Marinette felt herself spinning out of consciousness. Trying to break free of the golden prison she was in, she kicked and writhed and struggled in vain.
Nobody could hear Marinette's muffled screams. She knew that she was going to die knowing that she wasn't able to save Paris. Cat noir wouldn't manage without her. The Ladybug Miraculous would be lost for centuries to come, alone in a sarcophagus at the bottom of the water, with a dead, rotting body.
For a few seconds, she was unconscious. But then suddenly, a sort of power flowed through her and she opened her eyes. This power was from the Ladybug miraculous. The stored power from generations of superheroes. The Miraculous knew she was in trouble, and the Miraculous was helping her. It was giving her a sort of temporary strength.
The Ladybug miraculous was breaking the sarcophagus. The metal was slowly cracking, and soon, it broke, shards flying in all directions in the dark blue.
Drowning!
She woke up underwater, deep underwater, and this was her first conscious thought. Cold. Dark. Where was the surface? She kicked in all directions, trying to find her way up. She twisted and turned, and then she saw it: a light. Dim, pale, and far away.
Instinctively she shot for it, and quickly noticed that the water around her was growing brighter. That had to be the surface, the sun.
Her lungs ballooned, little bubbles escaping from her lips, racing her for the distant light. She kicked and clawed the water like a caged animal. Now she could see it, a ceiling of ripples coming closer and closer with each desperate stroke. Closer, but still so far away. Her body ached, her lungs burned.
Swim! SWIM!
Crack!
Her body ached as a sudden jolt of pain shot from toes to eyes. Her mouth opened in a choked scream. She reached for the glow, grabbing for breath, for life…
She couldn't do it.