"Well, with or without?" Sabine turned posing the flower so Marinette could see
"Umm, with?" the blue-haired teen smiled. She felt like she was the one supposed to be asking that, well, if she had any love life whatsoever.
"You're sure it's not better without?" said the mother as she turned again to the small mirror on the bookshelf
"Either way you look perfect mom."
"You know? It's not every day you celebrate your twentieth wedding anniversary." She grasped her daughter's hands with her own. Marinette could only smile to the pure excitement and bliss radiating from her mother. She looked so cute as she gushed about today's plans
However...
"Marinette! Could you come here for a minute please?" Marinette had to run. Her other awkward lovesick not-teenager needed her.
Downstairs, her father Tom greeted her with a "Well?" with his arms open wide.
Her mind drew blanks. It's better just to ask; she supposed "Well what?"
"My mustache, I groomed it. Is it too short? Should I shave the whole thing off? Maybe it's a little crooked on one–"
"You look perfect dad." She interrupted before he got momentum. Although, "except for one thing." She pointed his cooking apron
"Uh? Thanks, sweetheart" he said as he ran into the house
"No problem dad!" She chuckled.
It was too cute. Twenty years and each day they were more in love. It was a bit inspiring how their love stopped and reversed time and adversity. If her future could just resemble theirs, then she would live a satisfying life.
Sadly, her future for tomorrow demanded math homework.
One of the things most people tend to forget is how quickly things can go south. Catastrophes happen without warning; muggers attack in the blink of an eye. Paris has been trying getting accustomed to the recent Akuma crisis, but there is no real way to predict the random villain attacks. The Parisians best hope is to learn to adapt and respond quickly to an emergency, and this is especially true for Ladybug and Chat Noir, the Parisians superheroes.
For that, Ladybug should improve her reaction time. Because she should have seen it coming, she should have predicted the sudden tug, and she should have tried to escape the quick hand gloved in black that was going for her earrings, her miraculous.
She should have known Chat Noir would get in the way to save her, the same way he took the arrow from Dark Cupid. And now, Chat Noir was disappearing, and she couldn't do anything to stop it. Not right now, but she could amend this.
"Chill out, Hawkmoth, I have a sick plan," Timebreaker said as she took off back to Trocadero
Ladybug reacted in time and hooked her yo-yo in the villain's waist, but there was no way to stop her momentum, and she dragged the screaming heroine up the stairs.
She could do this. She could still fix it! She only needed to just hang long enough!
Timebreaker jumped the last flight of stairs and Ladybug barely managed to regain her balance. Suddenly, neon green sparks came from the rollerblades, and a flash of light took the villain and the heroine back in time. In the past, two Ladybugs and one briefly elated Chat Noir fought and won against Hawkmoth's Akuma. Or at least that is how it went this time.
Some people believe in predestination, some that the future comes one second per second. I believe in possibilities. Others like me will surely know of the butterfly effect, the chaos theory, alternate timelines, the infinity of the fifth dimension, even if they don't believe in any or some of them.
This is different timeline, a branch of the seemingly endless stream of time that started just with a small tw͠i͢st͝
-̨-̢-͘-̕-
_T҉i̵͞męb̛r̷e̵a͜k҉̢͜er̨̛͏ jumped the last flight of stairs and Ladybug barely managed to regain her balance. Suddenly, neon green sparks came from the rollerblades, and a flash of light took the villain and the heroine back in t̨i͜m͞͏e͝.
"Woah, what, just happened?"
"Ladybug. Is all La̡͜d͏͜y͢b̵͘u͘͢g҉̵'s fault!"
-̨-̢-͘-̕-͞-̷-̢-̢-҉-̢-҉-́-̢-͜-͘-͢-̵-̧-̀-̢-̛-͘-͝-̢-͟-͞-͏-̧-͢-̴-̶-҉-͠-͢-҉-͘-͏-҉-́-̛-̸-̧-̴-̶-͟-̴-
Timebreaker jumped the last flight of stairs, and L̕a҉d̴̨y̕b̧͞ug̕͝' barely managed to regain her balance.
