SASF CH.2: My Love Grows Each Passing Day.
"Life without love is a life not worth living, my Lady."
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Marinette stared silently at the back corner of the ambulance she was in. Her eyes were red and stung from the stream of tears that had been constantly flowing since the collapse.
Her heart had been shattered twice in that short amount of time in the building.
One. Her partner. Her friend, Chat Noir was crushed under the rubble with an unidentified akuma. Of course, many people tried getting Ladybug and him out, not knowing she wasn't in there, but they could find no trace of him in the giant pile of rubble that was once a four storied office complex. Marinette had felt her heart fall into her stomach at the news.
Two. Her beloved companion, Tikki, was gone, and she didn't even know how. She remembered those few short seconds like they had literally just happened. Which they had only happened a few hours ago, but still. Yet, she had no way of knowing how it happened the way it did.
The second the akuma had tackled her into the building, she felt her heart skip a beat, with a frightened distressed shout, she reached toward her partner quickly fading in the darkness.
"Chat!" She cried as she fell and fell and fell down the levels of the building until they both finally collided with pavement below.
Ladybug let out a cry from the pain that erupted from her spine and pushed the strange akuma off of her. She thanked her lucky stars for super healing and shakily got up on her feet.
"Okay, akuma, you're going down!" She quickly got into a battle stance as the akuma roared at her, one of its clawed hands glowing brightly with energy, and Ladybug spared a glance at the hand wearily before backing up away from them as it striked.
The superhero grunted, narrowly missing the attacks as they whizzed past her face, her hair blowing back from the force behind them. She grit her teeth, forcing her body to twist and shift in awkward ways to make sure she dodged the strikes.
She could feel the heat of the akuma's claws as they got closer and closer.
Eventually, her dodging wasn't enough as she needed Chat to create a diversion so she could think up a plan. Where on earth was that silly cat?
The akuma landed a hit on her leg, tearing into the fabric of her costume and leaving three deep gashes across it.
Ladybug cried out in pain, taking only a second to hold onto it, giving it her attention before turning to look at the akuma, small tears gathering in her eyes from the sting.
Suddenly, she felt a tingle run down her leg, with a gasp she ignored the akuma in favor of watching as her costume slowly began to dissipate from the wound on her leg, it disappeared bit by bit until she was standing there as Marinette Dupain-Cheng instead of where Ladybug had once been.
She felt a wave of panic begin to overtake her as she started to breath heavily, fearfully looking at the akuma that had let out a loud screech at the sight of her.
The building shook from underneath them, making Marinette shudder from an overwhelming dread. They REALLY didn't have much time.
"Ladybug!" Chat Noir's voice sounded from far above them.
Marinette only looked up at the direction of his voice for a moment before she was knocked down the hallway by a kick to her stomach.
She rolled down the hall, rubble scraping against her frame harshly as she finally began slowing down. Her face ached and her body was now incredibly sore.. Sliding to a stop on the inside of an opened closet door, Marinette quickly got to her feet, despite the numb feeling spreading throughout her body.
Adrenaline.
She was terrified, and her heavy breathing was an obvious giveaway. Her chest ached from the excessive breathing she had been doing, and her whole body felt like it had been pulled through a carwash.
When she saw the akuma's shadowed face appear in the doorway, she felt her hammering heart skip a beat.
With a screech the akuma went to lunge at her and Marinette prepared for the impact, that is until the building shook with a bit more force than usual, knocking large chunks of concreted rubble out in front of the akuma.
The evilized person let out a screech of pain, immediately drawing its hand back away from the pile quickly closing the schoolgirl in. It glared one last time before running off into the dark hallway to their left.
"No! Wait...Let me OUT!" She cried from the other side of the rubble. She began to feel the tears fall down her cheeks, dripping to the floor of the small closet she was in.
The light flickered overhead, creating an eerie feel, and only the sounds of the building groaning all around the once-heroine was heard. Marinette swallowed thickly, deciding to stop panicking for a bit to try and find an escape.
There had to be an alternative exit, right? The door was definitely out, but maybe there was a vent of sorts she could squeeze through?
...And after about five minutes of searching, Marinette gave up. With a shaky sigh she lowered herself to the floor in the very back of the closet, duly noting the glass shards that were littered on the ground all around her.
She felt a small whimper slip through her lips as she curled up into herself.
In the distance she heard a noise, a loud splash. Was the akuma coming back? She certainly hoped not.
"Ladybug!" She heard far in the depths of the crumbling building. Chat.
