Have you ever wished that dreams could become reality? The dreams we all hold keeps our drive alive, the motivation to want better things. What if there are dreams that aren't worth trying to reach? Dreams, that somehow turn into a living nightmare, it is at that point that it is no longer worth it. Why risk your life on the slim chance that a dream could come true, especially when it can get you killed. A dream is many things, but there's something it isn't and it's a very crucial thing: real. A dream isn't real and yet we grasp for what isn't real. Why is that? Do dreams validate our existence, to give a reason to want more? Marinette wanted more, she had a dream, and so did the rest of her kids. It's simply too bad that most dreams often die... but who's to say that her dream's dead?
"It doesn't look too good Mr. Agreste," The doctor said as Adrien, covered in bandages and pads, looked at the four beds in front of him, each bed occupied by a different Dupain Cheng. Alya, Nino, Chloe, and Luka looked sadly at the family, a myriad of heartbeats echoing in discordant harmony. Adrien had somehow came out with burns that paled in comparison to the others, however, he was to stay at the hospital to recover. The doctors were not sure when the others would wake, but they suspected it would be a while since the lack of oxygen at the time contributed to the uncertainty of their waking, "Louis is scheduled for a reconstruction surgery later since he was burned so badly in the blast that he's no longer recognizable. Thank you Gavin for providing me with the photo to use as a reference."
"It's no problem," Gavin said quietly at Louis, whose entire face was covered in bandages to the point that he just looked like a mummy that was just uncovered by explorers.
"How did it come to this? God... How come... this always happens to me? My family... disappearing before my eyes? My mom might never wake up, my father could barely even be called human, and everyone I love is laid out here in front of me, motionless and scarred beyond recognition. Marinette... you promised... you promised you wouldn't leave me..." Adrien murmured as Chloe rubbed his back comfortingly and took the seat next to him.
"Adrien, I know it's difficult, but you have to hold out hope," Chloe started but Adrien cut her off sharply.
"What hope is there Chloe? Tell me, I... feel like I lost everything... Chloe don't you understand? These kids... are MINE, they are my very own children and I abandoned them, I always hated whoever the father was, leaving Marinette and these wonderful kids on their own. Turns out? It's me who I've hated which is fan-fricking-tastic," Adrien said emphatically as Chloe nodded her head and folded her hands.
"You didn't abandon them dude, you didn't even know they existed and Marinette refused to tell you," Nino reassured Adrien as Adrien put his face into his hands and stared into the blackness of his hands, "so suck it up man, because none of that matters anymore because you know NOW that you have kids who needed you, and what would they say if they saw you moping like this like some sorry little victim?"
"Nino honey, I think that's enough," Alya started but Nino continued.
"No, Adrien, you're an adult now, you have to be able to take life by the horns and steer it away from the herd because the lead bull, aka YOUR FATHER is just gonna stick his horns up your ass and that'll be the end of it. Are you gonna let that happen dude? Because he just did that right now by blowing up that recital hall," Nino huffed angrily as Adrien lifted his head to glance at Nino's clearly ticked off face that softened as he continued, "Are you going to be strong for your family or not? Because we've said this time and time again: you're it for her and she's it for you, and your kids love you, you're their hero. Are you gonna let them down?"
Adrien straightened his posture after a moment and sighed as he took one grateful look at his family and Nino, "No... and even though I make that promise everytime, I meant it... and I always will."
"Atta boy!" Nino laughed heartily as he slapped Adrien on the back, who immediately winced from the pain.
"AH! Nino!"
"Oh, sorry dude, my bad."
"I think we should come back later, we'll be back to visit soon ok Adrien?" Luka grabbed his coat and the others prepared to leave as Adrien nodded and looked at them gratefully.
"Thank you for coming guys, truly."
"It's no problem Adrien, we'll see you later," Chloe smiled as they all left, leaving Adrien alone with Marinette and the kids.
"Marinette... I love you..." Adrien whispered as he leaned in closer so he could see her beautiful blue locks framing her pale face. She looked beautiful, still and peaceful like that. He brought his hand up to grab hers and clenched it tightly. Adrien leaned back, his hand still firmly grabbing hers and he soon felt his heavy eyelids close on him for some reason and he fell into a deep sleep.