"Oh, wow, we've ģ͢ǫn̨͟͠e bą̶̛c̸k̨҉ in time, haven't we?"
"I need m͠o̡҉re̸͠ ̛e̷ne̡̡ŗg͘͜y̵. I gotta go f͟u̵̧rt͏͠h̷̨er͘ ̵͟b̧̡͜ac͞k͜͢ ̷͜i̢҉͡n t̸̴įm̸̡̧e͞!͏."
-̡͟҉-̢͞͡-͘-͢͝-͟͡-̷̕-̸̴͞-͢͜-͏-͡͏-̷̕-̷-̴̢-͘-̸-͏-̡-͟-̷́͟-̷̷̨-̶-̷͡-̡-̴-̸͘-͜-̡͘-͢͠-̶͟҉-͜-́̕-҉-̸-̷-̡͢-̡-̵̀-̨̡͝-̶-̴̵͜-̀̀-͝-͠-͠-̕-̀҉-҉͝-͜͞-͢-̕͝͝-́-͘̕҉-̷͜-͝-́͜-̧͠͝-̶-̢͝-͡-̴̛͠-̢͡-̡-̀҉͜-̛̕͞-̛́͢-̀-̷҉͞-̷̴̸-̀͏͢-́͠-̨̀
Timebreaker jump̧ed̕͏ ̴t͏h͢e͘͜͝ ͡l̨a̷͡s͢t̶͢ f̸̴͜l̛i̸͢ght of sta͢i͘͢r͝s b͜͜͠͠u̵̕̕҉t̵͟ Ladybug d͘҉͘i̕͏d̢҉͟n͢'t̢͠ ̵͏͟managed to regain her balance. Sud̸̨d͞͏e͞͠n͢l̵̴͏y, neon green sparks came from the rol̡le̵r͠bl̵a̢de͝s̸, and a flash of light took the villain a̶̸͟͢n̸̡͠d̷̛ ͢͞t͘҉h̷̨̛̕͡e̛͘͡͏ ̴̷͘͝͝h̶̶͝͡e̢̕͟r̶͘o̶̡͡i̷̢̧n̡̢̛̛e̸̢͝͝͝ back in t҉͜i̴̧̡̨̕m̷̷̡͢͡e͘͘͏.͜͠҉͟
-̷̡̕͏͢-̨̕҉͞-͠͏̶̷̛-̵͞-̵̧̛́͘-͢͡-̷̸͠͡-̢̛͞-̸̕͢-̡̕-̴-̛͘-̀͟͟-̛͘͢͞-̶-̸̴̧͠-̕҉̵͡-̛͘-̴-̷̧-̨̨̛̕͢-҉̵̕͟͞-͏̴͜͝-̸̢͡-҉͏-̀͏̸-̴̵͢͟͟-͏̸̨̀-̸̷͟͠͡-̢͡-̕͜-̕͟͟͜-̶̢͠-̵̢-̴̧͠-̡͏̛́͞-̷-̀͟͝͠-͏҉͘͝-̧͘-̧̡̢-̸̛͟͏-̴̧́̀-̸̡-̨͢͏҉̢-̵̵̷͠͞-̶͢-̸͟͡-͜-̢̛̛́͜-̕͝-̛͟͜-̡̕͘-̷̴͞-̶͝-͟͏͞-̸̶͢-̷͟͏̶-̵̛͞͏-̴̛-̡̛͘͝-̨̧̕͜͡-̶́͝-͏̨-̸̕͘͠-̴̷̧͢-̴҉-̧̧́͝-͠͏̸͝-̶͘̕͢͡-̨͞͞-҉̵-͜҉̀͡-҉̛-̢͘͠͞-̷̡̡͢-̡̨͏̀́-̴̢̀͘͜-͏̸͘͞͞-̷̵̶̛͟-̴̶̛͞͡-͟͠-̶̵̛͏̧-̧͢-̸̛͟-҉͜͟-̢̨͟͜-̵̡̕͘͟-͏͡-̵-̷͡͞͡
Timebreaker jumped the last flight of stairs, but Ladybug missed her footing as she landed again. For a second, she hung to the yo-yo like a lifeline before she tumbled forwards and let go. Suddenly, neon green sparks came from the rollerblades, and a flash of light took the villain back in time, leaving the wide-eyed heroine behind.
