizzying sensation in her head as she did so.

Chat Noir gasped. "And have the whole world know that the legendary Chat Noir is after you?"

"That's blackmail!" Marinette hissed.

"Or better yet," Chat Noir held the button out towards her. "Press it. I want the whole world to know about us. I want everyone who could possibly cause you harm to stay away from you. I want all of Paris to know that you belong to me. No one will dare touch you once they know."

Marinette felt her breath get caught in her throat and almost choke her.

"You really are completely insane!"

Chat Noir grinned from ear to ear at her, flashing his perfect white teeth which glittered in the bright light of the room. Marinette continued to glare at him, her eyes darting from the button to his face and back again. Her hand twitched, ready to seize the button off him.

If she called for help, the doctors, nurses, and security would likely get hurt. Not to mention, it would give Chat Noir the satisfaction of the whole of Paris knowing. Marinette wasn't going to give him what he wanted. At those thoughts, Marinette relaxed back down into bed and glared up at the ceiling.

"Good girl," Chat purred.

"Don't patronise me," Marinette hissed and cringed in disgust.

"You're looking and sounding a lot better," Chat noted, sounding almost…normal?

This took Marinette by surprise. She dropped her glare and turned to stare at him, and all the while he stared back, his eyes scanning her body, taking every inch of her in. He frowned as he caught sight of her wearing her jacket before he stepped towards her, reaching his arms out to grab it.

"Aren't you warm in that?"

"NO!" Marinette yelled, shuffling as far away from him as possible, clinging onto her jacket like her life depended on it. "Leave me alone!"

"It was only a suggestion." Chat rolled his eyes. "No need to go all crazy on me."

"You've got a lot of nerve," Marinette growled.

"Grape?" Chat Noir grinned, ignoring her comments, holding up some grapes.

"What?"

"I believe it is common practice to bring a hospital patient some grapes." Chat Noir smiled at her innocently.

Marinette laid there, completely speechless at how utterly insane Chat was behaving. It shouldn't come as a surprise at this point, yet it always did. There were brief moments where he almost looked and sounded like his old self. Like the Chat Noir she used to know. The playful, cocky, easy going and fun loving boy who would always be by her side as her partner and friend.

It pained her. Mocked her with memories that had her constantly yearning for what was. Yearning for the beautiful and peaceful lie that Chat Noir would always be there for her.

Marinette guessed it really was true that ignorance was bliss. She wanted to rewind time. To go back to where everything was fine and normal. To when she was still an innocent teenager, bumbling about, trying to balance school and her secret identity as one of Paris' most beloved heroes.

However, Chat still mainly was the insane villain Paris had now forced to become accustomed to. The Chat Noir who now seemed completely detached from reality. The insane Chat Noir who had betrayed her all those years ago and very well nearly caused her demise. The same Chat Noir who was now a plague on her life, serving as a reminder of her failures and the mental scars which refused to heal. Marinette couldn't afford to start associating Chat Noir with his old self. That would be dangerous beyond words.

Marinette found herself brought out of her thoughts by Chat Noir waving a gape in front of her face, laughing childishly before trying to gently force one into her mouth. Marinette growled and smacked his hand away before folding her arms across her chest, glaring straight ahead, refusing the look at the crazy cat next to her.

"No thanks," Marinette huffed.

Chat Noir shrugged. "Suit yourself."

He stabbed one of the grapes with one of his claws before biting it off, chewing slowly as he kept his eyes firmly locked on Marinette.

"Mmm, juicy," he purred, "want a taste?"

He leaned down towards her, pursing his lips slightly and closing his eyes.

Marinette yelped and pushed his face roughly away from hers while Chat Noir burst out laughing at her reaction.

"Will you just suffocate me with my pillow already and get it over with?" Marinette mumbled with dry sarcasm as Chat Noir continued to laugh.

At her words, Chat Noir abruptly stopped laughing and glared at her. "That's not funny."

Marinette grabbed hold of her pillow and pulled it over her face. "I've got better things to do than babysit an insane stray cat. Like going home and never coming out of my room again. Because every time I seem to leave my room, stuff like today always happens. It's so unfair."

"Who said you were babysitting me?"

"Your childish attitude," Marinette huffed.

Chat scoffed. "Says the girl whining about how unfair life is."

Marinette could feel tears welling up in her eyes, ready to spill over at any second. Sobs rose up in her throat, and Marinette pressed her lips tightly together to prevent them from escaping. Hearing his voice. Hearing him talk like this. Bantering with her almost like the old days. It was becoming too much to bear.

How could he have done this to her? Betray her and then keep coming back into her life like this to continuously hurt her with painful reminders. It really was like the universe was playing a cruel joke on her. Fate just had to stick the knife in even more by having Chat Noir not leave her alone.

