Chapter Three: Lost

Why couldn't she move? Something in the deep recesses of her mind whispered, caressing along the darkest expanses of her mind. It soothed the panic welling up from the pit of her being, calming her inner fears. It was strangely familiar.

You're safe.

An exhale of breath echoed along her thoughts, and for the barest of moments, an outline erupted in the center of her soul. Such a delicate looking creature, and the sense of intimacy crawling through every inch of her form almost scared her. The entity emanated….so much love. Just as quickly, the image dissipated, the glimmering particles cascading along her spirit.

"She's waking," a woman's voice cracked, the words laden with concern and tears. Marinette knew that voice far too well. Even though it spoke beyond the veil of her consciousness, she would recognize it, always, and forever.

"Mom," she croaked softly, unsure if the word actually dripped from her throbbing mouth. Each minute movement she endeavored along the muscles of her face pulled some unseen injury. "How long…"

"Only a few hours. Chat Noir rushed you in after his battle with the Akuma."

That made the bluenette's eyes fly open, pulling her back off the hospital bed. She immediately regretted the motion as her body screamed a definitive protest, but more painfully, the light assaulted her sensitive orbs, forcing them closed once more.

Kitty had brought her in?

Kitty? The soft voice almost giggled, expelling positive energy along her body, but it still held an edge of teasing.

Waving the unwanted intrusion aside, it didn't change the underlying statement. Chat…whom she'd just scolded before….had rushed her to safety?

Of course he did. The voice was brusque, and decidedly male in origin. However, unlike the soft entity…this one was new to her. He's a hero of Paris. He's not going to leave some worthless civilian to die, no matter the circumstance.

"Is he okay?" The shrillness in her tone made the teen cringe against the sound. The woman needed to block out the new voice in her head. Something about it slid ice into the core of her being, promising a seductive darkness. She didn't know what it was, however; she didn't want to listen to it any longer.

Hands touched her shoulders, coaxing her form back to a lying position. "He's quite alright, honey. We're more worried about you. Chat stayed for awhile, but ultimately needed to go."

He…had stayed? Why would he do that for her? It didn't make much sense in the grand scheme. He was the only hero left in Paris. Even the other Miraculous wielders had disappeared. After the unfortunate death of…

"We needed to put a few stitches in your head, and your arm was initially dislocated, but other than that, you've only suffered minor scrapes, cuts, and bruises." The man's voice was steady, and she was sure it was the doctor, so she gave a nod of understanding, desperate to get her frantic pulse under control.

"Tired." She wasn't sure the word left the barrier of her mouth before tumbling back into the musings of her own mind.

***Later that morning***

Marinette couldn't contain the sharp shades of crimson threatening her cheeks as her classmates huddled around Alya's and her desks. She remained pinned under their horrified and awestruck gazes, making her squirm with unease. The biggest issue that slid with languid familiarity through her body was the sense of scrutiny. She felt them judging her.

Light brown and blue hues hovered around the left corner of her mouth when she'd awoken in the hospital during the early morning hours. Staring into the mirror, she'd noticed the mild swelling around her lower lip, puffy and out of place with the rest of the soft expanse. However, the cut above her right eyebrow had pulled her attention.

The stitches in her head itched, but overall, she felt the weight of each person's gaze when they looked at her injuries. Nothing would escape the scrutiny of teenage eyes, and she felt helpless against the onslaught.

"We saw the news," Rose squeaked, pressing her fingertips to her pink coated lips. "We know there was an attack at Chat's club last night!"

"Yeah, and we saw the video of the encounter on the Ladyblog, so dish the details," Alix chimed in.

The bluenette cringed, shifting in her seat as the memory of it washed over her form. She still couldn't understand what came over her. Even watching the posted content left her little clues as to why her blood had coursed with such determination. In fact, viewing the event, she looked like an entirely different person as she rushed the Akuma.

"How do you always find the danger, babe?" Nino touched the brim of his hat, sighing. "I mean, we haven't had an Akuma since Hawk Moth died, and the first one to appear and, you're on the scene."

"I'm just that good," the caramel skinned journalist boasted, but the words were laced with an edge of sadness.

Marinette's eyes slid sideways a little to regard her best friend, noting the melancholy in her normally bright golden eyes. She used to love the adventure, so what had her so down about this particular encounter?

Juleka's soft voice broke the ensuing silence. "Were you scared?"

The bluenette was trying desperately to sink into her chair, and preferably, into a continued state of nonexistence if she were lucky. The entire conversation, whilst people were praising or begging for details, she stole glances into Nate's seething blue eyes.

The fiery anger raging behind his stare left a modicum of dread deep in the confines of her belly, and she knew that it wasn't going to end well. In fact, she felt the first tendrils of fear licking up her spine, because she had never seen such fury in that face before. Why?

"I'm never scared to take on a case!"

"You guys were lucky Chat Noir was there!" Mylène cooed, clapping her hands together.

"He is pretty awesome," Alya admitted with a faux wounded look from Nino.

"Oh, I don't know," Adrien's voice penetrated the circle, and the group parted for him. "I saw the video, and it looks like he got distracted. If he hadn't, Mari wouldn't have gotten hurt."

She was trying desperately not to look his way. Anything to avoid seeing those vibrant emerald orbs on her. She couldn't bear the weight of his criticism or concern.

"That's not fair," Alix interjected.

