"Marinette is Ladybug."
"Marinette is Ladybug."
"MARINETTE DUPAIN CHENG IS LADYBUG!"
Chat Noir's mind repeated the thought over and over as he stared at the unconscious Marinette before him. His mouth was open and his eyes were blown wide, he couldn't believe it, he was shocked. The woman he loved since day one had been the girl who sat behind him in class all the time?
He felt tears sting his eyes and he couldn't stop them from falling down his cheeks, he clutched Marinette to his chest and his tears hit her cheeks and in her bangs.
"I-I'm sorry my Lady! I failed you! I failed you!" Chat cried, her body cold in his arms. He clutched her even closer, his teared filled eyes looked at her bloodied face.
"I'm so sorry...I'm sorry Marinette..."
"C-Chat Noir..."
Chat Noir looked around, he thought it had come from Marinette but she hadn't moved.
"C-Chat Noir, please..." He looked to his right and saw a small red creature laying beside Marinette, how had he missed it? The creature looked up at him, was it...Ladybug's kwami? He scooped the little red being into his hands, he heard a small scream from inside his head, was it Plagg? What was he screaming?
"Chat, please help M-Marinette...she needs medical attention..." The Kwami spoke and coughed at the end of her sentence. The Kwami's big eyes looked tired and she was a very pale red, she looked exhausted.
"O-Okay..." Chat spoke, he felt tears sting in the corner of his eyes again as he looked at Marinette again but he wiped his face and put on a serious face. He placed the Kwami in his pocket and gently picked up Marinette.
"We'll get you help Marinette!" Chat said standing and rushed to the hospital.
"Just hang in there..."
Alya watched the whole scene in terror, she saw her best friend get seriously injured! What was happening!
"Awe, I scared him away! Scaredy Chat! Come back and I'll squish you like I did your little bug friend!" The Rabbiteer yelled as Chat Noir raced off with the unconscious Ladybug in his arms, he clutched Ladybug close and made sure no one saw who she really was as he ran.
The Rabbiteer laughed loudly and headed towards the Eiffel Tower, Alya raced in the direction Chat Noir had gone and brought her phone to face her.
"It's a dark day my Ladyblogger's...Ladybug was been struck down and Chat Noir took her and escaped. It's not safe, if anyone is still in Paris, please stay indoors! The Akuma is still out and he is dangerous, stay safe my Ladyblogger's." Alya spoke and ended her live stream, she called Marinette's parents.
"Oh Alya! Are you doing alright! What's wrong?" Marinette's mother asked soon as she answered the phone.
"Oh Mrs. Dupain Cheng! Marinette was hurt by the Rabbiteer!" Alya cried, tears were streaming down her cheeks.
"W-What?" Sabine cried.
"What's happening Alya?" Tom asked, his voice full of worry.
"Marinette's been hurt, badly. She's being taken to the hospital by Chat Noir, she doesn't look good!" Alya said as she saw Chat Noir rushing towards the direction of the hospital.
"Not my poor baby!" Sabine cried, Tom held his wife closely.
"I can see Chat Noir! He's heading to the hospital fast!" Alya said.
"We're on our way."
"Wake up Marinette! Please!" Chat Noir cried to her, he didn't stop the entire run.
"Please Chat Noir, she's unconscious, she isn't going to be waking up anytime soon." Tikki spoke.
"There's still a chance!" Chat yelled as he saw the hospital coming up.
There were multiple paramedics surrounding the area of the hospital, people helping bringing the injured to them, Chat stopped a building away and crouched down, Marinette still cold and limp.
"Please Chat Noir." Tikki begged him, he gulped and picked her up and rushed to the Paramedic's.
"C-Chat Noir!" One of them yelled when the super hero rushed to them.
"Please, take this girl! She needs help!" Chat Noir begged.
"Yes of course!" He said and gently took Marinette from his arms and rushed her inside, Chat Noir looked at her in painful silence.
"Are you alright?" A young nurse asked him, referring to the blood and his injures.
"I'm alright." He spoke, she looked down.
Chat Noir took a step back, noticing the Press and camera's starting to crowd near him.
"What happened Chat Noir?"
"Did you defeat the Akuma?"
"Where is Ladybug?"
Chat Noir held his tears as he ran and fled the scene.
Chat Noir's body quaked and when he finally reached home, he flew in from his window and dropped his transformation, his body hit the ground hard and the two Kwami's hit the couch. Tikki coughed roughly.
"Tikki! Adrien!" Plagg yelled in horror, he dropped to his chosen side. He put his small black paws on his face as Adrien fell unconscious.
"P-Plagg..." Tikki's voice rang out, Plagg was to her side in a second.
"Tikki, he's hurt!" Plagg yelled taking her paws in his.
"Shhh, Plagg. It's okay, he fell unconscious from exhaustion and probably stress." Tikki spoke.
"You idiot Tikki, you used too much of your magic! You can hardly move!" Plagg yelled at her, she smiled and put her paw on his face.
