Mayura
War in Darkness
"Come on, Adrien," Gabriel's younger, kinder, gentler voice echoed as he ran through the tall grass of an open field. The sun's light was warm and radiant, though the images were softened and blurred.
"You can do it, sweetheart," Emilie's inspiring, loving voice added as her white sundress blew in the warm breeze. Taking her husband's hand, the woman continued to run, as if she intended to run into the warm, heavenly sun.
Still young, not yet strong, Adrien attempted to catch up with his mother and father, but fell into the grass, scattering pink and white flower petals into the air. That was when two hands reached out, gently grabbed under the boy's underarms, lifted him up, and set him atop their shoulders. Looking down, the child closed his eyes and beamed. "You're the best, Nathalie," his young voice echoed.
"Hold on tight, Adrien," Nathalie's younger, joyful voice lovingly instructed as she held her charge's feet in-place. The woman began to run, inspiring Adrien to cry out in blissful excitement. Within seconds, the two had caught up with Mister and Misses Agreste, and the four of them walked into the sun together.
Closing her darkened eyes, Mayura bore her sorrow and allowed those wonderful memories to remain in her past. That blessed sun faded and died long ago, leaving the skies cold and empty as icy rain poured from its terrible, dark clouds. All the lights of Paris had grown black as its so-called protectors fought and spilled the blood of the righteous. Looking down, Mayura watched as her wolf of isolation collided with Chat Noir in midair, driving the Miraculous back until he collided with the road, splattering its many puddles into the air. The wolf snarled as it pinned its prey to the ground. Crying out something inaudible, Ladybug charged forward before throwing her yo-yo at the lonely Avatar. The beast bit down on the wire, trapping the magical weapon in its mouth, before jerking its head to the side and pulling the ladybug Miraculous face-forward into the street. Despite the pain, the young woman maintained her grip.
"Now!" Mayura ordered the Avatar of loss.
Volpina charged toward her allies, aiming for the light of their presence, only to feel something wrap around her waist and constrict her. Turning just in time to see the hideous face of the gluttonous frog, the fox Miraculous was helpless as it retracted its tongue and swallowed her whole.
"Volpina!" Ladybug screamed with such realized fear, such desperation, and such disbelief that her throat grew numb. In all the years she had been a Miraculous, after all the terrible things she had to witness, and all the pain she and her loved ones had endured, there was no horror greater than the unnatural and hellish moment where an unholy beast took Marinette's oldest and dearest friend away from her. Despite Tikki's pleads, apologies, and attempts to calm her partner, Marinette continued to scream in terror, her eyes flowing with tears, mucus streaming from her nose, and thick strands of saliva webbing up her raw throat and mouth. I never wanted this life for her, the young woman cried out in her ailing mind. I prayed, I fought so hard…And I couldn't even save her. As the Miraculous struggled and fought to reach her friend, the wolf Avatar only snarled and pulled her to the ground once more.
His feline eyes focusing on his partner, Chat Noir could only listen and guess what tragedy had befallen his friend. As Ladybug screamed, the blond young man felt hot tears filling his eyes and streaming down his cheeks, all the while staring at her as the wolf held him down. Unable to so much as blink, the feline Miraculous felt the crushing loneliness and growing distance between his friends and family and himself weigh heavily on his weary mind and aged soul. As the wolf's paws slowly crushed his wrists, the young man slowly began to accept abandonment. Plagg's desperate attempts to rescue his beloved partner fell upon deaf ears. Closing his tired eyes, Adrien prepared himself for his lonely and eternal rest.
Opening her eyes in utter darkness, Volpina felt the warmth of the world fade into an awful coldness that drove her body nearly to the point of complete numbness. Dangling on the threshold of physical apathy, the fox Miraculous attempted to lift herself back onto her feet, but soon found her arms and legs were too heavy to move. Each breath she took in was long, heavy, and the product of a growing struggle.
In this horrible, wretched place, Volpina came to realize she was cold, alone, weak, and surrounded by stale air in a dank and decaying pit where light refused to shine. All the while, the unbearable weight of her many losses threatened to crush her mind and shatter her heart. "Trixx?" she called out in a weak, hoarse voice. No one responded. "Trixx!" the so-called Miraculous croaked, only to be met with the sound of water dripping onto an unseen surface. After a minute, the young woman let out a heavy sigh, and fell silent. "…Now I've lost even you, huh, Trixx?" she said to herself, knowing her words would not carry beyond the haze of silence.
