A/N: Okay, okay. I got overexcited when I completed Part One of the next episode. xD But come oooooon; this is my favorite chapter! This one and the next one! They were so fun to write! *bounces excitedly*

((Warning: subtle mention of self-harm, depression, and suicide mentioned in this chapter.))

Render World: Part Four

That night, Adrien laid in his bed, staring at his hand stretching into the air. Turning onto his side, he flipped it over to examine the lines on his palm and inner forearm.

Tiny scars littered his skin; unnoticed until Marinette had touched one, her bluebell eyes full of concern and sympathy. Zamir didn't seem surprised that Adrien was confused about the scars; they were apparently from past hospitalizations when he had went unconscious from one of his 'sessions.'

Apparently, he had some weird-named disease that affected his nervous system.

He had a lot of symptoms from it, but the main one was fainting. When it got really bad, he actually had to be hospitalized as he went into a coma-like state until his vitals came back up to normal. One therapist that tried to help him two years ago told him to pretend to be in a more normal situation, daydreaming through the occurrences. The daydreaming had transferred over to his subconscious, and so his dreams became more vivid; many times when he woke up in the hospital, he freaked out and pulled out the IVs, causing the nurses and doctors to rush to stop the bleeding. The therapist had been fired, though the damage had been inflicted on Adrien's mind.

He traced a thin yet distinct scar across his wrist with a finger. He knew there was a matching one on the other wrist. The last time he had awoken in the hospital, he had sobbed over not being Chat Noir and had sliced his wrists with the IV needle that he had yanked out of his own arm. Luckily, he hadn't managed to sever anything that couldn't be fixed and the nurse had been right there; he had gone into immediate surgery.

Adrien clenched his fist, feeling the skin pull in an unfamiliar way - as if it was too tight. He frowned, opening his palm again.

Bzzzt.

Pulling his phone out, he read the new message. 'Dude, it's Nino. It was awesome getting to hang! We should do it again. You free tomorrow?'

He stared at the words, his lips parting slightly. Was this really reality? Did he just imagine everything before - all two years' worth? Had he been sleeping his life away, hoping for a version of reality that had never happened?

The screen blurred and wobbled. Curling in on himself, he let the tears fall. "No…" he moaned, squeezing his eyes shut from the sight of the scarred arm holding the phone. "No…"

Desolation emptied him, turning him into a hollow husk that couldn't be filled with anything. Not anything that he could have, anyway; Marinette was with Zamir. Who knew? Maybe he had a crush on her and had imagined her being with him, instead. Then how had he known of Plagg and Tikki? His imagination coming up with them as an explanation of how the heroes had their powers? That must be it. After all, magic didn't really exist. None of it did.

Despite this thought, he couldn't help but sobbing, "Tikki… please… help me…"

Adrien…

It was barely there, in the back of his mind like a flutter of wings. However, it was there. Sucking his breath in sharply, he repeated, "Tikki?"

Adrien!

More tears slipped from his cheeks, but this time, they were from happiness. "Tikki, you're real… thank goodness… where are you?"

Slowly, a little red kwami materialized in front of him, black spots on its forehead and sides. Tikki stared at Adrien with wide, seeking eyes. "Adrien… - hear me?"

Relief crashed through him. "Tikki!" He grinned, reaching forward to touch the kwami.

As soon as his finger came in contact with the little red body, she came into full focus, floating in front of him. "Adrien!" she cried, zipping up and hugging him tightly. "I've been trying to get your attention this whole time, but you were doubting everything! I was worried you would never believe again!"

"Tikki…" Adrien held the kwami close. If she's real, then… "Where's Marinette? And Plagg? What's going on - why does everyone think I'm sick, and why does everyone think Zamir has been here for two years?"

"This is all in your head," Tikki explained, waving her arms frantically. "I'm only able to talk to you right now because we're deep in your subconscious. You need to break the illusion Song Bird cast on you!"

Illusion.

"It's… not real," Adrien breathed, looking around at the walls. A huge weight lifted off of his chest, and he breathed a little easier. He smiled at Tikki. "Thank you, Tikki. I think I know what I need to do."

She stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth hanging open. "Adrien, you…"

He blinked, staring down at the kwami. "What?"

Tikki beamed up at him. Adrien didn't see it himself, but Tikki could see the hope radiating off the boy where, a week ago, he didn't have any at all. Not only that, but he was confident in his own abilities, using them on his own instead of constantly relying on the Miraculous to solve his problems.

