Chapter Thirty-Five: Lose
A/N: I've been itching to write this chapter since the beginning, so I'm glad I finally got the opportunity! Enjoy! (Posted it a bit early, just because I wanted to see your reaction)
Rose Tiger: For how long indeed!
bja133: Yep, it is. Just setting the playing field...
black neko hime: *cackles quietly*
mayuralover: I like to call this the viewers-cry-out-in-terror arc!
TheStrangeClaireBean: It is foreshadowing. Excuse me, I've been preparing for this chapter since the beginning.
Dragon Lord Draco: Going off the whole ominous theme, I'm sorry but you have no clue how much your review makes me smile. I didn't even have any plans to weave Belle into the storg until I was writing akumas for general use and thought, "Oh, this would be awesome." And you have no clue how freaking proud I was to be so original.
Bug Out!
Lose: (verb) To be defeated
Three days after the defeat of Reporta-belle, hardly anyone believed Marinette and Chat Noir were dating. A few hours after Belle had confronted the two, Reporta-belle was shut down and in the first time in more than a month, The Lane Daily had posted their first story titled 'MARINETTE & CHAT NOIR ARE NOT A COUPLE'. Slowly but surely, maybe Belle will be able to regain her identity as a trustworthy reporter.
Despite Belle Lane, the girl who started this rumor, saying Marinette and Chat weren't dating, the bluenette would constantly run into random fangirls either surrounding the bakery and staring at the balcony, or inside the shop and asking her parents for intel. Every single time Marinette would see someone who had no intention of buying a baguette, she would tap them on the shoulder and tell them to "Get out and find something productive to do."
As Marinette headed home from school, none other than Nadja Chamack was doing a news segment in front of the bakery.
"Hi Mme. Chamack." Marinette forced a smile. "What are you doing here?"
"We're here today to confirm, or deny, the rumors that Marinette Dupain-Cheng and Chat Noir are dating!" she pointed the microphone towards the bluenette. "Marinette, are you dating Chat Noir? The audience awaits you answer!"
Marinette heavily sighed. "I am not dating Chat Noir!" And with that, she entered the bakery and slammed the door. The second she was out of the public eye, she exhaustedly slumped to the ground. While Tom and Sabine looked concernedly upon their daughter, they decided to continue their work in the back, leaving her alone.
Tikki timidly peeked out of her owner's purse. "Don't let them get to you, Marinette! It'll die down eventually!"
Before she could respond, clamor and calamity echoed from behind the door.
"Oh! Didn't know this was a public meeting!" A familiar voice joked.
"Chat Noir! Chat Noir! Can you confirm you and Marinette are dating?"
"I plead the fifth! Cats have rights too, you know!"
A blood-curdling scream was released as the bluenette buried her head in her curled up arms.
"Oh, Chat Noir! Marinette's down there. Maybe you could help her feel… better."
The next thing she knew, Chat Noir was sitting next to Marinette, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder.
"My balcony was locked. How the heck did you get in?"
"Front door of course. Not every entrance I use is a window, Princess."
Marinette snickered, before turning to Chat Noir. "Why didn't you just tell them we weren't dating?"
Silence.
"We danced, you pretty much confirmed your love for me, so I have to ask: why aren't we?"
"Because there are still things I haven't told you." Marinette said vaguely.
"Is that it? Because of secrets? Marinette, you don't even know who I am! Whatever it is, it can't be that bad!"
"If I told you, you may never look at me in the same way again."
Chat Noir wrapped Marinette with a side hug. "Then tell me, and we can deal with this together."
The bluenette shook her head. "I will tell you, eventually. Promise." After a couple minutes, Marinette said, "And promise you'll tell me what's going on with you and that akuma energy."
Chat turned to the bluenette. "Will you tell me now how you know I absorbed an akuma?"
"People talk, Chat Noir. And I'm not as oblivious as you think." Marinette's lip quivered. "You're going to be alright, right?"
He nodded. "I'm not leaving you."
And for what felt like several hours, Marinette and Chat Noir were hunched against the door. No words were converged as they interlocked fingers, subconsciously.
Chat Noir stood up, fingers still latched with Marinette's. "Why don't we go upstairs and watch a movie? Out of the both of us, you seem the most on edge."
Marinette smiled, using Chat to pull herself up. "I haven't heard a better suggestion all day."
Once the two entered Marinette's room, the both sat on their respective pink, plastic, rolling chairs and Marinette rummaged a random movie from her drawer.
