Hey guys and gals! College still sucks. Nothing new there. Lets jump in to the story!

Dupain-Cheng Bakery

Sabine was the first to stop crying. She knew her impromptu first aid would not hold for long. Marinette's skin was still losing its color as it turned white from the blood loss. Although every fiber in her body to her to stay right there on the floor with her daughter, Sabine rose to her feet. They needed to cauterize the wound. They needed to-

Had Sabine never stood up, she probably wouldn't have noticed the young boy standing in the door of the balcony. But she did. And not only that, Sabine's attention drew sharp on the glaring red hand print soaked with tears.

"Did your father-?" Sabine wanted to ask. Adrien quickly reached a hand to his face, wincing when he felt the bruise. That was all the answer she needed. It was none of her business. Sabine knew that, yet she had to ask. She was a mother. These children were suffering and they needed to be protected. They needed to be safe, and it was no secret that Gabriel Agrest lacked a single drop of compassion. Sabine, on the other hand, had a heart that could provide the love she knew the young boy needed. Without hesitance, Sabine welcomed Adrien into her arms.

Adrien melted into Sabine's hug. Love, he thought. When has father ever shown me such free and unwavering love. The only one who ever has-

The weight of reality crashed down on Adrien without warning. Here he was weeping about his daddy-issues when the love of his life, his precious Buggaboo, was bleeding out on the floor. He pulled away from Sabine's motherly embrace and began to panic at the bloodied scene.

"NO!" He screamed as Marinette's eyes began to close. "PLEASE! YOU CAN'T LEAVE! You can't leave me- If you leave, who will the next one be? KEEP YOUR EYES OPEN! PLEASE!" Adrien collapsed next to the girl. He almost whimpered. "Please, m'Lady... I still need you."

"Tikki..." Plagg began, but he had to pause as he wiped tears from his face. He couldn't help Marinette with his powers being destruction, but maybe Tikki could- " Can you fix he-"

Tikki didn't even let the sentence finish forming before she cried out a reverberating 'no'. "I am creation, Plagg! If I even tried... the most I could do is regenerate the outer skin." Tikki's voice grew quiet. She didn't want to admit that her attempts to help her beloved holder, would kill the girl. Plagg, however, wanted an answer. He reached over to console the red kwami, but Tikki recoiled away from him. "... Even if I tried... the bleeding wouldn't stop. The wound would simply become internal..."

Sabine understood what she was trying to say. While Plagg and Adrien waited for Tikki to finish her sentence, she ran to the bakery downstairs armed with a plan of her own. I'm sorry, my child. This is gonna hurt. Sabine had to cauterize the wound now. There were no other options. She grabbed the small blow torch used to roast meringues. This will do, she thought. In her haste up the stairs, Sabine briefly noted that Tom was still asleep and she was glad. He would have been angry and dramatic. Those were the last thing she needed to deal with right now.

"I've got the torch! Move out of the way!" Sabine called as she ran to her daughter.

None of the others had even noticed her slip away, but they moved away at her request. Was Marinette going to die? Adrien couldn't bear the thought. I won't let her. I won't let her leave. I can't. I can't lose anyone else. Haven't I lost enough for one day?

Plagg knew Adrien needed him, but so did Tikki. Unlike Adrien who was still in a mix of shock and tears, Tikki was doing everything she could to help Sabine. Tikki will be okay, Plagg knew it was exaggeration considering the circumstance, but Adrien needed him more.

"Kid-" Plagg flew infront of the boy's face. "Look-" Maybe that was the wrong choice of words. Adrien's eyes did not leave the bluenette's body. "Adrien! Look at me. It will be okay. We are not gonna let anything happen to her, but you need to calm down before you work yourself into a panic attack." Adrien finally turned away, unable to look at the horrifying scene any longer. He chose to seek comfort from the cat kwami over staring at the mess around him.

"Plagg-" Adrien began a sentence, but his voice failed with the quivering of his lip. He was scared. No. He was terrified, but Plagg was right. Him having a panic attack would not do any good. "How-? Why-?"

"I'm so sorry, kid." Plagg hadn't known. If he had, there was no way he would have brought his kitten here. He hated seeing the boy hurt. Adrien needed him now. Plagg refused to let him down. "Adrien, I didn't know- I swear! If I had known she was injured-"

"If you had known, Plagg," Adrien almost didn't want to ask, but the endless fears clouding his mind needed answers. "-would you have... Would you have still brought me... here?" There, he asked it. The words were out. All he could do was wait for an answer. An answer that not even Plagg knew.

