"Adrien!" Marinette screamed, one hand outstretched as she started after him.
"Oh, come now, Marinette." She was painfully yanked back by a clawed hand around her neck. "He's not part of this dance. It's rude to ignore your partner, you know." She was spun around to face him, to see the boy that sent chills down her spine.
Except it wasn't a boy. It was a monster. She blinked, her mind taking her back to when she was young, cuddling with Alya and Nino while watching Disney movies when they were supposed to be sleeping. She remembered the bright blue clothes of the Beast as he swept Belle across the floor with nothing but soft smiles and gentle gestures, flowing along with the most romantic music of her childhood. But the beast before her now was nothing like the fairy tale prince of her memories. His fur was matted and bunched, with a greasy shine to it. The horns on his head were long and and black, with red burning through cracks and chips. His teeth - oh, how horrible they were! Large, pointed, yellow, it was clear he still had to get used to talking around them. Drool dribbled down his chin, staining his otherwise pristine dress clothes.
Gasping, Marinette tried to get away. But the hands on her arms dug their claws into the backs of them - not enough to puncture skin, but enough to sting.
"What are you doing, Princess? I'm your prince, you know."
"Bruce?"
"My name is Waltzer." He put a hand on her waist, forcing her close to him. She leaned back as far as she could, pushing against his chest. "Let's dance!"
He started to moved back and forth, but stopped once he realized there was nothing to dance to. He glared at the people around them, staring in shock. He then glared at the frozen musicians on stage, and sang a note so melodious it didn't deserve to come from his snarling lips. Screams echoed through the hall as the musicians merged with whatever instruments by they held. By the time they died, large violins and drumsticks and trumpets, as well as everything in between, floated in their place. Waltzer snapped his fingers, and they started playing a fast-paced melody.
With a jovial laugh, Waltzer started to spin them in circles. Marinette watched over her shoulder as more people started doing the same, looking surprised as they found partners and formed a ring. Her eyes met Alya's, who was dancing with Chloé, of all people. Her phone was in her hand, no doubt recording.
"Are you controlling them?" she asked.
"Of course." Waltzer spun her around roughly. "It's the least they could do after doing nothing but gawking at us."
She blinked at him, then stomped her feet, trying to get his toes beneath her heels. Waltzer grunted when she finally hit her target. "You should stop that," he growled, "or you'll break your shoes." She smiled as she hit him again, a smile that turned to a gasp as he dropped his hands to her hips and threw her into the air.
She heard a snap when she landed, and her ankle exploded in pain.
"Adrien! Dude, wake up!"
"We've got to get out of here, now." He felt someone lift his arm. "You get the other side."
Adrien opened his eyes, blinking as the light assaulted them. He waved the people around him off, only to have Nino envelop him in a hug, grateful that he was moving.
"He's awake. But can he run? We don't have time for this." Adrien blinked up at Alix, hovering above them.
"I'm fine, but where's Marinette?" Alix slid her eyes to the dance floor, where rings of people surrounded one couple. Adrien squinted, shocked when he saw her in the middle with a monster.
Even from there he could see how she was limping. She was gripping his shirt with her hands and shaking her head. She stumbled, and was caught by the monster, who threw her into the air screaming.
Marinette was hurt. Marinette was scared.
Adrien was angry.
Adrien pushed Nino and Alix towards the exit doors, pretending to follow after them. He put a hobble in his step, letting them run ahead until they reached the door. Before they could turn around to check on him, he ducked into an alcove to transform.
Marinette pleaded with Waltzer. She begged. She tried to reason with him. Surely he'd broken her ankle, she couldn't dance like this.
But he wouldn't listen. Instead he gave her a wide, creepy grin and licked his teeth. She thought for a moment he'd lick her, too, and it made her jerk away.
Which made her stumble. And every time she stumbled, he would hurl her up so high she thought she'd break through the ceiling. He'd always "catch" her, claiming he saved her life - despite being the one to endanger it in the first place. It was just a cruel game to him.
It was on the third time he did this that she finally let herself cry. It wasn't that she was particularly scared. No, she faced worse than him on a weekly - and sometimes daily - basis as Ladybug. But everytime he caught her, he jostled her left leg - the one she could already feel swelling up - and gave her his creepy grin.
