"Ladybug, watch out!" Chat called to her. She spun around and dodged to her left, narrowly evading the swish of a blade. The Akuma grumbled and cursed. This Akuma was different. The poor man who was trapped inside had been a sword teacher. He had gotten run out of buisiness by another shop that had opened, who claimed that swords were 'old news'. Sadily, that meant that this Akuma had a big freaking sword as their weapon. Ladybug skipped backwards and stood beside Chat. The two were facing off against the Akuma. Ladybug leaned over.
"I'll circle around back. I want you to destroy his sword, and I'll grab the Akuma while it's trying to escape"
Chat nodded and stepped forward, whistling and twirling his baton. Ladybug slowly began to make her way behind the Akuma, moving carefully. He swung his sword forward and Chat dodged. Narrowly. Ladybug gasped, but only his tail had gotten caught in the attack. He held up the piece of black fabric and stared at it.
"This is a cat-astrophe!" he cried, turning to stare at his own rear. He then turned his glare to the behemoth before him.
"You're paying for that!" he called, lunging forward. "Cataclysm!" he cried, feeling the power surging through his arm. The Akuma laughed and rolled quickly-quicker than either of them thought possible- out of the way. Both Ladybug and Chat realized too late what was happening. Chat was launched at Ladybug with Cataclysm fully active in his hand. Time seemed to slow and he saw the absolute panic in Ladybugs eyes. His hand touched flesh. Ladybug screamed. The two tumbled together, hitting the ground. Chat was up instantly, checking Ladybug over for wounds. She had three large cuts in the middle of her chest, oozing blood. He watched in horror as the wounds began to stitch themselves up, leaving just scars. He hadn't known they could do that.
"C-Chat..." Ladybug whispered. He got the signal and grabbed her, rolling the both of them just as the giant sword came down where they had been, sticking firmly in the stone.
"Stay with me, LB. I just need you to be able to get the Akuma after I release it"
She nodded and he leaped forward, stabbing his staff into the swords metal before there was a chance of it to be released. The sword blew apart as a small purple butterfly flapped away desperately. The red yo-yo flew weakly, but did its job and caught the thing. A white butterfly flew off, carried by the mild breeze.
"Miraculous ladybug" she croaked. The destroyed building they had been in put itself back together. The man behind them stood, groaning.
"Hey, what's going on? Whoa, Ladybug, are you-" he was cut off as, without a word, grabbed Ladybug and took off running, vaulting into the sky. He wasn't sure where to take her. He couldn't take her to a hospital. Her transformation was going to run out, and there would be press everywhere if he took her there. He only had one option. He climbed up the wall of the Agreste Manor and into his room, praying no one saw him. At night, he was practically invisible, but Ladybug's red would stick out like a sore thumb. He finally clambered into his dark room. Of course though, it wasn't dark for him.
"Claws in" he whispered and felt Plagg disappear from him. Instantly, the kawami launched himself at Adrien, hitting him as hard as he could.
"Oww, Plagg, stop!" he cried. He finally made his way to the light switch and flicked it on. Plagg was floating over Ladybugs body, clearly upset. Adrien slowly walked over, gently picking her up and placing her on the bed. Plagg followed, slightly subdued.
"This is your fault" he hissed, glowing a light green.
"How is this my fault?" Adrien asked, defensive.
"You could have stopped this! You could have changed how your hand was facing! You could have just charged the guy instead of jumping! There were so many things you could've done to prevent thi-" he was cut off mid-rant by a beeping and a flash of red. Plagg watched anxiously while Adrien averted his gaze.
"Tikki!" he heard Plagg gasp.
"Plagg, I'm sorry..." he heard a faint voice sigh.
"No Tikki, you didn't do anything. It was his fault" Plagg growled. Adrien rolled his eyes.
"So you're Chat" he heard 'Tikki' say. Adrien turned so that he could see her but not whoever was lying on his bed. Tikki was adorable. Adrien barely held down a 'squee' at her.
"Hello. I'm Adrien Agre-"
"She knows who you are, dumbass" Plagg growled. Tikki pouted at him and he huffed, turning away and folding his arms.
"I'm Tikki. The Kawami of the Ladybug" she said gently. Adrien nodded. "Please help her" she added at the end.
