So, a lot of people liked my last Miraculous Ladybug fic, so I thought I should write another one! Let me know what you think!
In her opinion, Marinette had a pretty high tolerance level. She had been dealing with Chloé and her baggage since—what? First grade? She was constantly running around the bakery, helping her parents fulfill orders; working the cashier, packing up delicious goodies, even helping her father bake every once in a while! The amount of homework she was given had only increased over the years, and ever since she started winning designing contests, people had started giving her commissions. Not a bad way to earn a living though. Don't even mention the amount of stress Marinette was under protecting Paris from its semiweekly akuma attacks.
So yeah, Marinette's tolerance level was approximately three times the height of the Eiffel Tower. But every person has their limit, even patient people like Marinette. And what finally pushed her over the edge? Surprise, surprise; it was Chloé.
The jab that the (fake) blonde had casually slipped in wasn't even directed at her. Not at her parents, not Alya, Adrien, or Nino. The person wasn't even in their class! The jab was directed at the one, the only, Chat Noir.
It was after she and Chat had taken down Dark Cupid. The class was still on the fairy-tale unit. The class had been discussing who their heroes were; real or fictional. Most of the class had said Ladybug, their very own local hero. Marinette was smiling behind her hand, could you blame her?
Madame Bustier, noticing that Marinette wasn't participating in the lesson, called her out, "Miss Dupain-Cheng? Who would your hero be?" Surprised at being called out, it took her a moment to comprehend what she was being asked. This gave enough time for the entire class to turn to her to see what her answer would be.
Smiling nervously, she responded, "Well, um, Chat Noir." In front of her, Marinette could see Adrien shoot up in his seat and turn around to look at her curiously. Madame Bustier raised an eyebrow at her, "Oh? I half expected you to say Ladybug. Why Chat Noir?" At this moment, Chloé had turned around in her seat and spoke in her nasally voice, "Yeah, Marinette. Why Chat Noir? You know that he's absolutely useless without Ladybug, right? You've seen how many times he's been under the villains spells!"
Marinette narrowed her eyes at the girl, trying her hardest to keep her cool. No one could insult Chat and get away with it without a thrashing from her. The dark haired girl retorted, "If it weren't for Chat Noir, Ladybug would've been seriously injured at least fifteen times by now! But if you were half the Ladybug fan you think you are, you would know that! He's saved her butt from so many of the akumas, she'd be dead without him! His Cataclysm is epic, his selflessness is amazing, his agility is aweing, and don't even get me started on his puns! All in all, he is awesome and inspiring."
She didn't realize that she was standing until Alya put a hand on her shoulder and gently pulled her into her seat. Marinette gave a resigned sigh and dropped back into her seat with the words, "I rest my case."
The entire class was silent, staring at Marinette in shock; she was never that open or defensive about anyone. Not even herself. Chloé smirked at Marinette's outburst, "Aww. Does the second-rate girl have a crush on the second-rate hero? It's like a bad love story!"
Not looking up from her lap, Marinette whispered quietly, "You don't want to mess with me." The class was so engrossed in the 'catfight' that none of them noticed the pitch black butterfly fly through the open window.
Chloé let out a disbelieving laugh and flicked her ponytail over her shoulder, "What are you gonna do about it? Throw some of tes croissants at me?" The blonde laughed obnoxiously but it immediately died down when she noticed the butterfly flying towards Marinette. The butterfly flew into Marinette's earrings and they were soon surrounded by a dark fog. A purple butterfly-esque mask appeared over her eyes.
The students heard a faint voice spread over the classroom, filling their very bones with dread. "My poor Marionette," the voice crooned, "So tired of the girl with everything making fun of the people with nothing. Not to mention mocking the boy she considers her best friend. I can help you get your revenge on her, but for a price."
Marinette looked conflicted, as though she was having an internal struggle. A strange red…thing flew out of Marinette's purse and started speaking soothingly to her. "Fight it, Marinette! Papillon is manipulating you!"
The voice spoke again, "Aren't you tired of people manipulating you? It's your turn." Marinette's internal struggle came to an end as she bowed her head in defeat and muttered, "Oui, Papillon. It's my turn." The red bug shook her head disbelievingly and hid in the corner of the classroom.
As she stood up, the black fog consumed her. As the fog cleared away, her classmates backed up in fear. The once beautiful blue eyes filled with kindness had been replaced by eyes pitch black; pupil, iris, and white. Her typical clothes had been replaced with a red short-sleeved dress with a pink skirt and light brown corset around her waist. Her hair ribbons had extended to about her waist and her face had become painted like a doll's. In each hand was a marionette.
When she spoke, her voice was hauntingly melodic, "Everyone in this city was just Chloé's puppet." Her hand twitched and Ivan and Kim went limp like rag dolls. Marinette's painted lips curled into a smirk and her dark eyes flashed, "Now it's time that I pulled the strings." Her hand jerked up and the two boys snapped to attention, their eyes pitch black like their master's.
The Marionette's smirk grew as her fingers twitched, controlling the puppets in her hands. The movements of the two boys mimicked those of the puppets. They surged forward and grabbed Chloé by her arms. They stood to attention, awaiting their master's orders.
The dark-haired girl walked down to the teacher's desk (Madame Bustier was cowering underneath it) and turned to face the class. "I do not wish to harm you," the girl whispered, "But if you attempt to free her, then I will be forced to take drastic measures." No one wanted to imagine what the 'drastic measures' were.
With a final smile, the girl walked calmly out of the classroom, her fingers bouncing. Her two henchmen followed her, dragging the blonde between them.
The moment that she was out of earshot, the classroom erupted into chaos. Alya collapsed onto the desk in front of her, sobbing. Nino simply stared ahead, expressionless. The rest of the class began panicking; they had never seen an Akuma like this.
