Storylines enrage me

           Sweat pooled underneath her. Ladybug fell to her knees, frantically patting her chest. Another shot rang out with a sharp crack! and she registered another short burst of… something affecting her. There wasn’t any pain. There wasn’t even an entrance wound, so what did-?

Ș̢͎̮̫̦̗͚̜̳̜̝͇̙̊͋ͭ̐̈͌̔̃̇̔͗͟͟͞͞ ť̷̴̨̛̞̗̣̰̥̫̟̝ͯͥ͒͂͑̈́͆̅ͧ͟ Ạ̣̳ͣͧ̅̍͒ͫ̆ͪ͊́̂͜͞ T̵̢͉̭̭̙̤̤̼̥̠̦͈͉͙̰̩̫̘̮̏̀̿ͫ̐̒ͮ̒ͣ̑̇ͭ̃͟͜͝͝ ì̸̛̬̰̹̳͚̦͒ͮͮͧͯ̃͟ c̴̡̢̧̼̗̭̜̬̰͍͎̱͕̣̺͙͖̮̝̤͈̥͊̽ͪ͊̔̋͌ͬ̔̑́̂̐ͣͩ̂̓͘͘͜͝͝

           Ladybug swallowed a wail. She recoiled back, too violently, that made her head swirl and heave as if it had been filled with-

𝐖⃥⃒̸𝐀⃥⃒̸𝐓⃥⃒̸𝐄⃥⃒̸𝐑⃥⃒̸

           Water. Heaps of angry waves crashed into her. Ladybug clawed and kicked, feeling around for a solid foundation, only to find a bloated- 

B̴͖̆ ̸̨̥̽O̵͎̽ ̶̺̏D̸̥̏ ̸̫̆Ÿ̵̛̗͖

           Screaming and flailing, she kicked off of the body. Water flooded into her mouth and throat. Ladybug choked, choked on the contaminated waves; choked back tears that would only add to her drowning. She fumbled for her bandalore, splitting the top into open ladybird wings before unlocking the respirator and shoving clean air into her lungs-

"̸̡̳͈͎͓̈́͐Ḿ̵͈̉͑ͅY̷͎͚̥̪͋ ̵̦̠̘̾̄̍͝L̴̡̼̼̰̐͐́̅Ạ̷͈̑̐̐͒̈́D̷̥̦̘͚̙͠ͅY̷̘̻̘̯̹̓͛ͅ!̵̛̬͓̿͑̓̅͝"̸̧̻̗͔̎̍́̋̊͒

           Caterwauled a voice she almost didn’t recognize. Ladybug froze in the wine-dark of the ocean, hovering without the air of gravity to pull her down. She coughed out the death-infested water that had broken into her body, evaporating into the respirator. It took a few moments too long for her comfort, when she finally could properly breathe again. Muffled banging broke up the utter silence of the ocean, but it felt like an afterthought.

           Slowly, ever so slowly, Ladybug began to swim her way up to the cascading light. It would have been beautiful, had she maybe been at a beach, or in some swimming pool, the way those warm rays broke up the deep blues of the sea.

           A sea infected by the dead.

           “My Lady!” Big, weepy blue eyes met her before she broke the surface of the waters. Claws dug into her shoulders, locking her in place as they heaved her up onto a dilapidated concrete building suspiciously reminiscent of Chloe’s father’s hotel-

           “You came back! You’re here! For me!” White. That was all she registered when she looked at the person in front of her. All white, broken up by the tanned skin and crystal blue eyes.

           Her tongue felt like it was cracking, a nasty residue soured her mouth.

           “Ch- Chat…?”

           Chat Blanc’s grin was too wide. Too much teeth- sharp sharp teeth reminiscent of a shark that smelled the blood of a wounded turtle with its shell split open. His tail curled and flicked to-and-fro. His ears perked, stiff and focused on her every move. His once black ring that beeped and had a green pawprint was now silver and cold and dead.

           “Are you ready to finally make The Wish, Marinette?”