"She doesn't want me to know-"
"Adrien, she needs you right now. Trust me. I've done everything I could, and she'll be confused when she wakes"
Adrien nodded and sighed. He slowly turned and gasped, staring open mouthed. He looked back at Tikki, who laughed lightly.
"M-Marinette? Marinette is Ladybug?" he asked slowly. He heard Plagg snort but chose to ignore him. Adrien leaned down next to the bed and gently ran a thumb across her cheek.
"Tikki" he asked gently after a few minutes. Tikki weakly floated forward. "What happened? What did you do? What did I do?"
Tikki sighed, plopping down on the bed between Marinette's arm and her hip. "Cataclysm destroys everything it touches. That doesn't change when it touches a body"
"But then wh-" he was cut off by Tikki holding up a small paw.
"Because Plagg and I have a little bit of each other in ourselves. So when his power was used on me, I had a very small amount of control over it. I couldn't get rid of it, but I could change where it went. If it had gone into her body, she would've died. So I changed its nature. Instead, it went into her..." Tikki stopped, looking up at Marinette's face sadly.
"Her?" Both Adrien and Plagg, who had started listening asked. Tikki just looked at Plagg sadly. Plagg gasped, holding both paws to his mouth.
"Tikki, no! You didn't!"
"It was all I could do, Plagg! It was the only way I could save her life!" Tikki burst into tears. Plagg zipped forward to hug her tightly.
"What happened!?" Adrien asked, still lost. Tikki looked at him through blurry eyes.
"I redirected Cataclysm to her mind" she sputtered out. Adrien's mouth dropped open and he sat down on the floor, leaning back, staring blankly forward.
For a few minutes, the only sounds in the room was Tikki's crying and Plaggs whispers.
A small mutter broke the silence. Tikki and Plagg both looked at him, thinking he had said something. Adrien stared right back.
Another murmur broke the silence. Adrien shot off the floor and leaned over his bed, watching Marinette's eyelids flutter. Tikki floated over and rested gently on her forehead, pressing her own against Marinette's. She muttered gently and glowed a soft pink. Marinette's eyes slowly opened. They focused slowly on Tikki, who watched her tensely.
"Tikki?" she asked. Tikki let out a breath and smiled widely, nodding. Tears of joy formed in her eyes.
"Yes Marinette, it's me! It's me, Tikki" she shuddered out, relieved. Marinette smiled and moved a sluggish arm to slowly stroke Tikki's head. Finally, her eyes focused on the room beyond. They moved about, confusion marring her features.
"Wait, Tikki. Where are we, this isn't our house..." her eyes fell on Adrien. She gasped and sat up, eyes wide. The two stared at each other for a moment before Adrien grinned. He leaned forward and enveloped her in a hug. Marinette was glowing a bright red.
"A-Adrien, I-I can explain! T-this is my...cat. Tikki, she um-"
"He knows, Mari" Tikki said gently, nuzzling Marinette's cheek affectionately.
"What!?" Marinette cried. That's when she noticed Plagg floating behind Adrien. He floated forward to Tikki.
"Marinette, this is Plagg. Chat's Kawami" Tikki introduced him. Plagg bowed lightly.
"Wait, why is Chat's Kawami here..." her muddy mind slowly began to make connections. She blinked at Adrien.
"You're Chat?" she asked. Adrien just nodded.
"Oh gods" Marinette murmured and hung her head forward in her hands.
"I-I'm sorry" Adrien said, confused by her reaction. "Are you...disappointed?" he asked, blushing lightly.
"What!? Oh, no! Of course not! It's just that I-I, urm, I-"
"Have a huge crush on you?" Tikki finished. Marinette paled before going beet red and glaring at Tikki, who giggled. Adrien laughed.
Marinette blushed, placing her head in her hands. Adrien carefully pulled her hands away and just smiled. She smiled back.
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A/N: There's more going on here, trust me. It'll start to happen next chapter. So I have a question; I've been considering writing something original. I've also been looking at small, local publishing companies. Do you guys think I can do it? This isn't my best work, but, well, I don't know. Just let me know what you guys think in the comments. Thanks guys :)