Though there was no light, Alya was able to see herself in the foul hell she had been cast into: Her cold, weak body trembled naked and helpless in a fetal position neither on air nor land. Her Miraculous was nowhere to be found, and all comfort had faded from her reality. Gazing down, she saw her swollen, bloated belly exposed, though it attempted to hide itself beneath her defensive position. "So this is all I am now," the young woman shamefully declared as the tears continued to flow down her cheeks. "A weak, helpless little girl who can't stop gorging herself, much less save her friends. I'm the same useless kid I've always been…How disgusting." Closing her eyes, Alya tightened her stance and cradled her aching and distended tummy. "I've lost everything…I've lost my friends, my Miraculous, my recovery…I've lost everything."
Time passed by slowly. Minutes stretched to the course of hours, all the while dragging through the frost of a forgotten future. Ladybug continued to scream as she helplessly struggled to pull her yo-yo from the wolf's mouth. Chat Noir refused to fight any more, having only Ladybug to keep him from his unhappy demise. Alya slowly faded in the filthy bowels of the frog, having no one and nothing to fight her way back to. Her sisters seemed so far away, their faces disappearing in the shadows. Nino's face passed by as well, followed by Adrien, and then Marinette. Every life, every smile, and every name was nothing more than another loss. Closing her eyes and forcing away the painful memories, Alya's Miraculous form grew weaker with each passing moment.
"Now…" Mayura whispered to the horrible creature she had crafted. "Bring her to me."
Unable to feel the frog's movement, the African-American young woman looked at the arm that once bore the fox Miraculous. "It would be so easy to just give up," her failing voice croaked. "No more loss…no more fear…no more pain. I guess Master Fu was right about that test…Too bad I didn't pass it. Trixx, you said you'd always be there for me. Where did you go?" The temptation to fall into a deep sleep in the icy embrace of sorrow and loss was so strong, but Alya found herself unable to let go. "…But, they're still out there," she realized, inspiring hope within her heart. "I'm not alone…But I've lost so many people…" Closing her eyes, the young woman searched her heart for a single companion. "I've lost so many friends, but I've made more. I have real friends now: I have friends I couldn't drive away. Marinette, Adrien, Nino, Trixx, Master Fu…you'll never leave me, will you? And, even if they did, it's not too late to move on." A dim light began to shine within the cold, swamp-like darkness, empowering Alya to push herself onto her stomach and plant her hands into the ground. "…It's not over…I'm not over…" Slowly, the Miraculous pushed her body upward until her feet lay flat upon the tangible surface below her body. "I'm never alone!" In defiance of the terrible darkness, Volpina rose to her feet, shook off the last of her sadness, and drew her flute.
Her connection with her victim waning, Mayura's eyes widened in terror. The frog Avatar carried itself one step closer to its master before it froze in its tracks, closed its eyes, and lowered its head in shame. Time seemed to stand still as Ladybug and Chat Noir took their eyes off the wolf and gazed at the living prison their friend now resided in. The wind then carried a sweet and calming sound that drove the great and terrible frog to turn around just as its bloated exterior melted into the earth, leaving Volpina standing tall, her flute gracing her lips, and free of any wound or filth.
The wolf Avatar howled furiously at the loss of its companion and began to foam at the mouth. Turning back to her opponent, Ladybug picked herself up off the cold, wet ground, gripped the wire of her yo-yo tighter than before, and prepared herself. "If you want it so badly," she declared with renewed passion in her voice. "Then take all it's got! Lucky Charm!"
A sudden blast of holy, glistening light shined through the ferocious Avatar's fangs, forcing its jaw open. Once the light faded, Ladybug reclaimed her yo-yo and received her Charm in the form of a massive leash. The Miraculous quickly swung the red and black-spotted rope around the wolf's front legs before it could recover from the flash of light.
"Toss it!" Volpina cried out as she charged forward. Ladybug nodded her head and threw the loose end of the leash to her newest ally. Upon grabbing the Charm, Volpina pulled with all her might and successfully broke the beast's position, freeing Chat Noir and sending it forward in a helpless drop.
His will broken by sorrow and loneliness, Chat closed his eyes and awaited his death, only for Ladybug run to him and catch the wolf before its body could crush him. As his senses returned, the feline Miraculous gazed at his savior as she felt the icy sting, her old pain, return to her yet again. "Forgive me," he whispered as he focused his strength. Without hesitation, Chat lunged forward as his right hand flowed with corruptive black energy, never taking his eyes off his target. "Cataclysm!"