Marinette could feel the cold emanating from the ground as she faintly felt her hand being filled with a warming feeling, even though she couldn't feel anything touching it. Slowly Marinette opened her eyes to be greeted to a sight that was completely unfamiliar to her. She was on cold hard stone that was covered with moss and when she propped herself up, she finally focused on what she was seeing. There were floating islands all around her, all covered in mist and clouds circled around them. The sky was blurred by thick wispy strokes of clouds all around, creating a mix of mostly white and blue. The islands were floating on different levels of altitude, all of them covered in some sort of ruins made of stone and a plethora of forest and butterflies. The butterflies were the particular part, there were glowing butterflies flying around in a large number. They were white with a very sky bluish glow. Marinette stood up and she felt her mind draw a blank at what she was seeing.
"What in the world is this?" Marinette asked herself as she stood up and she immediately noticed that her clothes were different. She was wearing a long thin white dress that went all the way down to her legs with a small frilly design at the end. There were light blue accents, trailing around the dress as if they were interwoven with the material. Her arms were covered with a sleeve of matching style, the ends not connecting to the dress but had a feather design to them. In the middle of her hand, there was a blue flower emblem sewn into the sleeve and she had a matching white neck collar to match. (A/N: If you want to know what dress I am talking about, I'm talking Azura's dress from Fire Emblem Fates)
"You're here too Mom?" A voice behind her asked as she turned around to find Louis smiling slightly at her.
"Louis! You're here! This is... an oddly vivid dream," Marinette ran to him and hugged him, smiling into his hair. Marinette noticed he was wearing a long white pea coat that was tied at the waist with a matching belt with light blue butterfly and twirling plant designs embroidered into it. He was wearing a light blue polo shirt and white vest and light blue pants. There's definitely a theme going on here.
"Yeah it's weird, I woke up here not too long ago, I wonder what this place is," Louis asked aloud as Marinette let go and Louis grabbed her hand. The pair heard two more voices as they turned around to find Hugo and Emma running up to them.
"You guys! You're here!" Louis exclaimed as he hugged Emma and Marinette hugged Hugo.
"Maman! You're here!" Hugo exclaimed as he snuggled into her coat as Emma did the same with Louis.
"Hey Lu Lu, why do you think we're all here? I don't remember anything after the blast," Emma thought aloud as Hugo had a sudden revelation.
"Wait are we dead?!" Hugo asked, clearly in a panic as Marinette really couldn't think of an answer. Were they dead?
"To answer your question... you aren't, however, you are on the edge of an endless sleep..." an unknown voice rang into their heads as they all took a step back and scanned around them for a sign of a person.
"Who was that?" Emma asked as the voice rang again, but this time, it's apparent that the voice wasn't coming from a physical being. Its voice echoing throughout the world as Marinette held out her finger and let a butterfly land on it.
"It doesn't really matter who I am... but this is the Dream Realm, the world where your thoughts and emotions will interconnect in tandem to create your dreams," the voice said gently as the family looked around them and saw that four portals appeared, shining with a light blue light and several butterflies were flying around them.
"Ok, this is an extremely lucid and vivid dream," Marinette murmured as she felt Louis' back press against hers and she held the twins firmly by their shoulders, as if preparing for an attack.
"In order to wake up, you all must face your nightmares with an open heart and a clear mind, otherwise, you will never wake up from the abyss of sleep," The voice boomed as a brilliant light suddenly filled all of their eyes and when it subsided, they each found themselves in front of a different portal. They attempted to move away from the sucking force of the portal but they found that their feet were planted into the ground, stiff and unmoving.
"So we're all going to face our own challenge?" Louis asked as Hugo and Emma looked fearfully at the portal.
"It is only by conquering your nightmare will you be granted the strength to move forward when you wake up. If you can't conquer your fears and stay frozen in the face of reality, you might as well stay sleeping for life eternal," The voice explained with a harsh tone as Marinette narrowed her eyes at the portal and sighed.
