Agreste Manor… one month earlier
"You wanted to see me, father?" Adrien asked as he stepped in Gabriel's office.
"Yes Adrien, I called for you for this," Gabriel replied as he turned his computer screen to see a screenshot of him falling from a building, causing Adrien to wince as he remembered that from the Gorizilla incident. "What explanation can you give me from this?"
"I… I was just passing by when I was grabbed…" Adrien tried to counter… "I should've known he'd make a fuzz about that…"
"Would you like to give me a reason why I should put you to home school again," Gabriel threatened.
"Father, I know you want to keep me safe but if I don't prepare for what's out there what do you expect who I'll be when my time comes?" With that, Gabriel go t up from his desk and started to pace around his office.
"Adrien, I know about that youthful curiosity you have, but believe me that I once possessed that naivete as well," Gabriel began.
At that point, Plagg had emerged from Adrien's pocket without his noticing and appeared behind Gabriel. Adrien's eyes could only widen as Plagg began to make faces behind Gabriel's back. Adrien tried to shake his head as quickly as possible.
"You see Adrien, your mother and I had to endure difficult time to get to where we are now and we try our damndest to give you the life we never had…" Gabriel continued, but by that point, Adrien wasn't paying attention as he was trying to get Plagg back in his pocket without his father's noticing. But Plagg persisted and continued to swindle around and make fun of Gabriel. "Adrien, are you listening?" Gabriel asked, noticing his son's apparent distress. Adrien quickly pulled himself together.
"I uh… yes father!" He quickly responded. Gabriel briefly raised an eyebrow before continuing.
"As I was saying…" Gabriel continued his speech as Adrien looked around for Plagg. What he saw was what for a second, he thought was Plagg but he immediately noticed that despite its size, its color was a shade of grayish purple. Adrien could've sworn that it mouthed 'help me.' Adrien just ignored it as he continued to search for Plagg. Only then he realized what he saw and turned back where the creature was, but it was gone. He then saw Plagg again, whisking around to see what else he could do with Gabriel. Plagg then put him himself between Adrien and Gabriel while the latter had his back turned as he stared at the window. Adrien gritted his teeth, motioning him to get back to his bag. Before either could breathe, Gabriel turned to face Adrien. Plagg boosted back behind Gabriel so fast that there was a small wind that caused Gabriel's ascot to fall off. Revealing a purple jewel. With that, Adrien could've sworn he saw flashes of the pages from the book of the miraculouses he had in his safe. Gabriel quickly picked up his ascot and put it back in. Go on now Adrien, you have school, now don't you?" Gabriel concluded, turning back towards the windon. Adrien snapped back and composed himself once again. He quickly grabbed Plagg and shoved him into his pocket.
"Plagg! GIT YOUR ASS BACK INSI…*mumbling*" Adrien whispered intensely while gritting his teeth.
"Adrien?" Gabriel asked, turning back to him.
"Uh… yes father, I'll be heading out now," With that he quickly stepped out of the office.
For the rest of the day, Adrien felt like he was not awake. While he did listen, study, wrote, talked, eat, etc. He did not feel like he was there, he felt like he was dreaming.
Later that day, during recess, He was "playing" basketball with Marinette, but he was just standing there. She evaded him and then made her way to the hoop and landed a successful shot. She quickly grabbed the ball again and passed it to Adrien only for it to hit him behind his head. She observed the ball bouncing away as she walked towards him. He did not respond in any way.
"Adrien, you're like a million miles away, what's wrong?" Marinette asked. Adrien turned to her. His eyes were like he had disappeared.
"Oh, I am?" he then looked away. "Guess, some things to get to me, huh?"
"Is it your Dad again…?" She asked. Adrien scoffed.
"Nevermind, I'm fine…"
Present day… Friday Morning… Adrien's room
Day was dawning and Adrien was out of bed, watching the sun. He had woken up around 3 in the morning. So, he was already awake for four hours. Plagg woke up and hovered towards his owner.
"Today is the day, huh?" Plagg asked. Adrien then picked his cell phone.
"Adrien…"
"Master, Fu…"
"Have you decided?"
