It takes one small event to create a chain reaction leading to a catastrophe of monumental proportions.
Neither Ladybug nor Cat Noir could understand how it came to this point, fighting a particularly frightening akumatized foe that actually bore a threat to life in Paris unlike Hawk Moth's previous victims.
At least Ladybug never would've believed this happened because of one thing she did.
It started out as a beautiful day.
Birds were singing.
Flowers were blooming.
Kids ought to be enjoying life.
This day, compared to past days, happened to be the day that Marinette's tolerance for Chloé, the spoiled brat that made her life miserable in the past and who kept trying to steal Adrien away, was reaching its breaking point. Tired and frustrated at the blonde snob's shameless display in pulling Adrien into her supposed charms and giving in to her own petty jealousy, Marinette had basically let her have it.
Of course, such a drastic action was not without its consequences.
Though Marinette was lauded by her peers for standing up against Chloé once again, with the side bonus of gaining Adrien's attention, this left an unchecked Bourgeois brat looking to take her own vengeful anger out.
Predictably, Chloé aimed to humiliate Marinette in the worst way possible. Unexpectedly, she and Sabrina wound up upsetting an innocent little boy that was passing by their school with his older brother following along. Though the older brother easily weathered her vicious insults and empty threats, his younger sibling lacked the fortitude and ran away in tears.
Right into a busy street.
The older brother reacted quickly and called in for an ambulance in addition to notifying their parents. Remarkably enough, Chloé brushed the whole scene off with the intent of humiliating Marinette while Sabrina, remorseful over this twist of fate, gave her condolence before being called in by her so-called friend.
Time had barely passed and a life was lost in the hospital. The injuries the little boy suffered were too extensive. Sole brother and parents grieved. And though the parents had to move on for the sake of their only child, the older brother did not.
Such a perfect prey to give the power of judgment upon, as Hawk Moth would remark.
A tainted butterfly had flew in, merging into the salvaged keepsake the older brother kept of his late sibling: his favorite red scarf.
His heart darkened and his being empowered by the akuma, the nihilistic Big Brother arose and sought to pass judgment on all that thought so lightly of the value of life, considering it nothing more than a game that had no real world consequences. Clad in a pitch-black body suit with white marks on the body that drew out the outlines of a skeleton and a mask imprinted with a perpetually smiling skull face, along with the red scarf flowing from around his neck, Big Brother perfectly fit the role as the messenger of death as he rampaged throughout Paris.
Sturdy bones impaled various vehicles and buildings.
Light beams of divine judgment came upon the streets.
There was no mercy in this route.
It didn't take long for Paris's famed superhero duo to show up, which also prevented Chloé from fully exacting her own trivial revenge as a result of this mess.
"You two… you're superheroes, aren't ya?" Big Brother asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"Yes, and you're another one of Hawk Moth's victims, aren't you?" Ladybug shot back.
"Didn't think Passover came early, 'Angel of Death,'" Cat Noir quipped.
"Please, call me 'Big Brother,'" the akumatized victim replied casually. "Heroes, huh? So can I ask you this then? Do you think the worst person can change…? That anyone can be a good person if they just try?"
"Of course!" Ladybug exclaimed, gripping her yo-yo tightly. "This isn't you, Big Brother! You're under Hawk Moth's control!"
"… Heh, that's not what I'm asking about," Big Brother snorted. "The one who cause this mess… Mayor Bourgeois's daughter… You think she's capable of being a good person?"
Ladybug felt a sheer cold chill crawl up her back. It wasn't surprising that Chloé was responsible for this latest akumatization, but as Marinette, she was the one who provoked her in the first place, which possibly… no, not possibly, truly led to the birth of Big Brother.
"Bugaboo, you holding up alright?" Cat Noir asked, noting the frozen expression of fear on his Lady's face.
"I don't see why she shouldn't," Big Brother shrugged. "It's not like you were behind Mayor Bourgeois's daughter's depravity… Or were you?"
"L-Look, does it even matter now?" Ladybug brushed off, ignoring the inner guilt gnawing away inside. "We're stopping you here and now."
"I suppose what's done is done now," Big Brother sighed. "Though that look on your face says otherwise, I won't it against you or anyone else… dirty brother killer."
