Shandy: Uhhhh... All we have to say about this chapter...

Candy: Please Don't kill us.

Shandy: Reviews!

mysterious-dragonfly-girl: I'm glad you do!

Rose Tiger: He will. And Adrien never really asked, so you can't exactly be mad at him...

PhantomGoat13: I love ChloNath- and here you go!

Candy: Enjoy the chapter!

Shandy: And again... please don't kill us.

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Chat Noir was as silent as his namesake as he crawled up to the window Marinette had described. It was small window, but not too small that he couldn't slip in. He opened it and slipped through, landing on the toilet silently and closing the window behind him.

"Where is it?" A voice hissed in the other room. "We know it's here! Just give us the earings and no one gets hurt."

Silence responded the request. Chat Noir crept forward, opening the door a bit.

Looked like he actually had a bit of good luck on his side- two of the men were still looking around, but not by him. The other man had his guns pointed at Tom and Sabine, who had their hands held high. The attacker's back was to Chat, but Tom and Sabine could see him. He told them to keep quiet as he shifted out of the bathroom, staying low and reaching behind him for his staff.

He had to get this just right- otherwise Tom and Sabine could be gonners.

"I warned you." The man said. Chat Noir smirked.

"Yeah, and now I'm warning you before this cat sinks it's claws in your face." The man jumped, whipping around to face him, but before he could shoot Chat, our dear superhero extended his staff straight into where the sun don't shine and pinning him against the opposing wall by the TV. The ruckus caused the two other men to reach for their guns.

Fortunately, Tom and Sabine leapt into action the second they could.

Tom grabbed a rolling pin and a cutting board, wielding them like a mallet and shield as he shouted a war cry, charging towards one. The other man held up a picture frame to protect himself, unable to reach for his gun in time and not thinking rationally.

Sabine reached for a nearby broom and went to attack the other guy with it. While that guy did manage to grab his gun and pull it out, Sabine knocked it out of his hands with the broom before he could use it, and then hitting him in the nose with the end of the handel.

Deciding they could handle themselves (as he knew they could), he turned to look at the third guy-

Who just barely dashed down the stairs.

'Marinette!'

Chat Noir wasted no time rushing down after him, only to run face-first into a panel of wood. He walked up the stairs and ran back down, attempting to push or break it. It didn't budge.

Surely it had to be loose- he couldn't have had much time with setting it up, right?

He launched himself at it again.

It wouldn't budge.

He tried once more, but nothing.

'Sorry, Plagg.' He thought, looking down at his right hand. 'I told myself that I would never use it, but… this situation calls for it.' He held his hand high up and into the air, black magic swirling around it.

"CATACLYSM!"

The wood was no match to the destructive magic at Chat Noir's fingertips, falling prey to it instantly and crumbling upon his touch. He ran as fast as he could down to the shop level, the sound of his ring beeping in his ears, signaling the beginning of his countdown.

Five minutes.

"Don't move." Chat Noir froze, eyes wide as his vision zeroed in on his princess…

And the gun pointing at her head.

"One false move, and pretty-girl here gets it." He said, slightly out of breath. Chat Noir growled, but he didn't dare move as his tail swayed angrily behind him. Marinette's eyes were wide and pleading, tears falling down silently from her cheeks as she stood there, horrified.

It was silent.

Too silent.

Chat Noir looked around with his eyes, trying to find a way. His staff was still being held in his left hand, but he didn't know what to do with it. The man holding Marinette hostage took a step backward, and Chat Noir hissed, moving a step forward. The man held Marinette tighter, hand shaking.

His ring beeped.

Four minutes.

"Just what are you?" The man suddenly asked. Chat's ears twitched. "Part cat part boy? What a monster- a reject!"

The comment hurt, but Chat Noir didn't show it as his hiss died down only slightly, eyes still looking for a way.

"Well?!" The man exclaimed. "Are you gonna answer me?"

Chat Noir's eyes landed on it- the one thing that could help him.

He smirked.

"For your information, the name's Chat Noir." Chat informed, not looking away from the man as he 'placed' his staff behind him, pointing it toward the ceiling.

"Black cat? How fitting." The man laughed a maniacal laugh.

Another beep. Three left.

"You wanna know something interesting about black cats?" Chat Noir asked nonchalantly, his thumb hovering over the button for extending.

"What?" The man asked.

Chat smirked.

"We're known for our bad luck."

He pressed the button, and the staff instantly extended towards the ceiling, knocking into the sprinklers that were only used for fire alarms. It set the whole chain of them off, raining on them. The man blinked, unsure of what to think of the superheroes unexpected move.