"Yes… I need you to fake my death…"
Marinette's room…
Marinette was scrambling around her room, gathering her homework and other utilities for the day. Tikki could only roll her eyes at the sight.
"No, no, no, I can't believe I'm late again!" she wailed hysterically as she shoves everything in her backpack.
"I swear, Marinette, you must be the only Ladybug who sleeps through morning alerts," Tikki chided in.
"Not helping!" Marinette wailed before getting everything ready and motioned Tikki to get in her purse. She hastily opened the trapdoor and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. Where she suddenly grabbed a toast hastily ran past her mother towards the front door.
"Hi Maman, I'm sorry I'm running late aga…" Marinette was cut off when she bumped into her father on her way out.
"Now where do you think you're going, young lady?" Tom asked in a more playful tone than an angry one.
"Um… what is this about?" Marinette asked, looking back and forth between her parents. Sabine approached her with a smile on her face.
"Alya told us about the speech your friend Adrien gave on your picnic on Hero's Day," she said.
"She… She did?" Marinette asked, lowering her eyes while moving a strand of her hair behind her ear.
"And your kiss with Adrien," Sabine continued with a sly grin.
"EEK!" Marinette shrieked, waving her arms around. "Wait, What? I mean we didn't…"
"Relax, it's ok," Sabine reassured giggling.
"I, uhh, I…" Marinette tried to rationalize but calmed down when her mother touched her shoulder.
"Shhh…" Her mother then pulled her into a hug. "No need to deny it," Tom then joined them into the hug. "We heard of what you've done for everyone,"
"You're your own Ladybug Marinette, you're a hero,"
"Maman…" Marinette softly began with her voice cracking, as she began to return the hug.
"You've done so much and achieved so much already, we're proud of you" Tom concluded.
"Papa…" Marinette rested her head on her mother letting her tears finally flow down her cheeks. After a while, in each other's arms the family finally broke the hug. "I should really get going, I'm already late."
"Oh, don't worry about that, you still got an hour," Sabine reassured.
"What?" Marinette yelped.
"Yes, we set your alarm clock an hour later so you would get another hour for this," Tom confirmed.
"This is almost like my birthday…" Marinette said.
"Let's have breakfast together, we also prepared something for you," Sabine said, motioning her breakfast in the table. In her dish being an egg with a croissant with some white powder and raspberries on top of it.
"Is that what I think it is?" Marinette asked as she approached the table.
"Your childhood favorite; cream stuffed, stuffed French toast croissant," Sabine confirmed.
"Oh, Maman, how long has it been since the last time you made me this?" Marinette said clasping her hands together smiling like a little girl.
"I know it's been so long," Sabine replied.
"We wanted to do something special for you after all you've done," Tom reaffirmed.
Marinette simply jumped onto the table and enjoy her meal. So many memories came flooding through her thoughts and she savored her tasty breakfast dessert. All those times she used to enjoy these French croissants when she was a little girl and the good times, she had with them. Once she was done, she was getting up for school only to be stopped once again.
"Oh, hold on, Marinette, one last thing!" Sabine said, stopping Marinette on her tracks. "One last thing before you go," She opened the kitchen drawer and whipped out a small box with a gift bow on it. "It's not much since it's not your birthday but…" she then gave the gift to Marinette. "You don't have to do it now but maybe you should consider a new look," Sabine concluded.
"Maman…" Marinette began.
"You're becoming a woman now. And who knows. Maybe it'll help to finally get Adrien's attention tonight," Sabine concluded, winking.
"Maman, we're just friends," Marinette insisted but could not hide her blush.
"Sure, you are," Sabine said, putting the gift in her daughter's backpack, then closed the zipper and gave a slight push on her shoulder blade. "Go now, you might actually make it on time today," she concluded. Marinette then hugged her mother.
"Thanks, Maman," Marinette said before kissing her cheek. She broke her hug then proceeded to hug and kissed her father's cheek as well.
"We love you," Tom said as they broke their hug and finally ran off. On the front door, she stops and takes one last look at her parents, who are now close to each other with Tom's hand on top of Sabine's.
"Bye, I love you!" Marinette shouted before running off.
Later…
Marinette makes her way to Françoise Dupont High School as for once she might make on time before the bell rings.
