Hello again! And look, it hasn't been another eight months! This is just a quick thank you to all of you who have left reviews and favourited this story- it means a lot to both me and my lovely co-writer so thank you. You're the ones that made this story continue! Please enjoy because things are gonna get tense!
The next morning, Adrien woke up feeling sky-high. The feeling of waking up among Marinette's sheets, surrounded by her sweet scent was bliss and he couldn't help but smile when he opened his eyes and saw the pink walls of her bedroom. It was enough to make his heart feel light as a cloud and suddenly his worries seemed all too far away, like a distant storm that he could only just hear thundering. He had been quick to get dressed, pulling on his trousers, t-shirt and hoodie with a smile as he looked down at the crumpled bed. He had touched Marinette there, he couldn't help thinking. He had touched her, kissed her, ran his hands all over her and made her feel good, cuddled her close… Just the thought of it made him smile and almost made his blood rush south again.
He forced himself to stay calm however; he had heard Marinette get up earlier and the last thing he needed was to disturb her day completely, she probably had things to do. He left breezily out of the front door, passing Marinette with a softly-spoken goodbye and a swift kiss on the cheek. If he hadn't been in such a hurry, he would have noticed the strained, longing look on her face as he left the bakery and the way her eyes followed him across the road as he walked away, her eyes drinking him in like it was the last time she would see him.
The rest of the day just served to cement the happy feelings inside him. He hadn't felt this content in so long, it was almost a foreign sensation to him- he couldn't remember the last time so many things had gone so right for him. First, he had gotten back to the manor just before the maids had come in to once again search his room, slipping through the window and changing into the nightwear he had barely worn the past few nights just before they came knocking. Once again, they had swept his room for his mother's belongings but they found nothing and soon left. He had watched them with a smirk on his face; he knew they were never going to find anything because all his mother's possessions were with Marinette.
The knowledge that they were with her filled his chest with a warm glow. He enjoyed thinking about the two women he loved most in his life being connected like that and he had almost given a satisfied purr in front of the maids at the memory of Marinette wearing his mother's brooch. It felt like a small victory against his father- Marinette and his mother's memory were his and his alone and that was something Gabriel could never take away from him, no matter how hard he tried.
The next good thing to happen was his workload. His father had scheduled him the same number of photoshoots as he always did but for some reason, that day they felt a lot less strenuous than usual. There were fewer outfit changes, his poses were a lot easier on his body (he was nearly always made to feel like his body was made of wire as his limbs were twisted and formed to how the photographer wanted them) and the team around him were also seemed much kinder. The people around him had always sensed that Gabriel was too hard on his son, but as he was their employer and could end their careers in a second if he so wanted, there wasn't much they could do.
However, that day they all seemed to be stretching the limits of how they could treat him; the make-up ladies had been a lot softer as they made up his face, the main photographer had insisted on him taking two ten minute breaks in the middle of the day and another crew member had even given him a sandwich when they saw the meagre salad he had to eat. They were little things, crumbs of kindness that most people would have dismissed with a simple thanks, but to Adrien they really meant the world. It's sad, he had thought a little bitterly at one point, that being treated like a human being is enough to make me emotional. But still I can't deny that it's nice to feel that way, even if it is just for a short time.
Because of this, Adrien felt more enthusiastic about his work than he had been in years and the photographer who had directed the shoot had been almost in tears when he exclaimed proudly that this was Adrien's best work yet. It had all been so easy and so pain-free that Adrien had managed to finish quickly, meaning for the first time in years, he left work early and got to spend a little time chilling in his room with Plagg and Epidd. Even the kwamis had seemed more cheerful- Plagg had been smiling more than he had in a long while and neither him or Epidd had tried to start a fight with each other even once. That only made him more hopeful- maybe there was a way they could get out of this mess both of them were so painfully tangled in. Maybe they could both escape from under the thumb of Gabriel Agreste and make their own lives together, he thought happily as he played around with a daisy as he daydreamed. It had been tucked behind his ear during the last photoshoot and nobody had bothered to remove it as he left; now, he plucked at its petals, letting them fall onto his sheets like fallen snow as he imagined escape plans.
