Chapter One - No Good Deed
Hey guys! For those of you that have seen my writing before, specifically You Have No Control, you will recognize this as the remade version, this time with no other heroes (at least for now) besides Chat and Ladybug. It was incredibly hard to balance the whole cast, and I feel like I can do more of the enjoyed parts (read as: interactions within the love square) and run the story better this way. Hopefully you guys understand! Plus, now it feels a bit more even and balanced, especially since so many Miraculous powers are unrevealed and I wasn't very creative in utilizing them. Chat really got the short stick power wise in You Have No Control, but this one will even the playing field significantly.
On a fun side note, every chapter will be the name or lyric from a song that fits its theme, so feel free to do some digging there if you want to listen to some inspiration. The title is also a song's name that I feel fits the theme.
As always, I'll be writing in the first person. If you don't like that, please read another story! If you don't mind, read on. I figure it's uncommon enough that a warning is advised. I will make the current perspective as clear as I can, as it will change between chapters and potentially in them as well. Along with that, I'll do my best to differentiate between what identity the characters are in at the time if it's Marinette or Adrien's perspective.
Anyways, enough from me! I rambled too much already. I'm excited to jump back into this, and I hope you guys are too. Buckle up and get ready, especially if you already have read You Have No Control and are interested to see how even these few first chapters change!
Chat Noir's Point of View
Even as we touch down in front of the building, I can tell that we've arrived too late to do anything to help.
The confident, controlled demeanor I have never seen waver in Ladybug is shattered as she wildly tries to push the people crowding around us aside. There's a look of pure agony on her face as she keeps trying to weave through the people and reach the building to the ground before us.
"Let me through." Her voice shakes, and my heart aches at the desperation that coats her voice. "Let me through!"
I grab her hand, pulling her back towards me to make sure she doesn't blindly run into the fire in front of us. "Ladybug, we can't help them. That fire...It's too late for us to do any good."
"No!" She begins to curl into herself, sobbing the words. I can't tell if it's from grief or fury, which makes me worry even more. "We have to go in. Chat, we have to help! There are people inside! We can't leave them!"
"We don't know that." I argue, terrified at the sight before my eyes. I never expected to have to stand by and watch as the girl I love broke down before my eyes, and yet here I am now.
"We have to help!" She insists, beginning to fight against my hold on her hand and rush towards the building again. "Chat, please!"
To stop her, I pull her back towards me, using the fact that I'm stronger than her to my advantage. This time, I wrap my arms around her to keep her here and safe. She continues to struggle against me for a moment, but then releases a choked sob as she spins around and clings to my chest. I hold her tighter in an attempt to be comforting for her sake, as if somehow this action will keep her from completely shattering before my eyes. I've never seen anything send her into a state like this, so why has this impacted her so badly?
After a moment, I decide it's safe to move one hand to stroke her hair. It's supposed to be soothing, although I'm not sure if I succeed. I've seen enough people in movies do it though when their friend is crying, so it has to have some truth to it, right?
"Bugaboo, it's going to be okay. I promise it'll be okay." I whisper the words, trying to take the hurt away. Oh gosh, I wish there was some way for me to take the hurt away for her. I can't just sit by and watch my lady be destroyed like this! "Look, there's Officer Raincomprix over there." I gesture over the crowds with my head, but she doesn't even respond to my words, just silently crying. "I'm going to go talk to him, alright? I want to ask if they know why the bakery caught fire. They might have news, news that is way better than what we think. Stay right here, alright, LB?"
I give her a gentle squeeze before letting her go, although I don't move straight away. I'm more than a little afraid that the moment she's out of my arms she'll run back towards the bakery, no longer having anything to stop her. But instead she just stands there and nods her head, probably in answer to my question. However, with the glassy and distant look in her eyes, I have a feeling she's not listening to anything I say right now. I don't even know if she's even here mentally, or if she's retreated off to somewhere in her head.
As I walk over to Sabrina's father, I continue to glance back over my shoulder to make sure she stays rooted to that spot. Thankfully, she still does not make a move to go rushing into the burning mess, instead just staring past all the news reporters, spectators, and emergency units and into the flames as tears continue to run down her cheeks. The sight is like a stab to the heart, and I don't know if it's better or worse to see her like this instead of screaming out of desperation.
Finally, I reach Officer Raincomprix, the walk having taken longer with my continual checks on Ladybug. I glance back one more time, just to be sure, before focusing my attention in on the officer. He's standing at the edge of the security tape that has been crudely erected in an attempt to make sure civilians stay out of harm's way, so I tap his shoulder to get his attention.
