Chapter 32: Sacrifice

Marinette sailed past the upper windows of a Paris apartment building. She felt the re-accustomed thrill of swinging on a yoyo string a few stories above street level. It was a mixture of excitement, fear, confusion, and relief - overloading her already overflowing emotions. Her memories felt like a pileup on the highway beginning with a head-on collision of two distinct sets of memories of the last six months, colliding with years of knowledge that she, Marinette, was and always has been Ladybug.

The resulting mental breakdown threatening to consume her mind was only slightly shifted aside by her distress over the safety of her lifelong partner, Chat Noir, who, by the way, was also the love of her life, Adrien. It took almost thirty seconds from the moment she regained her memories until that frightening realization drove through consciousness. She struggled to accept that she lived two separate lives for the last few months. Did her relationships become more complicated or simpler, knowing Chat and Adrien were one and the same? She no longer needed to push Chat away. Adrien must really love her since Chat had always been very vocal about that. Of course, Chat did not know she was Marinette and Adrien might prefer Ladybug. That explains why the Ladybug costume had such an effect on Adrien, although he said it wasn't because of the costume and he loves Marinette. At least if her jumble of memories is painting the correct picture, since there are sections in her recent past she cannot quite figure out. Such as talking to herself as if she were two different people, which she wasn't, but she thought she was. She remembered looking at Marinette and she also remembered looking at Ladybug. She remembered both sides of the conversation while talking to herself and seeing herself as two people and …

The Eiffel Tower coming into an unobstructed view brought an abrupt halt to her attempt at mental suicide. Chat was fighting Hawkmoth and The Protestor all by himself. Adrien was in danger. Nothing else mattered.

Ladybug ran across the buildings, approaching the tower, ignoring the calls from the crowds. She still had some lingering feelings of betrayal remaining from her unbalanced Ladybug persona. She knew with complete clarity that Ladybug was her this whole time. Ladybug's thoughts, feelings, and decisions were all hers and she had brought on the current crisis. Her only defense, that at the time, she was not all there.

The grounds around the tower were a junkyard of crashed cars and fallen trees. The fight with the akuma was a mess, leaving much to be fixed by the Miraculous power of Ladybug. With so much devastation all over Paris, Ladybug wondered if her power could fix it all. Some things, she thought of her relationship with Chat Noir, will never be the same.

Near the tower, she noticed a peculiar sight. A blond Ladybug leaning on a redhead who looked suspiciously like Alya, limping their way down some stairs towards the river. The blond tucked her head in Alya's shoulder as Alya half carried her along. Marinette wondered how that odd occurrence came about, but did not have time to dawdle.

She hooked her yoyo to the top of the Eiffel Tower and pulled herself to the second floor where she saw the men standing. Adrien stood between Hawkmoth and the akuma. Adrien, not Chat Noir. Why wasn't he transformed? She was meters away when Adrien, in one fluid motion, pulled back his arm and shot it forward. A small object, glistening in the sunlight, disappeared from sight on its way to the Seine river. Ladybug was almost at the tower as a chill shiver passed through her whole body. The following seconds ripped out her heart in slow motion, her entire world stopped as the akuma shouted and turned towards Adrien. She knew what would happen before it began. No, No, No! Not Adrien. Stay away from her love.

The thumping in her ears drowned the words the akuma shouted. The pulses of power left his sign and hammered into Adrien as the scream left Ladybug's lips. Adrien's body, weakened by the fighting and no longer protected by any Miraculous powers, crashed to the floor by the force of the attack. The akuma did not relent, pummeling the helpless hero from no distance at all, where the strength of his power was at its max.

Both Ladybug's feet connected with The Protestor's chest, bringing his attack to a sudden halt. The momentum of her swing sent her past Hawkmoth and the prone Adrien, pushing the akuma through the fence and off the platform. Twisting in the air, Ladybug retrieved her yoyo and pulled herself back to land next to her partner, the love of her life.

Red.

All she saw was red.

Red arms, red gloves.

Red yoyo on the ground where she dropped it instead of coiling it back to her.

Red iron structure of the tower.

Red floor.

Red sky and red clouds.