Gabriel's influence could only stretch so far; he may be a powerful man with many friends but he still had his limits. If he could steal Marinette away, they could go far away from him, they could go anywhere they pleased and Gabriel could do nothing to stop them. We could go to America, he mused happily as he scattered the petals all over his bedsheets, watching them blend into the creamy material. Or anywhere in Asia, I know her parents are visiting in China and she might want to go back to her roots… he really wouldn't mind. He wouldn't mind going anywhere as long as it was with her.
Night couldn't have come any quicker for him. He had waited at his window, watching as the sun dragged itself across the sky and grinning when it finally dropped from the horizon, out of sight altogether. He had raced to escape from his window, diving down and darting across the manor grounds like a man possessed. On the way, he had a brainwave and when he walked through the park to get to Marinette's bakery, he found himself picking at patches of wild flowers to make a bouquet. It looked a little lopsided- he hadn't accounted for stem length at all and the flowers held a garish mishmash of colours- but he was certain she would like it. He could already imagine her smile as he handed them over to her, her cheeks pink and flushed with pleasure as she put them in a vase. The scene was strangely domestic and it sent a shiver running through him. That was all he wanted, just him and her, no complications, no threats, no creepy controlling father… just them. Was that too much to hope for?
He reached the bakery barely a few minutes after nightfall. The street lamps had only just started to flicker with life and their faint orange glow cast a warm light on the skin of his hand as he reached up to knock on the door. He figured he should act like a gentleman now that they were lovers and the idea of surprising her on her doorstep with flowers was one that he just couldn't resist.
He took a step back, holding the flowers behind his back as he waited for the door to open but nothing happened. Frowning, Adrien then reached out to knock again. There was still nothing. His sensitive hearing couldn't pick up anything behind the door and there didn't seem to be any movement inside the bakery. He tried to peer through the glass of the door but there didn't seem to be anybody there. There were no shapes moving in the darkness, no sign of any life at all. The place was just empty.
Adrien tried to open the door but it was locked. He shook the knocker in frustration, making the door rattle on its hinges but there was still no sign of Marinette. Where is she? He thought, a sudden wave of panic hitting him like a brick wall. She's never usually out at this time. Is she in trouble? Has Gabriel gotten a hold of her? Possibilities were suddenly racing through his mind like a swarm of angry insects and his fears seized him like a vice.
"Marinette!" He shouted as he banged his fist on the door, causing the old wood to shudder. "Are you in there? Please, answer me!"
He bent his head down, scanning the ground for something he could maybe use to pick the lock when his eyes snagged on a flash of white. He paused as he spotted something pointed and white sticking out from under the doormat, almost looking like it was peeping out at him. He bent down and pulled on it, easily slipping it out from under the doormat and his eyes widened when he saw it was an envelope with his name on the front. It was clearly in Marinette's writing and his heart thudded again in fear at the sight of it. Marinette had never left him a letter before. What did this mean? Was it some kind of distress note?
Fingers fumbling, he hastily ripped the thing open and a piece of white folded paper fell out onto his palm. He hurriedly flipped it open, his eyes scanning the page frantically as he felt Plagg pop his head out from the security of his hoodie. As his eyes followed the neat lines of writing, he felt his blood go cold, each word worse than the last.
Shadow,
I'm sorry to tell you this way but I have no other choice. I have tried to do this but I don't think I can anymore. It's getting too hard and complicated and I can't keep going through this.
We can't see each other anymore. I don't want you coming back here. I know it's hard but I'm sorry. I have to do this.
I hope you find happiness without me,
Marinette
Every word in Marinette's handwriting felt like a knife in Adrien's core. For a long moment, he just stood there on the bakery doorstep, his hands shaking with such force he nearly tore the paper. His heart felt like it was shattering, crumbling into dust as Marinette trampled all over it with her dainty feet. How could she? Was all he could think as a sob ripped its way out of his throat and tears started to prick at the corners of his eyes. How could she think I would find happiness when she's not there?
His body was shaking as he tried not to start wailing outside the bakery and Plagg was at a loss for what to do. He had been with Adrien for so long, had seen him through so much hardship but he had never seen his kitten look so broken before. His father had done everything to try and destroy his spirit, keeping him isolated indoors, working him to the bone, trying to quash his mother's memory, yet the thing that had shattered him was a few words from the girl he had fallen so hard for. Plagg could feel the panic in him start to rise again; this situation was too close to what had happened in the past and when he looked up at Adrien's anguished features, he was starkly reminded of Tomas. He flew out of the confines of Adrien's hoodie and hovered in front of his face, not caring who saw him; he refused to let what happened to Tomas happen to his boy.
