AUTHOR'S NOTE!
So, I decided I didn't like the way that it jumped into the action so quickly, so I made a new second chapter. I apologize for not updating sooner, but I've got three kids and it takes a lot to do holidays. Thank you guys for understanding! I hope everyone had a happy holiday and even if you don't celebrate Christmas I hope you got to see your families!
Tuesday, August 8th, 12pm- Scarlet Moth's Hideaway
Scarlet Moth bellowed, flipping tables, and smashing everything he could find. Catalyst frowned at the angry man.
"It's not like you to lose your cool like this, sir." Scarlet Moth panted as he turned his attention to Nathalie.
"It's not normal for my Akuma to takeover their own Akumatization, Nathalie." He hissed, rage pouring from every orpheus. Catalyst took a step back, and her eyes snapped to the television on the wall behind him.
"Sir, turn around." He humored his assistant and did what she said, only to be stopped by shock.
There on the screen, in front of him, in front of all of Paris, Ladybug fell. Her Miraculous gave way, something invisible grabbed at her shirt, presumably her Kwami, and Gabriel Agreste watched his prodigy spinning in a free fall. If he thought his heart couldn't fall anymore, he was proven wrong when Chat Noir called of his Miraculous and revealed his own son was behind the mask.
"Sir?"
"Bring my son home, Nathalie."
"Yes sir."
Tuesday, August 8th, 5pm- Lounging Lotus Teahouse
Adrien sat beside the makeshift mattress in the spare room of the teahouse with Marinette. He hadn't left her side, not talking to anyone. He felt so broken inside, looking at how fragile Marinette looked in this moment.
Her pale skin shined with sweat, making her glow in the soft lights. Master Fu had sage burning, and the smoke twisted around her face. She looked like a broken China doll, and Adrien gripped her hand as if that would hold her together. He just knew if he left her side, something bad would happen.
"Adrien?" A high pitched voice broke him from his trance and he looked at the red Kwami as she floated behind him.
"Hi Tikki." He whispered. It was like his voice was broken, all he could manage was a whisper. He felt a tiny, familiar, paw lay on his shoulder and he turned his attention to his own Kwami.
"Why am I so scared to lose her, Plagg? Why do I feel so numb?" He thought that he'd cried himself dry, but looking at the broken Goddess floating next to him his heart ached for her, and the tears that rolled down his cheeks were not for the girl he held, but for the Kwami reaching out for her without noticing what she was doing.
"I told you, Adrien, you loved her without her mask on first. Seeing her like that, like this, it's going to hurt. You almost lost your Ladybug. That's the hardest thing for a Chat Noir to bear. I- my Kittens always have a hard time keeping their Ladybugs."
"What are you talking about, Plagg?" The God sighed and sat on his shoulder.
"It's time I told you. I should have done this a long, long time ago. But because of me, usually Chat Noir loses his Ladybug, but none of them have been like this. Chat Noir is cursed to lose his Ladybug, just like I lost Tikki all those centuries ago. It's my punishment. As your Kwami, we share an emotional bond and I've been punished to spend eternity reliving my worst moment," the cat Kwami locked eyes with the ladybug. "losing the one I love more than myself because of an action I didn't take, that I should have." His voice broke, and Adrien's heart went out to him.
"Oh Plagg, it's not just your fault. I loved you for years before you even asked me to run away with you. But I couldn't just leave my responsibility behind." Tikki floated to join Plagg on Adrien's shoulder. "I was head over heels for you, and it terrified me, just as much as it exhilarated me. You're not the only one cursed. I was so blinded by responsibility that I couldn't see what was right in front of me the whole time. Every Ladybug has never been able to fall all the way in love with her Chat because she feels obliged to keep herself guarded, because I ran away to save myself the pain of seeing you ever get hurt.
"But our chosen this time, Plagg, are so very different than the others. They were in love before they gained their Miraculous, and it's that love that saved Marinette. You may not have acted right away, Adrien, but when you saw who was behind the mask it didn't stop how you felt about her. It made your feelings even stronger, and you saved her. You could have stayed still, not rescued her, but you did. I feel it now, the weight of my curse lifting." Tikki sighed as she leaned on Plagg, who wrapped an arm around her to pull her closer to him. "Thank you, Adrien."
