At the Dracula castle, Dracula and the vampires were all gathered at the dining table to make an announcement for Cat Noir. The feline was simply all the way at the end of the table and simply had his feet on the table, not caring if he's rude but simply getting over the strict rules he dealt in his life by his father. Dracula didn't complain but he can tell that this young teenage child is going through a lot of process of being free.

"For centuries we came a long way to this and we shall make a toast for Mr. Noir" Dracula held his glass wine of blood up.

"For Noir!" They all held their glass up to cheer for him.

"Merci beaucoup" He thanked them.

"Ah, yes. French is a romantic language in Paris. Tell us, Mr. Noir, what really happened that night when you were bitten?" Dracula asked and the vampires all whispered to each other in excitement.

"I was all by myself when a swarm of vampire bats bit me all over my body. It was until the next day the changes started on me" Cat Noir said.

"Dios mío! The sun must've burned you" The vampire woman with a Spanish accent said.

"It almost did but I had to leave my friends and family behind to live here," Cat Noir said.

"They didn't find out you're a vampire?" Another asked.

"All except Ladybug" Cat Noir said.

"Your ex-love?" Dracula guessed.

"What happened?" An Italian vampire man asked.

"An argument broke us apart, so Paris hero duo is no more" Cat Noir continued.

"A superhero?" Another one asked.

"I was a superhero. But for now, those days are over for me, now that I'm one of you" Cat Noir said.

"Well, I suppose you have a point. I have a proposition for you" Dracula said.

"What would that be?" Cat Noir asked as he ate his salad.

"For you to be the new prince of darkness. Not here in Transylvania but a prince of darkness in Paris." Dracula said.

Cat Noir shrugged, "Sounds like a coronation than a proposition"

"Exactly" Dracula replied.

"Is that why you gave me this?" Cat Noir pointing at his bat ruby medallion.

"Exactly. But that is up to you" Dracula said.

The vampires want to hear the feline's answer as they were all murmuring to each other about whether he'll accept it or not.

"As much I don't wanna go back to Paris, I shall return there as the Prince of Darkness there," Cat Noir said.

"Is that a yes, señor?" The vampire asked.

"Yes, it is. This time the city will embrace their own vampire" Cat Noir said.

"So does that mean you'll return to Paris tonight?" A British vampire asked.

"Not yet. When I'm ready, I will." Cat Noir said and took a sip of blood.

"Very well then" The British vampire replied.

"Freedom is what I always wanted. My father neglected me too long and treated me like I'm some kind of trophy to him" Cat Noir said and threw the dagger at the old artwork of the Eiffel Tower across the room, "But for now, I've finally earned my freedom"

"You have hatred for your father?" Dracula guessed.

"Yes. Since my mother disappeared, he became all cold, neglectful, and cruel" Cat Noir said.

The vampires gasped in shock to hear this young child going through a lot. They never thought that his mother means so much to him the same way his ex-love means to him which explains why he doesn't want a bride nor ever want to live again.

"That's right. That's among the reasons I have some doubts about returning" Cat Noir said.

"Muchacho, there's so much more than that. You were born in Paris, no?" The Spanish vampire woman asked.

"Si, I was" Cat Noir nodded.

"The point is that sometimes there's always something else that makes you happy. You said you were a superhero, right? Maybe you can be a hero at night" Dracula said.

"That's possible but many will be shocked to learn what I've become," Cat Noir said.

"True but you are now the prince of darkness," Dracula said, holding out his glass wine to toast for Cat Noir as the new lord.

"A toast for lord Cat Noir!" He spoke out.

"To lord Cat Noir!" They all saluted and drank blood from their wine glass.

Cat Noir stood up holding his own glass, feeling proud of gaining his title as Prince of darkness, "Thank you all" He then said before drinking the blood.

-

At Paris, it was night time and Ladybug along with Purple Tigress, Vesperia, and Viperion were fighting an akumatized villain known as Heartbreaker along with a sentimonster Soul Eater.

"Alright team you know the drill?!" Ladybug spins her yo-yo.

"Oh yes!" Purple Tigress used her bolas and threw them at Soul Eater, trapping its mouth shut.

"Where's your stupid pet cat, Ladybug?! Did you break his heart? Abandoned him on the streets?!" Heartbreaker yelled with rage.