Chat snatched the movie from the designer's hand. "Mecha Monkeys vs. Cyber Sharks Part 3? Really, Marinette?"
"If you can't appreciate the beauty that is mechanical monkeys and cybernetically-enhanced sharks fighting each other for the third time, then you obviously have no privilege to watch it." Marinette replied coolly, grabbing the disk back.
"Fine, I'll watch it. But if it's bad, I'm never going to suggest another movie matinee."
"Oh, how tragic!" the bluenette placed a hand on her heart. "What a travesty? Whatever would I do if I could not watch another movie with my prince?"
Chat Noir leaned closer. "Did you just call me your prince?"
Marinette's jaw hung agape as her chair slid from under her. As Marinette quickly seated herself back on her chair, she blurted. "Let's just watch the movie. Okay? Okay!"
And as the movie's title card graced the screen, that stupid little smirk never left Chat's face.
As the movie continued, Marinette's bluebell gaze focused itself to Chat Noir, who was intently watching the screen. After what happened when they first battled Syren, Marinette learned her feline partner hated secrets as much as she hated lies. But even so, he respected Marinette's decision to bar things from him, and trusted she would tell him when she was ready. Maybe his care for her truly exceeded his disdain for secrets.
But what Marinette understood, more than ever, is that a relationship with Chat Noir was never going to work if they were separated behind a mask. He would tell her when he finds out, she's sure of that. But it's time for Marinette to make the first move.
"Chat?"
"Hmm?" the blond replied absentmindedly.
"If I told you you knew me for longer than you thought, would you believe me?"
"What do you mean?" Chat turned to her.
Marinette sighed. "I have something to tell you. And I think more than ever, it's time for you to know as well."
"What are you-"
"Tikki, Spots On."
Energy radiated from Marinette for a brief moment, and by the time Chat Noir opened her eyes, Marinette wasn't there anymore. There was only Ladybug.
"You're… You're Ladybug." she nodded.
"All this time…" Ladybug exhaled and laughed. "All this time you've sat back and watched me fear for your life!"
Ladybug jolted back. "Chat… I didn't mean to-"
"Did you have no shame when I thought I let the person I love die in the canal?!" Chat Noir roared.
"I wanted to tell you, to let you know I was alive! I swear!" the bluenette cried.
"And what about Jester? That was harrowing on so many levels! That version of you was inches from the ground and I thought you were… you used Rena Rouge, didn't you? You used a miraculous for your own purposes and had her create an illusion of you almost dying?!"
"I did it because we had to protect our identities at any cost!"
"So why did you decide to reveal your identity? What changed, huh? Did you just wait till I was so hurt and almost to the breaking point?!"
"I DIDN'T MEAN FOR ANY OF THIS TO HAPPEN?!" Ladybug shouted, before she choked back on her own tears. She was drowning in her own sorrow and guilt, and felt as if she couldn't breath. She didn't mean to hurt anyone, and in the end, she hurt her everything in return.
Too distracted in her own apologetic state, she didn't notice the pretty black butterfly that flew into her earrings.
"Miss Fortune."
"No!" she yelled, despite her knowing it would be useless.
"You've always had a big heart, trying your hardest to better the lives of the people around you. Unfortunately, tonight you've learned that sometimes, even the kindest of intentions can go bad. People like Chat Noir take control of your emotions as they turn the blame onto you. Do you really think that's any way to live?"
"Ladybug, please don't listen to him!" Chat's demeanor was now softened. It was as if he was concerned for her. Or maybe he just didn't want to fight with anyone today.
"With my help, I can aid you into not getting hurt, or anyone else for that matter. I give you the power to jinx those who oppose your path."
Chat cupped the spotted heroine's paled cheek. "Hawkmoth, whatever he's offering, can't give you what you want, okay? Only you can forge your own path. He's manipulating you and in the end, he'll discard you when you run out of use!"
"All I ask for is Chat Noir's, and eventually your, miraculous. Do you accept?"
"I-I…" Ladybug trembled.
"You made me promise I would never leave your side. Please don't make me break my promise and fight you. Please, stay with me, Marinette."
It was like in a blink of an eye, her world shattered as she released a drawn-out, devastatingly shrill scream.
In the middle of the movie, Chat Noir felt his insides churn as electricity shot throughout his body. Biting his lip, he clenched up and tried his hardest not to yell. It didn't work. As he released his pain, Marinette jolted up with a sweat, mumbling incoherent gibberish.