           Ladybug choked on the air of his breath. Her eyes bulged, and the moon that hung just to the right of Chat Blanc’s head was as cracked in two as her heart was. Fumbling, grabbing for her Lucky Charm, she opened her mouth to release the magic- release her-

“C̶̜͖̯͍̠̑̒͛͋̐̿̀͆͘͜a̸͕̍͝t̴͚̫͎̖̪̘̘̩͊̑̄̓̌́͝a̸̠͖͉̼͍͙̳͈̟͑̒̉̽͛̈́̋̂͐͝c̵̡̙̠̞͇̽̾͐̔̈́͜ͅĺ̵̪͚̫̪̦̃͋̉̆͑̅̂̌̀͜y̶̡̨̦̩̼͇̫̦͖̹͐̐̒̌͊͆͋͗̑̆s̴͔̯̱͇͍̯͇̩͋̎̆̒́͛̃͜ͅm̷̧̛̹͍̖̂͂̅́̿̈́͛̉͂.̶̺̪̗̯̣̻̟̔̓̉̀̀̇̈́̈̀”

           The eraser, once predominantly red, crumbled and deteriorated. Black and grey ash remained, and soon, was taken up by a faint breeze that chilled Ladybug even further.

           She stared at Chat Blanc’s claws that hovered over her palm. The white sheen given to it by the sun that gave no warmth nearly blinded her.

“M̵̛̜͓̱̿̂̽̾̕y̷̨̠͇̯̏̉͂̊͌̌͒̏̔̈́̂͘̚̚͝ ̴͙̣̱̠̍̎̀̾Ļ̷̛̻̙͔̪̝̫͎̩̖͈͕̗̪̥̖̞͛̑͛̀̄͋̎̊̽̇̕ą̵̛̥͖̠͉̟̜͈̙͗̀͂̓̅̅́̑̀̒͘͝d̶̛̞͎̙͈̟̗̼͍͎͆͂̂͆̅̚͠ỳ̶̡̨͚̯̙̲̝̞̩̜̠͍͔̻͕͓̻̥̰̎̀͠ͅͅ!̶̢̨̢̙̥͍͔͕͉̫͚̭̳̣̟̩́͑̌̎͐̃̌͛̌͂̀͊̓͒͆̈͗̕̚̚̕ ̶̢̢̠̘̬̬̜̺̗͇̘͎̰̯̜̽͗́̍̑̊̈͜͠ͅL̷̘͉͖͔̪̱̃̓̎͆͊̋̄̋̎̓͛̇̍͋͐̅͘̕͝ä̷̧̦̬̗̗̩̝͙͙͉̰̦͓̝̀̏͌̒̎̍̈̈́̋͂̔͛͜d̷̢̹͎̖̥͙͙͈̼̥̍̍̽͆̄̔́y̵̡̧̛̖͉͉̜͍̻̱̤̺͔̭͔̱̟̫͕͎͛͑̓͛̏̈͂͐̈́̇̋̊̏̈̿̅̚͜͝͠͝͝b̸͖̗͍͇̰̮͎̝̰̰̻̃̄̓͌̓̾͝ư̷̢̡̯̼͎̹̘͙͈̮̬̥̩̈́̋̎̒͋̅̎́̇̐̿̎̈́̓͘̚͜͠͝ģ̶̞͍̠͖͚̮̦̱͙̦̦͙͇͋͆̓͐̄̈̑̑̌̓̉̄̆͊̓̎̉̅̔̄̾̕ͅ!̶̬͛̉̂̑̀”

           His eyes bore into her. His mouth didn’t move–it didn’t need to.

           His voice echoed over the now calmed waves, lapping at the concrete and slowly eating it away.

           His mouth moved now; “Marinette.” His pout–oh, no his dilated pupils that nearly made his eyes black–made Ladybug hesitate. The roundness of baby fat in his face bunched up, and her heart twinged. “Give me your earrings.”

