A/N: If updates seem really punctual to you it's because I'm like... trying to finish this. Long story short, author here is balancing A-levels, an EPQ and writing in her spare time because she is a crazy, procrastinating person with more than five stories waiting to be finished. Don't be like author. Don't. You'll forever be wondering where all your time goes - especially with writing.
ANYWAY, all that aside, I'm not rushing this. Rewrites are just smoother to write because I have the bone-work from the past work. That's why updates are pretty simple with ABOI - well, until I finish this and start on Keep It Together. But that's a story for another time - literally.
Feel free to ignore my ramblings lovelies. Till next time,
D.L.D
Chapter Twenty One: When the stars align
Alya
School days just never felt the same anymore. Ever since Marinette had been admitted to the hospital, hanging onto the living world by a slowly dwindling thread, things had never felt the same. For any of them.
Waking up had never felt like such a struggle. Having a shower, brushing her hair and pulling on a pretty depressing ensemble of jeans and an old band t-shirt had never felt so much like climbing up a mountain. This morning, as Alya brushed her teeth and glared at her reflection, she had really thought about it all. Marinette. Adrien. Lila. Was this all some sort of sick game played out by the gods? Was it some kind of bet they were having, pooling together their own powers and using it to inflict pain and suffering? Or was it something else? Someone else?
Never before had Alya been stuck on such a thought. Divine justice. That had to be what this was. Some kind of divine justice that was playing itself out in order to keep the universe balanced. That was why Rena Rouge had kicked Ladybug; that was why Vixen was still at large. Something greater was pulling the strings. Something watching them all, like a chess player watching the board, was moving them piece by piece, trying to balance out the damage done.
But why?
When Alya got to class, halfway through a piece of jammy toast, she begrudgingly took her solitary seat. No Marinette again. Not that Marinette would be here for a while. Being in a coma tended to do that to people.
Next to arrive was Chloe Bourgeois and her loyal lapdog, Sabrina Raincomprix. There wasn't much to say about Chloe these days - which was saying a lot because the blonde loved to wiggle her way right into the middle of trouble. Yet, for once, Chloe was keeping her nose out of it. Ever since that party, what felt like eons ago, Chloe Bourgeois had been nothing but an afterthought. Nothing but a simple, annoying buzz.
"Ah, if it isn't Alya Cesaire," Chloe greeted, her voice just like the drone of big, fat fly. Grinning smugly from her seat, nail file out and Sabrina rummaging for Chloe's last minute homework, she looked as if she won the lottery. The usual victorious expression for the class' famed queen bee. "Such a shame that Dupain-Cheng is in hospital, right? She really didn't deserve that."
"You know, sarcasm doesn't take away the insult," Alya muttered, clenching her fists beneath the desk because if she didn't she would lose it. Marinette was still a touchy subject. One week wasn't enough time to scab over the wound, not with it throbbing and bleeding all over the place. Even the plaster, clumsily slapped on like a coat of paint by a five year old, was drowning in the sheer amount of blood lost.
One week had passed and nothing seemed to have changed at all. Everything else still went on. Everyone else still lived on. But Marinette, poor, poor Marinette, was still stuck in the past. Breathing through a tube, living through machines, she was forced to remain in the past. All while everything else moved on.
And it was all Alya's fault.
"I assure you there's no sarcasm coming from me," Chloe sniffed, turning away from Alya as she continued to file her nails. Beside her, Sabrina had perked up, glancing up from the work on their desk and anxiously watching Chloe's display. "But you, Alya, could take a chill pill. It's not like she died or anything."
As if that could ever equate to what happened. As if dying could ever equate to perpetual limbo! At least if Marinette was dead, gone and dusted from this world, Alya would be able to fully absorb what had happened; everyone would have been able to get over what happened. But like this - waiting for a final answer - they were strung along by false hope. Silly, optimistic traces of their former selves.
"Well, she still isn't living!" Alya was standing in an instant, her voice raised from twenty to a hundred as she yelled at the blonde brat. No-one had the right to speak about this - not in the way that those who knew Marinette most, those who cared for Marinette most, could. Especially rotten Chloe Bourgeois, a blonde bully who did nothing but make Marinette's life hell ever since they crossed paths as literal kids.