"Adrien, listen to me," he said, keeping his voice calm and level as he rubbed Adrien's cheeks with his paws. "We need to go home. We can't stay here, somebody will see or hear and think you're a burglar or something. We need to go home where it's safe…"
"Marinette…" Adrien sobbed her name as he stared down at the name on the bottom of the letter and then at the bakery door. Looking inside, he was reminded of all the times he had spent in there, sampling her pastries as they chatted by the window, and a fresh wave of pain rolled over him. "Marinette, please, I can't…"
"I'm sorry, Adrien," Plagg said, guiding his face away so Adrien had to stare into his green eyes. "I really am. But we need to go. We can talk about this at home, okay?"
More tears flowed down Adrien's cheeks, forging silvery paths on his skin but he gave a small nod. He turned away from the bakery and began to slowly walk away, letting the piece of paper and the flowers slip from his grasp and spill all over the pavement. He kept his head down as he dragged his feet towards the park. He didn't turn around for one last look back at the bakery; if he had, he might have seen Marinette staring out of her bedroom window, tears falling down her own cheeks as she watched him walk away.
OOO
Plagg had hoped that the walk back home under the cover of darkness might calm Adrien down a little, but he had been very wrong. As they walked back to the manor, Adrien's shoulders got more hunched, the tension rippling through his body as his hands curled into fists in his pockets. He tore up the wall to his bedroom with more aggression than Plagg had ever seen him use, his teeth gritted as he gave an angry grunt and Plagg had gulped as he nuzzled into the side of his neck. He had hoped the little sign of affection might soften the edge of some of the anger he felt but it had been to no avail.
"Why would she do that to me, Plagg?!" He raged, pacing angrily through his room with all the force of a hurricane. His feet were thundering on the floor and his arms were angrily flailing; he had nearly crashed into several things and knocked them over but he was so enraged he hadn't even noticed. He was so filled with fury that he no longer seemed to care what stuff he broke or how much noise he was making and that made Plagg feel really fearful. Adrien had always been so careful, so cautious not to make a fuss in his home in case it brought his father's wrath upon him but now he almost appeared to be crying out for it, just so he could have something to push back against. "After everything I told her, after everything we did… She knew what was happening to me, I'm the only one who knows what my father is doing to her, why doesn't she want to see me?!"
"Adrien, listen to me," Plagg close to pleaded with him. He could see Epidd perched prettily on the end of Adrien's desk, an evil glint flashing in his eyes as he watched the boy rage and it struck fear deep into the dark kwami's heart. In this state, he knew Epidd could easily take advantage of Adrien, just like he had done before and he desperately didn't want it to go that far. "Just calm down for a minute, we need to talk about this with a level head. We can't work out what is going on if our heads aren't clear…"
"I don't want to calm down!" Adrien shouted, whipping round to face Plagg with so much force, the kwami was almost propelled backwards. His face was twisted with anger, the burning emotion contorting his features so much that he was barely recognisable as the model whose face had graced so many billboards across the city. His hands had formed themselves into claws, wringing at the air like it was his father's neck but his eyes were brimming with tears, and it broke Plagg's heart.
How do I save you Adrien? He felt like begging, suddenly wanting the kitten he had once had back. How could I have stopped this?
As he floated there, at a loss for what to do, Epidd took advantage of the silence by pressing himself forwards and murmuring in Adrien's ear, smiling wickedly over at Plagg as he did so.
"So, you should," He said, his voice thick as molasses. "You should be angry. How many emotions have you had to suppress my poor boy? This is just something that can't be bottled up."
"You get away from him!" Plagg shouted, trying to get Adrien's attention back. "He's not your charge, he's mine! Listen Adrien, I know you're hurting but there must be something behind this. Marinette loves you, I know she does, she would never want to really hurt you. There has to be something else going on, maybe she's under stress or something…"
"Maybe that's right." Epidd suddenly said and Plagg stared at him in astonishment. "Maybe there is something else happening in her life." He turned back to Adrien, flashing the boy a sympathetic glance as he stroked one white paw down his cheek. "Adrien, didn't you say your father was trying to blackmail Marinette into joining his company? Wasn't he using emails, telephone calls and even… letters to try and make her do what he wanted?"