Okay, so maybe she was a little terrified.
At least the snap she'd heard was the heel of her shoe and not something more important, like her bone.
Or so she hoped.
"This really hurts, Waltzer," She attempted to talk with him once more. "I can't keep going like this. Let me sit down, please."
He stared right through her, the grim smile stretching his face. His tongue grazed his teeth, then lingered outside his mouth. Marinette tried to push him away, but twisted her ankle in doing so. Her leg gave out, and she would have fallen backwards if not for the arm that snaked around her waist.
She shook her head frantically as giant hands wrapped around her and tossed her high into the air. She screamed at the apex, just as the momentum died and gravity took over. She closed her eyes as she fell toward his outstretched hands. She felt his fingers graze her when another body slammed into hers, sending them both across the room. A ripping sound reached her ears above the sound of his angry roar, but it was her dress and not her skin. She opened her eyes to a mop of blonde hair and two cats ears poking into her vision.
"Chat Noir!" she gasped, clinging to him. He slid into a landing on the other side of the room, carrying her princess-style. He shot her a reassuring smirk before Waltzer roared in their direction. Chat Noir jumped upward, using one hand to grab the railing of the balcony above them. He flipped them onto the banister and ran along it, heading for the doors.
But Waltzer lunged forward, beating them there. He scraped his claws across the opening as he sang out a deep note that welded the wood into the wall. He then raced to the opposite side of the room, bowling over poor dancers, to seal off all the other exits.
Chat Noir cursed, but hopped to the where the doors once were. Cradling her with his left arm, he lifted the right one. "I can use my Cataclysm to open a hole so that you can escape."
"No!" she exclaimed, lowering his arm. She could hear people pounding on the wall where the door should have been. She wouldn't be able to transform out there, and she couldn't afford the time to get somewhere private while his was running out. Besides, her foot would only let her travel at an excruciatingly slow pace. She needed somewhere close to transform. He hesitated, looking at her in curiosity. "Shouldn't you save it? You only have a few minutes after using it, don't you? And this way, he's trapped in here too."
"But we need to get you somewhere safe."
Her eyes scanned the room. "Up there," she pointed to a nearby balcony. "While he's distracted." Grimacing, he used his baton to vault them over to it. He had just laid her against the wall and brushed his hands across her shoulders when Waltzer gave a menacing roar that echoed off the walls.
"Where is she?" he bellowed. "Where is my princess?!"
Chat Noir's hands tightened on her as he felt a spike of protectiveness. He glared over his shoulder, then turned to her. "His princess? Please. Permission to allow your knight to deal with this brute, Princess?"
"Permission granted," she grinned. "Wipe the floor with that fake prince, okay?"
"You got it." With a wink, he set off down the steps. A minute later, he appeared from another balcony, yelling taunts to infuriate the monster, trying to draw him away from her.
Tikki flew out from her purse and landed on Marinette's knee. She looked up at her with her big eyes, worry crinkling her brow. "I don't want you fighting like this. You could hurt yourself more."
"I don't have a choice. Ladybug is needed right now. And isn't Miraculous Ladybug supposed to heal injuries?"
"Yes, I know. Just be careful, ok? Just because you can heal it doesn't mean you should recklessly try to do more than you can."
"Of course. Tikki, spots on!" Letting the magic wash over her always made her heart rate pick up, and with the combination of adrenaline and magic coursing through her, she couldn't even feel the pain of her ankle.
Which was good, because she had to kick Waltzer away from Chat Noir. Her partner was on the floor, face swelling up and blood trickling from his nose.
"My Lady!" he said once they had a moment to discuss strategy. "I was just about to call you!"
"I was in the area," she shrugged.
"But this place has been sealed. I was sure I'd have to use Cataclysm to let you in."
Oh. "There's a few skylights," she fibbed. "I used one of them." Thankfully the ceiling was too high for anyone to see the nonexistent windows. (It was too dark, too, but he had night vision so that didn't really help.)
