Chapter Eight
A/N:
Anonymous The Nobody: Sick Undertale reference X'D
Katz4: Here you go :)
cherryflowerblossoms: Awesome! I'm glad you liked it! :D
Goldenbrook27: Sorry X'D
Her earrings beep.
Four minutes to defeat the villains.
Her vision, black and white, flashes with spots of red on Velocity's leg and Calypso's arm. Their akumas. Her staff flashes as well, but she senses there's one more piece of the puzzle. One more vital element to incorporate in her finishing blow.
And that's when she sees the glowing, red path leading her toward the street. Whatever the final piece is, she'll find it at the end of this beacon. But she doesn't have time to go get it and bring it all the way back...
The akumas are going to have to come with her.
"Hey!" she shouts, "You want my Miraculous?! Come get it!"
They're right on her tail, and closing in fast. All of them. Ladybug can hear dozens of rapid footsteps trailing her along the rooftops...but she's so close. She just has to make it to whatever item her powers are leading her to. And then she'll be able to defeat the akumas.
...And bring Adrien back, if she can.
God, please say she can...
Ladybug grips the summoned staff tightly in her left hand, her pig tails flapping in the wind as she swings toward the end of the beacon. It arcs down suddenly past the next roof and she skips landing entirely, hoping to stay ahead of the Calypso mob. Instead, she yanks her yoyo off its latest fixture and it zips back to her hand. She flips around in midair as she soars past the roof, past the arc of the beacon...
What...the...?
"Alya?"
Alya hears them before she sees them. The pounding of dozens of feet across the shingles far above her head has her stiffening and holding a little tighter to the motionless boy in her lap. She's careful when she cracks open her eyes, careful not to look down and accidentally disocver Cat Noir's identity. But she has to know what that sound is.
As soon as she looks up, Ladybug appears. Soaring through the air as gracefully as ever, but Alya's usual thrill of excitement upon seeing her idol is dampened this time. Replaced by a cold chill in her stomach and a refreshed wave of sickness.
Oh god...what if Ladybug doesn't know yet? How is she going to break it to her that her partner is...dead?
Fortunately, however, (or unfortunately, depending on how you see it) Ladybug sees him immediately. And the look of anguish on her face is obvious even from this distance...but she doesn't look surprised. So she already knew. Somehow.
Ladybug lands noiselessly on the sidewalk beside her and she manages to tear her gaze away for only a moment, just long enough to make sure her pursuers haven't caught up yet, before she's looking back at Cat Noir. Her eyes are watering, but Alya's haven't stopped pouring yet.
"He's...?" The question remains unfinished but Alya knows what she means.
She nods. "I'm so sorry, Ladybug..."
"Has...anyone seen him? Other than you?"
"No...no, I don't think so."
The smallest of smiles touches her lips. "Good. Thank you, Alya. For...protecting him."
She shakes her head. The lump in Alya's throat is too big to speak around.
That's when the akumas catch up. Alya hears Ladybug's shaking sigh but the hero doesn't falter. She straightens from her crouch and squares her shoulders, albeit biting her lower lip, likely to stop it from quivering.
"Alya," she says quietly. "Watch over Adrien for a little longer for me, would you? This won't take long..." she growls angrily.
"Of course..." she chokes out without thinking. With the shock and everything else going on, it takes a moment to sink in. But then she realizes... Adrien? As Ladybug leaps back into the fray of battle, Alya loses her own inner war. The name hit her right in the heart, and while she knows there are hundreds of Adriens in Paris, she has to know. She just has to make sure...
Admittedly, she screams when she looks down and sees him. Adrien Agreste is laying in her lap, his perfectly groomed, blonde hair messy and wind swept, his white jacket stained red, the green eyes her best friend has fawned over for a year stare blankly and unseeing at the sky. Her classmate is dead! Her boyfriend's best friend! Her best friend's crush! Adrien is dead!
"Alya, look out!" Her scream must have attracted attention because when Alya jerks her head up, there's an akuma copy standing over her, ready to strike. But she's too shocked to move, plus there's a person laying in her lap, weight her down. ...It's Adrien...
Alya flinches, shielding her head with her arms.
WHACK!
Ladybug's yoyo bounces off the copy's head and the villain collapses. As her weapon zips back to her hand, ready to strike again, something...strange happens. Calypso and Velocity, the two originals, don't attack while she's vulnerable.
In fact, all the copies have stopped moving as well.
Ladybug grips her yoyo and takes a step back and scowls at the evil, violet mask over the originals' faces. This is it! Destroy their akumas while they're distracted!