Letting out one final howl that served as both an acceptance of defeat and a farewell to its master, the Avatar of isolation was reduced to a stone-like state, only to crumble and scatter to dust that dissipated in the rain. Mayura shed a single, streaming tear of blood before turning to her final creation.
"Chat!" Ladybug cried out as she caught her friend before he could collapse. The young woman lowered herself to her knees as she turned her partner onto his back and supported his head atop her lap. "You used your Cataclysm."
"And you used your Lucky Charm," Chat Noir replied, still shaken from the ordeal.
Volpina slowly walked to her friends' side, wearing a look of concern.
"Thank God you're okay," Ladybug declared as she turned to her oldest and dearest friend. "I'm sorry I couldn't help you."
"…Don't be," the fox Miraculous answered without her usual sense of confidence. "That was something I had to do on my own. You two are gonna change back soon. You've got to run."
"We're not leaving you," Chat argued. "There's still one more of those things out there."
"I can take care of myself," Volpina shot back. "Besides, you can't take them on without your powers."
As her friends bickered, Marinette felt the conflict within raging. For so long, she had fought to protect Alya from the Miraculous, from harm, and from the life she and Adrien had to live. Now, she had to make her decision, no matter how painful it was. "…Enough," Ladybug finally declared, her tone sharp. "Chat, the choice is yours, but remember Nathalie needs you. Volpina, I won't let you sacrifice yourself. We work as a team."
"And a team needs all its parts," the feline Miraculous answered as he slowly rose back onto his feet. "If we don't stick together, we won't make it out of this." Chat turned to Ladybug with a look of gravity upon his face. "…I'm not going anywhere," he boldly declared. "Volpina, can you watch our backs while our Kwami recover?"
"You've got it," Volpina answered, her voice strong. "But I'm on the frontlines with you two. I'm not sitting this one out…Got it?" Alya's eyes turned to Ladybug.
"…We work as a team," Ladybug decided, her voice grave. "…We're all on the frontline now."
Volpina slowly nodded her head. "…Thanks, Marinette," she whispered as a great weight was lifted from her shoulders.
"I believe in you, Alya," the ladybug Miraculous whispered back with a bright gleam of hope in her voice. "You too, Adrien."
"Same with you two," Chat Noir answered before reaching out his hand for Ladybug to take. With that, the two jumped into the air and settled atop the joining section of a two-building complex. Closing their eyes, the two returned to their human forms before facing one another. "You know, even after all this time, I still can't believe it's you."
Marinette giggled as Tikki settled on her shoulder and Plagg settled on Adrien's. Even with the years they spent fighting side-by-side, the revelation, and the months they had to adjust, seeing Adrien as Marinette was still a thrilling and overwhelming experience. "Come on, stud," she continued to giggle. "We've still got a job to do."
With the wind and rain serving as cover, Volpina held her flute tightly in preparation. Though her fears and doubts continued to plague her, she would continue to fight. "Mari, when this is over, I need to tell you…" the young woman confessed to herself. "…I need to tell you how happy I am to finally be fighting by your side. And how proud I am to be equal to you and Adrien. I never really knew it before, but I've always wanted to be a hero. Thanks for giving me the chance."
"I'm proud of you too, Alya," Trixx happily declared as her projection hugged the young woman. "All you had to do was believe in yourself."
"I'm ready to go, Marinette!" Tikki excitedly declared as she finished her cookie.
"Yeah, me too," Plagg added as he swallowed the last of his cheese.
"Good," Marinette happily replied. "Now, let's save the city and get your friend back." The two Kwami nodded their heads.
"Hey, Marinette?" Adrien spoke up, though his voice lacked Chat Noir's courage. "About Alya…"
Marinette lowered her head and stared at the floor. "I never wanted this life for her," she declared once again. "Ever since she first met Ladybug, I could tell she wanted to be like me. But, she didn't know how hard it really was, or how much we had to sacrifice. I always told myself it was okay because we were doing the right thing, but I'd think to myself, "We didn't get a choice, but I'll make sure she does.""
"You know that doesn't fall on you," the blond young man warmly replied. "Besides, you and I did get a choice. We could've put the Miraculous back or thrown them away…Nobody could expect us to become superheroes. And nobody could blame us for saying no."
"Maybe," Marinette answered with the hint of a hopeful smile forming on her face. "But, either way, I'm glad to fight by you and Alya's side. You ready to go?"
"Ready to go," Adrien answered with a smile and a nod.