Ch 10:
"NO!" The scream that tore from Ladybug's chest was primal and raw, a roar from a primitive time when instinct dictated action. She was overcome with a surge of energy as if she had tapped into some hidden font fed by desperation upon hearing Ruin's words. She exploded from her crouch, launching herself toward him and flinging her yo-yo at his smug face.
Ruin brought a clawed hand up, interrupting the yo-yo's trajectory and causing it to wrap around his wrist. Standing tall and bracing himself, he grabbed the string and yanked it sideways, obligating the airborne Ladybug to change course.
Oh no you don't, Ladybug silently countered as she shifted her bodyweight, turning midair with the force of the sudden pull and angling herself between Ruin's legs. Falling fast, she hit the ground and slid through his wide stance, forcing his entangled arm to follow her path through his legs as she emerged from behind him.
Ruin offset the move with a quick front-flip barrel roll, barely landing the acrobatic display in a crouched position and facing her, but having effectively freed himself from the yo-yo's string.
As before, whatever Ruin's power-exuding hands touched would begin to disintegrate on contact, although the dark energy was not radiating from him in waves as it had.
He's curbing his power expenditure, Ladybug noted. Adrien was right; Ruin learned fast and would not make the same mistake again.
She leapt to the side to put some distance between them, between her and death itself, but Ruin was too fast. Reaching out, he grabbed her ankle and yanked her backward, toward him, bringing the other hand down toward her terrified and very exposed face. She didn't even have time to close her eyes, and watched in horror as her doom came plunging toward her.
"STOP!" Hawkmoth seized control of his chosen, commanding him through their telepathic bond. "We need the miraculous! If you destroy her, the miraculous will be destroyed with her!"
Ruin faltered in his attack; a moment's hesitation, but enough for Ladybug to spin herself face-down, propelling her free leg through the air and into the side of his head. The blow caught Ruin off-guard and he released his hold, allowing Ladybug to scramble to her feet.
Facing her foe again, Ladybug immediately noticed the pink outline hovering in front of Ruin's face and his suddenly tense posture. Had Hawkmoth just saved her life?
Ruin rolled his shoulders and stood, stretching his neck as if preparing for exercise. He laughed lightly as he mentally countered Hawkmoth's commands. "Silly Nooroo, do you honestly think you're powerful enough to control me?"
Hawkmoth withdrew a step from the window, despite the fact that several miles separated him from the battle. He had not released his hold on Ruin. He had not permitted him to move, and yet…
"You will obey me! I gave you this power, Adrien, and I can remove it just as easily!" Hawkmoth projected his threats through the bond, directing his power to bend his chosen to his will once more. Usually it was effortless for him to reach through the bond and take hold of his minion, as easy as clutching a physical object right in front of him. Now, although Hawkmoth stretched his will, he felt as if he were grasping at air.
"You stupid human," Ruin's superior tone came to Gabriel's mind again. "I am not your son, and I am not your puppet. I am a GOD, and I tire of your puerile meddling."
With those words, Gabriel felt the connection shatter. He stumbled backward as his kwami, Nooroo, fell from the brooch he wore on his collar, landing on the ground in front of him with a soft thud and a moan.
"What happened?!" Gabriel unceremoniously scooped up the small purple creature, grasping him too tightly and bringing him up to eye level. "Why did you release him!" he demanded.
Nooroo fought against the exhaustion that threatened to pull him into unconsciousness. "I am sorry master," the moth kwami squeaked. "I would have warned you, but I… I didn't know."
The hesitant fear in his kawmi's voice took some of the angry edge from Gabriel's tone. Had he made some mistake, some oversight? "What, Nooroo? What did you not know?" he pressed.
The tiny god sighed. "I did not know Plagg was there, master. I did not know that he would interfere."
Gabriel was confused, but he could not ignore the feeling of dread ebbing into his mind. "Who is Plagg, and why does it matter?"
Nooroo met his master's gaze, apprehension evident in his reply. "Plagg is the kwami of the god of destruction… and you, we, just granted him his power. We provided a direct connection through the akuma. Without the impedance of the miraculous chosen… we have awakened the god of destruction. We have brought Ruin to the world."
Back on the streets of Paris, Ladybug unremittingly battled Ruin. Although she fought for both herself and Chat, with more determination and strength than she had ever invoked on her own, Ruin countered her blow for blow. He was too fast, too powerful, and she was forced to maintain the defensive position as one wrong move meant certain death.