"Yeah… yeah, he was," Adrien looked shocked for a moment as realisation dawned on him before it shifted back into anger, only more powerful than before. "You think he found out about us and made her break up with me!?"
"What else could it be?" Epidd asked sweetly, his voice dripping with sickly sweetness as he floated closer to Adrien ear. "We both know your father has spies everywhere, it would make sense he would be watching the woman he has his eyes on. He must have seen you visiting her and been overwhelmed with jealousy- he wants her and that means nobody else can have her. He must have told her to break up with you and threatened her to make her more pliant… it's either that or… no, it's too horrible to think about."
"What?!" Adrien asked, his voice wavering in desperation as he hung onto every word. "What's too horrible to think about?!"
"Well…" Epidd replied, his voice teasing out each second until Adrien looked about to snap. "Do you remember those packages he sent her? The ones she hid away from you and didn't tell you about? What if she hid them away because she was ashamed of them for another reason?"
"What are you getting at, you putrid wart?!" Plagg snapped.
"All I'm saying is, what if Marinette had already betrayed you for your father?" Epidd said and Adrien gave a strangled gasp.
"No! She would never do that!"
"Do you really know that Adrien?" Epidd said, his expression a mockery of a grief-stricken look and Plagg wanted to punch it off his face. "You do know what your father was offering her, right? Fame, fortune, a chance to put her ideas out there, and achieve her dreams… not many people would turn that down. Especially, if it came with the offer to be a millionaire's wife. And didn't Marinette seem a lot happier after that whole restaurant ordeal? She said it was because Gabriel had apparently stopped with his blackmail but what if he stopped because she had already agreed to be his?"
"That can't be true!" Plagg spat out. "She was disgusted by him, she would never agree to that! Adrien tell him!"
However, Adrien seemed too stunned to speak. His face looked bloodless, his skin now sickly white like melting wax and he was visibly trembling, with either anger or fear, Plagg couldn't tell. "You… you really think she would do that?" He almost whined, sounding like a kicked puppy. "You really think she would betray me like that?"
"I don't know, Adrien," Epidd said, somehow still managing to sound innocent in all of this. "But I'm just looking at the evidence. Do you remember those sheets of paper you found in that box Marinette tried to hide from you? All those letters your father wrote to her describing what he wanted to do to her, how he would pleasure her again and again and again? They were very descriptive, weren't they? There was so much detail in there, it was almost like he had done it…" He turned to Plagg and gave him the widest and sickest smile the black god had ever seen, grinning manically as he poured poison into Adrien's ear. "If that was true Adrien, how much has Marinette betrayed you? If those two were together all that time, how much has he used her body? Think of all the things he wrote about her Adrien, think of all the things they could have possibly done…"
Images flashed like camera bulbs in front of Adrien's eyes and his body went so limp, he almost went crashing to the floor. Epidd's words brought back the things he had read on the sheets in that box, along with the image of that nude lacy nightdress and the silver jewelled handcuffs, and the thought of them being put into use made him sick to his stomach. He suddenly imagined Marinette dressed in that nightdress, nothing underneath with the silver cuffs winking around her wrists as she laid herself out on the sheets of a bed, her eyes begging for her body to be touched. Except in this nightmare, it was his father that she was enticing, Gabriel who she was begging to ravish her and the thought of the two of them wrapped in a passionate embrace was enough to make him cry out like he was in physical pain.
"Please, no! God, please no…"
"That can't be right!" Plagg shouted, looking flabbergasted not just at the fact Epidd would even suggest such a thing but also at the fact Adrien was seemingly torturing himself to believe it. "That doesn't even make sense, why would Gabriel send her packages of things they had already used together? And wouldn't you have noticed if Marinette was in the manor? Adrien please, can't you see that this is nonsense-"
"ENOUGH!" Adrien suddenly yelled, his voice deeper and rougher than before and Plagg felt like his heart had dropped to the floor, sinking like a stone. He had heard that voice only once before and it chilled him to hear it now. He felt like his veins were running with ice as Adrien looked up at him, his lips curled back in a snarl and his teeth bared. His eyes, his stunning emerald eyes, were beginning to go golden, the swirling colour invading his irises and as Adrien's chest heaved with the weight of his anger, his hair began to grow longer and messier and his teeth grew into pointed sharp canines.
