~ "I'm sorry, Ella but I chose wrong. How could someone so pathetic like you wield the power of the Raven? Give me my Miraculous! I'm leaving to find someone better!" ~
Ella bolted up in bed, choking back sobs. The mattress creaked dangerously as the teen scrambled around to find her kwami.
"Ella?" Grey eyes found the little purple and black bird floating over by the desk, holding the girls shirt. Ella scrambled out of bed, hitting the floor hard as she ran over to the creature. She wrapped her hands around the little bird, pressing her to her cheek as sobs once again erupted from the girls chest.
Kiismet went silent, sensing the turmoil raging within the teen, choosing to grip Ella's fingers with her tiny paws and press her face against Ella's skin.
But the moment was ruined by pounding footsteps and the door flying open.
"You woke me up, you stupid child!"
Ella quickly hid Kiismet from the fists flying, trying to protect her own head. Pain bloomed from multiple spots, her ribs aching and threatening to crack. Blood pooled and poured from reopened injuries and new, soaking the pj shirt and the girl's hair.
Finally, after a few moments, the man halted, his breathing ragged for seconds before he straightened.
"I do not know why I keep you, child. If it wasn't illegal to abandon your children, you would have been out on the streets the moment your mother killed herself."
Ella couldn't respond, only tried to control the pain as the man exited the room. Kiismet floated up from her hiding place to her holders face, her own frozen in a pain-filled grimace. The kwami didn't know what to say, so she phased through the wall to grab bandages from the bathroom.
A half hour later, the pair was out the door headed to school: for a shower and a moment to collect thoughts.
"Are you okay, Ella?" Kiismet asked over the shower streams, the teen washing the blood from her feather-colored hair.
"Physically or mentally, Kiismet?"
"Both, beany. That nightmare clearly terrified you, and what your father said..."
Ella didn't answer, shutting the water off and stepping out into the cold bathroom. She went about drying herself off and bandaging her injuries. Kiismet watched from the counter; the kwami was worried, and really wanted to know her holder's mental status... but how could she?
Neither one spoke for a bit, Ella changing and collecting her stuff before Kiismet settled into her pocket.
Ella didn't bother going to the bakery, settling into her chair and laying her head down on the desktop, her phone next to her. It was silent for maybe twenty minutes before the device buzzed. Ella lifted her head and glanced at the screen.
'Good morning Ella! My dad scheduled an emergency photo shoot for his new winter line so I can't get to school til lunch.'
The teen's heart dropped, a sad frown on her features. Seeing the blond always made Ella's day...
Tears were accumulating in her eyes again, but Ella wiped them away. She did not want an akuma coming near her...
"Once again, despite her family, Ella's come before us looking like trash!" Chloe's voice echoed through the classroom, the words stabbing at her already upset mind. The girl just buried her head in her arms again, trying to tune out the world.
Slowly the class filled, the atmosphere matching the storm brewing outside. Ella kept to herself, her ribs aching and her head pounding.
Literature came and went, same with English. As she sat down in Chemistry, Ella debated on talking to Marinette. She needed to get some of these emotions off her chest... she really needed a friend at the moment.
Scribbling a note to the blunette, Ella slid it to the girl in front of her once Ms. Mendeleiv turned her back on the class.
Marinette stared hard at the note on top of her chem homework.
'Can we talk during lunch?'
It was simple- Marinette was angry. A handful of articles had surfaced last night, complete with pictures, of Ella and Adrien's apparent "date". It was Friday night, after the Darkblade fight, and Alya had let slip that Adrien had asked Ella to watch his fencing practice... and then the two showed up at the play two days ago- Ella there on Mr. Agreste's invitation, no less!
Marinette gripped her pencil tight, almost ripping the paper as she scratched a response. Folding it up as the bell rang for lunch, the blunette turned and slammed the paper down on Ella's desk, exiting fast.
Both Ella and Alya stared wide-eyed after their friend, Alya eventually shrugging and going after the girl. Ella frowned, unfolding the note...
'No I don't wanna talk. You know I have a crush on Adrien and clearly you do too- otherwise you wouldn't be hanging around him with the way you are! I saw the pictures from your date Friday- why didn't you tell me?! This could have been figured out if you had talked to me- if you hadn't gotten Adrien's attention! Find someone else to talk to, cause I don't want anything to do with you right now.'