"Kids... listen to me... no matter how much we want to stay asleep in a world where Gabriel won't stop to silence us forever, we need to face the challenge within our minds with the will to wake up... somehow... someday. I love you three so much, I want to play with you, hold you, support you in any way possible. Adrien thinks the same... he's waiting for us when we wake up, I believe in him, that he will step up as the father and protect you three with all his being," Marinette held her hand over her heart as the three kids nodded and looked at the portal with a new found determination.
"For Papa," Emma whispered with Hugo nodding in agreement.
"For Papa," Hugo repeated as Louis smiled brightly at all of them.
"We love you Dad... we're coming... Mom... we're getting out of this alive, no matter what... but just in case, if we happen to sleep for longer than expected, we love you too," Louis wiped a tear away as Marinette smiled tearfully back at him and whispered back.
"How did I get so lucky to have you as my child?"
"I'm the lucky one Mom... alright everyone, let's do this very weird test that's within a dream," Louis replied as everyone nodded and headed into their respective portal, the island they were one filling with a bright light as the portals and the family vanished, leaving an empty space where the emptiness and loneliness could be felt throughout the world as if there was no one else there.
Marinette felt herself step out of the portal, her feet touching the cold stone ground once more, feeling the fuzziness and moistness of the stone as she looked around and found that she was alone. She was in a place that was similar to where she was before but it was more open. She continued to walk to the middle of the island and looked around as there were stone arches all around the perimeter of the island.
"Where am I?" Marinette asked aloud as she froze suddenly when she heard a voice answer her. She turned around to find a dark entity materializing not too far away from her, its dark aura emanating to the corners of the island.
"Where your fate wills you to be..." The voice answered as the dark shroud disappeared and Marinette gasped at who she saw: it was herself. Marinette kept her mouth wide open in shock as she looked closer as her other self's figure. She saw that she had the same clothes on, but with a different color palette: black and red.
"I know you aren't me, so who are you? Is this my challenge?" Marinette asked as her other self laughed and looked up slightly at her, revealing the glint in her eye.
"Well, you are wrong in that regard," Phantom Marinette chuckled darkly as she continued to where her other self was, who was watching her warily, "I am you in the sense that I am your hatred and your fears incarnate. What you see is what happens when you finally give in to despair at the feet of Gabriel."
"So are you what happens to me in the future?" Marinette asked as her other self leaned from side to side, pressing her fingers to her lips as if the question took a lot of thought.
"I suppose you could say that if you're so desperate to lose hope, then be my guest, I won't stop you," Phantom Marinette sneered at Marinette, who looked sullen for a moment before looking back at Phantom Marinette with a look that instilled a sinking feeling in her other self.
"If you are... then that's all the more reason to stop you, to stop the future," Marinette clenched her fists and Phantom Marinette sported an amused look on her face.
"Why stop what you already know is going to happen? It's a futile effort... but if you're willing to try," The edges of Phantom Marinette's lips curled into a wicked smile, putting Marinette on edge. Phantom Marinette then held her hand out and a dark energy formed in the palm of her hand to reveal a sleek, purple scythe with yellow and purple butterflies flying of out it. Phantom Marinette sighed before she lifted her scythe to face Marinette, who eyed it closely, "Then entertain me with this will of yours... show me you have the strength to change the inevitable!"
"Fine... I'll entertain you... if that means I can stop you from becoming reality..." Marinette lifted her open hand and an aura of blue butterflies materialized in her hand, thinning out to becoming a white lance with blue intricate wisps wrapping around it. It had the dominant bluish white butterflies fluttering around it and Marinette looked incredulously at it before twirling it around, gripping it firmly by her side. The mist was suddenly cleared a little bit, making the battlefield more visible for all to see, "then I'll gladly fight! And you shouldn't underestimate me..."
"Oh really? Because it seems that I estimated you quite fairly. You don't understand that no matter how hard we try, it doesn't matter, because we'll both lose and pay the price. And I already have with their lives!" Phantom Marinette yelled as Marinette noticed her eyes filled a blaze, an anger that swirled with sadness.
"I'm sorry... but I'm fighting so that my children live... unlike you, mine are still alive!" Marinette felt herself feel almost sad for her phantom, she had already lost in her timeline, but it wasn't necessarily true for her. Phantom Marinette chuckled as she found her other self quite amusing with that reply.
