MB: I recently realized I forgot to include Nathalie in the last few chapters. So instead of going back to fix everything (which, to me, really isn't worth it), I'm going to have Nathalie appear in the throne room scene in Chapter 24.

That's all folks. Now, back to the story!

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO:

SAVED BY THE SPELL

Marinette had seen the platform on the east side of the palace multiple times, but she never thought she'd actually set foot on that terrible place.

The reason being: the platform was commonly referred to as "the Block".

Located at the top of one of the towers, it looked like it hung suspended in mid-air, though it was being held up on the bottom by thin, support beams. A long, narrow bridge connected it to the tower.

Looking down it now, Marinette felt her core tighten.

It was a long walk to the platform, which had a dark pavilion with sharp beams engraved with carvings of mythical spirits to ward off evil. Far below the walkway, Marinette could see the palace grounds – probably a thousand feet below. The sight of it all made the blunette shiver with a soft sob.

But she told herself to save her tears. None of the guards cared.

Captain Roger was the first to step out onto the walkway. Marinette was the second, followed by the two other guards, and finally the royal executioner.

The wind tugged at Marinette, and she shivered again. She felt so broken, so fragile, she wondered if she would be blown right off the walkway. It seemed like a far worse fate than losing her head.

Up above, the sky remained as red as blood, and the matching sun was almost clear of the horizon.

And Marinette walked on.

The magic orb finally snapped free of its metal hold, and Trixx pushed against the thing with all her might.

It was a lot harder – and heavier – than she thought.

Inside it, Tikki, Plagg, and Wayzz were pushing in the same direction, hoping to give the fox kwami an extra boost.

The ball rolled along the table... until it slipped right over the edge.

Trixx cried out and scrambled back onto the table before she went down with the orb.

BOING! BOING-BOING!

The heavy, glass ball – which was apparently stronger than glass – bounced with a musical sound onto the stone floor. The kwamis inside whirled with it. When the orb came to a stop, Tikki was rubbing her head, Plagg's cat-like eyes had gone all swirly, and Wayzz looked like he was going to be sick.

"No – higher!" Nino called frantically. "You have to drop it from a bigger height!"

Trixx scowled at him, but she knew he was right. "Sure," she panted. "No problem."

"Hurry!" Adrien said, glancing up at the sunlight that was sinking further along the stone wall. "We're running out of time!"

Trixx took a deep long breath, and grunted firmly. Tricky I can do, tricky I can do...

And deep down, she prayed with all her diminutive, black heart that Alya was having better luck than her.

They didn't call it "the Block" for nothing.

Marinette stopped as soon as the soldiers brought her up to the large slab of stone in the middle of the platform. There was a small grove on top – slim and slender, like a human neck. On the other side of the block was a small basket.

Suddenly, Marinette's fighting instincts kicked in, and she struggled.

But the soldiers had always been stronger than her.

With callous hands, they shoved her unceremoniously to her knees before the stone. Marinette held back a cry of pain, but she didn't stop trying to get away.

As the executioner got into position, Roger came over with a bag in his hands. He held it open and prepared to slip it over Marinette's head.

"Wait."

Marinette snapped up at that voice. His voice!

"Adrien!" she sighed with immense joy.

Sure enough, the prince was standing right at the entrance to the platform, donned in a heavy, black cloak with the hood pulled over his head. His face looked grim and sincere, and his eyes were locked solely on the girl kneeling before him.

Roger and the other soldiers stared confusedly at the prince, but they obeyed nonetheless.

Marinette smiled as her beloved approached her, and suddenly she wasn't so cold anymore. He came back. He loves me. He came back...

Adrien bent down so that they were eye-to-eye.

She spoke first. "I knew you wouldn't go through with this," she said with renewed assurance.

Her prince lifted a corner of his mouth and stroked her chin with a gentle hand. But the look in his eyes shifted suddenly. There was happiness in them, but not the good kind. It looked more like... pleasure. Cruel, sadistic pleasure.

Then Adrien leaned closer and whispered to Marinette, "I just wanted to say goodbye..."

The change happened so fast, but long enough for only Marinette to see.

Underneath the black hood, the prince's face vanished, and another face – a woman's face – appeared. The yellow eyes gave it away.

"... Ladybug," the woman finished with a hateful hiss.

Marinette gasped.

Those eyes... That voice...!

Her nightmare had finally come true.

The truth hit her like a bucket of water. Suddenly, her joy and confusion were overtaken by rage. "Volpina!" she cried. "It's Vol-!"

Her shout was cut off when the bag came over her head.

The last thing Marinette saw before darkness covered her eyes was the sorceress's face changing back into Adrien's... and the wicked smugness it bore.

Marinette screamed and thrashed about ferociously. "No! It's Volpina! Volpina!" she tried to yell through the tight, suffocating bag.