Unbeknownst to Cat Noir, Ladybug felt the weight of her sins increase upon her back, even as she prepared to attack. So he lost a brother because of Chloé and indirectly, her. While she could completely sympathize with his righteous indignation, this was still no excuse to suddenly take on the role of a god and pass judgment on those that had nothing to do with his brother's demise.
Big Brother did a simple sidestep to avoid the yo-yo, even as it returned back to its owner. Cat Noir charged in as well with his baton, but to no avail, Big Brother dodged his swipes in the most nonchalant way possible.
"It's a beautiful day outside, isn't it?" Big Brother commented as he continued to evade Cat Noir's strikes. "Birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. On days like these… kids like you…"
"You're really making me bone tired," Cat Noir interrupted, growling in frustration on being taunted like this.
"Should be burning… in hell," Big Brother finished in a deathly whisper.
The akumatized victim's eyes flashed and Cat Noir found himself suddenly suspended midair. Big Brother himself was floating. So it appeared he had psychokinetic powers in addition to the seen bone conjuring and destructive columns of light that wreaked havoc recently. Ladybug had to wonder how many deadly powers Hawk Moth bestowed upon this one as her leather-clad feline partner was telekinetically thrown against the roof of the building they were all on.
"Ow… Gonna be feline that tomorrow," Cat Noir groaned, getting back on his feet while clutching his aching left side.
"As much as I also enjoy a good pun, I'm afraid I'm gonna have to bone you, kitty kid," Big Brother grinned.
"Great, another pun lover," Ladybug sighed before widening her eyes as the pun was fully processed in her brain. "Wait, what?!"
"He means removing my bones, not… well, you know," Cat Noir mumbled, blushing while rubbing his soreness.
"Uh… yeah!" Ladybug hastily agreed, the color of her cheeks matching her suit in bright intensity. "I-I knew that! Of course I knew that! Why wouldn't I know that?! Of course I knew that! I said I knew that, right?! … Hee hee!"
"Sounds like someone looking for a good time," Big Brother chuckled, adding onto Ladybug's current embarrassment. "Too bad you're all in for a bad time."
Big Brother began his onslaught, conjuring up long bone projectiles to rain down upon Ladybug and Cat Noir's parade. The heroes spun their respective weapons to protect themselves upon the rather vicious barrage of bones coming upon them. Soon enough, Big Brother snapped his fingers and a demonic looking skull appeared next to him.
It opened its jaws and fired a bright destructive beam that was described by the media to be his 'divine light of judgment.' While Ladybug and Cat Noir were able to escape the blast, the building itself was not as fortunate as it was sent crumbling down with people still inside attempting to escape with their lives.
This was too much, even for them. A lot of people were going to lose their lives from this akuma attack.
Ladybug hoped that as soon as they capture and purify the akuma that Miraculous Ladybug can reverse all the damage caused this day, including the lives that might have been lost by Big Brother's hand.
It brought back those that ceased to exist as a result of being attacked by Timebreaker, so would there be any reason why it wouldn't work for this case?
The ongoing attack cycle continue as the heroic duo leapt from rooftop to rooftop, dodging and countering Big Brother's rampage of revenge. From bony projectiles to skull blasters, the superheroes were really being pushed into a corner. Unless they stopped him now, more of Paris would fall to his destructive tendencies.
Hawk Moth occasionally chimed in, reminding his villain to first strip them of their Miraculous before anything else.
Even the mastermind was uneasy about letting him go on with passing judgment. With Big Brother's powers and desire to annihilate everything, Hawk Moth was unsure if he would still have any sort of control over him.
"Big Brother, please stop!" Ladybug pleaded. "This isn't the way! This isn't what your brother would want!"
"How would you know what my brother wants?" Big Brother taunted. "Is this your way in trying to spare me?"
Ladybug and Cat Noir stopped fleeing. All three congregated on top of one building. It was time to settle this once and for all.
"How is it fair for you to play 'god' on all these people that had nothing to do with what happened to your brother?" Ladybug questioned. "This isn't kill or be killed! This is just madness!"
The red-clad black-spotted heroine still felt guilty for being the indirect cause of the akuma, considering that Chloé always wound up causing one but for this case, she was the one who had set her off. She didn't want Big Brother to continue bringing hell on everyone.