He dove for her, and she leapt into the air again, vaulting off of him and calling for her lucky charm. Please be something good! she prayed.
Catching the object that had materialized midair and landing a few feet away from her foe, she turned it over in her hands. The dagger was long and relatively plain save the ladybug-spot pattern, wickedly sharp, and heavy in her hands. Another weapon?! Ladybug was exasperated by this new and somewhat disturbing trend. What's with all the weapons all of a sudden?
Ruin laughed at her perplexed expression, taking in the sight of the object she held in her hands. "A dagger? And just what do you hope to do with that?" he momentarily paused his assault to mock her.
Her eyes darted around the landscape. They were in an open street. The streetlamps were mostly destroyed and dark, leaving only the moon to illuminate her surroundings. The street was empty and full of potholes thanks to Ruin's destructive touch, and while the sidewalk was shattered in some spots leaving large fragments of concrete, nothing popped out to her as significant. Try as she might, the only thing in the vicinity that captured her attention was Ruin himself. Over and over, her eyes flitted back to the figure of her partner, who was eyeing her with a self-satisfied smirk.
"Will you plunge that weapon into the chest of your beloved, ending his life to save your precious city?" Ruin continued to taunt her as he slowly crept forward. "Because let me assure you, that is the only way you will take this ring from me." To emphasize his point, Ruin clasped his right hand into a fist, securing the ring in its spot.
Marinette tore her attention from the environment and focused back to her opponent. She had been distracted, he was too close. She gripped the dagger and tensed.
"Too slow, Princess!" He sprang at her, left hand extended with deadly purpose.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" she screamed, throwing the enigmatic 'lucky charm' above her head. It burst out of existence with a flourish of red and black, but no massive wave of swirling magic swept through the streets to repair the damage they had done. She had not purified the akuma, and thus the power of her miraculous was severely limited.
Redirecting his attack, Ruin rocketed into the air, sweeping his hand through the humble cloud of magic, disintegrating it into nothingness before it could restore a single slab of concrete.
Ladybug took the opportunity of the distraction to do the only thing she could think of. She ran. She ran like hell. She ran for her life.
The diminutive girl crouched behind the dumpster in a tattered dress, her dark hair clinging to her dirty, tear-stained face, and clutched her tiny friend as if she embodied the last shred of hope in the world. After retrieving some cookies from her chosen's purse (thankful she didn't have to go rooting through the dumpster to regain her strength), Tikki was doing her best to comfort Marinette, who was racked with guilt.
"You did the right thing, Marinette! He was going to kill you. You can't possibly help Adrien if you're dead!" the bug-kwami reassured her.
Marinette shook her head. She had failed. She was useless as Ladybug, and even moreso as Marinette. She had run away, leaving Adrien under the control of that thing, that evil creature. At least she hoped she did.
"Tikki… what Ruin said. You don't think he… you don't think Adrien is actually…?" Marinette couldn't bring herself to say the word.
Tikki didn't know what to say. Faced with silence, Marinette continued to think aloud.
"He can't be, right? Adrien said that the akuma got Plagg, but Ruin is still in Adrien's body, so Adrien must still be alive, right?"
Tikki sighed. "I… I don't know, Marinette."
The large blue eyes of her chosen were so full of misery and torment, Tikki felt her heart break for the girl. So, she decided to share what she did know, hoping it would help… somehow.
"Listen Marinette, the book that we brought back to Master Fu… it explains a bit more about us, about the gods and the kwamis, more than I ever knew. I think it explains a little of what's going on here."
Marinette didn't trust herself to speak, so she only nodded to indicate that she was listening. The black-spotted creature continued.
"Long ago, all of the gods were one being. Destruction and creation coexisted, they occurred simultaneously. All of creation both came into existence and ceased to exist at once."
Marinette blinked. She had a hard enough time understanding the laws of physics; this existential existence/non-existence stuff was beyond her.
"The all-powerful, all-encompassing being was literally everything, but it was also utterly alone. It craved companionship, so it divided itself in half: it separated itself into Creation and Destruction, Alpha and Omega, the two great gods. The moment it did so, the last moment that creation and destruction were one, is what your scientists now refer to as the Big Bang. It was in this moment that time began."
Marinette remembered this concept from school. She had never understood how the universe could explode into being, but if creation and destruction were once the same thing, it made sense… sort of.
