Miraculous - Dark Days

I do not own, nor am I making money off of, The Miraculous Adventures of Ladybug and Cat Noir. Thank you to Harmony Bennet for creating the beautiful cover image for this story. You're the best, best friend ever! =^-^=

Chapter 3: I'm Coming

Marinette spent a couple of days in the hospital after the incident with Cat Blanc, her leg having been badly bruised but otherwise okay. They kept her in longer because of her mental state rather than her physical state. They needed to keep her sedated for the few couple of days. Every time she'd wake up for those first few days she'd panic and try to leave, screaming and fighting when the nurses and orderlies tried to get her back into bed. She kept screaming and shouting about having to go and find Adrien... having to save him. They continued to put it off as delirium, stress, and trauma, thankfully for the pigtailed girl.

Her parents were heartbroken, terrified for their daughter after going through such a traumatic event. They wanted to make everything better but they didn't know what to do. They were well aware of how much Marinette cared for her blond classmate. They'd seen the posters and the computer background and on occasion, she'd ask them for advice or tell them about something that happened between them... usually involving her bad luck in trying to get the boy to truly notice her and her affections for him.

Alya, and sometimes Nino, had spent most of her free time at the hospital with Marinette as well, bringing the other her homework and helping her with it after school and playing board games and just chatting and laughing with the saddened girl when she started to feel better. They'd been terrified at first that she'd never get their friend back but after a day or so, Marinette had calmed down and was coming back to herself.

They were all glad for this and did what they could to make her comfortable and bring up her spirits and soon enough, the hospital gave her the bill of good health and let her go home. Her parents were glad to have her home and decided to invite Alya and Nino over for a big dinner in honor of Marinette's return home and they spent the time talking about happy things and enjoying each other's company.

No one brought up the huge elephant in the room... no one even attempted to mention Adrien... or Cat Noir... or Cat Blanc. No one wanted to bring up the sad memories or the trauma, not when they were celebrating. Marinette was thankful for this, even though she worried about her friend dearly. No one had been Akumatized for so long before... They'd always managed to save them within the day.. they... there wasn't even a 'they' anymore to save him. It was just her.

Adrien had been an Akuma now for about five days, but for some reason, no one had seen him. Cat Blanc hadn't been spotted at all and news had already gotten around that the famous Agreste model was Cat Blanc… and ultimately, Cat Noir. It was a shock and people were scared but they were also so thankful for what the blond model had done for them before this. There were news stories talking about all the things Cat Noir had done for them in the past and talks about how the already overworked teen managed to fulfill all his other responsibilities, yet still work so hard to save Paris.

There were also rumors going around about why he hadn't appeared before. Some people thought maybe he was fighting Hawk Moth's control and Hawk Moth was too afraid to let him loose because he feared he'd lose control of him if he let the other fight Ladybug. He hadn't attacked Paris since that first day... not hide nor hair of Hawk Moth or Cat Blanc had been seen. Was he waiting for Ladybug to show herself? Was Cat Blanc slinking around in the shadows, waiting for the spotted heroine to start patrolling the nights in search of him?

Or maybe Hawk Moth had plans? Maybe he was waiting for something? Maybe he was setting something up? Something big perhaps? She hoped not but who was she kidding? This was Hawk Moth... he'd never give up... especially when he was so close to winning. He wasn't about to let Cat Noir go... and he certainly wasn't about to stop going after her Miraculous.

Marinette didn't get the chance to go looking for her partner as she was watched like a 'hawk' for the next day or so before she finally got time to herself. Tikki, who'd spent most of the hospital visit hiding in her clothes in the locker as to not be seen, slipped out of her purse the moment they were alone and smiled weakly to the pigtailed girl, "are you okay?" she asked, and Marinette smiled weakly.

"No... I'm not okay..." she uttered, sighing, "I'm scared, Tikki... I'm scared that I'm not going to be able to save him... that Hawk Moth's won and we just don't know it yet..." she managed out, tears stinging her eyes as she moved towards the door to her balcony, climbing up and slipping through the door and up into the cool Parisian night, "We need to find him, Tikki..."