Adrien Agreste looked down at the girl whom he loved with his whole heart, no his whole spirit. Marinette sighed in her sleep, and he knew she felt it too. A heavy weight, that he'd never noticed was there, was gone. Holding Marinette's hand now, he felt whole, and he vowed that he would always follow her, no matter where she went, even if she didn't want him to. He was not going to lose his
Thursday, August 10th, 1:35 am- Lounging Lotus Teahouse
Marinette Dupain-Cheng felt like she'd just got run over by a bus, and then that bus backed up and ran her over again, only to stop on top of her. There was a heavy pressure on her chest that weighed down her lungs and her limbs.
"Marinette." A voice whispered around her. She knew that voice.
'It's Chat!' The pressure on her chest lightened as a tiny glimmer of hope bubbled inside her. 'If he's here, I'm safe.'
"Marinette, please wake up I'm sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't help you. I didn't mean to-" His voice broke and Marinette didn't need to have her eyes open to know he was crying.
'He sounds so sad. I really should wake up now.' A pair of glowing blue eyes sent waves of goosebumps down her spine. 'But if I do. I'll see him… but if I'm asleep then that means Chat's alone! I can't leave him, or-Adrien! He's still at the bakery! I need to make sure he's okay!' Marinette's eyes snapped open as she sat straight up, and instantly regretted it.
Her head swam, and her vision blurred as she covered her eyes with her hands.
"Woah, what happened to me?" Marinette slurred her words, her voice hoarse.
"It feels like I gargled sandpaper." She barely managed to whisper.
"It's okay, I've got you." Her eyes snapped up to a warm pair of green eyes, his hand on her back.
"Cha-Adrien?" She choked out. "But you're supposed to be…"
"By m'lady's side, where any good Chat Noir is supposed to be." Adrien gave her the softest smile he could as he leaned forward, pressing a kiss to her third eye. He rested his forehead against hers, and looked intently into her eyes.
This was not happening. This could not be real. She was under some spell, something the Akuma did; this had to be his power. Her face gave her thoughts away and Adrien chuckled before saying a phrase she'd only heard once before, when stars dotted the Parisian skies.
"Tu es l'amour de ma vie Marinette, ma Coccinelle.*" his voice barely reaching her ears.
'Adrien is Chat Noir! How could I have never noticed?' He pulled away, all too soon, but kept a hand on her back as he steadied her. Master Fu smiled at her as he handed her a warm cup of tea and Marinette took large, greedy, gulps, it felt amazing on her throat.
"I'm glad to see that you are awake, Marinette. We've all been very worried about you."
"All?"
Now she was more confused than before, but her thoughts were interrupted by heavy footsteps pounding down a hallway. The door was ripped open by Alya, her bottom lip trembling as tears fell down her cheeks She ran to the small mat on the floor and fell to her knees before pulling Marinette into her bosom.
"I'm so happy you're awake, Marinette. Don't you ever do something like that ever again." Her shoulders shook as Alya sobbed, and for some reason Marinette was crying too. Then it hit her. The Akuma on the Eiffel Tower, the glowing eyes, and his hand around her throat. Fear racked the small girls body as she cried with her best friend, Marinette had almost died.
"What-" she cleared her throat, "what happened, after-you know… How long have I been asleep?" Marinette finally asked after the two had composed themselves.
"You've been asleep for almost two days, Marinette. The answer to your other question I do not know." Master Fu said, looking to Alya. The girl sniffed and wiped her eyes.
"Adrien saved you. We were all so scared that none of us could move, and before we knew it Total Darkness had you by the throat. He overpowered Scarlet Moth, but not in a good way. He dropped you off the Eiffel Tower, Marinette. Then Adrien was gone. One second he was standing next to us and then he was in the air catching you before I could even blink. Nino, Chloe and I tried to stop him, but there was nothing we could do. Then Adrien came and saved us. We thought he'd won but-Marinette, I'm so, so, so sorry that we didn't help you when you needed us." Tears threatened to spill from Alyas chocolate eyes again, but Marinette couldn't help but smile at her.
"Knock, knock?" Marinette's smile got bigger when she saw Nino's body in the doorway.
"Hey Bug." He said, using the nickname he'd given Ladybug easily.
