Chapter | Seventeen

Blurry.

Everything was blurry. The voices that swarmed around her ears, the lights she could see through her barely opened eyes, and hell even the smells. Everything was just blurry. She couldn't focus herself, but she felt everything around her moving. She felt cold, that was all Marinette could really register.

Tikki on the other hand felt useless. She couldn't really try much, not with these people putting a contraption on Marinette's neck that acted too much like an electric collar. Lucas had broken Marinette's phone, tossed anything on her person that could be tracked out the van window earlier. The man was vile and Tikki would make sure he payed for all this one way or another.

"Is she awake yet?" An older man with a British accent that Tikki didn't not recognize asked.

"Not yet General." A woman replied, clip board in hand. "According to Sergeant Valentino, she is a highly promised case. Despite this being an unorthodox way of going about it."

"Hmm." He hummed, watching the teenaged girl tied to the chair. "I have other things to attend to, but I expect the given results in a week. If Sergeant Valentino is going to pay for our services, I want to know the outcome of this one Nadia.

Nadia watched as he walked out of the room, a sigh leaving her lips as she regained focus on the girl in front of her. This was all new to her, how this girl had magical properties given to her by a small thing called a kwami. Yet she was also being paid not to ask questions, only do as her client wanted. Lucas Valentino was a man with a lot of money and power, and unfortunately for the teenaged girl here he wanted her as well.

"What exactly are we supposed to do?" Another scientist asks her, unsure exactly what they were supposed to do.

Nadia frowned as she gripped the designator in her hand, "Phase one is to break her." With that she pressed down on the red button, watching as Marinette's eyes snapped open and a scream ripped through the room and reverberated against the electric current wasn't enough to kill her, but it was enough to hurt her.

Over and over again Nadia did what she was supposed to do, watching carefully as Marinette's body reacted and her breathing. The heart monitors connected to Marinette showed the distress the girl felt, but it wasn't nearly enough.

Tikki on the other hand felt horrified as she realized Lucas brought Marinette here to be tortured. What the hell was that man thinking? What did he even want from Marinette if it wasn't for her miraculous? Tikki had taken note how no one took a slight interest in her, a kwami. Instead they were all solely focus on Marinette and there was no way for Tikki to safely get Marinette out of here. She also felt the need to not leave her holder alone, not knowing if she took off to get help if they would move Marinette somewhere else so she could really not be found by anyone else. Despite the easy escape she could have, she wasn't going to leave her.

The door to the room opened, and it was then Tikki took note they were in a lab. She knew they were deep underground, but who these people were she had not a single clue. Master Fu had enemies, but she was sure there were not his enemies. Maybe Stephen's or Tony's? The pain Marinette felt was vibrating inside Tikki, and it was going to kill Marinette. They weren't asking her anything, not for any information so Tikki truly wasn't sure what the hell Lucas wanted from them.

"This is going to hurt a lot." A man said, and Tikki watched as he put a towel over Marinette's shoulder and in his other hand was a wooden baton. Without another word he lifted the baton and swung it hard against Marinette's shoulder. Both Tikki and Marinette cried out as Marinette's shoulder made a cracking sound at impact and pain flared up like a firework in her arm.

"Stop it!" Tikki yelled, but the man paid no attention as he took the towel and placed it on Marinette's knee. Tikki felt the panic raise in Marinette as she realized which area they were going to hit next, squirming to get away. It was useless though as the baton made contact with her knee with the same bone crushing force.

"Why are you doing this?!" Marinette cried out, her body feeling on fire with the agony racing through her veins.

Once again there was no answer, just more and more hits with the wooden baton to her bones. Eventually Marinette felt her body cough up blood when he hit her rib cage, but she had no time to truly dwell on her broken ribs as the collar around her neck came to life with another electric current. It had to have been hours, at least that what it felt like, and all Marinette wanted to do was close her eyes.

