#or maybe I'm so used to compensating for poor vision and brain function

[cesium-sheep]

dream about the type of used bookstore that encourages buying a whole cartload and also has some of the books just piled in carts so I was meticulously going through them all. it was fun.

[nxnoire]

Desiderium

“I Know You’re In There Somewhere” Fight

part two part three part four

fandom: Miraculous Ladybug

my fifth prompt for @badthingshappenbingo

———

Ladybug had grown used to fighting akumas. She was no longer disturbed that she was fighting her friends or the kind Parisians she encountered in her daily life. Some had taken more effort than others to save, but she always had a plan. Each problem had a solution eventually.

Her and Chat Noir, they always came out on top no matter the stakes. Even when Chat Noir would be mind controlled or captured, she managed to come out on top. Of course, she worked the best with him. He wasn't her sidekick at all, rather the polar opposite of her. He would always sacrifice himself to assure her crucial power of purification was still functioning. He would also lighten the mood and always help her keep her stress at bay.

This time, there was no plan that could possibly help. Her partner, the one person she put all of her trust in, was the enemy today. Fighting her own best friend was nothing compared to fighting Chat Noir.

She stood on the rooftop, watching Chat Blanc with wide eyes as he was telepathically talking to Hawkmoth. Her mouth opened, no words able to come out. Ice froze her feet to the roof, preventing her from moving. Her hands began to shake, her anxiety rising.

"Hawkmoth's gonna create a super powerful akuma..."

Adrien was right: Hawkmoth had decided to create an akuma that would be as strong, if not stronger, than her. Her heart beat faster, threatening to burst through her chest. It became harder and harder to breathe the longer she stared at the akuma. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, even if it meant her panic would rise to dangerous levels.

The shaking only worsened when she noticed the purple light disappear from Chat's face. It spread to her legs, forcing her to fix her balance. She breathed through her mouth, taking in quick gasps to compensate for the lack of air in her lungs. No matter how hard she breathed, she couldn't seem to get enough air. Her chest screamed for air even though it was getting plenty of it.

"Ladybug!" Chat shouted, making her scared heart skip a beat. "I can see you. Be a nice lady and hand over your Miraculous."

"No!" She screamed shrilly. Her hands gripped the suit covering her legs tightly. She needed to grab something and ground herself. Wherever her sanity was, she needed to lure it back to her body.

Chat jumped over to her and cracked the roof with the great force of his landing. "Chat Noir, please, I know you're in there..." she whispered shakily, feeling her throat close up. He was uncomfortably close to her, but she couldn't move. If she moved, he would hurt her. If she stayed, he would hurt her.

She was going to die.

She was going to die.

"Chat Blanc," he corrected. "I look so much better in white, don't you think?"

Ladybug searched his purple eyes for any trace of Chat Noir. All she found was anger and sadness. She took a deep breath to try calming herself down.

Just as she had begun to ground herself, he lunged at her, but she dodged last minute. She jumped back clumsily and kept her eyes on Chat Blanc. As strange as it was, she was thankful he attacked her. It brought her conscience back to her body. The bubbling panic remained in her but it wasn't all-consuming anymore. Ladybug had taken over at last, telling her brain to wake up.

"Hand me your Miraculous, Princess." He motioned to her ears.

Ladybug spun her yo-yo, creating a shield at her side. "Even if you're my best friend I can't give it to you. I'd die before it fell into Hawkmoth's clutches."

"That's too bad. I'll just have to take it off your dead body." He ran for her, but she dodged again, jumping backwards onto the rooftop behind her. She landed more gracefully now that she was more aware of her surroundings.

"I'm not going to fight you!" she shouted, feeling her throat painfully close again. Tears glazed her eyes, making it harder to see. Coming out of her small panic brought upon a greater despair accompanied by the realization of her reality.

"You won't have to if you give me your Miraculous, bugaboo." He raised his hand and activated his Cataclysm without even saying the phrase. "Look at me! I've got even better powers than that poor black kitten. I've got infinite power! If you surrender, you can be the same. You could create anything you want, m'lady."

Him saying "m'lady" shattered her heart, reminding her that he was still had some of Chat Noir's mannerisms. It was a reminder that he was still Chat Noir no matter how much Hawkmoth tried to consume his mind.