"We do... But Marinette... there's... there's something you really need to realize..." Tikki finally uttered, not meeting Marinette's eyes, causing the blue eyed girl to blink as she looked over to her Kwami curiously, worry seeping into her features, "what is it Tikki?" she asked, her stomach doing a flip. She felt like Tikki was about to give her bad news that she wasn't ready for... and she was right.

"The Akuma... Marinette... It's in his Miraculous... And his Miraculous can't be destroyed..." the little red Kwami uttered, "I'm sorry... but I don't know how to save him... the only thing I can think is... is if Hawk Moth releases him for some reason... or we... defeat Hawk Moth and take his Miraculous from him... Those are the only ways I can think to free him. I'm sorry."

Marinette felt tears sting her eyes at this revelation. She knew the Miraculous couldn't be destroyed but… she hadn't thought about that. It hadn't clicked in. She couldn't purify him... not like she did everyone else... every other Akuma... she couldn't break his ring... Why did it have to go in his ring? Why couldn't it have gone somewhere else? She sobbed at this point as she crumpled to the ground, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry, Marinette..." Tikki whispered and the girl shook her head as Tikki moved down to try and nuzzle against her cheek to calm her down as Marinette mumbled out, body trembling, "I can't do this without him, Tikki... I can't beat Hawk Moth all alone... I can't... I don't want to... I don't want to fight him... I don't want to fight Adrien... I don't want to hurt him... I care about him... I... I love him."

"Oh, Marinette... I know you do... and I know you don't want to fight him... but if we don't at least try... then Paris..." the little bug Kwami sighed, "Cat Noir has the power of destruction, Marinette... and so does Cat Blanc... If we don't stop him... he could destroy Paris... he could hurt hundreds of people... he could hurt the people that you care about... We... We don't have a choice. We have to fight him."

Marinette continued to sob but she nodded none-the-less. She understood... she didn't want to... but she understood... they needed to stop him... they needed to do whatever it took to save him from Hawk Moth... to save him from himself... Marinette wiped her eyes at this point as she pushed herself up to her feet again, sniffling as she forced herself to calm down, taking a few deep breaths to slow her heart rate.

"Tikki... SPOTS ON!" with that, the little red Kwami was sucked into Marinette's earrings and the transformation watched over the blue eyed girl, leaving Ladybug in the place of Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Ladybug sighed, steeling herself as she looked out at the Parisian night. Blue eyes scanned the horizon as she clenched her fists, "I'm coming for you, Cat Blanc… I'll find you… and I'm going to save you no matter what it takes… I don't care what anyone says… I don't care what odds are against me… I'm going to bring you back… I'm going to bring you home… If it's the last thing I do. Adrien… Cat Noir… I'm not going to give up till you're safe… I won't give up on you… Partner."

Not moments later, the spotted yo-yo flew through the air and pulled the red-clad heroine into the sky and over the streets of Paris, determined blue eyes scanning every roof top and alleyway for the familiar blond hair. She knew it was just a matter of time before Hawk Moth and Cat Blanc made their move. She just needed to make sure they knew that she was out here… waiting.

Ladybug made her way to the Eifel tower, stopping on top of it, standing straight, hair blowing in the slight wind as she narrowed her eyes, taking a deep breath before shouting at the top of her lungs for all to hear, "I'M HERE, CAT BLANC! COME AND GET ME! BECAUSE I'M COMING FOR YOU! And I'm going to save you…" she whispered the last part under her breath… and she meant it. She was ready… ready for whatever he threw at her. She wasn't going to give up and she wasn't going to let him down. She was going to find him and she was going to bring back her partner.

Thanks so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you could leave me a review, that would be great. Reviews inspire me to write more. =^-^= It doesn't have to be long. Just knowing you enjoyed it is enough. Constructive criticism is always welcome as well.