Time had gone by quickly as Tikki watched Marinette under go this horrendous treatment for almost four hours. She knew that because Marinette was connected with her, that her magic was healing Marinette little by little to keep her alive, at least for now. Yet how long would that last? Tikki had the horror of watched them inject Marinette with different substances. Watched Marinette as she convulsed and coughed with a wheeze. Every time when she thought about trying to intervene they would pull out a vile. Taunting her that it was a lethal dose, and it was enough to keep Tikki at bay if it meant Marinette would be killed quickly.

Then Marinette went out light a light. Her body finally gave out when her head fell back, and the man who had beaten her went over to checked for a plus since the heart monitor connection somehow slipped off Marinette's body, and then nodded over at the mirror that Tikki knew people were watching from the other side. It was sickening. They were going to kill her here. Marinette's body was already weak from the lack of eating, there was only so much Marinette could take since she was so tiny. Even all she just endured probably caused some internal bleeding. For all Tikki knew, Marinette was silently dying.

That was when Tikki could feel the desperation Marinette was slowly beginning to feel for this all to end. All the pain in her heart was finally released in ten fold and it was overwhelming- like a damn gate breaking and flooding in rapidly. It broke Tikki's heart to feel that yearning to float away. Marinette wanted all the pain to end, even if she was taken out of the equation and it broke Tikki's heart even more that it was a dark wish that was coming from the deepest part of Marinette's heart. The bad was out weighing the good in her life, and the hope was fading from Marinette quickly. The events that have happened and the lack of time to process it all, it was becoming too much all too fast . Tikki knew what she needed to do as she felt Marinette's energy fading slowly.

Zipping over to the chair Marinette was strapped too, Tikki patted her cheek as the man left the room, closing the door behind him. Nothing came from Marinette, not a single sound. The heart of Marinette was broken, it had been for a while now. Every time it seemed to patch up it was ripped open all over again, and now it was beating very slowly. She knew hope had begun to fade from Marinette a while ago, but there was a hope that lived inside of her because of Chloe and Peter- even because of Stephen and Tony, but she still wavered. Tikki had already knew if she didn't do something right now Marinette would die here.

As a kwami, she couldn't allow the Guardian to die. Especially since Marinette was the last and current guardian, and she was her holder. It was her duty to protect Marinette as much as it was Marinette's to protect her. She knew, deep down Tikki knew, Marinette would give her life for her or any of the other kwamis if she had too. That is why she needed to do something now before Marinette was lost forever and the Order of the Guardians was lost beyond hope.

"Marinette, wake up." Tikki nuzzled her cheek, trying to pour some of her own healing magic into Marinette. "I need you to wake up please."

A small groan came from Marinette's chapped lips, then a small muscle movement. It took another second but Marinette opened her tired swollen blue eyes, looking at her kwami that only looked at her with pure worry. That's all she seemed to do to Tikki, worry her until the very end. She made everyone worry.

"I'm going to die here." Marinette murmured, a part of her accepting that and being okay with that, "At least I'll see my parents again."

It broke her heart all over again feeling Marinette depression coming in full force with nothing holding a single feeling back. How the weight of responsibilities seemed to have finally take the toll with everything else. The acceptance that this was how she was going to go out of this world was something Tikki refused to accept.

"No, you're not going to die here Marinette." Tikki's voice was stern, confident in what she says. "Not if I have anything to say or do."

Marinette's eyebrow furrowed with confusion, "What are you saying Tikki?"

"There's an ability certain true holders have, one so secret not even Master Fu knew about it. Only us kwami's do, and even then the bond between holders and kwami has to be strong." Tikki floated in front of her holder, her eyes holding a sadness there that Marinette had never seen before. "Me allowing you the abilities of Ladybug mixed with your teachings with Stephen aren't enough here."

"I'm going to die here." Marinette repeated with a crack in her voice, realization settling in that she never got to say goodbye to no one. The flare of sadness from Tikki didn't help pacify this thought either.