"Marinette?" Chat's voice sounded distant.

He easily wrestled the pillow off her and gasped as he caught sight of the tears in her eyes. His own eyes softened, staring at her just like the way he used to stare at Ladybug years ago. Chat Noir thought that she had never noticed him doing it, but she did. It had pained her that she could never return his feelings like that. Marinette had always hoped that Chat Noir would move on. Well…she got her wish alright. He moved on way too far. Siding with Hawkmoth to steal her miraculous – the ultimate betrayal.

Those memories tipped Marinette over the edge. Her grip on reality loosened as those painful memories flashed before her eyes. Her breaths came out in harsh gasps, desperate for air as it felt like a snake was coiling around her throat, squeezing her neck in its vice like grip and preventing her from breathing. Her heart began pounding to the point where it felt like she would go into cardiac arrest. Surely it was impossible for a heart to beat this quickly? She must be having a heart attack or something!

"Hey, shhhh." Chat climbed into bed next to her, scooping her up into his arms and holding her close to his chest. "Calm down, it's okay."

He cuddled her close to him, rubbing soothing circles on her arm as he gripped her tightly.

But Marinette could barely register what was going on. Her eyes remained wide and unblinking as she struggled to breathe. This was it. She was dying. At least, that's how it felt. The snake around her neck squeezed even tighter, causing Marinette to gasp for even more air. The tips of Marinette's fingers felt like they were going numb as they tingled from what felt like little pin pricks. Her stomach twisted into tight knots, and Marinette worried that she might be sick. All the while she barely registered Chat Noir rocking her back and forth.

The way he held her tightly. It was just like the way he held her the night before he betrayed her. Instinctively, Marinette breathed in his familiar, intoxicating scent and nuzzled herself against him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

It was him. It was the old Chat. Things were back to the way they used to be. This had all just been one long nightmare. Chat Noir would never betray her. He was her partner. Her best friend. He was here with her right now, holding her and comforting her like normal. Her kitty…

Gradually, the snake that had coiled around Marinette's neck loosened and she could breathe again. Her heart slowly calmed down, maintaining a steady pace in her chest. As everything calmed, it left Marinette feeling completely and utterly exhausted. The spinning in her mind slowed, sending her crashing back down to reality with a painful bump. Someone was holding her tightly in their lap, and Marinette panicked, remembering everything.

Chat Noir gasped as Marinette pushed him away and all but leapt off his lap like he was infected with a horrible disease that she didn't want to catch. Being in his arms like that…being so close to him…Marinette felt disgusted with herself. She was supposed to be staying away from Chat Noir as much as possible, not letting him back into her life and letting him embrace her like that.

He was a traitor. He was a monster. He was insane. He was pure evil. Marinette needed to hammer it into her head again that, despite the fact that he might sound like it sometimes, he wasn't the Chat Noir she used to know.

"My la – princess?" Chat Noir quickly corrected himself, sounding dazed and confused.

Marinette caught his initial error though, and she balled her hands into angry fists, struggling to resist the urge to lash out at him. Was he projecting? Was that what this was really all about? It wasn't Marinette he was obsessed with, it was Ladybug.

Of course.

Why did she expect anything different?

Marinette knew she needed to push him away and put a stop to this for good. If he was projecting Ladybug onto her, then did that mean he had some suspicions? Marinette couldn't allow him to find out for sure.

"Please leave," Marinette commanded, refusing to look at him.

"This again." Chat Noir chuckled maniacally.

And he was back again.

That gave Marinette all the resolve she needed.

"I said, leave me alone!" Marinette yelled. "Haven't you caused enough trouble for one day?! All of this happened because of you!" She jabbed a finger into his chest which he caught before he gripped her wrist tightly.

"It happened because of that stupid fox," Chat growled, "if she hadn't have interrupted, I would have got you to safety. If she hadn't been chasing after me and forcing you away, I wouldn't have had to reveal myself to the crowd. You can't keep blaming me for all your problems."

Marinette froze before glaring at him.

"But fine, I'll leave the room, but this doesn't mean I'll be leaving you alone." He leaned down to whisper in her ear, "far from it, little princess."

A shiver ran down Marinette's spine as his words and close proximity sent tingles throughout her entire body. Chat let go of her arm and leaned away from her again before grabbing something he had stored behind him in his leather belt. He pulled out a small, red rose that had yet to bloom, and left it on the counter next to Marinette's bed. All Marinette could do was watch with wide eyes as he then turned and walked back towards the window. With one final smirk, Chat Noir winked at her before climbing out the window and disappearing from view.

Marinette remained frozen for several more minutes, trying to process what had just happened, but failed to do so. Finally, Marinette managed to shake her head slightly before frowning as she slowly reached towards the rose Chat Noir had left for her. Attached to the green stem with a thin piece of string as a small note folded in half. Curiously, Marinette opened the note to find one word written in black ink from what looked like a fancy, expensive pen.

