Ladybug stepped back warily, yo-yo gripped tightly in her hand, staring at the enemy in front of her, who happened to be someone she called her best friend not forty-five minutes ago.
The spotted superhero swallowed, "A-Alya. Listen to me – "
"I'm not Alya!" the figure in front of her screeched, "It's Wordslasher. Get it right."
The redhead sneered in Marinette's direction, and a wave of terror and guilt washed through her. Stepping closer, Wordslasher retrieved the sword hanging off the side of her belt.
Alya and Marinette had started dating a couple of months back, and they had gotten into their first big fight recently, just less than an hour ago. When the shy designer had realized her long term crush, Adrien, would never return her feelings, she cried to Alya, a constant support and light in her life. Marinette didn't know what she would do without her.
So the heartbroken girl found herself sitting on her best friend's couch at 8 o'clock in the evening, sobbing relentlessly into Alya's pyjamas.
"There, there, Marinette. You'll move on, and I'll always be here for you."
Marinette sniffled, "Thanks Alya, I know I can always count on you."
Alya smiled at her dark haired friend, eyes red and puffy, and stroked her head, pulling her into a hug.
"It's alright, girl. And hey, if anything, you can always date me," Alya joked, wiggling her eyebrows. "I'm probably just as capable as Adrien, if not more, and you know I'll treat you well."
The reporter laughed to herself, but paused when she realized Marinette had grown silent. Alya glanced down at her best friend, whose lips were pursed in thought, and blinking slowly.
"What?" the chocolate skinned girl poked Marinette's cheek, and the designer jumped up, as if electrocuted, and stood away from Alya, shaking her head.
"What's up?" Alya asked nervously, a little worried about the reaction of her best friend.
Marinette breathed shakily, and met Alya's eyes.
"It's nothing!" she perked, which spiked the redhead's concern even more. "Everything's fine, it's all good, thanks so much for being here for me! Oh, look at the time, I should probably go, I love you – whoops!"
Marinette had crashed into the bedframe, but it didn't even seem to faze her.
"Haha, sorry about that! I'll see you at school, or not, maybe, haha. I'll be there, bye!"
"Wait, Marinette – "
But the girl was gone, dark hair disappearing from the doorframe.
What in the world? Alya wondered.
xxx
Marinette actively avoided Alya the next day at school, and she could not for the life of her figure out why. Did she say something weird last night? All she knew was that every time she appeared in Marinette's line of sight, the petite girl would give a little start, similar to what she did in the bedroom, and glance away, or walk off in another direction.
Alya's curiosity was probing, sparking from inside her, but she thought Marinette would tell her if she was ready. She wasn't avoiding her for no reason, maybe she needed some space to get over Adrien? Alya shook it out of her head. She'll tell me sooner or later.
By the end of school, the following week, however, Alya's hands were twitching with anticipation. The two haven't spoken properly in almost two weeks. That's got to be some kind of record. The two girls were inseparable since a young age, so Alya could not find a single explanation for why Marinette would sit so far away from her in class, pushing herself towards the edge of the desk, glancing in her direction every once in a while, and blushing when she got caught. Nino and Adrien also found this behaviour odd, but did not question it; Marinette was always a little strange.
When the bell rang, signalling the end of the final class, Alya couldn't take it anymore.
"Marinette," she said, and watched in confusion when the girl flinched.
"Y-yes, Alya?"
Alya stared at the designer, quivering and smiling nervously, hands fidgeting in front of her.
"We need to talk," she told her, and Marinette's eyes widened, flying in all directions except towards her.
"Uh, well, today is, erm, probably not the best time, I have, homework, and – "
"Marinette," Alya cut her off, "We had no homework, remember?"
The raven haired girl stammered out, "Haha, yeah, silly me, I forgot! I had to, um, help out my parents with the bakery!"
Alya placed her hands on her hips.
"Your parents are away, Marinette. They are on their four-day vacation!"
The reporter stared at her friend become more and more panicked, hands flailing for another excuse.
"Ah, well, I – "
"Save it," Alya interrupted, grabbing Marinette's hand, ignoring the squeak she emitted at the sudden contact. Weirdly enough, it was the same squeak she made when Adrien touched her shoulder.
