Adrien's hadn't been dreaming very much recently. Too many sleepless nights and busy days had kept him from falling asleep too deeply. Wrapped up in Marinette's arms, Adrien finally let himself drift deeper, and fall in to a blissful oblivion.

It was nearly sunset and he was walking along a path with a vaguely familiar city in the background. He stopped for a moment to look around and try to figure out when he had last been to this expansive metropolis. But as memories tend to drift just out of reach in dreams, he couldn't quite place it. It had been some kind of school trip years ago. All he knew for certain was that he had danced with Marinette floating in the moonlight. Hmmm...he thought to himself. Was that right? Floating? Maybe that had all been a dream too...but he vividly remembered the way Marinette had looked at him right before she put her head on his shoulder. That had been pure happiness!

Then it came to him. Why it was New York! What a incredible place Adrien thought...but then other memories started to surface. Memories of letting Ladybug down, of nearly hurting Uncanny when he was reckless with his miraculous power, of giving up his Miraculous and walking away. Adrien felt a chill go down his spine. It had all turned out in the end, and once Uncanny let him know that Ladybug still wanted him at her side, he couldn't stay away. With the help of other new heroes Ladybug and Chat Noir had saved the day!

There is nothing that Ladybug and Chat Noir can't do! Adrien thought proudly, and his pace picked up. The two of us together are unstoppable! I never want anything to come between us again. I can't let Ladybug down!

Adrien was now walking along the water, and stopped to look down at his reflection. It was so clear and calm that it looked like he was looking in a mirror. Then with a start Adrien realized that it wasn't a reflection, but a copy of himself coming up out of the water. Adrien stepped back and the copy crawled out of the water, and stood up in front of him.

"Hard to look yourself in the eye?" the doppelganger smirked.

"You're not me! You are Chaos, the mosquito kwami," Adrien bristled. "You are just some cheap imitation."

The copy of Adrien laughed, "You've caught me! You are so clever!"

"What do you want? Why are you doing this?" Adrien asked pointedly.

"Do I need a reason to want to rearrange the status quo?" the copy shrugged. "You're going to help us remake the world in my image."

"I'll never help you!" Adrien's voice rose. "Ladybug and Chat Noir will stop you!"

"Oh, let's not bring HER into this," a silky voice from behind the false Adrien cut in. Falfalla stepped up to join to the two, shaking her head. "We only need you, not Ladybug. Don't do anything you're going to regret. Just help us put to right some wrongs, and then then things don't need to get more complicated."

Adrien's eyes widened, and Chaos and Falfalla smiled. "Oh yes, we know," the mosquito kwami (posing as Adrien) nodded. You think I wouldn't remember after we saw you in Brazil?! We've known for a while now Mr. Chat Noir!" Then he ran forward, as if he was going to tackle Adrien. Adrien avoided him, and flipped backward out of his grasp. "Even without using your miraculous you have a way of evading me," Chaos chuckled.

"Give it up," Adrien shouted at them. "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

"That is just the thing," Chaos smiled evilly, and his face started flickering through many different profiles. Then it came to rest on the face of Chat Noir. "I know exactly what YOU are capable of!"

Adrien's face went pale, and he took off running in the opposite direction. He didn't even look back.

"There is no mask left to hide behind!" Chaos yelled after him. "Destruction and Chaos were always meant to be together...unlike the ridiculous pairing with creation! What an utterly ridiculous combination! They were never meant to be together at all! Plagg and Tikki were opposites from the beginning!"

"Just join us and everything will be as it was always meant to be!" Fafalla called out.

"Never!" Adrien called over his shoulder, and didn't slow his stride.

Plagg flew out from his shirt pocket, and said, "Kid, you've got to transform! Things are about to get intense!"

"I've just got to find Ladybug, and then we can figure out what to do," Adrien breathed hard as he ran.

"Oh, were you running off to find Marinette?" Chaos with the face of Chat Noir called.

As soon as Adrien heard him mention Marinette's name, his feet skidded to a halt. He spun around, fire in his eyes, glaring at the monster behind him. "Don't you even mention her name! What have you done with her?"

The water from beside them started to boil and fizzle. Turbulent waves threw up on the shore, and the terrifying octopus creature they had faced before emerged holding Marinette.

"Let her go!" Adrien yelled out.

"Transform! Transform now!" Plagg urged.

Chaos shook his head, and as his blonde hair swished across his face he took the form of the god-like warrior they had first met in Egypt who had fought Lady Justice. "Honestly, for a smart kid how are still not getting this? You're part of this whether you like it or not."

"Plagg, Claws out!" Adrien finally called out, and transformed into Chat Noir. Immediately he raced at Chaos.

His opponent laughed heartily, vanishing into his mosquito form right as Chat Noir took a swing at him. Then the pest flew of to the neck of Marinette and bit down on her.

"Leave her alone!" Chat Noir raged.

The mosquito transformed back into the golden warrior sitting coyly on the tentacle of the octopus, with one arm wrapped around Marinette's face, and then he licked his lips. "She is sooo sweet. It would be a pity if anything were to happen..."

"I'll kill you!" Chat Noir took his baton in his arms and got ready to attack.