No-one else knew about what happened aside from those who were there. No-one else knew about that final, sealing kick apart from three people: Vixen, Rena Rouge and Marinette herself. No-one else. No-one because Alya knew, deep in her bones, that if anyone else knew and Marinette died, she'd never be able to recover from the guilt.
"I'm sure what happens next will be her own fault," Chloe shrugged nonchalantly, completely ignoring the building agitation within Alya. As if none of it scared her. As if Alya's wrath, the obvious anger flaring in her eyes, was nothing but a flicker of flame in the wind. "Whether it's life or death, Marinette had it coming. Because we all know that Marinette was far from being a perfect angel."
"You have no right to talk about her like that," Alya grit out from a tight jaw, teeth clenched together to keep the anger within her pent up. Tight, as tight as a lock on a bank safe, her fists balled up even more, her nails biting into the delicate skin of her palms. "Not with how you treated her."
"I know I don't," Chloe responded, light and cool and breezy as she examined her freshly filed nails. Glancing back at Alya, something dangerous flickered within the icy blue of her eyes, "But then again, it's the horrible truth and who's really going to stop me from sharing it?"
"Me."
All heads turned to the classroom's latest arrival, blonde and foreboding and definitely not happy. Adrien Agreste, looking like he'd been awake for half the night as he lingered in the doorway. Arms folded, model face pressed into a disappointed frown, he looked the epitome of a person let down by others. Not that he wasn't already a poster-board example of someone let down time and time again by other human beings.
"A-Adrien!" Immediately Chloe grew nervous, shrinking beneath his displeased stare. Now Sabrina had grown more of an edge, the work forgotten and her pencil dropped as she immediately sprung into action to defend her friend - just as every loyal lapdog should.
"Chloe wasn't doing that at all!" Sabrina protested, challenging Adrien with her own judging stare. Standing up, as if that could protect both herself and Chloe from Adrien's disappointment, she dared to grow even more bold, "We weren't trying to badmouth Marinette. Chloe would never do that because she knows- "
"Just go," Adrien interrupted, seemingly not in the mood for whatever drama would spiral from this interaction. On most other days Alya would sneak in a snide remark about how Adrien had basically roasted Chloe's spoiled ass. Being dismissed because no-one wanted hear your excuses? That was a sure sign that someone was tired of you telling them false truths, pure bullshit that you tried to refine into the truth.
However, today, Alya had no words. No words for Chloe as she scoffed and marched herself and Sabrina out of the room. No words for the awkward silence that settled with her and Adrien being left behind in the classroom. There were no words for anything. Not even the marks left on her palms, reddened crescents of future small cuts. That confrontation had drained her; that conversation had taken much more than she thought it would.
"Thanks for that," Alya found herself eventually saying, addressing it to the blonde sitting in the row right in front of her. That seat was chosen because of Marinette. That seat had always been chosen because of Marinette. Alya found herself smiling at the thought, warmth spreading throughout her system. Adrien loved that girl much more than he even knew. "I really could have lost my temper there. But you managed to diffuse it."
"That's what friends are for," Adrien's response was light and breezy but Alya sensed the shift beneath it. They hadn't been like friends for a long time. They didn't even know if they were still friends after what happened.
"I want to," Alya sighed, the exhalation pushing the blockage of words from her throat. Closing her eyes, she tried to steel herself. Right now she had to do this - before she could chicken out of it. "I want to apologise for last week. I overreacted. When you lost control and nearly killed Vixen - nearly killed me in the process - I was just so scared and I... I was worried that you'd be out of control," Alya sighed once more shaking her head, as tears slipped from her eyes, "I had to use a mirage to stop you. I had to pretend to be her."
When she met his gaze after getting that admission off her chest, Alya knew that her words had hit home. Wide-eyed, Adrien Agreste was speechless for once. No wise-cracks or even a cheeky look could be gained from him. Instead he seemed to shrink inward, sinking into some kind of inner mind palace that only he had the key for. Sadness - a deep sense of sadness and dread appeared to seep from him, almost like a choking perfume.
"I should be the one to apologise," Adrien sighed, his shoulders deflating with the admission. "You weren't the only one acting out that night. I did lose control and I... I didn't know that you had to do that to get me under control. You weren't wrong to knock me out and you definitely weren't wrong to take my miraculous."
