I wasn't sure if I would have time this weekend to post a new chapter, so you get a new chapter today! Hopefully that's alright! Also, thank you for the continued support on this story. Reading all your reviews make me so happy! :)
"Chat! Chat!" Marinette cried, her voice beginning to go hoarse. It had been a few hours now and the sun was starting to set. She was exhausted. It felt like she had searched every street in Paris, but there was no sign of Chat Noir. She was quickly losing hope. Paris was a giant city with a million places to hide. If Chat Noir returned to his cat form, it would be even more difficult to find him.
"Where are you?" Marinette wondered as she slumped down against a nearby wall. She buried her hand in her heads and started to cry. "Please come back... What am I going to do without you?"
"Marinette..." Tikki flew out of Marinette's pocket and hovered in front of the crying girl. It broke her heart to see Marinette this way. "Marinette, please cheer up," Tikki said, offering words of encouragement. "I'm sure he'll be back soon. You know how boys can be. He just needs time to work out his emotions."
"Didn't you see his face? He's not coming back. I hurt him so much... This is all my fault!"
"It's not your fault! Don't you dare blame yourself! You have the right to love whoever you want. Surely Chat Noir understands that better than anyone. By loving the Prince you committed no crime. You told Chat Noir the truth and that's all you could do. He decided how to react. His actions shouldn't be a burden to you. He wouldn't want them to be."
Marinette slowly looked up and wiped away her tears. "He's gone, Tikki. What are we going to do? I can't be Ladybug without Chat Noir. The only reason I could be so confident was because he was around. We were a team! I'll be akuma bait if I go into a fight alone!"
"Everything's going to work out," Tikki promised, cuddling up beside Marinette's cheek. "Everyone gets a little emotional sometimes. Chat Noir needs time to cool off. He'll be back before you know it!"
"I wish I could believe that... What if something happens to him? He could get hurt or lost or-"
"Marinette..."
"Let's at least look for him a little longer," begged Marinette. She shakily stood up and clenched her fist in determination. She wasn't planning to give up so easily.
"Stop right there!" Tikki flew in front of Marinette, blocking her path. "We need to go home. You're tired. I can tell. Let's get something to eat and sleep on things. We can search tomorrow!" Tikki grabbed Marinette's finger, pulling on it. "C'mon!"
"Marinette, what are you doing here?"
Tikki quickly flew behind Marinette to hide as Alya walked towards her. "What's she doing here?" Marinette moaned, praying that Tikki was out of sight. "Why do we have a habit of running into each other at the worst times? We're best friends! We don't have to meet by accident!"
"Oh, you know... Just out for a walk before it gets dark!" Marinette lied, giving Alya a fake smile.
"Girl, you're weird sometimes. It's getting dark. You should really go home. That's where I'm headed. Wanna tag along?"
"Um, sure?"
Marinette walked over to join her. While Alya looked away, Tikki flew into Marinette's pocket, remaining out of sight. The girls started to walk home and Alya was gushing over her date with Nino.
"He wrote me a song!" Alya lovingly sighed. Marinette swore she could see hearts in her eyes which slightly disturbed Marinette since Alya was never one for romance. "And he even played the guitar! I know he's a dork, but he really can be adorable sometimes. It's almost our one month anniversary. I'm thinking of getting him something special. It would be small of course, but it's the thought that counts."
"I've never seen a more perfect couple," Marinette groaned, facepalming. "I'm happy for you guys, but it's weird to see you both so..."
"In love?"
"Yeah!"
"Your turn will come soon," Alya smiled, patting Marinette on the back. "Like I've told you before, there's someone out there for you. Weren't you going to try things out with that boy that sometimes visit the bakery? What was his name? Nick? Nigel?"
"It was Nathanael and I decided against it. You can't force yourself to fall in love with someone. It just sorta happens..." Marinette sighed. "I wish we'd stop talking about love," she thought. "It's just digging the nail in the coffin. I keep thinking about Chat Noir and I'm only getting more worried."
Alya waved her hand in front of Marinette's face and shouted, "Hello? You okay there?"
"Huh? What?"
