Chat Blanc.

Quick reminder. I made some minor changes in the past chapter "Broken" accidentally revealing something key in this part so I just want to address it properly. Same goes for fixing minor typos and grammar errors so sorry about that. Alright after addressing this, enjoy today's chapter.

It's been weeks since the akuma incident and things haven't been the same since then. Winter break has begun and some students spent their time with friends, family, or even went off on a vacation to a different country but Marinette decides to spend her break isolating herself in her room. Ever since the incident with the akumas and Chat, Mari hid in her room and refused to make contact with her family and friends.

The only time Mari leaves her room is during the night, when she has nothing better to do, Mari would go out and in search for Chat Noir who has been clouding her mind ever since. What makes matters worse is that Tikki has apparently fallen ill since the incident.

After the intense battle, Celerita or by his actual name Gio still lives but unfortunately lost an arm and a leg in the process. Gio also suffers from intense P.T.S.D. and possibly other mental issues so he was sent immediately to the hospital for long term recovery.

The media came out and reported that the apparent "Victim" named Gio came out and said his opinion about the incident. He claims that he came into contact with Ladybug and Chat Noir and his partner got killed by Chat Noir. The media went insane with the shocking news of a hero killing a villain. WHenever they further question his action, Celerita would only repeat one word.

MONSTER.

As much as Mari wanted to chase after Chat that day, unfortunately Tikki has recently fallen ill and because of her weak state, she could not harness her full power. Having Marinette transforming to Ladybug being impossible.

Tikki got the jist of what happened to Chat Noir and Plagg and Mari explains that Chat's miraculous broke in battle. Somehow during the fight, Chat Noir sustained massive damage to his miraculous, causing it to act wild and get corrupted by the negative emotions coming from the 2 akumatized villains (and possibly his own), causing him to change.

(I am the kwami of creation, the ying and Plagg is the kwami of destruction, my yang so without him. Without my other half, I will only grow weaker and my health will only slowly get worse).

Marinette understood that Hawkmoth had nothing to do with Chat's transformation so that was a relief but his partner was still dangerous nonetheless. That only made her more determined to find him, to save him from himself, no matter the cost.

(The Chat I know is gone and the one now occupying his body is a someone with a corrupted soul). And that terrifies her.

From that day forward, Mari sets out every night and would spend hours on end in search for him, to get him back by any means necessary. Well, easier said than done as no signs ever came up to signify he was around for the past few weeks.

No news reports, no sightings, nothing. It's almost as if he disappeared from Paris and that was the last thing she wanted to happen. Finding him without the power of Ladybug was deemed to be a difficult task but she refused to let this major problem set her back.

On the 5th night, Mari returns to her room feeling defeated as she has yet to find Chat Noir. Exhausted on yet another unproductive day, she lays back in her chair and rests her head on her desk. Minutes after resting her body, Mari scanned across her room and realized her place was a total mess. Clothes covered the place every corner, plastic wraps laying on the floor, dark room with the curtains closed, papers scattered everywhere. Her room is a total mess and she could not have cared less.

As Marinette continued to look around, her eyes landed on her workshop. Widening her eyes in remembering that she finally started on her design after the incident in remembrance of Chat but with the repeating bad luck and the constant failures in searching for him, she slowly lost her drive in making a special gift for a special kitty she could not give it to. Mari slowly walked up to the design and in doing so, rivers of memories of him came flooding into her mind.

(I remember his green sparkly eyes illuminating the darkness around him, his soft hair that flows with the winds stream, his genuine smile that shines through the night, his addicting attitude that just make anyone fond over him (including me), and even his hardships that he often open up about whenever he felt down and I vice versa. Even during his bad times, the first thing he said he was gonna do was come to me first and together we hold these heart-to-heart conversations about personal issues, opinions, feelings, or experiences for hours to no end. I never would have thought I would be having this special moments with anyone, not even with Alya or Adrien).

Tears starts to swell up as the nostalgia trip did not stop. She started to miss those heartfelt conversations, those punny jokes and sarcastic remarks they would shoot at each other, those game nights Mari would beat him at and gloat constantly about and those movie nights under the sea of stars. It's only been a couple weeks with Mari being separated from him but the more she calls back to the past nights, the more unbearable it became being without him.

It was then when she stood in front of the black-catlike that when she looked up to it, she couldn't even see it as her eyesights is being blinded by the water in her eyes. Before she realized it, she found herself crying uncontrollably in front of the makeshift Chat Noir hoodie. Gently laying one hand gently quickly turned to her wrapping her arms tightly around the mannequin with tears falling from her face and cries of pain leaving her mouth, praying for a higher power to bring back what was meant to be hers.