"Well, well, well, that's a first. Is it the beginning of the apocalypse, Marinette?" she heard Alya as she gained up on her, running alongside her.
"Alya! Yeah, my parents moved my alarm clock ahead an hour, could you believe that?" Marinette asked.
"That's parenting for you," When the two reached the entrance, they paused for a moment and Alya crossed her arms. "So, about your date with Adrien…"
"I… Uhh…" Marinette stammered, blushing while making random nervous hand gestures.
"Yep, you're nervous," Alya concluded with her eyes closed and a smug expression on her face.
"Give me a break, Alya," Marinette countered. "It's not everyday I get a chance like this."
"Girl, it's okay. You got this," Alya reassured while grabbing Marinette by the shoulders.
"Speaking of 'getting it…'" A familiar male voice is heard behind Marinette.
"AAAAHH!" Marinette shrieked as she turned to him before falling back into Alya's arms. "Adrien?! I think you should work on how to say hello!"
"But that would ruin my mystique," Adrien replied while stroking his cheek, giving them a sly stare. Leading both Marinette and Alya to giggle at that. "Anyway, I hope you don't forget I'll be waiting for you by my limo after class,"
"Don't worry, I'll be here…" Marinette whined nerveously, moving her shoulders left and right as if she was seven years old again.
"Well, class is about to start. So, catch ya later today?" he asked, winking at her.
"Uh-huh," Marinette moaned as she drooled.
"Girl!" Alya shouted while elbowing her. "You really gotta compose yourself! Or else he'll never take you seriously!"
"Huh?" Marinette just noticed her drooling. "Oh! Ugh, I just washed my face!" She said, wiping the drool of her face while blushing. Alya simply giggled again and patted her on the back.
"Come on, girl, be there on time for once," she said.
Later at Kiyomizu…
Marinette looked around the surprisingly small and cozy sushi place from their table. Truth be told, she was relieved that it wasn't the larger than life elegant restaurant that she was expecting. She was always more comfortable in a small and humble place like this. Adrien anticipated that she had such tastes. It would be a bittersweet thing for him…
"So, what do you think of the place?" Adrien asked.
"This is great…" Marinette replied, trailing off. "I thought you were going to take me to this big restaurant with a great view and servants and suits and all these wealthy people going around staring at us wondering who am I then they figure out I'm what they call a commoner and I'm blabbering now, aren't I?" she concluded, causing Adrien to chuckle.
"Do you want to go to one of these places?" he asked.
"No!" Marinette said louder than she intended, "I mean no, it's fine. I…um, so how did you find this place?"
"Funny story, actually," Adrien replied. "Soon after I started going to school with you guys, I started researching for places like this. A 'hole in the wall' kind of place, so to speak. I actually brought Nino here once," He then took a seat before staring back at Marinette. "So, have you considered what said?"
"Huh?"
"I considered asking my father in hiring you as a model. Maybe he can give you a break in the fashion business," Adrien offered.
"Wait what? Did you ask?"
"Relax, I haven't. It's not something I would do behind your back," Adrien affirmed. Causing Marinette to sigh in relief. "Though, I really think you should go for it."
"I… I don't know… That was…"
"Out of the blue? I understand," Adrien conceded. "I mean, even if it is something we want the most, guess we need to step back."
"What about you, Adrien? What do you really yearn for?" Marinette asked.
"Me?" Adrien asked.
"Yeah, I mean, you can't be a model forever," Marinette suggested. "That eyeshadow you made me the other day was really top-notch makeup artistry, ever thought on doing that?" She asked, causing Adrien scratch the back of his head.
"I haven't really thought about it. I mean, I always wanted to take control of my life but now that I have some thanks to you guys, I guess I haven't thought about it that far ahead. Maybe take over the family business, or at least, that's what I wanted to do as a kid…" he trailed off. Marinette stayed silent and slightly bit his lip, not enough for Adrien to notice, her eyes trailed down for a moment, pondering what he had just said as well as putting herself in Adrien's shoes. After a moment of silence, Marinette takes his hand, causing him to look directly in the eyes.
