New chapter is finally here!
Hi everyone! First of all, thanks so much for your comments, support and insterest on this little story. We're reaching the end! Just two or three more chapters and it's over. I could add more stuff and plot and all, but my addition would defeat the purpose of this fic, so yeah.
This update is a bit shorter than planned, but I thought it's better if I write what actually fits in the chapter, so here we goo.
As always, English isn't my first language and this piece was unbeta'ed.
Find me on tumblr miitzwrites
Enjoy!
The white suited villain stood immobile. His eyes seemed to lost the focus as he stared at nothing. Master Fu's words resounded loudly inside his head. 'She's dead', he had said, but how could she? His father had told him his mother would return, so naturally, he refused to believe that she wasn't alive anymore. Questions filled his mind, and in the rational part of it, he knew he wouldn't like the answers. He fell to the floor, beside the still unconscious body of his father.
The rest of the heroes watched him with a mix of confusion and sadness, especially Chloe, who had been there for Adrien, sharing the same kind of pain. She wanted to offer him comfort, but Master Fu held up his hand, signaling her to wait.
Chat Blanc looked at his father, and a wave of rage invaded him. He moved his hands to grab the man, but instantly, he let out a growl of pain. His head was pounding, and the pain shoot through his whole body. "H-help me," he weakly muttered, "please help me."
"Pollen, now!" The Great Master ordered the little god to use her power. Pollen flapped her wings, and golden dust fell over Chat Blanc, calming him immediately, and causing the young man to collapse. Master Fu approached him, and frowned, noticing that his white mask had some cracks on the right side of his face. "It has begun," he whispered to himself, ignoring the curious gazes of the others. "Jade Turtle, please help me to put Gabriel in one of the spare rooms. And Queen B, please tie Chat up. He won't be too cooperative when he wakes up."
Nino did what the Master told him, followed by Alya. Chloe tied Chat's hands with rope, and a single tear fell down her cheek. "How did this happen, Master Fu?" She inquired him, and the old man sighed, "Gabriel wanted to bring him back, but he used the corrupted power of Nooroo and Chat's ring. Even if Plagg doesn't rest there anymore, his energy was still present at the time. Two negative forces could only make this happen."
"He doesn't seem to have a soul. What if he hurts Mari? What if he kills Gabriel?"
Master Fu placed a comforting hand on the woman's shoulder, "He has unfinished business, that is the only explanation as to why he was strong enough to come back to life. For revenge or for love, either way, both forces pulled him back." Chloe nodded, trying to understand his words. "Is there anything we can do to help him?"
"Sadly, I have never seen something like that before. But for what I can grasp on the matter, the only thing we can do is to help him to find the rest that his soul needs."
Ooooo
"Babe please talk to me," Nino said, stepping out the room after leaving Gabriel on the bed to rest. Stubbornly, Alya shook her head, refusing to even look at him. "You know I would never lie to you, Alya, but I couldn't say anything."
"Have you ever heard about 'lies by omission'? Then don't come to me with your puppy face trying to fix everything. You fucked it up, Lahiffe, and big time."
As the successor of the Great Master, Nino knew that his responsibilities belonged only to him and no one else. The weight that he had to carry on his shoulders was something that he wasn't sure Alya could completely understand. Tentatively, he took her hands, obliging her to meet his gaze. "Alya, you need to understand that being the Great Master is a huge commitment, but isn't as rewarding as being with you. I don't want to hurt you, ever, but sometimes, I need to separate myself from you to keep you safe. At least, 'professionally speaking'."
"Bullshit," she mumbled, but didn't move away. "Why can't we work well together like LB and Chat?"
"Because the fox can eat the turtle, and that's not always enjoyable." His joke made her crack a smile. Being a super hero wasn't as exciting as the comics led her to believe. It was a hard job, most of the time, complicated. But she was greatly rewarded when she returned home to Nino. They were a good team on their own, with their imperfections and all, they worked in -almost- perfect harmony.
"I won't apologize because I'm still mad," she finally said, interlacing her fingers with his, "But I can tell you how much I love you, even though you're a big idiot."
"What did I do to deserve you?"
"Something very bad, probably."