"Ah, yes, the innate goodness that all mankind is blessed with," Big Brother said as though he was consumed in nostalgia. "Must feel good trying to be good, doesn't it?"
"Ladybug is the definition of goodness," Cat Noir defended stalwartly. "She's Paris's angel in red with black spots."
"No need to go that far, kitty." Ladybug mumbled with an eye roll, though she smiled warmly at his compliment before sternly resuming her attention upon the skeleton-themed villain. "But Cat Noir has a point. Neither of us, as a matter of fact, can let you carry on like this."
"I see," Big Brother breathed. It was hard to tell what he was feeling as the skull design on his mask was perpetually smiling, masking his own face. He then pointed at his scarf, the location of his akuma. "Welp… it's only fair that you feel how I feel if you are sincere in trying to understand me, right?"
"Right," Ladybug nodded, cautiously approaching the cryptic villain while Cat Noir stayed back on standby in case Big Brother attempted to try something. "It's time to move on."
"I promise your effort won't be for nothing," Big Brother chuckled, his grin broadening.
From his enhanced senses, Cat Noir picked up on his ambush.
He extended a hand out to reach for Ladybug.
He prepared to scream out his warning.
Nothing came out of his mouth.
Ladybug froze in place as something was dangerously amiss.
It was discovered that Big Brother can cause bones to spike out of the ground in addition to materializing them out of thin air.
It was those same bones that impaled a hero at every angle, vital spot or not. Blood was being spilt. The hero left untouched was going into hysterics. And Big Brother continued to observe with that unnerving grin of his.
"Get… dunked on," Big Brother quipped in low grave whisper.
"CAT NOIR!" Ladybug shrieked.
"C-Cataclysm…!" Cat Noir growled, holding his right hand up, glowing darkly with pure destruction.
His superpower was used to touch all the bones, dissolving them…
And letting his body fall into an increasing puddle of his own blood.
"Wh-Why…?" Ladybug gasped, furiously glaring at Big Brother in spite of her shedding tears. "Why? … WHY?!"
"I promised to help you understand how I felt losing my brother," Big Brother shrugged. "Don't tell me you were about to go back on your word, were you? You dirty hypocrite."
"You…!" Ladybug hissed, her hand trembling as she gripped her yo-yo tightly.
"I guess I should let you know," Big Brother warned. "These powers I have… and those that have fallen victim to them… Even if you do defeat me, I'm afraid it'll be in vain. My purpose in passing judgment to you is to show that no one is above consequences, not even the Miraculous Ladybug."
"WHAT?!" Ladybug screeched.
"Consider it karmic retribution as a result of your sins," Big Brother explained. "With the one I'm currently passing judgment upon, my powers ultimately depend on the amount of sins crawling on your back. And girl, you have quite the spotted past, don't ya? I guess it is safe to say that you, whoever you are, were responsible for all of this."
"I… I…" Ladybug had no words.
"It's your fault, isn't it?" Big Brother stated, his demented grin growing ever wide. "You reap what you sow, you dirty brother killer."
"Like you're any different!" Ladybug retorted heatedly.
"I don't blame you really," Big Brother continued. "I don't like keeping promises either, but you just seem so earnest in trying to understand the pain of others like the good person you are. And if you really cared about others, you would hand over your Miraculous now."
"Lucky Charm!"
The true heroine awoken.
Without hesitation, Ladybug called upon her superpower and received a heart-shaped locket in return. She wasn't about to give up her Miraculous, not after learning her lesson with Volpina. She had to act now and purify the akuma to save Cat Noir.
"Guess you don't really care after all," Big Brother sighed, shrugging carelessly once more. "Guess I should also start taking you more seriously now."
He started by sending up a row of bones with the intent to impale Ladybug as well. The heroine was swift enough to avoid his attacks, analyzing the arrangement of his bones and planning out how to stop Big Brother once and for all.
She needed to wait and do nothing.
Her patience was rewarded as Big Brother decided to use his telekinesis on her, levitating her body and slamming her multiple times onto the ground. Ladybug figured she could take on the expected aching in the morning before Big Brother pulled her into the direction she wanted him to.
