Penguin: Hey guys. I will not be answering reviews today, I'm so sorry. I will answer them Wednesday. I have to get for work and I'm upset because I have a fucking spider bite on my lip and it's huge and today just isn't my day. So please, enjoy. Give me the happiness I have not gotten. My whole day has been ruined from this disgusting thing on my mouth. And thank you for reading. I promise I'll be less depressing next time.

Her design studio was going to open tomorrow. Marinette stood in the middle of the cavernous room, her gaze sweeping across the mirrors that cast her reflection right back at her. No more broken glass. Adrien's men had taken care of that for her. There were no flickering lights. And every time the front door opened or closed, the new alarm system gave a reassuring beep.

"Are you all done for tonight, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?" She glanced toward Nino. Adrien had insisted that Nino stay with her while she made all of her last-minute prep work at the studio. And she certainly wasn't going to deny that having Nino with her had been reassuring.

Because she had been afraid when she first stepped into the studio. But I won't let him make me afraid. The studio was important to her. It was her dream, her chance at having a new life. "I'm done." She was. The floor sparkled. The barres were all in place. Her new students would come in to a perfect fashion studio tomorrow.

A small smart. That was her plan. To begin with a few classes and grow this place into the best damn fashion studio in Chicago. She could do it. I will do it. She approached Nino with a determined smile. "Thanks for all of your help."

He inclined his head and winked at her. "Anytime." She had to laugh at that. "I doubt that you usually provide guard service at a fashion studio."

"You're a special case for Adrien. What matters to him…" Nino shrugged. "It matters to me." He glanced down at his watch. "He'll be meeting you soon." It had been almost twelve hours since she'd last seen Adrien. He had his work to attend to, she needed to see to her studio. And…

I wanted some distance. Because he left her shattered after that ride on the plane. She headed out with Nino. Pausing for a moment, Marinette reset the alarm. Then they were outside. The night air wasn't as cool as it had been a few days before. A quick glance around the area showed her that only Nino's car was in the parking lot. Everything was dark and still and-

Marinette groaned. "I forgot my bag. I'll be right back, okay?" He grabbed her arm. "No, Marinette. That's not the way it works. I'll go back inside with you."

"You don't-"

"Boss's orders. Where you go, I go." Right. She spun around and marched back toward the door. She unlocked the door and her fingers flew over the alarm pad. Nino was right at her back. The door beeped when they slid inside. All of the lights turned on instantly. "Just give me a minute!" She called over her shoulder as she rushed inside. "I left my bag-"

The lights shut off. No, no that wasn't supposed to happen. Adrien had hired electricians to fix the circuit breaker. She spun back around. "Nino!" Thud. She stilled. A groan reached her ears. Her breath choked out. "Nino?"

He didn't answer her. She didn't move. Not a single step. Then she heard something else. It sounded like- like water being poured out. Water? "N-Nino?" She called again. The alarm hadn't sounded anymore. The system had just given that one beep when they'd gone inside. Did we shut the door? Nino had been behind her. She rushed ahead, thinking he would shut the door.

Had he? The water kept pouring around her. She took a deep, frantic breath and realized that wasn't water. The acrid scent told her it was gasoline. "No!" Marinette shouted and ran forward. "Nino!" She tripped over something. Something soft and warm, and Marinette careened to the floor. Her left leg twisted, and pain shot through her.

Her hands flew out. She touched a hard shoulder. Hair. "Nino?" Her fingers skimmed over his face and head, and she felt the sticky wetness of blood. A light flickered in the darkness. A match. "I will be the one."

That voice chilled her. The matched flew through the air.

Then the fire ignited.

Adrien slammed his Jag to a stop and jumped from the vehicle. His eyes were on the studio, on the horrifying orange and gold flames filling that studio. "Marinette!" Adrien roared her name. Nino's car was to the left. Empty. There was no sign of him or Marinette.

Don't be in the fire. Don't.

But then he heard the faint cry of- "Help me!" Marinette's voice. Coming from the fire.