"You totally zoned out for a sec. Something on your mind? You've got this vacant look in your eyes."
Marinette shifted uncomfortably. "To tell you the truth... it's about Chat Noir. He's gone missing."
"Your pet cat?" Alya asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't stress. Cats run off all the time. They're outside animals. He'll come back when he's good and ready."
"But he's not like a normal cat. He's never left home before and I'm worried about him. What if something happens?"
"Wasn't he a stray before you adopted him? I'm sure he'll be fine. Cats are tougher than they look. Since you're this worried though, I'll keep an eye out. He couldn't have gotten far. He's probably hiding in a dumpster hunting for food."
"Maybe..."
The tone of Marinette's voice didn't inspire much confidence in Alya. It wasn't unusual for Marinette to be over dramatic about things, but Chat Noir's disappearance really seemed to shake her up. Alya didn't like seeing Marinette this upset, but there wasn't much she could do. She didn't have magical cat finding abilities.
"I'll have Nino look around too," Alya promised. "But I'll be surprised if Chat Noir isn't home by the time one of us find him. Oh, it looks like we're already at my house." Alya skipped up to her front step and waved at her best friend. "See ya, Marinette!"
"Bye!" Marinette called. "Oh, Alya! Wait!"
"Huh?"
"If you see Chat Noir as in the magician, let me know too."
"They might have the same name, but you do know he's not your cat," Alya joked, giving Marinette a curious glance. "Why are you searching for him too?"
"Um..." Marinette panicked. "I just thought that since he's a black cat and all too, he might have better luck finding my Chat Noir! You know what? Don't worry about it! Good night!" She quickly sprinted away towards the bakery, leaving Alya very confused.
"That was a close one," Marinette mumbled under her breath as she entered the bakery. "I need to be more careful with what I say."
"You're finally back?" Tom Dupain-Cheng called from the back. "There's some dishes that need washing up if you don't mind."
"Sure thing, Papa." Marinette gladly went over to the sink and began to scrape the leftover food of the plates. Right now, anything that could take her mind of Chat Noir was a blessing. After finishing this chore, she planned to change into her nightgown and sleep. Hopefully morning would bring better news.
Unfortunately, Marinette wouldn't be so lucky.
It had been a week since Chat Noir went missing and there was still no sign of him. Marinette had gone out everyday to search for him, but found nothing. By this time, he could've left the city and Marinette was beginning to lose all hope. If he hadn't come home yet, there was a chance he would never come home again.
Everyday Marinette left a bowl of food and water on the balcony. She kept the window unlocked just in case. She set up a nice sitting pillow right beside her bed. Everything was cleaned and kept tidy. Instead of pictures of Prince Adrien covering her desk, there were drawings of Chat Noir both in and out of cat form.
One day, Marinette was standing out on her balcony, staring at the sky. "He's out there somewhere..." she thought. She imagined Chat Noir's smiling face as he played around in the grass. In her fantasies, he was having the time of his life. "Maybe things are better this way. No, I can't say that... It might just be me being selfish, but things aren't better. I've never been more stressed in my life. Where is that stupid cat?"
"Marinette, are you still out here?" Tikki came out the balcony and sat on the railing in front of Marinette. "Isn't it cold out here? It's really windy today."
"I'm fine," Marinette smiled, her hair blowing in the breeze. She decided to leave it down today. She was lacking the energy to put it in pigtails. "I'm just getting some fresh air. Watching the sky makes me feel a little better. I can get lost in the deepness of it. My problems just float away for a while."
"I'm sorry..."
"For what?" Marinette laughed. She patted Tikki on the head with her finger. "You didn't do anything wrong."
"I told you Chat Noir would come back. I must've gotten your hopes up."
"It's fine. You were only trying to give me hope. I still have hope even though it's been a week. But I can't help but wonder if I'm waiting for nothing. When do I stop searching? When do I give up? I just don't know..."
Tikki provided no answer. She didn't know what to say. She wanted to tell Marinette to keep searching, but had a suspicion it would be in vain. Tikki had believed that Chat Noir was going to come back. But after an entire week passed, she wasn't too sure. She never pegged Chat Noir as a selfish cat. He cared about Marinette too much for that. Yet, he still hadn't returned.
