Chat Noir chewed on his bottom lip, his green eyes surveying the likes of Paris. It took Adrien almost all the willpower he had left in him to put the costume back on and get his ass back to work.
It didn't help that his relationship with Plagg was a little strained. The little kwami didn't quite like the way he was treating Louis or the way the little kwami was being treated himself.

Plagg swore that it was like working with another Hawkmoth. Adrien had become cold, abrasive and uncaring to anyone and anything that once showed an ounce of love toward him.
Everyday was a dark day, and Adrien only found himself withdrawing from everyone he knew.
Before he knew it, Alya had been taking care of Louis full time. Nino had stopped by to talk to Adrien but Adrien only kept himself away.
He spent most days alone, shunning Plagg, Louis and his friends. Adrien spent time alone, away from the world brooding over old photos and crying to the point of numbness.
It was only up until a few moments ago that he decided he'd tie up loose ends. Ladybug was no longer around and despite how much Adrien wanted to let the world rot, something in the stars told him to put an end to it.

And so, Adrien began to look at it as more of a job rather than a passion to do what was right.
Lila had taken everything left inside of him, and ripped it to pieces, leaving him high and dry before eventually dunking him in water until he drowned.

And Adrien drowned.

He had been drowning for weeks. He was washed into tides and kept under to the point where he completely died.
He was a walking shell with no soul left inside.

Adrien contemplated suicide. The thoughts were so strong as of late, and Adrien planned many ways to manifest his self hatred to something else but all his attempts were in vain. The nightmares only continued, and with the lack of sleep he found himself slipping into insanity.

He was not Adrien anymore, but something that Hawkmoth and Lila created.

Except this time, this monster had a miraculous that he could do whatever he wanted with.
The feline dragged his weapon against the rooftops of abandoned buildings, his eyes casually catching glimpses of pieces of glass scattered about.
It was no surprise that Lila had recruited quite a bit of her zombies, and Chat had recalled that a few weeks ago while looking for Marinette, Alya had suggested they'd follow a trail.

Which they had done and it worked.
The feline crouched down, retracting his weapon as he picked up a few shards of glass on the ground. He lifted it, examining the fresh blood on the pane, and wondered just how recent Lila was here.
The Cat was determined to pick up on her trails and find out where she was hiding.
Had it not been for her carelessness and her messiness, the task would have been a little bit difficult.

"That's very smart..." Ladybug murmured from behind him, the heroine crouching down to peer at the piece of evidence from behind him. "Just track her down by the trails she's left behind..."
Chat chuckled, standing up straight as he dropped the glass to the ground.

"Of course you'd say that..." He chuckled, turning around to face her.

His brow furrowed, his eyes blinking as Ladybugs face was a distorted blur. It was almost as if it was a scribble instead of a face. "You're just a figment of my subconscious..." He explained to her, his voice trailing off. "You'll say what I'm thinking. Or I'll say what you're thinking...."

Ladybug cocked her head to the side, her voice humming softly.
"Did you forget me already?" She asked, tucking her hands behind her back.

Chat glanced at her with a grimace. He didn't want to say he forgot her, but it was true that a lot of his priorities were all messed up.
"I could never forget you..." the feline breathed, his heart aching at that thought. "You had beautiful bluebelle eyes, cute little freckles on your cheeks..." the blonde smiled at the memory. He glanced up at Ladybug, the features of her face slowly coming into view as he remembered them.
"You had such frilly lashes, and pretty pink lips with a button nose."

Ladybug smiled at him, her blue eyes reaching his, and Chat Noir felt incredibly sad. Everytime he remembered her, the more sad he felt. It was as if he had to conjure her up so that he had some sort of comfort.

"What happened to your sense of humor, Chat Noir?" Ladybug asked, walking over to the edge of the rooftop to have a look at the empty streets.
"You used to dance me up in the sky at any chance you got. You dished out terrible puns. I miss the excited grin on your face when we both succeeded in fighting...." Ladybug looked back at him.
"No more fist bumps, no more puns... You don't even smile anymore." She frowned, turning to face him once more. She crossed her arms, offering the hero a playful pout.
"You aren't the playful kitty I remember..."