Pulling Marinette out of the classroom, Alya walked into the washroom, checking if anyone was inside before locking the door. Turning to Marinette, she crossed her arms.
"Now, spill. Why were you avoiding me like the plague the past two weeks?"
Marinette realized she was trapped, and started tapping her foot against the sink.
"Well, technically, it was one week and three days – "
"I don't care, Marinette," Alya sighed, "I just want to know what I did to make you like ... this. I've only seen you act this way … around …"
Marinette stared at Alya, blue eyes reflecting the feelings she contained, fear imbedded in layers underneath.
"Adrien." Alya finished with difficulty.
The designer buried her face into her hands and heaved a deep breath.
"Wait, Marinette," the redhead protested, "what does that mean? You act the same way around me like you did around Adrien for what, almost two weeks?"
"One week and three days," Marinette mumbled from behind her hands.
Alya continued like she hadn't spoke, "And now we're in a bathroom and you're blushing to no end and I'm confused as hell – "
"Oh my gosh," Marinette exploded, and Alya blinked, surprised at the random outburst.
The dark haired girl looked up, and Alya was shocked to see tears in her eyes, face coated a dark shade of pink and it suddenly struck her how cute she looked – wait. No, no, she wasn't supposed to be having these thoughts, not now.
"You're so dense," the designer muttered.
Alya snorted, "You're one to talk."
They blinked at each other.
"What?" Marinette breathed.
"What?" Alya echoed, back pressed up against the door.
The two girls just gaped at each other.
"What are you talking about?" Marinette asked.
"What are you talking about?" Alya shot back.
"Nothing!" Marinette squeaked, returning to her nervous self.
At that, Alya pushed herself off the door and strode over to where Marinette was, and she kept walking until Marinette was backed against a corner, with no where to go.
"Spit it out, Marinette. You're hiding something from me, and it's about me, so tell me, before I find it out from someone else."
They were almost nose to nose, Alya's hands trapping Marinette between her body and the wall. The designer looked like she was about to pass out, but Alya wasn't going to let her leave.
"I … " Marinette breathed, and her breath fanned the reporter's face.
Honey and cookies, nice.
Alya ground her teeth in frustration. Really, girl? She pressed in closer, and Marinette put her hands on Alya's shoulder.
"I feel, towards you, in the same way I felt towards Adrien," Marinette blurted out, and Alya raised her eyebrows at her friend.
"I'm not catching your drift. That would mean you like me. Like, like like me."
Silence.
"I do."
Alya blinked, once. Twice.
"What?"
More silence.
Marinette twisted her hands behind her back, too afraid to make eye contact.
"I do like you."
Alya was staring at her with her mouth slightly open, eyes glazed over, and Marinette had to giggle, even if a little nervously, at her friend's reaction. Then it faded when a sinking feeling began pooling in her stomach.
That doesn't seem like a really good reaction to receive …
A loud thud at the door made both of them jerk away, as if they'd both been slapped.
"What the hell?" came a voice, one they didn't recognize.
After a few more attempts at pushing the door open, the stranger walked away, cursing. It was as if a trance had been broken, because the two girls burst out into laughter, gripping the edge of the sink, hands on their stomachs as tears rolled down their face.
They giggled for a good five minutes, gasping for air as they laughed, and man, did it feel good to laugh together after the week of awkward exchanges. Slowly, they sobered up, still chuckling once in a while, before facing each other, a faint smile still on their faces.
"So …" Alya trailed off, staring at Marinette. "You like me."
Marinette stared at the ground, face red, whether it was from the topic or the laughing, Alya couldn't tell, but it looked lovely all the same.
"You like like me."
The designer nodded, biting her lip.
"So like, you LIKE like me – "
"Alya!" the designer protested, pouting.
The reporter laughed heartily, "Okay, sorry, sorry, but it's a little hard to believe. Why would you, suddenly, and after Adrien …"
Marinette shook her head a little at the model's name.