Sorry.

Sorry?

Sorry for what? For treating her like he did? For terrorising her? Terrorising Paris and causing the panic fuelled disaster he had earlier? He had told her a few minutes ago to stop blaming him for everything and now he was apologising? Marinette couldn't get her head around it. It was like two polar opposite personalities existed inside him, each one battling for dominance.

Marinette looked up to stare out of the window Chat Noir had vanished out of before a knock on the door made her jump. Hastily, Marinette hid the rose under her sheets just in time. The door opened and in walked the same doctor, closely followed by a very determined looking Rena Rouge. Marinette watched them both in confusion, wondering what was going on.

"Miss Dupain-Cheng, Rena Rouge needs to speak with you," the doctor explained.

"Okay?" Marinette agreed, confused.

"Your parents will be in a moment and your friend Alya said she needed to go outside and make some quick calls to your other friends to let them know that you're okay." The doctor then looked to Rena Rouge. "I'll leave you both to it."

The doctor left the room, and Marinette gasped as Rena Rouge finally faced her full on. Her face was covered in scratches and she looked in pretty bad shape. Guilt overwhelmed Marinette as she stared at her best friend's face. She was the reason this happened. Chat Noir was right. She needed to stop blaming him and take responsibility for her own actions. If she had just done what Master Fu had said and done her duty from the beginning then none of this would have happened. Maybe if she had tried harder with Tikki…

"I'm sorry to disturb you and keep you from your friends and family, but this couldn't wait," Rena Rouge began formally, leaning on her hands against the footboard of Marinette's bed.

"What is it?" Marinette asked slightly timidly.

"It's about Chat Noir. I've had my suspicions, but today they were confirmed. It would seem Chat Noir has developed some sort of obsession with you. Though I'm sure that's no news to you." Rena Rouge raised an eyebrow at her, daring her to even make an attempt at lying.

Marinette sighed. "Yes."

"Do you have any idea how or why this started?"

Marinette shook her head.

Rena Rouge ran a hand through her hair in frustration. "None of this is making any sense. The only person who has ever sparked this kind of behaviour in him was…well…Ladybug."

Marinette cringed at the name.

"So…Chat Noir went crazy after Ladybug died?" Marinette inquired as innocently as possible.

"Yeah."

"Well…how do you know it wasn't before Ladybug died that he went crazy?"

Rena Rouge frowned and leaned forward slightly. "Why? Do you know something I don't?"

"No," Marinette answered a little too quickly, "I was just wondering."

"He was perfectly normal…well…as normal as possible after the whole thing had happened. Back when there was still hope that Ladybug would be recovered and that she would be alright. It wasn't until the city began to lose hope and after the funeral was held that he lost his mind," the fox hero explained.

Marinette frowned in confusion.

"I wish she was here." Rena Rouge sighed. "Ladybug would know exactly what to do. She wouldn't let Chat Noir get away with all of this. She'd seize his miraculous and save the city." She then looked down sadly. "She'd do a much better job than what I'm currently doing."

"Don't think like that!" Marinette gasped. "You're doing your best, and that's what's most important. You give the city hope."

Rena Rouge's eyes widened before she smiled and chuckled. "That sounds like something Ladybug would say."

Marinette gulped.

Rena Rouge then frowned again. "There's definitely something strange going on. After beginning to look into things, there's just something about what happened all those years ago that just isn't adding up. Chat's strange behaviour now is making me question things even more."

Marinette bit her lip, praying that Rena Rouge would leave that train of thought alone.

"Anyway," Rena Rouge said as she smiled again, causing Marinette to let out a breath she didn't realise she was holding, "thank you for your time. I won't keep you from your parents any longer. I was just wondering if you knew why Chat Noir was suddenly obsessing over you."

"If I knew, I'd certainly tell you," Marinette said.

"I know." The fox hero sighed. "Stay out of trouble, and I'll try and get Chat Noir off your back. It doesn't seem like he might hurt you at the moment. But if he tries to take you away again, just yell and scream and I'll come running."

"Thanks, Rena Rouge." Marinette smiled gratefully.

Rena Rouge nodded before turning around to walk out of the door. After visiting Marinette as her civilian self for appearances sake, she would need to have a word with Queen Bee and Carapace about this whole situation. Not to mention, she definitely felt like she needed to have an urgent talk with Master Fu.


Eeeek, this chapter went on a little too long, but there was nothing unimportant I could omit without it causing it to make little sense. Oh well. Hmmmmm. Me thinks Alya may be starting to smell a rat. I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to let me know your thoughts and opinions in a review as they always are a great help to me. I make sure to read every single of them and take on board what you say. Thank you for reading, I'll see you guys soon.