"I-" Plagg had no words for he had no clue. Plagg had absolutely no idea, and maybe that was for the best. "I don't know, kid. I just don't know."

A gurgled scream errupted from Marinette's mouth, but Tikki muffled it with a pillow as to not alert the near by neighbors.

"There! It's done!" Sabine rejoiced, but it was short lived. The girl was near death by the time her mother finished her work. She desperately needed a hospital.

"Sabin-" Tikki voiced her panic.

"We need to move her to the car..." Sabine announced. Plagg and Adrien shot up at her voice. This was their job. Neither wasted time to transform and pick up the dying girl.

"We will meet you there!" Chat Noir called to Sabine as he jumped away from the bakery with the girl cradled in his arms.

Tikki flew into Sabine's pocket as Sabine ran after the superhero.

Hospital (Tom and Sabine)

The girl was admitted to the hospital nearly an hour ago. Tom was called shortly after, but he had already been on his way. Apparently, he had woke up shortly after they group left and while climbing the stairs to wake Marinette, he recognized the metallic sent of blood. Seeing the blood, however, sent him running out the door.

The hospital staff asked few questions upon seeing the cauterized wound and burned flesh. They had hooked the girl up to several machines, few of which Sabine recognized. Blood was being pumped into the ravenette from small bags, and Sabine sat by the bed holding her child's hand. Tom sat on the opposite side of the hospital bed in a position similar Sabine, now wide awake with fear. Marinette, who had nearly died, was finally regaining some color to her skin. This was a small victory, but it didn't stop Tom from pondering the events which had gone down that night.

He had been given a summary of the events and while shocked at his daughter's super hero career, Tom was consumed with grief. He never even noticed her pain. Sure, she hid it well, but he was her father. Princess, Tom sighed with wet tears clinging to his cheeks. I failed you. I had no clue. If your mother- If she hadn't paid attention to your recent hobbies... Tom didn't want to finish that thought. He couldn't change the past. No one could. There was no point in asking the 'what-ifs' he conjured. Tom redirected his focus to the present. I promise- We will get through this. When you wake up, we are gonna sit down and discuss further steps. Tom scoffed at his own thoughts. There wasn't going to be any discussion of further steps. He and Sabine knew that after this incident it would be best to send Marinette off to a private school. The only real debate was which one. Casting a glance at his daughter, Tom made a vow. You don't have to hurt anymore, Princess. Papa is here, and I won't let anything hurt you ever again.

Hospital (Plagg, Tikki and Adrien)

The images of Marinette haunted everyone. No one could escape the torment of the evening. Plagg andTikki sat on the floor nestled in the corner of Adrien's hospital room. He had been admitted to the hospital with his minor facial injury, but he was scarred beneath the surface. None of the nurses could find anything else wrong with him because they simply didn't know. They didn't know that Adrien was Chat Noir or that his Ladybug was in the room next to him with a fatal wound. He didn't expect them to know. He really didn't care about the nurses. He just wanted to be near Marinette.

Plagg and Tikki weren't any better off. Plagg had spent some time trying to console Tikki through his own pain, but this was too much, even for him. Tikki finally managed to pull herself together after Sabine had slipped in to update them on Marinette's condition. Marinette is going to survive, Tikki felt relieved at the news. Marinette is strong enough to pull through. I am going to be strong too. For Mari.

With a new resolve, Tikki shot up out of her sorrow and moved towards Plagg's holder. Adrien probably could have worn a hole in the floor with his pacing. He kept walking back and forth while his thoughts ran wild, and Tikki could tell what they were about. Marinette would be okay. It was Adrien's turn to receive Tikki's full attention.

"Adrien? Adrien, sit down. We still need to talk about this." Tikki spoke, gesturing to the bruise across his face. Adrien stopped for a minute and stared at Tikki, as if only just now realizing she was there.

"Tikki? What are you doing here? Why aren't you with-?" Adrien asked, the panic raising with every word he voiced. He was about to mention Marinette when Tikki cut him off. She did not want to get sucked back into her sadness. She needed to be here for him. This is what Marinette would have done, Tikki thought.

"Marinette is going to be fine." Tikki voiced. "She is stronger than anyone knows. She can do it, but she needs us to be there when she wakes up. She needs you." Tikki knew very well that Marinette needed her and her parents too, but Tikki's current goal was to be there for Adrien. He was also hurting.

"She is?" Adrien asked, the small gleam of hope returning to his dulled eyes. He gave a smile that would have fooled anyone else. Anyone except Plagg or Marinette.