He flinches, whipping around and giving a startled response of, "Chat Noir! What are you doing here?"
Caught off guard by the question, I stand there for a moment before finding my voice and saying, "Ladybug and I don't just handle akumas, Officer Raincomprix. You and the rest of your department know that; we've helped with robberies and the like before." He nods, which I think is the closest I'll get to an apology from the policeman, and since he doesn't say anything in response I tack on, "My partner and I were on patrol when we caught sight of what was going on. Have you and your team found any clues as to what happened?" Even as I hope and pray that the fire was merely accidental, I have a feeling that this place wouldn't be crawling with police officers it was.
"It appears that this was a movement related to the AMU."
Not what I was expecting to here in any way, shape, or form. The AMU has never been violent. What would make them start now?
"The AMU?" I ask, hoping that there's some sort of mistake. "As in the Anti Miraculus Users? Are you sure?"
"We can't be positive yet, but I wouldn't go saying something like that to someone outside the department without sufficient evidence to support the theory." I suppose that the irritated response is deserved from my question.
Still, I'm dumbfounded as to what the two month old group could achieve from this. They've been so passive so far. What could have spiked the sudden violent act? And why?
"Lighting a fire doesn't feel like it has anything to do with what they're arguing for. How does that match with them saying Ladybug and I should turn our Miraculous over to Hawkmoth? How is that supposed to convince us that, if we love Paris and its citzens, we'll let him win so that the attacks stop? Hurting civilians to make someone you accuse of hurting civilians stop is ridiculous."
Officer Raincomprix cuts my angry rant off. "I know, and I agree with you, Chat Noir. The cause doesn't feel like it has much basing. You would think that a fire wouldn't correlate." He pauses, looking conflicted as to whether he should say more. I prepare to prod him in hopes of weaseling more out, but thankfully he decides to spill on his own, meaning I don't have to annoy him anymore thahn I have already, at least right now. "The whole group is incredibly anonymous. No one ever blatantly admits that they support them or their arguments. In fact, most people don't and adore you all, as I'm sure you know. We assumed that, like every thing ever, you just had garnered a few haters. Besides, even if people agree with what the AMU thinks, they aren't necessarily in the group.
"You obviously are aware that, for the most part, they've been very civil. They've posted their thoughts online and have sent emails to people in charge about the situation, but that's about it. Since it's all so anonymous, they're hard to track. They've purposefully made sure to cover their butts in layers and layers of hiding, and we didn't bother to try and break through that since we didn't think they'd be a problem."
"Officer, I'm still confused on one thing. What evidence to you guys have that it was the AMU who lit this? How do we know it wasn't just an accident? This is a bakery after all." It's weak, but still worth a shot. Maybe there's a chance things will be okay, that this is all a simple mistake.
"There was a man still here when we all arrived. He didn't even try to make himself look innocent, instead just standing there and watching the building burn down." I'm relieved he's willing to give me so many answers. "This guy flat out admitted to lighting the fire when we questioned him on the matter. We've taken him to the station for further interrogation of course, but he's refused to say if he was acting alone or not, just that this was the 'first of many AMU demonstrations,' at least till they get what they want." He sighs. "Obviously there's no way to prove that he's actually a part of the group. He might just be extremely passionate about his ideals, and maybe this was not organized at all by the group. But it's too big of a lead to ignore completely."
Yet one thing continues to nag at my mind, unable to fit with the other pieces of the puzzle. "Why the Dupain-Cheng bakery, of all places?"
Officer Raincomprix scratches the back of his head. "We haven't gotten confirmation on the subject yet, but we do have a working theory that we think the man we've taken into custody will confirm. You know Tom and Sabine's daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng?" I push one particular thought back, desperate not to even give it the chance to surface, as I nod in answer to the rhetorical question. "She seemed to be in contact with you and Ladybug, perhaps even friends with the two of you. We believe that the AMU decided to exploit that by targeting her to make a statement, especially if there is anyone else in that position. Would you be able to confirm what your relationship with Marinette was?"
The implication of this theory violently rips at my heart. Are Ladybug and I responsible for what has occurred to the Dupain-Chengs? The idea that I would have caused this kills me.
"We talked a few times, after she helped me during Evillustrator." That's the understatement of the year. I visited her a lot, especially when I needed to escape my father. It was nice to hold a conversation with the bluenette without her stuttering and looking incredibly uncomfortable. "And Ladybug has said before that she and Marinette are friends." That would explain her emotional breakdown. "But surely..." I shake my head, unable to try and go further down this path and deciding to switch gears. "Do you have any theory as to who their next target would be?"