"Wait! No, you…!" She yelled at the air.
"You…" She trailed off as her hand hung limply
She turned to look the space where Timebreaker disappeared. 'She's just… gone. Like she wasn't even there to begin with' There wasn't even markings on the ground to testify her existence. Timebreaker, Alix, was gone, she left without her and with the Akuma, and she isn't there (then?) to purify it.
'So, what does that mean?' A dreadful silence hung over her head.
to was about eight or seven and a half minutes in the past. So before Alix was akumatized, maybe before Papa called her for leaving Ms. Chamak waiting. But, what could have happened after Timebreaker appeared in the past? Would she attack their classmates to recover the watch? Most probably, and Chat and she, her past-self, would intervene just like the first time, right? But, she was close to Chloe, who had the watch the moment of the accident. Ladybug gasped; worse, Adrien was even closer!
She had to go back, somehow. She wasn't in a fight, neither there was an Akuma, but it was worth the try.
She launched her yo…! Her yo-yo! Timebreaker had it! Suddenly, she felt ill, and her knees buckled. Her classmates, her friends, her Adrien, would they all be frozen in time, just like this time? Even still, she had to try!
She raised her open hand as she yelled "Lucky Charm!" but nothing came. She grabbed her wrist and stared intently at her hand, hoping, praying for something to happen. And as she stared, she noticed the black spots slowly enlarging, and the red spaces becoming shorter.
Before she could ponder on it, the silence was interrupted "Hey! Is anyone there!?" That voice Nino!? Ladybug ran to the wall overlooking the plaza where the race took place. Juleka, Nathaniel, Nino, and Max were there, very much alive and running up the stairs. They were there; they are still here!
"Ladybug!? Oh, thank goodness! We were all there, and then there was a villain, and then they started to disappear and oh poor Rose and Alya and Ivan and... " Juleka cried.
"Where's the villain? Timebreaker, did you defeat her? Where's everyone?" Nathaniel asked in rapid fire
"Ladybug, please, tell us what just happened! Alix said she was going to go back in time as she froze our classmates. Where is she, did she succeed? Max interrogated the increasingly nervous heroine.
Nino, God may bless his thoughtful self, noticed the black spotted heroine's discomfort and told his friends to give her space for breathing.
After she recollected herself, she turned to her classmates who were whispering with each other "I, uh, thanks for waiting. I'm b-better now. So, before you ask, how did you escape?"
"We hid. Behind the stairway. Ivan was running to our hideout when she saw him. He must have noticed because he ran in the other direction." He had a grim frown and a lower gaze "Alix chased him, and well, that happened. "This is so nasty," Suddenly, his head snapped back up. "Have you seen my friend, Adrien Agreste; blonde, green eyes, white jacket? He ran to some trees over… uhh, where was he going to again? Nevermind, did you see him, or Marinet…? Ladybug, are you doing ok?"
Nino was taken aback when he noticed the tears silently falling down the heroine's mask. She brushed them off "Y-ye-No, I'm not, I-I failed to save you and Chat and them" It was in that instance that the weight of the calamity touched the bottom. Not because of his retelling of the catastrophe, she stopped listening to him a bit ago. Her raging thoughts had finally settled in one single truth: she had failed, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Before, she had made a mistake, but she had fixed it. She had stopped Ivan the first and the second time, she had saved Chloe, stopped Hawkmoth from turning Paris against them. But then, Chat had been there to encourage her and support her. Then, she had had her yo-yo to fix the damages. Then, there hasn't been an actual casualty. Now, now her friends are lost forever, and truly, she was powerless.