"I'm sick of all of them!" He continued, still in that deep voice which sounded less and less like the Adrien Plagg knew with every syllable. "Ladybug, my father, Marinette… they can all go to hell!"
Epidd was grinning evilly, his eyes glowing brighter as he clapped his hands in glee. "Yes, yes, yes!" He crowed joyfully. "You've finally unlocked the greatest powers of the ring! Oh, all that anger! All that sweet, sweet betrayal! It's like a candy store!" He greedily smacked his lips and inhaled, sighing like the air was filled with the sweetest scent and he was revelling in it. He flew down in front of Adrien's face, patting his cheeks softly and blocking his view of Plagg as he spoke in a low menacing voice.
"Do you remember why you called me Adrien? You called me because you wanted revenge on all those who wronged you. It wasn't fair what you had to go through then and it's not fair what you're going through now. I have given you all the powers I have, you've enabled me to give you all the secret destructive powers of the ring and now, you can have your payback. Ladybug, Marinette, Gabriel… They will all be nothing but names in the dust once you've finished with them."
"Yes…" Adrien hissed lowly, a wide evil grin spreading across his face as his body started to be enveloped by piecing white light. "Yes… they will be nothing… I will show them what true power is… I will show them what happens when you betray me!"
"Adrien no!" Plagg tried to call to him but it was no use; half of Adrien's body had already been taken over by the light. He could see Epidd's form was starting to spark like he was purely made of light and he could feel the pull on his own body as its power flooded over him, drawing him closer to its core. He could see Adrien was too far gone, he could see the powers of the ring were engulfing him, draining his emotions to fuel the transformation, but he still had to try, even as he felt himself being sucked towards the ring. "Adrien!"
"Yes, Adrien! Feel the power coursing through you!" Epidd laughed as light flooded the room, shattering glass and taking over Adrien's body completely. "Now, I can truly fulfil my purpose!"
I'm sorry Tikki, Plagg managed to channel through his mind, just before both he and Epidd were sent hurling towards Adrien's finger and were swallowed up into the ring. I'm so sorry, Adrien. I failed you.
OOO
At that moment across town, Tikki shot up in bed and gave a cry.
"No! Plagg!"
"Tikki? Tikki, are you OK?" There was a rustling sound from behind her as Tikki listened to Marinette untangling herself from her bedsheets and going to flick the light on but she couldn't turn around. Her body felt frozen, the only part of her moving was her heaving chest and her limbs felt numb compared to the feeling of dread that was sweeping through her. Only a few seconds ago, she had been blissfully asleep but now, in this state, she couldn't imagine ever feeling blissful again.
"It's happened." She whispered, her voice shaky and her eyes tearing up. "Oh, Plagg…"
"Tikki?" She heard Marinette call her name again before she was suddenly being cupped in gentle, warm hands and being lifted to her charge's face. Marinette looked at her with wide worried eyes, her fingers tenderly brushing away the tears that Tikki hadn't even realised were pouring down her cheeks. Her gentleness only made her want to cry more. This poor girl had no idea what had just happened, she had no idea that both she had her Chat Noir were potentially doomed.
"What's wrong?" Marinette asked her, her voice filled with concern. "You're not hurt, are you?"
"No… no I'm fine" Tikki eventually said. "But… Marinette, something terrible has just happened, I felt it. Chat Blanc had been released."
"What?" Marinette looked down at her confused. "Tikki, Chat Blanc has been terrorising Paris for the past few months now. He's the one I've been trying to track for forever, don't you remember?"
Tikki sighed. "I'm sorry to tell you this Marinette but that wasn't Chat Blanc at his most powerful. His powers up til now have been nothing compared to what he will do next."
Marinette's eyes widened in shock for a second before they narrowed down at the small bug god. "Wait a minute," she said. "How do you know so much about him? How could you feel it? You've never mentioned anything about feeling him before."
Tikki squirmed a little under her gaze, feeling a little guilt seep in among the wave of dread she was still caught up in. "There's some things I haven't told you about Chat Blanc." She finally said. "Some things I couldn't tell you… like the fact that he's Chat Noir."
"What?!" Marinette screamed almost hysterically, nearly dropping Tikki in her shock. "Chat Noir has been Chat Blanc the whole time? And he had the hypocrisy to get mad at me when I suggested it…" She turned back to Tikki, who cowered a little under her betrayed look. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier? We could have had him freed months ago! I could have purified him!"
