((I only asked Chat to write a portion for the last chapter. This whole thing was too long so I made it. This Chapter is given full credit to him!!))

Shadows.

Black. Dense shadows. So thick one would think they were more than just shadows, making you swim in their darkness and mystery. Every brushing by felt like that of Death's hand, cold and clammy as it caressed your cheek. Every step you would take further into its grasp would be a gamble for your life. Would this be a safe place to step? Or will there be a sickening beast waiting there beneath the layer of blackened fog to swallow you up? Of course, there couldn't be a monster there. Monsters don't exist, after all...

But then again...they do in dreams...

This thought and many others raced through the mind of a certain rogue. Once upon a time, his armor was his anchor to sanity. The blackened leather gear, dark mask, and cat-eared cloak was the one way to free himself from his normal world of care. But as Chat Noir stood within this empty field, unable to move due to pure fear of the unknown...it didn't feel like the case. It was almost like the shadows were drawn to him...mistaking the black cat as part of its dark aura.

Chat Noir fumbled for his trusty silver blade, his fingers shaking as they searched amongst his belt for the hilt. But alas, the sword was gone! Chat Noir was alone in the darkness. Its thick, seeping chill causing shivers to run down his spine. Yet despite the cold, sweat still condensed on his brow. His knees shook furiously, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as the darkness only seemed to draw closer to Chat Noir. He could feel the desires of the shadows...he knew what they wanted.

And they wanted him.

But then, there was a voice. A simple voice. Soft as it called out in the darkness, cutting through the silence like a knife.

"Chat...?" The rogue immediately perked up, his eyes turning wide as he recognized that voice. It sounded hesitant. Worried even.

"Chat...Chat Noir...I can't see anything...where...where are you?!" The voice called again, echoing in the realm of darkness. But louder this time as it pitched with fear.

Chat Noir felt his heart begin to pound rapidly against his ribcage, his breath catching in his throat. Marinette...

"Princess? Princess!! Where are you?! I'm right here!!" the cat cried out into the thick darkness. He could almost swear he could see something in the distance...

Without another moment of hesitation, the rogue began to move. He forced his way through the black fog, pushing away his fears and the crawling sensation making its way up his spine with each step he took. The vague figure was slowly coming more into view. A small, tiny flicker of hope and gladness arose in the heart of the cat. It was like the light at the end of the tunnel. His Princess would always be there to help him out of the darkness!

"Princess! Don't worry I'm here! I'm here and-" The cat's words froze in his mouth as he, at last, stumbled out from the darkness, and into the open. But the feminine figure his eyes had first fallen upon...was no longer familiar to him.

Chat Noir stared in confusion at the woman now before him. Her back was turned to the cat, her brown hair flowing down her back in a straight cascade. She wore thick, richly woven silk dress, the same color of orange fire as it flowed down from her figure, only to pool at her feet. The sight of this strange woman kept the cat rooted to the ground. Something about her felt familiar and yet at the same time...foreign. But yet still completely and utterly hostile, despite Chat not even seeing her face.

Then suddenly, the rogue was startled as a great cry rose up. Clamoring came from every side and angle as Chat Noir, at last, noticed what the woman faced. A massive mob; men and women all furious, spewing forth horrible words and insults towards the center of them. Chat Noir was confused, hearing the chanting and crying out of the people as they raised torches and pitchforks alike, now with one accord calling out to the night...

"Witch! Witch! Witch! Burn the witch and watch her die!!"

Chat Noir felt his heart stop, turning to stone as it fell into his stomach as at last, the townspeople raised up their victim.

Marinette....his precious princess...tied to a stake.

Chat Noir watched her lips move as she cried out. No doubt calling his name. But it wasn't like she had a voice to say his name with anyways. But Chat could still see her fight and pull at her bindings, blindfolded as her stake was fixed over the pile and heap of kindling. Seeing his princess in that pain...in that suffering...stirred something in Chat Noir. The coldness inside of him from the darkness began to heat up, boiling in his stomach. The heat began to focus on his wrist. Feeling like a brand to his skin right over where his witch's mark rested. It began to pulsate with an energy, spreading through the rogue's veins. And the energy only continued to flare as slowly, the orange dressed woman began to raise a single, black-gloved finger towards the girl...an order of execution.

"No....no...no!! Stop this!! She isn't a witch!! Let her down this instant!!" Chat Noir suddenly cried, at last finding his voice as he tried to force himself forward. The boiling energy inside of him only increased, urging him towards his damsel in distress. But his feet stayed fixated to the ground. To his relief, however, the chanting of the people froze, all voices falling deathly silent. But Chat's relief was short-lived, as one by one, every person in that mob turns their head to glare at the rogue. Chat Noir felt every last fiber of his body recoil, shrinking down in a sudden fear and dread as now, the mob began to march towards...him.

Chat Noir shook his head, now trying to back away from the crowd that advanced on him. "Pl-please...you...you don't understand! She's not a witch! Sh-she's my friend!! You can't hurt her!!"

However...the mob seemed to disagree, now muttering again to themselves.

"One of them...he's one of them..."

"Dirty, filthy magic users..."

"Burn him too! Burn the cat!!"

Chat Noir stared, in his horror and shock, as still, the orange woman raised her black glove hand. With a snap of her fingers, the kindling pyre burst into flame...a flame that now roared to life underneath his beloved Princess.