Juleka reached first to her hand "None of this is your fault, right? Let's not forget who's the real villain here."
"Nobody is holding a grudge against you, Ladybug. You had to fight against time itself. It's nigh impossible to win against an axis of our universe, lest to win against someone that could break that axis. Time only marches forward, Time should only march forward" Max explained in his own way of comforting. Nath silently settled his hand on her shoulder
She would have loved to embrace them, to feel the warm affection radiating from their simple gestures. She was tempted to recede back to the comfort, just for a little while.
But then, a scream broke the silence in the plaza.
"Oh god, oh god. Help him!" A woman panicked trying to hold the shimmering fading form of a man. Not an instance after, she froze in the same position and her figure started blurring.
Ladybug jumped away from the circle her friends had formed. Had Alix come back again? Could she travel forwards in time?
Ladybug needed to know what was happening.
Then, behind her, Nino screamed for her as Nath started to disappear. Juleka's frame stopped as she fell backward, freezing in midair. Max's hadn't moved from his spot, and his gaze went off to an infinite horizon.
Again, her knees felt weak, and her heart ached. It was Alix's doing, wasn't it? She was freezing them again. Had the watch broke again? Was she taking out her anger and need of revenge on their classmates? She didn't know. She didn't know what was happening and she was scared and worried and remorseful because she wasn't then to do something about it, something to stop this madness.
Nino's shoulders were rising and falling rapidly with his breathing, and his head was shaking quickly. His eyes couldn't keep still, and he kept muttering something Marinette couldn't catch. Without warning, he started running away from her and the space where their friends were fading.
He only managed to run a short distance when without warning the earth shook and cracked open. From the cracks a vile and putrid slime sprout like a witch's cauldron. A black lighting fell on the roof of the buildings and the sky instantly blinked from blue to a sickly green. She could hear screams and wails from everywhere and she couldn't tell who was the panicked human and who was the angry ghoul.
She tried to stand up, but the strength on her ankle left her. When she looked down, she noted with confusion and mild horror how the colors of her suit had reversed. Her now black skin-tight suit was covered in red polka dots. Whatever it meant, she was losing strength and she was feeling pain in her ankle. She hoped really hard it didn't actually strain.
She searched for Nino, she would talk with Tikki as soon as she could get the boy to safety. He found him a little ahead in fetal position covering his head. Ladybug summoned every inch of her fleeting strength and limped towards the boy.
"Nino," she called "Nino, please. We have to get you back to safety." He was still murmuring, and the few words that were intelligible and loud enough for her to hear scared her.
She shook his shoulder and hit him in his arm, but there were no signs that he was listening. This wasn't working
Making sure that she still could move, she started dragging the muttering boy by the neck of his blue shirt. Even though the pain and the strain on her ankle was growing stronger by the second, she had to make sure at least he was away from danger. She would try to save at least one of her friends. She had failed, but she wouldn't let her failure keep harming those she cared for, not if she could help it. Not as long as she could move, not as long as there was a little strength in her. A spark of determination kept her going, even when all seemed lost. She wouldn't stop, even if she failed! She wouldn't-
The earth broke without warning just below her feet, it shattered violently and she almost let loose of the neck of the boy's shirt as he fell down the abyss growing below them. Nino finally snapped, and thankfully didn't scuffle in panic. Understandably, he did scream.
"Nino! Give me your hand!" Ladybug said from on top of the cliff. Once she had his hands wrapped around hers like a boa to its prey, she started to pull the boy up. But her forces were abandoning her and he was too heavy to pull up with one hand and dammit why was she so weak right now?
