MIRACULOUS
Chapter 5
Made of Glass
Unknown location…
Lila was on her knees in a dark room. Pieces of papers of ancient Chinese text were scattered all over the floor, surrounded by adults staring down at her. She simply stared back at them then down at the scattered sheets. Tears began to fall down her cheeks as she covered her mouth. She shut her eyes and lowered her head and began to sob. The people surrounding her said or did nothing as she continued her crying. Though just then her sobbing was gradually turning to…laughter. She raised her head with tears still cascading her face and looked up, laughing like a maniac.
"hehehe…hehehehehehehahahahahahahahahah….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…"
Montmartre Cemetery…
Thunder clapped upon the graveyard under this cloudy day. Rain fell on the forlorn Marinette, unfazed by the sudden thunder noise as she gazed lifelessly at the two caskets that soon will be six feet underground. The priest was reciting the sermon regarding the burial of parents but Marinette wasn't paying attention. Half the time she was either staring at nothing or only occasionally staring at another distant funeral where thousands upon thousands of people had gathered. She could only stare at the distance as only her, her grandmother, uncle and a few friends joined her. While the fallen were joined in a single ceremony, Adrien's memorial largely overshadowed the Dupain-Cheng couple.
TVi News
"This is Nadja Chamack here at the Montmartre Cemetary, where we're here to pay respects the casualties of the massive fire caused by the unexplained seismic disturbances. Among the fallen is none other than a poster boy of the Agreste Company; Adrien Agreste, son of the current CEO Gabriel Agreste. There have been no less than 33 casualties from the incident but two people who have had more mention among them are of a married couple who had a popular yet humble bakery Tom & Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, who have had to be DNA tested, confirming to be them, as both of their bodies have been found completely unrecognizable, orphaning their daughter, who she chose to keep her identity secret."
"Regardless, it is Agreste who is gaining the most traction at this time, as thousands upon thousands of fans that he had inspired had gathered around to say their farewell. That great fire had definitively been the most devastating of these recent natural disasters. Despite Ladybug's ability to repair the damages of such incident, saving the dead was beyond even for our beloved hero."
Back in the cemetery…
Marinette's classmates had each left a white flower on the memorials between the two pictures of Adrien and Marinette's parents respectively. Marinette remained emotionless as some had put their hands on her shoulder. All she did was turn to them and smiled politely, not much else. One by one they eventually left as there was little they could do at that moment. She then caught a glimpse of Cat Noir, kneeling near the edge of the nearest building. He stared down on her with the same expressionless demeanor that Marinette had displayed all day. She responded in kind. After a moment of silence, he bounced off the roof without a word. Marinette just lowered her head with a sigh.
Later… Marinette's room…
The day was now even darker as the rain really came down. Tikki sat in Marinette's desk, staring out the dark grey sky. She could not tell the clouds apart as the sky was completely dark gray. She finally began to hear Marinette finally crying freely on her bed. Tikki didn't even bother looking back at her, she was so used to seeing the bubbly optimistic Marinette, and it tears her to shreds seeing her in such a miserable state…
After a full hour of sobbing, it was almost completely dark yet the rain was still pouring.
"Tikki…" Marinette called with a broken voice, the first time she spoke all day. It was the voice of a girl who needed a friend now more than ever. Tikki finally turned to face her. "Am I losing you too?" she asked. Tikki flew towards her.
"What do you mean, Marinette?"
"I always thought that everything would be just the way they were once we defeated Hawk Moth. But… If I have to give up my miraculous, I would never see you again…"
"No, Marinette. Even after that happens, as long you're willing to be Ladybug, I will always be with you," Tikki assured.
"I don't feel like being Ladybug right now, but I need you now more than ever. You're all I have left now…"
"That's not true, Marinette. You still have your uncle and your grandmother. You should really talk to them, you ignored them for the entire funeral," Tikki suggested. Marinette sniffed again in response.
"I… I can't… I can't face them…" Marinette responded, her voice was breaking as she's about to cry again. Tikki remained silent for a while, waiting for her to calm down before she spoke up again.
"Do… Do you blame Cat Noir for what has happened?" Tikki was dreading the subject but felt that it's something Marinette needed to get off her chest.
"*Sniff* No…" She cracked. "There's still this feeling that wants be angry at him, but I don't want to be. I knew the risks, he did what he had to… He had to but… I'm just worried… After all, what happened will be on his shoulders too… Maman, papa, Adrien… Oh, Adrien… I could've saved him…"
"He was a kind soul, Marinette. He was willing to put himself on the line for others. Even with…" Tikki stopped herself right there.
"Even with what?" Marinette asked.
"Even with all the risks… He took action…" Tikki tried. Marinette sniffed and laid back down. Tikki gave a silent sigh.
"What am I going to do? Will I still be Ladybug? What would Cat Noir say if I don't?"