"No." Tikki shook her head, rejecting that idea all together, "I will not allow that happen to you. You are my true chosen and the Guardian of the Miraculous, you can not die nor can you surrender me here."

"They know my identity Tikki!" Marinette heaved weakly. They had watched her for months, violated her privacy and most of all they played her a fool. She walked right into their very hands. There was no way she was leaving here alive, maybe a body bag.

"But not the other holder's identity. You have protected them the best you can now, that's the duty of a Guardian that Wang Fu failed in. You've protected me the best to your ability, but they will force your hand here." Tikki was silent for a moment. "There's a way to make sure no one can ever take me from you though. I won't let them ever separate us. No one ever will try too again."

"How?" Marinette could feel Tikki's retaliation strong in her own being, but it only cause her heart to thud faster with anticipation.

Calmly Tikki looked at Marinette, mind made up. "I merge with you."

"What?" Marinette, keened "No, Tikki- no. I can't lose you too."

"You wouldn't be losing me Marinette. I'll just be dormant inside you." Tikki says, voice reassuring. She had made her choice. "It's like absorbing me into you, at least until your life cycle is over and my miraculous would be back in the box."

Marinette tried to shake her head, "I don't understand Tikki."

"There's an old spell, ancient even, that allows certain true holders to become one with the miraculous, granting them powers without transforming. You would be Ladybug as Marinette. No more transformations. Granted with the powers of creation, to bend reality and create it as you would. To heal the wounds of those around you and the power of luck." Tikki could feel in her own soul this was what was meant to happen, this was Marinette's path, her destiny. It made Tikki feel at ease and peace with her decision.

"I don't understand how this works Tikki." Marinette's breath hitched, "I can't lose you. What will I do? I'll be alone"

"You'll never truly lose me Marinette. You'll never truly be alone, trust me on that. Open your heart and mind again. Don't be afraid to trust." Tikki smiled sadly, knowing these things would be hard for Marinette to come by again. She had lost her naivety. "You were destined for so much more than Paris, more than being just my Ladybug. Each miraculous you have chosen and picked for other true holders, they are equivalent to the Infinity Stones. This is why this secret is so secret. The moment you put my earrings on first Marinette, you were chosen for this path. Everything was always leading down this road. I do not make you a hero, you are a hero naturally. You are the best Ladybug in this world I have ever had, and this is all part of the journey."

"Tikki-"

"You have come so far Marinette, and will only grow with power. You have to do this in order to protect me and save your own life here. I will not be gone forever." Tikki zipped around and gathered her earrings from Marinette's ears. "I do not know the effect this will have on you with learning other magic ways from Stephen, but I know you will do right by this world."

"What do I tell Plagg?" Marinette whispered, tears running down her cheeks. "He'll ask about you eventually."

Plagg.

Oh how Tikki loved and hated her counterpart. This wasn't forever, but it would be a while until they met again. At the same time this was her duty, her obligation to protect her true chosen and their Guardian. They would kill Marinette here, and force her miraculous off. There was not a choice, and she knew Marinette would learn the hard way. Loss was natural, especially in this line of work, but how much did the girl in front of her had to lose? It wasn't fair. Yet Tikki never imagined this was how it was going to happen.

"Tell him the truth." Tikki says softlys, holding her earrings close. "Do right by this world okay? Remember you are never alone, I love you Marinette."

"I love you too, Tikki." Marinette's breath hitched, "But I can't- I won't."

Tikki smiled, "It was never your choice, Marinette. It was always mine." It was then Marinette realized Tikki had never spoken a word physically, but telepathically. That was why she shared those secrets freely.

Ja, jedan od vas odabranih, pozivam drevnu božicu Eurinome. Želio sam da mi se odobri da postanem jedno sa svojim odabranicima - da me život i krv vežu za nju. Neka je zaštiti sama priroda, njegovana pod vašim utjecajem. Povlačim ovaj oblik i želim da to postane ona.