"It's not like that!" Tikki protested. "This isn't an akuma that you can work your Ladybug magic on! This is something completely different because it comes from inside Chat's miraculous! And I couldn't tell you because I made an agreement with Plagg centuries ago, that we couldn't tell either of our charges about the other in case it messed with fate!"
"Who's Plagg?" Marinette asked and Tikki visibly hesitated. It felt wrong after so many years of following the rules to finally break their pact but these were no longer normal circumstances. Marinette was about to find herself fighting a huge battle and Tikki could only prepare her by telling her all she knew. She gave a sigh.
"Plagg is the kwami that lives inside the black cat ring," she explained. "Just like I transform you into Ladybug, he's the one that can transform people into Chat Noir. His powers are based on destruction, the opposite of my powers of creation. That's why we are Yin and Yang."
"So, what's happened to him?" Marinette asked, sitting down on the edge of her bed. She had the feeling Tikki was about to give her some very bad news, her knees already felt a little shaky from what she had just heard- the last thing she needed to do at this time was faint. "Has he gone rogue or something?"
"No, no, Plagg has nothing to do with this," Tikki quickly told her. "It's Epidd who's to blame. He embodies the darkest part of the ring's powers, the inevitable evil that comes with the powers of destruction. Most of the time, he can be contained in the ring and many Chat Noir's can go their whole lives never knowing he's there. But sometimes, when a wielder of the Black Cat miraculous feels enough anger, too much for just themselves to bear, he can feed off of it, and gain enough power to take control. That is when Chat Blanc is released."
"So that means…" Marinette's hand rose to cover her mouth as she realised what that meant and tears spilled down her cheeks. "Oh, Chat Noir… my poor kitty…"
Tikki gravely nodded. "I know. I'm so sorry Marinette."
Marinette gave a sob in response, her lungs trying to gulp down air as they burned from lack of oxygen. She had known for years that Chat Noir had come from a difficult life; she had been the one he had leaned on when he cried over his father's cruel neglect and his harsh work. He had never mentioned his mother, except for that horrendous day with Dark Desires when he had screamed for her like a small child, his voice so full of desperation, she wondered how he hadn't shattered like glass. Now, it appeared he finally had and tears of regret started pouring down her cheeks. She hadn't seen him since that night at Notre Dame, she had been too scared of rejection to message him afterwards, and now she sorely wished she had.
"I should have done more," she whispered, voice wavering like it would break any second. "I knew what his life was like at home, but I didn't know what to do about it and then when I realised he loved me, I was so harsh… I should have done more. Then maybe this wouldn't have happened."
"I don't know how much you could have done," Tikki admitted. "Epidd is a powerful and persuasive force that can't be unlocked just from a simple rejection. There has to be years' worth of negative emotion and turmoil for him to be awakened."
"Then it's happened before?" Marinette asked and Tikki suddenly looked away. "Tikki, is this a common thing?"
"No, it's not common," Tikki said. "Like I said, most Chat Noir's never find out about Epidd because even though the Black Cat miraculous is attracted to trouble and troubled souls, many simply never reach that level of darkness. There have been a few who discovered him and had some of his powers, like the Chat Blanc you met, but with the help of Plagg and their Ladybug, they were able to escape from his influence." Marinette gave a pained expression and Tikki bit her lip; she hadn't meant to make the girl feel guiltier but it was obvious her words had. "As for unlocking all of his dark powers, there's only ever been one Chat Noir who did that and his story…" She stopped as more tears leaked from her eyes and she only snapped back to Marinette when the girl gently nudged her with her fingers.
"What happened Tikki? What did he do?"
"It's too horrible and too tragic to think about." Tikki wept, trying to hold herself back from crying but it was already too late; her tears were falling thick and fast like a rainstorm and she couldn't stop it now. "It hurts so much still and it nearly destroyed Plagg- he still can barely manage hearing his name."
"Tikki please, you have to tell me," Marinette close to begged, sinking down into her bed and blinking at her with her puffy red eyes, made sore from crying. "I know it's hard, but maybe there's something in there that will help me defeat Chat Blanc this time around. Please?"