Adrien, got up and went to where the small red bug had zoomed to earlier. Reaching behind a pile of books, he grabbed the small being and raced out of the classroom. No one noticed his absence.
As soon as he reached the locker room, he let go of the red bug who started zooming around in a panicked manner. Plagg zoomed out of Adrien's over shirt and chased after the being and crushed her in a hug. "It's okay, Tikki," the kwami muttered, "We'll get her back."
The red bug, Tikki, calmed down immediately and turned to Adrien with a look of determination on her face. "Okay," she said in a high, squeaky voice, "My name is Tikki. I'm Ladybug's kwami. Yes I flew out of Marinette's bag. Yes Marinette is Ladybug. We need you to say, 'Tikki, Plagg, transform me' so we can go and save Marinette. Any questions?"
Adrien opened his mouth, but then closed it again, knowing that time is of the essence. A smirk grew on his face. He said, "Tikki! Plagg! Transform me!" The kwamis flew into his ring and he was transformed in a flash of black and red light.
He looked to the mirror in the locker room, and was shocked at his transformation. His suit still looked the same; the same black leather. But when it caught the light a certain way, it seemed to be a dark red. Ladybug's yoyo was around his waist. He still had his cat ears and tail, but one of his eyes had changed to a shade of blue very similar to Ladybug's. But the biggest shock was the wings. Sprouting from his back was a pair of red and black wings. He could feel them as though they were a physical part of his body; it was an amazing feeling.
He could hear Tikki's voice in his head, The feathers are made of metal, so you won't be sneezing constantly. He smiled at the mirror before jumping out the nearest window and soaring into the sky. He was not entirely sure how he managed not to turn into a pancake on the pavement, but he wasn't complaining. This is what is known as the god form, Tikki explained, it's what happens when two kwamis share one miraculous. It's why Papillon is desperate to grab ahold of your and Ladybug's miraculous. Now you can purify akumas and summon Lucky Charm along with the normal powers of your Miraculous.
Chat grinned as he soared above Paris, searching for 'The Marionette.'
It wasn't that hard to find her. Normally, Chat Noir would listen for the screaming and crashes that normally came with Akuma attacks. However, as he got closer and closer to the Eiffel Tower, Paris seemed to grow more and more silent. Plagg whispered in his mind, She's manipulating people and telling them to go to sleep. Not to the extent that she's manipulating those other two, but she still has some control over them.
Chat could feel Tikki's agreement, Because she's so strong willed and because she's a miraculous holder, it will be harder for Papillon to control her. He hasn't realized yet, but let's hope he doesn't.
He landed softly at the top of the Eiffel Tower, a favorite spot for him and Ladybug to sit after patrol. It was one of the few times they could talk to each other outside of Akuma attacks. Where else would she go?
Chat expected the Marionette to be waiting for him. To at least have Ivan and Kim restraining Chloé or holding her over the edge of the tower. But when he landed, Ivan, Kim, and Chloé were nowhere to be found and the Marionette was sitting on the edge of the tower. The ribbons in her hair were waving freely in the breeze and she was swinging her legs over the side.
She must have heard him land, "I don't want to do this, Chat. I don't want to hut Chloé. She bugs the hell out of me, but I don't want to hurt her." As Chat sat down cautiously next to her, she continued, "I've released Ivan and Kim. Chloé ran off to tell her daddy. I've put most of the city to sleep; I don't want anyone running after me."
The Marionette stood up slowly, her back to the open air, "The akuma is in my earrings. You haven't had to use Lucky Charm so there's no magic to fix what I've done. Once you beak the earrings and cleanse the akuma, they'll be broken permanently and I will no longer have the ability to be Ladybug. I don't know if I can live with that."
The purple butterfly mask appeared and the villainous voice spoke like it had in the classroom, "What are you doing? Take his miraculous!" Her eyes flashed and she snarled, "Non! You promised me that no one would control me and here you are threatening to take control of me! No more, Papillon!"
Marinette removed her earrings and handed them to a shell-shocked Chat Noir. She shook her head vigorously and the mask disappeared. She stepped backward, closer to the edge. She blinked once and her eyes changed from pitch black to the same blue that he had fallen in love with. She smiled sadly and murmured, "Au revoir, mon chaton." Marinette stepped off the edge.
Chat clutched the earrings and screamed as Marinette fell towards the earth. Her Marionette dress began to flicker and were replaced by her normal clothes. Chat jumped off the Tower and tucked his wings close to him, gaining momentum in the hopes to catch up to her.
He was too late. She hit the ground just a few seconds before he could've caught her. He felt numb. No one had ever died in an akuma attack before. She was the first.
Chat growled and threw the yoyo up in the air. He didn't say 'lucky charm,' but the yoyo seemed to understand. A small red rose landed in his hand. He placed the rose on top of Marinette's sleeping and broken form. His ring beeped. He had five minutes before he lost the Ladybug part of his transformation.
Chat Noir chucked the earrings onto the ground and crushed them beneath his foot. A small black butterfly exited the broken earrings but didn't get very far before Chat opened Ladybug's yoyo and captured the akuma and cleansed it. A white butterfly was released.
He picked the red rose from Marinette's hands and muttered, "Please work." He tossed the rose in the air and yelled, "Miraculous Ladybug!"
The ladybugs did not move from the Eiffel Tower. They quickly moved around the earrings and made them whole again. They flew around Marinette's body as though they didn't know what to do. Adrien could feel Tikki urge them to heal Marinette.
They complied. When the ladybugs vanished, Marinette sat up and took a deep and gasping breath. The Ladybug part of Chat's transformation wore off and Tikki quickly moved to Marinette.
Chat wasn't far behind. He clutched Marinette in a hug and said, "My Lady! Marinette!"
So that's done. What did you think?