Chat Noir lifts his head to see the person responsible for his current state, and he realises that the room’s too dull, far too monotonous. It’s as if the shadows have consumed her vibrant and colourful essence. She, the shining symbol of hope for all, is stained in all the wrong colours. 

Seated right across him, with elbows on the table as her head rests on her palms, she grins. The glinting of her eyes and the eagerness on her face are a stark contrast to everything in the room. 

Especially when she’s smiling at him like that. 

That playful smile. One that he always witnesses as they banter and tease each other. One that, as soon as she flashes it at him, he knows that it’s her. He recognises it, but there’s a degree of eeriness to it that leaves him uneasy. 

“Lady… bug?” 

“Hey Kitty.” She waves at him, but the way she wiggles her fingers at him suggests something playful. Flirty, even. 

“Ladybug, what’s going on?”   

“Aww, not even gonna call me your Lady? Booo.” She pouts and brings her hand back to where it was a few seconds ago. But she’s still looking at him with those brightly coloured heaven eyes. 

Chat Noir struggles, “You’re not my Lady!” 

“Nonsense, Chaton.” 

He gasps. That tone of voice. He’s drawn to that inflexion anywhere. 

Akumabug raises her arms as if to present herself to an audience, but there’s only him. “I’m right here.” 

Chat Noir wrestles against the metal string around his wrists, knowing that he’s too late, but he needs to do something! Anything!

“I would advise against that, Chaton. Don’t want those strings to cut any deeper, do you?” she coos. 

“Then release me!” 

This is wrong. So wrong. Everything has gone horribly wrong. 

Why can’t he remember anything? 

Akumabug stands to reach out for his hands, but Chat Noir snatches them away as soon as he feels the heat of her touch. He tries to stand as well but finds himself tied to the chair by more ropes. 

He whips his head towards her, attempting to counter whatever she’s planning, but all he sees is her stunned in place—face painted with utter disbelief as she stares at the palm of the hand she had touched him with.  

Chat Noir feels a drop in his stomach. His spine tingles and he sits up straight on his chair. 

He messed up. 

Akumabug looks up at him, face unreadable. She suddenly appears right beside him at breakneck speed, and he winces when she grabs his face, nails digging hard into his head. She drags him as she stands to her full height, straining his neck and pulling him towards her, as far as his body allows her to. Chat Noir breathes in quick successions at how fast it all happens; how close he is to her face. 

Her eyes dart between his own as if searching for something he doesn’t know he holds. 

Then, she releases him. He falls backwards onto his chair, rocking with it. He feels his chest heaving and his blood pumping in his ears, but he’s keeping his eyes on her. That's the least he can do. Akumabug walks backwards, away from him, her expressionless features morphing into delighted ones as she nears the table again, “What you need is food!” 

She snaps her fingers and a ball of spaghetti falls onto the plate right before him, sauce splattering everywhere on the grey cloth. 

“Bon appétit !” She bends over and puts her elbows on the table again, head propped up on the back of her hands. Akumabug watches him and smiles, like a lover who can’t take her eyes off of him. 

“Uh…” 

“Oh, silly me,” she laughs and goes behind him to push the chair closer to the table. Chat Noir struggles again but quickly stops as a sharp, cooling sensation presses against his neck. 

Her face suddenly appears right next to his and he feels the pressure against his neck increasing. “What part of ‘stop doing that’ do you not understand, Chat Noir?”  

Flinching at the sting on his neck, he blinks and eyes her hard stare. Something must be very wrong with him because he still finds her beautiful even when she’s holding a sharp blade to his neck. Chat Noir chooses to stay silent. 

She searches his eyes further before removing the metal—a dagger with traces of his blood—from his neck and settling it down on the table. Akumabug moves to his plate and starts mixing up the spaghetti with utensils that appeared out of thin air. Once she rolls a mouthful of spaghetti onto the spoon, she holds it out to him, “Here.” 

Chat Noir leans as far back as he possibly can, to not open the wound she has just given him any further, while still being cautious enough to not trigger another terrifying event like the ones before. 

“It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re worried about?” She asks with a smile and brings the food closer to him.

Chat Noir looks away from her. 

Akumabug sighs. “Don’t you trust me, Chaton? It’s delicious too! I know my way around the kitchen.”

“Hard to believe when all I see is you creating food out of thin air.” His eyes widen at his own remark. 

Why did he say that?! This isn’t his Lady! 

She huffs. “How mean. I made this just for you and you won’t even try it.” She directs the spoon to her own mouth and chomps on the utensil. Chat Noir flinches at the sound of the impact. 

“Mhmm!” She hums while chewing on the mouthful, eyes closed and swaying her body side to side, “My creations don’t disappoint!” 

Akumabug licks her lips clean and swallows; Chat Noir gulps at the sight. 

“Come on,” she holds out another spoonful again, “I know you want some. You’re starving.” 