Tikki felt warm as she was accepted back into the earrings. She could feel the warm red glow that lit from her miraculous. She could see the heartbreak on Marinette's face, but this was for the best. This time Tikki could protect her and save her. She could rest now knowing Marinette was going to be okay eventually. She had to believe in the people around Marinette to save her from herself. She knew they could.

Marinette watched as Tikki slowly began to fade with her miraculous, the red light in front of her warm and inviting her to touch it. Reaching out, Marinette made a weak grab to hold Tikki close one last time. Instead she grabbed the red light with her fingertips and the room burst into color as she flew back against the wall hard. Hard enough the restraints on her broke at least one of her wrists.

Alarms sounded from all around her suddenly, blaring to life with a screeching warning. Groaning, Marinette rolled onto her side and took a deep breath in. She felt weird. Her body felt warm, and she swore she could feel Tikki's comforting presence in her veins. Her blue eyes glowed gold for a moment, and all around her she felt the familiar presence of Tikki. It slowly settled in on what happened, what Tikki just did.

That familiar feeling was no longer Tikki, it was herself now. That magic that coursed through her miraculous once before now coursed through her very being. Reaching up to check her ears, Marinette found that they were no longer pierced. They were healed over, as if the earrings she once wore never were there the past five years to begin with. Like it had all been erased.

The bruises that were on her body were no longer sore. The broken bones she had gotten from the wooden baton were all fixed as if it never happened. The cut on her lip was healed over as well with her headache and Marinette knew it was Tikki.

Tikki.

Now she was here, as a Guardian, alone in a cell. No friends, no family- just completely and utterly alone. Chloe was with the others, helping Chat Noir with training the others in a more proper way, and here she was with no way to contact for help. No matter what she did, Marinette could not win.

The grief washed over Marinette hard and sudden, threatening to drown her in a new way she never imagined. Tikki was the one who had truly been through everything with Marinette from the beginning. Tikki had put up with her when she didn't want to bare the Ladybug miraculous, was there as a voice of confidence when self doubt settled in. She was there when Marinette could not sleep at night, there to help with creative input on her designs. Tikki was there to keep the darkness at bay when Lila entered their lives, there to protect her from akumas. Now she had herself only.

There was a sound of the lock on her cell unlocking, and there in front of her stood a man. There in all his glory stood Lucas, looking down at her. The very man that infiltrated her life, the one Tikki did not trust at all, the one Marinette now hated with every fiber of her being. Of course he would be the enemy, getting close to her in what she thought was her safe space. He played her for an idiot.

"So you are the last remaining Guardian." He said, already knowing the answer.

Marinette narrowed her eyes in an icy glare, "Fuck off."

"You are so young, so naive." Lucas ignored her, kneeling in front of her. "Wang Fu was a disgrace of a Guardian, but he found you. The one that was always predicted, the girl who knew more than she could handle."

Marinette's anger fades a way enough for a slight confusion to settled in, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Did Wang Fu ever tell you the truth about what happened to the Temples?" He stood, looking down at Marinette. "It wasn't because of him that the temples fell, and the fact that he believes the other miraculous boxes still exist is a lie. Marinette, my dear, you are the Guardian to the last miracle box in existence, which means you're more important than you can ever imagine."

"What happened? Why would he lie to me?" She knew he could be lying, but at this point she wasn't sure what the hell was the truth anymore.

"You were young, wouldn't understand and scare easily when he first found you. Yet here you are, all alone with no family, no friends, no allies. You were left unprepared. All those years ago was not caused by the peacock miraculous power gone wrong, but by an American terrorist group called Hydra. They came in and infiltrated the Temple. The Order of the Miraculous made a wish in a haste to protect the miracle box you now have in possession. In return that wish destroyed the others, killed half the hydra agents and wiped out The Order of the Miraculous."

Marinette's mind was whirling, "Then how do you know about it? Hydra was destroyed by Captain America. How do you know this truth?"