Chat Noir screamed. He screamed and cried at the top of his lungs in grief and pain. He lunged forward, trying to force his way through the crowd as he watched his beloved scream as well. It was almost worse, not hearing her screams. Only to see her mouth agape, screaming in mute silence with the pure terror evident on her face as the smoke and flames began to lick upwards, tasting the girl's body for themselves. Chat Noir roared now in fury, his anger fueling the boiling energy inside of him to new heights. The mob still chanted, clutching at and flooding around the cat. Their hands grasp at his armor and cloak, forcing him back down as he tried relentlessly to climb over them. He had to get to Marinette! He had too!! If he could just reach her...

The mob chanted. Over and over again. But as the energy inside of the cat only increased, his mark burning with both pain and energy, a new chant began to rise. Starting in the back of his skull as a dull, vague thudding. But as it pumped with the beating of his heart, it only grew louder. Clearer. Crawling and forcing itself into the back of Chat's throat. For it was a word...a single word. And it wanted to be said.

But Chat Noir was choked down and silenced as wave after wave of angry mob crashed into him. Chat was helplessly dragged further and further away as the smoke and the fire continued to grow.

Princess...no...Marinette...no...Marinette...MARINETTE!!!

And the world went black.

It took a moment or so...but at last, Chat Noir could see again.

The mobs were gone. The flames reduced to nothing more than a heap of cinder and smoldering ash. Chat Noir's heart stopped yet again.

No...oh gosh no...please...Marinette...please let this not be happening...

Chat Noir's eyes were torn away from the destruction as he saw a fluttering of red above his head. When he glanced up, his heart cracked. For there, fluttering in the hot air currents of a dying fire...was a single, scarlet ribbon.

A ribbon that belonged...to a certain violinist to tie up her beautiful hair...

Chat Noir snatched the ribbon, gaping at it in grief. His thumb skims over the singed material, eyesight blurring as tears begin to well. With a heavy thud, the rogue fell to his knees as his strength left him.

"M-Marinette..." The cat then began to softly cry. Quiet in his mourning as the red silk became dotted with saltwater.

Then. There was a laugh.

Slowly, the cat looked up. And who else would be there, standing over the ashen pile? Who else would laugh, like some great joke had been told, over the burned remains of Chat's beloved?! Who else...but the woman in orange.

Within seconds, Chat Noir felt that now familiar burn of his wrist. The burning of the energy it gave him as it boiled and raged to life in his stomach. It quickly bubbled and rose into his chest, as without thought the rogue lunged.

He roared in fury, his right hand extended as he reached for the murderous wench's throat.

But the moment his hand made contact, everything evaporated into black smoke. And before one could even say 'Unlucky cat'...the same cat was alone. Again. Left for dead or alive in the emptiness of shadows...alone to cry and mourn for what he'd seen.

In fury, Chat Noir roared. He screamed. He lashed out at the shadows, almost begging for something to appear to take him away. Something Chat Noir could fight. Something to feel the same pains that throbbed in Chat's broken heart. But nothing could feel those same pains...could they?

When will this nightmare be over...?

"Not yet, my dear little kitten..." echoed a voice, answering aloud the question the rogue had plead inside his own mind. It was as dark and as sinister as the shadow that surrounded the cat. But this voice was not a woman's. But now, a man's rather.

Slowly, Chat Noir turned around towards the voice, his anger fueling further. He could hear that word. That one damned word continue to pump and pound against his skull. Urging the rogue to strike out at the man that now stood before Chat Noir.

He wore a fine suit. The silk and rich fabrics of various purples and silver contrasted to the dark shadows that curled at his feet. The man grinned down at the pathetic cat, displaying perfect white teeth in that evil smile. Within his hands he held a staff, the hilt adorned with a purple jewel. Slowly, his words like a poisoned blade, the man in purple spoke once more.

"The nightmare is never over...it still has yet to truly begin! You cowardly cat...You've run and hid in your cloak and your mask for years. But never once have you discovered your true power? How pathetic..." the man scoffed. Chat Noir snarled, hip lip curling over his teeth as he glared at the man. "Shut up!!" he hissed. The rogue's right hand began to flex, as if on instinct as the anger inside of Chat Noir only rose to new heights.

"You will never be able to protect your little girl...you are weak. Too weak to even discover your own potential!! Then again...it just might be her undoing, in the end, ...and it will be by your own hand..."

There was another roar as the cat leaped at the man. A guttural, feral scream of all the pent-up rage, pain, and grief inside the cat as it burst forth from his lips at long last.

"CATACLYSM!!!"

Black energy flared to life over Chat Noir's hand as all of his energy poured into that same hand, just as it entered the stomach of the purple man.

But suddenly, the man's form change. Shifting, shrinking, changing colors...

Now, standing before Chat Noir, his hand now buried deep inside their abdomen stood...Marinette...

Her blue eyes, normally so bright and full of life, were dull and dim. They stare into Chat's horrified eyes, just pleading. A single, glass tear slipped down Marinette's cheek as the black energy from Chat's palm began to seep and crawl all over her body. Her lips moved, forming one, single word...

'Why...?'

Like ashes in the wind, the girl's body began to break and fall apart. Chat Noir shook his head, his anger now replaced with much more powerful emotions as he tried to free his hand from her disintegrating flesh.

"N-no...Marinette!! Please, Hold on!! I-I didn't mean to I...I had no idea... Marinette! NO!! MARINETTE!! NOO!!" Chat Noir cried out desperately, grasping for his beloved...

Only for the rest of her to fall away into the nothingness, left now only as a trail of ash...

And that, was when Chat Noir woke up.