But her words were muffled, and her screams fell on deaf ears.

Two pairs of strong hands forced her down by her shoulders, and Marinette coughed as her neck slammed against stone.

Alya's lungs burned, and her legs screamed at her to take a break.

But the redhead refused to stop. Time was not on her side. It was now or never.

Thankfully, the guard's instructions had been accurate. Before long, Alya had reached the top level of the eastern tower. Wind exploded around her as she came into open air. The red sky only made her more anxious.

If Alya hadn't been paying attention, she wouldn't have noticed the dark figure running along the suspended walkway before her.

Cursing under her breath, Alya ducked around one of the surrounding stone columns.

She heard the pattering of feet, and then they stopped.

Then, a boy chuckled.

Alya paused. Adrien?

The voice that was undeniably the prince's sang with sinister glee, "So long, baker's brat." Then he let out a dark laugh that was not Adrien's.

Alya tensed. She knew only one person in the world called Marinette "baker's brat".

The redhead fought the impulse to reveal herself and zap that two-faced witch to a crisp.

More footsteps sounded, and then they vanished down the tower. As soon as the door clicked shut, Alya scrambled out of her hiding place.

She approached the long, open walkway, and she reeled from the massive drop below.

A muffled scream broke her frozen stupor.

Alya glanced up... and gasped as a gleam of silver caught her eye.

A burly, masked man was raising a large axe over his head, and the light of the fully-risen sun reflected off of it like a beacon.

And right below him, writhing and kicking out with all her might, was Marinette.

"MARI!" Alya shrieked across the walkway like a banshee.

Four heads turned to see her, and the girl squirming in their grasp went absolutely still at the sound of her name.

Alya gritted her teeth, and ran towards them.

Captain Roger drew his sword and stepped out onto the walkway, blocking Marinette from Alya's view. "Finish it!" he shouted over his shoulder.

Rage, fear, and despair erupted inside Alya's chest. She wasn't going to make it. Not without a little help.

She grasped her pendant just as the blade of the axe started its descent.

Then, Alya flew.

She became an arrow of air and light, shrinking through the vacuum of space and shooting towards the platform faster than anything that ever lived. Stars danced in her vision, and time seemed to freeze as she flew. She saw Roger holding his blade out, but he didn't notice Alya as she soared past him. She saw the executioner's axe just inches away from Marinette.

Alya called upon the magic – her magic – and she hurled herself towards the executioner like a blazing star.

Time unfroze.

The masked man cried out as Alya's fiery force collided with his chest, causing him to draw his axe back as he went flying against one of the pavilion pillars. The stone cracked underneath his weight, and he went still with a groan.

At the same time, the blast of magic threw the two soldiers holding Marinette completely off their feet. They cried out as they landed hard on their backs. Captain Roger had been knocked onto his front by the seismic shockwave. But their prisoner remained untouched and unscathed by the attack.

Only then did Alya will her being back into existence, and she emerged out of the vacuum and landed in a crouch right beside the startled Marinette.

Suddenly, dizziness enveloped Alya, and she fell onto her hands and knees, gasping for breath. She felt like a wet rag that had been twisted and squeezed dry. The light from her pendant faded, and her vision went hazy and wonky.

Then... two small hands grasped her shoulders.

"Alya!"

The former thief looked up at the sound of her best friend's worried voice.

The bag was gone, and Marinette was kneeling in front of Alya with a mixed expression of joy, relief, and concern. But she was alive.

Alya offered a sleepy smile. "Hey. How's it going?" she said.

Marinette laughed, despite the fact that she had literally been inches away from death. "Thanks for saving me," she said as she threw her friend's arm over her shoulder and lifted her to her feet.

Alya shrugged, as though it was obvious. "I had to. That no-head look is so not you."

Marinette snorted with a shake of her head, but she was still smiling.

"You!"

Both girls started, and they realized too late that Captain Roger was back on his feet... and really unhappy.

Alya heard more shuffling on the platform, and she knew with a sinking feeling that the other two soldiers were coming around as well. Judging from the sound of metal slipping out of their sheaths, they were drawing their swords.

Roger's face was almost as red as his flaming hair, or the thundering, red sky above them. "I'll have your head for a trophy, street rat!" he snarled at Alya.

Marinette glanced between Roger and the two guards, making sure to keep herself between them and her best friend.

Though incredibly weak, Alya lifted her head to the sky. Trixx? She thought into the open, even though she knew it was pointless. We could reaaaallly use that back-up right now.

Trixx growled from the strain of the heavy ball, even though she was lifting it with magic. Volpina really never makes it easy, she thought resentfully, but she forced herself to keep going higher.

The dungeon ceiling stretched up about seven stories, and Trixx was only at five.

"What is it with you royals and having to make big, spacious rooms for everything?!" the fox kwami bellowed to the prisoners down below.