...
That was it.
Her first real friend... upset- angry!- with her... all over Adrien...
Ella felt something shift in her mind.
She was done.
Everything in her life... everything today... this was it- her breaking point.
Standing, Ella packed up her bag, slid the note into her pocket before heading straight for the bathroom. She locked herself in a stall, her bag by her feet as she sat on the toilet lid. Kiismet zipped up, her eyes finding Ella's tear-filled gaze.
"Elly-bean..?"
The circular window screen spiraled open, shining light on the villain Hawkmoth and his swarm of white butterflies.
"Such a desolate wave of emotions! All alone and broken- with no one to turn to!"
A butterfly landed in his palm, the man covering it with his other as the power imbued itself into the creature. Once the pure white changed to a toxic purple, Hawkmoth let it go.
"Fly away, my little akuma- and evilize this tortured soul!"
"I can't do this anymore, Kiismet... I'm done."
"Ella?"
"You knew this was a path I could take... I guess it's time."
The kwami paled at the words, frozen in shock as Ella reached up and unclasped the choker form her neck.
"No, don't-!" But Kiismet's words were cut off as she vanished into the miraculous... and Ella was left truly alone for the first time in twelve years.
"I'm sorry Kiisy..."
Tears already flowing, Ella tucked the choker into her bag, and in turn pulled out a bottle of pills.
Closing her eyes for a moment to calm her thoughts, Ella didn't see the akuma flutter into the stall and landed on the pill bottle.
~"Void, I am Hawkmoth."
"I know who you are... I don't want anything from you..."
"Oh, but you clearly do. No one else knows how alone and depressed you are, but I can help change that. I can give you the power to make others feel how you do: empty, alone, hated."
Ella stayed silent, her heart and mind slightly swayed by the villain's words... but a voice from the locker room called out for her.
"Ella? You in here? Didn't Alya say she saw Ella in here?"
"Yeah dude, but that was ten minutes ago. She might've left."
"Adrien..." Ella whispered, her resolve wavering.
"Everyone will leave you, Void. Even that boy you care for so much. Even he will leave you when he sees how broken you are."~
"Everyone always leaves..." With that sentence, Ella's resolve broke and Hawkmoth's power consumed her.
Out of the purple and black cloud, stepped Void; dressed in a grey dress and no shoes, arms and legs below the knees on display for the world to see her injuries. Her skin was changed to a dark grey while her hair remained its black color, though it now hung lifeless and dull. With the pill bottle clutched in her hand, Void phased through the doors and walls into the locker room.
Adrien sighed as he put his books away in his locker. He couldn't find Ella and she hadn't answered his texts either- had she already gone to the café for lunch?
Gasps and screams drew the teen from the thoughts, and his eyes moved to the source.
An akumatized girl floated there, grey and lifeless, her empty eyes taking in all the students.
"Crap!" The male muttered, darting away for the door to the court to transform, unaware of Marinette across the room doing the same.
"Did you see that? Talk about a debbie-downer!"
"Not the time for that, Plagg- claws out!"
Void studied the students around her. None of them knew what it was like to suffer, to feel the way she did- so now she would make them.
Removing a pill from the bottle, Void dropped it on the floor and crushed it with her foot. The capsule exploded, casting a black powder around the room and over all its occupants. Instantly, the colors of the students changed; clothes and skin changing to match Void's dark grey. All emotions vanished, the students falling into a 'void' of hopeless depression.
"Now you'll all know how I've suffered..."
"Now now, not everyone can pull off an all-grey attire!"
"Not the time, Cat Noir!"
Void froze as the heroes appeared, a small spark of hope glinting in her eyes.
"Did you see this happen? Do we know who she is?" Ladybug asked, raising her yo-yo in defense.
"Don't look at me, LB."
"Cat... Ladybug..."
~"They've finally arrived! Void- take their miraculous! The earrings and the ring!"
"I can't... they're my friends..."
"You have no friends, Void- everyone leaves you. If you don't take their miraculous, I will take away your powers and you'll go back to being alone!"~
The heroes watched the purple butterfly appear over the villains eyes, Hawkmoth clearly talking to them. But what shocked them was the response.
"Take them back then... Cat, Ladybug... they're my friends... Others may suffer, but not them..."