She soon passed through a row of his protruding bones, wrapping the chain of the locket around one of them, momentarily stopping her from being pulled by Big Brother's telekinesis, much to the villain's surprise. He exerted more psychic force on her body, which eventually caused the bone she wrapped the locket chain around to be uprooted.
With her quick reflexes, Ladybug flung the freed bone towards Big Brother, who had to take defensive action. Unfortunately for him, his telekinesis could only work on one object at a time, forcing him to release Ladybug in order to prevent the bone from hitting him.
Of course, Ladybug was relentless.
She sent her yo-yo at him, landing a square hit on his forehead while he was still preoccupied, knocking him out of the air while ensnaring him within her yo-yo string.
Big Brother was pulled in this time, with Ladybug snagging the scarf off his neck as he was sent flying past her and tearing it apart to reveal the akuma.
"No more evil-doing for you, little akuma," Ladybug began, opening up her yo-yo and capturing the akuma without any more additional pleasantries.
There wasn't any more time to lose.
As soon as the butterfly was white and released, she threw the locket into the air.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
Buildings were restored.
Vehicles were back in place.
Some people had reappeared where they first were prior to judgment day.
But Ladybug didn't have time to worry about all of that. She had to check on her partner.
"Cat Noir!" Ladybug cried out, running over to where he was.
Even though she saw the magical swarm of ladybugs circle him from the Miraculous Ladybug, something still didn't feel right. The swarm disappeared and Cat Noir was still lying on the ground.
The blood was cleaned up, but his body still bore punctures from the bones. Was this the karmic retribution Big Brother was talking about?
Why?
Why did this have to happen to her?
Was it all because she lashed out on Chloé this morning?
Where was the justice in that?!
"… M… M'lady," Cat Noir panted, weakly reaching a hand out to her, only for Ladybug to take it with both hands and setting it back down.
"Don't talk," Ladybug ordered. "I got to save you, Cat Noir."
"… I'm out of nine lives," Cat Noir jested. "… And… I was skewered with… more than nine… bones."
"Stop, please save your breath," Ladybug implored, breathing shallowly as tears reemerged from the corners of her eyes. "I have to take you to the hospital."
"… Smile for me… Bugaboo," Cat Noir grinned. "… My last sight of you…"
"STOP!" Ladybug demanded, breaking down and holding his body close to her. She didn't care that her earrings were beeping, having only three spots left. "This is not going to be your last sight, got it?! You'll live!"
"… 'F-Fraid not," Cat Noir coughed. The paw print on his ring was on its last minute. "I suppose I had this coming… being the em-body-ment of bad luck."
"But I'm good luck!" Ladybug argued. "I can't lose you!"
"Heh… you would be fine either way, Ladybug," Cat Noir assured, his breathing slowing down. "I… I… lo…"
"Cat Noir, no…! Please!" Ladybug cried. "Don't say it! Not like this! Not to someone who doesn't deserve it! Someone… who's failing to save you…!"
Ladybug tightened her embrace. She feared for the worst when her beloved partner stopped talking.
"… Mom… is that you…?"
Cat Noir's body stiffened before falling limp in her arms. Ladybug stared at his body, trying to fully comprehend what has happened.
It didn't help that the ring's power wore off and Cat Noir's true identity was revealed in a bright flash of green light.
"… A-Adrien?"
Ladybug felt her body go numb, refusing to register the fact that the cold lifeless body in her arms belonged to the boy she adored so much that she dreamt every day of their future family. Her bitter tears marred his perfect face that was peaceful in eternal sleep.
The flowers are in bloom as the birds will tell.
Marinette would agree that today is a beautiful day to be burning in hell.
For the loss of Adrien and Cat Noir is her special hell.
Don't ask me how or why I thought about this. It just seems to me that this series can easily integrate with any other fictional series, from Pokémon to Undertale, I suppose. I'm not much of an Undertale fan, but I am familiar with its more well-known quotes and messages. And as you have guessed, this was inspired by a Stronger Than You Undertale parody, and yes, I know the original came from Steven Universe, hence "parody." I guess that's why I had to get this out. Just because.
Still slowly working on my chapters for the Pokémon AU. School has really hit hard, but I will keep at it at a steady pace.
What do you think of this? Please review!