"The author of the Ladyblog, Alya. I know you've heard of her, since you've done interviews for her and have had to save her far too many times during akuma attacks. We think she'd be the most obvious canidate for another demomstration, so we now have a rotation of people stationed to watch her house, at least for now."
"And as for the bakery," I say, glancing at the fire that doesn't seem to be in any way under control as I try to tiptoe past the thought that burns in my throat, "Have they found anyone inside?"
Sabrina's father folds his arms and shakes his head. "We found Tom and Sabine, but it's not good news, Chat Noir."
My heart stops in my chest, afraid to ask my next question and hear the answer I know is coming but also unable to stop myself. "Dead?"
"I'm afraid so."
The question that I was able to keep at bay for so long, the thought I refused to let even cross my mind, breaks through, ripping itself out of my throat. "And Marinette? Have they found her yet? Is she alive?" I can't keep the desperation out of my voice as it begins to sink in that this has happened to my classmate, the sweet girl who doesn't deserve this sort of devastation in her life.
"From what we've been able to find, there's no sign of her in the place. We obviously might have missed her, but we've been incredibly thorough. Right now, we have high hopes that she is alive, and think that she probably wasn't in the bakery at all."
I breath a pained sigh of relief, before taking a deep breath. "Thank you, Officer Raincomprix."
He nods. "Of course, Chat Noir. Thamk you for everything you've done. You and Ladybug can go, we'll handle this."
I nod, beginning to head back towards Ladybug to give her the update. However, as my gaze flits over the area where I left her, I come to a horrifying conclusion: Ladybug is gone. Wide-eyed and frantic, I begin to look around, afraid to find out where she's gone. There's no sigh of her near the fire. Surely someone would've stopped her if she rushed towards it, right? They wouldn't have let her kill herself by trying to search in there. As I continue to look around, managing to narrow down that she isn't near the building, I notice a blur of red duck into a nearby alley. That has to be Ladybug.
Despite my exhuastion, I shove through the crowd, racing towards where I saw that blur. Even though it really doesn't take that long, it feels like forever. Everyone in this crowd seems to be holding me back, hindering me from helping my lady and making sure she doesn't do something foolish. Finally I break through the crowd, escaping past the last bystander and racing towards where I saw Ladybug duck off to.
However, right as I turn the corner I hear Ladybug's broken voice hitch as she says, "Tikki, spots off," and there's no way to stop myself from barreling around the corner and coming face to face with an unmasked Ladybug.
I try to shut my eyes, but one glimpse of the girl and I can't stop myself from leaving them open. The fire at the bakery is made ten times more devestating for so many reasons by my simple mistake of not stopping in time.
The broken girl that meets my gaze looks absolutely destroyed, even more so than before now that she is no longer wearing her suit. Her tiny kwami, Tikki apparently, dives into her bag, as if that will somehow do us any good now that Ladybug has been exposed.
But how did I miss whay was sitting right in front of me? Or, if I want to be specific, behind me. How did I not realize Ladybug was so close all along? I must be an idiot, not being able to recognize the girl I claimed was the love of my life; who still is the love of my life. The pieces begin to fly together in my head as the two girls I've known mesh together in my head to create one. No wonder I've ever seen Ladybug and Marinette in the same place. Ladybug couldn't be there to fix things if Marinette was in trouble. Ladybug had a secret mission to accomplish and sent me to handle Evillustrator by myself, with a civilian who the akuma had involved. Little did I know that secret mission was working as her civilian self to help me on the date Nathaniel had set up for them. Marinette disappeared during Horrificator around when Ladybug finally arrived. Heck, they even have the same hair style! How blind am I to not have made this connection, or at least suspected it, sooner?
I don't move, just standing and staring at Marinette as I try to process this sudden revelation. Of course, I'm also bracing myself for the expected outburst as she yells at me for finding out her identity. That's what normal Ladybug would do; she would reprimand me for following her and causing her to accidentally reveal herself to me. But I make one mistake in this line of thought: I think like I'm dealing with normal Ladybug, and this is not normal Ladybug. This is not even normal Marinette.
She doesn't scold me, just attempting to barrel past me. "I have to go back. I have to find them. There in there!"
As I grab her to hold her back once again, pulling her into my embrace so that she'll have a harder time escaping, suddenly her desperation to claw her way into the burning bakery is made much more heartwrenching. "Princess," I whisper, holding her as tight as possible and trying my best to sound soothing, "They're gone."
"No, they're not dead." Defiante as ever, she begins to howl, thrashing about and beating my chest with her fists. "They're not gone! They're inside! I have to get to them. I have to help them! Chat, let me go!"