Lucas gave a cynical smile, "My grandfather was a survivor of the ordeal, lived to tell the story. Like Wang Fu was given the responsibility to protect the miraculous, I was left with the responsibility to retrieve them."

"Who are you really?" Marinette went to stand, her heart racing as she felt the heat in her body flare to life.

"My name is Lucas Valentino, owner of this building you are in- as in many just like this. We call ourselves The Foundation for presentation sakes, but you may call us the Dark Order." Lucas came in closer, causing Marinette to lean back as in response. "Welcome to your new home, Marinette."

"I'm not staying here." Marinette spat at him.

"And who's coming to get you?" Lucas chuckled. "Tikki preformed a sacred and forbidden spell on you. She merged with you, Marinette. Do you understand what that makes you?"

No. Marinette didn't understand that at all. She didn't understand half the shit that was going on right now, and in a way everything was overwhelming. There had been a lot she didn't know, a lot that had been kept from her.

"Tikki was the goddess of creation, reincarnated maybe, but all the same. That spell was to give you her essences, in a sense, and in return that made you a reborn version. Kwami's can only merge with their human descendants. You are a basically a deity now, a goddess. Eurynome was Tikki's original name, goddess of all creation that arose from chaos and separated the sea from the sky." Lucas smiled, running a hand through his hair. Marinette couldn't help but think him crazy, seeing the deranged look in his eyes.

"It's why she is as powerful, if not more, than the mind stone. Why the kwamis tried so hard to be kept hidden." Lucas finished, a cynical smile now on his face.

"You're lying." Marinette half heartedly accused.

"You are brimming with a magic power you can't control, Marinette. I know you feel it. You alone may be enough to give Wanda Maximoff a challenge." Lucas grabbed Marinette's face, his dark eyes growing darker and hungry with power. "You are not going anywhere I will not allow you to go. Tikki did exactly what we were hoping for. You are no longer Ladybug, and you never will be again."

"You're insane." Marinette muttered, shaking her head at him. "Fucking insane." Yet that didn't even phase Lucas for a moment, she could tell by his eyes he was unbothered by her. Somehow that was starting to piss her off.

"They say the passage of time will heal all wounds, but the greater the loss, the deeper the cut and the more difficult the process is to become whole again." Lucas tells Marinette, plucking at the collar that was around her neck, ignoring her glare that now had a dull golden hue in it again as he snapped new chain cuffs to her wrists. "The pain may fade, but the scars serve as a reminder of our suffering and make the bearer all the more resolved, never to be wounded again."

Anger burned within her veins so fiercely that it would scare her normally. It would give Hawkmoth a field day with akumas, but here it gave her a sense of purpose she hadn't felt five minutes ago. "Is that what you've told yourself?" Marinette spat, pulling at her chains to prove a point. "That this is justified somehow!?"

Lucas eyes narrowed at the girl before him, clearly displeased at the defiance in her eyes. Reaching into his pocket he fished out a small remote, and without hesitation he pressed the single red button on it. The screams of Marinette Dupain-Cheng rang around the room once again as the electrical current traveled through her skin like a hurricane. In the end it left her slumped on the floor, heaving for air as she kept her head bowed down since this time it had been a stronger electric current.

"You see, this is justified." Lucas drawled out, putting a hand under her chin and lifting her face to looking him in the eyes. The pure hate and anger in her eyes sent glee down his very core. "You just became one of the most powerful people and you still don't understand. You are very special, too special to just let waste away making clothes for some other company. Together we can change the world-"

"I like the world the way it is." Marinette muttered, jerking her face out of his hand and away from him. "The world changes the way it's supposed to, balanced out. We can't tip the balance-"

"See that's where you're wrong." Lucas tisked, wiggling a single index finger in front of her face. "There are people who live in this world that can tip the balance. Carol Danvers, Wanda Maximoff, Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, Thor Odison. Anyone who is a an enhanced or let's say another miraculous holders. Then there's you, Marinette. The perfect embodiment of creation and chaos."

