*WARNING: this chapter is very graphic and angsty. read at your own risk...*

The akuma let out a cackle of pure evil and spite as he stood in the center of the street.

Cars approaching had screeched to a stop in order to avoid hitting the villain, some even swerving and hitting light poles and fire hydrants.

It was pure chaos.

The villain, Fear Factor, had just received his powers from Hawkmoth and was already causing destruction.

He laughed maniacally as police officers charged him with their weapons raised.

"Put your hands up!" one of the officers yelled.

Fear Factor tilted his head and smirked. "Oh really? Put your hands up to me... in mercy!" His brown eyes then glowed purple.

The middle-aged cop was momentarily confused, but then his confusion turned into screams of agony. His eyes, too, began to glow purple in response to Fear Factor.

"Make it stop!" the officer screamed, stumbling back and falling to his knees. He dropped his gun and grabbed his head in pain.

Fear Factor stepped towards the officer, his eyes still glowing purple. He smiled sinisterly. "What you're seeing there, my friend, is your worst fear. The thing that haunts the darkest crevice of your mind, come to life."

"No!!" the cop yelled, tears streaming down his face. He reached out to empty space. "Let my daughter go! Please!"

"She dies," Fear Factor narrowed his eyes, smiling contently.

All of a sudden, a yoyo string began to wrap around Fear Factor's wrist. He raised an eyebrow and before saying a word, the villain was pulled away from the cop and sent crashing to the ground.

The officers eyes returned to normal and he let out a sigh of relief. Ladybug appeared and knelt down beside the grief stricken man. Chat Noir joined her, keeping a close eye on the akuma.

Fear Factor clicked his tongue, getting to his feet. "Well, well. Who do we have here? Ladybug and Chat Noir?"

Ladybug stood tall, clenching her fists. "Stop torturing innocent people!"

"Or what? You can't stop me Ladybug," Fear Factor laughed. "Your nightmares are your worst enemy."

"You don't have to do this," Ladybug replied.

Chat Noir helped the cop to his feet and led him away to safety. After doing so, he stood next to Ladybug.

"Yes I do," Fear Factor spat back. "For all my life, people have used my fears against me to prevent me from achieving my dreams. I wanted to be a surgeon, but my stupid parents told me how risky it was and how I would mess everything up."

"You have to overcome your fears!" Chat Noir yelled.

"Yes, and you have to do what your heart thinks! Sure there are risks, but you can still think positively and overcome your fears so there is as little risk as possible."

Fear Factor grimaced. "Yuck, enough with the pep talk. I've given up my dreams, and so should you."

His eyes glowed purple suddenly, catching Ladybug off guard. She tried to look away, but it was too late. Her eyes glowed purple and she fell to her knees.

"No!" she mumbled, pinching her eyes shut. Her head was spinning with pain and horrible images.

"Ladybug!" Chat Noir screamed, kneeling beside her.

"It hurts more if you keep your eyes shut," Fear Factor chuckled.

Ladybug opened her eyes, and she saw her parents. But they didn't look quite right.

"Mom? Dad?"

Chat shook her shoulders. "Snap out of it! It's not real!"

Her parents hands were tied behind their backs. Her mother and father looked battered and bruised.

"Mom, dad!" she screamed, approaching them. She immediately began untying their restraints. "What's wrong?"

"He found out," Sabine coughed, her eyes fluttering closed.

"Who!?" Ladybug screamed.

"Hawkmoth. He knows," Tom whispered in response, falling into unconsciousness.

"No," Ladybug breathed.

Out of nowhere, Adrien and Alya appeared, similarly tied and restrained to a wooden chair.

"No!" she screamed. "This is my fault!"

On the outside, Chat was helpless. He desperately tried to get her attention but it was no use. He turned his head towards Fear Factor and the sight made him sick.

It looked like the akuma was watching a movie; a grin of satisfaction was plastered on his face as his purple eyes stared at empty space; it was almost as if he could see Ladybug's own nightmarish thoughts and could sense her pain.

"You... bastard!" Chat Noir screamed, getting to his feet and charging the akuma.

He tackled the villain to the ground, finally breaking the connection his powers had with Ladybug.

The purple glow finally left her eyes and she took in a sharp breath, almost as if she was being choked and had finally been given air.

"Chat," she panted, her mind spinning. "Don't look into his eyes!"

"Okay!" Chat replied with his eyes closed, carefully getting off of the akuma.

Ladybug stood up shakily, her cheeks still damp with tears. "I have to remove his akuma."

"No," Chat Noir said, putting his hand up and standing in front of the akuma. "I don't want him to hurt you again."

"This isn't your call," Ladybug frowned, regaining her wits and walking over to Fear Factor. "I'm fine."

Fear Factor yawned. "So sweet how much you two care about each other. Can I go now, or?..."

Chat Noir swiveled around and faced the villain. "You're not going anywhere," he hissed.

Then as a searing pain pierced his skull, Chat Noir knew he had made a stupid decision.

He fell on his back, scrambling away. "Dammit!" he yelled, grabbing his head as he realized he was affected by Fear Factors powers. His eyes glowed purple.

"Chat!" Ladybug screamed.

Realizing the only way to stop the torture, she immediately flung her yoyo at Fear Factor to disrupt the connection he had to Chat, but the accuracy was far off since she shielded her eyes from him so she wouldn't be affected again.