Then, now that the floor was slippery, Chat Noir took a step back before running forward, using his staff to hit the other man in the head before he could even think of shooting the gun.

Beep.

Two minutes.

The gun fell away and the man released Marinette, who instantly made a grab for the gun. Chat Noir was now in between Marinette and the man, ready to fight.

"Why you-" The man charged towards Chat, but Chat Noir quickly judo-flipped him and pinned him down onto the floor. Marinette reached with a shaky hand for some rope that they kept behind the counter.

"Chat!" She threw the rope at him and he caught it effortlessly, using it to tie the man up.

Beep.

One minute.

After securing it, Chat Noir turned to look at Marinette, who let the gun fall out of her grasp and onto the floor.

She was safe.

A smile tugged at his lips, and he could see Marinette copy the look on his face.

"I'm afraid this alley cat has to leave now, princess." He whispered solemnly, walking over to her and leaning down to kiss her hand, which he held softly in his own. "Will I be able to see you tomorrow?"

Marinette opened her mouth to respond, but Chat Noir froze, his ears twitching.

Click.

"Watch out!" He threw them both to the floor just as a bullet coming from outside the shop shot through the glass, hiding them behind the store counter. They kept their eyes closed, bracing themselves for the impact of the floor and any glass shards that could have flown close enough to them.

When Adrien finally dared to open his eyes, he chanced a look up through the display case.

No one was there.

They had gotten away.

A gasp reached his ears, and they flattened once the realization hit him.

He hadn't bothered to hide anything before transforming.

Using cataclysm automatically shortened his time left as Chat Noir to five minutes.

He wasn't in suit.

HE WASN'T IN SUIT!

"A-Adrien…?" Marinette whispered. Adrien flinched, looking Marinette in the eye with shock and fear. She was just staring up at him, moth partially open in shock. "Kitty?" She probed a few seconds later, snapping him out of his stupor.

"I-I… uh…" Adrien blushed, standing up. "I-I havetogo!" With that single thought, he picked Plagg up from the ground, running out of the shop and into the silent parisian street.

It didn't take long to reach his house, and since he couldn't refuel Plagg at the moment, he had to use the vines and climb up the old fashioned way.

"Don't worry, buddy. I'm gonna get you the best camembert money can buy." Adrien said sternly as he opened his window, walking inside.

"N-No need." Plagg said weakly. Adrien grabbed him gently, confused as he brought the exhausted kwami up to his face.

"Wh-What do you mean? You always want Camembert!"

"I-I don't need it this time, kid." Plagg smiled a bit. "Not… not this time."

"Plagg?"

"I can see her now, kid." Plagg laughed weakly. "Thanks to you. You did it."

"W-Wait, you mean-"

"It's time, Adrien."

"Bu-But you can't!" Adrien exclaimed. "You-You can't leave yet! What am I supposed to do now?!"

"Follow your heart, kid." A white light began to envelop Plagg, starting from the tips of his toes and slowly moving up the dying kwami. "And remember… that you were my favorite, Adrien. I'll be watching over you- just like your mum."

"Plagg… I-I'll miss you." Adrien sniffed, wiping the tears that had started to fall without his consent.

"Kid…" Plagg laughed. "I'll only admit this once. I'll miss you too."

And then, in a puff of white sparkles, he was gone.

His room suddenly felt bigger and colder, numbness sneaking in on his heart as he fell to his knees, hands still up as though he was holding the kwami.

"Adrien…" His mother smiled weakly at him, wiping a tear from his cheek. "My honey-bun… I'll miss you."

"Mother?" Adrien didn't know what was going on, but he held tightly to his mother's hand anyway.

"I love you, Adrien."

"Why?" He asked, breath hitched. "Why? Why now? Why-Why today…"

He couldn't bear to move himself from that position.

Somewhere in the house, a clock struck midnight, signifying the beginning of the next 24 hours.

Annalise smiled down at him before closing her eyes, letting out a breath. His mother's hand fell limp in his hold, suddenly lacking the warmth and kindness that it normally possesed. A long, shrill beep met his ears.

But she was still smiling.

How… how was she still smiling?!

On the calendar in the corner of his room, a big red X marked the last day he had to worry about his identity being known.

March 31st.

The day after was also exed out, but it was for a date he would rather forget.

April 1st.

Today was now that day.

He would do anything to forget that today had ever existed.

Anything to forget the limp, cold body of his mother as life faded away from her.

Anything to forget her death.