Travelling by messenger god was fast but nauseating. The world rushed by in an indecipherable blur of colour, her stomach feeling more like she had left it behind at take off. Since Alix made her promise not to throw up, Marinette crunched her eyes closed and held on. It didn't feel like more than a moment before her feet were steady on the dirt ground beneath her and Alix was vanishing off into the sunrise.
It took a moment to get her bearings as her insides attempted to catch up with her body. Praying silently that Adrien had somehow managed to stop Gabriel, or at the very least slow him down, she ran in the direction of her parent's bakery. The door rattled on its hinges when she burst through. Pans clattered as her father jumped in surprise, her mother's eyes wide as they discovered their daughter at the door.
"Marinette?"
"Have to run. Fire is coming." If she could just keep her family safe somehow…..
She didn't have time to answer their immediate questions, instead trying to corral them out the door.
"Are you sure you aren't overreacting?" her father asked, refusing to move. Very carefully, very intentionally, Marinette looked her father in the eyes before uttering a single, important word.
"No."
With that, the brawny man untied his apron strings, threw it on the counter, and grasped his wife by the elbow before heading out to the streets.
"Thank you, Papa," Marinette breathed, following behind them. "Just don't go toward the mountains. He's coming that way." Her parents nodded.
"Are you coming with us?" Mama's eyes were worried, especially after Marinette shook her head. Suddenly, arms were around her, crushing her in a family hug between her mother and father that left her both comforted and sad at the same time.
"I'm sorry I failed you," she whispered. Her mother's hands pulled her cheeks to make her look directly in her eyes.
"You haven't failed us, Marinette. You never have. Now, let's get people out of this village."
A bustle of motion had both her parents yelling through the streets, banging on doors, and urging people who were barely awake to gather some belongings and head to somewhere safe. Marinette herself raced from house to house, desperate to make sure as many people as possible were out of the village before Gabriel arrived.
The fire was too hot, the smell of burnt wood too overpowering, his body aching too much, the lack of air suffocating. Adrien lay on the floor of his house, face pressed against the ground as he fought to get to his feet. Marinette was in danger. Everything screamed at him in pain. Mortality hurt.
"That was pretty stupid." Plagg's voice by his ear drawled. "What's the plan now? Die?"
It seemed like a valid option.
"You better not seriously be considering that."
Adrien opened his eyes to glare as his companion. Stupid little pest. With a grunt, Adrien forced himself to a wavering stand, wondering exactly how he could get out of the house without being burnt alive. It looked like every wall of his house was on fire, red and orange battling each other over the timber walls with large clouds of smoke billowing around the room like a thundercloud of ash.
"We need to get out of here," he coughed, debating the idea of rushing the door with his shoulder and wondering how strong his mortal body actually was. Plagg followed his eye-line and snorted in disapproval.
"If you have any better ideas, Plagg, I'm all ears." The cat just tilted his head a moment as if listening. It took him a moment longer, but finally, Adrien heard a noise too. On the other side of the wall yelled Nino's voice, shouting Adrien's name. Adrien shouted back in confirmation that he was still alive.
Suddenly, a wave of water hit the house, making the fire hiss like a snake screeching in agony as the fire flickered and writhed its way into submission. The moment the flames at the door were calm enough, Adrien bolted to the frame, slamming himself into the thick wood with a pained grunt. The door gave way under the assault, sending him sprawling awkwardly to the ground. Nino's hands dragged him away from the house.
Coughs racked his lungs from the smoke he'd breathed in, watching his house burning to the ground. It was unsalvageable.
"What the hell is going on, Dude? Gabriel is on a rampage. Thought for sure you were going to be ashes in there."
"Nearly was." Adrien looked at the other God beside his friend - a towering hulk of a man named Kim. The God of Water. "Thanks."
"No problem. Glad I could help."
Pushing himself to his feet, Adrien brushed the soot from his skin, sharing a nervous look with Plagg before returning his attention to his friend.
"Where is Gabriel now?"
As word spread, the streets filled with villagers in a state of panic. Marinette felt eyes staring at her, the guilt of failure weighing heavily on her shoulders as she waved people towards the edge of town.
"Marinette!" A familiar voice caused her to turn from her task in just enough time to brace herself for a pair of arms and body to be thrown at her. Momentarily stunned, she grappled with the arms clutching at her. Alya. Her best friend.