Neither of them were wrong for how they acted. Neither of them were perfect. They were flawed, human, rough around the edges and yet smooth at the centre. All they'd ever wanted was what was best for the world.
"I saw my father this morning," Adrien continued, sinking deeper into that realm of deep thought that Alya just couldn't access. At all. No matter how hard she tried. "And I realised that I didn't want to be like him. I don't want to be a man ruled by the past. Living like that just isn't me," Taking in a deep breath, Adrien sucked in what must have been tears because Alya could feel her own brewing, "So I'm sorry Alya. I shouldn't have been such an ass."
Curling on her lips, Alya grinned, "Did you just swear?"
Together they burst into a fit of laughter as the rest of the class began to pile into the room for the day. Confused and yet heart-warmed, they watched as their classmates reconciled, sharing the first real laugh between them for what had been a long week. First no Marinette; then a distant Alya and Adrien; finally was Nino, drifting in and out of reality, lost in a world that didn't seem to be his own. The core four were going through it.
But today, as if it were some sort of good omen, Alya and Adrien were getting along. For the first time in a while they were sharing smiles with each other.
"The only thing missing is Nino," Alya sighed as everyone took their seats. Nearly the entire class was in today, only five seats being vacant of the usual cohort. "Speaking of, where is that goof?"
"He called in sick," Adrien grinned at the memory of his friend's phone call. Pretending to spew chunks into a toilet was definitely an inventive way to call one's best friend early in the morning. Couple that with some weird kids' nursery rhyme playing in the background and you know you have a hit for the internet. "He said something about eating bad food. But knowing Nino it was just an excuse to do something else."
"In other words he's gone on patrol," Alya responded, almost sarcastic in her phrasing. "Again."
Adrien's nod was nothing but a grim sign to her. For the past week Nino had been almost obsessive with his patrols, disappearing for hours at a time before reappearing and saying nothing. Almost like a spy, like someone who was spending their time doing secretive things, he was closed off and distant. Way too distant.
That cheery DJ who had stolen her heart was a far cry from the quiet and broody young man she now saw. Barely anyone saw him anymore. The Dupain-Chengs didn't even get his usual order of a dozen cupcakes. Something was going on with Nino and Alya was worried that it all tied back to Vixen.
"He needs to take a break," Alya admitted, shaking her head. Too many times she had tried to tell him just that and every time he ended up back on the rooftops, watching Paris from the shadows. "I've told him over and over again but he just won't listen! It's like he feels the guilt ten times more than us," Pursing her lips, Alya sighed, "If only Marinette was here..."
"We all need her," Adrien agreed, his own sigh joining hers as he stared at the board ahead, slowly being filled with doodles thanks to Alix and Kim. It looked like they were playing a quick game of hangman.
"For sure we do," Alya nodded, a little bit of amusement slipping into her voice. "She was what kept us sane."
"Are you calling me insane, Cesaire?" Adrien dared to smile a little, lighting up his green eyes.
"Completely off your rocker, Roger," Alya also grinned, chuckling a little as she gave a small salute. "We're all a merry band of insane teammates."
As if sensing the ambient atmosphere within the classroom, Ms Bustier walked in, surprisingly chipper despite the slight chaos ensuing within her room. Little change had touched her, aside from the tell-tell signs of becoming a parent and what was probably a night spent marking a whole load of papers for one of her classes. Nevertheless, she greeted her class with the same smile as always, heading to her desk to boot up her laptop.
"Good morning class," As always the teacher greeted her students with a positive start. Even if they were currently defacing her whiteboard, trying to spell out a rather offensive term in Latin. "I'm sure you've all heard but we have a trip on the cards for today. Since it's been a while since Marinette has attended class, due to personal circumstances, the school has allowed us a day trip to see her. Especially since it was due to an akuma attack."
Usually, by now, the entire room would have erupted into cheers and smiles and giggles as everyone planned over how they'd spend the day. Alix would be in a corner with Max and Kim, telling them that they had to hit the best spots first; Ivan and Mylène would be with Rose and Juleka, discussing as a group which activities they would all like to do; Nathaniel would be drifting between groups or planning to pair up with Marc; then you would have Alya, Nino, Marinette and Adrien, Alya and Nino scheming away at how to get Marinette and Adrien all alone.
Normally, everyone would be excited. Normally, they'd all be ecstatic. Today they were all silent, washed over with a solemn sense of melancholy at just the mention of their classmate. The cheery baker's daughter who had missing for over a week.
