Chapter Ten: Destiny

A/N: This chapter is a bit shorter (yay) but I really wanted to leave it on a thought provoking-ish sentence. And if you're curious, Kinetix's power is basically she can control frequencies.

Future CanaryBug here and... AGH I KNOW IM LATE!

Rose Tiger: Oh no, please save her!

sjf0emdlwp230286fhxmwsolwpe: Yes. That's exactly what I meant.

black neko hime: Kinetix was holding up the bridge as leverage, but as Ladybug purified the akuma, the water had nothing holding it up so Ladybug was swept away.

Yuxhum: ill try to do better!

TheStrangeClaireBean: Thanks! I like your derpiness!

Reviews are always appreciated!

Bug Out!

Destiny: (noun) Events that will necessarily happen to a particular person or thing in the future

Only a few years ago, Chat Noir and Ladybug fought only a Pigeon man. Now, they were fighting a woman who can make things spontaneously combust.

Both of them could tell Hawkmoth was getting more desperate and dangerous, as each akuma got closer than the last. There were days Chat Noir didn't know how long he'd last, but it had always helped that Ladybug was always by his side. But what if she wasn't?

This was Ladybug's craziest plan, and he supported it. Once Chat evacuated all the citizens, he could only watch as his lady charged towards Kinetix. He thought they had won. He thought she would reverse everything to where it belonged. But she never got the chance.

As the waves crashed onto the bridge, Chat Noir stared in shock as the bluenette was pulled and swept away. He stared wide-eyed as the woman he loved tried to reach for he yo-yo, but it was too late as the unforgiving waves pulled her into the abyss below.

Reporters and police surrounded both him and the unconscious akuma, who was yet to be reversed from Hawkmoth's evil grasp. Chat saw the pure butterfly daintily fly away, without a care in the world.

"Any word on the situation?"

"Why hasn't Kinetix turned back?"

"Where is Ladybug?"

Brushing the nosy press away, Chat Noir grasped his staff as he dove into the water. Without a second thought, he was now searching the flooded canal, with only his silver staff to provide air. He felt his eyes sting as he felt the fading chance of him ever seeing spots again, but he pushed on. For what felt like minutes he searched for a sign that Ladybug was still alive.

He refused to believe she was gone.

He refused to believe Ladybug was dead.

He refused to believe Ladybug was gone because of him.

And that's when he saw a silhouette float deliriously in the water. Charging towards the body, he expected the familiarity of the mask, but he was wrong.

Marinette?

Chat Noir became hysterical at the sight of his friend.

Was she here?
Did I miss her when I was evacuating everyone?

Why was she here in the first place?

The blond saw her porcelain skin pale, signaling him he was almost out of time. But Ladybug was still here, but he couldn't let Marinette drown because he was so careless.

I'm sorry, M'lady.

Picking up steam, Chat Noir carried Marinette back to land, much to the shock of passerby.

"Who is this, Chat Noir?"
"Did you miss her earlier?"
"Is Ladybug... dead?"

He turned to see the final question being asked by Alya, who gripped her phone tenderly, mouth agape. He could only pity the reporter as she dropped her phone and ran towards her friend.

"... Marinette…"

Every reporter stopped clamoring as they could only stare at the young reporter crying over her best friend's body. A rare occurrence, as those holding the cameras turned them off, in respect.

"Is she…"

"She still has a pulse." Chat Noir said shakily. "But L-Ladybug is still out there. Alya, what do I-"
"Take her to her place." Alya whispered fiercely, wiping her tears. "I will look for Ladybug, but you need to focus on Marinette. Do you hear me?"
Chat Noir nodded, knowing he'll regret this decision. Refocusing his grip, he leaped past witnesses as he bounded towards the bakery.

He saw the buildings nearby, flooded with water. He saw people hugging their loved ones, glad to be alive. And then he glanced at Marinette, whose bluebell eyes have yet to be seen. And then he took one last look at the Pont Marie's river, which held Paris' beloved hero in its banks.

Carefully landing on the bakery, he opened the balcony hatch. He felt guilty for disturbing the Dupain-Cheng's home, but Alya told him to take her here, instead of the hospital. Placing the bluenette on the chaise, he crumpled on the floor as his transformation gave way.

Tenderly picking up his kwami, Plagg weakly said. "Sorry kid, I tried to hold up your transformation as long as I possibly could."

"You lasted ten minutes longer than usual. I can't thank you enough, Plagg." Adrien smiled, before looking at Marinette. "Go find you some food downstair, I need to look after Marinette."

Once he was finally alone, he stared at the bluenette, before he began to cry.

"I am so sorry, Marinette. I d-didn't see you, and now you might be dead because of me. I should have never made a scene at school, I should have never given people the idea we were dating." He stared at his ring. "You should have stayed away from me when you could, because this is all my fault. Everything that has happened to you, it's because of me! I am bad luck, yet you chose to stay with me, because you are the only one who cared. You were the only one I could talk to, and you were the only one who knew about everything. And now you're dead and I don't know what I'll-"
Cough

Cough

Adrien's eyes widened as Marinette weakly coughed out water. Eyes still shut, he exhaled in relief.