"Good to see you again too, Plagg..." She spoke before her eyes closed, Plagg held her close and looked between her and Adrien, he sighed quietly.
"Alya!"
Alya looked up at Marinette's parents as they rushed into the Emergency waiting room, Alya stood to hug them both tightly.
"Where is she?" Tom asked.
"In emergency surgery, she was in really bad shape." Alya spoke through her sniffles.
"Who is the family for Marinette Dupain Cheng?" A doctor asked.
"We are!" The answered in unison.
"She's in surgery and she has quite a few to go through, we won't know her full condition until more later in the evening, we suggest you return home for tonight and we'll have a full explanation and an answer to any question you have to ask." The doctor said gently.
"So she's alive?" Alya spoke, the doctor smiled.
"Yes, she's a fighter that one. Thank goodness for Chat Noir, she might've not made it if he hadn't brought her here." He said.
"We're indebted to him." Sabine cried.
Adrien had never felt pure exhaustion until this moment, he woke up and looked around, he was on the floor of his room.
"My head..." Adrien groaned and rubbed his head as he sat up.
"You're finally awake!" Plagg yelled and hugged Adrien's face, the blonde stared at the Kwami in disbelief.
"Plagg?" Adrien asked.
"He was worried about you…" Tikki spoke quietly.
"What! Me worried over this idiot? As if." Plagg spoke and turned his back to him, Adrien smiled.
"Thanks for worrying about me Plagg." Adrien spoke.
"Hmmpt."
"What happened?" Adrien asked.
"You came in and passed out." Plagg said.
"How long have I been unconscious?" Adrien asked.
"A few hours." Plagg answered.
"How are you feeling? Who are you exactly by the way?" Adrien asked as he slowly approached the red Kwami, she smiled.
"My name is Tikki, I'm Ladybug's Kwami. Like how Plagg is your Kwami." She explained quietly.
"She's an idiot who used too much of her power and nearly died." Plagg spoke through tight lips, Tikki smiled sadly.
"I had to save her." Tikki spoke.
"What're you talking about?" Adrien asked.
"As you know, Ladybugs power is creation and one of the many abilities that Tikki has is healing. When Ladybug was struck by the blast, Tikki took most of the blow to herself to save Ladybug a lot of damage and instantly begun healing her body afterwards. However, her doing that resulted in her losing eminence amounts of her power, she was focusing on healing Ladybug and draining herself of power...and of life…Tikki could've died."
"But so could've my chosen, I wasn't going to let her die like this." Tikki said.
"You almost died Tikki! Risking your life for your chosen!"
"You would've done the same Plagg."
"You saved her?" Adrien asked the red Kwami, she smiled gently.
"I did what I could, I did absorb a lot of the impact but I couldn't heal her fully, she was still badly hurt…" Tikki said, Adrien smiled brightly and leaned to kiss the little Kwami on her head.
"You saved her…you protected her, thank you." Adrien cried, tears pooled in his eyes.
"I'm sorry I failed at my promise of protecting her, I failed you." Adrien said then bowed to her.
"You took her to get help, I have no ill will towards you Adrien and I know Marinette won't either." Tikki said.
"I'm sorry I found out the way I did." Adrien said.
"Don't be sorry Adrien, no one planned for this but it's happened. You know Marinette is Ladybug now but you know you mustn't tell anyone this." Tikki said.
"I swear I'll never tell anyone her secret. I'll carry it to my grave." Adrien spoke, Tikki smiled.
"I knew you were a good one." Tikki spoke and rested her eyes.
"But I never once thought that Marinette was Ladybug!" Adrien said, Tikki laughed.
"She'd never get the idea that you were Chat Noir either but I figured you were." Tikki said.
"How?" Adrien asked.
"Well, I could sense Plagg's presence so I knew someone in her class had his Miraculous. I also put two and two together when you were late and when you'd leave and Chat Noir would arrive. It went along the lines of what Marinette was going through so I figured it out." Tikki said.
"Are you gonna tell her who I am?" Adrien asked.
"No, I know she'll figure out when you both are ready." Tikki said.
Adrien sat there and thought about it, come to think of it, she was right, him and Marinette always did have the same excuses and leaving at the oddest times for when Akumas would attack. She also did have the same hairstyle and gorgeous blue eyes of his Lad- gorgeous!? Did he just call Marinette's eyes gorgeous? Well he finds Ladybug to be beautiful and amazing and brave and the list goes on and on so he has to see Marinette that was too right? But he loved Ladybug and Marinette had always been a good friend of his…one of his first real friends at that…he didn't feel anything romantic for her… Didn't he?
Marinette was beautiful in her own cute, special way. The way she was creative and smart, how she liked video games yet fashion and how she would always stand up for her friends and never back down, though she was clumsy at times, she was very confident and Adrien admired his Lady for that and now, he could see Marinette's aspects in Ladybug where as he could see Ladybugs in Marinettes. He smiled, he loved Ladybug with all his heart and sure, his heart did flutter a little whenever Marinette laughed, he'd smiled every time that she'd smile at him and he loved it every time she'd bring sweets to he, Alya and Nino, his father's strict diet be damned, he'd never turn down anything from Marinette's bakery.