While they all remained silent, Alya and Adrien shared a glance. They both knew that they could use this free time to visit Marinette as well as help Nino with whatever agenda he was trying to pull all by himself.
"Since it will be a day trip," Ms Bustier continued, trying to slice through the awkward stillness. "You will all be allowed to use phones, spend money and get lunch from the premises."
Once all explanations were finished, the class slowly trickled into ambient conversation once more. Slowly, gradually, they all warmed up to the idea of going to visit Marinette, Rose planning to coordinate balloons or some kind of card for her while Mylène was suggesting signing any casts she had. Soon the entire class was bubbling with excitement and ideas on how to try and cheer Marinette up, classmates pitching in funds and even lending supplies.
All too soon Alya found herself sitting beside Adrien on the familiar interior of a coach. Every time they went on a trip the school liked to rent out a coach - something about classes being much too big for public transport. Before Alya had never thought too much about it. Now, without Marinette, she thought about everything to do about it, wondered what it would be like if Marinette was here now, sitting right beside her.
"This doesn't feel right," Adrien frowned, not all seeming content. "Something just feels... off."
"Yeah, I've got the same kind of feeling," Alya agreed, also frowning as she glanced out of the window. One perk of being faster than Adrien was being able to snag the window seat - that or he let her grab the window seat. But, for her own ego's sake, Alya chose to believe the first option. "But at least we'll be close by to Marinette today. Plus one of us might be able to sneak out to support Nino."
"That's a good point," Adrien nodded, seeming to understand her logic entirely. "We'll just have to try and make the most of what we've got."
"Exactly," Alya smiled.
Their planned settled, the pair sank into silence as the coach's engine roared to life and soon they were joining the morning traffic, one vehicle upon millions that traveled through Paris streets. One vehicle upon millions that didn't truly know what would happen next.
Marinette
When they left the warm atmosphere of the shopfront - suitably labelled as Origins - Marinette immediately felt the chill settle back. Thickly, almost like a heavy blanket, it overwhelmed her senses as she stood outside with Ladybug, braving the growing winds whipping around them. Dark clouds still floated within the air, masking an otherwise silver moon, and both knew that it meant a storm was brewing. Thunder was coming. But why?
Ignoring the dread swimming within her gut, Marinette turned to Ladybug. If they got out of here quickly then they wouldn't need to find out why. If they visited all the memories as quickly as possible then they would be fine. They were always fine.
"Do you finally see the bigger picture?" Ladybug asked, her voice soft and gentle as she closed the door behind them. Lingering, her suited hand seemed to be reluctant as it let go of the door handle. Almost as if the heroine herself longed to be back in the past, distant from the present and much more distant from the future. Back then was distant from so many tough and unavoidable events. So, so many.
"I think so," Marinette sighed, a gentle thing that barely combated the growing winds. Biting into her lip, the young woman sighed as she glanced farther down the lane, spotting the glittering lights of the dozens of shopfronts. "She just wanted someone to tell her that everything would be ok. That she was worth sacrificing the world for."
"And it never truly goes away," Ladybug admitted, voicing a part of them that would remain locked firmly away. Failing had never really been an option for them. With the entire world hinging on them doing well, Marinette and Ladybug had never had much room for error. So many people believed in them. So many people trusted them. With those wonderful gifts, the responsibility of being a hero, they also lost a lot.
"You know, he goes through it too," Ladybug mentioned, almost as if she were in deep thought. Still staring into the shopfront - studying the golden words glittering out its name - Ladybug let out a wistful sigh as she ran a hand down her masked face. "That insufferable dork hides it all well, but he's just as banged up as the both of us. Everyone believes that Ladybug and Chat Noir have it all put together. Really, we're just a clumsily sewn together mess."
"But that's why we have each other," Marinette responded, a somber smile as she held her counterpart's hand. Being there, she grounded herself. Being there, she reminded herself, "Chat Noir and Ladybug keep each other focused."
And that was the truth. Whenever she was working with Chat Noir, everything ran a lot more smoothly. Problems and cracks only began to show when other variables entered the scene, like identities and teammates and akumas that manipulated their very minds. But together, just them, the Cat and Bug duo had always been most effective. Together they were realistic; together they were grounded. Nothing could ever change that.
