Miraculously Tangled

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Tangled or MLB. Those belong to their respective owners.

Chapter 13

Mother Natalie stepped over Ladybug and made her way over to Adrien, who continued to pull and strain against the rope that restrained his arms behind his back.

"As for you, Adrien, you are going somewhere where no one will ever take you away from me again." Mother Natalie grabbed the ropes and started pulling Adrien towards a trapdoor in the floor.

Adrien resisted with all his strength, shaking and pulling away from Mother Natalie. The two continued at this tug-of-war situation, with Mother Natalie growing more impatient by the minute.

"Adrien, stop fighting me!" Mother Natalie tugged, nearly getting Adrien to the trapdoor.

NO!" Adrien's gag fell off and he yelled at his captor with all the bravery he could muster. "I won't stop fighting! For the rest of my life, I'll never stop trying to get away from you!" He glared at her, then his eyes softened a bit. "But, if you let me heal her, I'll go with you, willingly."

"No.." Ladybug protested as she painfully stretched out her hand for the blonde boy. "No, Adrien, don't.."

"I won't run. I will never try to escape again," Adrien assured Mother Natalie, determined to make this compromise work. "Let me heal her, and we will stay together, forever. You can use my hair all you want, and everything will be back to how it was before. I promise." Adrien looked at Mother Natalie with pleading eyes. "Just. Let me. Heal her. Please."

Mother Natalie looked over at Ladybug, then back at Adrien, thinking about this compromise. With sigh, Mother Natalie untied Adrien from the ropes and tied up Ladybug's arm.

"Consider yourself lucky," Mother Natalie told Ladybug in a sinister tone.

"Marinette!" Adrien rushed to Ladybug's side, cupping her hand in his. His eyes widened at the gash in her chest. She was losing a lot of blood.

"..Adrien.." Marinette said quietly, "I'm sorry…"

"No, it's going to be okay," Adrien quickly started wrapping his hair around Ladybug's waist. "You're going to make it, I promise."

"No, Adrien, please don't do this," Ladybug's breath was growing quicker and fainter, her eyes half-closed.

"I have to. I can't let you die," Adrien gently lifted her head, a sad smile on his face. "I've got you."

"..Wait," Ladybug slowly reached up and gently touched Adrien's cheek.

Adrien leaned in closer, thinking she was going to do it.

In one sudden motion, Ladybug grabbed her yoyo, and sliced Adrien's hair off with the string, followed by a faint, "spots off," in which she de-transformed, and the tiny, barely vital body of Ticki fell to the floor.

"Marinette!" Adrien gasped.

"NO!" Mother Natalie's eyes widened in horror.

In a matter of seconds, the hair lost it's golden magic, the dull brown spreading from strand to strand.

"No Noo Nooo!" Mother Natalie frantically grasped a handful of chopped hair in an attempt to save the healing magic, but it was pointless, as when the strands turned brown, Mother Natalie's years finally caught up to her. Her curly dark hair withered and turned gray, her fair, smooth skin wrinkled and grew pale, and her blue eyes lost their color.

"What have you done!? What Have You Done!?" Mother Natalie looked at the mirror on the wall and stumbled back in horror and disgust at her aged appearance. She ends up stumbling back against the open window and tumbles out. Screaming follows as Mother Natalie plunges down to the ground, followed by a sickening thump.

Then silence.

Adrien watched in shock as the woman he had called Mother fell down to her death. He then touched the now short, brown hair on his head, his eyes widening as he turned to see Marinette's lifeless body.

"Marinette!" Adrien hurriedly held her head tenderly in his hands, his eyes filled with dread and panic. "No, no! Stay with me, Marinette! I can fix this." He grabbed his hair and helplessly sang,

"Feather gleam and glow, let your power fly, make the clock reverse…"

But it didn't matter. The magic was gone. Marinette was gone. Adrien's eyes filled with tears as he hugged Marinette close to his chest. "I'm so sorry, Marinette. This is all my fault.." his voice quivered as he pleadingly whispered. "Come back, please...I love you."

But no response came.

Adrien touched foreheads with Marinette as he cried. A single tear ran down his face and dropped on Marinette's cheek.

Ticki gripped one of her wielder's fingers, her head hung low in sorrow as tears escaped her eyes.

Suddenly, golden light flew from the tear that absorbed into her cheek and surrounded Marinette. The golden mist traveled down Marinette's body, forming a feather shape in the air above her heart. Adrien looked up, his eyes filling with surprise and astonishment as the golden mist healed Marinette's wound and her heart began to pulse. It was truly a miracle!

With a final burst of golden shine, Marinette's fingers twitched, and she slowly opened her eyes, inhaling deeply.

"Adrien..." Marinette's gaze focused into Adrien's emerald eyes, which were now filled with tears of joy and relief. "I like you much better as a brunette."

"Marinette!" Adrien hugged her again, burying his face into her shoulder.

"Adrien," Marinette cupped Adrien's cheek in her hand once more. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replied with the biggest, most genuine smile.

Without further ado, the two closed the distance between them and kissed passionately. They stroke each other's hair as they slowly pull away, Marinette smiling brighter than she ever has before.

"Well, it's about time."

Marinette and Adrien looked over to Ticki, who floated near them, looking bright and healthy, smiling sweetly.

"Ticki!" Marinette gently hugged her kwami, happy tears filling her eyes.

"Welcome back, Marinette." Ticki returned the hug and rubbed against her cheek. "Please don't ever leave me again."

"I'll try." Marinette giggled.

Adrien chuckled at their little reunion.

Marinette turned to Adrien and with a smile and said, "Come on, let's get you home, like I promised. Your real home."

End of chapter 13

Author's Note: We're near the end, beautiful readers. Bet this one hit you hard in the feels, didn't it? "Sniff" I'm not crying, you're crying. Hold on as I sit in the corner to recollect myself. I'll be back with this story's happy ending. Until then, leave reviews, live your dreams, and have a wonderful weekend.