"Marinette, you're one of the bravest among the Ladybugs I have met. You'll move on, you'll get past, you're still Ladybug, you'll still do great things." Tikki then kissed her in the cheek.
"*sniff* *sob* Thank you, Tikki…" Marinette said. She then curled in fetal position and allowed herself to drown in darkness until she finally dozed off.
The night of the fire… Right after Adrien's disappearance…
Adrien made his way to a "Home Box" self-storage where he went to his own container. He opens the garage-like gate to see both Master Fu and Mordecai waiting inside.
"Adrien!" Master Fu shouted as he saw the battered up teenager. Mordecai immediately came to grab him and help him to his new bed.
"Whoa, there! I got you, buddy," Mordecai comforted, lying him down.
"Hey, aren't you…?" Adrien began, as he opened his eyes.
"Shhh… We'll talk later little dude. Let's get you fixed up first," He assured.
"Were you the one who…"
"I know a guy back in Ohio," Mordecai assured.
"We will talk later, right now he needs rest and time to settle in. Fortunately, his injuries are nothing serious," Master Fu reassured.
"I think we should tell him," Mordecai suggested.
"He needs rest now," Master Fu countered.
"Master Fu, please, the more we wait, the harder it'll be," Mordecai argued.
"Wha—What are you talking about?" Adrien asked in a weakened voice, trying to sit up. The two stared at each other for a moment, then master Fu closed his eyes.
"Very well," the elder master conceded.
"What?" Adrien asked. Mordecai simply typed a few keys on his laptop. The screen showed live TV, showing Nadja Chamack in the aftermath of the fire, broadcasting from the streets of Paris where they were once on fire now the building appears to be untouched.
"This is Nadja Chamack, walking around the streets of our septiembre district, were mere minutes ago was consumed in flames, caused by a series of seismic tremors that caused the ground to split open in various areas, thus eventually leading them to damage a gas leak. I'm right now standing in front of Tom and Sabine's patisserie…"
Adrien's heart stopped as he just had a sudden feeling of uneasiness that crept up at him. He did not like where this was going.
"The couple in charge of this bakery was a beloved couple, Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng were found incinerated beyond recognition…"
After that, Adrien was blank that night and he could not remember the rest of the broadcast.
Present day… Adrien's storage container…
"Plagg Claws in," Adrien muttered once he was sure no one saw him. In his civilian form, his blue jeans, white jacket, and black shirt were gone. He was now wearing mostly black with green outlines on the edges of his pockets and openings of his jacket. He entered his container. There wasn't all that much, just an empty desk with a laptop and a bed. He laid down with a sigh, contemplating what had happened. He then dialed Master Fu…
"Yes?" the master answered on the other end.
"Any leads on the Miraculous box?" Adrien asked
"Just as we suspected, the symbols indeed resemble from the ones used in ancient arcane Chinese alchemy. However, the motive of leaving such signs behind remains beyond my knowledge," he answered. "Have you seen the old post in Belleville again?"
"I have, but nothing new to report…" Adrien answered.
"I see… I will let you know of any new development," Master Fu promised.
"Same here…" Adrien replied and hung up. He then let his cell phone fall off his grasp, landing hard into the ground. Plagg then popped up to lighten the mood.
"Look, Adrien, there's no way you could've seen it coming. The fire was just a freak accident and you know it. Who would've known the fire would've reached all the way to the bakery…" Plagg rambled on.
"I've got the worst timing ever, Plagg. I just had to fake my death the night something like that would happen to Marinette…"
"Adrien, there's no way you could've seen it coming. And besides; if you had delayed your disappearance, the harder it would've been to do it…" Plagg said in his usually casual demeanor. Adrien gripped his pillow and shut his eyes hard.
"I… I could've done something, I could've saved them… I could've…"
"Stop! Just stop it, Adrien!"
"Plagg?"
"Adrien, if there's anything I've learned from previous Cat Noirs is that you shouldn't regret your past, learn from it! Look, the mantle of Cat Noir has been passed down from generation to generation. They've made choices that you wouldn't even begin to imagine and they would have to live with them for the rest of their lives! Regrets will only make you weaker!"
"Then… What should I do?"
"Accept responsibility… Talk to her," Plagg suggested.
"What?" Adrien asked, sitting up.
"You have to face the consequences head. Up until that night, everything has been rectified by Ladybug's magic. So, you never had to live with any burdens, but the time has come where you have to shoulder the weight of your actions and live with these consequences. I've read your old Spider-Man comics, Adrien. They have the right idea…" Plagg concluded, ending it with a grin.
Adrien couldn't help but chuckle a bit. He was right, he did this for a reason and he now had no choice but to see it all through. He then curled up to get comfortable and dozed off.
"I'm gonna crash, night, Plagg."