"Adrien, I can only imagine what it's like. Your mother's gone, your father has you under his thumb, and I know you only model for him," Marinette told him, staring back at his eyes, with a somewhat sorrowful look. "I know it must be tough and you're still looking for your place in this world, but… whatever you decide… I'll be there for you. So, don't give up, you'll find your way, I know you will," she cheered. Adrien could only stare at her wide eyed. Before he knew it, a tear was cascading down his cheek. "Adrien…" she started softly.
"I—It's nothing, I'm okay," Adrien muttered, quickly wiping the tear from his cheek. Marinette the grabbed Adrien's hand with both of hers.
"Adrien, I care for you, you're my friend and I want you to succeed, so find something to believe in and do it for yourself and when you do fight for it. I may not face all the barriers you may have but just know that you have me and I'll always be there to take care of you…" Marinette elaborated leaning closer to him. Adrien could've sworn that he saw a flash that made Ladybug take Marinette's place for a second before seeing Marinette in her position again. Causing Adrien to shake his head, widen his eyes before shifting his focus on her hands holding his. Marinette widened her eyes as well and also focused her sight on her hands.
"Whaaaa—aaahhh!" Marinette realized where her hands were and shrieked as she fell back on her seat, falling back.
"Whoa!" Adrien expressed as he raised from his chair and rushed to Marinette's aid. "You okay?" he asked as he helped her up.
"I… uh…" Marinette started before she uncontrollably began to giggle. Adrien began to chuckle then before they knew it, they were laughing together.
Later… still at Kiyomizu…
After a while of everyone calming down and ordering the rest of the meal went rather smoothly. The two laughed at each other's stories.
"You actually had your bodyguard to smuggle beer into your room?"
"Hey, what do you expect from an isolated adolescent? Gotta learn life and take some risks somehow," Adrien answered. "What about you? I'm pretty sure you have your moments of defiance…" He concluded, leaving Marinette to ponder for a moment.
"Hmmm… Not really… My parents were always very open minded with what I want to do," Marinette confirmed. "I never brought myself to really go against my parents' wishes because… well…" Marinette struggled to find an explanation.
"They never gave you a reason to, I understand," Adrien conceded. Marinette closed her eyes and put her hand on her chest.
"Yeah, I know they love me and they'll always be there for me. I'm so grateful for them and to them for everything," Marinette said. She opened her eyes to greet Adrien's smile. She giggled, "I'm sorry, that was so cheesy."
"No, I get it," Adrien replied resting his head on his hand. "You're so pure, Marinette, you have a bright future ahead of you. I hope you realize your dreams…" he trailed off.
"Adrien…" Marinette trailed off, lost in his green eyes. But once again she shook her head out of her trance. "So, about the beer, I don't think your father would've approved, how did you got rid of the evidence?" she asked.
Adrien then remembered that he had actually transformed into Cat Noir and he went off to look for a distant recycling bin. He had stumblingly reached the bin, falling head first into the cover and bounce off, landing on the cement floor. He stumbled as he got up and opened the recycling cabinet, almost falling in and threw the bag with the empty beer cans. He then went on to leave, only for his knee to clash with the bin, he winced in pain, only to quickly make his way back to the roof.
"Umm… I had Gorilla to take care of it," Adrien answered on a whim, snapping back to the present. "Anyway, so what took you so long to work up your courage?"
"What do you mean?" Marinette asked.
"Come on…" Adrien began with a sly grin. "Don't think I don't remember that message you left me at the phone," He hand sing with his thumb and pinkie sticking out and placing by his cheek like a phone, "'Hey hot stuff…,' remember that?" he concluded making Marinette almost jump out of her skin.
"EEEEEK! You… you heard that?" She stammered.
"It was in my phone so of course I heard it. Though it disappeared for some reason and I certainly don't remember deleting it…" Adrien pondered. Scratching his cheek.
"Y-yeah, weird…" Marinette said before taking a quick slurp of her tea.
Later still… Leaving Liyomizu
The two were leaving the sushi place. The lights of a Parisian Friday night started to illuminate the streets and the darkening sky was also decorated with fading blueish green afterglow light lines. They could only watch for a moment as they let the moment sink in. Adrien decided to walk with Marinette for a while before having Gorilla take him home.