"I heard you were here!" Alya exclaimed, looking Marinette up and down with an embarrassingly appraising stare. "What's this I hear about the Fire God preparing to burn down the village? What happened? Did you drop his favourite mug and he got angry?"
Marinette couldn't help but smile at the blunt curiosity that her friend always possessed.
"It's complicated," Marinette muttered, making Alya's eyes narrow in instant suspicion. "I kind of ended up with his son by mistake." Alya's reaction was immediate, the roundness of her suddenly widened eyes matching the perfect "o" of her mouth, before she let out an unholy screech.
"You WHAT?!"
There wasn't time to gossip or dive into the details that she could see Alya desperately longed for.
"Please, Alya. Run from the village and be safe. I need to know the people I love are safe."
A loud set of screams in the centre of the village drew their attention towards the central fire. Standing in the middle of the blaze stood a large figure, engulfed in writhing flames.
Blazing golds and reds waved in pulses of flickering slow-motion controlled with nothing more than a single gesture. Marinette felt her heart drop to her feet as panic weighed heavily against her. It was too late. Adrien had failed - the God of Fire was in the village. Screams of the people around her rattled heavily in her ears.
No. It was her. She had failed the people in this village and now they would pay the ultimate price of destruction and chaos. The blazing figure in the middle of her village terrified her. If Adrien had failed to stop his father and he was a God, what could she do as nothing but a human?
"Where is my Bride?" A voice called from the flames, crackling and raging with unfurled anger.
Her jaw clenched in rigid determination. God or not, she would do anything she could to save her village. Steeling herself to action, she turned and shoved Alya with a shout to run for cover before breaking out into a sprint towards the centre of town, skidding to a halt as close as she dared to the flames. The heat singed even from where she stopped, the feeling prickling on her skin as she stood her feet proudly on the ground. Hands clenched into fists at her side, she raised her head in defiance.
"I'm here."
The figure in the flames growled, spinning to face her direction. Somehow, even with the fire dancing around him, she could still make out the features of a man who once might have been as handsome as his son. The fire that raged in his eyes had nothing to do with the ones that blazed around him, changing that elegance into a twisted emotion that could only be described as ugly. A moment of pity flashed through her as she watched him stare at her in return.
"So, it was you who betrayed me." The ice in his words despite the heat surprised her. "You who betrayed this village you claim to care about. I hope my son was worth it."
The motion, when it came, was smooth. He kept his eyes locked on hers as his arm raised, an almost indecipherable flick of fingers igniting an explosion to his left. Villagers ran screaming as buildings set ablaze in nothing more than a flash, the timbers settling into a loud crackling burn in a single breath.
Marinette tried not to flinch at the casual destruction of someone's home, forcing herself to keep her eyes on Gabriel. This was the monster that she had been warned of. A man who cared about nothing. A God who had the power to manipulate the village with fear, forcing them to do his bidding without care.
Another flash of light brought flames to a building on the other side of the town centre.
"Please, Gabriel. It was all just a mistake. I didn't know. I am prepared to be your wife. Please don't destroy my village. Please!" She dropped to her knees in front of him, silently begging him to listen to reason. His eyes narrowed, hand raised to singe something else.
She bowed her head, closing her eyes against his stubborn fiery heat. Maybe he would take his anger out on her alone and spare the rest of the village. There was nothing more she could do.
"Stop!" a voice shouted, reverberating off the walls of the buildings that weren't on fire. Marinette's eyes popped open to stare at the face behind the voice - Kagami.
He wasn't going to make it in time. He knew he couldn't reach the village before the flames he could see in the distance engulfed the buildings. Stumbling over his frustratingly sluggish feet, Adrien forced himself to keep moving down the mountainside. Somewhere near those flames was Marinette. He'd already failed to protect her village. He couldn't fail to protect her too.
Plagg seemed anxious beside him, zipping back and forth with unusual activity. Maybe he missed the thrill of running numbly like the cat too. He wouldn't allow himself to dwell on the thought, keeping his eyes focused on the pathway so he wouldn't stumble. They couldn't help but flicker to the village ahead, wincing as the evidence of his father's rage increased.
It seemed to be an infinite distance between the mountain and the village, his mortal lungs screaming at with abuse at the pace he pushed forwards with. Surely, he could do something to stop the madness. Something to save her and her family. Surely he wasn't too late.