"Yes, she is. Sabine came in a while ago and told us..." Plagg joined Tikki's side. He recognized this Tikki. This was the Tikki who loved unconditionally and offered life advice. This Tikki was strong. She was going to take back control, and Plagg was going to stay by her side. He was going to be her support.

"Marinette is okay." Tikki reaffirmed. "Now, sit down." Adrien opened his mouth to retaliate, but Tikki shot him a glare. Even Adrien knew that Tikki meant business when the nice sweet kwami glared.

Plagg followed Adrien to the hospital bed and sat on his shoulder. Tikki, however, chose to float in front of the broken boy. Plagg had told her of his home life once, and she knew that it was bad. Like Plagg, though, Tikki never expected Gabriel 'Hawkmoth' Agrest to become physically abusive. Yes; he is a villain. He is cruel. He is a disgusting, sick, sad excuse of a father, but he had never hit the model before today. Tikki thought. Or was it yesterday? By this point, everyone had lost track of the time. Not that it mattered anyways.

While Tikki rambled on in her head, the weight of the silence grew. And grew. And Adrien didn't like silence.

"So-" He tried to relieve the silence, but speaking only made it worse. Every event of the day piled on his mind. He didn't want to think about any of it, but the images were glued to the forefront of his mind. His father. His Partner. His friend.

"We need to talk about your father..." Plagg knew it was one of Adrien's least favorite topics, but the slap still rang in his ears. No kid should suffer the abusive of their parents, especially not his kitten.

"I'm fine"

"Adrien, don't lie to me-"

"Really. I'm fin-"

"NO! YOU'RE NOT!" Forgetting where he was, Plagg growled directly into Adrien's ear. While not his intention, it certainly got the blonde to shut up and listen. Plagg huffed. "You are not fine."

"I know."

"I don't think you do." Plagg glared at the boy. He knew what the boy suffered more than he cared to share, but this was important. "Every night... You are broken on the floor. And you're crying. He has done this all before-"

"Wait a second, Plagg. Father may not be there for me but this was the first time-"

"AND YOU'RE LYING!" Plagg screamed. He hated how evil and manipulative Gabriel was. Adrien was so broke that he had begun to believe these lies he told himself. Adrien needs to see the truth. Plagg opened his mouth to lash out at the child, but Tikki beat him to it.

"You are lying to yourself. Adrien. Open your eyes. You are lying to yourself if you think that he'll find help. He can't change and become someone else." Tikki spoke low and soft. She knew this was hard on him. Unlike Plagg, her previous holder had experienced abuse. The child had been trained to believe lies and put their faith in someone with no love to give. Tikki knew about the abuse, and she wasn't able to help then. This time would be different.

"But he-" Adrien didn't want to accept the truth, but he knew it was true. He couldn't hide from the facts now. This was new. This was wrong. But this was real. The bruise was real. The pain was real. The truth was out. "I-" Adrien couldn't speak. There were no words left to say.

"Adrien," Tikki sighed. She had tried to be gentle, but this was the kind of topic that hit hard no matter how you approach it. "You are not alone." Tikki flew to wipe his tears and whispered, "We are here."

Plagg, who had been silent for a while, chose this moment to chime in. "You don't have to hurt anymore. We are never going to leave you. Marinette is never going to leave you. Neither will Chloe or Kagami."

Adrien looked up at this, and for the first time that evening, he smiled. Tikki and Plagg shared a smile before tackling Adrien in a kwami hug.

Sabine watched the beautiful scene from the door way, unsure of how to enter the space.

She had been intending to talk to Adrien about his home situation. I guess they beat me to it. Sabine smiled.

"I'm glad to see you smile, Adrien." Tom spoke from behind Sabine.

"Sir?" Adrien jumped from his position on the bed with two kwami following behind him. "How is she?" His initial calm was flooded with anxiety. Marinette. Is she okay? Is she awake? Is she-? Tom smiled at the boy's care for his child, and with the smile Tom erased Adrien's fears.

"Calm down, son." Tom hadn't meant to let it slip, but Adrien's face when he called the boy 'son' was funny. Still, now was not the time for that conversation. "Marinette just woke up."

"And she was asking to see you." Sabine finished the sentence with a smile. She almost laughed at how slow Adrien was to process the news. Almost. Adrien rushed to out of the room, leaving his own worries behind in favor of reaching his best friend. The black cat-like blob simply phased through the walls to take a more direct path while the red blob hesitated.

"Thank you," Tikki smiled at Sabine before joining her counter part in the room with her holder.

Alright! That's the end of the chapter. I'll post the next bit soon.