Nino kissed her palm and her wrist, then leaned down to capture her lips. For an instant, they could forget the difficulties that they were facing. For a moment, nothing else mattered. Reluctantly, she broke the kiss, and rested her head on his chest, breathing in his comforting smell. "I miss them," she softly said, and Nino nodded sadly, "I miss them, too," he admitted, running his fingers through her long hair. "Is there anything we can do to help them?"
"Master Fu told me that our best scenario is to have Adrien return to an unperturbed rest." He told her, feeling a knot forming down his throat.
"Are you saying we need to…"
"No, babe, it's not like that. He needs to understand that he doesn't belong to this world anymore, and once he does that, he will rest in peace. But, frankly, I believe Mari is the biggest string that chains him here."
Ooooo
He opened his eyes slowly, feeling dizzy as if he was floating. He didn't recognize the room, and he couldn't move, something stopped him from moving his hands and feet.
"I underestimate Pollen's power,' an old voice spoke near him, but his clogged mind couldn't identify the owner.
"Where am I?" Chat slurred.
"You're safe here, Chat Noir, we will help you," the old man said, but Chat didn't like the sound of that name. 'No, no, I'm not Chat Noir, I am Chat Blanc,' he thought, as his mind started to find clarity in this situation.
"Marinette. I need to go back to her," everything started to come back in place, his eyes finally focusing on the short man who stood in front of him.
"Tell me where she is and I'll bring her here," Master Fu said, and Chat Blanc let out a low growl, feeling like a caged animal. Master Fu noticed that Chat's eyes changed from green to lilac in an instant, but the emptiness he saw on them earlier, was still present.
"I won't let you or anyone get to her. You won't take her away from me!" Chat hissed through clenched teeth, the sound sending an uncomfortable chill down Master Fu's spine. He looked composed, though, but decided not to get closer to Chat. "She's suffering, Chat. Don't make the same mistake as your father did."
At the mention of his mother, his eyes softened, returning to the electric green. "How did it happen?"
Master Fu sighed sadly. It was hard for him to talk about her. She was special, and her kind soul made her the perfect holder for the peacock. But she was also stubborn, and that trait led her to her ungodly fate. "Years ago, when our temple was destroyed, Nooroo was stolen. I couldn't find him or the miraculous, but I never stopped trying. By the time I had a solid clue about his whereabouts, Cecilia offered to rescue him. In the process, a dark spell hit her, provoking a separation between her body and her soul. We couldn't make the ritual to link them back together." He didn't want to mention that Gabriel ignored his pleas to leave Cecilia in the Tibet where he could help her, and instead, flied them both back to Paris, prolonging the separation and, therefore, causing her an accidental but irrevocable damage.
"And why would Gabriel want the miraculous then?"
"Because he thought he could bring her back. But no one has ever tried to use the miraculous of the Ladybug and the Black Cat together."
Chat Blanc pondered his options, and a malevolent smirk made its way onto his face. The sound of an explosion coming from within the house caught Master Fu's attention, and he ran off the room, leaving Chat alone. The rope wasn't strong enough to contain him, so he used this chance to break free from his binds, and escaped through the window.
Oooo
"Master Fu, it's a miracle!" The little green god flied over to his former Master, after the smoke cleared. The explosion came from downstairs, where he kept tucked away the miraculouses. Before he could ask what was going on, Plagg came flying into view, a little dizzy after his sudden awakening. "Where's Tikki?" The god of destruction rasped out, looking frantically around the room for her, "I can't sense her, Master Fu, I can't sense her!" His electric green eyes turned glassy, the feeling of despair was clear on his face.
"Tikki must be with her holder. I'm sure they're both fine," Master Fu tried to calm him down, but Plagg shook his head, letting out a whine of protest. "I've been there the whole time, Master Fu! I didn't rest fully because something dragged me back to Adrien's ring, and when he woke up, a part of me did, too," Plagg began to explain, "I know he has Marinette, but he took her earrings, and now I can't sense Tikki!"
The commotion caused by Plagg alerted the others, who arrived quickly to see what was going on. Pollen was the first to step in, and slowly, she started to flap her wings. A wave of anger filled the black little god, who raised his paw, creating a black orb. That was the cataclysm in its purest form.