"Poor kid," Plagg muttered, covering him with a sheet. "His time has come into the rabbit hole."
Several days later…
"You sure about this, Marinette? It's only been over a week," Alya asked as she and Marinette walked their way to school. Alya had an arm around her friend and her other hand on her shoulder.
"I have to move on, I have to be strong. That's what they would've wanted," Marinette replied. Amidst of sniffing.
"Fine, just… Don't push yourself too much," Alya suggested as she guided her to school.
As soon as they walked into the classroom, everyone looked at her. Not even Ms. Bustier knew exactly how to react at that particular moment. Some wanted to share condolences but they didn't know how to do it without offending her.
After an awkward silence, Marinette started to make her way back to her seat. Chloe then got up from her seat once Marinette was near enough. The two girls stood face to face for a moment until Chloe suddenly scooped Marinette into a hug. The rest of the classroom was so awestruck by the scene that the silence did not falter. Marinette was also taken aback but she then merely closed her eyes and returned the hug. After a full minute, they finally broke the hug and Chloe inhaled as if she was about to sob. She then patted her on the shoulder and returned to her seat. All without a word. Marinette then finally took her seat. Alya once again put her hand on Marinette's shoulder.
"You okay?" she asked. Marinette, however, was gritting her teeth. Ms. Bustier immediately took notice.
"Marinette, we're glad you want to be back but are you sure you want to do this now?" she asked. Then a tear crept out of Marinette's eye and cascaded down her cheek. She quickly began to inhale which then turned to sob.
"I'm sorry, I can't do this!" she stood up and ran out of the room.
"Marinette!" Ms. Bustier shouted, "Alya, Nino, if you please?" the two aforementioned kids ran out after her without a word.
Marinette was running out of campus and down the streets with no direction. Passing through red lights causing cars to screech the breaks and angry honks at her. Which the slightly frighten her but quickly ignored them and continue her aimless sprint. Upon reaching the park she tripped, falling flat on her face. She tried to get up but then she realized that she had hurt herself harder than she thought. She then stumbled her way to a bench, looking down all the way she didn't notice her friends approaching her. She looked up once she noticed their shadows. It was, of course, Alya and Nino. They then sat on opposite sides of the bench with her, both put her hands on her shoulders.
"*sniff* I… I couldn't do it… I thought I could… But…" Marinette said, trying to explain herself.
"Shhh… It's okay, you don't have to explain yourself," Alya reassured.
"I know you're trying to be brave, but no need to rush yourself," Nino added. Marinette then wiped a tear.
"Actually, it might have been my last chance…" She said.
"What do you mean?" Alya asked.
"I… *sniff* I got a call from social services last night, neither my uncle nor grandmother has the finances to take me in. I… I may be going away…" Marinette answered.
"WHAT!?" Alya and Nino yelled simultaneously.
"They found that my parents had a home set for me… in Tibet…"
"Tibet?" Nino repeated. Alya got up from her seat and began pacing around nervously.
"What? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO!" Alya stammered hysterically. "You can't go to Tibet!"
"What choice do I have…?" Marinette asked, lowering her head in defeat. "Unless I get adopted or find a foster family, I'll be gone at the end of the month…" she concluded. Nino briefly took off his hat and wiped sweat from his forehead before putting it back on.
"Oh boy," Nino muttered. Alya sat back down with her hands covering her face.
"Marinette…I…"
"I just want to go home… But…It doesn't feel like home anymore…" Marinette muttered with her voice cracking once again.
"Marinette," Nino began. "Whatever happens… We'll be there for as long as we can and… whatever happens… wherever you go… We'll always be your friends…" With that, Marinette simply stared at Nino for a second before simply rising from her seat and walk away.
"Please don't follow me…" she muttered then ran off without a moment of hesitation.
"Marinette!" they both shouted as they tried to follow her, but quickly lost her. They both stopped and started panting.
"How can… she… run… so fast…?" Nino panted.
"Oh, Marinette… Please be ok," Alya could only mutter.
That night…
Cat Noir had not seen Ladybug in days, even though these disasters may have died down, but Ladybug's absence, as well as the missing miraculous, had kept him on edge. Or at least, that's what he likes to believe, but deep down, there was another emotion that still eats at him… Regret… Regret of leaving everything and everyone behind. His father, Nathalie, Nino, Alya, and, of course, Marinette. Once she popped up in his head, it's when what he did began to really sting him.
"Why… does it hurt so much…?" he whispered to himself, as he watched the Parisian night skyline on top of the building, with a tear escaping from his eye, cascading down his cheek. "Where are you, Ladybug? I need you My Lady…" he said wiping the tear of his eye. With his enhanced hearing he could hear soft crying from the graveyard.