Marinette cried when she realized Chat might put two and two together and discover her identity. He'll be so disappointed. She whimpered again from the saddening thoughts.
She heard his rapid footsteps come up to the door, immediately followed by the use of his miraculous.
"Cataclysm!" He was right by the door now. Soon after the sound of his bad luck eating away the rubble and his fluent kicks pushing them away.
He swung open the door a second later, frantic to find his beloved partner. "Ladybu-" She saw his emerald eyes widen, briefly noting that his mask was in night vision mode and was also cracked next to his eye. Though, Marinette couldn't tell if he was hurt or not.
Those short flashes of the events prior to the collapse made Marinette all the more depressed with the situation.
He did all he could to save her, to protect her. He always did, even when she was Ladybug. But, this.. this was different.
He wasn't going to come back with a witty remark with this one.
He was gone.
...and it was all her fault.
Her chest tightened uncomfortably to the point of her pressing a hand to it with a small gasp.
He was gone. He was dead.
THEY COULDN'T FIND HIM.
Marinette felt tears fall down her cheeks again as a sob wracked her frame. Her body shook, her lips quivered, and her eyes screwed shut.
It wasn't like her partner was the only one gone, Tikki was now missing as well. Whatever that akuma did when she was Ladybug had made Tikki disappear.
Two of her closest friends and companions. Gone.
Who's next? Alya? Her mother and father?
The teen sighed, running a hand through her frayed pigtails, almost irritated by the situation she was in.
The akuma was an unknown person, due to the cloak, they have-..she has no idea who they are, meaning it will be that much harder to find the item with the akuma in it. Not to mention, Tikki and Chat Noir weren't here.
What...was she going to do?
Her eyes watered, threatening to overflow again. What WAS she going to do? Without them...she was nothing. She was just plain old Marinette now.
She barely noticed the back doors of the ambulance opening, and the frantic ramblings of her mother reaching her ears as she was quickly enveloped in a hug.
Her father was trying to be strong, while her mother just looked so relieved as she cried on her daughter's shoulder.
"Oh, Marinette! We're so glad you're safe! We were so worried. Alya said she couldn't find you and when we saw you coming out of that building..we.." The rest of her mother's sentence was inaudible due to her burying her face into the teenager's shoulder again and sobbing.
"Dear, we...We've been thinking about moving for a while now..but this..this is the finality point. Marinette, we're leaving Paris." Her father stated sternly, trying to hide his own fear.
What. "B-But, Papa! What about the bakery? My friends? We've lived in Paris my whole life!" She felt like crying when her father simply turned away, her mother finally removing herself from her daughter's shoulder.
"Papa, we can't move!" Paris wouldn't be able to defend themselves from the akuma attacks! And Hawkmoth, he would win!
She can't let her grief still her duty as Ladybug. Kwami or not, right now, Paris needs her more than ever.
Her mother shook her head, eyes tired and puffy from her crying. "Marinette, we can't stay here with all this chaos happening! It's not safe. " She rubbed her hand against her daughter's shoulder in a comforting gesture.
However, this did not have the intended reaction.
Marinette was quickly reminded of the building when Chat had turned, stilling their walking once he had heard her hiccup, placed his hands gently on her shoulders and gave his dashing smile. He flashed those vibrant green eyes at her for the last time and said 'You'll be okay. I promise you will make it out alright, Pr-'
"-Princess.." She muttered softly to herself as tears overflowed once again. She hiccuped, startling her parents when she suddenly let out and anguish filled sob.
"M-Marinette?" Sabine said softly, retracting her hand as quickly as it had come and stared at her daughter while sneaking a worried look at her husband, who looked just as confused.
The teenager curled into herself again,placing her head on her arms, hiding her face from her worried parents.
She heard the doors slam open once again, not even realizing they were closed before, and the garbled sentences spouted from her friend.
"Marinette! Oh my goodness, girl!" Alya ran over to the other, after a brief interaction with her parents to which they simply nodded.
The friend bounded over to the upset teen and hugged her close. "Mari, oh my gosh, I was so worried about you.. When you just ran away towards that building..I.. " She sighed and rubbed the girl's arm. "I'm sorry all of this has happened. This is all my fault... if I had ran after you.."
Marinette jumped up from the statement, a frustrated red blush on her cheeks. "You- Ah! It's not your fault!"