Nino, noticing the effort shown on her face, looked around desperately. The cliff he was hanging from sharply edged inwards as it traveled down and the other half of the ground was edging away to fast for him to jump on the slanted geological fault. A quick look down taught him to never look down again. He did not want to know what the heck was that vile and sickly green liquid.
Both teens had the same question in mind 'Now what?' He tried reaching the rock in front of him, but he couldn't hang or step on onto anything. Ladybug was using all of her strength to pull the other boy up, but her efforts were seemingly in vain. She let go of the edge and used her other hand to grab his hand, but her strength kept waning.
Then, he saw it. A step large enough for him to stand on some type of ground and some kind of tunnel stretching inside the earth. But it was too far to reach on his own.
"Ladybug, you are not going to like this, but I'll need you to let go of me- no wait, let me explain." He said before she could argue "If you can just launch me with some force to the right and to the wall, I might be able to reach a ledge sprouting from the fault." He pointed to somewhere to his right, but the heroine couldn't look from where she was. She was absolutely going to protest when he spoke again "And I know is a bad idea, but we don't have options!" The heroine looked too baffled to actually outvoice her answer, but she nodded sharply and started swinging him from side to side, like a pendulum.
"On my mark," He only had one shot at this, if he wanted both of them to live, he needs to time this. He hit his tongue against his paladar each time she reached one extreme, and the sound of the howling wind, the tremors of the earth and the ill smell of the underground became dull noise to his brain. And suddenly, everything came to a stop.
"Now!" He yelled a top of his long and reached forward as the black gloved hand let go of his. The wind roared furiously in his ears as he sailed through the air and kicked the wall in an attempt to keep the air momentum, just like a videogame character would. Of course, he wasn't thinking of these things as he hung on the step. The now black and red spotted heroine peeked out of the cliff and waved. He smiled a little a waved back
To his immense disappointment, even though he shouldn't have expected it, there wasn't a cave in the hole he had seen. It was just that, a hole. And pretty shallow one too.
Upwards, the ledge was too far away and to declivitous to climb his way up, nor could ladybug help him now, but he already knew this was going to happen. Still, it was better than the alternative; even when everything else was stanked up beyond salvation, he would try to help, even a little. Downwards, the almost perfectly cut fault slowly floated in the smelly green liquid like how tectonic plates did on lava. If he tried to jump as far as he could, even if he managed to reach the 'shore' that wasn't touching the vile slime, he wouldn't survive the fall.
"Nino, are you okay?"Ladybug called
"Yeah, just a little cramped. I'm- well, not fine. But better than hanging for my life."
"Yeah, now you are just standing on a ledge for your life." She said with a tinge of irony. It had the desired effect, because he snorted and stifled a laugh.
"Any chance you can conjure a rope somehow?" The boy tried to fit in the shallow hole, but it didn't do much good.
"Not without my yo-yo"
"Your yo-yo? Oh, that's right! Alya told me about it. You summon random objects with your yo-yo, right? But I-"
"Didn't see it with me? That's because I lost it when Timebreaker traveled in time"
"But isn't like, glued to your finger or something?" He sat down with his back resting against the rock.
"Well," she hesitated. She had to word this right to keep her secret safe "I need the yo-yo to use the Lucky Charm, and it's my only weapon, but it isn't magically attached to me." Even if it appeared when she transformed, but he couldn't know that. She looked her hand again. The red in her suit was still getting smaller, while the black slowly but noticeably grew. "Or at least I didn't think so until this day."
"So no acchio yo-yo I guess" It was her turn to snort now.
"Really? An obvious HP reference, now of all times?" She laughed despite her words.
"Well, you aren't any better you know? Dude, you are just here talking with me, and don't get me wrong, that's the drain hole in this bathtub full of sludge… but, why are you here?" They sobered in an instant.