"Who is this girl to Ladybug and Cat Noir, that she's refusing? I have seen her around them once before... and Cat Noir seemed attached to her- though it is the same with the Raven's Wing." Hawkmoth couldn't help but theorize. What was the connection between this girl and his sworn enemies?
"Lucky Charm!"
Ladybug called out, tossing her yo-yo into the air. And from the pink ladybugs, fell a familiar looking journal.
"I don't think having her write out her emotions is gonna help." Cat muttered, his own mind realizing the leather bound book was familiar.
"Keep an eye on her, Cat Noir. I wanna check something. I think she came from the bathrooms, so maybe there's something in there to tell us who she is."
"Got it, LB, though I don't think she's gonna do much."
With a nod, Ladybug moved around the villain, who didn't take her eyes off Cat, and headed into the bathroom. There was only one stall locked, so she hopped over the top and found a bag.
"Oh no..."
Ladybug kneeled down, pulling the bag to her. Opening the worn dark brown book bag, Ladybug found a journal and immediately knew who the akumatized victim was.
"Ella!"
Cat's heart dropped at Ladybug's call.
"Cat Noir, the victim is Ella!"
How did this happen? What did he miss because of a stupid photoshoot? He promised to be there for her!
Ladybug appeared beside him again, holding both her Lucky Charm and Ella's journal.
'This is all my fault! I should have just talked to her! Why did I let my jealousy get in the way!?'
'This is my fault! I couldn't be there for her when I promised I would be!'
"Ella! Let us help you! There's something going on and while we may not understand, we want to be there for you!"
"Everyone always leaves me..."
"We won't leave you, mon bel ange! We will never leave you to battle these thoughts on your own! I know you're fighting- remember I told you Adrien told me about you? He told me that while it seems like the rain falling down never seems to end, that you're like an umbrella to him! Always making him happy even when you're hiding your own hurt!"
"Marinette has told me the same things, Ella! She's told me you always have a smile for her even when you look as if your world is about to end!"
Void watched them, Ladybug saw the recognition in her eyes to the names. The spotted heroine watched some tension leaving, as the girl's grip on the item in her hand loosened.
"Let us be there for you, Ella. Let us be your umbrella in the storm."
Hawkmoth watched this interaction through Void's eyes, his mind processing all he's heard. This girl had a a strong connection to the two heroes, and they seem to care about her...
"Maybe this girl could be used to my advantage in this game between us, Ladybug..."
"You can fight it, Ella! Drop the thing in-"
Ladybug's sentence was cut off by that purple black cloud developing the girl, returning her to normal. The bottle dropped, and the akuma fluttered away- pure white in color.
Cat darted forward, catching Ella in his arms before she could hit the ground.
"You okay?" He asked, wrapping his arms tight around her. Despite the tremors coursing through her body, the girl nodded, both their heads turning to Ladybug approaching with the pill bottle in her hand.
"Ella, what were your intentions with this?"
Ella sucked in a breath, not wanting to admit it, but the pleading looks from both heroes broke down her walls.
"I... I was going to end my life."
Neither Cat nor Ladybug wanted to accept the words that came out of their friends mouth. Ella- sweet, shy, loving Ella... wanted to kill herself?
They had no words.
Cat tightened his arms around her, pressing her face against his shoulder. Ladybug kneeled beside the pair and placed her arms around the pair.
"Why..." Cat finally got out, his voice strangled by the emotions raging inside.
"There's so much... I just couldn't take it anymore..."
Two pairs of arms tensed before clinging closer. Cat couldn't help but think back to Raven at the Eiffel Tower so many weeks ago, when she said she wanted to disappear...
"We don't know what's going on in your head or your life, but no one deserves to disappear. Everyone deserves to live this life, and to know that there's always someone out there who will be there for them. Ladybug and I can be that for you, or your friends Marinette and Adrien. You don't need to tell everything, but just letting someone know when it's a bad day and that everything looks dark, can let someone help- whether it be a hug, a reminder that you belong here or an intervention of some kind. No one wants you to leave this life behind, and I promise I'll help you see that."
"You deserve to be happy, Ella. Like Cat Noir said, we don't know what's all going on, but if you let us in when all you want is to let it end, we'll always be there for you."
Ladybug choked out, tears threatening to fall. There was so much guilt filling her chest, knowing her words in that stupid note had something to do with Ella's want to end her life.