She couldn't even respond before he became too impatient.

"I guess I'll just have to fight you instead."

He used his staff to launch himself over to Ladybug. He threw hits at her but she dodged all of them. He attempted to hit her with his Cataclysm but was unsuccessful as well.

Ladybug stepped back, feeling the tears get hotter and hotter. They blurred her vision even more. She rubbed them away, trying to regain vision. As Chat Blanc ran for her, she jumped into the air, landing behind him.

She took in a deep breath and threw her yo-yo into the air. "Lucky Cha—"

He managed to strike her chest, sending intense pain throughout her body. It cut her voice off. The Lucky Charm failed to manifest, disappearing in a flash of pink light and vortex of ladybugs. As Ladybug's body froze with pain, she dropped the yo-yo. Her limp body was pushed off the building with great force.

Tears flew off her eyes with the wind caused by her falling motion. She watched as the top of the building slowly got farther and farther from her. Wind blew in her face, displacing her hair, making it harder to see. She didn't want to see anyway. If she were able to see, she'd anticipate the brutal impact of the ground even more and she didn't want that.

She was terrified.

The Miraculous created a suit that was impenetrable. Miraculous users were nearly invincible, the only weakness being their heads. The kwamis absorbed all of the impacts from fights. But, the power of Cataclysm made bad things happen. It stole her Lucky Charm and broke the protective barrier of the Miraculous suit, most likely causing internal damage.

Her eyes shut as her body braced for impact. Please, let me be okay. Let me save the day. Let me bring Chat back.

Her breath left her body as her body violently hit the street. She bounced, skidding towards the road. Once her body stopped moving, she opened her eyes. The only pain was in her chest, thankfully. Less thankfully was the bright afternoon sky. The sun burned the back of her eyes. It was so bright it exemplified the existing pain in her chest. Sharp, red pain shot through her body with her failed attempt to sit up.

Her chest hurt.

"Ladybug! Are you okay?" A news reporter asked frantically, the camera behind her pointed at the hurting superhero.

"...Get out of here," she urged, saying through gritted teeth. "Chat Noir...is akumatized. He's really—he's really powerful."

Just as she finished, Chat Blanc landed right on top of her. His right hand was reaching for the earrings and his free hand supported his weight. He was way too close for comfort. No matter how much Ladybug made it seem like she hated Chat being so close to her, she honestly didn’t mind it. It was better than anyone else.

Chat Blanc was that “anyone else”.

The onlookers stepped back, shocked noise erupting into the air at the sight of the white villain. They knew Chat Noir had been akumatized, but actually seeing him in person was a completely different thing from watching him on a screen.

Chat Blanc smiled evilly, looking deep into Ladybug’s pained eyes.

"Good job, Chat Blanc. With Ladybug injured you can simply take her Miraculous yourself!"

Ladybug lay, her breathing shallow to avoid the pain of even a slight movement of her chest. Fear creeped up inside of her as Chat Blanc reached for her earring. Her eyes darted back and forth quickly, looking for anything to help her. Hawkmoth was not going to win, even if it meant she would die saving the Miraculous.

"Why?" She asked to buy time, pausing to take in a painful breath. "Why...are you so angry? Was it–was it because of me?"

Chat Blanc smiled. "Of course not, m'lady." His hand stopped. "I can't tell you anything. Let me have your Miraculous and maybe we can talk once I know who you really are."

Ladybug grabbed his wrist, sending another sharp pain through her body. "Letting Hawkmoth win won't solve any of this!" Her gaze turned to the camera filming the situation for a second before returning to Chat's pained eyes. "Please...I know you're in there, Chat. Come back. Please. I can’t lose you."

"Oh, but you haven't lost me. I'm still Chat, but better." He tried to push through Ladybug's tight grip.

"You're not better!" She shouted before kicking him off of her. It sent paralyzing pain throughout her body. Her earrings beeped as her head slammed against the ground. She slowly pushed herself up and sat on the ground, watching Chat Blanc get closer to her. As he got closer, she moved herself backwards before bumping into a car.

Chat Blanc stopped in front of her and smiled.

"Goodnight, Princess."