Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

A normal girl, with a normal life.

That is until she accepted her dream job in New York, leaving behind all responsibilities.

Ladybug leaving and Marinette leaving... not a big enough coincidence for Chat. He was blinded by love and fear, the two biggest emotions one can feel. And he felt both, for a long, long time.

"Chat, I'm sorry. But I'm... moving on."

"Ladybug, no. You can't. Don't leave me, M'la-"

"Don't," a frown appeared on her face, "Don't make this harder then it has to be."

He'd always remember, remember the day she left, and all the days before it. 

The day they met she was a clumsy, insecure, and forgetful girl. She was never that to him, just the girl of his dreams... in a mask. He would never let her go, but apparently she would.

He would never forget.

After all, who could forget her?

----

"Dame Rouge! Use the Lucky Charm!"

"Now?"

"Yes, now!"

The villain crept closer, cornering Chat in the hopes of touching him. He couldn't let him come in contact with himself or else his greatest fears would come true... not that they already haven't.

She tossed her small, rosy yoyo in the air, and called the phrase 'Lucky charm!'

She didn't do the same as Ladybug in this, as she would spin the waist-cord quickly, displaying a pink circle of light. As soon as she had spun it for a second or two, she would release it in the air, jumping with both feet.

With a flash of rosy red light, a small, black square-like object fell from the sky, and as she gripped it she realized it had a clamp attached to it. Her face displayed confusion as she turned the object over in hopes of recognition, but nothing.

"Dame Rouge, hurry!"

"You know it wouldn't kill you to give me a nickname, plus, what is this?" She sat there for a moment, constantly moving her head to look every which way, but nothing. Just a screen of black and white... no place for her to put the item to use.

"It's a-" Chat started, holding Sandman's arm in place, shakily grasping his forearm. At that moment Sandman slipped through, and touched him. He prepared himself for hell. But... nothing happened. Sandman lay his hand on him again, still nothing.

"What?!" Sandman screamed, "How is this possible?"

"You wanna know how it's possible?" Chat jumped swiftly, landing behind him. He extended his staff and, with a quick gesture, put him in a headlock.

"When you're already living a nightmare."

Dame Rouge's eyes became empty, as her stomach dropped. She knew exactly what he meant. Her heart became heavy and wasn't amused by the fun of the game anymore.

"Dame Rouge, see that man with the guitar over there? That's a tuner. Grab the guitar and follow your instincts."

"Yeah sure. Whatever you say, Chat Noir."

She slowly placed one foot in front of the other, softly landing on the gravel. She had no rush as she knew Sandman couldn't cause too much further harm, just a mozy across the road.

"Come on! I can't hold him forever!"

"Well, get used to it. I've been holding the bad guys on my own this whole time. What would Ladybug think of this?"

Those words broke him. What would Ladybug think of this?

He was done. She was the worst Ladybug to ever inhabit Paris, and the real Ladybug was off living without memory of him. His life was empty, as Ladybug was gone and his father still shut him out.

"Well if you've done so good this whole time on your own, you wouldn't mind doing it one last time." He released his hold and angrily floated away on his staff.

Dame Rouge re-positioned herself, preparing for her solo battle, "He'll never understand, will he?"

----

"Plagg, claws in." A quick glimmer of green light washed over him, and he was Adrien Agreste.

"Adrien... you can't just-"

"Plagg I know. I know. But it's just... she's... not her. She's not Ladybug."

...

 "She never will be."