"It's simply your naivety and your refusal to accept the facts that will do you in... our children are in their own realms, fighting their own battles correct?" Phantom Marinette asks as Marinette nodded and reminded herself that her children are fighting too, she's not alone.
"And what does that have to do with anything? They're fighting to wake up from this bad nightmare!" Marinette lunged forward and swung down her lance, only for Phantom Marinette to intercept with her scythe. The lance was pressing firmly against the curve of the scythe, preventing the tip of the scythe from continuing any further.
"True... but who says they're going to win?" Phantom Marinette smirked as Marinette's eyes widened in worry and uncertainty. Then, Marinette swung her lance back and twirled it around fiercely, creating a combo with Phantom Marinette parrying every hit with the latter suddenly swinging her scythe back when Marinette was open. Marinette ducked slightly with her scythe barely touching her hair. She then gripped the lance slightly, before swinging it up and slashing Phantom Marinette slightly, causing them both to disconnect from each other.
"You don't believe in our children? How could you!" Marinette asked as she breathed deeply, her hair over framing her face. Phantom Marinette chuckled as she held in wound in what seemed to be pleasure? Reverence? Anything that deviated from pain.
"I don't need to answer that... but it's a shame really..." Phantom Marinette breathed as Marinette gritted her teeth and got her lance ready, "You think you can delay the inevitable? You think you can save them!?" Phantom Marinette asked fiercely as Marinette sighed and looked forlornly at her other self one final time.
"It's not a matter of thinking... it's a matter of doing," Marinette replied solemnly, watching as her other self get even more infuriated with her, "Not that you would understand... you have your utter failure to prove it..."
"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Phantom Marinette screeched as she charged forward with a rage unparalleled. Marinette stared into the eyes of the abyss and with one final breath, she charged.
"Isn't it about time you woke up Mr. Agreste?"
A voice rang out in the pitch black of the darkness as Adrien's eyes fluttered open to readjust with the dark as night space or room he was in. It was dimly lit with some sort of small glowing fireflies or spheres. Adrien groaned as he heaved himself up and squinted his eyes into the darkness.
"Where am I? Is this the hospital? How come I don't see anything? Where's Marinette and the kids?" Adrien muttered to himself as he carefully looked around, taking his surroundings. He found that those glowing spheres had images in them when he looked closer, it was almost like a recollection of a dream.
"Ahh.. so you've finally awoken? Good, you're now ready to fulfill your role," the voice continued as Adrien whipped his head around to find no one else there with him.
"Who are you? What happened here? This isn't the hospital, was this your doing?" Adrien asked as the voice immediately answered.
"Well first, let's get this misunderstanding out the way. You are in a dream, the realm of dreams waits for you beyond these fragments and recollections of dreams and memories," the voice explained as Adrien looked down at his hands and realized his outfit was different. He was wearing a white overcoat with blue butterfly designs on the lower half, he also had a white polo shirt and matching slacks with a glowing white scarf with light blue accents wrapped around his neck.
"I've never had a dream this vivid before... but alright," Adrien sighed before he called out into the darkness, "so? What am I supposed to be doing here? Watch some sort of seance?"
"No... you see, there are four other individuals that are chained to this world with you, teetering on the edge of endless sleep," The voice replied as four of glowing spheres rotated around Adrien, slowly becoming enlarged and Adrien could see four very familiar people in their own predicament, "I believe you should know them very well."
"Marinette..." Adrien murmured as he looked at the woman in question fighting a dark doppelgänger of herself. Adrien then turned his head to look at the next one which showed a teenage boy asleep on what seems to be the hospital floor, "Louis, oh god..." Adrien turned around to find Hugo stepping into a rather humongous maze, hearing his echoing cries for his mom. Lastly, he saw Emma waking up in a plane that reflected the sky, "the twins... so these are the people you're talking about."
"Yes... as of right now, they are facing their fears, because of they constantly think of "what was" instead of "what could be", they will never learn to change their fate," The voice replied as Adrien reached his hand out to rest his hand on Marinette's vision.
"So... this is basically a Silent Hill thing, is that right? I need to help them conquer their fears and put their minds at ease, only then they will wake up right?" Adrien asked as he narrowed his eyes in determination.