The akuma grabbed the yoyo once it was in close proximity to him and flung Ladybug around in the air, eventually slamming her into the side of a building, causing her to fall unconscious.

Chat chanted to himself desperately, staring at the ground. "It's not real, snap out if it. It's not real."

Fear Factor approached him, his arms crossed. "Now that Ladybug is unconscious, there is no one that can save you."

A purple butterfly outline appeared over Fear Factors face. Hawkmoth's voice came through:

"Quick, while he is distracted, steal his Miraculous!"

Fear Factor glanced over at an unconscious Ladybug and smiled to himself. "No need to rush. I'll be enjoying this."

Chat began breathing in rapidly. The pain was too much to bare. He let the real world fade out and plunged into an eternal nightmare.

*

Chat woke up in a dark, cold room. He blinked, the scent of mustiness filling his nostrils.

"Hello? Ladybug?" Chat called out in confusion. "Anyone?" His voice echoed helplessly.

Quiet footsteps started approaching him from the dark corner of the room and his head perked up. "LB?" he asked cautiously.

"Hey kitty," she smiled, her familiar face appearing from the darkness.

"I'm so glad you're here," Chat said quickly, pulling her into a hug.

Ladybug hugged him back. "Me too. I was so alone and scared."

"Don't worry. I'm here," Chat replied softly, feeling content. His lady finally reciprocated his love! His heart screamed with joy.

Ladybug then jerked violently in his arms and cried in pain.

"What's wrong?!" Chat asked alarmingly, trying to keep her steady.

She fell to the floor, grabbing her chest. Chat knelt down beside her and removed her hand from her chest, and it was covered in dark blood.

"N-No," he whispered.

Ladybug looked up at him and tears started racing down her cheeks. "C-Chat," she gurgled inaudibly before falling on her back.

"No!!" he screamed, rubbing her head and propping it up on his lap. He pushed his hand on her chest to stem the bleeding. "Stay with me!"

She remained silent, staring up at the ceiling as she struggled to gasp for air.

"Don't die!" Chat cried. "I love you!"

She smiled, a stream of blood escaping out of the corner of her mouth. "I love you too."

"Please stay," Chat sobbed, tears racing down his cheeks. "I'm nothing without you."

Ladybug shakily moved her blood covered hand and caressed his tear stained cheek.

Chat grabbed her hand and held onto it, crying endlessly.

*

Ladybug awoke with a murmur, her head shooting with pain. Her vision was blurred, but she got to her feet when she heard a struggled scream escape Chat's mouth.

She stumbled slightly, but regained her balance and started walking towards Fear Factor.

He had a sickly grin on his face as he watched Chat writh in pain on the ground.

Ladybug clenched her fists, feeling the anger rise in her chest. In an attempt to break the connection he had with Chat, she threw her yoyo at Fear Factor. The string wrapped around his waist and she pulled him away from her partner, throwing the akuma across the street and onto the sidewalk.

Chat's eyes returned back to his normal shade of green and he immediately started gasping for air, as if he was previously being choked by an unseen force.

Ladybug rushed over to him, kneeling down beside his shaking body. Chat's exhausted eyes looked up at her and a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, followed by a tear rolling down his cheek.

Then he fell unconscious.

Ladybug ran her fingers through his golden hair and she kissed his forehead. "I'm so sorry he did this to you," she whispered.

She stood up and walked over to Fear Factor who was laying on the sidewalk, unconscious.

After looking at the akuma and identifying a possible akumatized item, a certain amulet that hung around Fear Factors neck stood out to her.

She tugged the necklace off and smashed it on the ground. As expected, a dark purple butterfly came fluttering out. Taking out her yoyo, she de-evilized the akuma and everything went back to normal.

"Bye bye butterfly," Ladybug said with a smile.

...

...

...

Strangely, Ladybug couldn't remember anything before releasing the butterfly.

Chat didn't either. He got up from the ground, scratching his head. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Ladybug replied, crossing her arms. "It's weird, I've never had this happen to me before."

"Weird," Chat shrugged. Then, he gasped. "What if you were somehow affected by the akuma's powers?"

"I guess so," Ladybug nodded, scratching her chin. "That would explain why I can't remember anything and why I was just releasing an akuma from my yoyo."

Chat frowned. "So now we know... you aren't protected from akumas either."

"I know," Ladybug gulped. "What if I wasn't able to defeat the akuma? Paris would be in a lot of trouble."

"I wonder how you broke free," Chat questioned.

"Good thing I'm lucky," Ladybug laughed, even though inside she felt terribly nervous.

She was vulnerable just like Chat, and she was a fool to think otherwise. And since she was the only one who could cleanse akumas, she couldn't risk getting controlled or injured by a villain.

Ladybug suddenly pulled Chat into a hug, catching him off guard. His cheeks turned a deep red and he tugged on his collar. "Oh," he croaked, his deep voice cracking.

"I dont say this enough, but thanks for being my partner, Chat," Ladybug whispered.

"Of course," Chat replied, smiling. "We are in this together. I couldn't imagine how my life would turn out without you in it."

For some reason, Ladybug knew. She didn't know how, but she just did.

So she kept hugging him.