He'd live for the moments when the four of them would hang out together, he felt so alive with his friends. He enjoyed spending time with them, to see Alya and Marinette bicker over little things and how Marinette would blush whenever he caught her staring at him.
Marinette always was skittish around him though, she constantly fumbled over her words, did he make her uncomfortable? He hoped that wasn't the case.
"Will you be alright?" Plagg asked her.
"I just need to rest, I need to eat something sweet to regain my energy." Tikki spoke.
"I can get cookies for you." Adrien said, Tikki smiled.
"I'd appreciate it, thank you." Tikki spoke.
Adrien left the room and returned a few minutes later with a bag of cookies and a wheel of Camembert.
"My precious!" Plagg said happily and rushed to the wheel of cheese, Tikki giggled.
Bzzz Bzzz
"My phone." Adrien spoke and found his phone laying on the floor and picked it up.
"Five missed calls from Alya, two from Nino, multiple text messages from both and the Ladyblog is exploding with messages." Adrien read aloud and went onto the Ladyblog, he picked the latest video.
"Hello Ladybloggers…Alya here with the latest Ladybug and Chat Noir news…as you know Ladybug was struck down and she and Chat Noir are in hiding. We don't know anything of her or his condition and for that, there will be a gathering at the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue. We'll be leaving letters and offerings to our heros. We still love and care for you Ladybug and Chat Noir. You have our support."
Adrien's heart swelled, he couldn't believe Alya and so many fans would do this for them, he felt honored.
"They care for you a lot." Tikki whispered.
"It's amazing…" Adrien spoke.
"You should go, it'll make the fans feel at ease to see you." Tikki said.
"What about you?" Adrien asked.
"I'll be alright, I'm going to fall asleep in a minute anyways." Tikki spoke, Adrien nodded and stood.
"We'll be back soon." Plagg said as he helped Tikki to a better hiding spot, somewhere soft and warm.
"I'll be waiting."
"Plagg, claws out!"
"Thank you." Alya said with a sad smile as someone put flowers down in front of the statue.
Hundreds of flowers and gifts surrounded the statue and a big box laid at the base, which people put letters in.
Alya stood next to the statue and held back her tears and thanked everyone for their support, Chat Noir watched from a building and almost started to cry at the sight, all these people doing this for him and Ladybug, it was reassuring to say the least, even if he failed to protect his lady and defeat the Akuma, people still trusted them and didn't lose faith.
Chat Noir landed in the shadows a few feet away, he walked towards the statue and heard the gasps of the people when they saw him.
"Chat Noir!" Alya said with a gasp, he smiled lightly at her.
"Thank you for doing this, it means more than you know." He said.
"It's the least we can do, you and Ladybug risk your lives for Paris all the time and one of you has been badly hurt, it's time we did something for you." Alya said.
"Thank you…" Chat Noir said quietly.
"Thank you Chat Noir, for everything you and Ladybug do for us." Alya said.
"But I failed to protect her…I failed Paris for not defeating the Akuma." Chat Noir spoke.
"Listen dude."
They turned and saw Nino approaching, he reached their side and kissed Alya's wet cheek.
"If I were in your boots, I would've taken her away too. I'd know I'd have my duty to Paris and protecting it but I knew my partner was in danger and needed help, I don't think anyone would blame you for what you did Chat Noir." Nino said.
"Really?" Chat Noir asked, that put him at ease.
"Yeah dude." Nino said with a smile and put his hand on Chat Noir's shoulder, he smiled lightly back.
"For you Chat Noir!"
A small girl appeared at his side, she held up a picture with a small teddy bear. On the paper, it was a hand drawn picture of Chat Noir and Ladybug, he smiled and accepted it.
"Thank you Madame." He spoke, the girl smiled.
"Keep up the good work!" She said.
"Yes ma'am!" He saluted, the girl giggled.
"I'll treasure it." He said holding the picture and bear close and he meant that.
"Tell Ladybug to get better soon." She said quietly, he gulped but nodded.
"Thank you again Alya." Chat Noir said to her when the child and her mother left.
"Thank you Chat Noir. You saved my friend." Alya said.
"How is she?" Chat Noir asked.
"We won't know until tomorrow." She said quietly, Nino rubbed her shoulder in comfort.
"Alright..." He said as he hung his head.
"She'll be alright. Marinette is a tough cookie." Nino said, Alya smiled and sniffled.
"I know she is." Alya said nodding.
"More than you know..." Chat Noir spoke.
"Let's get you home, school tomorrow." Nino said to Alya, she sighed and looked at the statue again.
"You're right." She spoke.
Chat Noir stared at the statue of Ladybug, her bright smile made him miss it, he missed her smile.
"Stay strong Chat Noir." Alya said looking at him, he looked at her with tears in his eyes.
"Thank you, you too."
He watched Nino and Alya walk away, he looked back at the statue again.
"I swear to you my Lady, I'll do everything in my power to help you recover and to protect Paris."