"Well, if you put it that way, then yes. They will wake up when you save all four of your loved ones," The voice answered as Adrien slowly nodded and his palm curled into a fist.
"Then so be it, I'll gladly do it! For Marinette and for everything she fought for!" Adrien declared as the screen vibrated like water and emanated rigs around his fist.
"Alright, then choose, who will you save first?" The voice asked as Adrien turned his head around to look at every dream. He then looked back at Marinette and smiled softly.
"I'll go with Marinette, I owe her at least this much," Adrien replied as the voice softly spoke again.
"Then go... her dream awaits, just press your hand a little harder against the screen to enter into her dream," Adrien nodded as he leaned on his hand and suddenly, the sphere sucked him into it, sending into spiraling into the familiar realm of the misty floating islands. Adrien screamed as he realized he was falling from the sky and roughly landed on his side, rolling slightly to steady himself. Adrien then slowly stood up and looked around.
"So Marinette's here..." Adrien murmured as the fog gathered around the island he was on and he squinted to find that doing that only made the fog thicker, "great... how am I supposed to find her thanks to all this damn fog?" Suddenly, he heard shouts and screams in the distance and he immediately knew who it was, and when that thought appeared in his head, it was like the fog knew he found clarity and cleared the way for him. Adrien ran through the slowly clearing fog to find the lone island that Marinette was fighting on, although what he saw was slightly concerning. She was fighting herself? He saw the doppelgänger before on the dream screen before but he didn't actually believe it.
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST ACCEPT IT!" Phantom Marinette screamed as she overpowered Marinette with another swing of her scythe, sending Marinette flying back into the floor, "you won't win... and you won't escape!"
Marinette heaved herself off the floor and sighed as she stared at the ground, "Even so, I can't afford to let myself lose here," Marinette coughed out a little bit of blood as Adrien worriedly tried to find a way to get onto the island, but it was completely isolated, "For every... minute, for every single second for the rest of my life, I will fight to ensure that Adrien does what he needs to do as their father, and YOU of all people... shouldn't have to be in the way..." Marinette gasped for breath as Phantom Marinette frowned slightly before taking another step further, her scythe dragging along.
"Don't you think I tried that?! We will fail anyway, our failure is the inevitable, killing you here won't make a difference, we were destined to fail anyway. We will always come back around to losing to Gabriel, who is inevitable regardless," Phantom Marinette lifted her scythe to face her as Marinette thought about her words for a moment, and after that moment, she asked a question that no one thought would be asked.
"Wow, you really love that word. Was that an Endgame reference?" Marinette asked as Adrien tried to stifle a laugh as he smiled adoringly at Marinette
"A what? An- Is this really the time to point out I made a movie reference?! You're about to die in your sleep!" Phantom Marinette deadpanned and held her scythe with a renewed grip, the tip resting against her neck.
"Well, if you haven't watched the movie, which I know you have because if you are my future self as you claim, then you know that Louis practically dragged us to that movie on the opening day. That means, you know that you can change the inevitable, even when it seems hopeless, it's that kinda hope that things will turn out different that pushes people to change their destiny and that's why they succeeded in the movie."
"Well, unluckily for you, this isn't a movie, you will die fighting for your cause!" Phantom Marinette growled as she swung back and forward and Marinette closed her eyes, as she was about to fail at her challenge. Adrien realized something at that moment that was: this is a DREAM, and the most important thing about dreams is that they're made up. Marinette didn't feel a scythe plunging into her neck and when she opened her eyes, there was someone blocking the hit for her. However, she couldn't believe her eyes as she made out that familiar mop of blond hair.
"ADRIEN?! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?!" Marinette shrieked as Adrien held back Phantom Marinette's scythe with his bare fist. Adrien looked back at her shocked face and smiled gently.
"You're right, the future will be changed, and it is your wish that guided me here, so let me take care of this for you," Adrien used his other hand to brush her cheek tenderly as Phantom Marinette looked on in contempt.
"No matter who comes to save you, it will all be for naught..." Phantom Marinette pressed harder, digging the scythe further into his fist.
"Adrien! Your hand!" Marinette stood up hastily and looked as Adrien almost effortlessly held back Phantom Marinette, "how are you not getting hurt by that?"