Her mother stepped closer to her, hesitant to touch her daughter after the last time. "Marinette...We've made up our mind.. We can't have you being put in danger anymore. You could've gotten ki-"
"But, I didn't, mom! But someone else did! Someone who does everything to protect Paris! Someone who saved me!" The bluenette turned, beyond frustrated by her situation and angrily addressed the older woman.
"I can't leave here when people need help!"
"Marinette, what on earth do you-"
"No, mom! I'm not leaving here! Not after what happened to-... What happened to Chat Noir. " She looked to the floor at that, standing up from her position with a newfound determination.
"I'm not going anywhere when there's people who need my help."
And with that, Marinette ran out of the ambulance, still on the site of the collapsed building. She ignored the calls from her mother and father, and the ones from her best friend.
She didn't care. She ran and ran, moving herself as swiftly as she could with her small injuries.
She didn't stop, no matter how much her chest ached and her body hurt, she ran until she couldn't no more.
It was late by the time she collapsed behind an old bake shop, not unlike her parents, and stared up at the sky.
The rain, thankfully, had slowed to more of a sprinkle, it lightly falling onto her already well-soaked form.
Marinette felt like dying.
Dying so the pain in both her body and mind would go away. She began to think it would never go away.
To this day, Ladybug had denied any feelings other than platonic for the cat-suited hero. To this day..she had claimed her love for Adrien to be the only one that claimed her heart..
But on this day, Marinette realized that it didn't work that simply anymore.
She loves Chat Noir. She loved him.
Yet, she never told the cat superhero of her ever growing affections. Mainly because she'd never hear the end if it. What she wouldn't give to hear him call her his lady one last time.
She shivered on the ground, as the cold night air hit her small form
"What..What am I going to do without you?"
Did he feel or was he in any kinda pain before he..before he went? Was he happy, sad? Did he feel scared, probably.
She remembered seeing his mask broken on one side, letting Marinette know that Chat's eyes were actually a vibrant green like his mask allowed her to see. Maybe it wasn't too bad, but she briefly saw a cut just below his left eye. Most likely from the material of his mask breaking.
Marinette ran a few fingers to her now loose blue hair, hating the fact that she had to go home at some point.
She sat up, a bit wobbly, but steady enough and looked at her surroundings. She saw the rundown shop and lifted a brow. Maybe she wouldn't have to go home after all.
With shaky legs, she made her way in through the broken window to the side. If she could just get out of these damp clothes.
After stumbling around for a few minutes she was able to find some old employee uniforms in the back room and sighed with relief when she peeled the wet clothes from her cold self.
They felt oddly warm compared to the clothes she had been wearing and she happily snuggled into them. Then, after doing some more searching she found some things suitable for creating a makeshift bed for herself.
She thought for a moment if this was all worth it, staying here when she would have an actual bed at home to use and clothes to wear.
Her stomach garbled loudly.
Food to eat, especially.
She shook her head, expelling the thoughts from her mind. She was being selfish. Paris needed her here, even if she could.t be Ladybug at the moment. But, Chat wasn't here to protect it for her so it had to be her.
She was the only one capable of getting rid of the akuma residing within the poor person they had encountered. At one point, Marinette wondered who the mysterious evilized person could be. She and Chat certainly had no idea, but the thing seemed to be fixated on her.
Marinette shuddered at the thought of it finding her again when she was completely defenceless.
Still, she wrapped her counter sheet tighter around herself, school, should she go? Would it be wise to go? She certainly needed the interaction.
But would her parents come and take her home?
She knew it was a risky gamble, people were probably looking for her now. But, for some reason, there was a tingling on the back of her neck, a sign she has long since known as her body's way of showing her what she needs. Call it super intuition.
She felt this need to go to school tomorrow, this indescribable pull. Like there was something there she had to see.
So, with the tingling aside she had to go tomorrow. No matter the consequences. SOMETHING was going on, and the akuma was probably apart of it. But, her intuition had never steered her wrong before.
Marinette felt the fatigue overcome her, the stress of the events earlier weighing too much on her fragile mind. So, she slept away through the night, not waking up sometime as she normally would, despite the makeshift bed she was using. It wasn't very comfortable.
It was the early hours of morning when Marinette woke up again, she sat up, groaning at her sore back and neck. As she stood, she stretched herself out, wincing when her limbs popped from the strain.
Just as the sun was coming up beyond the horizon did Marinette realize the dire situation she was in.
She turned the black work uniform inside out to make sure the name wouldn't show and tried fixing her hair at least a bit presentable before looking down at her bag, laying by her clothes. Her tablet was in there, fully charged and off so thankfully the battery wasn't going to die anytime soon.