Chat frowned, shaking his head.
"You're quite a convincing entity..." He told her, his heart squeezing as he wanted her to be real. "But I'd think even you would know what the problem is..." He sighed, walked over to her so that he could stand at her side which was something he felt like he was born to do.
"It's because you're gone. Everytime I try to reach for you, it's like you dissapear over and over again. I can't take it anymore..." Chat breathed, tears beginning to sting his eyes once more.

Ladybug glanced up at him, she leaned against the ledge, her blue eyes still fixated on her kitty's pained expression.
"Am I really gone?" She asked, perking a brow. "I wouldn't be standing here if I was really gone."

Chat sighed, reaching up to quickly wipe his tears.
"That's not the same...You're not really here. You're just...apart of my memory..."

Ladybug smiled sweetly and she leaned closer to him.
"That's exactly it. I live through your memories. I live through Louis' existence. He was a part of me, and he's still apart of you... the fact that you remember me, still means I'm living in my own way..."

Chat breathed out, his eyes closing tightly as he tried not to overwhelm himself once more with sadness.

"I just-" he bit his lip, his hands clutching on to the ledge. "I just don't know if I'm strong enough to go on without you anymore..."

Ladybug hummed, standing up straight beside him with a hopeful smile.
"Don't be silly. You were the strongest kitty I know." She murmured, glancing over at him as he looked down in agony.
"Whether I'm here or in the skies, or if I exist in your memory...We'll always be an unstoppable team..." she whispered, holding her fist up.

Chat couldn't look at her. He knew how these things went. The moment he touched her, she would dissapear again. That's how it played out when he spotted her laying beside him in bed.

"Pound it-"

Her voice faded away just as fast as it came, and much to Chat's dismay she was gone. The blonde closed his eyes and he wept.
He cried more than he had in a long time.
And he was drowning yet again.

He extended his weapon into the hard roof beneath him, and his pain brought him back down to his knees. He gripped on to his weapon, hoping that it would give him the strength to get back on his feet.
The feline looked up at the sky, feeling a raindrop land on his head.

He blinked, standing up and holding his hand out with a desperation to feel anything else. Chat glanced down at his palm, capturing the rain in his hand and within a few moments he was numb yet again.

_________________________________________

Nino wrapped the blanket around young Louis, propping him up on pillows in front of the television.
Nino tried not to put anything on tv that would have potentially disturbed Louis' peace of mind.

It was being mass reported everywhere that Marinette who was soon to be married to Adrien Agreste, was murdered in cold blood for the entire city to witness.
That was the last thing Nino wanted to do.

Even he noticed a lot of similarities between Adrien and Louis.
What once was a confident toddler who enjoyed playing around, had become cold and neglected.
Louis was self conscious and had seen the world with an eerie shadow.
His mother was gone and his father didn't love him.

The toddler attempted to wipe away his tears with his favorite blanket.

Louis was still visibly upset at the way his father pushed him away. His blue eyes grew pink and swollen and he hid under his blanket.

He didn't care for the cartoons on T.v. and he didn't care for the chicken nuggets that Nino had prepared for him.
He just wanted to understand.

Nino watched the little one hide away with a grimace and a heavy heart.
He wanted to be angry with Adrien, but as time went on, he couldn't get through to him.

Adrien built his walls and army. No matter how much Nino tried to climb it, there were always a row of thorns waiting on the other side.

Nino glanced down the moment his phone began buzzing in his pocket. The male quickly grabbed it, swiping the screen and answering the call.

"Hey-" Alya greeted on the other side. "How's Louis doing?" She asked, her voice strained at the thought of Louis isolating himself once more.

Nino sighed, reaching up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Not well. He didn't eat anything I prepared for him. I know his favorite was nuggets, juice and Applesauce. He refuses to touch his favorite meals." Nino explained. "He just....lays there..."

Alya sighed on the other line.
"Just...keep him away from the news. I saw another report on Marinette at the office...." she murmured. "I know Chat went out to find Lila and I'm not entirely sure what he plans to do, but I'd make sure that Louis stays away from all of that."