"SHUT UP!" Ladybug yelled in anger and attacks him.

"VENOM!!!" Vesperia summons her power to immobilize the sentimonster before it steals all souls from innocent people.

"Lucky charm!" Ladybug used her lucky charm to summon... nothing.

Nothing came out like the Yin and Yang are unbalanced without Cat Noir. Looks like she's gonna need her teammates' help on this.

"Argh never mind!" She groans in frustration and runs to join her team in fighting.

Viperion took out his lyre and plays a tune to distract Soul Eater after it freed its mouth.

"Clout!" Purple Tigress summons her power and does a powerful punch at Heartbreaker, destroying the akumatized object.

Ladybug caught the akuma and the amok and purified it, "Bye-bye little butterfly" She released the purified butterfly and the feather.

She summoned her lucky charm again and out came a cat bell. She caught and sighs in sadness at how much she misses him, "Miraculous Ladybug!" The millions of ladybugs fixed up all the damage.

"POUND IT!" The heroes fist-bumped.

Viperion can see that Ladybug looks upset and depressed, "What's the matter, Ladybug?" He asked.

"My powers aren't working well without Cat Noir around here," Ladybug said.

Their miraculous was beeping that there's no time to ask but Viperion wants to know what happened.

-

A while later after retrieving the miraculous, Ladybug as Marinette was behind the sewer wall to hide her identity from Luka. The guitarist already knows the identities of Ladybug and Cat Noir but Marinette doesn't know that from him. The only problem is that those two never revealed their identities to each other.

"I just thought Cat Noir was being obnoxious and I shut him out so badly, he left Paris. It was my fault that I didn't give him a chance" Ladybug explained indirectly.

"We all make mistakes, Ladybug. But you should have listened" Luka said.

"I know. I'm just one big fool to have hurt him emotionally" Marinette said.

"I know he can be annoying at times but he tried so hard to impress you, Ladybug. We may not know his real life but he could be lonely or something else. After all, he has saved you a lot" Luka said.

"Yes, I just wish for once he could hear me out and accept my apology. But now it's too late for it and I'm afraid if I'm gonna turn unworthy" Marinette said.

"A simple apology won't be enough, Ladybug. You have to acknowledge what you did. That's what he's looking for. I mean for the past couple of weeks ago, all of us saved the day without him and it probably broke his heart" Luka explained.

"I know that. I'll never forgive myself for it" Marinette said.

Luka did not wanna alarm her that the fake Adrien is an imposter but he knows she won't believe him. So he's playing along. Where is the real Adrien? Did he truly want to leave Paris for good or was it because he could not deal with a broken heart?

"Well, at least Adrien Agreste was found," He said.

"Well, that's good news. Anyway, I got to go Luka. I need time to think. Tikki spots on!" Marinette transformed.

-

Cat Noir watched the vampire getting executed in the harsh sunlight for a crime he committed by betraying his kind. As soon as the sunlight touched the vampire he got instantly burnt to death. Cat Noir looks away in horror at the sight of the vampire burned into black flesh of ashes like a crispy steak.

"This is what happens to any vampire that betrays us," Dracula said.

"There's a lot of definitions in betrayal, my lord." Cat Noir said and cringed at the burned corpse.

"Indeed. Once trust is lost it can be difficult to regain or even impossible" Dracula said.

"Getting burned to death is very horrifying to watch. Why not just a stake to the heart?" Cat Noir asked and the roof lid closed so no sunlight shone through.

"We vampires don't use stakes" Dracula replied.

"Good point," Cat Noir said and watched the guards remove the shackles off the corpse.

"Yes. We all have to remain faithful" Dracula continued.

"I see." Cat Noir said and sank his fangs into the apple and sucked the juice out. After draining the apple, he threw it away and followed Dracula.

"I see you still enjoy fruits and vegetables," Dracula said and went into the room filled with weapons and capes.

"I've been raised to eat on a strict diet for modeling my whole life. My mother has always been there for me while my father was too strict with everything. He left me in the dark for too long ever since my mother disappeared" Cat Noir said.

"I see. Well now you don't have to" Dracula puts on a cape with red liner.

