Chapter 2 - Chat...Blanc?

Adrien/Chat Noir's POV

'Arghh' I groan, my head pounding. "Where am I ?" I wonder out aloud taking in the view around me. Standing on the Eiffel Tower, I look around to see the whole of Paris completely destroyed and filled with water. The moon is shattered and floating uselessly in the sky. An unpleasant shiver runs down my spine, though I'm not sure if it's from the cold or from seeing the city I protect in this state. A million questions run through my brain as I search for the cause of Paris' demolition.

"YOU'RE MIRACULOUS!" I hear a familiar voice shout, though I can't really place whose it is. Then I see it. The source of this destruction. An akumatised villain standing face to face with Ladybug and with his back to me. He is dressed in a skin-tight suit, much like mine except it's white. 'Who is he? And what happened to Dream Trapper?' I think as I head towards the direction they are standing.

I couldn't make out what they were speaking due to the distance but I could see Ladybug calling out her Lucky Charm. I see the Akuma heading towards Ladybug while talking to her as she is trying to figure out what to do with an eraser. Once I come within earshot I catch half of the sentence " -to fix everything so we could be in love again, and have a hamster too. You've always dreamed of having one." 'So we could be in love again?' I think confusedly, every fiber of my body filled with jealousy and rage as I lunge forward to attack the bastard whose hand was extended towards Ladybug's earlobe.

'What the-' I pass right through the supervillain as Ladybug pins him down and grabs his belt. Now that I get a better view of him, I realize that he looks just like me. 'He must be an imposter' I think quickly banishing the dangerous thought that it might actually be me. 'Unless I somehow time-traveled it's not possible that he's me and besides I would never hurt my lady' I reason with myself when a sudden shout snaps me out of reverie to see Ladybug fall into the water.

"LADYBUG" I scream though they don't seem to hear me and jump after her. Then something weird happens. I don't feel the water as I dive into it along with Ladybug. Instead, I seem to be floating along with her as she swims deeper into the water to find statues of Hawkmoth and another Ladybug? They seem like real people who got turned into statues though, and when I inspect my surroundings to find other statues like that it just further confirms my suspicions. As I get closer, Ladybug touches her statue and it turns to ash.

I remain shell-shocked and confused even further as I see Ladybug has a similar expression on her face. She starts swimming back to the surface and I follow her. ' What in the world is going on?' This just doesn't seem like the real world whatsoever. 'What if it isn't? Come to think of it, what was Dream Trapper's power? Could it be trapping people in a dream? But then whose dream-' My thoughts are cut when Ladybug cries out "What did you do to them!?"

"I didn't mean to." He replied voice laced with regret. "Why won't you try and help me fix it? The simple truth is you don't love me anymore. So I might as well destroy you, me, our memories, EVERYTHING!" He yells, the emotion in his eyes shifting to rage. I could only stay frozen in my spot and blink as a bright light from his palm engulfs the whole world. The destructive energy keeps getting bigger and bigger until Ladybug steps forward and with her voice filled with despair, says " Okay, Okay, I'll give you my miraculous Chat Noir"

'Chat Noir!?' My heart stops and all I could do was gape, mind reeling and the world spinning at the fact that I was the one who caused this.

"I'm not Chat Noir anymore. I'm Chat Blanc."

"Chat Noir? Chat Noir!" I could hear an extremely low but familiar voice as I feel as though someone is carrying me.

"CHAT? CHAT NOIR!" The person shakes me vigorously as I try to open my eyes but close them just as fast when bright light stings me.

"My Lady" I say, voice husky and barely audible. Then two arms come around me and I'm pulled into a bone-crashing hug. I can feel the wetness on my shoulder through the suit as Ladybug whispers into my ear, her voice shaking with dismay, "I was so afraid I'd lost you."

Ladybug pulls back as I finally open my eyes and when I see her face, I realize just how much I had scared her. Her cheeks stained with tears and bluebell eyes filled with distress and concern. It pained me to see her like that so in spite of my inner turmoil I reach out to push the fringe out of her eyes and say "It's okay M'lady, I'm right here"

Marinette/Ladybug's POV

It has been two days since the Akuma attack. I never understood how the supervillain's powers matched his name though. I hadn't observed Chat that day after the attack but ever since then, he has been acting weird on patrols. No puns, he isn't flirting with me nor kissing my hand (And oddly enough, I miss that), and he just overall lacks his usual, bubbly personality. I'd ask him if he was okay but he never sticks around that long to talk. 'Maybe something is going on in his civilian life' I think and sigh. This is one of the few times I wish we could know each other's identities. 'Perhaps I could ask him to tell me without going in detail?' I made it a point in my mind to ask him at the end of today's patrol.

I start scrolling through the Ladyblog to see footage of that day's fight. There I find some videos of the victims who were attacked. The people say that once they were hit with the beam they were transported to another reality. Gathering information from a few people who had been hit, Alya concluded that the people had been trapped in a dream about the most traumatizing and disturbing memory of the person they loved the most. Dread along with worry for Chat fills my head as the grip on my phone loosens but luckily I catch it just in time before it falls.

I glance at my clock to see it's almost time for patrol and call out my transformation wanting to talk to Chat Noir as soon as possible. Once transformed, I tuck in two pillows in my bed so it looked like I was sleeping in case my parents came to check on me. I head out through my trap door and swing across the rooftops to the Eiffel Tower.

'He must have seen something bad if he's reacting like this. Could it be- No no no'

' NO -It couldn't have been that. Besides, surely he would have someone else who he loves more than ME! Yeah and he must have seen that person's nightmare and he just needs someone to talk to about it.' I reach the top of the tower to find Chat Noir already sitting there with his back facing me. "Hey" he says standing up slowly when I land a few feet away from him. Still avoiding eye contact he extends his baton and ready to go he says, "Let's start."

"No, wait!" I say, holding him by his wrist. He turns around and finally looks at me, his usually gleaming green eyes dim. "Chat, what's wrong?" I ask, voice filled with worry. "I- uh, W-What do you mean?" He asks, face shifting as though he was trying to hide something.

"Don't think I haven't noticed kitty. You've been acting weird lately. Are you okay?" When he doesn't respond I continue, voice softening "You know you can tell me anything right?"

"I know m'lady I just- I saw something when I was hit with Dream Trapper's beam and I'm not sure how to.." He trails off. "Earlier I was scrolling through the Ladyblog and I saw a video about that villain's powers." I say, not sure if he already knew. "And it turns out that the Akuma's power was to trap a person in a dream about the most horrifying memory of the person they love the most." I see Chat Noir's expression change from confused to dread as he looks at me.

"Then, Ladybug, when did the Chat Blanc incident happen?"

A/N - So that was Chapter two. And I know I said a week and it's been more but I just didn't feel inspired to write. I know what you might be thinking like this is just the second chapter but let me tell you a secret - I too don't know what's gonna happen next 'cause I haven't planned anything. I have a vague idea but I make up the story as I go. So you see it's a lotta work. However turns out that I don't need to get inspired I just need to sit and start, the words will just flow out of me.

But most of all, your reviews and favorites made me write. It's super inspiring to see that someone is actually waiting for me to update and gives me the boost I need. Thank you all so much! I'll be updating by the weekend.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed this chapter! Make sure to review!

Have a great day/night.

- Bug Out!🐞