"I think you're ready to know this. I have another ability, Adrien, and I think you're strong enough to be able to use it."

Marinette collapsed to one knee, huffing as she winced in pain. Her left arm was completely numb, not responding to her at all; a small tear in her suit over her wrist revealed a shallow cut that had been caused by one of Song Bird's regular feathers.

Who knew the sharp tips would paralyze her?

Glancing at Gentlebug, she gritted her teeth. He was still lying on the ground, his eyes glassy and his jaw slack. She had tried waking him up a few minutes ago; he had mumbled something that had sounded like an "I'm fine," but his unresponsive state had her worried about him.

When she had opened her eyes, she had seen him collapsed on the ground in front of a crooning Song Bird. His voice had echoed eerily over the bridge as his feathers vibrated, oozing a faint mist that encompassed the city.

As soon as Marinette had been touched by that mist, her insecurities had manifested as hallucinations and voices in her head. Even now as she battled Song Bird to keep him away from Gentlebug's unconscious form, she also fought against her own personal inner demons.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Alya lower her phone, a look of betrayal on her face. "Marinette?" the reporter breathed, outraged. "How could you? I'm your best friend! Why couldn't you trust me?"

I do, Marinette told her, momentarily distracted - and nearly didn't dodge the arrow Song Bird had flicked at her.

"Hold still, kitty," he crooned soothingly. She wanted to listen to that voice; to collapse into his arms and follow his every whim. Shaking her head, she bounced on her feet, trying to rid herself of his enchanting voice.

This time, it was Adrien in the corner of her eye. "I loved you, Marinette," he whispered, looking hurt. "Why? Why didn't you tell me sooner? DIdn't you trust me? We're partners; we're supposed to trust one another. Were we not like that?"

Marinette gritted her teeth together, shaking her head again. "You can't beat me down that easily," she shouted at Song Bird defiantly, raising her baton.

"I do believe I can."

Suddenly, he was in front of her, clutching her throat tightly. He raised her up, squeezing tighter. She gasped, not able to get enough air. Flailing, she tried to knock into his arm or head, but his cloak moved to protect him.

His eyes were nearly a complete blood-red with only flecks of blue within them. He watched her with mild curiosity like one would express in a passing bug. "So weak," he murmured, pulling out a rather large feather from his fan. This one looked different; instead of having a pointed tip, the entire side of it looked sharp like a knife. "You do not even know how to use your Miraculous."

He plunged the feather-knife into her stomach, twisting.

Her eyes widened as pain pierced her, wiping her mind completely of the sharp retort she had been about to say. He let her go, allowing her to collapse to the ground.

She coughed, blood trickling from her lips as she covered the wound in her gut with her hands in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Looking at the still-unmoving form of her partner, she whispered, "Chat…"

Suddenly, she was being dragged across the ground by her collar. She coughed, clawing at the hand gripping her bell. "Let me go, you monster!" she screamed at him.

He paused at that. Glancing down at her, he smiled - but it was cold and emotionless. "Yes; someone finally gets it. I'm a monster. I always have been and always will be. A butterfly will not change who I was to begin with."

He lifted her up. Only then did she realize they were at the edge of the bridge; he dangled her over the Seine river, the water churning in the strange colors of the world. As Marinette stared into the depths, something shifted underneath the surface, looking suspiciously like a sea monster. "No. No!"

His arm was covered in scratches from her clawed gloves, but he didn't seem to notice. Pulling out another feather, he dipped it into his blood, twisting it between his fingers in thought. "No," he whispered, dropping the feather before pulling out another one. "I want you to know what is happening to you."

He plunged the sharp point into her shoulder, ripping the bell off of her collar.

She tumbled into the cold water, the impact knocking the breath out of her. She swam up, breaking the surface to gasp in air. However, something was wrong with her limbs; the more she swam, the harder it was getting to use them.

No. Dread filled her; the paralysing concoction on the feathers was spreading through her body, slowing her movements. She took one last deep breath before her head sank underneath the surface, unable to swim anymore.

Things moved in the water; faces stared at her. Some were accusing; others were mocking; a few were disgusted. She closed her eyes, unable to look at Adrien floating in front of her, looking like she had just crushed his heart.

Adrien… I love you… she chanted in her head, wishing she had been able to tell him those words. It was her only regret.

Adrien sluggishly blinked, slowly focusing on his surroundings. Pulling his arms underneath himself, he pushed himself off the ground to look around, searching for one set of bluebell eyes. Instead, his eyes landed on Song Bird who was standing at the edge of the bridge, clutching something in his hand.