His legs threatened to give out as he passed the gate of the village, staring at the flames devouring the buildings from the centre of town. His father did this. His father. A man so filled with rage and sorrow that he thought he had some kind of right to destroy the lives of this human village without consequence. Fury bubbled beneath his skin at the idea. He wanted nothing to do with this man. Nothing at all.
Pushing past the houses, Adrien skid to a halt as they gave way to the open space in the middle of the village. The people were in chaos, screaming and clutching their children as they raced away from the inferno. Standing in the centre of the community fire was Gabriel, his arms extended with his body consumed by the flames he controlled.
Opposite him knelt Marinette, staring up in surprise at the girl by her side. Dressed in what appeared to be some kind of armour, the other girl stood rebelliously against the God of Fire, sword drawn and at the ready. Her chin was raised in a challenge to Gabriel, eyes flashing dangerously.
"My name is Kagami Tsurugi. I was chosen to be your wife, but I dishonoured you by having her take my place. Whatever she has done is irrelevant. Leave the village and take me as your wife."
Gabriel's arms dropped slowly as he appeared to consider the woman standing against him. Deciding that this was a good distraction, Adrien carefully crept around the circle, avoiding the flames to stand behind his father.
The sound the God of Fire made in response to the girl's offer scathed at Adrien's heart - memories of his father's utter disapproval surfacing.
Gabriel stepped out of the fire pit and took a step towards Kagami. She stood still as he approached, not even the sword in her hand faltering with any kind of indication of fear. Only a foot away, Gabriel circled her in a silent appraisal. Defiant and proud, her head remained lifted proudly with the grip on her sword.
"Fine. I will take you as a wife."
His attention turned back to where Marinette still knelt on the ground.
"But, you will die."
Adrien was moving before he even knew it, his feet flying across the space towards his father. Gabriel's hand moved in slow motion, fingers colouring in a glowing brightness as they ignited in fire. Adrien's body smashed into that of his father, knocking the man off balance enough to pivot in response, leaving a searing pain across Adrien's chest as the flames intended for Marinette hit him instead.
His senses exploded. The sound of familiar voices screaming his name mingled with the overpowering smell of burning skin while the world disappeared into darkness.
Marinette couldn't stop screaming, throwing herself at Adrien's body as he crumpled to the ground. No, no! He couldn't be dead. He was a god! Cradling his head in her lap, she wailed his name over and over, running her fingers through the singed remains of his golden hair.
"Look what you've done!" the God behind her screeched.
"NO!" she screamed in response. "Look what you've done! To your own son!" Vaguely she could feel Gabriel recoiling in anger, the heat from his rage prickling her back. But she didn't care. What did it matter?
"Wake up, Adrien, please. Please!" she whispered, unable to control the sobs that tore through her. He remained unresponsive to her pleading. Plagg appeared, ears plastered against his little head in worry as his eyes met hers.
Beside her, Kagami yanked on Marinette's arm, trying to pull her away from the incoming inferno. But she couldn't leave without Adrien, whispering to the other girl to run. Kagami's hesitation was only momentary, a look of regret in her eyes and soft apology on her lips before she raced across the centre to safety.
Marinette twisted to look at Gabriel, hiccuping between sobs. Almost unrecognizable with rage, the face of the God who should have been her husband twisted into something sinister, flames of anger in his eyes burning into her with an intensity stronger than the blazing cyclone that whirled around him.
"Everyone will pay!" his voice boomed around the square, echoing through her brain. The blistering heat of Gabriel's madness forced her to curl herself over Adrien's body as if she could somehow shield him from the attack she knew was coming.
The shockwave when it hit crackled louder than anything she had ever heard in her life. It was like fire was everywhere - pushing out from Gabriel and rippling through the village in a mighty wall of destructive flame. The feel of it against her back made her scream in agony, determined to protect Adrien at all costs.
But it wasn't the fire that took her breath away. It was the deafening roar of air clapping through the village, pulling all the oxygen from her lungs as it suffocated the fire in an instant before the thundering sound of a voice shouted a single word, "ENOUGH!"
Author: Yikes. A month since the last chapter. :/ I'm so sorry. The Dec-Jan chunk of my life is the crazy season so I couldn't write as much as I wanted to. Gods is now my only writing project for the next little while and I will focus on getting it out to you asap. 3 Thanks for the messages asking for more - I'm glad that you enjoy it.
Sorry for the douse of angst and pain this chapter. It will get better soon. Just... trust me. ;)