"That night, when you were comforting me, and said I could date you. I don't know why, but suddenly, I knew. I knew I liked you. I don't think my feelings for Adrien were fake, but … I know my feelings for you are real. It's awkward, and you probably don't feel the same, and I probably ruined our friendship or something, although I hope we can still be friends but …"
Alya let Marinette ramble, but quickly put up a finger to silence her friend, who was becoming redder and redder as words tumbled out of her mouth.
"Shush, Marinette," Alya whispered, and Marinette complied.
Gently pressing her forehead to the other, the girl with a mess of reddish-brown curls closed her eyes, and smiled.
"I like you too, Marinette. I've liked you for a while now, but you seemed so happy with your feelings for Adrien, I felt it would be wrong to interfere."
Alya could feel Marinette's eyebrows wrinkle in confusion.
"Wait, you … like me too?"
Alya sighed, "That's what I just said, Marinette."
Marinette gripped Alya by the shoulders and pushed her away just a little, eyes wide, mouth open.
"You don't think I'm weird? That it's complete, utterly, awkward? I mean, we've been friends for so long, and …"
Alya broke into a fit of giggles, and Marinette dropped her hands, placing them on her hips.
"What's so funny? I'm trying to ask a serious question!" Marinette stomped her foot childishly on the floor.
The reporter just kept laughing. After a while, Marinette started to snicker, too, and that was how the janitor found them, sitting on the floor, clutching their sides, fingers intertwined to capture the beautiful moment they had just shared.
xxx
Wordslasher inched closer, cocking her head to one side, a smirk dancing on her face. Marinette was used to seeing that expression on Alya, but this one was twisted and evil, to the point Marinette could not believe it was the same face of her girlfriend.
"Ladybug!" Chat yelled, struggling from his position against the wall.
Wordslasher had pinned him against the brick building of a house, knives grasping the thick material of his suit and keeping him three feet off the ground. He watched helplessly as the akuma strode towards his Lady, who kept a straight face, but he could see she was terrified.
Ladybug hadn't believed someone could get akumatized twice, and was unpleasantly surprised when Alya stood in front of her, clad in another supervillain costume.
The redhead had a black, body fitting one piece, similar to her Lady Wifi costume, but a long, sharp sword resided on the white belt wrapped around her waist. Where the wifi signal was in her previous akumazation, an image of two swords were crossed across her chest. Letters and words circled her feet, snaking their way up her legs, an accessory to her dark outfit.
"Ladybug!" Chat Noir screamed again, and Wordslasher whipped around to face him.
"You're getting annoying," she hissed, and sliced her sword through the air. A gush of air made its way to Chat, hitting him across the chest, and he opened his mouth again, but no sound emerged.
He frantically tried to yell and scream, writhing against the knives holding him in place, but it was no use. Alya had cut off his ability to speak.
Wordslasher turned back to Ladybug, who had on her face a calculating look, eyes darting around. She needed to use Lucky Charm, and fast. Where was a safe place to use it? As if reading her thoughts, Wordslasher cackled, and raised her blade.
"You won't be able to use Lucky Charm if you can't call it, can you?"
She brought her blade down, and Ladybug dodged the incoming air being whipped at her. Wordslasher was difficult to fight, because he projectiles were almost invisible, unless you squinted your eyes and concentrated.
Alya swung attack after attack at Ladybug, and she twirled out of the way, one by one, never freeing herself enough to call on her trump card. Wordslasher was just too fast.
"You can run all day, Ladybug, but how long can you keep it up?" she sang wickedly, sauntering towards Ladybug, dodging the endless waves of air.
She leapt, never straying too far from Chat, just in case Wordslasher decided to harm him. He wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so the akuma thought she could save him for later. There was no way for him to use Cataclysm, his hands wouldn't be able to reach the wall behind him.
Ladybug landed, and in that split second, she knew she made a mistake. Wordslasher's blade swung down the second her toes touched the ground, when before she had carefully stepped in between the breaks of attack. Alya had waited a second later, until Ladybug made one more step, before bringing the blade towards the ground.
With a whoosh, Ladybug was silenced.
No! Ladybug screamed to herself. No, no no! How could I have been so stupid?