"Come back Chaton."

Mari broke down to her knees feeling exhausted but the pain in her heart never once let up as she places her hands upon her face in an attempt to stop the crying.

"I need you my kitty."

"Marinette?" Tikki calls out for Mari but with her raspy voice and coughing, it took a little time in getting her friend's attention. After the 4th or 5th time Tikki called out to her is when she turns around to spot the little sick kwami, laying on her bed.

"We'll get Chat Noir back Marinette, do not worry" she attempts to reassure but Mari could do nothing but lash back at her.

"How? he hasn't been spotted for the last couple weeks and I don't have the power necessary to ever track him down, let alone fight this corrupted Chat" she cries. "Without Ladybug, I can't bring him back."

"Well find a way Marinette so please calm down" Tikki pleads with her patience running low.

"How am I supposed to calm down Tikki HUH! He's gone!" she exclaims.

"You're not the only one who lost someone Marinette!!!" Tikki finally snaps which startled the little girl. Tikki coughed a little and tried her best to calm down with the help of her concerned friend.

Tikki could see her baggy red-filled eyes and her skin visibly showing getting pale. She immediately regretted snapping at someone who was not right both physically or mentally so an apology was needed. "Plagg, Chat Noir's kwami is the catalyst of the corruption and in response also corrupted the holder as well" she explains as even her tears begin to swell up.

"I understand how you feel Marinette. You lost your kitty as I have lost mine as well."

And with those words broke her even more. She covers her face in shame, crying her pain out more than ever but these time she has Tikki beside her to carry a little portion of her pain. Eventually, both of them cried themselves to sleep for what seemed to be hours.

Mari started to dream about Chat being here. She dreamt about the endless possibilities to do with him like singing karaoke, going on a picnic, or spending Christmas together. She dreamt of endless scenarios that made her happy and for a second, in her dreams.

She was.

Until a moment later in her dream with Chat is when her hatch unexpectedly started to knock. It caught both Chat's and the bluenette's attention. Mari curiously walked up to the hatch to see what was going on but the Chat of her dreams begged him not to.

"Don't do it princess" he pleads, causing her to turn back and see a distressed blondie reaching out for her. For a second she considered to return to his arms and ignore the knocking but it only grew louder, in fact it would be more borderline fist-pounding on the hatch. The irritated bluenette reached for her hatch and opened it to only find a huge bright light, blinding her eyes.

When she came to, Mari opened her eyes to find herself lying on the floor. With Chat nowhere to be found, she lets out a sigh of disappointment realizing those happy moments with him were all in her head. It was until a familiar knock she recalled back from her dreams actually can be heard from the hatch above.

Marinette grew excited at the thought that no other person would be able to climb up on her balcony other than Chat Noir and just by that thought brought back the energy needed to go open it up.

Once the hatch was open, a burst of cold wind touched her skin and sent shivers down her spine but that by any means did not stop her from seeing him. Mari stepped onto the balcony and scanned her surroundings for any sign of the lost kitty but he was nowhere to be seen. Mari desperately looked around, almost causing her head to spin dizzily.

After a couple spins and a familiar recurring feeling of disappointment, Mari assumed the worse, that it was all in her head and it was just the wind brewing some stuff passing by and hitting on her hatch. When the bluenette was ready to head back down to her room, she was stopped by this unusual yet a similar feeling.

"Are you Marinette Dupain-Cheng?"

The familiar voice broke the silence and stopped her right before she was about to enter through her hatch, calling out to her Marinette attempts to calm herself down and trying her absolute best not to cry before turning around to meet eyes with his. Her darken blue eyes meets with his lighter ones.

There stood before her was Chat Noir but with the color of white instead of black, hair is also albino white instead of his signature golden locks and his green eyes being replaced with light-blue cold ones. A part of her feels happy to see him again but another part of her feels a little unsure of knowing it's not "His" Chat Noir.

Nonetheless, this is a perfect opportunity for her.

"Chat Noir?" she calls out but he doesn't seem to respond but instead stayed in a crouching position on the railing. Marinette kept calling out to his name as she slowly approached her but the white figure never once reacted or responded to one of them, scaring the little girl. Without Tikki, Marinette is vulnerable and Chat right now is not himself.

So in other words, Mari is in a very dangerous position.

"Stop calling me that" he finally responds, surprising the young girl. "I don't recall my name being Chat Noir so quit referring me to such an unknown label" he annoyingly claims. The shocked bluenette was on the verge of crying but is trying her absolute best to hold it in. She cannot show any weakness to him right now.

"S-So who are you?" she questions nervously and for once, he felt somewhat stumped on that question. After a given thought he only shrugs his shoulders in response.