"So, have you been playing 'Ultra Mecha Strike'recently?"
"Not really, I've been more into single player stuff recently, I've actually been playing 'Yakuza.' What about you? I mean, you must have played more extensively to be as good as you are," Adrien suggested.
"I guess… though I really don't play that much with others besides with my Dad,"
"But still, you'd need more than that to be that good, I'm telling you, if you go to tournaments, players are gonna ask you what your secret is," Adrien warned.
"I didn't think there was much to it…" Marinette pondered innocently.
"Are you kidding!?" Adrien said, probably louder than he intended. "It's not everyday someone is beaten by a non-competitor!" The two stared at each other in silence before bursting in laughter. "Sorry, I got carried away," he said, rubbing his again.
The two had quite a talk before Adrien made the excuse that his father has put him on curfew and had to head home.
"I guess I gotta go too," Marinette conceded as she stepped back. She hesitated for a moment before saying, "Let's do this again!" Now it was Adrien's turn to hesitate.
"….."
"….."
"…..uuuhhm….. Sure!" Adrien said with the best smile he could muster, despite his heart being torn to shreds on the inside. Marinette had just given her cutest giggle she had emitted. Which made his heart sting even more.
"Great! We'll decide at school, okay?"
"Y-yeah…" Adrien replied.
And then… It happened… Marinette kissed Adrien square in the lips. The kiss only lasted a few more second before breaking off. They were both wide eyed as red as tomatoes. They stared at each other in silence for a full minute until Adrien smiled and burst into laughter. Marinette felt that this laughter was sincere and before she knew it, she joined in on the laugh. But this laughter came from two different places… With a wave the two eventually parted ways. Marinette felt a wave of indescribable joy that she was waiting for a while. She began to run and then skip around the streets as she headed towards home. Adrien, however, was watching her in her bliss from the distance and he could only stare in silence as a tear cascaded down his cheek…
"Goodbye…"
As if on cue, he heard an explosion from the distance, most likely caused by the side effect of Tikki's power once again.
"Guess this is it…"
Marinette… On her way to the bakery…
Marinette was skipping around the lit streets of her humble Parisian neighborhood. Hear head in the clouds filled with bliss. She felt like singing as she hopped and hung on one of the street lights and spun around it. She hopped off then spun around on one foot with her arms spread wide, giggling all they way. Noticing that they're alone, Tikki emerged from Marinette's purse. Before she could say anything, Marinette began ramble like she was seven again.
"Tikki, I did it! I finally kissed him! I'm the queen of the world!" She shouted while she jumped off from another street light.
"I knew it was a matter of time! Congrats!" Tikki cheered.
"Thanks, Tikki, I wouldn't have done it without you!" Marinette said, holding Tikki and kissing her in the forehead. She then began running to her bakery. "Come on! This calls for a celebration! I'll make the macarons!" she concluded as she dashed her way in euphoria.
"I can practically smell them from here!" Tikki added with excitement.
"I can actually smell something great too! I wonder what Dad's up to," Marinette wondered as she continued her dash home while giggling as thoughts and possibilities with Adrien were soaring through her mind yet again. She was finally reaching to the final corner them made her turn to where the bakery…was…
…
…
…
…
The bakery was on fire… Marinette just stood there, staring at the roaring flames destroying the place she called home her entire life. Dropping her bag, all that euphoria and excitement for the future became completely non-existent in the blink of an eye. Noticing, Marinette's distress, she peaked out of her purse and stared at the blazing bakery in disbelief. She could only stare back up at her owner at that point…
"…Marinette…" she muttered. And before she could even breathe…
"TIKKI, SPOTS ON!" Marinette screamed as if someone would shout at the sky, angry at the heavens. Running headlong towards the burning building, transforming into Ladybug.
Bursting into the fiery depths, she covers her face with her arms, though her Ladybug suit provided some protection from the flames. Coughing as she braves through the flames in her desperate search.
"Maman, Papa!" she called out, not caring who heard her. She suddenly feels the burning heat on very random parts of her body. She covers herself in the best way she could as she coughed. "Mommy, where are you?" her voice began to crack. She then stopped dead in her tracks.