The akuma laughed, but it wasn't the warm sounds Alya made. No, they were vile, dark, and bitter, a distorted sound rising from the throat, and it sent chills down Marinette's spine.
This isn't Alya, she thought.
"This is the end, Ladybug!" Alya screamed, and a purple moth outline appeared in front of her face.
A silent conversation must have ensued, cause after a split second, a sick smile grew on Alya's face, and she began advancing, yet again, towards Ladybug.
Marinette threw her yo-yo towards Wordslasher's legs, but the akuma deflected it lazily with her sword. The desperate superhero took up a defensive position, tears streaming down her face.
All this over a stupid argument, Ladybug closed her eyes briefly.
It was their first big fight; Alya had not been taking care of herself, and Marinette had been scolding her.
"You need to take care of yourself!" Marinette had exclaimed.
"I will," Alya argued, "I just need to – "
"No, Alya!" was the response, "You haven't been sleeping at all these past few days, and barely eaten anything, that's completely unacceptable!"
"You don't understand anything, Marinette," the reporter snarled, "You should know how important the Ladyblog is to me, but of course you don't, because you don't care about anything!"
Marinette had taken a step back, hurt by her words. In a moment of anger, the designer blurted out the first words that came into mind, desperately trying, one last time, to make her girlfriend see reason.
"You're being stupid."
Alya gritted her teeth and recoiled, blinking back tears. Marinette didn't understand anything. Alya thought she did, that she knew how important Ladybug was to her. She shook her head. I was wrong.
With one last glare, she looked away from Marinette and stomped away in the opposite direction. She heard the dark haired girl call after her, but Alya didn't even turn around.
Now she faced Ladybug, the superhero who she admired the most, watching her, fighting her, to get her to stop. Why was everyone telling her to stop doing what she loved? What she wanted to do? Everyone was getting in her way.
A looming voice resonated in her head.
Get her miraculous.
Without a second thought, she complied. Alya lunged at Ladybug, and the superhero jumped to her left, splashing in a puddle.
Ladybug took down when he foot landed in the wet liquid. Had it started to rain? She didn't even realize. Now, when she did, she felt the wet clumps of hair on her head, water trickling down into her suit, plastering the material to her skin. It got harder to see, except for the moving shadow of Wordslasher, creeping silently in an eerie sort of way. The rainfall got heavier, and she completely lost sigh of Chat. Could she use Lucky Charm even if she was silenced? Could she risk it? Ladybug could not see where Alya went, only rain, and it dripped into her eyes. Blindly, she threw her yo-yo up into the air and thought, LUCKY CHARM!
She didn't know if anything happened, but she felt her yo-yo falling, and it clonked her on her head. Cursing internally, she fumbled around to see what she might have gotten, if anything at all. Breathing heavily, she looked around, scanning for Wordslasher, but a heavy fog began growing, and the akuma was nowhere to be seen.
Chat! She tried to scream, but of course, nothing came out. She got onto her knees, feeling the floor for anything that Lucky Charm may have brought her and her hand touched a cold, round, object.
Relief flowed through her when she realized Lucky Charm worked, despite her not saying anything. Bringing the object close to her face, she realized they were ladybug-printed goggles. Goggles! She could put them on and see more clearly!
Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, she quickly put them on. Immediately, she could see everything. Glancing around, she found Chat, still pinned to the wall, and she dashed over to him. He had his eyes closed, drenched and shivering, unable to move. Ladybug tugged at the knives keeping him to the wall, but they were firmly stuck, fully intent on trapping Chat there.
Chat, oh, Chat, open your eyes, Ladybug begged silently, and to her relief, her partner's eyes fluttered and stared up at her.
Ladybug? He mouthed.
She smiled kindly, but before she could utter a single word, Chat Noir's eyes grew wide and screamed a silent warning. Ladybug spun and saw Wordslasher draw back her blade, preparing to deliver the final blow.
Within that moment, time seemed to slow. Ladybug had two options: dodge, and let herself live, sacrificing Chat, who could not even move to defend himself, or …
The first option would never ever, happen, if she had anything to do about it. But that only left one other option. There was no time to land another blow on Alya, to adjust the direction of her sword, or anything she could possibly say to her girlfriend standing in front of her.
