This chapter is a collaboration with arcana_fuse !!

Enjoy!

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If his eyes could widen any further, Marinette was sure Chat's eyes would have popped out from their sockets. The ravenette quickly averted her gaze from his however, regret simply soaring throughout her entire body as she awaited for his response. This hadn't been the way she wanted to tell him.

"Wh....what...what do you mean she's p-passed away?" his voice echoes into the large room of silence, the tone of sadness laced in his every word and his voice cracking on ever syllable. It was clear he was trying to hold his emotions back, for Chat Noir wanted not to look weak and vulnerable before his father's eyes. But it seemed his tears had a rather different mission, and would flow regardless of who or what tried to hold them back.

"I was going to tell you, Chat." Whimpers Marinette, her own tears threatening to spill as she takes a step closer to him. Feeling ashamed, she still refused to meet his tear filled eyes. "But there was so much going on, and I couldn't find the right time to tell you. I didn't want you to have to come here with such a heavy weight on your shoulders."

But he steps away, a conflicting look written in his orbs as he met her eyes. "How could you keep that from me? I—I trusted you...."

"I was going to tell you, Chat, trust me." Marinette interrupts him, her voice more stern as she meets his gaze. "But it just wasn't the right time, and I knew you had a lot on your mind—"

His temper withered. "That doesn't matter! You should've told me what happened, it's my mother for hell's sake!" His expression turned to pique, a single tear spilling from his swollen eyelids, anger piling within him. "If you haven't already noticed, she was the only person — not to mention family — who actually cared about me. Not everyone lives in your own little bubble, Marinette. She was all I really had left... and I-I trusted you to tell me..." The pitch of his voice was rising, cracking with every word he forced out. He couldn't do this. He couldn't break down — not here, not anywhere.

At first, Marinette felt a depth of sorrow begin to grow in her stomach. It was true that he had deserved to know from the moment it had happened, but during that time things were diverged and conflicted between her and Chat Noir. How could she have just told him so simply with everything that had been going on?

Looking into his pained eyes, the guilt she felt from
being the cause of it still didn't mask her true feelings. Regardless of the mistake she had made, Chat Noir had no right to be angry at her in particular. How was it her fault that things had unfolded the way they did?

"How.. how dare you throw around the word trust, Chat Noir!" Her eyebrow twitched, a furious scowl overtaking her features. "I understand you're hurt, but have you forgotten what you've done? I came to Paris to be an officer, to follow my dream..but... " She clenched her fists, the words dangling off the edge of her lips. An unsettling flare of anger swirled through her irises. It was terrifying to see her so imminently about to explode of rage.

"You ruined everything, Chat Noir! You ruined my life from the moment you stepped into my apartment!" She yelled, her voice echoing loudly throughout the room, stunning him. It seemed all of his negative feelings had suddenly dissolved at this one painful remark, the atmosphere falling completely silent. Did she really mean it?

She didn't stop there. "I'm guessing that wound you had the night you came to me for help wasn't because you trusted me. That wound was inflicted by one of your own, just to try and get closer to me, wasn't it? To manipulate me further?"

Turning away, he swallowed.

She took this as a yes, burying her head in her hands. "I don't think you're taking this seriously enough, Chat Noir. Your father wants my head. And I have a hard time believing that it's not your fault."

He hated that she was right. Thinking back, it had all seemed so simple when his father had first inaugurated the plan he had for Chat Noir. At the time she was just another pitiful victim of one of his father's plans. But ever since she had first stitched up that first wound, something clicked, and he had realized that she was disparate. Marinette wasn't helpless — she was far from it, and yet in the end he was responsible for what was to become of her.

"Enough," he heard his father's voice boom loudly through his lair, cutting their argument short. Chat Noir's ruffled ears twitched at his cold tone. His jaw clenched — there was so much that still needed to be said.

Gabriel chuckled darkly. "Though your argument is pitifully insufferable, it can go on no longer. I still have plans for you, Marinette."

Attempting to buy more time, Chat huffed.
"And what about me?" He shouted, fists clenching. "Since your promise could not be honored, what is to become of me?"

Gabriel's once amused expression turned stone. "It's rather simple, my son. You're going to tell the world that you stole the missing jewel."

Both Marinette and Chat Noir raised their eyebrows simultaneously. "What?"

Laughing coldly, he said, "You heard me correctly. You're going to tell the public that it was you who stole it." He crossed his arms, a cynical grin stretching across his cheekbones.

Chat clenched his teeth in anger. "Why would I do that? You stole it for your own personal interest, and I will never take responsibility for your escapade." This seemed to be the answer his father expected, a grin growing on his face.

"You will do it." He didn't seem to like this answer.

Chat spat. "I'd rather die."

Only moments later did Gabriel bolt across the room, straight toward Marinette, encasing her with his arm around her shoulders. "In that case," he locked eyes with Chat, unsheathing a black, curved blade, "your little friend here is going to have to pay the price." The blade had now found new residence at Marinette's throat, causing her to give a deep swallow of fear.

His eyes widened, anger brewing within him."You'd really kill her, just to cover up what you've done?"

Gabriel smiled wickedly. "I was already going to kill her — she's been a liability since the beginning. But, since you seem to take such an interest in her, might as well kill two birds with one stone. Right?"

Furious swells of vexation swirled throughout Chat's mind. So it was true — after all that he had displayed, his father really didn't care for anyone but himself.

Cutting through his thought, his father wasn't quite done with his sentiment. "And, let's not forget..." Gabriel said, twirling the knife between his fingertips, only further testing Chat's temper, "how far you have gone to cover up what you've done."