As if on cue, her worst fear came true. Two unrecognizable corpses lay burning on the ground. She immediately recognized the sizes of the two people who had raised her for the past fifteen years…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Meanwhile…
Adrien went headlong to the source of the distant explosion. Looking for the opportunity to disappear… Buildings burning around him, he looked around to see what is the best way to make it seem to be his demise. People in panic were running past him as they try to get away from the blazes as the ground crumbled beneath them.
"Adrien, aren't you gonna transform?" Plagg asked.
"Too risky, I really have to fade away as me," Adrien replied, but he then noticed the people needing help, being trapped under debris as well as people stuck inside the burning buildings. Despite his objective, Adrien knew he couldn't ignore the people in need… "Damn it, Plagg, claws out!"
Back to the bakery…
Ladybug was on her knees in complete catatonia, unflinching to the collapsing bakery that was her home behind her. For the first time in her life, she felt… nothing. Her mind… nothing… staring at…nothing. The fact that her parents are no more had yet to go through her head. She didn't even notice the people gathering around her with the firemen arriving at the scene. The gathering crowd were noticeably baffled by Ladybug's inaction.
"Excuse me!" a young female voice could be heard among the crown. It was Alya. She made her way towards her hero in her clearly broken state.
"Ladybug? What happened?" she asked, kneeling beside her. "Ladybug?" she asked again. "Ladybug!" she called again, shaking her shoulder. Ladybug slowly turned to face Alya and what she saw shook Alya to the core. Ladybug's eyes were completely devoid of life or spirit that she had conveyed throughout her hero career. "Wha… What's happened to you?" she asked.
"They're… They're gone…" Ladybug muttered. Alya gave another glimpse at the burning bakery. "I couldn't save them… Not even the miraculous magic can bring them back…" she said breaking down.
"Oh, Marinette…" Alya muttered but quickly shifted her focus back on Ladybug. "I'm sorry but you have to pull yourself together. Cat Noir needs you!" Alya pleaded, shaking Ladybug again. She then whipped off her phone and opened TVi live where Nadja Chamack is once again reporting.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely cannot believe what's I'm witnessing as the entirety of septième has caught in flames and the floors cracking without explanation. Once again leading to the recent phenomenon of random disasters in recent weeks."
Footage shown of Cat Noir going several round trips to the unforgiving blazes while bringing out as many people as he could. He's noticeably exhausted and affected from the fire, but presses on, nevertheless.
"As you can see, Cat Noir is doing whatever he can for the citizens of Paris. But the burning question is, if you pardon the pun, where's Ladybug?"
"Ladybug, please, snap out of it!" Alya shook her again, dropping her phone. Still no response.
Meanwhile…
"CATACLYSM!" Cat Noir yelled as he destroyed a large chunk of debris that was blocking a huge chunk of victims from escaping. "Everyone out!" he shouted as he ran off while limping. Once he was out of sight, he detransformed sooner then he usually would after using his cataclysm.
"You really outdid yourself, kid," Plagg added in right after emerging from the ring. As if on cue, a scream came from another nearby burning building.
"…And I'm not done yet," Adrien countered as he limped to the aforementioned building.
"ARE YOU INSANE!?" Plagg yelled. "You can barely stand right now!"
"Ladybug is nowhere to be found Plagg! If I don't do it, no one else will
TVi
"We've managed to get a descent view from this rooftop into this taller building as another family is being trapped under the rubble. Luckily it doesn't seem to be on fire, but if help doesn't arrive soon, they…"
Nadja trailed off as she saw someone coming in to the family's aid. It was…
"ADRIEN AGRESTE!?"
Meanwhile…
With the mention of Adrien, Ladybug turned back to Alya's screen with a gasp. She the saw him, helping the family lifting up the stiff not burning rubble from top of the members stuck beneath them.
"Adrien!" Ladybug shrieked as she swung away with no more hesitation. Making her way to the burning section of septième. Before she knew it, she swung into the window, breaking the glass. She was once again coughing and covering herself from the unforgiving flames.
"Ladydug!" Adrien cheered at the sight for sore eyes.