She could, however, save Chat one more time.
The blade thrust through her abdomen, and Ladybug grunted with the impact. She didn't feel the pain right away, only a strange tingling, and a loud ringing in her head. Everything seemed to have gone quiet, nothing felt right, the only thing chaotic was the beating of her heart.
She didn't have to look behind her to hear Chat screaming her name, silently, as Wordslasher's power was still in effect. She didn't have to look back to see Chat struggling once more against the blades, thrashing and praying that that didn't just happen, there was no was his Lady was just stabbed, she needed help, oh god.
Wordslasher did, however, freeze. She let go of the sword still protruding from her girlfriend's body, the sword she had just stabbed her best friend with. Marinette's hand shakily rose, to touch Alya's face once, before collapsing to the ground.
Ladybug started quivering on the floor, and a bright flash of pink appeared before Marinette stayed lying there, Tikki breathing heavily next to her charge's head.
"Marinette!" the red kwami yelled, patting her cheeks, which was slowly losing color, while the front of her clothes gained more as blood spread from the wound, growing and seeping through her jacket.
"Marinette?" Alya whispered, falling to her knees to kneel next to her girlfriend, the person she loved so, so much.
Chat was on the ground. He hadn't even realized the knives weren't there anymore. He was just staring at the shy girl who sat behind him in class, the one who lay bleeding, bleeding oh god there was so much blood. He tried to speak and found that he could, but he was so in shock, not a sound could be uttered. The black spandex covered superhero swallowed, but the lump that had formed in his throat refused to go away.
He took slow steps towards the girl who was his Lady just seconds ago, and fell, holding her other hand, as Alya grasped the right one.
"A-Alya," Marinette croaked hoarsely, and turned to face her partner. "Chat."
The two of them peered at her, tears in their eyes as she said their names. She managed a weak smile.
"I guess the cat's out of the bag now, huh?"
A sad chuckle came from Chat's mouth and the baker's daughter smiled at her kitty, glad she could make him laugh.
"Sorry, Alya, for not telling you, and sorry Chat, for probably not being as awesome of a person as you expected under the mask – "
"My Lady, you speak nonsense," Chat cut off, his voice wavering. "I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be Ladybug."
Marinette beamed at him, exhaustion clear in her eyes.
"Thank you," she breathed. Feebly, she squeezed his hand.
He echoed her gesture, holding it to his chest, tears flowing freely now, as if it was his lifeline. As if he was the one dying, and not the brave, strong girl lying in front of him.
"Alya," Marinette murmured, and the redhead leaned in, straining to hear her.
"Yes, Marinette? My best friend, my girlfriend, the love of my life?"
Even Hawkmoth seemed to have gone quiet, allowing them all to mourn, to grieve the quickly fading superhero.
"I …" she whispered, "I love you."
Alya clapped her hand over her mouth to enclose the sob building up from her chest, moisture blending in with the rain that had lightened up, falling softly as if they, too, were crying for Marinette.
"I love you too, Marinette," Alya cried, "I love you so, so, much."
"I'm sorry for dying," Marinette said, but it was getting hard to hear her. The designer's vision had already began to blur, and she blinked a few times, looking up at the two most important people in her life, the ones who made her smile all the time.
"Don't be sorry," they said together, all at once.
Marinette felt her own tears piling in the corner of her eyes, and sniffled, causing a terrible pain around her stomach.
"Tikki …"
The small kwami flew up to her, lips trembling as she placed her tiny hands on either side of her face.
"Thank you, Tikki, for letting me be Ladybug. I'm glad … you found … me …" It was getting difficult to breathe, and the throbbing pain in her middle area was lulling to a soft ache.
"worthy …"
"You're the most welcome," Tikki responded, kissing her nose. "You were the kindest, most beautiful, most courageous Ladybug I knew. You should be proud."
Marinette glanced at all of them, blinking slowly.
"Thank you guys, for … everything."
With one last smile, her eyes fluttered shut, and a single tear rolled down her face.