Amnesia [MARICHAT]

7

"Chat!"

She fell to her knees beside him, shaking his shoulders. "Chat Noir? Are you okay?"

He groaned. "Yeah. I'm purr-fect." 

He was a jokester, apparently, but that seemed to mean he was alright. "Come on, get up."

"Geez, that stuff gave me nightmares..." He rubbed his head.

"You were dreaming?"

"Kind of." He stood, Ladybug following. "It made me fall asleep, and it felt like everything was hurting. I wonder what the girl's motive was..."

Both of them spun to look at the girl crumpled on the ground. Her hair was brown now, and she wore a simple tee shirt and jeans. 

"I got her, M'Lady. You're about to transform back - you need to go."

Her earrings beeped for the third time and she nodded. "Okay. See you next time, Chat Noir." She went to leave and find her way back home when he spoke again.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

What? Oh no, she had messed up. She knew she couldn't do this. What was she thinking? She should've convinced Tikki to find someone better suited for the job.

"Um..." What could she say in excuse? 

He was holding out his fist. "Bien joue?"

Oh. She placed her own knuckles against his, relieved. "Bien joué, Chat Noir."  She turned and ran through the now-free entrance and left the museum. People were in the streets of Paris as she exited, cheering.

Yes, all of the damage done by akumas was gone. Everything was back to the way it was supposed to be. Even those wrecked cars and broken windows were miraculously fixed. 

Glaring half-heartedly at her yoyo, she swung it around a few times before flying between buildings and trying not to freak out. She was getting better at it, but she knew she had to get home before her identity was revealed to anyone.

The bakery was right next to her school, so-

But she had no idea where she was. Not even the general direction.

Oh, God... Where did she live? She remembered going to the Eiffel Tower, and then in a random direction, finding The Louvre, but she still had no idea which direction from the Tower she needed to go.

And she didn't have time to figure it out, because she had only sixty seconds left.

Ducking into an alley out of sight, she thankfully landed without anymore severe crashes, though her body ached. She could tell her ankle wasn't going to hold up for long without some rest first. 

She de-transformed, wincing as her body immediately sagged against the brick wall. Tikki flew out of her earrings, also relatively exhausted.

"You did it, Marinette. I'm so proud of you," she beamed. 

"You're telling me I did this every week?" Marinette shook her head. "I can't believe it."

Tikki floated in front of her. "It's true. You're an amazing and kind person - and brave, too. You were always the right one for the job, even now. You haven't changed, Mari. You're still the same person as before." 

"I don't feel the same. I feel like everyone can tell that I don't even know who I am anymore." 

Tikki sighed. "Let's go home, Marinette. It's about to rain."

"I don't know how to get there."

"What?" Tikki looked up at her, startled. "What do you mean?"

"I don't remember." Marinette whispered.

"Oh, no..." Tikki tapped her cheek. "We'll find it. Trust me, I can figure it out. You've always carried me around in your bag, but I peeked out sometimes. It can't be that far away. Don't worry."

"I," her eyes burned. "I don't know what to do." Rain began pouring down, soaking her hair and blending with her tears -

Panic was gnawing at her, fear coating her heart. She was lost, and she didn't have her phone with her, and she was going to make her parents and friends worry again -

"Marinette?"

She felt horrible for making them worry so much, because it was her fault this had ever happened in the first place -

"Marinette."

And if she hadn't been so foolish, no one would be in pain but she had been and now -

A hand shook her shoulder and Marinette's head shot up, her eyes finding green ones. She hiccuped a sob. Chat Noir was crouched in front of her from where she sat in the alley. He looked concerned and confused at what she was doing there. 

Her delight at her own accomplishments had withered away into fright, and she could do nothing but turn away from the hero.

"Let's get you home," he murmured, and lifted her into his arms. She gripped his shoulders as he began walking.

"Hold on," he said into her hair as he extended his baton and brought them over rooftops. She blinked away the mix of rain and sadness and looked out on the city as they passed by. It was the afternoon, and her lunch hour was up by now, for sure, but she ignored that and focused on the beauty. 

Paris was gorgeous. A little dirty, as she assumed other cities were, but the Eiffel Tower cast a shadow through the rain and it didn't look daunting. No, it seemed as if it were there to protect.

"Are you going to tell me what you were doing out here, Princess?" 

She didn't answer.

"Were you lost?"

She nodded. She would answer all the questions she was able to without revealing anything related to Ladybug. He deserved that. 

"Hmm," he mumbled, than said, "Then maybe someday I could give you a tour, so you can go where you wish without worrying."

He leapt down onto her balcony, the rain beating down on both of them. "I would like that," she said.

"I'll leave you be, then. And don't wander off during an akuma attack, please. You don't want to make me a scaredy cat, now do you?" He smiled. 

She wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands. "Yeah. I'm sorry."

He nodded, and held out his baton, about to leap away, when Marinette stopped him. "Do you..want some hot chocolate? I don't want you to get a cold or anything..."

It was true, but she also wanted him to stay a little longer. He was a piece of her past life that knew both sides of her and appreciated them equally. She wanted to learn more about herself through someone who knew her best, whether he was aware of it or not. 

"I do have school, you know..." At her sullen expression, he grinned. "But so do you, and if you aren't going back right now, then neither will I."