The battle had been tough. Illusions created by Volpina and having to fight a series of other villains that had upgraded powers. In his catalyzed state, Scarlett Moth could akumatize multiple victims at once. Ladybug had faked the confidence believing she and Chat Noir could take on the world if they tried. They couldn't. Falling right into a trap, they should've known better but it was too late to have regrets.
Marinette feels powerless as the earrings are ripped from her. She didn't have any time to be shocked that Chat Noir was Adrien. She didn't have any time to be surprised that Hawkmoth was Gabriel Agreste and he didn't allow time for himself to comprehend he had been fighting his son all these years. Adrien had just a split second to comprehend that his father was behind this, which could only mean that Nathalie also knew, that felt like a worse betrayal.
Gabriel immediately combines the miraculous. As the butterfly pin is discarded, he unifies the kwamis of creation and destruction. He goes to make his wish, the wish to bring his beloved Emilie Agreste back into the world. Instead of speaking the words of his wish, a bright light flashes as something that none of them have seen before is created.
Somehow they knew it was more dangerous than anything any of them has faced before. What are they supposed to do? Gabriel just wanted his wife back, he didn't want to destroy Paris. In the little honesty he had, he didn't mean to harm Ladybug or Chat Noir in any way either, which even now, they were both physically fine, though mentally they couldn't say the same. Marinette and Adrien both looked at each other unsure how they could save Paris this time. The now deakumatized villains look around, not quite sure where they are. The bright light attracts their attention and they wish they would have hugged their loved ones just a little tighter last time.
"M'lady," Adrien says, "you wouldn't know what that thing is?"
Marinette tries to think, she has been through the grimoire a few times now. The page after the Cat and Ladybug always spoke of the ultimate power, a limitless wish, she doesn't understand why the being of nothingness appeared instead.
The answer finally strikes her and it sends a shiver down her spine.
"It's the null," she mutters.
"The what?"
"The null, the miraculous have deemed him unworthy of the ultimate power. It summons the null, a being of complete nothingness, capable of mass destruction, worse than a cataclysm."
"And you wouldn't happen to know how to defeat it, would you?" Adrien asks hopefully.
"I do," Marinette answers.
She steps toward the, well she doesn't even know how to describe it. There is no way to describe how she feels either. All the emotions and adrenaline coursing through her body make her numb to anything she might be feeling now.
"I sacrifice my memories to banish this null," she screams and her voice echoes throughout Paris as she steps into the light. Adrien is left reaching out for Marinette as she breaks the light.
"Who are you?" Marinette asks as she rubs her head. She didn't know how she had fallen asleep... Wait, where was she?
"My name is Adrien," he smiles through some of his tears, "and I know you can't remember, but you are the bravest woman I have ever met Marinette."
"Can you take me home?" she asks feeling more like four (4) rather than fourteen (14).
Adrien guides her to the Dupain bakery where her parents were anxiously awaiting the return of their daughter. Something about the smell feels familiar as if she has been surrounded by it her whole life but she is unable to identify anything.
"Oh, Marinette!" her parents gasp and rush to hug her.
Marinette screams a little and pushes back and tries to get closer to Adrien again, "who are they?" she asks timidly.
"Those are your parents, the sweetest people you might ever meet," Adrien explains.
Tom takes his daughter to the living room as she tries to familiarize herself with the surroundings. Like a young child in a new home, her eyes are wide taking in all the details although there are hints of fear of the unknown.
"What happened?" Sabine asks Adrien.
"She sacrificed her memories, to save Paris."
"Oh, my poor girl."
"She's the most selfless one I've ever known. You should be proud to call her your daughter."
"Thank you, feel free to come by anytime," Sabine says. She knew the news of Gabriel Agreste, and she had known the fate of her daughter, but she didn't want to make Adrien feel like any sort of charity or burden.
"Do you want to go to school, sweetie?" Sabine asks Marinette the next morning.
"Yes?" Marinette responds although she isn't exactly sure what she will do.
All her classmates are wearing name tags. They come up one by one and introduce themselves. Marinette can't keep them all straight but they are all really nice to her. They all give her small bits of information about her as she tries to piece the mystery of herself back together.
The next chapters will be chapters about each of Marinette's classmates (this will not include Kagami or Luka). Some chapters will include spoilers for season 4 episodes, I will put warnings at the beginning of said chapter if applicable. Chapters that contain spoilers are able to be skipped.