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Chat Noir's P.O.V
My head felt like a car continued to be run it over repeatedly and ears were ringing immensely.
I blinked, but that didn't stop my vision from being a blurry mess and sensitive to light. It hurt to move the slightest bit yet, my back felt like it was being repeatedly stabbed as sharp shots of pain continued to hit near the spine. I groaned, clutching and unclutching my claws as they scraped against stone.
I tried to turn my head slowly to the side but the pain in my back felt as though it went into the back of my head twice as bad. I grunted, tasting something metallic within my mouth. I went back to my original position and waited for the burning to settle.
Once the pain was a dull throbbing, I took in a few deep breaths before slowly sitting up. I grunted and screamed one time as bullets of agony hit hard along my back and head. It hurt. It hurt so much that I wanted to cry and scream.
"How is it that I can be thrown into buildings and across Paris but get badly injured falling from the top of the school?" I questioned, bitterly and heaved. I waited again for the dull throb but heard footsteps nearby…and getting closer. My eyes widened in fear before remembering the ribbon.
I quickly looked around for the ribbon before spotting it a few feet away caught under some debris that wasn't a pile of ashes. The footsteps drew closer and closer. With the strength saved up, I forced myself to crawl over to the ribbon.
Every movement was torture and my limbs were shaking. Even breathing felt painful.
Yet, I pulled through when reaching the ribbon and tugging it out from under the brick. I sat back and leaned up against and bigger piece of debris, waiting for whoever was coming. Preparing for a battle that is about to happen.
Soon, the person appeared and holding their limp arm. Their glasses were cockeyed and were slowly stumbling around to find a safer spot. I immediately recognized the person and called out for them.
"Sabrina!" I shouted, throat burning and raspy. I coughed into my arm then pulled back to see blood staining my suit. My blood. Sabrina perked up in fright, afraid that it was the akuma but relaxed when she saw me. She speed-walked over, arm cradled to her chest.
"C-Chat Noir?" my classmate spoke astonished. I didn't have time and needed help but could I trust Sabrina? I didn't have much of a choice at the moment. Ladybug was akumitized, and I was badly injured.
"I need your help," I said, struggling to sit up. Sabrina knelt down beside me and helped me sit up.
"Y-You need m-my help?" she questioned, surprised. I nodded a little before handing her the ribbon.
"I need you to deliver this to someone for me. Can I trust you to do that?" I asked, seriousness laced within my voice. The girl's scared face soon changed into determined as she nodded in agreement. Her slim fingers grasped onto the ribbon as she winced from using her bad arm.
"Who am I delivering this to?" she asked. I could still see the fear within her eyes, but she seemed too determined to back out now. My options were weighed down on me. I had no idea where Master Fu lived…but I know someone who does.
"Sabrina, I need you to keep a very important secret," I began. Sabrina fidgeted a little still taking everything that happened in but nodded. I was asking for a lot from my nervous classmate and was very thankful for how collected she seemed to be even when afraid.
With no other choice, I de-transform back into Adrien Agreste.
Sabrina was flabbergasted, to say the least, and completely speechless, mouth agape.
"I need you to keep this a secret," I said, sternly while giving Plagg some Camembert, "I'm trusting you with this so please don't tell anyone else. Not your parents and especially, not Chloe. No matter how much you trust them."
She nodded firmly and squeaked in fright when Plagg shot up into the air. He looked down at me with worry in his eyes, and I smiled at him in reassurance.
"Can we trust her?" Plagg asked, skeptical. I gave him a look that said: "Do I have much of a choice?" Plagg nodded with a sigh before turning around.
"The names Plagg. You're that nerd that hangs out with that drama queen, right?" Plagg said, blandly. I glared at my Kwami, but Sabrina quickly nodded.
"Plagg, I need you to take Sabrina to Master Fu," I instructed before hearing screaming. The redhead shot her head around in fear and her legs began to shake violently. She turned back to me, unsure of what to do or say. She yelped a little when Plagg flew into Sabrina's hair.
The screaming grew closer. I grew more nervous the longer my classmate stood there in terror, pretty much frozen.
"Go. I'll be fine," I stated. Sabrina looked down at me saddened before guiltily running in the directions Plagg gave her. I watched them leave before turning to see a dark shadow standing a couple of feet away with a giant grin on her lips.
The akuma slowly walked over, ankles cracking as she walked on the sides of her feet creepily. My heartbeat began to speed up as adrenaline coursed through my veins. I flinched back as she crouched down and cupped my jaw, forcing me to look her in those empty eyes.
I desperately missed the bluebell that filled that void. I wanted them back.
"Well," she began, smiling sinisterly, "if it isn't the guy that pushed me down earlier before I had the chance to strike down the backstabber. You know? That hurt my feelings that you took her side instead of mine."
"Marinette, please. I know you're still in there," I begged, feeling her grip on my jaw tighten. She giggled a little but there was no mirth behind it. I winced when her nails dug into my skin. Nausea began to churn within my stomach and hoped Sabrina would make it to Master Fu's in time.