"Hey Shelly." Nino, if only for a second, glared at the girl still sitting in her makeshift bed.
"So you must be feeling at least a little better, if you can joke like that." Marinette laughed softly, her throat still hurt, and just that little bit sent her into a coughing fit. Adrien raised her glass to her lips and she gratefully took another drink.
"I hate to burst your bubbles, and I'm more than happy that Marinette is awake too, but we need to focus on something important right now. The fight between us and Total Darkness was broadcast across all of Paris. Everyone saw what happened. Every last bit of it. And all of Paris saw Ladybug lose, they saw her turn back into Marinette. It's all over the news," Chloe held out her phone, at the top in bold red letters was 'LADYBUG DEAD. PARIS LOSES ALL HOPE', "and if I didn't personally know she was okay, I'd think she was dead too. We should probably address that issue." Chloe said, a somber look on her usually smiling face.
She was right though, and they needed to do something to ease the hearts of Paris.
"What can we do? It's not like we can just broadcast Marinette's face into every home in Paris right now, can we?" Nino asked, scratching his head.
"Not without giving Total Darkness our location. And with all the Miraculous in one spot it would be a disaster to bring him here." Adrien said from beside her. Their conversation faded into the background as Marinette lost herself in thought.
Marinette chewed her lip. She had to do something, she had to find a way to talk to everyone in Paris, but how? If only she could get access to a camera.
"Chloe, do you still have cell service?"
"It's really spotty. That dome Total Darkness put around Paris is messing with the signal. One second I have service, the next it goes out." As if on cue Chloe's phone dinged.
"Guys, Nadja Chamack just sent out an emergency text for Ladybug!"
"What does it say?" Alya asked.
"'Ladybug, the people of Paris stand by you. Marinette, please sweet heart, please be okay, Paris kneads you. We all knead you, all of you.' That's strange."
"What's strange, Chloe?" Marinette asked. Chloe handed her the phone and showed her the message.
"That is strange. I've known Nadja my whole life, and she's never misspelled anything like this."
"Do you think it's a secret message?" Adrien asked, leaning over her shoulder to look at the screen. Marinette reread the message a few more times before it became clear to her.
"Sweetheart is what she's called me since I was a little girl because I'd always sneak into the bakery and take my dad's strawberry tarts. But she's always spelled it as one word."
"The bakery! She spelled it K-N-E-A-D-S, like kneading dough. What if she's telling you that we need to go the the bakery."
"She did say 'we all'..." Chloe suggested. They looked to Master Fu.
"What should we do, Master?"
"There's only one thing to do, my children."
August 10th, 3am- Lounging Lotus Teahouse
"Are you sure you're okay, Tikki?"
"Marinette, I'm fine. I've been awake for two days, and Plagg has been taking care of me." Marinette swore her Kwami was blushing but that would have to be a conversation for later.
"Alright, if you're sure. Tikki, spots on!" Marinette may not have been at 100%, but as soon as she transformed she felt a warm head spread to her head, and the dizzy throbbing vanished. She'd have to remember to ask about it later.
"So we're going to sneak a few blocks away from the bakery and demiraculize then just, knock on the door?"
"Yeah, pretty much." Nino grinned. This plan wasn't the best, or most thought out, but it was a plan, and the only one they had. Master Fu tucked the Miraculous box into a backpack and handed it to Marinette.
"Please-"
"I'll guard them with my life, Master Fu, I promise." He knew she would keep her word, and he nodded his head in agreement.
"Be careful, all of you. We do not know what is outside this door."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to find out for ourselves, won't we?" Alya smirked, her mask wrinkling around her eyes.
"Be safe Master." Adrien said in Chinese. The old man patted his shoulder before opening the door. The five heroes stepped out onto the street and the solid door shut behind them, the locks clicking into place. There was no turning back now.
A/N***********************
Chapter three done! But what does chapter four have in store for us? What has Paris become? Who is Total Darkness? Why does Marinette have the Miraculous box? Only time will tell. Let me know what you guys think of the story, i really appreciate any feedback, and I love hearing what you guys think of the story. I know the characters are a little OOC, but it happens sometimes. I really didn't think Total Darkness was going to be so dark, but I really do love writing him, and I think I'm going to add some parts from his vantage soon! Thank you all for reading!