The universe was tinted red by the blood leaving Adrien's body. Dripping out his mouth, pooling by his head, dyeing his blond hair.

She bent over him, searching for his heartbeat and failing to hear anything beyond her own heart thumping in her ears. She kissed his brow, whispered "Adrien, my love" and caressed his beautiful face. There was no response, no groan in pain, no shining green eyes peeking through lowered eyelids.

More red. The dark red costume of Hawkmoth.

Standing, silent, staring, calculating, gloating?

"What's wrong?" Ladybug stared daggers at him. "Don't know what to say now that you've hurt us? No maniac laughter? No demands to hand over the Miraculous?" Ladybug stood over Adrien, placing herself between him and her nemesis, her yoyo spinning once more.

"I, I," Hawkmoth stammered. "I told him no, but he didn't stop." He seemed pale. "I never wanted him hurt. I love him."

"Are you insane? Is this some reverse Stockholm syndrome? You hurt my partner!"

"He isn't your partner! He's my son!"

"What? What are you…" Ladybug paused and looked at Hawkmoth's face. She could see shock. She could see sorrow. "Gabriel?"

"I love him so much. I did it all for him, to have his family whole again."

Gabriel? It was him all along? All these years, right under her nose. In Adrien's, in Chat Noir's own house. This overprotective father had gotten his son badly injured. She saw the pain in his face. Did she see regret?

This might be Gabriel under there, but it was Hawkmoth right here and now. This was Hawkmoth who terrorized Paris for years, made them suffer, made her suffer. It was Hawkmoth who hurt Adrien.

"You evil bastard. Now that your son is hurt, you stop to think? Years of anguish and you don't care about anyone but yourself. You abused Adrien years before now. Overprotective, controlling, loveless excuse of a father."

"I knew firsthand how harsh and dangerous this world is. I had to protect him. You won't understand. You are too young to have kids of your own. Like him, you are too foolish to see the bigger picture. You fight well, thinking on your feet and finding innovative solutions. But you can't see beyond the next battle. You cannot comprehend the lengths I have gone through for my boy."

"You've gone through?" Ladybug asked incredulously. "I am having a hard time distinguishing the evils with the mask and the evils under the mask."

"You! You!" Hawkmoth's face was now red. "It is all your fault. You have disrupted my plans all these times. You have turned my son against me. If it wasn't for you, we would already be a happy family. But you took that away from us. You destroyed our future. It is your fault my son is lying there, hurt. You will now give me your Miraculous and I will fix it all."

"There is the truth for you. You're giving yourself excuses by deluding yourself that this is all for Adrien. You do not love him or care about him. All you want is power, and this power is blinding you."

A movement to her right caught her attention. With an inbred instinct, she threw up her yoyo and pulled herself up, dodging the akuma's power attack passing below her. She landed on the latticework above the platform, keeping the metal between herself and The Protestor. The tower shook with the akuma's constant attack. She saw her window between attacks, used her yoyo to swing down at the akuma. Flying feet first, she aimed at the sign. Breaking it will put an end to this battle. The akuma turned to his side, holding the sign in an angle to her approach. Instead of knocking away the sign, her feet slid along it, leaving hardly a scratch.

"Get her!" Hawkmoth shouted. "Use as much force as you need. Take away her Miraculous!"

Putting action to words, Hawkmoth charged Ladybug, his cane flailing. Ladybug spun her yoyo to block his attacks, each attack pushing her a step back. The cane moved around at incredible speed, going for her shoulder, legs, and side in quick succession. Her saving grace was that Hawkmoth's mad attack put him in front of the akuma, preventing The Protestor from attacking. She worried that would not last long, as the akuma moved to circle her. She sidestepped to keep Hawkmoth between her and the akuma.

This fight was not going well for Ladybug. Chat Noir was down, leaving her to fight two assailants alone. Fighting Hawkmoth by herself would have been insurmountable, having the akuma as well made this fight hopeless. The yoyo proved not to be the best weapon in a fencing match, allowing her to block well but difficult to return any attacks. She attempted to push forward and wrap the string around his cane, on each try he pulled back in time and returned with a quick jab bypassing her shield. Her shoulder and leg both ached from such attacks.