"We're getting ahead of ourselves here," Letting out a small laugh, Ladybug smiled slightly as she sniffed. Walking away from the shopfront, heading toward a destination that only she truly knew, Ladybug continued, "Are you sure you want to continue on? The memories only get all the more revealing the farther we go."
Recognising the warning yet teasing tone in her counterpart, Marinette couldn't help but grin, "If it means getting back to the waking world - to my friends and family - then I'd gladly walk through hell."
Those words produced a spark of amusement from the heroine, summoning a genuine bubble of laughter that lifted into the air like the light aroma of freshly baked pastries. Making others laugh always was a gift; giving others joy always was a priceless feeling.
"That's the spirit, normal me," Ladybug flashed a brilliant smile, genuine as it crinkled at her pure blue eyes. "Now let's go visit the others!"
Vixen
Keenly, one pair of olive green eyes watched as a coach made its way into the hospital's parking lot. What were the odds that they would end up here today of all days? What were the odds that they, so clueless to her plans, would end up here? Honestly, Vixen had no true idea. One week of her precious time had been spent trying to evade those damned heroes and their ever-watching eyes. For one week she had stuck to the shadows, using her powers to manipulate herself in order to stay undetected.
Over that time, Hawkmoth had grown impatient. Hawkmoth was never a patient man and Vixen knew that when she'd cracked her deal with him. Patience was something that never lasted long with him. Instant gratification was what he had always ran after. With his son, with his wife, with his power Hawkmoth was always a man who had wanted instant gratification. Nothing more, nothing less. He was nothing more than a selfish, self-serving bastard.
Nevertheless, somehow, Vixen was able to pacify him. Promising him that today would be the day she delivered, served him Ladybug's miraculous on a silver platter, she had managed to subdue his incessant demands. But, of course, they just had to visit Marinette today. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Today.
Withholding the hiss that wanted to escape her system, Vixen's grasp tightened around her staff. There was no point in asking for an extension, especially since Hawkmoth didn't know what she knew. As a result, she'd just have to deal with it. Vixen would have to adjust.
Releasing a sigh, the akuma tried to calculate a plan. All she kept circling around to was Chat Noir - Adrien.
Last time they had crossed paths, he had nearly sealed her fate. That night, in the middle of that storm, Chat Noir had been something other than a hero. Wild, feral, almost as unstable as an atomic bomb, he was primed and ready to cause great damage. All because he had lost his own balance, his own source of balance. A lack of balance - instability - was a weakness. Weaknesses were something she could use.
Suddenly, the idea formed within her brain. Adrien. Vixen could use Adrien in order to deliver both the Black Cat and Ladybug miraculous. All she had to was trick him, bend the already malleable matter of his brain into her own perfect creation. But to do that...
Carefully, her gaze swept over the now queuing students, lined up in single-file for a headcount. Almost the entire class was there - Alya and Adrien included but Marinette and Nino missing. Nino would be the issue. That one had gone rouge ever since last week, disappearing from her sights ever since the mishap on the Eiffel Tower.
Still observant, Vixen watched as the group made its way through the parking lot, gradually meandering toward the main building of the large hospital and its grounds. If she was going to get Adrien alone then she needed to be cautious. If anyone saw her - if anyone caught her - then Vixen would be done for and Hawkmoth would be an even angrier mess. Then she would miss her window of opportunity to seize what she truly wanted.
Once all of the students had trickled inside, the last being Rose and Juleka, Rose ever the beam of bright sunshine, Vixen knew what she had to do. This was her chance to sneak in. Her only chance before Adrien and Alya got to Marinette first.
Closing her eyes, Vixen concentrated all of her energy toward transforming her appearance. One moment she was dressed in the russet material of her outfit, the next she was in the common scrubs of a nurse, a badge on her top and her hair a deep jet black. Instead of her usual green eyes, Vixen now had a pair of brown eyes, a sea of freckles dotted over the bridge of her nose. Different - she was entirely different from before. But that was the goal.
Heading toward the main entrance, Vixen confidently walked past the flocks of people milling about the area. Now she'd be able to get around the building with no questions asked. With that possible, she'd be able to steal Ladybug's miraculous and snatch Chat Noir's. Then, it would only be a mere matter of time before Marinette Dupain-Cheng ceased to ever exist.