More drama for this next to last chapter.

Enjoy the angst!

Chapter Eight: Running against time.

"Cataclysm"

It's not the first time that word echoes in the labyrinth, but this time it's notably filled with a determination that perspires an undeniable deity strength. One that has millions of years of gathered power, experience, and expertise. And most of all, no restraint—which ends up forcing them to act very quickly.

The awaited, though unhoped, explosion echoes as thousands of shards of glass whirl around them.

Plagg did succeed; his cataclysm powerful enough to blow away the entire labyrinth at once. Now they don't have a second to waste. As the last clatter of debris falls on the ground, the reverberation of the explosion still resonates in a faint buzz, Mister Bug straightens his back and sweeps Marinette off her feet. Holding her bridal style, snuggled against his torso, he hastily vaults out of the havoc before their enemies could stop him.

Though, it doesn't take long for him to hear heavy footsteps coursing him as he carries Marinette's coma induced body. He runs as fast as he can through the remnants of what looks like a disused factory—probably located on the outskirts of Paris because he is not familiar with the surroundings.

He pushes each muscle of his body to the limit, running for his her life.

With wide strides and jumps worthy of an Olympic record, he easily finds his way through the city. Yet lacking his usual, overdeveloped feline senses, Tikki's luck seems to work on him…sort of.

As he approaches La Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital, his run comes to a forced stop, a mirror suddenly crossing his way. He curses and nimbly turns around, ready to leap to the side, but another mirror falls from the sky, completely blocking him. A third mirror follows, soon joined by a fourth, and a fifth above his head. They root him on the spot for a short while; just enough time for him to hear a voice echoing and shouting behind him.

"Please, Adrien! Wait!"

The mirror behind his back abruptly vanishes away, letting the akumatized form of Félix appear to him.

"Wait, please!" he repeats. "I mean no harm."

Mister Bug's hold on Marinette immediately tightens as he reaches for the yo-yo hooked on his hips, before he throws it, wrapping and locking his opponent's body in a tight, constrictive grip.

"One more step and I pull on the rope until you choke and pass out like Marinette, and even beyond," The hero warns him with a killer glare that would even give Hannibal Lecter the creeps.

"You wouldn't. You're not a murderer."

"He may not be... But I don't give a damn about myself. One more step, and your balls turn to ashes," Plagg hisses. Now that's a threat every bit as serious as the 14th century plague outbreak.

"Okay, okay! I would gladly raise my hands in surrender but I can't." His cousin shakes his head, motioning to the yo-yo thread. "Listen, I'm not here to fight. I'm here for Marinette. I'm here because I want to save her."

"How dare you—"

"I know which poison Lila used," he cuts the ladybug hero off.

Mister Bug freezes on the spot. His hand suddenly loses tension, causing the wire to fall loose around Felix's feet. As he fails to recover quickly, the hero unfortunately realizes the mistake induced by his stupor. Though against all odds, his cousin raises his hands, not trying anything.

"See? I'm on your side right now." He waves his hands above his head and slowly takes a step closer.

Though Mister Bug hastily takes a step back.

"Why would you do that?" The ladybug hero inquires, on the lookout for another low blow. Another betrayal. Talk about family... He learned a lot more than he thought he would in the last few hours and none of the latest updates have been good to hear... What had he done to deserve to end up in a family of villains?

"I want to save her for the same reason you fought for her the past hours." Narciso's gaze flickers from his cousin's face to Marinette's, his features softening. "All those months spent spying on both of you to set up our plan with Lila... I may have failed to notice that you were Paris's heroes, but I didn't fail to notice what a wonderful woman Marinette is." His voice grows gentler, abnormally subdued.

"You… Did you fall in love with her?" Mister Bug makes a face, bile rising in his throat and leaving a bitter taste in his mouth. "You can't be serious?!"

It's the pot calling the kettle black, if you asked him.

The bile gathering inside of his cheeks bubbles into a laugh, bursting out like the cork of a bottle of champagne popping open. "Marinette is not the Stockholm Syndrome type, you know," he tells him as he tightens his arms around her body. "You're a jerk, Félix. A vicious, disgusting jerk."

"I may be a jerk…" he pauses, closing his eyes and clenching his fists before a guttural growl leaves his mouth and he breaks free. His eyes snap open as a white butterfly flutters above his head, leaving Félix falling on his knees.. "...but I'm not a murderer either. The poison Lila gave to her is called Belladonna."