Sidestepping to keep the akuma at bay had turned the fight in a half-circle twice, bringing her back to the original position. Changing tactics, Ladybug appeared to make a mistake and stepped in the wrong direction. That put her between Hawkmoth and the akuma. The akuma attacked. Ladybug sent her spinning yoyo up to catch on a metal beam and pulled herself away. The akuma's power hit Hawkmoth full on his face, throwing him back against a pillar.

Ladybug propelled down next to the akuma with a kick to his head. She followed it up with a barrage of punches, ending with a kick to the sign, sending it sliding away on the ground. The yoyo spun around the akuma, tying him up from head to toe. He balanced for a second and then toppled over to his side.

Ladybug stepped around the fallen akuma to destroy his akumatized object - the sign. She lifted her leg to stomp on the handle when her vision went black.

Her sight returned after a split second, in time to see the approaching floor as she collapsed onto it, hitting the side of her head. She felt no pain from hitting the floor, the incredible pain from the back of her head overwhelmed anything else. The akuma was lying beside her, his body sparkling in the multitude of stars blinking wherever she looked.

"This is all your fault," Hawkmoth said above her, kicking her in the ribs. "You have taken everything from me!" Something hard, his cane, smashed onto her back. If not for the supersuit, she would have had a broken spine.

The pain coursing through her back was so strong, she momentarily forgot about the pain in her head. Unfortunately, she felt it soon afterward, and worse, when he hit her head in almost the same place. She felt more kicks to her ribs, though they did not register compared to the all-consuming pain in her head.

The pain was too much. She was fighting to stay conscious and not give in to the pain. If she lost it now, she had doubts if she'll ever wake up. Hawkmoth had taken to blame her personally for everything. He might not relent in punishing her body even after he took away her Miraculous. Next to her, the akuma had untangled himself from the yoyo and pushed himself to a sitting position.

They were going to kill her.

She had to get away. Now!

Gathering her strength, ignoring the pain, ignoring the kicks, Ladybug pulled her yoyo towards her and sent it along the floor to the other end of the platform, wrapping itself on one of the poles. Tagging on it, it rapidly pulled her, dragging her along on the floor.

The akuma rose behind her and let out a roar of rage. She passed the stairs leading down, dropped herself over the edge, and rolled down one flight, away from the akuma's line of sight. She climbed up the fence and threw herself over the side, catching her fall with her yoyo.

She was finished. Done. She couldn't take this anymore. Her body could not take any more punishment.

Adrien!

He was still up there - badly hurt. She cannot leave him.

With a fresh burst of energy, Ladybug pulled herself up, threw her yoyo up in the air and called: "Lucky charm."

A red bag with black dots materialized above her head. Ladybug caught the parachute, slipped it onto her back and pondered its usefulness. She could hear someone coming down the stairs. This was not the right place to confront them. Using the yoyo, she rose above the second floor, crouched onto a beam and observed her quarry. Hawkmoth has seen her move and ordered the akuma to come back up the stairs.

She would need to time this well, any mistake and she would get injured and lose the fight. Injury did not bother her, it's not the end of the world. If she lost the fight, well, then it just about means the end of the world. Adrien is still lying unconscious in a pool of his own blood, while his father is too power hungry to let her get him help. If he loved his son as he claimed, he would have given over the akuma so Ladybug could use her magic to fix things.

When the akmua reached the top of the stairs Ladybug jumped off the beam, letting gravity pull her body, legs first, to land on the akuma's head. A second before impact, the akuma swung his sign in an underhand arc, blasting Ladybug with the full force of his power. The bag on her back burst open, the parachute filled with the blast of power, pulling a screaming Ladybug vertically into the sky. The parachute rose with speed, passing the top of the tower, rising far above until she was a small dot in the blue sky.

"What have you done!" Hawkmoth berated The Protestor. "I told you to get her, destroy her, and get me the Miraculous. You have given her a free ride to get out of trouble. She's gone, the Miraculous with her. What were you thinking?"

"She attacked me," the Protestor protested. "I was defending myself."

"You should have let her hit you. She would have been disoriented from the long fall and I could have caught her at long last. You were selfish, thinking only about yourself and not the bigger picture."