"Isn't it though?" He scoffed beyond her field of vision. "I'm just pointing out what I saw. He was distracted by his own anger, and if Marinette had not intervened, the Akuma would have owned him." He laughed, but the sound was bitter all the way to the core. "However, she also got hurt because of it." The words ignited rage in the forbidden parts of her soul, and it bubbled over, filling her body with liquid fire as her childhood crush continued. "He was worthless."

Her fists cracked the wood of her desk before she realized she was on her feet, propelled by her indignant fury. Her normally kind blue eyes narrowed at the man. "You have no right," she spat. "He's a hero!"

Adrien looked taken aback, but the image didn't last. His face rippled, morphing into a mask of calculated calm, leaving a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Some hero," he countered, his intense gaze piercing her mind in more aspects than she was prepared to handle. He infiltrated her with his stare in ways she couldn't explain. "He should have protected you better…he should have saved—"

The corners of her mind melted as those pinpoints. His eyes penetrated everything inside of her existence. Why should one person have such influence? Why should one person…a boy she barely engaged with…have such a power?

Soft lips grazed hers, if only in a memory. The eyes that stared back at her were metaphysical green, pulling the love and strength from deep within upwards to the surface. She trusted those more than anything she could remember. Those were the eyes of determination and love…but…why couldn't she see his face?

"Mari?"

Alya's voice shattered the fragmented dream cascading along her mind, and the result left her breathless in the faceless sea of her classmates. They melded together, not a singular entity standing alone as her heart choked her. She couldn't think. She couldn't breathe beyond the sight of those beautiful eyes….caring…strong…reckoning….lost along the hopeless desperation of a forgotten fantasy.

"I—" Her words choked her on the egress, and in her panic, watching the expectant eyes of her friends…she ran.

***POV Change***

The blonde sat atop his roof, staring across the twilight as his thoughts drifted away. He couldn't explain the Akuma the day before, and it was gnawing a pathway through his mind that left a path of doubt. It couldn't be.

"Hawk Moth is dead," he said firmly, metaphysical eyes shifting back and forth before dropping his gaze to his boots.

Yeah, I can't say I know what's going on either.

Great, that wasn't a good sign. Sure, Plagg could be vague, beat around the proverbial bush, and downright refuse to reveal things, but he couldn't remember a time where he was absolutely at a loss as to the general situation.

The feline slid into his bedroom window, staring around the space he'd been accustomed to his entire life, sighing. He planned on moving out after graduation this year, but he should have done it already. So much pain filled his childhood home, and although he'd built a wall against the unwanted melancholy, he still could never shake the memories of so many disappointments and false truths. Plus…his mother…

He gave a sharp shake of his head. "Claws in."

Plagg swirled into physical existence, already pilfering the offered cheese Adrien wordlessly offered. "We'll figure it out," the Kwami offered softly around his food, the words muffled.

"Hopefully," he replied, trying to give the ancient a confident smile for his rare encouraging words, but he knew the gesture didn't quite reach the depths of his eyes. "Get some rest."

The teen sat at his desk by the window as the obsidian being drifted lazily towards the large bed. He stared out through the glass barrier, feeling the gentle wind against his face as the stars glittered in the Parisian night sky.

His mind pictured Marinette, hurt, bruised, and his teeth grit together until his jaw ached. He shouldn't have been so distracted by his own fury. He had erupted in the pits of his heart, possessing him…and he'd been blinded.

He'd come to terms with his father's demise, mostly, but Ladybug was still a very bitter spot for him. He hadn't come to her rescue. He hadn't been her knight. He hadn't been the shield he'd always been, and it cost her life. It was his fault, and he knew it in the recesses of his forever aching soul.

Now, another girl he cared for, a friend, had gotten hurt because he couldn't protect her. He couldn't keep his head in the game. She'd stepped in and saved him. It surprised the feline hero, and for an instance, he saw a fire in her he never noticed before. Had she always had such spirit in her?

"If you keep sighing like that, I won't be able to sleep," Plagg muttered half-heartedly, pulling a chuckle from Adrien.

"Sorry." The man pushed away from his desk, climbing the steps to the upper floor of his room. He didn't know what was going on, and he was alone. With no Ladybug, if a new Hawk Moth had risen…they were in true danger. There was nobody to purify the tainted beings.

He touched one of the black panel set along the shelving, popping the door open. It revealed a safe with a biometric panel and keypad. He entered the code easily.

"Please scan," the female electronic voice prompted, and he placed his palm against the interface. "Identity accepted."

The locks tumbled and he turned the crank, pulling the door open, deftly reaching inside. He squeezed the object in his fist, closing the safe as he slid down to his ass, back against the wall of books and cds.

He pressed his clenched fingers to his forehead, and the first sting of tears touched his eyes. "I can't do it," he whispered, the first sob breaking free. The sound strangled him, tightening his throat into a burning knot as the tears spilled free. "I can't do this without you," he croaked.

He opened his wavering green orbs, staring at the single object in his palm. He saw the fine cracks along the dark surface, knowing it would never come to life again. He only wished he had found the other one. Either way, it was never going to replace her.

AUTHOR NOTES: Thank you for bearing with me! I promise it'll get better…I hope !

Mo0nyMoon, I'm glad that you found the chapter good! It makes me feel better about continuing. I hope each chapter is suited to your liking! Thanks for being here for me!

A-Circus-Of-One, I'm very ecstatic you liked it! I hope you enjoy this one as well! I promise to try to update frequently!