"Mari, they're dead. Officer Raincomprix confirmed it." I want to cry just saying the words. I don't want to be the one to tell her this. I hate having to be the one to tell her this. But I have to, if it means stopping her from killing herself in the process of trying to find her dead parents in the wreckage they have already been taken out of. "They found their bodies."
"No," She whimpers, "They can't be dead. They just can't!" As if things couldn't have been anymore distressing on my end, the poor designer melts into a sobbing mess in my arms, not even supporting her own weight. "They can't be dead. It's not possiblle! No, no, they can't!"
I squeeze her, wishing desperately that these were not the circumstances that led to me finding out Ladybug's identity. "I'm so sorry." I don't know what else to say..
Slowly, Marinette pulls herself from my arms, eyes darker than I've ever seen them before as concern begins to build up inside me. "Who did this?"
My own voice hitches as I try to calm her. "Please, if you would just listen to me-"
I reach out to pull her close again, hoping to quell her fury that just seems to be flaring brighter and brighter, but she jerks away from my hand before I can touch her and repeats her question. "Who. Did. This."
I don't make any move to answer, which seems to infuriate her more. As her hands ball into fists at her side, her angry gaze meets mine with eyes still leaking tears, and her voice shakes as she says in the most accusatory tone I've ever heard, "I know you know. Officer Raincomprix must have told you, because this can't have been an accident. Tell me who did this! I deserve to know!"
"It appears," For a moment, I consider lying, but I can't do that to my lady, not when I remember how enraged I felt about my mother disappearing and how much angrier I'd be if this were how she was taken, "It appears that the AMU was behind it, or at least someone who supported and shared their ideals."
If it's even possible, Marinette's gaze darkens further as she puts the pieces together. "Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng seemed to have contact with both Chat Noir and Ladybug. A perfect target for teaching people what happens if you're too close to the Miraculous weilders." Wrapping her arms around herself and staring at the ground, she says in obvious pain as the tears come harder, "They think we're monsters. Why do they think we're monsters?'
It's terrifying to see how easily she deduces what Officer Raincomprix told me, especially when I had to have it spelled out. "I don't know why, but they're wrong."
Her gaze meets mine again, but there's something there this time that, while I can't deduce what it is, isn't something I like seeing there. "How many more innocent people are going to be hurt over this? Are more people going to lose their families, to lose their lives, because of this cause? My parents are dead now!" That statement lingers in the air for a moment, reminding me as to why neither of us have truly reacted to me finding out her identity.
"What do you want us to do? Give up our Miraculous? Let Hawkmoth win? We can't do that, Mari, and you know it."
"I don't know," She snaps, tugging at her pigtails in frustration, "But I refuse to sit around and let them keep this up. They need to pay." She hisses the words, and I cringe, not expecting them. "They took away my family..." She trails off, wiping at her eyes and sounding broken once again, not hateful.
"I understand why you want revenge, but it's not healthy. It will consume you, Princess. I don't want to see that happen." And I certainly don't want to see her akumatized. "I know it's hard, Mari, but I swear it'll be alright. You can make it through this. You're strong, you can do this. I'll help you. I promise, it will be alright."
"You don't know that!"
"Mari, please, just listen to me-"
"How can you say it'll be alright when you have no idea what I'm going through?"
"Because I do!"
She shakes her head furioisly, so angry. I don't know how to help her, to calm her before Hawkmoth finds her. How do I help this girl who has lit up my life in so many ways that now seems broken beyond repair? Her parents are dead. What will happen to her now?
"No, you don't know anything about what I'm going through." She hisses, furiously wiping at the tears that just won't stop.
I reach out towards her, trying to hold her hand and offer her an anchor. "I'll show you that I do."
She shoves past me, running away as she chokes out a simple, "No!"
It takes me a second to will myself to chase after her, but in that time she's already gone. There's no way I'll find her. However, she ran in the opposite direction of the fire, so that means she's safe. Do I let her roam the streets alone? I can't do that, not to sweet Mari. So what do I do?
I guess I only have one choice. I have to try and find her.
And there we have it! The first chapter of Tightrope. As you can see, things are a bit different than the original. What do you guys think? Is the change good so far? Is it bad? How do you think the story will be as it continues? What are you looking forward to seeing or what do you want to see happen? As you can see, Adrien did not get to reveal himself to Marinette this time around. No worries, we'll get there, but I'm doing some toying without that happening first. c: How do you think things will go from here? Please let me know in a review!
Hopefully you guys enjoyed the changes so far. I look forward to seeing the response and to writing more of this, because I'm feeling inspired again.
See you guys soon!
~ Dagger