Chapter Text
Oh no.
Oh no.
Where was Ladybug???
A brightly red-headed woman, on her hands and knees, sat, breathing harshly in front of him.
He hadn't meant to break the akumatized object, her glasses. Eyes searching for Ladybug, they were met with the oranges and blues that were typical of a setting sky in Paris. He also caught the shimmering orange that matched the sky. Breathing with the woman, every few seconds it would shudder at her shaking breath.
But there was no red and black.
He snapped his head, his precise hearing picking up on the fluttering of blackened wings. They were supposed to be white by now! It's not like he could turn them white!
Maybe though...
Maybe he could buy some time.
The akuma was being carried away by the wind, its wings easily taking it higher and higher. It had to be now; no time to think about it.
He leapt, soaring dozens of feet higher than any normal human or even normal cat.
The woman stabilized herself long enough to look up at Chat Noir. His form was framed against the final glimpses of light, the sun setting on him. She watched the butterfly that had caused all this still lingering destruction around her. She continued to fight back the tears at her own destruction, as the butterfly was swallowed into Chat Noir's own silhouette.
His face, to be exact.
When his darkened form fell from the dimming clouds above him, the insect had vanished completely.
The woman looked at him in confusion, he looking back for just a second.
He dropped to his knees without warning, clutching his mouth and throat. A strangled scream could be heard from his position.
The terrified woman forgot her own torment, scrambling beside him. The tears she had been wrestling with began to flow unhindered.
She had bigger issues now.
"Chat Noir!" She screamed, hands hovering over him. When she looked him over, a violet light caught her eye. It flickered, as a glass orb filled with static electricity would, its light was only partially dimmed by his mouth. Every other second, a small lightning-like arc would flash across his cheek.
Without thinking, she reached up to touch it. She drew back sharply when a small spark stung her finger. She hadn't even been within 6 inches of his cheek, her panicked thoughts shot at her.
Every painful movement served to heighten her fear. Chat Noir and Ladybug had always been there to protect Paris.
To protect her.
Now, when they needed her help, she could only fall into her fear.
It was disparaging, the fact she could do nothing. To sit on her heels next to Paris's literal savior was more than she could bear.
Chat's pain was obvious, he was practically writhing. With every second, he shook his body harder. His hand remained clamped firmly over his mouth, he wouldn't allow Ladybug to fail like with Stoneheart. He strengthened his resolve by telling himself this was necessary.
That it would help her.
If he didn't, the fight would be more difficult next time. The woman beside him would suffer again, along with other citizens. This was his job, his duty.
It burned though, and shocked in the most painful sense. The tiny bolts arced through his teeth non-stop. His tongue felt like fire, it was that small sizzling and tingling sensation he felt in his hand with his Cataclysm, but now it was so much worse.
It hurt so much worse.
He barely registered the woman typing into her phone, in fact he barely registered anything other than the torturous shocks dancing over his cheeks and tongue to be honest.
The only thing that drew his attention away from the devastating pain in his mouth was the sound of Mayor Bourgeois echoing across the City of Lights.
"Ladybug! If you can hear this, please go immediately to the building across from the police station on Saint-Martin street! It is imperative tha-"
"AHHH-" Chat's voice interrupted. The message continued, but Chat and the akuma victim stopped listening. He hunched over for just a second before darting his head back up to the fluttering akuma. It was getting away! There was no way he could let it go, not after all he'd gone through.
It felt like the pain was making its way down his throat, sliding down like an electrically charged gel. There was no thoughts running through his mind, his body acting on pure instinct.
"Cataclysm!" He yelled out. His voice was harsher than normal, scraping like a Nirvana song.
He leapt into the air again, making it halfway before he was knocked off course. Something like a stone had smashed into his face, he crashed to the rooftop as a result. Cracked tile flew everywhere from where his right hand touched down.
The stone had been red though.
Chat gritted his teeth to fight the pain, looking up from his spot on the building. A red flash shot out from his peripherals, snatching the barely visible butterfly out of the air.
Letting out a sigh, he clutched his jaw as the cool air ran over his teeth. Like mint, it stung his teeth. Unlike mint, the pain continued into his aching jaw, tearing apart his nerves, and draining the adrenaline from his system.
He couldn't even remember grabbing his jaw and screaming. His addled mind grasped at consciousness, only just staying inside of it. Ladybug hauled him on his feet, that much he remembered.
Not fully aware of himself, and still groaning, he heard her speak. It was directed at the woman his mind had forgotten completely, and still was absent from his barely present mind.
"Thank you." She said simply and honestly. He felt Ladybug shift as though embracing someone. He felt his body being supported by just her shoulder before another red arm stretched across his chest to hold him up.
'Thank you?'His mind said back, 'For what? I failed you.' His thoughts were stopped by another shot of pain in his face, it was spreading into his neck. He nearly fell over, holding his jaw. The fear of dropping into the street below was completely outweighed by the pain jolting his body.
Ladybug practically dragged his shaking and writing form through Paris. She tried to avoid citizens as much as possible, not wanting to give the tabloids anymore fodder than Chat Noir usually gave them.
Just three more blocks, and then she had to choose.
'There's no choice to be made.' Marinette thought, taking charge of her own anxious mind. 'Chat would never leave me alone like...this.'
She gave off a shudder of her own, eyeing her crippled partner. It took most of her strength just to keep him from dropping while jumping between buildings. She didn't dare use the yo-yo, not even her Ladybug grace could take this on she feared.
Chat's face had violet scorch marks criss-crossing it. They were all in the shape of lightning, and when put together, his face was covered in a patchwork of purple vein-like streaks. The same stitching of color had begun to work its way down his jawline and was creeping onto his neck.
Whatever it was, she was worried if it got much further than that. His heart in particular concerned her, if it reached there, she feared it would spread rapidly through his bloodstream.
He was clearly unconscious at this point, his whole body going limp. With a gasp she quickly checked his pulse. It wasn't as strong as she had hoped, but present nonetheless.
Checking the street, Marinette dropped in front of the small massage parlor before scurrying inside with the corpse-like Chat Noir. She hadn't even realized his Miraculous was beeping until it had one minute left.
One minute till everything changed.
Her mind wavered, but as Master Fu rushed to her, Wayzz in tow, she resolved herself for the last time to stay. Her partner needed her, she hadn't been there for him for the akuma fight.
Like hell was she going to leave him now.