She reached in and turned it on, needing to check the time. When it finally turned on she received a buttload of messages from her family and Alya, even some from Nino. But, none from Adrien, which Marinette wouldn't admit, hurt her a bit. She ignored the messages in favor of looking at the clock, 7:24 A.M.
Not too early for going to school. In all honesty though, Marinette was just glad she wasn't late for once.
As quickly as she had turned it on, Marinette switched off the tablet again. Placing it in her purse once she strapped it to her side.
It may be unwise to go to school when she didn't want to be found, and she continued to think that while she made her way up to the double doors, ignoring the looks of passersbys when she walked into the hallway.
Since she knew she wasn't going to smell the best, given yesterday and no shower today, Marinette went into the girl's bathroom to at least wash her hands and face. She was definitely lucky that the uniform she was wearing just barely covered the cuts she received on her arms.
She was washing the grime off of her face when she heard an obnoxious voice coming into the bathroom. One that could only belong to the one and only Chloe Bourgeois.
"-and he hasn't even answered me ONCE! I mean, what kind of boyfriend does that?!" The mayor's daughter came bounding into the bathroom, just missing Marinette, who hid inside a stall the last second.
The small, feeble voice of her satellite, Sabrina responded. "But, Adrien...he isn't TECHNICALLY your boyfriend, is he? I mean...He doesn't seem to act like you two are together. " Marinette could almost see the way the girl's fingers would play with each other in her nervous way.
"Please! Whose side are you on anyway? Adrien is my boyfriend because only the rich and beautiful can get together with someone who is also rich and beautiful. It's just the facts! Not that YOU'D know anything about them." Chloe waved her hand at the red headed girl and then pouted at her.
"But, he still hasn't returned anything I've sent him! No texts, calls, invites… Nothing! It's driving me insane! I tried calling his father but he's been away on business and his secretary won't give me any kind of answers! Ugh!" She slapped her arm, bracelets jingling from the movement.
"What am I going to do about Adrien ignoring me?! I need ideas, Sabrina!" Chloe turned to her 'friend' and raised a manicured eyebrow. "Helllooo?"
Marinette felt her eyes roll from the ridiculous behaviour that made Chloe herself. She leaned against the stall, pressing her ear against it to hear them a bit better. Adrien was missing?
Her Adrien was missing?
The teen felt tears well up in her eyes but she quickly blinked them away.
A warning bell echoed through the school and Marinette heard the groan of Chloe and the nervous whimper from Sabrina follow soon after.
"If he doesn't show up for class, I'm calling daddy to send out search parties. " The mayor's daughter huffed and stomped out of the bathroom, her satellite soon after.
Marinette exited the stall, looking at the exit with a soft look. Adrien, huh? She didn't believe it.
As she redid her ponytails, she looked into her own eyes in the mirror. They were almost dull now, a lifeless grey compared to the crystal blue they were before.
She wore a more determined face when she finished tightening her ties and stared at herself.
"You..are Ladybug. " She mouthed silently, glaring at her reflection. "Dont act like such a child." She said aloud and stalked out of the restroom and down the hall.
If Adrien was in trouble, powers or not, Marinette was going to save him.
She walked into the classroom, instantly noting that neither Nino or Alya were there, as the tardy bell rang, Marinette took her seat.
She laid her head on her hand and boredly stared up at the board.
Chloe, however, had finally got her nose out of her powder to notice what she was wearing and sneered. "Nice outfit, loser. Find it in the dumbster? Seriously, you think you can save some trash for the res-"
The sound of the door slamming open startled everyone in the room, including Chloe and the teacher just preparing the lecture.
"-of….us?" She finished slowly, staring wide eyed at the figure making their way across the room, completely ignoring the entire class' eyes on them.
They sat down next to a confused Marinette and sat back in the chair comfortably as if they owned it.
"It..can't be.." Sabrina started timidly.
"A-Adrien?" Marinette stated, staring at the teen cautiously.
Said boy turned and looked at the girl beside him, once again completely ignoring everyone else and gave her an off smile. His eyes took on a darker tint than the vibrant green the girl was used to admiring. He was looking over at Marinette with an odd stare.
Everything about this seemed off, Marinette concluded.
"Why hello there, Marinette!"
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It's done! Sorry about the wait! Tbh, it's been an off and on process.
SO WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING? OHOHO
See you next time! -ShadTastic