Tikki looked up into her face and she sighed. She had kept so much from this girl in an attempt to protect her but all it had done was put her in more danger. Now she had to make it right and maybe there was something in what Marinette said- maybe there was something in this story that could help, no matter how tragic and hopeless it was. She took a few long breaths, steadying herself for the emotional ride that was about to come before she started to speak.
"You remember how I told you that there have been many Ladybug's and Chat Noir's, ever since the creation of the miraculous?" Marinette gave a nod and Tikki went on. "Well, the miraculous will go to wherever there are people worthy of it and so myself and my fellow kwamis, including Plagg, have travelled the world and seen many different eras. However, I think the worst place and time we ever landed in was in medieval Germany, the time of the Holy Roman Empire and during the Black Death."
"The land was full of despair and hopelessness. The people were already so poor and to see the disease sweep the land… it took everything, lives, families… it felt like society was falling apart. The rich were trying to hold on to the system but even they weren't safe, religious fanaticism took hold, people were whipping themselves in the street, all of them kept wondering what they had done to deserve this great punishment from God." Tikki shook her head, her mind filling with the horrors she had seen back then, ones she wished she could remove. "That was the world where myself and Plagg found ourselves, with our charges who were trying to fight the evils that came with this plague."
"Plagg's charge was a young man named Tomas. He was a novice monk in the Catholic Church, a deeply religious young man who when he first met Plagg, he believed he was a demon and threw a Bible at him." She chuckled lightly at the thought, remembering how indignant Plagg had been about it. "Later however, he saw the miraculous as a gift from God, one that enabled him to do His work and he was one of the most loyal and strongest kittens Plagg ever had. Even though plague was wrecking his world, he still always saw good in it, saying God loved his creation and he would never let mankind fall. He had such hope in him… it only made it worse when he too fell in love with his Ladybug and it tormented his soul."
"How was that so bad?" Marinette asked. "I know he was a monk but surely that's not so bad to warrant that level of suffering?"
Tikki sighed. "Maybe not, but it wasn't just the fact that he was a monk that put Tomas through so much pain. Ladybug's and Chat Noir's aren't always opposite genders and this was one of those times." Marinette's eyes went wide and Tikki could only nod to acknowledge her realisation. "My charge was called Charles; he came from one of Europe's most noble families and he was one of the gentlest and most giving souls to ever bear the miraculous. He had been educated with Europe's most distinguished scholars, he was witty and sharp with his tongue and he was beautiful too. His beauty was the stuff poems wrote about and minstrels sang about with his golden hair and wide brown eyes like cinnamon… he was just a joy to be around and it was no wonder Tomas fell for him. He saw him as an angel, someone who was perfect. His only imperfection was that he was a man who was far out of his reach."
"Tomas couldn't bear the fact that he had fallen in love with someone of his own sex. It was forbidden by his Church and went against everything he stood for, yet he would cry himself to sleep wishing that Charles was by his side. He told Plagg he hated himself, that he would touch his body wishing his hands belonged to Charles and then he would want to burn himself afterwards. This was made worse by the fact Charles had no idea- the two of them had a close bond like many Ladybugs and Chat Noirs, my chosen never saw that his innocent friendship was hurting his friend so much. Tomas longed for him for three years, craving his touch, his approval, and his love. Charles never even guessed that his best friend desired him that way."
"One day, it was all too much for Tomas and he set fire to his Scriptures in his despair. That was the event that triggered Epidd's appearance; he promised Tomas the chance to have great powers, to change the world, and Tomas was all too eager to take it. He became Chat Blanc and started causing destruction wherever he went; he destroyed everywhere he thought was a den of sin, brothels, banking houses, the residences of the rich and wealthy… he justified it again by saying it was God's work and he was just ridding the world of sin. Charles tried to talk to him, he sensed he wasn't happy but Tomas couldn't tell him the reason behind it. He feared his friend would be so disgusted with him, he wouldn't want to know him anymore."
"This went on for a few months and there was a time when Plagg thought he could bring him back. He was getting less zealous and Epidd could feel his grip was slipping but then Charles revealed some news that made Tomas's world crumble. Charles had been betrothed to a lovely young woman, the daughter of a minor branch of the royal family and, surprisingly for a marriage like that, they were well-suited for each other and they fell in love. Charles couldn't help himself from telling his best friend about the marriage, not knowing it was destroying him from the inside, and then as a final blow, he invited Tomas to the wedding. That was the last straw for the young priest. He couldn't bear that Charles would be with someone else and Epidd was able to take control again. Plagg tried his hardest to stop him but he couldn't in time and Tomas became Chat Blanc and absorbed all of the ring's darkest powers."