He ran for the building even as the windows shattered and glass flew out at him. The main door was open, smoke billowing from it. He rushed inside, heading straight into the smoke. Flames lit the scene. Marinette was on the floor, coughing, and struggling to pull Nino's unconscious body toward the door. "Help me," she cried again as he looked up. Tears streamed down her face. "I-I can't get him on my own!"

Because Nino was three times her weight. The fire had circled in close to Marinette's skin. Too close. Adrien grabbed her around the stomach. Yanked her away from Nino. Get Marinette to safety. Get her out. She screamed and struggled against him. "No, I have to help Nino!" But Adrien just held her tighter. The fire was too close. Trying to scorch across her skin.

He ran outside with her. She was still coughing. She had been in the smoke and fire too long. As soon as he put her down, Marinette immediately tried to run back for the building. He grabbed her and yanked her right back. "Don't move." The words were torn from him. Fear and rage beat in his blood, a deadly combination.

Her eyes swam with tears. "He'll die! We have to get him out-"

"I'll get him," he swore. "But you have to stay here." He had to know that she was safe. Marinette nodded. He ran back to the fire. He rushed inside the building. The fire had spread even more, the greedy bitch that it was. The flames lapped just inches from Nino's feet. He grabbed his friend. Pulled him up. Tossed him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. We're getting out of here.

The breath in his lungs burned. The place was getting too hot. He took a step toward the door. The ceiling fell down, coming right at him.

Penguin: And that moment…Adrien died, along with Nino. We may never know who Marinette's stalker is, or even if she survived. Adrien will be deeply missed.

…

And that moment, all of the readers who had been mourning and wishing that this story wasn't over…

Had just realized that they had been pranked.

…

#SorryNotSorry

"No!" Marinette yelled when she saw the flames burst through the top of her studio. Adrien hadn't come back out. He'd gone into the flames to get Nino. And he just expects me to stay out here? While he faces the fire?

She couldn't do that. Not for another second. Too much had already passed. He should have been back. She leapt forward. Sirens screamed behind her. She was at the door, running inside because she was getting to Adrien. Only-

He was right in front of her. "Told you…" Adrien growled, "Stay out of the fire." He had Nino thrown over his shoulder. She and Adrien ran from the building. Fire trucks streaked toward them. Adrien put Nino on the ground. Adrien's clothes were smoldering as he bent over his friend.

"Come on, buddy, don't do this…" Nino started coughing. "Hell, yes," Adrien said. An EMT jumped from the back of an ambulance and hurried toward them. Marinette glanced over her shoulder. The fire fighters were pulling out their hoses, but there wasn't much they could do to save the studio.

Fire had engulfed the place. The EMTs strapped Nino to a gurney. They pushed him toward the back of the waiting ambulance. One of the EMTs tried to take Marinette's hand. She pushed him away. "I'm fine." She couldn't take her gaze off that fire. The firefighters were trying to contain it so that the blaze didn't destroy the other nearby businesses. Businesses that, luckily, had been empty at this time of night.

The crackle of the flames filled her ears. Nino could have died in that fire. She had been pulling him, straining with all of her strength, but she had only been able to move him a few feet. The fire had been so hungry. So hot. So wild.

I will be the one. Nino could have died, because of her. The ambulance's back doors slammed closed. The siren screamed once more as it raced away with Nino. "What in the hell..." Adrien began as he closed in on her, "happened here?"

"That's just what I want to know," Nathanael said as the detective stepped right in front of Marinette, blocking her view of those terrible flames. Nathanael? She hadn't even seen him arrive. But Marinette glanced around the scene and saw that several police cars were there now. It looked like they were setting up some kind of perimeter.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," Nathanael continued, clearing his throat, "Wanna tell me what just happened?" A fire just happened. Big, freaking huge, destroying my dreams. "He was here." Marinette barely recognized the hollow voice as her own. "He set the fire. T-tried to kill me and Nino."

And if Adrien hadn't been there, the bastard might have just succeeded. The flames rushed into the sky, lighting the night. The smoke drifted in the air, and Marinette watched her dream burn away.