"Hello, little princess," Chat Blanc smiled, staring down at the girl in front of him.

"Chat…?" The girl replied, eyes wide. "Chat, why are you dressed like this?"

"What do you mean?" He purred, eyes narrowing.

"You're in all white… You don't look like yourself…" The girl replied, taking a nervous step back.

This was good. He was good at intimidation; he had spent the past few days learning what scared people and what buttons to push. Chat didn't remember much about who he was before, but he could remember her. Accompanying his memory of her face came the feeling of rejection and resentment… and along with the negative was the feeling of love and hope. He longed to feel the love and hope, and he had hoped that seeing her would bring them back from the depths of his suppressed mind. Seeing her, however, just brought up feelings of gloom and heartache. He wasn't quite sure how to process the way she was looking at him; so fearful, and yet curious.

She could see the change in him.

The girl pursed her lips, continuing to stare him down. He smiled at her again, memorizing her every detail. "What's your name?" He asked, taking a step towards her.

The girl frowned. "Y-you don't remember me? It's me, Marinette…"

And then it came back in flashes.

The girl who sat behind him in class. The girl who had liked him… had idolized him. The girl who had been so excruciatingly shy around him. Flirting with her as both Chat Noir and as Adrien. The ball. The secret glances. Her pushing him away.

His Lady. His princess.

The part of him that was Adrien began to awake slightly, pushing against the darkness occupying his mind. The part of him that was Chat Blanc relished in his freedom, in his glorious power. Chat Blanc was stronger, and maintained dominance during the fraction of a second that Adrien had fought back.

"Marinette," he purred again, attempting to close the distance between them.

He could nearly taste the fear radiating off of her, its sweet scent clouding his mind.

"Oh god," she breathed. "What happened to you?"

"I embraced the darkness that resided inside of me… and it freed me." He chuckled. "My Lady, if only you could feel this bliss." An idea crossed his mind. "You could join me. Become like me. Let go of everything."

Marinette shook her head. "I can't. I won't. Paris needs me… Paris needs you." Her eyes began to water, causing him to feel a sharp pang of disappointment.

"You don't owe these people anything. Nothing at all. You don't need to carry their burdens." He attempted to persuade her.

"And what?" She barked out a harsh laugh. "Become a villain?"

He frowned. "I'm not a villain. I'm free. Free from my stupid feelings for you. Free from my father. From Chat Noir." He looked at her, calculating. This was his Lady… it would be so easy to just… take her miraculous, find Hawkmoth, and live free forever.

"You're not free… you're… akumatized. You're becoming a monster… I can help you, Chat, if you'd let me." Marinette said, reaching out to him.

Adrien stirred inside of him, but Chat Blanc easily resisted him once again. A sinister smile spread across his face. "Oh, princess, I don't need your help."

"Chat… Please stop…" She murmured, staring up at him.

Chat moved forward, his claws extended. "I'm sorry, my lady."

She stared at him for a moment before her instincts kicked in. She turned to run, but he grabbed her arm. His claws cut through the dark fabric of her jacket, drawing blood.

His mind blanked for a moment as he stared at what he'd done. He'd hurt her… and it felt so good.

He felt disgusted for a second, before digging his claws deeper into her arm. Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at him in shock. He'd actually hurt her…

"I once loved you," he said softly, looking at her with as much emotion as Marinette had seen from him since he was… normal. "I waited up at night, just in case you needed me. I've always tried to been supportive of you. I thought that maybe I'd get your love and affection in return… but when I came clean to you? When I finally relied on you? You disappeared. It was the worst feeling, Lady. You made me feel so special, and then you just left me hanging."

"Chat, I-I'm sorry!" Marinette managed to sob, trying hard to ignore the pain in her arm.

"I trusted you!" He shouted, losing his calm demeanor for the first time. "I trusted you," he repeated, gentler this time. He retracted his claws, but kept his grip on her. He gazed lovingly at the scarlet fluid gushing from her arm. "You know, it too me until recently to realize that I wasn't in love with you. It was just the feeling. The feeling of having something I wanted, but never needed… The idea of being a part of something special. But you… you've always pushed me down. We were supposed to be a team, but you treated me like I was a lousy sidekick. You had no respect for me, and I treated you like you were the sun."

"I didn't realize," Marinette said softly, gazing up at him. "I'm so, so sorry…"

"Sorry?" He chuckled darkly, ignoring the sound of Hawkmoth giving him instructions. He didn't care. He needed to tell Marinette…

"Please," she whispered suddenly, the energy drained from her. "Please know that all I've ever wanted for you is happiness. Please… promise me you'll find happy…" Her voice cracked.

"Chat Blanc, now is the time. Her miraculous… grab it. It's the earrings." The voice said.

"I don't need your pity," Chat sneered, gazing at the earrings. "I need you out of the way."

She raised her eyebrows, confused. Before she could speak, she was shoved hard against a building behind her. She winced at the pain as her head made a loud crack. She became overwhelmingly dizzy, exhausted… she was so tired of fighting, but she was in no position to fight. And she wouldn't fight. Not him. She would never be able to fight him.

"Sleep," Chat murmured softly, holding her tightly against him.

And even though Marinette knew that it wasn't the right thing to do, she gave into the exhaustion that weighed down on her.

….

When Marinette woke up, she was back in her bed. She had no recollection of getting home, of changing into her pajamas, and climbing into bed.

"Tikki, I had the weirdest dream," she said, sitting up. Her head was pounding and her arm hurt like crazy. She waited for Tikki's cheerful voice, and frowned after not hearing a response. "Tikki?" She repeated, pushing her hair back from her face.

She felt different. She felt… average. She ached both physically and emotionally. She fought against her pulsing head, trying to remember what happened before she had fallen asleep.

And there it was. Chat Blanc. The sinister doppelganger of her beloved partner and friend.

Her hands flew to her ears, but her studs were gone. Tikki was gone… Ladybug was gone.

She was not a hero anymore. She was just Marinette. So extremely average that it pained her.

Her heart broke even further, along with her mind and soul.

A sob escaped her lips as she searched her bed frantically. She knew what happened to her miraculous, but she refused to believe it. It couldn't be true… It couldn't have happened…

She had never felt so very alone before.

She had never felt so broken before.

She sat back in her bed, scanning the room. She was alone. She was sure of that.

A piece of red paper on her nightstand caught her eye. She picked it up and unfolded it. It was a letter.

My Dearest Marinette,

I have realized as of late that the world is a gloriously beautiful place, and it is the people inside of it that make it ugly. Before you make a decision about whether or not you want to be with me, I need you to know a few things.

You believe yourself to be just a normal girl, but you're the girl of my dreams. I don't care whether you're Marinette or Ladybug. I have feelings for you regardless. I'm not ready to lose you. I don't think I will ever be ready to let you go. When I first met you, I felt this deep connection. That connection has only grown stronger over time.

Marinette, you're going to break my heart, and I'd let you. You're my sun, my moon, and all of the stars in my sky. If you wanted to shatter me, I would gladly let you.

You don't know this, but you have been the one truly good thing in my life for quite some time now. You're what keeps me going every single day.

I want you to pick me. I want you to get to know who I really am. I know you're upset about me being Chat Noir, but I'm hoping that you'll let that go eventually.

You have all of my heart, and nothing will change that.

I may be hurt now, but I'm willing to let all of this go and be with you. If you'd give me a chance, we could have a future together.

I'm sorry for everything,

Adrien.

Marinette read the letter over and over again, her heart shattering more each time.

She didn't know how to fix this. She didn't know if she could.