"I don't know."

It doesn't look like he was lying and that only confirmed her previous suspicions.

(Chat is really gone)

"W-Why are you here?" she hesitantly asked. The albino cat hopped off the rails and stood upright to her height "I came for you" he claims which blushed the bluenette. The confused girl did not understand what he was talking about (me?). "What do you want wit-from me?" further questioning the albino in which he responds.

"What is your relationship with Chat Noir?"

The question shocked her and caused her to hesitantly delay the answer for him as to whether she wasn't sure to tell him about it or not. "Why do you want to know?" she retorts back. Chat leaned against the railing it seems to be a long explanation.

"On that day when I came to be in front of you and those two strangers. I have no memories and the only thing I relied on were my instincts, my fight-or-kill tech Celerita taught . Where I killed someone named Viribus and crippled/traumatized the cowardly Celerita. When I saved your life, ever since that day. Whenever you cross my mind or I accidently think about you. It pains my hurt beyond my comprehension".

His explanation silenced the girl, trying to process what he was trying to say.

"It appears that anytime you cross my mind, my emotions get twisted and I am unable to act straight because of these conflicting feelings."

"So your point is?" she nervously asked, feeling that she is getting closer and closer in learning who he is and possibly learning Chat Noir feelings about her.

"Point being Marinette is that this Chat Noir you keep calling out to is someone mysterious to me but when you call out his name, a hard tug aches my heart. I believe this Chat Noir in this body harbors romantic feelings for you Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette's heart began to flutter at what he said. Uncontainable joy began to flood her entire body until it started spewing outside. She couldn't help it but a small grin started to form on her face and she was blushing intensely.

(Chat held feelings for me?)

"This body I am currently occupying is not mine, but the Chat Noir of a different lifetime is it not?" changing the subject and trying to clarify his suspicions.

Marinette nods in agreement, signifying that everything he deducted is true. "Yes, Chat Noir is someone special to me and because of the battle with those powerful akumas, the ring miraculous on your finger broke and it changed him."

Chat upon learning this, turns his head to look at his ring. Seeing how it had cracked and some pieces chipped off. Seeing her genuine expressions, it is very clear that she is telling the truth.

"I see. I am very sorry for your lost" he apologizes.

Mari bolted her head up and stared at the poker-faced kitty "Lost?...lost? W-w-what do y-you mean lost?" stumbling on her words.

Chat eyes her intensely "I mean the Chat Noir you care greatly for is gone for good and now it will be I who will occupy this body now" he says in a coldly tone.

Mari shook her head in denial and ran towards the white cat clinging unto his shoulders. "Nonono no please! Don't do this. Don't do this to him. Let me save Chat Noir. I beg of you! Please bring him back. Bring him back to me!!!" she begs as she clings onto him tighter.

"If you bring back Chat Noir then I will cease to exist. I do not wish to throw my life away for someone else's when mine has just started."

She continues to beg when Chat gently grabbed her chin and lifted her face up to meet eye-to-eye. The cold light blue eyes meeting the watered darken ones. "No" he coldly refuses. The bluenette's heart sank upon hearing it and in doing so refuses to accept his answer.

"You finally told me about his feelings and I'm grateful for that. With my love for him has never felt so real for anyone. I want to confess my feelings to him, I want to hug him tightly with all my strength, I want to cherish every moment whenever He's around and soon kiss him to send a strong statement from my heart."

Tears begun to stream as she makes eye contact with him.

"How am I suppose to start a relationship with him if you won't even give me a chance? Please don't do this Chat. I need him with me, I need my kitty" she begs but it doesn't appear to faze the albino cat as he just stares coldly at her.

"I do not care."

Mari begun getting desperate and started to act more desperately. That was when Chat aggressively pushes her face backward, causing her to tumble on herself and hit a brick wall behind her. She lets out a whimper of pain before being silenced by the white cat in front of him.

"I want to live my life the way I want but not without this constant pain in my heart for you. If it was by my choice, I would kill you right here on the spot" he claims.

Marinette's screams were silenced by his hand covering her mouth and tears soon came streaming down his white gloves. "Fortunately in respect of Chat Noir giving me this opportunity in life, I will spare your life so all I ask in return from you is to please forget about me."

"P-Please reconsider" was muffled out but he was able to hear her with his super hearing. Chat sighs annoyingly while letting her go and breathe deeply for air. "You will not change my mind Marinette. I know Chat Noir shares the same romantic feelings for you but as for me. I hold no sentimental value with you and therefore, I ask you to do the same and quit this futile attempt, cherish your memories of your dead partner and leave me be with my life."