"Marinette? Hey, hey, hey, it's okay! Whatever nightmare you had, it's gone now. I'm right here." the bluenette was still panting as she examined him as a whole.
"It's… the energy is getting worse? Isn't it?" Chat only nodded.
"There has to be a way to fix it! Don't you know anyone?"
"I do, but the procedure might end up costing me my life."
Silence.
"But there's a chance you'd die either way."
The blond chuckled. "You sound just like Ladybug. Don't worry about me, Princess. I'll be fine."
"I'm your princess. I'm supposed to worry about you." Chat only smiled in return.
In the distance, a loud boom resonated in the distance. Chat turned to Marinette, exhaling.
"I have to go."
Marinette grabbed his arm. "Not in that state! You'll be an inconvenience to Ladybug and may end up damaging yourself even more!"
He shook off the bluenette's arm. "I'm sorry, Marinette. But I have to. Ladybug's counting on me.
And once he was gone, Marinette stifled a cry as she whispered, "Just don't leave me again, Chaton."
By the time Chat Noir made it to the Le Grand Paris, half of the building was already covered in scorch marks. A woman, clad head-to-toe in golden, fiery armor, stood at the top of her destruction.
"My name's Pyrofly, and you best believe that tonight's going to be the day Hawkmoth succeeds!"
Chat Noir blinked as he turned to the sky. Apparently, he's ben at Marinette's for so long it already turned dark! Snapping out of his reverie was Ladybug, who landed next to him.
"What's the plan, Ladybug-" Chat Noir bent over as he clutched his chest. The energy throbbed throughout him as he began to see sparks. Coughing, his and Ladybug's eyes widened as blood spilled out from his mouth.
"The energy…" she gasped. "Go to Master Fu, Chat Noir. There is no 'What If's, you're dying. I'll hold Pyrofly. Just get better, okay? Don't forget our promise." And with that, the spotted heroine took off. But instead of listening to his partner, Chat Noir raced behind a wall as he watched the battle unfold and ensue from afar.
After what felt like an hour of hits being thrown back and forth, Ladybug finally called upon her Lucky Charm. As she surveyed her surroundings, trying to figure out her next game plan, Chat Noir gasped as Pyrofly readied her burning-hot whip, about to strike. In a painful blur, Pyrofly extended her whip as Chat Noir dove towards Ladybug. Pushing her to the side, he felt his body become overridden with exponential heat as he collapsed to the ground. Like he anticipated, the heat only fueled the fire that is the akuma's energy.
"CHAT!" Ladybug screamed, before growling at Pyrofly. And that was the last thing he saw as his eyes closed in pure exhaustion and pain.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
By the time Chat's eyes fluttered open, Ladybug was hovering over him.
"Are you okay, Chat?"
He nodded, which hurt like hell, as he stood up, Adrenaline still buzzing.
"You should have went to Master Fu like I told you! Then none of this would have happened!"
"If I wasn't here, Pyrofly would've hurt you!"
"I'm not injured nearly as much as you, Chaton. I could've taken the pain! You might've died!" Ladybug placed a hand on his shoulder. "Please, go to Master Fu this time."
He nodded. "I will."
As Ladybug lept away, Chat Noir sighed as he went the opposite direction of the Seine.
By the time the black cat neared Marinette's balcony, his arms and legs gave out as he collapsed onto the wooden floor.
"Chat? Chat!" Marinette gasped as she ran towards him. Picking him up and throwing his arm around her shoulder, she helped him climb down the hatch as he collapsed onto her bed.
"First aid," she mumbled as Tikki nodded. "What happened, Chat?"
"Akuma… took shot for Ladybug… tried to come here for help…"
Marinette caught the first aid kit as she desperately opened it for help. "Just stay awake, Chat. It's going to be alright, I promise. We can find help and…"
Chat Noir interrupted Marinette as he tenderly grasped her hand. He smiled. "I trust you."
And with those three final words, Chat Noir's transformation released. Marinette stared, glassy-eyed, at the sight in front of her.
"A-Adrien?"
Her shock quickly turned to hysteria as his chest stopped heaving. Dropping everything, she began to do chest compressions as she began to sob. "No, no, no! Don't do it, don't die, Chaton! Please don't leave me, Adrien! Who'll help me when I'm sad, who will I laugh with and patrol with?! No, Chat you promised! You promised you'd never leave me; you promised you'll forever be by my side! Chat Noir, you promised!"
But not even Marinette's most desperate screams and cries could save the thing she was doomed to lose.
A/N: And the lesson is... never Cataclysm an akuma! :D