"He arrived just when the church was filled up. The wedding was about to start, the bride and groom before the altar when Tomas appeared in the doorway, except it wasn't fully Tomas. Epidd had twisted his mind so much, he couldn't truly see or understand what he was doing. All he could feel was anger, all he wanted to do was destroy and his target was the innocent girl that had taken Charles's heart. He went to attack, Charles rushed in to save his bride… Tomas had too much power, he didn't know exactly what he had awakened and before he knew it, the whole church had been destroyed… that and the surrounding village and forest."
"He was that powerful?" Marinette choked out. Tikki could only give her a grave look.
"Yes, that powerful. Charles never stood a chance and neither did anyone else. Tomas unleashed so much power, he collapsed afterwards. He woke up in a giant crater, just blackness and rubble around him for miles. I remember he kept asking if he was in Hell… and then he saw the bodies." Tikki had to pause for a long moment, screwing her eyes shut to stop any more tears from falling. "They didn't even look like people… they were just blackened lumps, they looked almost like coal. Even though, they all looked the same, Tomas could still tell which one belonged to Charles… he was still wearing his miraculous earrings, the ones he used to hide under his long hair and then there was me, weeping on his chest because I couldn't give him any powers that could have saved him. Tomas had never seen me before but he knew enough about kwamis to recognise I was one and when he realised what he had done… I've never heard anyone scream the way he did. It was like listening to an animal howling and I remember he just clung to the body and wouldn't let him go. I could hear him arguing aloud with Epidd; that evil thing wanted him to go wreck more destruction, it's all he wanted to do. He kept trying to persuade him, tempting him by saying he would be pleasing God but Tomas didn't want to. He just wanted to lie there with Charles, to never leave him, and that's what he ended up doing. The pair of them were later found together in the centre of the crater, Tomas's body wrapped around his friend like he was trying to hide his sin when his only sin was to fall in love."
"But… that can't be right!" Marinette cried out. "He can't have just died like that! How did you stop Epidd? How did he get free of being Chat Blanc? It can't just end there!"
"Unfortunately, it did." Tikki said sadly.
"But… how?" Marinette spluttered. "Did he kill himself or something?"
"No! He would have never done that!" Tikki told her. "He valued life far too much for that!"
"Then what happened?!" Marinette asked, sounding almost hysterical. "How did he die?"
Tikki gave a sob before she stared down at the floor. "Epidd is an evil force, he's the essence of all the darkness in the ring, and he may have great power but he is also incredibly weak. His powers are entirely dependent on the emotions of whoever is holding the miraculous. If they are happy then he has no power but if they are angry or jealous or upset then he grows stronger. He feeds off the emotions of the miraculous wielder, he literally drains them to increase his power. However, there are limits; the weaker he is, the less power he can drain. It's only when the wielder's emotions increase that can he get stronger and when he gets stronger he can drain more and that allows him more power to manipulate… it's a vicious cycle."
"So, this Epidd has been feeding off Chat Noir's emotions?" Marinette asked and Tikki nodded. "But I don't understand… what does that have to do with him dying?"
Tikki could feel more tears threatening to fall from her eyes and she was only just holding them back enough to answer. "What happened with Tomas was that he unleashed Epidd at his strongest. This meant he had all of his powers at their fullest and that meant he could drain more than just emotions- he could drain the wielders life force too."
"No." Marinette covered her mouth with her hands, her face pale like she was going to be sick. "So, if Chat Noir is kept as Chat Blanc…"
"Then Epidd will drain his life force too." Tikki answered bleakly. "He will drain him until there is nothing left of him."
"So… so what can we do Tikki?" Marinette felt tears sliding down her cheeks as she stared at Tikki. The kwami was a god, there had to be a way for her to defeat Epidd and save her partner, but Tikki just looked destroyed.
"I don't know Marinette. The only way he got defeated last time was because he lost his source of power- the ring was taken off of Tomas and given to someone else. I don't even know if there is a way to defeat him. The only thing I know is that Chat Noir is in really big trouble and if we don't do something soon… there may be no way we can save him."