                                                                                                                                        “L̸̡̧̧̛̰͖̝͍̖͓͕̫͖̳̭͈̱̋̀͑̓͑̍͑̀̽̆̄̓͋̅̆̾͘͜͝͝͝ą̸͖̩͖̱͖̱̩͉̼͖̱̱͖̥̻͇̦̞̜̗̤̤̱̈́̀̓̾̆̃̍́͘d̵̢̧̨̧̪̬̬͓͙̱̼̖̗͔̭̭̝̻͓̩͋̏̌ͅỷ̵̢̹̰̘̞̼͙͎̳̼̥̦͕̲͆̋̔̀b̵̹̟̞̩̖̺̙͙̋́̀̆ǘ̸͇̙̬͓͔͈́͑̂͌̚g̸̡̨̗͈͙̖̙̩͖͎̭͈͉̪̲̣̦̎̓̔̇̈́̒̂̒̈́͘̕͜͝!̸̯̳̟̗̃͋̍͒͜”  

“Chat-”                                                                                                          

           “Your Miraculous.” His snowy-white talons seemed like a cage for the air in his palm.

           She swallowed, covering her ears with her trembling hands. A blanket of reassurance that they were still there. “I- I can’t-”

           “You can! Marinette please!” Chat Blanc whined. He sagged to his knees, clutching a hand to his chest. His free hand–claws still sharp and glistening–dug into her thigh as if she could stabilize him. “Please.”

           “You’re hurting me…” Ladybug whimpered. She kept her hands over her ears, shoving those earplugs in further and hoping that they’d muffle his cries. 

                                                                                “M̷̺͋͒̂͑̉̈́̃͝͝y̴̛͍̓̑̓͗̅̇̓͝ ̷̨͎̬͉̠̦͍̼̲̣͌̀̊̅͗̃́́͘L̴͎͕̗͎̞̠͈̀͐̃̉̋͂̚̕a̴̡̼̣̹̗̠͙͔̜͈̓̐̈́ď̵̖̦̗̄͝ỳ̷̨͚̱̭̱̲͈̲̌̀̈́̚̕ͅ!̸̼̙̪̬̦͖̍̂̑̒́̏̊͘͝ ̵̛̠̭̞͙͇̑̈̕̕Ḑ̶̞͍̣͍̙̹̬̑̏̽̋̔͛̇̚͜͠o̷̳͖̭͕̔̍̀̓̋̆͘͜n̶͇̭̗̺̑̊͂̋̓͂͝'̶̳̯̪͕͍̥̖̙̳̝͐̀̆̋͌́̂̀̒̕t̴̗̀̈̎͝͝ ̸̞̫͑͊͐̔͒̐̉͒͒̕͝t̶̢̗͕̺͇̟̲͇͎͉̄͒̀̃̓̈̑͜ő̵̡͉̗̯̦̩̰̤͙̮͑́ͅū̷͕̭̩̝̌͌̅͒̆̈́̓͘̚͝c̸̯͎̰̏̆̾̑h̶̬͔̪͙̺͌͋͂̊̉̈͠͠ ̷̢̦̩̜̇̑̍ȟ̸̘͈̤̏͜e̸̫̻̹̹͛̋̿͒̑͗̕r̷̥̣͉͑̓ͅ!̸̥̮̜͚͊”

           “I killed them.” Chat Blanc’s eyes downturned, his lips wobbled.

           The Eiffel Tower, far, far behind him, began to screech and cave in on itself. Once supported beams creaked and crunched. The stress of the weight its pillars held gave way, and the display of power the French tower held fell into the hungry claws of the rising ocean below. Waves shot up in response, ripples in the water to her and Chat Blanc’s side grew in size.

           “Chat-”

           “I killed them, Marinette!” Chat Blanc ignored her plea, his mournful howling only getting louder and louder. “Nino! Alya! My father- You.”

           “It’s-” Ladybug faltered, wide eyes on the growing… Tsunami behind him. “It’s not your- your fault-”

           “It is! I need your Miraculous to bring them all back!” He hissed, porcelain white hair rising like a bristling cat. “Why do you want them to stay dead? They’re your friends! My friends! You’re killing me like I killed you!” Chat Blanc wailed, now digging both of his claws desperately into her thighs. “Don’t isolate me like my father did! Please-!”

           Ladybug shoved Chat Blanc back when the electric bolts of pain shot up her legs. The deafening roar of the growing tsunami had all but confirmed their deaths anyways. “I can’t- Chaton- I’m so sorry-”

           “Liar!” He hissed, eyes sharpening. “You’re just like him. You’re just like Hawk Moth!”