"Thank you Cat, Ladybug..."
Ladybug reluctantly drew back from the hug, her earrings beeping in alarm.
"Miraculous Ladybug!"
Tossing the journal into the air, the power restored those affected in the locker room behind them.
"I've gotta bug out. Cat will stay with you as long as you want."
"Of course I will!"
"Thanks, Ladybug. Really, for everything."
Smiling past the increasing urge to cry, Ladybug zipped away to the second floor and darted into an empty classroom.
"Spots off..."
Tikki landed in Marinette's hands next to the pill bottle, watching the tears finally fall as the strength of Ladybug left the girl.
"Oh Marinette..."
"One of my best friends, Tikki... I wrote those awful things... All she wanted was to talk and I let my jealousy get the better of me... what if she wanted to talk about what was hurting her?"
"We'll never know unless you talk to her, Marinette. Start repairing the damage by apologizing."
Cat took Ella to the empty library, sitting the girl and her bag at a table in the corner.
"Are you sure?" He didn't want to leave her alone here, but he had a feeling Ella needed Adrien.
"Yeah, I think so... Thanks, Cat... for all you said."
"I meant every word, Ella. If you ever need anything- a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, or an ear to listen, I'll be there for you."
Giving her cheek a kiss, Cat straightened up as running footsteps alerted the pair.
Panting hard, Marinette came up the stairs, her eyes wild before landing on Ella.
"Ella! I'm so sorry! I should never have written that note! I'm sorry!"
The girl cried, throwing her arms around her friend as she let the tears fall once more.
Ella mimicked Marinette's grip, waving to Cat who gave a small smile before pouncing away.
"It's alr-"
"Don't you dare say it's alright cause it's not! I hurt one of my best friends cause I got jealous! I promise it'll never happen again!"
Ella couldn't help but smile at her friend's words, resolving just to hug the girl instead of try and use words to reassure her.
After a few tearful minutes, Marinette's phone started to ring, Alya's name flashing on the screen.
"Better answer her before she loses her mind."
"No- I can call her back later-"
"Marinette, it's fine. Go talk to Alya. I kinda wanna be by myself for a little bit, please."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Go."
Once the blunette ventured off on the phone, Ella pulled out that precious choker. Clasping it back around her neck, the girl burst into tears as Kiismet reappeared.
"Kiisy!"
"Ella!"
Human and kwami attached, clutching to one another as if they had been separated for years rather than minutes.
"I swear- if you ever do that again, I'll... Just never take off the miraculous ever again!"
"I promise, Kiisy, I promise! I'm so sorry I took it off!"
More pounding footsteps pulled the pair from their reunion, and Kiismet flitted into Ella's pocket as Adrien came flying up the steps.
"Ella!"
"Adrien!"
The pair collided, arms around the other in tight grips.
"Alya said you got akumatized- are you okay?!"
"I am now..!"
It drove him nuts to act as if he didn't know why she got akumatized, but only Cat Noir and Ladybug knew that- not Adrien. But maybe...
"I ran into Cat Noir on my way up- he told me you were here... and he..."
"He told you, didn't he."
"He knows we're friends- and he cares about you a lot, too! He said he wants you to have all the support you can!"
"That silly, sweet Cat..."
Adrien pulled away just enough to see a little blush on Ella's cheeks and he couldn't help the emotions flooding him.
"Ella- remember you can tell me anything. You can text or call me anytime, and I'll be there for you."
"I know, Adrien."
"You're not a bother or a burden. You are important to me and I want to be here for you, but you have to let me in."
"There are some things I can't tell you... but I'll try and reach out when I need someone."
"Promise me." Adrien pulled away to offer his hand, holding it out for a pinky promise. Ella smiled at the gesture and wrapped her pinky around his.
"I promise."
Smiling wide, Adrien pulled Ella close by her waist, the girls own arms going back around his neck. The pair stood there for a while, lost in their own love-struck world, before a grumbling stomach made them giggle.
"Come on, there's still some time for lunch left. Let's go to the café you like so much- I'll buy. And no complaints!"
Ella giggled but nodded, grabbing her bag. Adrien offered his hand, smiling and blushing when Ella slid her hand into his, wrapping her fingers against his. As he led the way, the teen swore he would do everything in his power- as both Adrien Agreste and Cat Noir- to protect the girl he loved.
Even from herself.