His eyes flicked upwards for a second, then returned to her. Tenderly, she shifted her weight to her left leg, skimming the crowd. "Right," he said, doing the same. "Let's get this over with."
The lucky charm - a pair of pointe shoes used for ballet - was very effective in tripping Waltzer. Chat Noir skidded past him, snatching the corsage on his lapel and passed it to Ladybug, who tore the petals with a little more force than necessary.
"Come out, nasty akuma," she started as it formed from the remnants of the flowers. She swung her yoyo as it started flapping its wings. "I free you from evil!" Her yoyo captured the butterfly, and she let it go with a wave of her fingers. "Bye bye, little butterfly." Finally, the battle was over. Her ankle was throbbing.
"Here you are, My Lady." Chat Noir had graciously retrieved the shoes, which she took with relief.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" she called out as they went sailing towards the sky. Sparkles filled the air, hovering around the doors and twisting around guests. They even swept across her, healing her injuries and fixing her dress, despite the fact that it was in another dimension at the moment. She turned to go at the beep of her Miraculous.
"Are you okay, Ladybug?"
"What?" She stumbled to look back at Chat Noir.
"You seemed kind of... Off tonight. Is everything alright?"
Of course he would notice. "I'm fine. Just a bit distracted."
"Do I look that good, My Lady?" He flexed. She winked at him with a giggle, then shot off to lose him in the ceiling.
But not before she noticed the blush that spread across his cheeks.
She had only just settled in, legs tucked beneath her dress, when she heard footsteps rushing up the steps. In seconds, Alya was at her side.
"Marinette! Are you okay?" She frantically ran her fingers over her head and arms, searching for some injury.
"I'm fine, Alya, I'm okay." Marinette grabbed her hands, and Alya pulled her to her feet. But the moment she put her weight down on her left leg, she stumbled at a sudden pain. Grasping Alya's arm, she steadied herself.
"Marinette!" Holding her shoulders, she studied Marinette's feet. "What is that?"
Marinette looked down. The skin around her ankle was purple and swollen, a bruise that continued to crawl down her foot. She winced at the sight of it. "I didn't know bruises worked that fast."
"It must be from when he forced you to dance. Come on," Alya said as she placed Marinette's arm around her shoulders. "Maybe there's a doctor or nurse downstairs." She glanced at the bruise once more before helping Marinette to the staircase.
Adrien and Nino met them halfway down it.
"Alya! Marinette! You're ok!" Nino's voice sounded relieved, and Adrien's smile reflected it.
"Not quite," Alya grimaced as she nodded to Marinette's foot.
Marinette heard Adrien's intake of air. He bent down and studied her ankle, holding out his hands as if he wanted to touch it. Marinette held it out for him, and he took it gingerly, prodding at the most swollen part and sweeping along the bruise. He sighed and stood back up.
"It's bad, but not broken. I don't think it is, anyway. Can you make it all the way down?"
"I think so. Alya helped me come this far."
"Here, I'll carry you." He turned around and looked over his shoulder expectantly.
"Oh! No, I'm fine. Alya can-"
"I insist. This is partly my fault, after all." Marinette thought back to when Bruce saw them dancing together. The rage on his face burned into her mind, and she knew Adrien must be feeling guilty. With the help of Alya and the offset of the stairs, she managed to climb onto his back. He hooked his hands beneath her knees and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The four friends continued down the stairs, peeking at Marinette's ankle as they went. When they reached the bottom, they hesitated, unsure of who in the room could help. Finally, they decided to send Alya and Nino into the recovering crowd to find someone, leaving Marinette and Adrien by the buffet. Most of the tables were taken, but they found one near the center. Adrien set Marinette in a chair and stood, watching for when Nino or Alya would return. His eyes slid over the room, amazed at how the guests continued to party despite the attack that had just happened.
"Do you need anything?" he asked as he focused on Marinette. She had her foot resting on another chair as she poked at it.
"Maybe some ice."
"I'll be right back, then." He walked around her to the serving table. As he walked back, he noticed red splotches on the back of her upper arms. He sat in the same chair she was propping her foot on and put it in his lap, wrapping a napkin around the ice before pressing it on the bruise. "What happened to your arms?"