"No time, I've got to get you out of here!"
"Please help me get them…" Adrien was cut off by another scream, from another room across the hall.
"Help them!"
"What about you!"
"They need you more they I do!" he yelled back.
Ladybug then saw the source of the scream. A woman was pinned down with a wooden pillar which was actually on fire. A little girl was grabbing the woman's hand, trying to pull her out.
"Mommy! Mommy get up!" the girl shouted.
"I can't! Run! Save yourself!" the woman shouted.
She then saw flashes of her failure to save her own family…Ladybug then turned back to Adrien, who showed his strength as he lifted his own pillar. A family of five made their way under the blocking pillar.
"Hurry! Everybody out!" Adrien shouted. Ladybug knew he wouldn't last long enough for everyone to evacuate as she saw they were more people on the other side of the pillar.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug shouted, as usual she lifted her yoyo to make the spell. She was then gifted with mechanism consisting a pair of claws with a jack complete with a crank between them. "Can't you make it simple for once!?" Ladybug yelled.
"Ladybug!" Adrien shouted, getting Ladybug's attention. "Use it to lift the other pillar!" he continued. Pointing at the other victims; the mother still trapped under the burning pillar with her daughter refusing to let go. Adrien knew she was clearly upset to think clearly, though he wished he knew why. He knows her more than she thinks he does. He maintained his position as there were still people crouching their way out.
"Uhh… right!" she affirmed as she went on to save the mother. She slid her way to the victims and placed the jack mechanism under the pillar, freeing the woman. She got up and hugged her daughter tightly.
Thank you, Ladybug, thank you so much!"
"Go, now!" Ladybug prompted, eager to save Adrien.
When the mother and daughter made their way to the exit. A chunk of rubble fell in front of them, blocking their way out. Growling in frustration, she uses the jack yet again to lift the rubble. With all the strength the miraculous could provide, she furiously turned the crank with the effort of lifting the obstruction.
"Everybody out, NOW!" Ladybug shouted, as she prompted the people to evacuate, she caught another glimpse of Adrien, who is still holding the other pillar on his shoulders. She desperately tries to get everyone out as she knew he can't hold the pillar much longer…. And she was right… "Ok Adrien, that's all of them!"
Once the last citizen was evacuated, the ground started to crack yet again. All the color left in Ladybug face was sucked out completely as the floor finally collapsed under him creating a massive hole. With a final glance at Ladybug, Adrien falls in and a massive amount of burning debris falls on him.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! ADRIEN!" Ladybug screamed, diving down the massive hole, which lead to the sewers.
Adrien held his breath as he fought his way out of the debris then swam his way through an underwater tunnel. He then allowed the currents to suck in them to take him as far as he could. He curled himself in fetal position as he received a barrage of bumps as the rough current tossed him around. Once again aided by his miraculous, even when he's not transformed. The ride was rough and he eventually couldn't maintain his fetal position anymore and he was near letting his breath out. When the push was over, he realized that it had only been a few seconds yet it felt like hours. He held on a latter to the surface, he climbed he way out of the water, leading to the largest inhale he ever emitted. He would never take oxygen for granted again.
He finally emerged from the manhole in an isolated section. After making sure no one is around, he covered the manhole and began limping off. Plagg emerged from his pocket, coughing off water.
"You okay, Plagg?" he asked, sounding very tired.
"Yeah…*cough* *cough* Though we weren't gonna make it. *cough* *cough*" Plagg answered while coughing.
"Come on, let's get out of here before someone sees us," Adrien suggested as he walked off.
Mere seconds after Adrien left, one could hear a distressed female voice, calling out for him from the sealed manhole. Desperately looking for him… But to no avail…
"ADRIEN! ADRIEN!"
A/N: Whew that's a relief. I got stuck a few times in this and there's also a ton of stuff in my life. Well, yes… this I did. You see, one of the few gripes I have with the show is that Marinette goes through little to no adversity throughout the show and everything had been smooth sailing for her thus far. Even though she had been the cause of some people being akumatized, she had little to no consequences and no one had dared to point it out. I mean come on, the most behaved child in the world? Really? Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I will fight tooth and nail to give you guys the next chapter sooner.