That was enough to make him explode in anger. Raising his fists, Chat searched the open space, his enraged orbs scouring every inch of the room in hopes of finding an exit.

"You two!" Gabriel bellowed, inciting both Alya and Carl to attack Chat Noir, "Seize him!"

Approaching him from both the left and the right, Chat barely had enough time to prepare for the sudden attack, backing up to try and fabricate a three-second plan within his mind.

Alya arrived first, her fist crashing against Chat's cheek, causing his vision to blur. Stuck in a lock between the two, Chat looked over his shoulder to see Carl approaching from behind. His muscles seared as he pushed Alya forward — knocking her off balance and giving him enough time to grab Carl's fist that was about to strike him. Twisting his arm, Carl seethed in pain before eventually breaking free, causing Chat to take a few steps back.

Alya had already composed herself, now joining Carl's side. Again, she took the liberty to lunge first with a flimsy uppercut, which Chat easily dodged. She paid the price when Chat drove his elbow into her gut.

Now stalled, Chat lunged at Carl next, wrapping his arms around his waist as he tried desperately to swing at him, throwing Carl over his shoulder and slamming him to the ground. That was enough to leave him in a daze.

Before the two could recover, he looked toward Marinette who was still in a predicament of her own, dashing toward her.

She struggled with Gabriel for the knife, his strength easily overpowering her and causing the blade to once more near the nape of her neck. Knowing she was out of options and clenching her teeth, she didn't hesitate to knee him as hard as she possibly could where the sun never shines.

Momentarily, Gabriel let go of her, groaning in pain. He reached out for her, his hands finding her hair, pulling aggressively at the strands in an attempt to bring her back toward him. While he was so focused on doing this, Marinette fought with him for the knife, her muscles searing endlessly as she refused to let go of it.

Finally her fingers grasped it fully and she pulled the knife away, Gabriel following suit. But before he could even get an inch nearer to her, his plans were foiled.

Chat Noir had already swept Marinette into his arms, keeping a steady pace as he sprinted toward what was seemingly an opening to the outside of the complex — from what he could tell, it looked like where they had first entered. Marinette had barely just blinked and they were already out the door, several voices yelling from inside the complex. Chat's heart pounded loudly in his ears and he didn't stop running for blocks on end. He couldn't risk it.

Finally, once his legs could not possibly run any further, he released Marinette in an alleyway, crumbling to his knees in exhaustion.

Breathing heavily, Marinette could only stared at him blankly. Regardless of all that had just happened, she couldn't just sit there and suddenly forgive him. "I still can't believe you were with him...  the whole time." she uttered, breaking the heavy silence between them. The feeling of betrayal still sunk into her chest like an anchor.

Chat's dazed state did him no justice, allowing himself to be easily enraptured by annoyance. He gazed at her, his breath heavy. "Was that not enough to prove to you that I'm completely against everything that's happened?"

Marinette scowled. "Well, how am I to know this isn't still part of your little scheme with your father? It's just as he said, you've been with him since the beginning."

Chat sighed, running a hand through his hair. It was true, it was frustrating that she was mercilessly forcing the continuance of their argument, but she still had every right to be mad. After all, he had basically lead her to her death. "But Marinette, you have to understand why I did it. My mother, she was dying—"

"I'm terribly sorry about your mother." Indeed, her tone strayed into sincerity,  "But things could have gone differently than they did, Chat Noir, and you know that." Marinette wrapped her arms around herself tightly, burrowing her head.

He sulked in his own disparity. He kept reminding himself that this is what he deserved. But, regardless, he still felt rather incapacitated.

"Maybe if you hadn't focused so much on dealing with your father, who not to mention has betrayed you in the past," Marinette's dark eyelashes trailed to the floor, her expression hidden from between her arms, "your mother would still be alive."

The words were painful, to say the least, considering what she uttered was probably true. He lowered his head, a throbbing warmth taking over his body. The thought of him being the true cause of his mother's death— regardless of his attempts to save her— was enough for bile to form in the back of his throat.

The silence that had converged between them was awfully unsettling, to say the least, so Chat quickly decided to change the subject. Even more tension was the last thing that they needed.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to stop my father." Chat muttered, using his palms to stand up, "Whether or not you want to be involved is your choice. If you don't want to help, I won't convince you otherwise."

She stared at him blankly, clearly thinking amongst herself. Was it so wrong to still not entirely trust him?

Chat sighed. "Even if it means you never seeing me again — if that's what it takes for you to trust me, then so be it." He gazed at her, as if an empty feeling had just overtaken him at the thought.

Marinette stood, brushing herself off. She released a sigh of her own, crossing her arms. She wanted to walk away, so just as Chat Noir had told her — but she couldn't.

"I don't really think I have a choice, Chat Noir. Your father needs to be stopped."

Answering with a silent nod, he pulled his phone out of his pocket. He was glad she had agreed to help— though he didn't want her in any danger, her lack of hesitance meant she still held some faith in him.

"Okay. But we can't do this alone. We'll need some help."

He dialed a number, slowly raising the phone to his ear. He swallowed dryly while the number rang.

"Nino? Hey. We-uh...we need your help."

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I'm SO SO SORRY for the long wait! but we are finally back on roll again with this story, and hopefully it will stay that way!

And guess what???!!! "Cops and Robbers" is ranked #1 under the Tag #robbers! I am so excited omg! This accomplishment would have not been possible without you guys!

Thank you for your patience and continuous support!❤️

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Thanks!
-Dippy