Marinette's POV

My eyes slowly flutter open. I look around at my surroundings and try to remember what happened. I'm laying on my bedroom floor with a massive headache, my shirt blood-stained, and wilted flowers surrounding me.

It's early in the morning, but it's silent outside. I don't hear any cars or movement. Cold winds blow and howl against my bedroom walls. Dust floats through the sun beams piercing through my windows. My room is cold, almost like the heater hasn't been turned on in days. My mouth feels as dry as a desert.

I groan as I sit up and rub my head. What happened? I can't seem to remember anything.

Cards rest around me, surrounding my body. They read 'rest in peace,' 'gone but not forgotten,' and 'always loved'. There are bouquets of flowers not from my Hanahaki disease surrounding me. It's almost like people payed their respects to me, like I was dead, even though I'm not.

My body aches as I reach over for my phone. I tap the screen and the phone screen turns on. My eyes widen as I read the date. It's May. May 3rd. That can't be right, it was only the middle of April!

I immediately jump up and climb up my balcony. I peer at the park and quietly gasp. It's true. It really is May. The cherry blossom trees have shed all of their bright pink petals, and leave the trees alone and depressing. How much time has passed? Why did I fall asleep? Was I asleep because of the Hanahaki disease?

I exhale from disbelief, and I'm quickly shocked when I realize that I can see my breath. That's when I realize I have goosebumps. It's cold. Freezing cold. In May.

"Marinette?" I hear a quiet voice whisper.

I whip my head around and look behind me. A tiny red kwami floats behind me.

"T-Tikki?" I cry. "What happened?!"

Tikki looks at me with half opened eyes, then collapses into my hands.

"Tikki?!"

"Marinette, I'm so hungry..." the kwami quietly mumbles.

"Oh, of course! Let's head down to the bakery right now!" I exclaim, and climb back down into my bedroom.

Tikki weakly shakes her head. "No, Marinette... you don't understand..."

But I don't listen to her. I quickly slide down my stairs and reach the first floor.

"Here, Tikki! Eat your heart ou-"

I gasp and freeze in place. The bakery is destroyed. Glass windows are broken, with shards littering the floor. The bakery lock has been lock-picked. The cabinets and cupboards are open and empty. The cash register is gone. I slowly shake my head and stumble backwards, and collapse on the floor next to a family portrait.

My family portrait. Except, the heads of Mama and Papa are torn from the picture, leaving only me. I shudder and throw the picture away from me.

"Tikki..." I gasp, "... what happened?'

"Chat Blanc happened..." she weakly whispers from my hands.

Oh my god.

No. Please, god, no.

I cup her in my hands and slide her into my purse, then carefully dance over the dangerous glass shards littering the bakery floor. I exit the broken-in bakery and step outside, shielding my eyes from the sunlight.

The streets are empty. Cars are left abandoned on the streets. Leaves scatter across the sidewalk. Lights are off in twenty-four seven shops. Homes have been broken into. Military tanks are destroyed. Helicopters lay crashed in the streets. But most importantly, I'm alone.

At least, I thought I was.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" I hear a voice call out to me.

Chat?

"Marinette, oh my god, it's you! You're alive!"

I whip my head around and stare face to face at Chloé, but it's not the Chloé I know. The Chloé I know would have her hair pulled into a tight pony tale. The Chloé I know would have an elegant face and perfect legs. The Chloé I know would always have the newest style of clothes. So why does she look like she does now?

She wears a bandana to tie her messy hair back. Her cheeks are covered with mud and dirt. Her right sleeve is torn off from her jacket, and her white pants are now stained grey with rips in them. She's switched her flats for ratty combat boots. Her legs are torn and bandaged up. She's a mess.

"Chloé, oh my god, what happened?!" I practically shout.

"I'm not sure you would want to know. Here, come quickly! You can't walk out in the streets anymore."

She grabs my arm and yanks me towards an alley way. My eyes adjust to the darkness for a moment, but in less then a second I can see again. I'm surprised when I see a tent next to a trash fire, with a ratty sleeping bag and backpack to accompany it.

"Here, I'm sure your kwami needs food," she states, digging through her military backpack.

She pulls out stale bread and hands it over to me. I'm surprised and overwhelmed, but without thinking twice, I break a piece of the bread off and hand it to Tikki. In less than a second, she eats it, and flies out of my purse.

"Please, sit Mari. I know you have questions," Chloé says quietly.

I sit cross legged in the alley way, and loom around in pure shock.

"Okay, what the hell happened?! Last thing I remember is reporters interviewing me, Chat bringing me home, and then choking on flowers..." my voice trails off, and I gasp.

Chloé looks away awkwardly. "Yeah, about that..."

"Chloé, I died!"

Chloé freezes, then looks at me, laughs, and falls on her back. "No, Dupain-Cheng, that's utterly ridiculous! The whole city thought you did, but you must have fell into a coma or something!"

"The whole city?" I ask. "What about Chat Noir?"

Chloé sits back up and looks at me with sad eyes. "Everyone thought you were dead. Including Adrien."

"A...Adrien...?" I whisper. "You mean..."

"We figured out it was him when he went missing."

Chloé's eyes start to fill up with tears. She jumps out and pulls me in for a tight hug, and holds me. I'm surprised at first, but then hug her back.

"Adrien was Chat Noir the whole time," she whispers in my ears through silent tears. "He was heartbroken. He couldn't handle it."

"Adrien..." I repeat.

I pull away and weakly smile. "Who knew that Adrien was capable of all those cat puns..."

Silence.

"Are you okay, Dupain-Cheng?" Chloé asks.