"Can I propose something?" Marinette asked Tikki. "I know you won't like it, but I want to try anyways."
"What do you mean?"
"I want to go after Hawk Moth."
"Marinette, are you crazy? You know how dangerous he is! There's a reason Chat Noir and I talked you out of charging into the castle head on. And now that Chat Noir's missing, how are you going to handle it alone?"
Marinette sighed and leaned onto the railing, throwing her head back towards the clouds. "Do I have another choice though? I can't fight his akuma on my own. I can't risk one attacking the city if I can't defend it. The only thing I can think of is going after Hawk Moth. It'll be miraculous versus miraculous with no crazy monsters involved. It's the fairest fight I can get and the one I'd place my bets on."
"But if you go in without a plan-"
"Then we'll have to make one. We already know what his miraculous can do. All that's left is to figure out how to sneak into the castle and pinpoint his location. I'm sure the library has some castle blueprints or sketches we can look at. And if I'm correct, I'm guessing Hawk Moth will come find me. My miraculous will be out in his territory and I'm sure he'll gladly come to take it."
"It's still dangerous. Let's at least wait for Chat Noir!"
"Tikki..." Marinette smiled sadly. "I don't think he's coming back. This is how things are going to be from now on. It's just the two of us and we're going to protect Paris even if it kills us." A single tear fell from Marinette's eye and was blown away by the wind.
"I understand," Tikki nodded. "We shouldn't waste any time then. If Hawk Moth finds out Chat Noir is missing, he won't hesitate to use that to his advantage. Is the library open today?"
"You bet! I've already figured out a way to sweet talk the librarian into showing us the palace's design plans," Marinette boasted. She was going to fight Hawk Moth with all she had and she wasn't afraid to get dirty in the process. That butterfly won't know what hit him!
Marinette entered the library with her game face on. She had tied her hair into a small side braid which bounced on her shoulder as she sauntered up to the front desk. Getting access to documents like the blueprints of the royal castle wasn't going to be easy. Good thing Marinette always had a plan.
"Excuse me," Marinette said sweetly, tapping on the edge of the librarian's desk. The woman working behind it turned around and smiled. "Phew... I was afraid she wasn't going to be the librarian on duty today," Marinette thought as she breathed a sigh of relief. "She's the only reason this plan is going to work."
"How can I help you?" the librarian asked politely. "Wait a minute... I remember you! You're that nice girl from before who asked about my grandfather!"
"Yep! That's me!"
"Is your friend here with you again today?"
"Oh no!" Marinette shook her head. "Not today. I'm here by myself. Actually, I was wondering if you could help me find something since you were so helpful last time. Does the library happen to have a copy of the blueprints for the castle?"
"Of course. This library is managed by the royal family and copies of all important documents are stored here for safekeeping. Unfortunately, the public doesn't have permission to see those. I'm sorry, dear."
"I understand..." Marinette pretended to sigh and gave the librarian a sad smile. "Thanks for your help anyways. I should've known it was too much to ask. I guess my research about Ladybug and Chat Noir has come to an unsatisfying end."
The librarian raised a curious eyebrow. "What do you mean?" she asked, intrigued by Marinette's words. It was obvious the librarian was a Ladybug and Chat Noir fangirl. Mere mention of the names got her attention. The poor woman had fallen right into Marinette's trap.
"Well, I'm really interested in Ladybug and Chat Noir so I've been doing some research. Their magic is really special and is deeply entwined with Paris's history. I heard they might have a secret hideout in the palace, the one place no one would ever think to look for them. I was hoping to search for it on a map since I'll never be able to visit it. It was the closest I was ever going to get to meeting my heroes, but now..." Marinette trailed off and dramatically sighed.
"Tell you what," the librarian whispered, pulling Marinette in close. "I'm not really supposed to share private documents with the public, but I'm sure it'll be fine in this case as long as we keep it a secret. I must admit, I'd like to sneak a peek at a magician's lair too so I feel bad bad stopping you. Follow me to the backroom. That's where we keep documents like that."