Song Bird turned around, his eyebrows furrowing in surprise at seeing Adrien rising to his feet. A large gold bell jangled in his hand as he turned around.

Adrien's eyes widened as he stared at the bell. That was Kitty Noir's bell.

"No…" he breathed, glancing around. He noticed the trail of blood leading to the edge of the bridge, too much to be from Song Bird's scratched arm - the same arm holding the bell.

Adrien didn't think.

He didn't think that he still had cat tendencies; he didn't think that the water would be the worst place for his still-sluggish body; he didn't think that Marinette could already be gone. All he could imagine was trajectory, angle, and probable depth as he sprinted to the edge of the bridge with superhuman speed, diving straight down.

Don't lose hope. Never lose hope.

Those were Tikki's words. Once he lost hope, he wouldn't be able to use Tikki's more complicated abilities. Once he no longer believed in anything, he couldn't do anything.

But he couldn't think of anything other than saving Marinette.

He struck the water's surface, almost sucking in water from the sheer shock and panic that coursed through him from being surrounded by so much water. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to flounder about uselessly as he searched for the girl he knew was down here.

For once, he thanked Hawkmoth; Marinette's blonde hair nearly glowed in the dark waters of the Seine river. Wrapping his arms around Kitty Noir, he pressed his lips to hers, trying to give her air.

She didn't respond.

He bit back the panic. She's fine, she's fine, he chanted, swimming to the surface. The yo-yo was already swinging upwards, catching on an arch and pulling them onto the bridge.

Shivering, Adrien laid Kitty Noir on the ground. Suddenly, her transformation failed, and Plagg tumbled out of the ring, skittering across the stones. He scrambled back to Adrien, wailing, "Adrien! Save her! There might still be time!"

Startled, Adrien stared at the kwami. For a brief heartbeat, fear spiked through him as he remembered what the two kwamis had told them when their Miraculouses had been forcefully switched; the wielder had to be dead or almost dead for them to no longer be connected to the kwami.

He needed to get the water out. Plugging her nose and tilting her head to the right angle, he opened her mouth and breathed into her lungs, feeling her chest rise. He pressed his palms in the middle of her torso, pressing down sharply.

One. Two. Three. He continued the repetitions, having been trained in CPR by his father in the case of an emergency; it was the only thing he could think of to help her.

More repetitions. More breathing.

Marinette spluttered, coughing and choking up water and blood. She wheezed painfully, her right hand trembling as it clutched her stomach. She stared up at Adrien, smiling through the haze of pain.

Her hand rose from her stomach, covered in blood. Adrien's eyes widened as he finally noticed the wound staining her shirt; she had been stabbed brutally.

She touched his face, her fingers trembling. "I love you, Adrien," she rasped, her eyes closing as her hand dropped limply over her stomach.

"No." This was impossible; she couldn't be dead. She's… she's just sleeping. His vision blurred and wobbled as his hands shook her gently. "Marinette… wake up. You can't sleep right now."

She didn't respond.

"Marinette…" his voice cracked as tears raced down his cheeks, splashing over her limp form. His entire body trembled. "Marinette…" More tears fell onto her.

Cradling her face in his hands, he kissed her. No response. He kissed her again and again, his tears falling onto her face. To all the world, she could be asleep. He refused to believe otherwise; if he did, he would break - and then he couldn't be put back together.

Pressing his forehead against hers, he nuzzled her face, giving her a few kitty kisses while allowing his tears to flow freely. Biting his lip until it bled, he gave her another kiss on the lips; when he pulled away, he could see where his blood had mingled with hers, slipping into her mouth.

"Sleep well, my princess," he whispered, stroking her hair back as he removed Plagg's ring from her finger and slipped it onto his own. "I'll be back to wake you with another kiss."

He slowly rose to his feet as Plagg floated next to him. "He's really strong," Plagg whispered, looking as though he was in a large amount of pain. "Marinette didn't even have a chance to get close."

"Plagg, claws out."

Surprised, Plagg looked at him. "Kid, that isn't gonna - whoooaaa!"

Plagg was sucked into the ring.

A/N: Also, since I'm finally at this point of the story... I will admit it. I have played Cold Water by Major Lazer on repeat so. Many. Times. I'm addicted, I know. But after you read this chapter, you will understand! When I heard this song, it was around the same time that I came up with my character Zamir; I knew I just had to make a scene based off of the song Cold Water!

I hope you liked it... :D