"Deadly nightshade," Mister Bug ponders. Ironic considering that Lila chose to give some to Ladybug, his Lady, from all; in Italian, Belladonna literally means Beautiful Lady (it's a reddish bell-shaped flower with shiny black berries to top it all off). "Why would I trust you?" he then asks through gritted teeth.

"Because you don't have any other choice than to trust me for once. You don't have time to waste," Félix snaps back. "Marinette has already shown a lot of symptoms, the next stage...is atropine-induced cardiorespiratory arrest. Besides, Lila will be here any minute now that I've broken contact. And I can assure you that she won't be pleased."

"None of my business," the hero spits as he steps closer. "You deserve whatever is going to happen to you." He points his finger on his cousin's chest, his glare filled with hate.

"Thanks for the reminder. You're welcome for the help though," Félix snorts.

"I don't owe you anything, if we're in this shit in the first place, it's your fault!" Mister Bug shouts as he clenches his fist and sends it straight in his cousin's nose, feeling the damn thing break under his blow. "Now if you let me, I once again have to fix what you've done!"

With these last words, he leaves Félix's body lying on the ground and resumes his way to the hospital as fast as he can.

"I need help!" Flinging the double door of the ER wide open, Mister Bug rushes through the corridors straight to the first room he finds with an empty bed in it. "Somebody get over here right now!" he shouts, drawing the attention of the medical staff towards Marinette and himself. He carefully lays his partner down on the bed whilst two nurses hurry to run beside the two of them.

One of them hastens to carry out the usual protocol and links Marinette to different machines in order to check her vitals, while the other turns to Mister Bug with a questioning look.

"Where's Ladybug?" She shamelessly studies him from head to toe, undoubtedly skeptical to see someone else wearing the ladybug suit.

He couldn't hide his uneasy reaction, his gaze instantly shifting to his partner laying on that sickbed. And not to help his current discomfort, the nurse happens to be pretty insightful.

"Oh. I see. Can you tell me her name? and what happened?"

"Marinette. Her name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng. She's been poisoned."

The nurse's eyes widened, blinking at him in utter confusion. "Are you sure of what you're affirming?"

"I'm sure. She was given belladonna from Atlas," he sternly states. "This is a heroes' business and too long to explain, but as you can guess, it is a very serious matter."

"Okay, okay. I believe y—"

Suddenly, One of the machines to which Marinette is currently attached begins to go crazy, the dreadful beeping sounds drawing Mister Bug beside her in a flash.

"What's going on?!" he inquires, concern creeping up all over his face.

"The atropine contained in the belladonna disturbs her heart. She won't hold on for long. We need to act quickly," she explains before turning to her colleague. "We give her 20 cc of IV amiodarone and prepare her for gastric lavage."

As the nurse gives her orders, the wild beeping coming from the vital parameters monitor turns into a persistent one, making the hero's heart sink as much as his Lady's as he sees the line on the monitor flattening: Marinette's heartbeat stopped.

"Get an ICU cart immediately!" The nurse calls. "I need a defibrillator right now for a code red!"

Mister Bug watches helplessly as the nurses clear Marinette of any clothing and jewelry before applying electrodes to her bare chest. Not standing to just look at her sinking, his body moves instinctively, making his way beside the bed to grab one of Marinette's hands in his. At that very moment, he doesn't care who's around listening to him; he just needs to show her he's there with her and is relying on her to come back. "Hold for me, M'lady. Please!" He brings her hand to his lips, kissing it lingeringly as his whole body begins to shake with sobs. "Please~"

"Sir, you must step aside and let us do our job!" A newcomer in the room (a doctor as he can guess from the change in color of his blouse) shouts at him as he begins to perform CPR on Marinette.

"I can't leave her, you don't understand. I can't live without her." His voice breaks with the hurt he feels deep within; he can't lose her, not after just finding her and learning that she loves him too.

"I understand perfectly, Mr Noir. I wasn't born yesterday," the nurse who's tilted Marinette's head back to intubate her before starting to manually ventilate her tells him, implying that she knows who's really standing in front of her. "Everyone in Paris knows how much she means to you, and if you want to be able to see her again, you'll have to leave this room and let me do what I'm here for. You know how to kick a villain's ass, and I know how to kick a heart to make it beat again. We each have our part to play today"

Sniffing, Mister Bug nods and steps backward, leaving the room as he stares at the door shutting close before his hopeless, defeated gaze.

Soon, he's lulled by a word that will probably haunt him for the rest of his life coming from the other side of the door.

"Clear!"