"Just hurry it up, Trixx!" Adrien shouted back urgently.

Suddenly, Master Fu stiffened with a horrified gasp. Then he yelled, "No! Now, Trixx! Drop it now!"

Trixx was more than happy to obey.

With one final excruciating tug, the little vixen released the magic.

The orb fell down, down, down...

Trixx heard everyone holding their breath.

Then, the glass ball smashed into a million pieces upon the stones.

As soon as it did, three streaks of light – red, black, and green – shot up into the air and zoomed through the barred window in the blink of an eye.

Marinette had no idea what just happened.

One second, the angry Captain Roger and his guards were coming at them, their swords drawing back to run her and Alya through.

The next second, a green-and-black blur emerged, and an electric bubble of matching light surrounded the two girls.

The soldiers' blades struck... and shattered like glass the moment they connected with the magical shield!

Roger's eyes and mouth gaped open.

That was the last thing Marinette saw before something lifted her briskly off her feet and carried her away from the platform. Alya went limp in her arms, but she wasn't in danger of falling. Neither of them were.

Because Marinette realized that the magic surrounding them now was sparkling red.

Looking to her left, the blunette was delighted to see a friendly, familiar face. "Tikki!" she cried.

The ladybug kwami smiled at her. "Next time you go on a picnic and don't invite me," she called over the howling wind, "I'm coming anyway!"

Marinette laughed as Tikki flew her two human friends into the sky and around the enormous towers of the palace.

They didn't stop until Tikki brought them to the tip top of one of the flat, golden domes. It wasn't exactly a safe spot, but it was big enough for a number of people to walk upon. Marinette figured it would be the one place Volpina wouldn't care to look.

Her heart darkened at the sorceress's name. So it was her all along, Marinette thought. She framed me for the king's murder. She pretended to be Adrien to break my heart. The blunette clenched one of her fists. And she used Trixx to accomplish it. I should've known...

The nightmares had warned her, and she knew deep down that Adrien would never abandon her, no matter what. She just didn't see it.

But now she saw it as clear as day, and Marinette was more than eager to get even with the wicked witch once and for all.

Tikki gently lowered the human girls down onto the dome. Alya immediately sank to her knees, grasping her forehead as though she had a pounding headache. Marinette kneeled beside her.

At that moment, Tikki blew a plume of pink sparkles out of her hand, and Marinette watched as they fluttered about Alya like sparkling sugar. When they faded, the redhead's head snapped up, fully awake.

"Geez... That attack was a doozy," Alya muttered as she stood up. "Remind me never to do that again."

Marinette nodded with a relieved smile.

POOF! POP!

The girls started, but then they relaxed when Plagg and Wayzz appeared beside them.

The black-cat kwami was snickering. "Ol' Cap'n Roger's going to feel that blow to his pride for a loooonnng time," he mused with a fanged grin.

Tikki folded her arms and frowned. "What did you do?"

Plagg batted his eyes innocently. "Oh, nothing drastic," he replied.

Wayzz chuckled. "Let's just say it involved a large cart of fertilizer."

Marinette burst out laughing just as an affronted Alya whined, "Hey, that's one of my tricks! Copycat!"

Plagg shrugged. "What can I say? I steal from the best."

Tikki rolled her eyes with a sigh. "If you two are quite finished, I have one last trick to perform."

She winked at Marinette before dispersing from the group and spinning around in a broad circle. Ribbons of red light appeared in her wake, and then there was a blinding flash.

Marinette cringed and looked away until the light dissipated.

When she opened her eyes, she inhaled sharply and a hand flew to her heart. Beside her, she heard Alya gasping too.

Six people stood before them, their arms raised and looking bewildered.

King Gabriel – alive and healthy has a horse – glanced around sharply.

Master Fu let out a delightful chuckle and lowered his arms.

Nino's eyes were wide and his pupils had shrunk. "Okay... that felt really weird," he muttered.

Marinette's parents glanced around curiously before both their eyes fell upon their daughter. Sabine covered her mouth, and Tom was beaming.

But Marinette only had eyes for the sixth person in the group.

The moment Adrien saw her, a joyous smile spread across his face. "Marinette!" he cried as he sprinted towards her.

Marinette let out a jubilant sob as she leapt into his open arms.

He lifted her off her feet and twirled her around, squeezing her so tightly she could feel his heartbeat. She stroked his golden hair and kissed his neck. It's him. It's really him!

Adrien set her down and clasped her face with both hands, as though trying to make sure she was real too.

"I'm okay, Kitty," she whispered with a smile. "I'm here."

And when he kissed her, Marinette's heart sky-rocketed and she kissed him back fiercely. That molten feeling in her core, that numbing pulse coercing through her veins... Yes, this was the Adrien she knew and loved with every fibre of her being.

No illusion would ever fool her again.