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She turned and faced whatever was behind her.
A large paw stepped into the light, then another, followed by a large black panther, its muscles rippling with power under the fur. Ladybug stiffened, nearly dropping her yoyo as she recognized the large cat. Someone she hadn’t seen in over a month. Someone she presumed to already be dead.
“Chat,” she breathed.
Chat showed no signs of recognizing his friend. Ladybug searched for any sign of her friend, but found no trace, only madness and a predatory gaze fixed upon her. How long had Chat stayed in his leopard form? Did he do it out of choice? Or was he forced to keep that transformation up as he slowly went mad?
Ladybug started to back up as Chat prowled closer, a growl still rumbling in his throat. Ladybug couldn’t—wouldn’t—fight her best friend. She would much rather die.
She shook her head, trying to shake off the emotions that started to run ragged in her. Her heart was in turmoil. Either she had to fight her best friend, or die and let Hawkmoth capture her and her miraculous.
She turned and ran. Ran faster than she ever ran before. Chat took off after her, a cat chasing his prey. This was exactly that, Chat was no longer there, only a large, very hungry panther. She ran down the hall, looking for anything she could toss back to slow Chat down. Gods be damned if she was going to fight her best friend.
She could feel Chat’s hot breath on her calves as she sprinted down the long hallway, could feel the drool dripping off her fangs.
Chat pounced, aiming to catch Ladybug’s throat in his jaws, but Ladybug anticipated that. Instead, she ducked and slid under the lean feline’s body and sprinted back the other way towards whatever trap was waiting for her there. She didn’t dare use her Lucky Charm yet. She couldn’t fight off her friend in 5 minutes, and she sure as hell can’t fight him as Marinette.
Ladybug pulled barrels of oil over, covering the ground, hoping to cause the jungle cat to slip on the oily surface. She felt a small sense of delight when she heard the faint thump and yowl of Chat hitting the ground.
She neared a hallway—where was this before? —and continued down it, hoping it would take her where she could either escape, or make a stand. She hated this, this running away. She should be fighting, but she couldn’t. This was her best friend she was dealing with. Her only friend, the only one she could depend on. It was her fault Chat was in this mess. She should have looked for him harder, shouldn’t have let Chat fight that akuma alone. But she had been stubborn and vengeful. She had been angry and hurt that Chat had said that they shouldn’t be partners anymore. And she had allowed that statement to become the truth.
Ladybug slowed as she approached a large circular room. There were no doors, and Chat was fast approaching down the hall behind her.
She would stand, and she would fight. Fight for herself, for her people, and most importantly, fight for Chat. She would save Chat, or she would die trying.
She turned to face the hallway Chat would enter from and tightened her grip on her yoyo. She could hear Chat stalking closer down the hall, footsteps light so as to not slip on the oil. She could hear the huffs coming from Chat’s muzzle; see the breath cooling in the crisp air.
Ladybug calmed her emotions down to an icy rage. She would free Chat, and nothing would stand in her way.
Ladybug watched as Chat started to circle her, assessing her weaknesses and trying to find a time to strike. The room was silent save for the faint click of Chat’s claws on the concrete floor. They stayed like this for a while, stalking each other, assessing when to strike. It was Chat who struck first; he leapt towards Ladybug with a roar, his claws going for the main arteries. Ladybug dodged and spun, striking Chat in the ribs with her feet. The large cat slid against the floor until he slid to a stop against the wall.
Ladybug walked over to the large cat, watched as the chest slowly rose and fell, indicating that Chat was still alive, but unconscious. Or so she thought. Chat’s eyes opened and he shot out a paw, aiming for Ladybug’s face. Ladybug was unable to dodge it in time, but kept Chat from clawing her eye out. Warm, sticky blood ran down her face and into her eye, temporarily blinding her as she rolled back and away from the rising cat. She tried to wipe away the blood, but only succeeded in smearing the warm liquid across her face and mask. Hopefully, her Lucky Charm will heal that with little to no evidence.
She sent out her yoyo and struck, snapping Chat under her jaw. His head snapped backwards with enough force to make Ladybug worried that she had broken his neck. As his head fell back, Ladybug noticed something shiny around his neck, a shock collar.
Ladybug bristled, her rage ever growing. They had collared him like a slave, like an animal. They would pay.
She drew back her strength and struck the collar with her yoyo, trying to break it off him. Maybe, maybe if she got it off, she could help Chat. Get her friend back. The collar turned a bright red as it heated up, burning Chat’s fur and skin, punishing her with hurting him. She had no way of taking off the collar with her yoyo. Except her Lucky Charm, hopefully that could be useful.
Will her Lucky Charm be able to help? They may be weird, but they always work out in the end. She was Ladybug after all. She should prevail.
“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug called, and a gun fell into her hands. A gun. Why couldn’t I get anything less lethal? Tikki, what are you thinking?
She lined up her shot, shooting a gun shouldn’t be that hard, right? She made sure Chat’s head wasn’t anywhere near the bullet’s path, something that was rather difficult considering the collar was around her neck, and pulled the trigger. Chat dodged the bullet, and sprinted towards her.
“Shit,” Ladybug cursed under her breath. She turned and ran, since she needed the distance to help Chat, and she didn’t trust herself to shoot at point blank range. She checked the number of bullets she had left, only two. She had only two to save Chat. She needed to make them count.
Chat snapped at her heels, and Ladybug could feel the brush of his whiskers as he did so. She was panting, her energy wearing out from the sleepless nights when she was hunting for Chat. She needed to push through it.
Chat pounced at her, and they toppled to the ground. Chat pinned her to the ground, his jaw mere inches from her throat. Ladybug pushed and punched Chat. She grabbed the collar and pulled, but was only succeded in electrocuting herself by doing so. The electricity did not just affect her, but also Chat. A loud whine echoed in the hall as Chat suffered from the pain caused by whoever had put this monstrosity on him.
Chat fell, his legs giving out from the electrocution. His heavy weight kept Ladybug pinned to the ground. Ladybug wiggled her way out from under her friend’s body and stood, looking at the panther.
Chat looked back up at Ladybug, his eyes no longer holding animosity and a predatory gleam; instead they held a look of sadness and understanding. He wanted Ladybug to kill him.
He knew.
Ladybug felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her as she held her friends gaze. Even if she were able to free him from the collar, Chat would still be trapped in a leopards mind, slowly going insane from the conflicting minds.
With tears in her eyes, Ladybug lined up her shot. Once she shot Chat, she would shoot herself through the head. A quick death, one that she didn’t deserve, but one she would get nonetheless.
With a small smile and tears streaming down her face she said, “I’m sorry,” then pulled the trigger. The shot rang out and Chat slumped down, dead.
Then Ladybug turned the gun around and pulled the trigger again. Then everything went black.