Mari reached out her shaken hand to touch the albino cat's face in which he willingly let him do so. Upon touching his face, Her eyes widened as how cold his face felt. He felt so cold that for a second, thought that Chat's body was dead but it doesn't appear to affect him at all. After a while, he stood up letting her go on the floor.

"Say your goodbyes to Chat Noir Marinette."

As he turned around to walk away, he was briefly stopped by the bluenette clinging onto his leg. Holding onto it so tightly that it made it difficult even for him to move. With his super hearing, he could still hear her repeatedly mumble to herself for Chat Noir to come back.

(I will save you kitty)

(So persistent) annoyingly thought to himself as he kneeled down to her level. "Marinette, let go. I do not want to kill you" but that only tightened her hold further. At one point, he does admire her persistence and yet it was still quite annoying.

Mari met eyes with him one last time and before she was about to lose consciousness of the wind and the psychiatric trauma, he uttered one last word. "I believe I have settled on my name. Since Chat Noir means "Black Cat." I believe it was the only right choice to call myself."

"Chat Blanc."

Upon hearing it, Marinette finally loses her conscious and blacked out, lastly seeing a saddened white cat before closing her eyes. Chat Blanc seeing her knocked out, he slowly wiggled her grip of his leg, without causing any terrible harm to her. Before Chat readied his baton to leave, he takes one last time to look back to see Marinette laying on the floor.

"This is goodbye forever Marinette, hope to never see you again. For your own safety" and finally extends his baton and readies to flee the scene while leaving the broken Marinette lays on floor, leaving herself painful emotions too much to bear.

Before letting up, Chat made sure to smash his baton aggressively on the floor. Causing a big shockwave, being able to be heard around the neighborhood and especially throughout her home.

A couple minutes later, Marinette's parents peaked their heads out of the hatch to find their daughter laying on the floor, unconscious and cold. "Tom! Go help her" screams Sabine and he did just that, running to her aid and immediately bringing her inside her room.

Tom layed her gently on the bed with a worried mother behind him. Sabine reached her hand out to her face, caressing it gently. "Tom, h-her body is cold and it looked like she was c-crying to herself before knocking out" trembling on her words. The father looked at her daughter in such a state. No teenager should experience such pain and he hated himself not being able to help her. Not knowing the situation at all. Before they left her room to let her sleep, the parents held one last discussion before leaving. Sabine and Tom both synchronized looking back to her, worrying sick of her health.

(Stay safe).

The following morning, Marinette wakes up to find herself on the bed and Tikki next to her sleeping. "Hey Tikki, what happened last night" trying to wake her up. She woke up halfway and did her best to explain. "Your parents came to your rescue and brought you back inside before the cold weather took you." Mari, feeling somewhat touched, picked up her kwami and thanked Tikki for the information.

(I got to remember to thank mama and papa too).

When getting ready, Tikki casually asked "What are we going to do with Chat Noir Marinette?" As much as she wants to reassure her kwami friend, Marinette could not think of a single bright idea to get him back and that saddens her.

"I don't know Tikki. But all I know is that I want to save him, no matter the cost and consequences. I am willing to take it all head on if it means I have a sliver of chance to bring him back."

Tikki looking somewhat confused decides to ask where all this drive and motivation came from and that was when Mari glances at her with her brighten blue eyes. Never in a longtime has she seen her so full of life. Not ever since the incident.

"Chat loves me Tikki."

Tikki eyes widens as she proudly utters the words she never thought would have been said.

"I finally learned that Chat Noir loves me and I love him too Tikki. Our feelings are mutual and I am determined to hear those words from him, no matter how long it will take or how difficult it may be."

Tikki was absolutely speechless. Seeing how much she is committed to saving him was, maybe it was time to consider the one last possible solution. "Marinette, I might have a way to get him back" immediately catching her attention.

"What? There is a way? You gotta tell me please" she begs. "We must meet the guardian of the miraculous, my original caretaker before you Marinette. Maybe he has a way to undo the curse of Chat Blanc and bring back Chat Noir."

(Guardian of the miraculous?)

She asks who that is but Tikki refuses to answer but instead insists on her getting ready because as soon as afternoon hits, she informs that they would set out to meet him.

Excitement fills Marinette's heart as they both found a way to save him. With knowing how Chat feels, how he has the same feeling as she does. In that sense, Marinette's determination in getting him back has never felt stronger. Nothing was gonna stop her from getting her kitty back.

Not even Chat Blanc.

Another long chapter for an eventful, some-what minor reveal, and a emotional feel trip. I am so ready to start the next chapter so I hope you guys enjoy and feel free to like, share, or comment on what you like or opinions on this chapter. Same goes for criticism so I can grow as a writer and story-teller. Thank you and have a nice day/night.