"Don't you fucking dare to play that old trick on me, Pollen," Plagg threatened, and Wayzz intervened in, "You two need to calm down and control yourselves! We're not helping Ladybug fighting against each other."
The orb on Plagg's paw disappeared, and Pollen returned to Chloe's side. Master Fu, who has been a mere witness, cleared his throat, gaining Plagg's attention, "You have a special connection with your holder, Plagg, do you know what he wants?"
"He wants to protect his family. Marinette and his kitten brought him back.-"
"Wait a fucking minute, did you say kitten? Is Marinette… Oh my God!" Alya cut him off, and Plagg sent her a nasty look, "As I was saying, he wants his family. But something darker wants revenge on Gabriel for being Hawkmoth. I'm not sure what feeling is stronger."
"Wait, how do you know that she's pregnant?" Alya, still in shook, asked, and Plagg grunted. "I'm a cat. I know things, and I have a legendary sense of smell. Trixx, shut your girl up, will ya?" The little fox rolled her eyes while Wayzz shook his head disapprovingly.
"Plagg," Master Fu tried again, "we're trying to help you, please, be more cooperative." The black cat lowered his eyes and breathed out, "I'm scared for my Tikki and her girl. Adrien would never hurt them, but this monster is soulless. Yes, he will protect them, but at what cost?"
Master Fu nodded, and turned to Wayzzz, "Take him to rest. He needs to recover his strength."
"But Master Fu.-" Plagg wanted to protest , but Master Fu shook his head. "Not now, Plagg. If you want to help Tikki, you're going to do what I tell you. No but's or questions."
Plagg reluctantly accepted. "I can't lose her again." He whispered, seeming more fragile that anyone had ever seen him.
"We'll make sure to protect her, Plagg. She, Marinette and the baby are going to be safe. But you need to trust me."
"What about Adrien?"
When Master Fu didn't answer, Plagg understood.
There's no salvation for the damned.
Ooooo
The first thing Marinette noticed when she woke up was that her wrist had been released. The second thing, was the comforting smell of fresh baked eggs and croissants.
She raised herself up on her elbows, and look around the room, finding herself alone at the moment. Then, everything came like a wave, flooding her head. She covered her mouth, afraid of letting out a sob. She was pregnant, and that could've been the best day of her life if only her greatest love hadn't returned in the form of a monster. Her hands moved instinctively to her still flat stomach, and she couldn't help but smile. A little life was growing inside of her, and she would do her damn best to protect it.
"You're awake, Princess," Chat's deep voice startled her. She looked at the door, and found him standing against the doorframe, with a grin on his face. "You must be hungry. I made you breakfast," he moved closer and sat near her on the bed. Marinette politely declined, shaking her head. Chat frowned, but didn't say a thing.
Marinette observed him, and a veil of sadness covered her features. It was a hard concept to grasp that less than 24 hours ago, she was mourning him.
"She's dead," Chat said out of nowhere, and her eyes widened in fear of what he meant. "My mom, she's dead," Chat clarified after seeing her shocked face. "I don't understand. The old man said she had died, but Gabriel never told me anything. As far as I still know, she left us and never came back." The hardened expression on the man softened a bit, and Marinette reached out to caress the side of his face. It was impossible not to care about him, not to love him like the first time, even knowing that her lover hadn't returned fully.
"I'm so sorry, Chaton," she whispered softly, and Chat leaned into her touch. Her fingers brushed over the side of his mask where it seemed to be cracking up. "Is this normal?" She asked with genuine curiosity, and he only shrugged. "I guess so. But don't you worry, Princess, nothing will happen to you or our kitten. I'll make sure of it."
His words sent an unpleasant feeling through her body, and Marinette retired her hand from his face. Chat didn't comment on her movement, only leaned down and placed a soft kiss against her belly. "I'll be back soon, My Lady."
"Where are you going ?"
"It's better if you don't know, Marinette."
"Chat, wait, where are my earrings? Where's Tikki?"
"She's fine, Marinette."
Chat Blanc turned to the door, and opened it, but then he stopped. He looked over his shoulder and said, "When all of this is over, Princess, I hope that you find forgiveness in your heart for me."