"Some aspects of the being did not fit into either great god; they did not belong to either creation or destruction. Like… water, for example. Water can bring life to a desert, or it could carve a crevice into solid rock. It both creates and destroys. Thus, along with the two greater gods, five lesser gods also came into being."
"The other miraculouses…" Marinette was lost in thought, attempting to follow.
"Yes," Tikki nodded, pleased that she was listening so intently, "but not miraculouses yet. You see, the gods, in their full power, were constantly at war. Storms raged, the Earth shook, entire populations were wiped out. It was chaos. The gods knew that they must limit their powers somehow, contain them, or a balance could never be achieved. So, they devised the miraculouses: they separated a vast majority of their power from their essence as gods, and sealed it away in an object. Thus, if needed, the power could be retrieved, but only through a host—a chosen."
"So then the kwamis are… the essences of the gods?" Marinette gaped at her tiny red friend.
"That's right Marinette!" Tikki grinned.
Marinette thought back to Adrien, and Plagg, and Ruin. "But… when I'm using your power as Ladybug, I'm still me. Adrien and Ruin are… distinct." She remembered how Ruin would refer to Adrien as if he were an entirely separate person, and how Adrien spoke of suppressing Ruin.
Tikki nodded, her expression growing more solemn. "Yes. You see, at first, we tried to access our powers more directly. Our chosen's physical body limits our powers to an extent, and we thought that would be enough. However, we soon learned that—" Tikki winced. This part she recalled personally. "If we take full control of our chosen, we force his or her soul out. Two souls, that of the human and the god, cannot inhabit the same form; the mind rejects it. Therefore, we chose to take a more passive role, and allow our chosen to wield our powers on our behalf. And that is how it has been for thousands of years."
Marinette gasped. "B-But that means, if Ruin is Plagg controlling Adrien's body, then Adrien-!" her heart raced as her thoughts spiraled toward their inevitable conclusion. It couldn't be. He can't be gone.
Tikki's voice was soft. "He can fight. He might still be fighting for control, holding on. Eventually though, only one of them will be victorious. But Marinette, there is something more important to worry about."
Marinette stared at her kwami in disbelief. "More important than Adrien's life?!"
Tikki held her gaze. "Marinette, I believe Nooroo's power, through the akuma, has restored Plagg's power to him directly. While he is limited somewhat by the human form that the akuma bound him to, he is still far more powerful, more complete, than the rest of us. Do you understand Marinette? Ruin will not stop. He cannot stop. All he can do is destroy, and he will continue to do so until there is nothing left."
Marinette's eyes widened. "Tikki, can't you do something?" the desperation in her voice indicated that she understood the gravity of the tiny goddess's warning.
"Not alone. Kwamis can't access their powers directly. But we can do something. You must destroy the akuma, to close the bridge between Plagg and his powers. You must Marinette, for the sake of the world, by any means necessary. Even if it means sacrificing the one you love the most."
Although she danced around the words, Marinette knew what Tikki was implying. She had been there, fighting with her against Ruin. She had seen the dagger her lucky charm had bestowed her.
Tikki wanted her to kill Adrien. …assuming he wasn't dead already.
Kill him to get to the akuma. Kill him to save the world. To save everyone, all of her friends, her family…
"Tikki…." Marinette's voice shook with fear. The little red god patted her chosen's face as the girl shook her head. The kwami knew it must be a lot to take in, and did not envy the decision she would have to make.
"Tikki…."Marinette's voice came stronger with her second attempt. A new dismaying realization had pushed her impossible choice to the back of her mind. For now, she knew what she had to do. "I can't sit here and process this. He knows where I live. He knows how to get to my family. We have to go, NOW!"
Maman, Papa… I'm coming! Marinette's resolve to protect those she loved gave her the will-power to stand, to prepare to fight again. I don't know what I'll do when I get there, but I'm coming!
"One more time Tikki… SPOTS ON!"
Author's note: I can't even say how happy I was to read the reviews for the last 2 chapters! Hopefully the rapid-fire publishing gives you a hint ;) You guys are the best, I just love being able to share my head-cannon with you! Hearing/reading your reactions is like watching it go down together 3 This chapter takes some artistic liberties re: the origin of the kwamis but hopefully fills in some of the blanks about what's happening to poor Chat. WE'RE NEARING THE END YOU GUYS! -Floof