The librarian came out from behind her desk and led Marinette towards a door in the back of the library. The woman pulled out a key and unlocked the door. It swung open and revealed a room filled with large bookshelves and drawers. A thick layer of dust coated almost every surface. People didn't use this room often since it was off limits to most.
"The blueprints should be somewhere in these drawers," the librarian explained as she unlocked each drawer. "I'm not sure which one. Our filing system has gotten a tad shabby lately. We've been understaffed for a while and work never seems to get done. Hopefully you can find what you're looking for in this mess."
"Thank you very much," Marinette bowed. "Are you sure this is okay? I wouldn't want you to get in trouble!"
"It's fine," laughed the librarian. "Even if anyone found out, I'm sure they wouldn't be upset. We really just don't want troublemakers roaming around in here, but you're a smart, young girl. What kind of trouble could ever get into?"
"Uh-huh..."
"I need to go back out to the front desk, but if you need anything just call." The librarian left the room, leaving Marinette time to get started searching.
"Okay Tikki!" Marinette cheered as the kwami came flying out of her pocket. "The blueprints are somewhere in this drawer. Now we just have to find them!" She pushed up her sleeves and grabbed a giant pile of papers and threw them on a giant table in the center of the room. A huge cloud of dust formed, causing both her and Tikki to sneeze. The girls began to sort through each document.
"There's a lot of super secret stuff in here," Tikki laughed as she tossed aside another paper. "Documents about past affairs, political problems, and... even a recipe for apple pie!"
Marinette grabbed the recipe and started to laugh. "How did all this junk end up in here?" she smiled, sorting through more papers. "The royal family must send all their clutter to the library. Better than keeping it in the castle."
"Marinette! I think I found it!" Tikki dragged a large stack of papers out of the pile and set it in front of Marinette. It was definitely the blueprints to the castle. The papers were clipped together and each one showed a different level of the castle.
"Good work!" Marinette grabbed the papers and began to examine them. The castle had three levels, the ground floor and two upper floors. The first was for public affairs. The second was for private affairs and the third was mostly living space. The castle didn't have many entrances besides the front gate. There was another door in the back, but that was the only other direct entrance. Good thing the castle had a lot of windows though.
"Here's what I'm thinking!" Marinette pointed at a tall tower connected to the side of the castle. "We're going to enter through here. It's high up and I doubt there'll be anyone guarding it. We can sneak it without getting caught. Going in through the top floor puts us closer to Hawk Moth too."
"Why do you say that?"
"Well... we know he's hiding in the castle, right? People come in and out of the first floor all the time, so he's probably not hiding there or else he'd get busted. And even though the second floor is a bit more private, there's still a lot of people moving through. The castle doesn't have a basement either. That leads me to assume that Hawk Moth is hiding somewhere on this third floor or at least, that's where he'll be when we ambush him in the middle of the night."
"Great thinking!" Tikki cheered. "But where's he going to be on the third floor?"
"That I'm not sure. These blueprints don't say what each room is for. For all we know, some of them might be completely empty which would be the perfect place for Hawk Moth to set-up shop. Once we get there, we'll need to look around. There aren't that many rooms though. We should find him fairly fast."
Marinette felt confident in her plan. They knew where Hawk Moth was and could back him into a corner. He wouldn't expect her arrival and hopefully wouldn't be prepared to fight back. If everything went well, Marinette could sneak in and out without being noticed by the guards. Or most importantly, King Gabriel.
"Let's head out!" Marinette said as she shoved the remaining papers back into the drawer. "We've got everything we need! Everything ends tonight!"
"Tonight?" Tikki squeaked nervously. "I thought we were going to wait at least a few days-"
"We can't afford to waste time," Marinette shook her head. "You said it yourself earlier. If Hawk Moth finds out Chat Noir is gone, we're goners. It's now or never!"
Out in the backstreets of Paris, Chat Noir was sleeping atop the roof of an old house, basking in the sun. His slumber was interrupted by a loud growl from his stomach. "Again?" he moaned, his eyes fluttering open. "These scraps aren't nearly enough food. I feel hungry all the time." He missed the treats Marinette would always bring him especially the cheese.
