Chat Noir didn't know much.

He couldn't remember much, either. Other than the girl ramming into him like her life depended on it, and then her asking Hawkmoth about some Adrien guy, his life was pretty much empty.

What he did remember was helplessness.

Confinement.

Eyes watching him at every turn in life.

Chat shuddered, his eyes squeezed shut at the reminder of whatever terrible life he had once lived. There was no need to harp on past lives. He need only think of the present.

And in his present there was this girl. This girl staring up at him with terrified eyes as he freed himself from her grasp. As he bowed to Hawkmoth.

He had a choice. He could choose to not follow Hawkmoth's wishes. But somehow, deep in his mind, he knew that there would be consequences if he chose his own path.

So he would obey.

This isn't the freedom you were promised.

"I don't care, it's better!" Chat grit out at his own thoughts, causing the girl to stare at him and Hawkmoth to frown.

Was he ever not frowning?

"I hope you weren't thinking of disobeying," Hawkmoth said, his tone slippery, "After proving your loyalty, I'll allow you to go wherever you wish. I promise."

The words felt like a thousand lightning bolts crackling underneath Chat's skin. He could be free. He was so close. All he had to do was get rid of that girl.

That girl who had tears running down her cheeks, and eyes as wide as moons. That girl who had acted as though she cared. At least for this Adrien fellow, who Chat felt strangely connected to.

That girl, who was terrified. Not of Hawkmoth, but of him.

This isn't right.

But even as the he thought it, Chat lifted the girl from the ground. He made sure to be gentle, not wanting her to suffer any more than she would have to. His freedom was so close. A whimper escaped her lips as he placed her on her feet, her knees practically giving way.

Chat couldn't take it. He turned back to his master.

"Master," he purred, "how do—"

But he couldn't finish the sentence.

A pain so hot that he felt sure that he was burning alive rippled through his back. He screamed, the sound cut short when he crumpled to the ground and trembled in the dirt. His limbs jerking, Chat tried to think, tried to feel, but all that existed was pain. He bit his lip, trying to distract himself, but he only succeeded in biting a bit off and blood trickled down his chin.

"Stop!"

A desperate yell, barely heard by the suffering cat.

A chuckle echoed through the silent yet deafening crowd. The pain slowly ebbed away, and Chat Noir forced himself to look up at Hawkmoth, forced himself to stand. His knees felt like jelly, and he felt someone grab under his arm and help him stay up.

It was the girl. The girl who had, only a minute before, been terrified. The girl who now stared at Hawkmoth with so much hatred it made Chat shiver. Tears still flowed from her eyes, but now they seemed angry, and her lips were twisted in a snarl.

"How dare you," she growled, the simple words making Chat want to run away and hide, "How dare you make this boy suffer only minutes after you recruited him! Is this how you keep you victims loyal? Fear? Pathetic!"

While Chat was in full of awe and fear at how fiercely the girl protected him, Hawkmoth only laughed again. He twirled a knife in one of his hands, the purple hilt glistening.

"You think that little speech will make me feel bad?" Hawkmoth said, his grin showing just how effective the girls' speech had been, "I am helping this... creature fulfill his dream of being free. All he had to do was kill you without question. But instead he hesitated. And, as I'm sure you know, hesitation kills."

The girl paled slightly, but her expression was still full of determination as she let go of Chat. Though he could now stand, the cat wanted her to stay by his side. He felt safer by that girl, where her fierceness hid his cowardice.

But she walked away from him, her hands clenched in fists and her scowl practically scorching the air around her.

Hawkmoth was unbothered by the whole fiasco, and he turned to Chat with a bored expression on his face.

"I'll give you one more chance," Hawkmoth said, the calm words causing fear to cascade through Chat once again, "Kill. The. Girl"

This time Chat Noir didn't hesitate.

He wanted to. Oh God, he wanted to. But the pain and his freedom were overpowering, and he lunged towards the girl even as she corrected Hawkmoth by saying:

"The name's Marinette! I—"

Though she had wanted to say more, Chat Noir grabbed her neck with one hand, lifting her off of the ground. She squirmed in his grip, betrayal and fear and pain all flashing across her face.

Betrayal.

Had he really been trustworthy in the first place?

No. She shouldn't have trusted him. She shouldn't be staring down at him with those fierce eyes that way, as Hawkmoth smiled. She should be resisting death, instead of letting her arms hang loosely by her sides.

She should be resisting. Clawing at his hand with hers, kicking at him with her legs.

She should be wary of him. She should have let him lay on that dirty ground, instead of helping him up.

She should hate him. She should be staring at him with the same ferocity that she had with Hawkmoth.

But she wasn't.

He would hate anyone who tried to take his life. And yet... She didn't. Or she didn't seem to as he slowly squeezed her neck. She almost smiled at him before her eyes began to loose focus.

But at that very moment pain coursed Chat, and he was forced to drop her.

Hey Catbugs! Thanks for reading this chapter. Sorry for how short it is, the Christmas season is always hectic and I've lost my creative spark. Or at least it feels like it.

If there's any grammatical errors feel free to correct me.

Do you have any theories on why Chat was hurt? Who did it?

And please don't forget to hit the shiny little star!