At her silence, Nino realized his mistake "A-ah tawd! I-i didn't-"
"Don't worry. But I guess I just don't know what to do next, so I thought I would rather be doing this right now."
"S-so, uh, what's it like outside of my little hole? I just can see green mutagen-like vile below and equally nasty sky through the gap"
For the first time since this disaster started, the heroine took a good look at her surroundings. The sky was a sickly and clear green, covered by black clouds moving at fast speeds. Tornadoes formed and dissipated in an instant followed by the occasional thunderless-black lighting. The earth continued to shatter, but now, chunks of rock were actually floating up in the sky. The bigger rocks even had some dead trees still rooted to them, but the smaller that chipped the flying islands disintegrated. The wailing continued, and for a second, Ladybug could swear she saw some undescriptive figures moving in the tree line
But what really made her react, were the gardens, the Eiffel Tower, the palace, everything was turning to dust that scattered in the wind. The places and sights she had lived all her life were disappearing like paper turning to ash. She couldn't move, spellbound to the horrible despair surrounding her.
"I-it's..." Silent tears ran down her face, and her transformation finally broke.
In an instant, a flash of red-tinged light surrounded her, and Marinette was left in the place of the superhero. Tikki, the fairy-like red god; the ladybug kwami, fell down to the girl's knees, but she was far too shocked to notice. Far too shocked to notice the strange red glow of her kwami. Far too shocked to notice she couldn't get up. Far too shocked how she dragged herself towards her guard's hand.
"M-mar-" The red god coughed furiously and dry. The strain and the pain were becoming too much for her.
"Marin-" She whispered before she broke out coughing again, but the girl still didn't listened.
"Marinette!" She yelled with all her will, but, it looked like it wasn't enough.
"Marinette!?" Not for the frozen girl at least "Dude, Ladybug, is she with you? It thought I heard her name!" He frantically yelled.
Finally, the girl woke up from her reverie and noticed she was in the attire she usually wore to go out. "Huh!? I- what, no but…!?"
"Dude, what's wrong? You sound funny" Nino asked again, but neither of them listened
"Mari-" the kwami coughed again. "Marinette, are y-you ok?"
The girl quickly cupped the god in her hands "Me!? What about you!?" What was happening to her, to all around them? What could have Timebreaker or Hawkmoth done to cause this?
"It's Pla-" The hacking was getting worse "I-it's Chat, Mari, w-where is him?" her eyes watered at the mention of another one of the people she failed to protect
"Oh Tikki, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. He d-" She couldn't finish that word "he took a hit for me. He's gone"
Tikki's eyes widened for an instant and started to blink fast. "I guess I already knew, but I still hoped he wouldn't- "She was blinking back tears. Moved, Marinette tried to clean them with her thumbs, and the kwami smiled at the gesture.
Without warning, a beam of pink light shot from her body and passed through the ground. "It's starting a-already!?" Tikki asked alarmed.
"Tikki, what's wrong!? What is going on!?" The girl asked in panic.
"Hey, dude, Ladybug, what's up with the pink laser show?" Nino yelled down the cliff
"Negentropy, that's what I call it." Her small face showed great strain. "It happens when Pl-" She hacked and convulsed "Pla-gg overuses his powers and starts E-entropy."
"But, Chat Noir is gone and so is his ring" If his kwami was gone too, then how could he-
It was happening in the past. This disaster, this scene right out of an apocalyptic movie, was caused by Chat Noir's kwami in the past and it was catching up with the present. Or maybe it was the future being rewritten?
"Yo, this is sicknasty! What was that, a laser anchor? I knew you could soften the hardest rocks, but pulling the earth back together is so out of mind!"
"Marinette, listen," Tikki called "I truly don't know what is happening, and what is going to happen next. So please, r-run." It was getting worse "Run as fast as you can. Don't stop, and don't look back and try to take Nino with you an-and...and, I'm so sorry Marinette."