As if on cue, his stomach starts growling. Chat Noir sets his jaw and closes his eyes. 

And it’s quiet again.

He knows that she’ll probably threaten him more, and he’ll deal with what she throws at him when the time comes. But for now, he‘ll cut off any contact he has with her and focus on centring his Cataclysm at the tip of his claws. Any wrong move could spell disaster on his part.  

The sound of her yo-yo opening reverberates around him, and then it’s deafening stillness again. It’s his signal to act. 

He whispers, “Cata—”

“Please eat.” 

He still doesn’t want to open his mouth, but he does anyway. Chat Noir opens his eyes and parts his trembling lips. 

Akumabug pushes the spoon into his mouth gently, surprising him. He regards her as his lips slowly wrap around the spoon, and she pulls it out. A burst of flavours colours his mouth when he chews, but everything outside is bland and stale. Except for the tears trickling down one of her cheeks. Huh?

He swallows, “Ladybug?” 

“Still won’t call me your Lady, huh?” She sniffs as she rolls another ball of spaghetti onto the spoon and brings it to his mouth. 

He pushes the spoon away with his cheek and peers at her, “Buguinette, what’s wrong?”  

Eyes wide, she stares at him with a slightly open mouth. 

“Buguinette?” 

“You haven’t called me that in a while…” 

“I—”

She grabs his cheeks to open his mouth, pushes the spoon into his mouth again, and releases her hand as soon as he bites. 

He quickly gulps and tries to get her attention again, but she shoves another spoonful into his mouth as soon as he opens his mouth. 

A smile returns to her face; her body posture exudes contentment. The way she smiles is so familiar, he almost forgets that she’s currently not his Lady. God, this isn’t his Lady!! Chat Noir racks his mind for what he can do. How he can get rid of the Akuma. But he has no idea where to even find the Akuma. 

“What a kitten,” she suddenly giggles, “you’ve made a mess of yourself. Let me clean that for you.” 

Chat Noir expects her to create a serviette out of thin air, but instead, she leans into his space, and he jerks backwards as soon as he feels something wet touch the skin next to his lips. 

He stares at her, feeling his eyeballs about to pop out of their sockets and his face hot. He can’t believe she just did that. 

She raises a brow, moving towards him again. 

“Wait!” 

She grins at his reaction. “What a rare sight. Is mon Chaton shy? It’s just a lick, we do this all the time.” 

“What?!”

She grabs the back of his neck to stop him from moving. 

“Please, don’t,” he begs as she moves in. 

The glee is still on her face. “Oh well, since you asked so nicely,” she pulls back and summons a serviette from her hand. “I can at the very least wipe it off of you, hmm, Chaton?” 

Chat Noir inhales and slowly nods. Akumabug beams as she once again gets into his space, this time climbing effortlessly onto his lap. Her index finger reaches for the bottom of his chin and tilts his head upwards as though evaluating him. The other hand dabs on the excess tomato sauce on his skin, and the tightness in his chest makes its presence known again. 

“There, all clean!” She boops his nose. “It would’ve been so much more fun if I could lick those off though.” 

Chat Noir whimpers. 

“I’m just teasing!” she pats his head. “Wouldn’t want you to feel uncomfortable now, would we?” She smiles. 

Her smile is really starting to get unsettling. “Er… right…” 

She removes her hand and goes back to sit right across him, in the same manner as he first saw her. 

“Why are you grinning like that?” He decides that her smile is sinister now. 

“Hmm? Because you’re amusing.” 

Chat Noir raises an eyebrow. “I’m not doing anything but staring at you?” 

“Oh? You sure that’s all you’re doing, Minou? Aren’t you trying to think of something to get me to give up my Akuma?” She says as she stalks over again to sit near him on the table, eyes never leaving him. 

His eyes widen a little and she cackles. “Oh, what a cute little kitten.”

Akumabug once again reaches out to him and pats his head. “Don’t worry your pretty head over this, Chaton.” 

He tries to say something, but she cuts him.

“I’m still Ladybug.” 

“Monarch akumatised you! You even admitted that you have an Akuma!” 

She tilts her head and considers him. 

“You must’ve hurt your head pretty badly.” 

“Huh??” That’s what she got from that?

She moves closer and ruffles his hair softly, until a sharp pain erupts from the back of his head. She must’ve caught him scrunching his nose because she immediately jerks her hand away. “Shit, it wasn’t enough.” Akumabug looks at the plate of cold spaghetti and starts mixing again. “You need food to gain more energy, Chat Noir.”

“Ladybug,” he rasps softly and she looks at him. “What’s going on, really?” 

“You really don’t remember?” 

He shakes his head lightly, but quickly stops as the pounding gets harder. “Argh…” 

Chat Noir hears Akumabug snap her fingers again, he peeks and catches a glimpse of a first aid box on the table. 