I look at her.

"Yeah," I nod, but then bite my lip.

"Marinette?"

"He really was Adrien..."

I look at Chloé with teary filled eyes. My shoulders start to shake. I try and open my mouth, but my fake smile quickly turns into a frown. My chest fills with sharp pains of heartbreak.

"Oh, Marinette..." Chloé whispers, rubbing my back.

I violently sob, clutching Chloé's back tightly. Tears rush down my cheeks along with heavy breaths. I scream.  I can't even say anything, nothing that comes out of my mouth is understandable. My vision is blurred from tears puddling my eye-sight. I squeeze Chloé and weep.

"Hawkmoth akumatized him," she begins. "He's now Chat Blanc. Hawkmoth ordered him to take Ladybug's miraculous, your miraculous, but Chat Noir disobeyed. He didn't want to hurt you. He went straight to Hawkmoth's lair and..."

She bites her lip.

"Anyways, he started his own army. He would force people to join, and people obeyed. It's not hard to be loyal to the winning side. His army started to gather up people on the street and take their belongings. He has spies working for him. He started an apocalypse, Marinette. Your Adrien started an apocalypse. Not even the military could take him down."

I continue to cry large volumes of tears.

"My daddy ran away. He was terrified of his own people. He left me on my own. It didn't take long for people to rob his place for food and money. I ran away, and I've been living on the streets ever since."

"Is that... is that what happened to my bakery...?" I whisper.

She nods. "People need food. Stores have shut down. Everybody is trying to survive on their own. People break into homes to try and get rations for them. It's everyone for themselves."

"Why is he doing this?" I whimper.

Chloé sighs. "Nobody knows. Some people think it's because he wants Paris to be under control, and others think it's all for you."

"All for me?" I ask.

She nods again. "Everyone thought you were dead. People would break into your house to pay their respects. That's why you woke up surrounded by cards and flowers. You were a modern sleeping beauty."

"If it's all for me," I reply, wiping my tears, "Then take me to him! I don't want the city to suffer because of me!"

Chloé smiles slightly.

"Good idea," Chloé agrees. "I know where he is. Follow me."

She grabs my hand and we start to make our way over to the Eiffel Tower. My nose stings from the smell of fires burning. Sirens wail throughout the city. If you really try and look, you can notice camps set up everywhere. I notice there are never more than three people camping together. Chloé must be right, you really can't trust anyone, can you?

"Master Chat Blanc!" Chloé shouts towards the top of the tower, cupping her hand by her mouth. "I have something you would like to see!"

Master?

I feel the stares of people hiding in the shadows. I bite my lip as I hear my name whispered throughout the crowd like I'm some hero of courage or a goddess of wisdom.

Wait, what's happening?

Suddenly a shadow jumps down from the tower and lands with a giant boom, creating a crater in the street and sending dust everywhere. The shadow stands up and walks towards me.

I feel my heart pound against my chest.

"Milady?"

"Chat Noir...?" I whisper, afraid of my own voice.

"Milady, I'm so glad you've arrived!" He cries out, reaching for me.

"Now, my end of the bargain!" Chloé shouts, standing between us.

Bargain? What's happening?!

"Very well then my spy, Chloé. You have earned my mercy. I will not send my army after you."

Spy?

"Thank you, Master," Chloé mutters, keeping her eyes towards the ground and head bowed.

"Don't give me a reason to revoke my mercy, or you will be terribly sorry," He coldly whispers in her ear.

She shudders, but nods and walks away. My eyes widen as I realize what happened. She used me.

"I'm sorry, Dupain-Cheng. I wanted to survive," Chloé whispers in my ear as she walks back to her tent.

I whip my head around, and reach out to her. "Chloé, wait!"

"Ah, ah, ah, my princess..."

I look back at Chat Noir, only he's not Chat Noir. He's white. His eyes are a shocking blue. His skin is pale. He has an evil grin on his face.

"Chat Noir, what's happening?!" I scream, yanking my hand away from his wrist.

He tilts his head to the side and smirks. "You were always a feisty one, weren't you?"

"Chat Noir, answer me! I don't know what's going on!" I yell, tears falling down my cheeks.

"I'll tell you what's going on," He coldly murmurs, leaning into my face.

I listen.

He flicks his bell on his chest. "I'm not Chat Noir anymore. I'm Chat Blanc."

His bell.

His bell! Remember that, Marinette!

"Princess, don't tell me you're afraid! I did this all for you!" He shouts, throwing his hands in the air.

I look around, my thoughts interrupted, and start to cry. People are huddled in the shadows, afraid for their lives. Civilians are forced to scavenge for their food. Spies lurk around every corner, willing to spill secretes of their own family to Chat Blanc if it guarantees their safety. The government has left the city. Homes are broken into, and shops are abandoned.

Paris has fallen.

"Why?!" I scream, tears falling down my cheeks.

Chat smirks, taking another step towards me. "This could be our world, Milady..."

"No..." I mutter.

"We could live here..."

"No."

"I'm the king of this dystopian..."

"NO!" I scream, turning to run.

Chat Blanc grabs my wrist and pulls me toward him, spinning me around and pulling me against his body.

"... so Marinette Dupain-Cheng, will you be my queen?"

I sob with volumes of tears falling down my cheeks. "Chat Noir...!"

He smirks and holds my head, then kisses me, ignoring my tears of pain and heartbreak.

The end is coming soon, boys and girls!

Anyways, Thanks for 20k reads and 1k stars!! This means so much to me, considering I haven't even finished the book yet!! Thank you!!

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