"No, Tikki" Said the girl in tears "Don't be. I was the one that failed you. I'm sorry."
None of them was going to budge, Tikki knew that much. "Goodbye, Marinette" She forced out with the last embers of her will.
The girl sobbed and nodded, but said nothing as she stood up. "Nino! Where are you!?" She called without turning away from Tikki's blue eyes
"Ladybug? What do yo-"
"No, it's Marinette. Where are you?"
The goddess' eyelids were slowly dropping, just like she did the night before, when they both went to sleep like they been doing for a few weeks. Just like she did when she smiled when she was sharing her charge's happiness. Just like she did when she emerged, tired, after defeating an Akuma.
Why, oh why, even after knowing her for so little time, no more than a few months; was she feeling like she was losing her heart?
"Dude! You're alive! Over here!" He called
Was it their bond built on the miraculous, their uncanny friendship? What was this connection she felt with the red goddess that was so strong?
"I see you! Quick, jump over the gap!"
Tikki closed her eyes, and started to glow even brighter. "Goodbye, Tikki" Marinette sobbed and turned.
To her surprise, Nino out of his small ledge in the cliff. He was waving with both arms from the other side of the fault, which now was far closer with its other half. Without turning back, she jumped over the now-small rift. No sooner she touched the ground, Nino hugged her with all his might
"Dude! You won't believe how relieved I am. The plaza turned into a portrait of the Joker by Dali and we couldn't find you anywhere! Did Ladybug found you?"
Another ray shot out of Tikki's bright aura, which buried itself on the ground. Not to far behind Nino's back, the same ray emerged from the ground and speared a floating island. Looking how the island was dragged back to the earth, the ray being some sort of anchor or hook didn't seem too far-fetched.
"Yes, but she went somewhere else" The girl said with wide eyes while she saw the island fit down in the ground "She told me we had to run away. Nevermind where, just run, now!"
She took his wrist and ran away from the pink star behind her. Thankfully, Nino quickly caught up with the pace without asking. However, he started to run ahead. He didn't notice until he started dragging her to keep up. Then, he realized she was limping.
"Keep running! She told me to-"
"You're hurt, you can't run! Hop on my back"
"But-"
"Now!"
Reluctantly, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he kneeled so he could hold on her legs. He rose and started running again, taking special care to avoid the pinks beams of light that appeared randomly from the ground
While they, well, he ran through the tree line, Marinette briefly, only for a moment, noticed the embroidery on the ground where the earth had separated. Pink lines that held the chaotic ground together. After said moment had passed, her mind returned to a complete state of absence. At this point, after everything, Marinette was left mentally exhausted. Respite wouldn't be available, however, as a pillar of pink light shot from the ground.
Neither of them first registered what had happened until a full minute had gone by. Nino slowly turned his head down and saw how the laser disappeared through his shirt and his chest. Marinette craned her head to the side and saw how the laser appeared from her back. She couldn't turn back, however, as the laser held her torso in place.
"Oh…"
It felt cold, they oddly realized. It didn't hurt, he realized afterward, or maybe the shock had muted the pain.
Nino raised a trembling hand and grabbed the spear of light. Oh yes, it was very much real. It felt solid somehow, and it was very, very cold. He tried pushing, then pulling, then desperately tried to break it but it wouldn't even budge.
He felt cold. Very, very cold. Then tired, as if he had gone two days without sleeping. His arms felt heavy and numb. Warm tears streamed down his face.
The arms around his neck fell limp.
"M-Marinette! H-hey, Marinette!" He called behind him, but no answers came back. He tried hoisting the girl's body better, but the spear wouldn't allow it. He tried reaching for her with his free hand but realized he couldn't move it all. The limb felt numb like it had gone to sleep without the rest of the body. His dread grew when he realized that the same feeling had spread through his arms, to his torso, to his legs, and he couldn't even make his fingers twitch. His body was freezing in the most literal sense.
It all felt very, very cold.