Darkness.

That was all she could see. Darkness that stretched for miles on end. It enveloped her, seeping under her skin and chilling her blood. The black spotted suit on her skin, one that provided protection and grounding did nothing, was unable to aid her as the relentless cold peppered her skin. The air reeked with the scent of freezing metal, so strong it reached her tongue, and she was unable to stop the taste of iron that so sinisterly remind her of blood. Her mouth filled with the taste, then filled the real thing. Blood crept up her throat, filling her lungs and causing her breathing to falter. She attempted to open her mouth, but her lips were sealed, feeling hot as if they were taken to the nearest sautering iron and burned to a close.

A loud, piercing sound bombarded her ears, and her mouth separated, blood pouring out and splattering to the ground. A ground that appeared familiar. She slowly turned her head to her left, seeing large gash marks left on the ground. Broken shackles lie in the middle of them, crumbling slowly into dust that a nonexistent wind scattered. As she looked onwards, the darkness parted, just enough for her to see the large chunks of bleeding flesh make its way to an almost unrecognizable corpse. A ring, previously silver, now deteriorating before her eyes, lay on a disfigured hand.

She opened her mouth to scream, to call to the body, to make any semblance of a noise, but all she was able to do was cough up more blood, attempting to empty her always full lungs. The blood gurgled out of her mouth, and the tears started. They started and didn't stop, mixing with the blood and creating something diabolical as images shifted in the red fluid now coating the ground.

Hair, golden and perfectly messy, turning red with blood and limp, like the dead cells they were. A perfect jawline on glowing tan skin, becoming beaten and bruised and unshappen. Teeth, blindingly white and straight, falling out as the mouth filled with blood. The lean muscular figure, broken and red and unrecognizable. The eyes, green with enchanting slit pupils, lifeless and dead, disappearing beneath leather covered eyelids.

A scream perched itself inside her ears, but it wasn't hers. Full of pain, agony, torment. A voice she adored hearing emitting a sound she never wanted to listen to again. But she couldn't escape it. The sound went through her brain, tearing it in half, moving down her neck, snapping it. To her shoulders, dislocating them, elbows bending the wrong way until they broke, her wrists and fingers smashed to bits. To her collarbone, which disintegrated, and to her ribs, shattering all of them. Her torso, ripping her organs, and crushing her hips. Her thigh bones destroyed, her knees cracked open, her legs split into halves, and to her ankles, then feet, fracturing both. Her heart, the only thing not consumed, was annihilated without a second for her to breathe.

The sound was her doom.

Her brain, the one that had betrayed her yet again, shocked her awake. A sob tore at her throat, and she was finally free from the darkness, the blood, the screams, and could make her own sounds. The empty room echoed her sounds of distress as they taunted her, forcing her to hear her pathetic whimpers. The small, soothing hand that made circles on her cheek and rubbed her salty tears into her pale skin. She could feel the darkness of the room, almost a tangible object that wanted to strangle her, choke the life out of her body, leave her corpse lying in bed for the loving parents to find in the morning. Parents who didn't quite understand why their daughter was so upset. Parents that struggled to find a reason why she was weak, fragile, quick to tears and silent during the day. Parents who didn't understand why she broke down during the day, not seeing the blond mess of hair that she did, not seeing the perfect teeth and smile she did, not seeing the golden tan, not seeing the flash of green that sent her to her knees and cut off her air supply. They were still the ones who had to help her out of bed, make sure she ate during the day, made sure she moved around and stretched her limbs. They were the ones keeping her alive, and part of her wished the darkness would act, and ease everyone's suffering; her parents, her friends, her own, and maybe even the two little diets currently attempting to soothe her.

His ring sat on the ledge near her bed. The only voluntary movement she had made lately was attempting to repair the ring with the god's guidance whispered to her calmly as she struggled to follow their difficult and complicated instructions. It was all she could do to, her best attempt to keep him alive. The circling on her cheek slowed, matching the broken girls breathing as she decided to make an attempt to sit up. Her head spun, and the darkness seemed to swoop down, a harsh taunt as it showcased its abilities, it's willingness to end everything right here. A small touch on each hand shook the daze away, allowing her to find the small blue and green gazes of sorrow. She lightly grabbed the ring, feeling the weight of the corroded metal press into her palm, the corrosion flashing the horrifying view of destroyed flesh lying in shredded leather before her eyes. She blinked away the image and forced herself to grab onto the railing to her staircase.

Dizzying steps led her up to the balcony, the gods grips of her hands keeping her grounded in this world instead of falling into the hands of the darkness. The last stumble led her to the chaise, one that still had the imprints of a body stuck in it, one that wasn't hers. She could still see his cheeky grin, cat ears twitching with every sound she made, eyes glittering in the moonlight as he teased her, making the dumbest puns. If only the darkness was that enticing, she would gladly let it devour her.

Hesitantly, with looks of encouragement from the little red and black beings, she slipped the dull gray ring onto her finger. It was too big. Build for a person of larger, longer hands. Her tiny designer fingers were built for holding a pencil, a needle, a yo-yo. The ring would fit someone with fingers made for piano, fencing, basketball, staff wielding. Nevertheless, she wore it and called the commands, both beings swooping into the powerful items she wore on her being. A black and red suit covered her body, replacing the thin, grubby pajamas she unwillingly was forced to change out of every morning. The suit had leather covering her shoulders and back and chest, a zipper leading from her throat to her belly button. Her boots were also similar style to her old partners, and she forced herself to look away.

A light weight settled on her back, unfamiliar in touch but a view she had grown accustomed too. Her hand gripped the more familiar weapon at her side, and she gave it a few swings. The motion brought nausea and another memory, the one where she last used the yo-yo. Remembering Hawkmoth's screams made her regain her focus. Unfortunately, she needed more than that, and her grounding gods were no longer there to help.

The yo yo was gripped in her palm again, and she swung it, once, twice, three times before she tossed it into the air, thinking the command. The air flashed with light, and a red figure appeared on the balcony in front of her. Red skin, with spotted black clothing and a mask, the figure grinned, and Marinette found her eyes to be welled with tears. The darkness that had been surpassing around her being dissipated immediately, and it was all that simple. A quick grin, and the weight was gone.

The figure leaned casually on his staff, and with a wink he spoke, in a voice as clear as the silver ring used to be.

"Miss me, bugaboo?"