"Stop that!" he cursed himself. "I'm trying to stop thinking about her. I bet she's doing just fine without me. Why should she miss a dumb cat when she's got her Prince Adrien?" The name left a sour taste in Chat Noir's mouth.
"Mind if I join you?" a voice meowed from behind him. Chat Noir turned to see a fat, tabby cat approached him. The cat sat down beside Chat and curled up in the sun. "You picked a mighty fine spot," the cat purred, licking his paw. "The sun's warm now, but when it sets in an hour a nice breeze will roll through here. I couldn't think of a more perfect spot to spend the night."
Chat Noir gave the cat a confused glance. He had never tried talking to other cats before. In the past, Chat Noir had always been a lone wolf as most alleycats were. Companionship meant competition. It was hard enough to find food as it was. Nobody wanted to share.
"So you're an antisocial one?" the fat cat chuckled. "I used to be the same. Name's Enzo by the way. You got one of your own?"
"A name?" Chat Noir frowned.
"Yeah, a name. Not every cat has luxury of owning one. Some of us just spent our entire lives on the streets. It's usually easy to tell, but I'm not sure about you. You're a mix of alley and housecat. Let me guess, been abandoned recently?"
Chat Noir flicked his tail and grumbled, "No... I left on my own."
"Rebellious, eh? It's a phase, kid. Most cats go through it. First you want in the house, then out, and you keep going back and forth until finally someone just locks you in. But in all seriousness, you should head on back. I bet your owner's there waiting for you."
"She isn't..." A brief image of Marinette flashed through his mind, causing his chest to hurt. "She better not be," Chat Noir corrected himself. "We both need to move on and forget."
"Was she a bad owner?" Enzo asked, letting out a yawn. "I've heard some crazy stories about bad owners. She didn't hang you upside down by your tail, did she? That's the worst..."
"No! Marinette would never do something like that! She would never hurt anyone ever!"
"From the sound of your voice, you care for this girl dearly." To Chat Noir's surprise, Enzo was oddly observant. "Why'd you leave her then? It sounds like you want to go home."
"I made a mistake," Chat Noir confessed. "I hurt her and I hurt myself. I couldn't bear to even look her in the eyes anymore. So I just left and promised myself I wouldn't go back..."
"That was a stupid promise!" Enzo snapped his tail against Chat Noir's back, causing the black cat to jump up in pain. "That girl could be out there looking for you as we speak! Humans are special that way. They don't let go of love so easily. Cats, we move on, but humans don't even try. They get attached to their pets. You probably hurt her a lot by leaving."
"There isn't anything I can do now!"
"You can go back! Show her that you still love her! By sitting here, you're a disgrace to every housecat in Paris. Cats are supposed to be companions. Your human master is your best friend, your ally, your partner!"
Chat Noir's eyes widened. "Partner..." He hadn't thought about that word in a while.
"Don't lose what's most important to you," Enzo smiled. He cheekily nudged Chat Noir with his nose. "Once it's gone, you can't get it back. Trust me on this one, kid."
"You're right!" Chat Noir sat up and looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set like when he had left Marinette a week ago. "I was wrong. I shouldn't have left Marinette. Even if she doesn't love me romantically, I'll still love her and she cares about me. We're best friends and partners!"
"Wait? Romantically? I think I'm missing something here... Your owner is human, right?"
"Thanks for everything, Enzo!" Chat Noir cheered. "Without you, I don't know if I'd have the courage to face her again. But now I know what I need to do!" Chat Noir looked across the skyline and spotted a small bakery whose lights were turning on for the night. He jumped off the roof onto to the next at full speed. He was going home.
"Hey Enzo!" Chat Noir turned behind him and called back to the fat cat. "By the way, my name's Chat Noir."
"Like the magician?" Enzo shouted back.
"The one and only."
With that, Chat Noir sprinted off across the rooftops filled with new energy. He couldn't wait to see Marinette's face when he got home.
P.S. Things start to amp up in the next chapter, but no spoiler ;P
