"You need to wake up - I can't do this without you!" Ladybug cried, shaking the shoulders of an unconscious Chat Noir. She was kneeling over him, blinking backs tears as he didn't stir.
"Come on,"she pleaded, "this one's too strong, I need you! Chat, please-"
She was cut off as she heard the screams which signaled that the akuma was getting closer; Ladybug knew she shouldn't have run, should have kept fighting, but Chat had just been lyingthere, vulnerable and in harm's way. She wasn't even sure what the akuma had done to him; a beam of light had hit him, and her partner had dropped to the floor like lead.
Sheer panic had set in, and Ladybug had managed to distract the akuma long enough to check on Chat Noir. He was still breathing, thank god, but Ladybug didn't know what exactly what the beam had done to him - so far, only Chat had been hit by it, and she couldn't figure out of he was seriously hurt. All she knew was that Chat Noir hadn't been the intended target, and he was once again hurt because he'd protected her. Her back had been turned, pushing Alya away from the fight, and she'd let her guard down. Chat had noticed and leapt in front of her, taking the hit.
The least she could do was keep him safe.
So she'd thrown him over her shoulder and fled, hoping that she could outrun the akuma for a few minutes. Jumping to the only safe place she could think of, she'd propped Chat's prone form up against the wall of the balcony above the Dupain-Cheng bakery. Her partner didn't stir at all, a dead weight in her arms as she carefully maneuvered him into a comfortable position.
"Wake up," Ladybug begged with increasing urgency, cupping Chat's face between her palms and lifting it to hers. "I don't know how to fight this one. I need you by my side, so please, wake up!"
There was no reaction, and there was no longer any time; Ladybug could hear the akuma, its large footsteps echoing as it moved through the streets of Paris. Ladybug took a deep breath, steeling herself to fight as her partner remained unmoving.
"I'll come back for you," she whispered, pressing a kiss against his forehead before carefully letting his head loll onto his chest. "I'll make this right, I promise. You're going to be okay." She straightened up, turning to scan her surroundings. Her eyes locked on the akuma, tall against the surrounding buildings, and fury welled up withing her.
She threw her yo-yo up into the air, letting it latch onto the building in front of her. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she leapt from the balcony.
She had a score to settle.