"My arms?" She twisted them, trying to see what he meant. He leaned forward and grabbed her hand, guiding it to the spot he noticed. She felt dents in her skin, and immediately knew what they were. "It's from when Bruce - er, Waltzer - first appeared," she started, rubbing the area before putting her hand in her lap. "Remember? He pushed you away and grabbed me there. It hurt when he did it." Adrien squeezed her hand and with a start she realized he had never let go of it in the first place. She hoped he didn't notice the way her face flushed.
"I'm sorry. I should've done something to protect you better. I wish I could have."
"It's fine, Adrien! Promise. It's not your fault Bruce went on a rampage. It was his own petty jealousy. I'm just glad Chat Noir showed up when he did. I was... Really scared." She shuddered as she revisited the memory of flying through the air with nothing but a fickle-minded akuma to catch her.
"Ladybug had to save him, though." Dejected, he looked to the floor, and this time, Marinette squeezed his hand. He met her eye, and she opened her mouth to comfort him when he gasped. "Wait a minute, didn't he tear your dress when Chat Noir saved you?"
"I- yes, one of the sleeves was almost ripped off." She glanced at them, but they were both in their proper place, looking as if she'd just sewn them on. She frowned, wondering how he could have known that, but was interrupted before she could even ask.
"I found someone!" Alya shouted as she ran up. Nino was right behind her, and following them both was a tight-looking woman in red. "This is Dr. Martel. She's my family's doctor, actually. She agreed to-" she cut herself off at Adrien's stricken expression. "What wrong, Adrien?"
He moved to let Dr. Martel sit and examine Marinette. "Miraculous Ladybug - the spell Ladybug uses to clean everything up - it didn't work on Marinette."
Marinette gasped softly, staring at her foot. That hadn't even occurred to her.
"What- I- you're right." Alya muttered. "Why?"
"Maybe she didn't use it this time," Nino reasoned.
"I know she did it. I have it on film." Alya tapped her phone screen a few times and played the end of the video. Ladybug threw the spotted slippers up and they disappeared in a bright flash.
"Maybe it doesn't work on humans."
"It works on them, all right," Dr. Martel spoke up. "It works miracles, even on people who haven't been akuma victims. I've even seen it bring people back to life - although those people were killed as a result of an attack."
"It's that powerful?" whispered Marinette.
"Sometimes. When she puts her mind to it." Martel put Marinette's foot down and removed the scarf she was wearing to bind Marinette's ankle. She winced at how tight it was, and Martel tutted at her. "I want you to go get it x-rayed tomorrow. It seems to be just a severe sprain, but you should see your own doctor about it for a second opinion. They can give you a better diagnosis and teach you how to treat it properly, as well as give you crutches and painkillers if necessary. Until then, don't put any weight on it and keep it iced. Can you do that?"
"Yes ma'am. Thank you." Martel stood to leave. "Oh! Wait! What about your scarf?"
"Keep it for now. Alya can return it to me at her check-up in two weeks." With a soft smile, she left.
Alya and Nino sat at the table with Marinette while Adrien stood behind her with his hands on her chair. She could sense the worry coming off all of them. She figured they felt it from her, too.
"So Ladybug's magic didn't work on me. What does that mean?" Adrien's fingers tightened behind her.
"It means you need to stay away from akuma," he answered. "That spell is supposed to fix anything destroyed, damaged, or hurt by one. It can apparently bring people back from the dead, too. But the fact that it didn't work... You need to be extra careful, in case you're immune to it." He glanced at Alya. "That goes for you-"
"Oh my god! Listen to this!" She interrupted him and held put her phone. "He was singing about Marinette!"
Adrien, Nino, and Marinette crowded around the phone, listening carefully to pick the sound of the video from the music around them. Waltzer hummed a playful tune as he swung Marinette around. The hum turned to lyrics, beautiful despite his beastly mouth. Marinette hadn't noticed them before, when she was right in front of him, but now they made her blood go cold in her veins and her face pale.
"Pretty Marinette, with her brittle bones! / She dances the dance of Death!"
A/N: I feel like this chapter is really... lacking something? That it's not as good as it could be? I don't know :/