She was Paris's last hope.
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Marinette went downstairs to get some cookies and milk. I sat on the chaise and waited for her to return.
"Hello, Chat Noir," Marinette's Kwami said, coming out from hiding.
"Hi…uh," I said, not knowing the ladybug's name.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself," she said, "My name is Tikki."
"It's very nice to meet you, Tikki," I kindly replied. The small bug giggled before her face grew serious.
"Look, I don't have much time until Marinette returns. So, I'm going to make this quick," Tikki said. Worry and dread grew within my chest, knowing this has something to do with Marinette. Something bad. I nodded and carefully listened to whatever Tikki had to say.
"My owner is not doing well although she says she is okay, she isn't," the red Kwami spoke, softly and sadly. Then she continued to explain, "I am keeping cautious in case she might become akumatized. If she does, I'm going to get the miraculous and hideout at Master Fu's. I want you to get her akumatized object and go there to purify the akuma."
"Wouldn't it be easier if I go transform then get the akuma?" I asked. Tikki shook her head in denial.
"You might have been able to easily master the powers of destruction but my powers are completely different and more complex. I'm not saying you're unwise, but you already have your role and chosen to wield something that was made for you," she explained, "The easiest thing to do is to catch and purify akumas."
I nodded understandingly.
The trapdoor creaked open. Marinette walked into the room with a tray of a plate of cookies and two glasses of milk.
"What have you two been talking about?" Marinette asked, setting the tray down on her desk.
"We were just getting to know one another," Tikki lied, smiling.
"Yeah," I agreed, faking a smile, "What has the purr-incess brought her knight?" Marinette raised an eyebrow at us before shrugging and offering cookies. Tikki snatched a cookie from the plate and sat at the desk. I grabbed my own cookie as well and took a bite.
"You'll be a knight once you stop with your childish charms, Kitten," Marinette teased, eating her own cookie. I took a giant sip of milk, making sure the drink stuck above my upper lip.
"Childish?! I beg your pardon, Milady, but this milk-stache proves I am no kitten. I am a devilishly handsome and clever cat!" I argued, making the girl laugh.
"Do you tell yourself that in the mirror of your bathroom before you take a shower?" she questioned, teasingly. I huffed before there was a pause and she raised an amused eyebrow.
"Whether I do or don't does not mean anything," I said. Marinette laughed full-heartedly and held her stomach. I smiled, thinking if I were to keep hearing the sound of her laughter, everything would be okay.
Everything would be just fine.
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Boy, was I wrong.
"Marinette-"
"Stop calling me that, Adrien! I am not that pathetic excuse of a thing," the akuma snapped, letting her grip on my jaw go to hit slap my chest. I yelped in pain, holding the spot where it hurt.
"My name is-"
"No!" I snapped, "That's the name of a villain, and you're not a villain, Marinette. This is not you. You're kind and sweet."
"And look where that kindness and sweetness lead too," She said, dully "Look very closely, Agreste. That kind and sweet girl was weak. Now, she doesn't exist anymore and in her place is a monster. A villain."
"She was never weak to me," I spoke truthfully, "She was always strong, sometimes stronger than me. She's brave and outgoing. Beautiful inside and out. I can't think of anyone that is just as extraordinary as Marinette Dupain-Cheng."
The Akuma's eyes widen and body froze. Many emotions cross in her eyes all at once but what stood out was confusion.
I thought I was finally getting to her until a yo-yo string wrapped around her frame. She struggled to break free as I watched shell-shocked then looked towards the owner of the weapon.
There atop of a nearby building was Sabrina.
"What is she doing?!" I thought, panicky. The redhead pulled Marinette away from me and towards her in one tug. Right after the two disappeared over the building, Plagg flew came out of nowhere.
"What are you two doing?" I asked, angrily and in disbelief.
"Long story short, that ribbon wasn't the akumatized object," Plagg explained.
"Oh mon dieu," I said under my breath. Then what was the akumatized object? Marinette wasn't wearing anything that stood out from her supervillain costume. Unless…
"It must be in the other ribbon that she wears," I thought out loud, taking in a deep breath and slowly standing up.
"What are you doing, Kid? Whatever you are going to do next, I would not recommend," Plagg questioned me.
"We have to help, Sabrina," I grunted, a dizzy spell falling over my mind. Everything hurt, but I have a job to do and save my best friend. My partner. The love of my like. She will always come before me.
"Are you asking for a death wish?" my Kwami asked.
"Well, all of Paris and possibly, the world will be buried seven feet under if I don't help. Sabrina is new to the whole miraculous thing, and I'm not sure how much longer most of the early ones that were hit can last. I need to do something no matter how much this is going to hurt…" I said, "…not even if it kills me."
Plagg didn't say anything.
"Plagg" I began, ignoring my body's agonizing screams of pain, "Claws out."
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