"I realized something, this is a dream, nothing in here is reality and neither are her words. You'll be free then Mari," Adrien used his other arm to swat the scythe away and swung the hand that was holding the scythe into her face, sending her back slightly. He then kicked her and sent her to the floor.
"I had a feeling... that you weren't necessarily my future self, but you were just a manifestation of my fears made reality, and you were just saying those things as if you already experienced losing to Gabriel just to spite me... You weren't real to begin with," Marinette sighed as she rested her hand on Adrien's to calm him down.
"How dare you!" Phantom Marinette growled as she tried to get back up but she was stopped by a lance that was brandished dangerously close to her chest.
"The only thing I will acknowledge is the fact that you say the things that I am afraid of and you are everything I detested being. However... it's over and I will finally it right," Marinette's eyes stared right into the eyes of her other self as Phantom Marinette looked back and saw the sincerity in her eyes. She knew then that Marinette carried the resolve and that's all she needed to know.
"Alright... finish me... and finish what you started..." Phantom Marinette sighed as Marinette's eyes shown with a flash of surprise. With a shaky breath, Marinette took one last final look at her fears and thrusted her lance in. There was no scream, no pain, no consciousness, she just faded into nothingness. Marinette felt a voice whisper in her ear as she watched her phantom fade away into the air, "I'm counting on you..."
"Whew... Adrien!" Marinette whipped around to find a semi-worried Adrien looking at her. Marinette then broke out into a huge smile and ran into him, wrapping him in a big hug, which he reciprocated, "thank you... I don't know how you got here, but thank you..." Marinette leaned back a little to look up at his grinning face before leaning up to press her lips to his. She didn't think it was possible but she felt him grin wider and kiss fervently back. It felt so real even though it was only a dream. It's been a while since she felt his lips and it felt just as amazing as she remembered. Their lips moved together as if they were perfect matches for a puzzle, he tasted a lot like cream cheese and butter, maybe because of his love for croissants. Adrien then slipped his tongue into her mouth suddenly and Marinette felt herself moan slightly as she felt Adrien smirk at that noise. He relished in her taste, he had almost forgotten that sugary raspberry and strawberry taste. It was just as amazing as he remembered and he wished it wouldn't end as they pulled away and rested their foreheads on each other.
"That was a pretty nice thank you," Adrien murmured huskily as Marinette giggled ran her hands along his sides, making him excited. Marinette leaned back and smiled bright at Adrien, "I don't really think I know you're grateful enough yet, I think I might need another one of your thank you's." Adrien teased as Marinette blushed and pouted playfully as she leaned up to kiss him again and he tilted his head slightly to deepen it even more, making him moan slightly. Suddenly, a bright light filled the world again as the pair found themselves in that same blackness with the floating blue orbs.
"Congrats, you're 3 more people away from escaping this nightmarish dream realm, I'm truly glad you two are reunited," The voice from before rang out. Marinette released herself from Adrien's embrace and looked around for the voice.
"That's that voice from before..." Marinette thought aloud as three of the floating orbs enlarged themselves and spun slowly around the pair.
"You have 3 dreams remaining, who will you choose to continue of your quest?" The voice asked as Adrien held Marinette's hand and looked at the three remaining dreams.
"So this is how you got into my dream Adrien?" Marinette asked as Adrien squeezed her hand slightly and nodded.
"Yeah, now who do we save next?"
"Louis... he needs our help the most, he took almost the full brunt of that blast, he wouldn't be here if he were... dead, so that means he has the least time left," Marinette swallowed the bile that was in her throat as she forced herself to speak.
"You both can go, so you don't have to worry about being separated," The voice reminded them as the pair nodded, stuck their hands out, and pressed them against the screen, covering the child that was beginning to wake up in his dream.
"For Louis." Marinette murmured as the screen began to make ripples like water and Adrien nodded, keeping his hand over hers.
"For Louis." Adrien repeated as a bright light shown again in the plane of darkness, sucking them yet into another dream. A dream where a boy has to relive his painful memories of the past, over and over and over, with no way out. It honestly would drive anyone insane, for Louis, it was just a matter of time.