"Princess…?" Cat Noir wondered, making his way towards the graveyard expecting to find the recently orphaned Marinette and apologize for not being able to find her since the incident. Once he reached the dreaded place, to his surprise, was not Marinette but someone else he had not seen since the incident, Ladybug. He then realized that she had not spotted him. He then decided not to let his presence known yet. He got near enough to hear her. With a cool rainy myst surrounding her with a full moon shining on her, he could've sworn he had witnessed a heartbreaking soliloquy in the middle of a play.
"I… *sniff* I don't know… How can I live with this?" she asked the two tombstones. "I keep going back and forth with you and Adrien…" she said, her voice was breaking down. "I've… I've let you all down… I'm not the hero I everyone thinks I am. I don't deserve to be Ladybug. Because of this… I will be turning my miraculous and I will leave Paris…"
"YOU CAN'T!" a male voice shouted, catching her off guard. Looking to the source it was, of course, Cat Noir. "You can't quit being Ladybug! I need you!" Ladybug looked away.
"You needed me when you were all alone trying to save these people and I did nothing, I didn't help you when you needed me… until it was too late."
"We can't save everyone Ladybug, I too was responsible for those people, you know I could only stay on my form for so long after using my cataclysm."
"Which wouldn't have happened if I was there sooner, these people would still be here," Ladybug argued. "Adrien would still be here…" she muttered.
"Huh?" Cat didn't hear the last part. Ladybug shook her head.
"I'll be going away; I have no choice anyway…"
"What do you mean…?"
"Shut up, just shut up!" Ladybug shouted cutting him off. "You did this!"
"My lady…I…" Cat Noir began as he raised a hand to comfort her. She then slapped it away.
"You screwed up! You used your cataclysm when you shouldn't, now all these people have died because of you!" she shouted. Cat Noir had no response. He then began to feel the weight of his failure again. He then just stood there, thinking about what to say, if anything at all. "I hate you…"
Cat Noir gasped slightly, his eyes widened as he looked back up at her. She was looking down, he could not see her eyes. He began to close in on her, hoping he heard wrong… She looked up at him with a stare that felt like a blade on his chest.
"You heard me, I hate you! I'm not your Lady and I never will be!" she yelled. Cat Noir backed away, gritting his teeth.
"You don't mean that!" Cat Noir countered. The two stared at each other intensively, as if it were a duel in the old west. Cat then closed his eyes and turned away with a sigh. "I know you don't…" with that, he whipped out his staff and set off.
After seeing Cat Noir off, her heart shattered in a million pieces. Having to push away one of the few people she had left.
"He hates me now… I hope he does; now he won't miss me when I'm gone," she told herself. She tried to maintain her composure only to break down in tears yet again. "It's for the best… Master Fu will find a better Ladybug, this was goodbye…" she said breaking down to her knees. "She and Cat Noir will be the once to defeat Hawk Moth, Paris will be back to normal…" she rambled but abruptly changed her tune. "Oh *sniff* I'm so sorry, Cat Noir, I didn't mean it. I just… thought that this was best that we…" she trailed off as tears continue to cascade down her cheeks. "Oh, who am I kidding, I… I need someone to hold me…" she admitted to herself and she finally let it all out, hugging herself. After several minutes of sobbing on her knees, drowning in her sorrow, she failed to notice a black butterfly approaching her miraculous earring. Before she could react, the Akuma submerged into her miraculous. She looked up with a neon mask on her face with a gasp and a frightened look on her still teary face.
"Finally, after all the times I have targeted you," She heard Hawk Moth's voice. "I have caught at your weakest!"
"No! Get out! You can't make me!" Ladybug yelled, trying to resist.
"What's the wrong Ladybug? It's the temptation too hard to resist? What if I told you that I can bring you back what you have lost?"
"What do you know?" she asked.
"I have lost someone too, Ladybug, I know how it feels. But if you work with me and get the wish of gathering your miraculous, I could get what we both lost back."
"You lost someone… what do you mean 'too?'"
"Yes, I know you have lost your parents, Marinette Dupain-Cheng!" Hawk Moth revealed, earning a huge gasp from Ladybug.
"It was you… You killed…"
"I HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT FIRE! EVEN I WOULD NOT RESORT TO THAT!" Hawk Moth screamed. "Think about what you want the most! Your parents, your dreams, your friends, I know you'll be leaving for Tibet. This is your only chance…" he tempted. "Do you accept?" he tempted.
Ladybug bit her lip as one last tear cascaded down her cheek…
"Yes…"
And with that, the usual dark aura began to cover all around her.
"Cat Noir… I'm sorry…"
Author's note: As I focused on other projects, I decided to make chapters shorter in my attempt to whip them out faster, I initially had a 5,000-word minimum but now I tend to focus on reaching where I intend to stop. Anyway, I realize that Adrien's fake death may or may not have the time, focus, and /or set up that it should. What do you think? Please review, I need the feedback.