"Selfish?" the akuma straightened his back. "I'm not you punching bag to be used and thrown away?"

"Yes, you are. I created you for a purpose and you must serve the purpose. Nothing …"

Hawkmoth heard a strange sound, like a speeding ball cutting through the air. He looked up in time to see Ladybug descending at an unbelievable speed. She was still about 50 meters above him when he looked up in shock. Less than a second later, before he did anything besides raising his arm, Ladybug crashed into Hawkmoth. Her legs hit his arm first, breaking his forearm at the point of impact. Her momentum continued unabated, moving with the speed of a sports car crashing into his head. Hawkmoth's Miraculous superpowers were not enough against Ladybug's super flying kick. Hawkmoth's legs crumpled underneath him, with Ladybug's legs driving his head to the ground. The two hit the floor with the sound of bones breaking, blood spraying and Ladybug screaming. Unbelievable pain shot up from her leg, worse than she ever felt in her life. Ignoring the pain, she bent into a roll and rolled into the akuma, toppling him over. Untangling herself from the akuma, Ladybug grabbed his sign and smashed it against the floor, breaking the handle.

Ladybug lay panting on the ground, eyes tearing with the pain. She couldn't let the butterfly get away and multiply. In an awkward lying position, she sent her yoyo and captured the akuma.

"Bye-bye, little butterfly," Ladybug whispered in a broken voice.

"What? What is going on?" The man in a black suit looked around, bewildered. "Ladybug? Ladybug! You attacked me, didn't you? I told everyone you were a danger to everyone but they wouldn't believe me."

"Shut up! You imbecile. You have caused more damage to Paris than all other akumas combined. I suggest you keep your mouth shut and your head down before every Parisian will want to get their claws into you." Ladybug glared at him. "I suggest you run down and try to get help."

The man stood dumb for a few seconds.

"Well then," Ladybug urged. "Go on."

The man flinched, turned around and ran down the stairs.

Putting the protestor out of her mind, Marinette searched the platform. Hawkmoth lay on one side, his arm over his head, hiding the damage to his head. She assumed it was substantial from the large pool of blood around him. She moved on.

There he was, her love, in the same place she saw him fall. She attempted to put some weight on her legs and cried out in pain. She looked down at her leg, eyes widening in shock. Something stuck out of her costume just below the knee. Her bone! The pain the adrenaline had been hiding came to the fore. She broke her leg and her broken bone tore through her leg and suit. She let out an agonizing scream from the pain and black spots dancing before her eyes.

Adrien. Adrien is more important.

Using her arms, she pulled herself along the floor, dragging her useless leg. Gritting her teeth at the pain every step of the way. She passed by Hawkmoth and pulled the butterfly Miraculous off his neck. A light passed over his body revealing his civilian form, but Marinette moved on without sparing him even a glance. Adrien lay still, eyes closed as if sleeping. Marinette held his head, ignoring the blood covering her hands, and kissed her love. She tried to blink the tears away, but there were too many. Sniffed once, twice, and the damn broke.

"Don't leave me," she sobbed, pulling him closer, laying her head on his forehead. "Please. Hold on, we're almost there. We won, Chat. We got Hawkmoth. Hold on please."

Her crying came to an abrupt stop when something covered her like a blanket. Pulling it aside, she found the parachute covering her and her partner.

"It will all be fine, I promise."

She lifted the parachute and shouted, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

The parachute exploded into pink energy shaped like a wheel. From each spoke a swarm of ladybugs flew out, sending tiny glowing ladybugs in all directions, on their way to fix twenty-four hours of akuma damage. They flew around Paris, taking much longer than any time Ladybug used this power before.

One swarm came down and passed through the mess of heroes and villains lying on the second floor of the Eiffel tower. Ladybug's leg healed, the bone mending itself. But the costume remained torn, exposing a deep cut, bleeding freely.

This had never happened before. Her magic always fixed everything into what it was before.

The swarm of ladybugs swept over Adrien and Gabriel, the pools of blood no longer there when the swarm moved on.

Marinette held her breath. Her earring beeped.

She held Adrien with all her might, willing him to look at her. He was so beautiful, her ray of golden sunshine in a gray world. All these years of longing for something more, she would get it at last.