Nino hummed in agreement, his eyes glancing over to the toddler who remained hidden.

"I can't say I agree with you any less..."

_________________________________________

Lila sighed, sitting on top of boxes and boxes of an old abandoned pillow factory.
It had its perks at night. Lila never went to sleep without a pillow, and when she was hungry all she had to do was possess someone to get food for her.
It was like nothing ever changed. Lila always manipulated people into doing what she wanted and she was just okay with that.

She looked down at her army of zombies, some of them were starved and some of them were freshly recruited.

Lila knew she had to keep her stock high in case some of them died off.

She didn't care.
She got rid of Marinette and that was her goal from the very start.
The light of dawn casted eerie shadows in the factory. The dust on the window pane blurred the light as it entered and Lila sighed, leaning back against her palms.
It got kind of boring after some time and Lila could only wondered where Ladybug was.
She wondered if the death of Marinette shook both heroes to their core. She wondered if they felt guilty of their failures.

Of course with Chat being the only one to witness it in person, he'd be the easiest to manipulate into giving up his jewels.
It was a piece of cake. The grieving and the agony was great pleasure for her.
The massive grieving was perfect growth for victims subjectacle to both her and Hawkmoth. The perfect recipe for disaster and Lila was living for it.

"I wish I had come up with such a unique supervillian name..." Lila sighed, placing her arms behind her back and nicely dangling her legs.
She looked down at one of her "servants" randomly pointing to him.

"You!" She called out. "Come up with a unique name or you're dead."

The male blinked at her, he glanced around with confusion.
His zombie mind couldn't come up with creative names. All he knew was to protect and serve Lila.
He could have been a writer in his past life before he was dedicated to Lila, but he wouldn't know that. Neither could Lila.
She didn't have power to read minds, but she did have the power to manipulate them with the appropriate assets.
The female laughed, hysterically.
The reached up to toy with her earrings.
"I guess you're completely useless..." she murmured, a menacing grin on her face as she looked down at her chosen.

"Now now...what to do with you..." she bit her lip, contemplating ways that she could put an end to this poor fools life, not caring if he had a family back home.
The more grieving, the better.

It was perfect.

"I think Murderer fits you best..." a voice emanated from the dark window above.

The voice was so sudden, it caused Lila to jump from where she lay. She looked up, her brow furrowing as Chat jumped down a leverage. He stood face to face with her as he extended his weapon, forcefully banging it against the wall.
"It's very unique. They're only fitting for people like you..." he elaborated. "Plus it's very true. We want a name true to your nature..."

Lila chuckled, her arms crossing as the hero was very bold to find her.

"Oh? So you've come to get your fingers burnt..." she deadpanned, crossing her arms. "Did little kitty set up an investigation to locate me? Or did he decided to give up his jewels without a fight.
I think that would be the smarter choice." She replied, her voice taunting and satiric. She placed her fingers under her chin.

Chat glanced up at her, the tired lines under his eyes deepening as he almost felt angry seeing her. The sound of her voice brought back a slew of memories that would constantly break him down over and over again.
He couldn't be that guy anymore. He needed to finish this once and for all.

   "I've come to end this, Lila..." Chat Noir muttered. "It's gone on for way too long...."

  Lila snorted, not feeling an ounce scared to his threats.
   "Okay, Kitty. And where's your owner? Are you hiding her somewhere?" She asked, a teasing tilt in her voice.

Chat looked at his weapon, lightly banging it on the walls casually.
"Ladybug won't be joining us this evening..." He then looked at her.

"But I'd like to get this over with..."

Lila rolled her eyes, his cockiness beginning to annoy her.

    "Ah, confident kitty is back." She hummed, jumping off her throne of boxes and landing in front of Chat.
   "But I think you're forgetting something. There's only one of you...and about fifteen of us..." she gestured, her eyes glancing at her army of zombies as they soon closed in on him.
  
  Chat stayed put, retracting his weapon and fiddling it with his hand.
   The feline glanced up at Lila, a cold hard stare filling his pupils that it even made Lila uneasy.

"You'd be surprised..."