           “What-?” She blubbered. She couldn’t remember how to breathe.

                                                                                           “Ļ̷̢̡̛̦̼͓̹̠̯͇͈͍̲̾̿̇͐́̅̐͊̀͜a̸̻͝d̷̛̞̭͔̋́̈́̾͒̒̓̾͆̑͑̕̚y̸̫͎̣͈̳̬̜͕̭͎̬̋͋̏̑̈́̓̉͗̆̈́̏͝b̶̟͊͂͠u̴̠̳̲̫͔͉̬͕͓̻͔̯̅͑̈́͐̎̑̊͝ģ̵͚̩̰̿͆!̴̣͙̙͖͗̀̋̊̈́̓̑̎́̉͘̕͘͝͝ ̷͉̭̝̼͕̈́́̅̈́̃̀̍̓̽Ģ̵̨̛̠̩̪͈̲̼͎͉̹̘̣̼̾͑̑͑́ę̷̼̻͔̱͔̼̜̫̯͔̄̎̓͊͒̕͜t̸̰̆̓̍̓̑ ̴̨̝̙̞̼̗̥̭̘͐̊̽̍̆͗̒͜d̷̡͇̬͐̉͘ọ̶͔̜̺̗͈͓̇̓̉̂͐͆̓̽́̚ͅẃ̶̡͙͙̙͙͉̱̳̱͉̮̗̬̞̙̎͌̿̓̈́̽̌̈͛͘͠n̴̹̩̳̪͕̦̜̖̣͙̺͓͈͕͊̂̃̒̓̀͛̕̕͜͠͠!̸̧̧̤̩̰̼̘̯̩̻̑̒̓͛”

           Chat Blanc convulsed, his crystal blue eyes widening.

           “Chat?” Ladybug gasped, shooting her arms out to support his body weight. Sharp, jagged lines like lighting cracked and began to split the white of Chat Blanc’s suit. She jerked back, a flickering white that was beginning to pulsate in his right talons snuffed out. His body began to crumble not moments later, returning that white to its rightful black. Humanoid soon became a pile of ash, just like her eraser had.

           Screams ripped out of her throat. Ladybug threw herself onto the pile, frantically trying to hide it from the greed of the winds.

           “Chat! Chat no- Please!” She kept her body over what remained even as the growing waves collapsed onto her. Her body was smashed against the concrete of the old hotel. She couldn’t breathe. Her Chaton had just- had he cataclysmed himself?

           Claws dug themselves into her shoulders. Violently, she was thrown back against the angry waters. Her ears popped. Ladybug twisted and turned, the amount of pressure on her neck and spine made her muscles tense and bones lock up.

           “Ṃ̶̈y̵̩̍ ̸̦̃L̶̡͝a̴̗̍d̴̛͍y̶̬̾!̷͕̽”

           The ocean began to lift. She felt light, almost as if she had popped the Aquabug macaron upgrade. Her thoughts were muddied. Popped the what? Ladybug dug her fingers into the ground beneath her- the bottom of the ocean? It hadn’t been split by tectonic plates like she had seen last time-

           “It’s okay… I’m here, right here. Just breathe, my Lady.” The soothing voice of Chat Blanc made her almost ragdoll in relief. She felt a consistent rise and fall against her back that began to encourage her own lungs to follow suit. The wine-dark blue of the ocean was fading, and her head began to ache when her eyes focused in on the bright white of a car’s body paint. Ladybug shot her hands up to her ears again, whipping her head around hard enough to hear tick- crack! From her neck. She had to focus on anything else. 

           Stripes of orange and purple on fabric caught her attention. She should be annoyed–angry even–that Alya was putting herself in danger like this again, but she felt bogged down by fatigue. The familiar colors, along with the consistent breathing behind her softened the foggy claws dug into her brain.

           “Ladybug?” A whisper near her ear made her jolt. She glanced back, finding recognizable cat-like eyes staring in worry.

           “Chat,” was all she could breathe out before crumpling against him and hiding her face at the base of his neck. “You’re here.”