She waited.

He'll wake up, overjoyed as seeing his partner had come back to him. He will attack her with the most amazing kiss of her life. They will go out, get married, get a house, three kids and a hamster. She smiled to herself at her foolish childhood dream. Well, maybe not so foolish, it could now be a reality. Maybe she's outgrown the hamster. Maybe.

Neither of the Agrest men stirred.

She waited some more. Her earring beeped again.

Adrien coughed.

Marinette breathed a sigh of relief. He would be all right.

Adrien coughed again. Blood dripped from his mouth, down the side of his face onto Marinette's hand.

"Adrien." Marinette bent over and kissed his forehead, tears dripping onto his face. "You're going to be alright."

Adrien's eyes opened a crack.

"Marinette?" he asked. His eyes opened more. "Ladybug! You came! You really came."

"I did. I'm sorry I was late. But I am here now. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

"No, it's my fault. I failed you. I failed Marinette. I failed everyone."

"You didn't fail me. You're my hero. My partner. My love."

"I, I'm happy you came. I needed you. I need you. I.." Adrien paused, searching her eyes. "Where's Marinette?"

Marinette's heart bloomed. Ladybug is cradling him in her arms, telling him she loves him, and he wants Marinette.

"I'm here," Ladybug assured him. "I've been here all along. I'm sorry I caused you so much pain. I haven't been myself lately."

"But before ... you were not … there were two of you. Together, but different. I don't know how to explain." He coughed more blood.

"I understand. I'm still confused about it. It was me. They were both me, but separate. Since the rooftop, the night when we first kissed. Marinette me and Ladybug me 'kind of' split. I don't understand the magic. I didn't know it happened, or that they were two of me but different me's. This is very confusing but I am whole now and I remember everything." Marinette paused, drowning in Adrien's eyes. After three tries of not getting words out, she said, "I did and said terrible things. I hurt you and I could never forgive myself."

"You must," Adrien pleaded. "I forgive you. Before does not matter, as long as you are with me, I am happy."

Ladybug cupped Adrien's head, smiling at his beautiful face. "I'm here and I won't leave you."

"I want to see you," Adrien said. "Please, can I see you?"

"Of course, my love. Tikki, spots off."

Adrien smiled as he watched Marinette reveal herself. He lifted his arm to push a loose lock of hair behind her ear. He winced in pain, but did not lower his arm.

"You are the most beautiful woman in the world. How did it take me so long to see that?"

"I think," Marinette caressed his face, "you were distracted by my mask."

"I'll admit, as Ladybug, you're a captivating sight. But I think I love you even more without the mask. I never understood why Plagg rolled his eyes when I called you a friend. He knew how much you meant to me long before I did." Adrien's eyes opened wide, worry etched on his face. "Oh! Plagg! I threw him away."

Adrien made a move to get up, let out a cry of pain and laid back down.

"Don't move. My magic didn't heal you properly. Don't worry about Plagg, he'll be all right. He's practically a god."

Adrien, gasping for breath, could not respond. Marinette was no longer relieved. He was worse than she thought, trembling in her arms.

No, no. No! This can't be happening.

"Marinette," Adrien's voice grew weaker. "I don't feel well."

"Shhh," Marinette soothed. "You'll be fine. You're strong."

"Ladybug, I love you. Marinette, I love you. I didn't understand how I could love two women so much. Now I understand how I love you more than life itself, and I don't want to spend any minute of my life without you."

Marinette lowered her head until their lips met. The kiss was not as energetic as their first kiss. They did not grope and pull at each other or entangle their tongues. From the outside, it looked as if only their lips gave a gentle, prolonged kiss. Internally, their souls linked. Their love has grown through the years as friends, as partners, and then lovers. The truth of their love for each other, revealed at last, washed over their entire essence. The love of soul mates. Miraculous love.

Adrien stopped the kiss first.

Marinette pulled away, looking down at her love. His eyes were closed. He looked so peaceful, a smile on his face. He loved her more than life itself. They could now be together - forever.

"Adrien?"

Adrien's head rolled to the side like a rag doll having its strings cut.

"Adrien!"

A/N Next Chapter: Being human