"STOP!" Hawkmoth's shout is so loud, his cloud of butterflies scatter into the air in shock. They flap, terrified, around his head, glowing brightly in the dark room, but he doesn't even see them. His vision, seen through the eyes of his akumas, is locked on the chillingly familiar shape cradled in that girl's arms. "That boy! Get closer to him! I need to see his face!"
"Yes, Hawkmoth." Comes the immediate, dutiful reply.
He sees Ladybug throw her yoyo and Velocity is hit and knocked backwards, but Calypso avoids the attack. She jumps past Ladybug, landing behind her, right over one of her fallen copies, and towers over the girl holding Cat Noir's body.
He hears the girl scream as she's grabbed by the hair and thrown aside, landing several feet away flat on her back. Calypso says...something. Asks him something. But he doesn't hear her. Hawkmoth can only stare, blind to everything in the world...except for his son. Laying there, bloody. Dead.
Because of him.
Because of those damned Miraculouses.
He knew he should have taken that ring when he had the chance. He knew Adrien had been acting strange. Almost defensive. He tried to convince himself it was because he's a teenager, children go through phases. They detest their parents sometimes. But dammit, he should have known!
Trembling in rage, Gabriel's voice is low and threatening when he next addresses the akumas. "Stop attacking. Let Ladybug win."
There's a short pause. "What?! But Hawkm-"
He grips his fist so hard it hurts and the akumas scream in agony, clutching their heads. "DO NOT ARGUE WITH ME! I said. Give. Up."
"Y-yes, Hawkmoth...!"
The end for them comes swiftly after that. Ladybug, armed both with her yoyo and a staff, destroys their akumas and captures the butterflies as usual. But there's no joy or relief in the action for her this time. Her brow is pinched in concetration and...fear.
For once in his life, Hawkmoth understands Ladybug.
And once the akumas are cleansed and he's left blind for the battlefield...all he can do...is trust that she'll be able to heal his son.
So he can fix his mistake, once and for all.
The akumas have stopped attacking. For whatever reason, it seems they're too distracted to fight back. Weapons gripped in both hands, Ladybug jumps into the air, twirling her yoyo and the staff as she sails down toward them.
They look at her with confusion and fear but they don't move. In other circumstances, she might have halted her attack. She might have wondered what was wrong. But this time...
She really doesn't care.
Their akumas are in...casts or something, which shatter like glass upon impact. Calypso and Velcoity fall backwards, sliding off the roof and landing heavily on the ground, side by side.
Ladybug doesn't smile when she captures their akumas. There's no "bye bye, little butterflies" accompanying their release, and it's only when they're gone and the villains have transformed back into two teenages kids that Ladybug shows any kind of emotion at all. Twisting frantically around, she sprints to Adrien's side, to where Alya has just returned as well.
"Adrien..." Ladybug whispers, her voice trembling. She reaches out to caress his cheek but finds herself choked on tears when she feels no warmth from his skin. "I-I'm gonna help you. We said we were gonna do this as a team. We p-promised. So please...please...come back..." Her tears are spilling over freely now and she can feel Alya watching her. But she doesn't care.
Gripping her Lucky Charm to her chest, she whispers one last plead before throwing it into the air. "MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"
The sky flashes pink. Ladybug edges closer and scoops Adrien into her arms, holding him against her chest. Shining swarms of magical ladybugs engulf the city, removing blood red webs, returning the captured citizens back to normal, and, yes, eventually...they swirl around Adrien's body and when they're gone, so too is the gaping wound in his chest. The puddle of blood on the sidewalk is gone so is the stain on Alya's shirt and jeans.
It's the longest moment of Marinette's life as she stares down at him, waiting.
Waiting...
Waiting for him to move...
To...breathe...
To do anything...
"Please...Adrien...! Please, come back...!"
But he doesn't move. Or breathe. His face is pale, his eyes glossy and unfocused. Ladybug moans in anguish and leans into his hair, squeezing her eyes shut.
But Alya cries first, burying her face in her hands. And Ladybug isn't far behind her. Her entire body shakes violently, wracked with desperate sobs. She doesn't even notice the police arriving, and camera crew, and the former-Calypso mob coming-to. The cops usher everyone away and the news crew doesn't even lift their camera. In the distance, an ambulance can be heard. And something else too.
Ladybug isn't sure what it is. It's like...like...really heavy footsteps. Like something...thumping. Like a heartb-
She sits up so fast her vision blurs for a second. Alya sniffles and looks up as well, wondering why Ladybug has suddenly stopped crying. Her brow wrinkles in confusion at the wide eyed stare of the heroine.
Slowly, almost reluctantly, Ladybug leans down, letting her cheek hover a fraction of an inch above Adrien's mouth.
She almost starts sobbing again when she feels it lightly tickling the skin of her cheek.
Breath.