"You're so stubborn. Pretty soon you'll finally realize this could have all been so much easier if you just gave in," Chaos yawned as if he were bored already.

"And you'll have wished you'd left us alone!" Chat Noir attacked, and swung his baton up at him, knocking him from his perched, and making the octopus reel back, tightening it's grip on Marinette.

"Everything is already in motion. Now all I have to do is sit back and let you all unravel," Chaos hummed, transforming back into his mosquito form before he hit the water. Falfalla, deal with this." Then he flew off out of sight, leaving Chat Noir banishing his weapon at the empty air.

Falfalla crossed her arms and addressed the octopus, "Just crush her then."

Chat Noir turned his attention to the octopus, and tried to get close enough to rescue Marinette. Each time he tried to attack or pry her loose, one of the tentacles would wind around him, trying to grab hold of him. Fafalla was smart enough to stay out of reach, although she herself did not make any attacks.

"Kitty!" Marinette managed to scream, but her voice was swiftly silenced by the weight of the octopus squeezing her tight. Walls of water rose around them, and blasted Chat Noir from her side. Every attempt was thwarted. Every attack was rendered useless.

Marinette was being suffocated by the dark constricting tentacles of the octopus. She gasped out for help, and he felt the panic rising in his throat. He threw himself at the sea creature and yelled out "Cataclysm!" Just as he was about to lay his hand on the octopus though it vanished in a foul smelling haze of purple smoke, and his hand instead made contact with Marinette's chest.

In that moment his heart stopped. With wide-eyed panic Chat Noir looked at his beloved, and she looked back at him in shock. "No," Chat Noir pitifully whimpered, but his destructive power was already radiating through Marinette's body.

"It's okay," Marinette reached for him, but as he tried to gather her in his arms she disinigrated into ash.

Chat Noir collapsed to his knees in the shallow water and howled in despair. Sobs racked his body and tears streamed down his face. The shadow of Falfalla fell over him, and a dark purple butterfly floated from her outstretched hand towards Chat Noir's forehead. He was too distraught to care and as the butterfly absorbed itself into his mask, the smooth voice of Falfalla flooded over his senses.

"Give yourself to me, and I will make everything right again," Falfalla soothed.

"She is gone. I destroyed her. She is gone, gone forever," Chat Noir growled gritting his teeth, and angrily wiping the tears from his face.

"She is gone because of you. Because of your careless mistake. Don't you think you owe it to her to find a way to make things right?" Falfalla seemed to whisper enticingly. "I can give you the power to be with her."

Chat Noir twitched, trying with difficulty to shake her voice from his head. "You don't care about saving her. If it hadn't been for you..." Chat Noir clenched his fists, and tried to sit up, but the weight of the akuma held him down like a weight.

"Me?!" Falfalla gasped in feigned shock. "I never wanted this! Wasn't I the one who warned you not to bring her into this?! We only ever needed your help! You were the one who insisted on making things more complicated!"

"I was the one..." Chat Noir repeated, and his body slumped back down under her words.

"All you need to do is accept this gift I'm giving you and help me make things right," Falfalla coaxed. "Do what you should have done in the first place."

"She can't be gone. I can't loose her!" Chat Noir whimpered. "It hurts too much...I...I...I..."

"I'm your only hope...that is...if you really ever loved her at all..." Falfalla shrugged, and looked back over her shoulder with a smirk at Chat Noir.

"I love her more than anything," Chat Noir dropped his gaze to the ground, and from where the akuma has landed on his mask the deep black of his costume splintered away into glaring white brilliance. Chat Noir was replaced by Chat Blanc.

"It was about time you came around," Falfalla stocked over next to Chat Blanc and flicked his bell. "Now nothing can stand in my way."

Falfalla rose with her wings into the sky, and she spread her arms above her head. At her bidding Chat Blanc laid waste to Paris, to Europe, and eventually the whole earth was plunged into chaos and destruction. When Chat Blanc had finally destroyed everything he finally turned to his master. "I have done everything you've asked. There is nothing left. Now you've got to bring Marinette back to me!" he said desperately.

"I never said I'd bring her back. I just said I'd let you join her," Fafalla smiled ruthlessly. "It is true you have carried out your part of the bargain, so it only fair that I honor our agreement. She grabbed Chat Blanc's empowered hand by the wrist, and thrust it against his own chest. Chat Blanc stared unblinkingly ahead, and the intense power welled up within him, he felt a hot pain, and then everything went white.

oooooooooooooooo

"It's alright!" Marinette's voice called out to him.

"No, no, it's not!" Chat cried out. "What have I done! It was all because of me! It'll never be alright again!"

"Adrien Wake up," Marinette's voice implored him. "Everything will be fine. I'm here."

Adrien's eyes flew open, and he saw Marinette's blue eyes locked onto his, and in a rush he wrapped his arms desperately around her. "You're alright! You're here!" Adrien cried, holding onto her tightly.

"It was just a nightmare!" Marinette stroked his back, and held him tightly. "It was all just a nightmare."

Adrien didn't loosen his hold on her at all, if anything he just held onto her tighter. "Just a nightmare?" he said quietly. "Yes of course. Just a nightmare."