"Chat?" Her voice quivered.

Before Marinette could turn towards his detransformed self, Adrien stopped her. "I'm detransformed, Princess."

As Plagg reentered the room, cheese in tow, Marinette lightly chuckled. "I thought I told you to stop calling me Princess."

Adrien smiled. "I'm gonna go to the other room to transform." He lightly pecked her forehead. "I'll be right back, Princess."

Plagg trailed behind before Marinette stopped him, careful not to look at the detransformed Chat Noir.

"Is Tikki… Is she alright?" She said in a low whisper. The bluenette smiled as Plagg nodded, before rushing back to his owner.

Already in the room parallel, Adrien raised his eyebrow. "Weren't you just behind me? What took you so long?"

"I was taking in the beautiful scenery." The kwami replied sarcastically.

"Whatever. Plagg, Claws Out!"

Reentering Marinette's bedroom, Chat Noir grabbed the fuchsia blanket, laying it on the bluenette's now shivering body. She gave a weak smile, before turning to the opposing side to rest.

"Plagg, what should I do? I don't want her to die of hypothermia! Should I take her to the hospital?"

"No hospitals." Marinette said quickly. Without giving an explanation to the confused kitten, she gripped the tender blanket before resuming her cat nap.

"You heard Pigtails, no hospitals." A voice echoed in his head. "Just keep her dry and warm, and let her sleep it off."

"Marinette? Marinette are you there?"

Chat Noir gasped as Sabine Cheng's voice rang throughout the halls. "Oh no."

Diving into a pile of laundry, Chat shut his glowing eyes as the wooden hatch gave way.

"Marinette?" Sabine asked, concerned at her daughter's position. After a brief moment of silence, she chuckled. "You can come out, Chat Noir."

Emerging from the pile of clothes, the blond sheepishly grinned. "How'd you guess?"

"You and Marinette aren't exactly the most quiet people. Then again, that's what I loved most about her. I could always know if something was wrong." She smiled, before walking towards her daughter. Kneeling down, she frowned as she lovingly placed the back of her palm on Marinette's porcelain forehead. "Oh, hái zi*..."

"What do you mean by 'loved'?" Chat Noir asked. The bluenette turned to the hero, before refocusing her gaze on her kin.

"Marinette has some secrets, yes, but a mother knows her daughter. All in due time, Chat Noir."

As the black cat looked down in shame, Sabine looked at Marinette's friend. "Tom is prepping some soup to give to Marinette once she wakes up. Don't worry, he knows you're here too. Could you help him out and give me the room."
Chat Noir nodded. "Of course, Mrs. Cheng."

Before he could leave the room, Chat Noir felt a hand grab his shoulder. "One more thing: Call me Mom, dear."

Sabine loved her daughter more than she loved life itself.

She loved to see Marinette's warm smile and how her bluebell eyes could pierce even the coldest of hearts. She thought she knew everything about her daughter. She thought she had seen it all.

Sabine remembered when Marinette was taking a shower, she had entered her room in order to do a bit of cleaning. She remembered when she wiped the computer's monitor, she accidently knocked over Marinette's purse. As it fell to the ground, she heard an unmistakable yelp as it hit the wooden floor. Sabine remembered staring at the pink purse for a while, not moving.

No.

Sabine remembered hearing the shower's tap shut off. She remembered picking up the purse and carefully placing it back on the table. Sabine remembered quietly exiting her daughter's room, face still etched in shock. She remembered her husband asking if she was wrong, comparing her face to a ghost. Sabine remembered staring right into Tom Dupain's eyes, and nodding.

Here she was, knelt beside her unconscious daughter, who was wrapped in a blanket by someone Marinette had trusted for so long.

But to what extent?

Glancing upwards, Sabine smiled as she stared at the blackened earrings that hung on her daughter's ears.

"It's been a long time, Tikki."

Turning around, Sabine saw the red kwami emerge from her daughter's sopping wet bag. "I can't believe it ended up being my own daughter."

"She reminds me a lot like you." Tikki said warmly. "She is just as kind-hearted as you, not to mention of lot of her yo-yo tricks bear a striking resemblance to yours."

Floating towards her holder, Tikki apologetically looked at Marinette's mother. "I am so sorry I didn't prevent this."

She sighed. "You did everything you could…" Bending down, a single tear shed as it created a small puddle on the floor. Sabine smiled. "After all, destiny is a fickle thing. Even when you least expect it, everything has a reason behind it."

A/N: As you can see, I've done something a bit different by doing a different POV than either Mari or Chat. I feel like this was a nice stray from my original direction (I didn't originally plan for Mari to get smacked by waves... Or for waves to even be used at all) and I absolutely LOVE the Sabine!Ladybug headcanon!

And can we all just take a sec to appreciate how freaking motherly Sabine is? Like, adopt me!

Another thing to add is that although this is not canonically correct, this story makes it so akuma victims do not revert back until the Miraculous Cure is used.

Bug Out!