"Chaos isn't me-"

"You've had so much chaos inside of you for a while now that it wants to be set free." Lucas kneeled closer, his hands moving as if they were about to cup her face again, "Let me set you free. Join me and the Dark Order. You are the Guardian, I know Wang Fu passed on the ownership-"

"Fuck you." Marinette spat in his face, "Like hell I'd join your shitty resolve. World domination? I want no part of that."

"I can easily kill Peter and May Parker then." Lucas's voice took on a cold seriousness, and it was terrifying how he could switch personalities that quickly, "We looked into you Marinette. Your phone contacts has you tied with some interesting people, but those two seemed the most important to you as of now. Perhaps the only people you truly have left. Are you willing to lose them?"

"You wouldn't-"

"I would. After all, I took out your parents." Lucas's lips twitched into a sadistic smirk, "You will listen to me, follow my every order or I will kill Peter and his aunt first and go down the very short list of people you still have. Which isn't a big number anymore is it?"

Marinette stared hard into Lucas's deranged eyes, trying to weigh out her options. There was no escaping here alone without help. This was a facility, deep under ground if she had to guess. There were armed guards outside the door that would shoot her down, not fatally but it would probably still hurt. There was no Tikki, no Stephan, no kwamis or team to help her. She was completely and utterly alone. This despair threaten to swallow her up whole.

"Leave them alone." Marinette's shoulders slumped in defeat. There was only so much she could take and the breaking point was long behind her.

"I can take the pain away." Lucas gently brushed her long dark hair from her face, "You don't have to feel this hopeless feeling of greif and anger anymore. All the pain you've bottled up for so long, the weight of the world on your shoulders... I can make it all go away. Just like that." He snapped his fingers to emphasize his point.

Marinette wanted to scream and yell and cry. She wanted to be strong, to hold her head high but she felt the cracks in her soul. She felt the broken shards of her heart and soul, and as tempting as this offer was it was wrong. She was the guardian for a reason, she was here for a reason still breathing because of a sacrifice Tikki made to save her. She would not disgrace that honor.

"No." Marinette said it firmly, her eyes hardening. "No, I will not do anything willingly for you."

Anger rapidly took its place in Lucas's eyes, "Then a will is something you won't have. Get her prepped."

Marinette was quick to grab Lucas at his momentary distraction that took his attention away from her when he looked over at the mirror of her room that was no doubt a two way mirror. Her eyes burning a golden hue again as she let out a frustrated cry of anger and desperation. Before he could react, she bit him hard to draw blood and used the chains on her wrists to wrap around his neck. Her anger burned hotly again as she pulled the chains tighter around his slim neck, and she hated the satisfaction she got feeling him struggle.

Yet she couldn't stop wanting to end him for good, to get even with what he did. Marinette knew that Lucas was right about one thing, she was no longer Ladybug. She never could be again. She cried out again, feeling his struggles weakening before a scream of pure agony ripped through her again as the electric current was amplified around her neck. Lucas was loosened from her grip, coughing as he crawled away at the same time Marinette's body hit the ground unconscious.

"Sergeant, are you alright?" Nadia asks, opening the lab door into the testing room.

Lucas coughed and glared, "Have her taken to the suppressing room immediately. Her psychological conditioning begins now."


This chapter was one I had written a major part of when I first started this story. Originally it was chapter 14 but I kept finding new things to add to the plot. With that being said this was the part of the plot I had planned up too and now I will be needing to add to it, so updates will be every two weeks from now- if not once a month. My college classes will be starting so I will be trying to aim at update twice a month if I can.

I really hoped you enjoyed this chapter though! Thank you all for the continuous support. I promise I will update even if it's a little less frequent the next few months. Chemistry is going to kick my ass 😂

Also, I have decided no Adrien X Chloe, they work better as friends/siblings. Which brings up my question, which ships do you want to see in this story? I'll see which ones work best in the plot (they don't need to be canon) 😊