“It’s going to hurt for a while, Chat Noir,” she informs as she comes closer again. “Bear with me.” 

“What are you…” 

“I’m going to use some alcohol swabs to disinfect the area, then I’ll use my superpower to enhance the healing process.” 

“You can… do that?”

“Creations of new cells. It won’t heal perfectly now, but the road to recovery will definitely be a lot quicker.” 

Chat Noir looks at her, “Talk to me about what happened to distract me from the pain?” 

The seriousness on her face dissipates, quickly replaced with a smile. God, she looks so beautiful. Even as Akumabug, her determination never wavers. That’s what made him fall in love in the first place. 

She leans in and plants a kiss on his cheek, and cackles as his expression morphs into disbelief once again. 

“Right, so you must know I was fighting Monarch, to end up in this state right? And because we’re a team, you’re always there with me.” 

He hisses when she applies pressure on the spot. “Yeah?” 

“Well, basically you got flung across the room and hit your head real hard.” She stops her movement. “Must’ve cracked some bones, I’ve never heard anything like it.” 

She hovers her hands lightly over his wound and begins her magic. “So he went into this whole monologue, something something final battle with me, something something ‘I’m doing this for my family’. Whatever he said affected me so much that he thought he could make use of my emotions against me. Well, wrong move! I took him out and here we are.”

“But—” 

“That’s really all you need to know, Chat Noir. Now just relax, I’m going to hasten the healing process.” The pain—on both his head and neck—increases for a while before dulling.

Once Akumabug removes her hands from him, she turns around and takes the plate of spaghetti again. 

“Please Ladybug, I don’t think I can eat anymore.”

She looks between him and the plate and puts it down. 

“Alright. Since you don’t want to eat, how about some dessert? Everyone has space for dessert! And you still need to heal.” She begins walking away to god knows where. 

There’s really no way to reach out to Akumabug, huh? She doesn’t seem to understand what he meant when he said he can’t eat anymore. His appetite doesn’t exist anymore as long as she’s like that. 

And this is really the time to use his Cataclysm if he ever wants a chance to escape. However, it’s a risk now that he can’t concentrate well. Not with the slight pounding in his head. 

Besides, there’s something that’s been nagging at him ever since he regained consciousness.  

And suddenly, he remembers. 

He hears Akumabug’s footsteps getting closer and closer. She walks past him, a huge plate with a cloche in her hands. She drops the plate on the table and it lands so roughly that he’s surprised everything still looks as presentable as she had first held them. 

Her fingers reach for the knob. “Do you want to know what his last moments were like?” 

That. 

A chill runs down his spine. The intensity of her gaze reveals that she’ll accept no other answer but yes. 

Chat Noir gulps. 

“Wha… What did you do?” 

“Ah, I still relish in his screams and his blood on my face as each slash tore through his skin.” Her eyes brighten as she recounts. “Dangling the illusion of being able to get away from me right in front of him, as I slowly walked after him and he got further and further away. The desperation of his panting increasing as he kept going, but found no escape anywhere. My presence constantly overshadowed him, waiting to pounce. The sweet despair in his eyes when he finally realised that he had nowhere to run. The final sensation of the metal gliding across flesh, and the satisfaction of witnessing it rolling, until it comes to a stop at my feet.” 

The pounding headache has come back in full force, and he tries to breathe deeply to calm his heart that’s slamming against his rib cage. But he can’t. He can’t do anything. His body has chosen ‘freeze’ as the optimal response to what’s happening around him.

Akumabug bites her lower lip, as though she’s really eager to show him something within the cloche as she slowly lifts it away from the plate. 

“I hope you enjoy your dessert.” 

His breathing quickens. She raises the cloche open but Chat Noir slams his eyes shut and screams, “No!” 

When all he can hear is his loud panting, he slowly peeks open his eyes to glance at the plate. 

A cake like any other. 

“Sheesh, I’m not that crazy.” She proceeds to throw the cloche high in the air, and it hits something as she walks back to her seat.

Chat Noir looks up—to see Monarch hanging from the ceiling. 

He whips his head back down to his lap. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening! Shit shit shit! What happened to push one of the kindest and most loving souls he knew to this length? 

What was it!! 

“…Adrien?” 

Chat Noir tenses. He directs his attention to her, a pleasant smile now present on her face, but she isn’t looking at him. Rather, she’s looking at her palm. 

“I asked,” she repeats nonchalantly, “how’s Adrien?” 

He remains dumbstruck. What is even happening anymore? 

“Is he fine? Is he coping well? How’s he feeling?” She looks up from her palms and at him.  

“Wha— Why would I know how he's doing?” 

“Because,” Akumabug approaches him and gently takes his left hand. Chat Noir allows her to stretch his palms open—holding them out as though she had just proposed and he had said yes—and pushes two rings he knows very well onto his ring finger. 

“He’s you.”