"My father is a very powerful man. All my life I spent obeying him and he barely ever spends time with me. The love of my life, she barely ever hangs out with me because she cares about keeping Paris safe. If I ever went back, they'll realize I'm not the same anymore" Cat Noir picks out a sunproof black cloak.

"We'll see about it. Once she sees you, she'll know she has underestimated you but do not try to act out of revenge" Dracula said.

"Revenge has no place in justice, my lord." Cat Noir said and picks his bow and arrows.

"Of course" Dracula nods.

-

A while later Cat Noir was wandering in the woods wearing his hooded cloak. It was dawn and the sun was setting a little but with a cloak on, it was sunproof so that he won't get burned. He jumps up to the trees to hide so that he doesn't draw attention to the zombies. He spots them coming out of the ground, moaning and growling but was too slow.

Cat Noir got ready to make sure he's not seen by them and he loads an arrow on his bow. He targets one of them and then shot the head clean off its neck. The zombies didn't even give a reaction due to only two things they desire; brains and flesh.

"Many more to go" He loads another arrow on his bow.

He gasped softly that Ladybug was behind him on the tree branch, "No...sudden...moves....Ladybug" He growled lowly and shoots at the female zombie in the head, "Get out of here," He said quietly.

"Urgh fine!" Ladybug swings above the trees to not be seen by the zombies.

"She never stops, does she?" He said and goes in her direction, "Come out buggy! Where are you?" He searched for her.

He can hear her heartbeat close by, he smirked and went in the direction, smelling her scent that she's hiding somewhere, "Nowhere to run, bugabride. From now on, call me Lord Cat Noir. Sounds catchy, doesn't it?" He said coldly and looks around.

"Yeah sure," Ladybug replied.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you miss me so badly" Cat Noir chuckled evilly and was getting close.

"It's not that, my powers are not working properly in your absence, I couldn't summon a lucky charm after one try," Ladybug said, hiding from his view.

"Too bad for you," Cat Noir said.

"For god's sake! Show some sympathy for once!" Ladybug can't believe how selfish he is but then got startled by him appearing upside down, facing her.

"Sympathy?" He hissed with his fangs showing, "Have you ever shown sympathy to me?"

"Of course I do!" Ladybug glared and Cat Noir lands on his feet, pinning her against the tree.

"Since when?" He tightens his grip on her.

"When I assured you, I would never leave you," Ladybug said.

"Hmph, that night you did when we had that argument. You broke my heart, milady. You left me heartbroken" He grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest, "What do you feel, Ladybug?" He asked coldly.

"I feel nothing," Ladybug said, feeling no heartbeat.

"Exactly. And what's even the point of returning? You got your other teammates to help you out" Cat Noir said.

"It's not the same without you, kitty. If Shadow Moth wins, he'll take over the world. He'll be unstoppable" Ladybug has tears in her eyes.

Cat Noir growled and stares at the moon, "You should've gotten Mayura's brooch that day at the Arc de Triomphe. If you did, Hawk Moth wouldn't have the peacock brooch to become Shadow Moth. But you always play hero"

"You are right kitty. I made too many mistakes in my life. I can't take him on by myself and get the brooch back!" She admits, but then starts to rant in angry tears "Are you just gonna let me fall and suffer even more?! Recently a villain called Heartbreaker taunted me over the breakup of the team and I attacked him out of anger! Even with a team, I can't handle the strain anymore! I CAN'T!!!"

Cat Noir smirked at this; she now realizes what it's like to feel all that emotional pain the same way he felt when he was human.

"Suffer? Now you know the pain of suffering I felt when I was human? Tell me, bugabride. Do you really need me or do you just want me back just to use me like I'm some kind of weapon or shield? How will I know you'll just throw me away like you did?" He turns around and glared at her.

"No, not like some shield or weapon. With my powers weakening due to your absence, the villains might manage to defeat me when I finally can't use the lucky charms anymore. I'm expecting for you to be a real handy partner" Ladybug said.

Cat Noir sighed that he's doing this but Dracula did give him a proposition to be the prince of darkness in Paris, "I'll come back but I can't aid you during the daylight. We are not partners nor a duo, milady. My heart may have no pulse but my memories are just too painful. Tomorrow I'll come home but I need a place where I can stay away from sunlight and the need to feed"

"Very well then" Ladybug sighs.