A/N: Hey guys, I know I haven't updated in a long time, but school is getting harder, and now I have less time to devote to writing. Anyways, enjoy this chapter!

Mari's POV:

I woke up, feeling great. The end of school was drawing near, which meant I was going to move to Gotham soon. I had already bought a nice house there, I just needed to pack. I groaned as I yawned and stretched, getting up. "Morning, pigtails, you might wanna check your phone," Plagg called, tossing my phone to me. "Hm? Oh, thank you, Plagg." I turned on my phone and glanced at the notifications bar. "12 missed calls? Dang you Chloe, always blowing up my poor phone." I could hear Trixx cackling from where she lived in the Miracle Box, which is the official home of the kwamis. "So like Chloe, am I right Daizzi?" Daizzi, who had just stuck her head out of the Box, replied, "Oh yes, Trixx. Absolutely!"

"Alright, that's enough, guys," I chuckled. I quickly dialed Chloe's number and waited as I heard it ring, and then Chloe's angry voice. "Marinette!" I quirked an eyebrow, surprised. Chloe literally never used my full name. "Hey Chlo!"

"Don't you 'Chlo' me," she shouted. "Why didn't you pick up the phone!"

I rolled my eyes, chuckling, "Maybe 'cause I was asleep?"

Total silence ensued. Then, I heard her say sheepishly, "Oh yeah, right… I forgot."

"What did you call me for though?"

"I wanna know everything."

I blinked, confused by this. "What do you wanna know?"

"Everything. Like why the heck did you say, 'She won't bother anyone else ever again?'"

"I meant it…. figuratively."

"Figuratively my-"

"Shut up!"

"Fine! But only if you tell what that whole thing was about. Actually, tell me, Luka and Kagami what that was about."

"What!"

"I called them over to my house. There's no getting out of this for you."

"Fine."

"Huh?"

"Fine!"

"Wow, I didn't expect you to give up so easily!"

"Just.. stop. I don't really want to tell you because it's not something you would wanna know, but since you keep begging me, fine, I'll explain everything."

"...Okay."

I hung up, and crumpled on the ground. How was I supposed to tell them that their best friend was an assassin, as well as dying who knows how many times? Plagg flew over and rested on my shoulder. "You'll be okay, pigtails, just tell them the truth." That was a lie, both of us knew. My best friends were going to shun me if I told them. Tikki finally exited the Box and yawned. "It's too early," she cried in her shrill little voice. Plagg almost chuckled, but remembered the "grave" situation. He hurried over to her, and explained the events that had just taken place. Tikki looked at Marinette with a sad expression. "I think it- it would be best if you told them the truth.."

"I know, but- they're going to abandon me. Why would they stick with me if they know that I'm a murderer?"

"But you've stopped killing people, haven't you?" She tried to reason.

"I guess.. but there's still Rossi's murder."

"Right, but, she's alive, so you don't have to explain anything."

No.. I do. Chlo wants to know why I said Rossi wouldn't bother anyone anymore."

Plagg sighed, "Then just tell them. If they don't want to be your friends anymore, well, then they're not real friends."

Plagg was right. I got up, thanked the kwamis for their support, dressed, and got ready for school. It was Friday, and I was going to move to Gotham after school finished. On my way there, I took a deep breath. One last day in Paris to go. I could do this. As I arrived at school, I noticed all three of my friends there, waiting for me. "Hi!" I greeted, hoping they had forgotten about our.. agreement. Kagami crossed her arms. I sighed, drooping. There was no getting out of this for me. "I'll talk to you after school.." "You better," Luka, normally the more level-headed one of our group, said firmly. I squinted my eyes at them. "Did I somehow piss you guys off?" Although I knew very well how easily I could piss them off. "No.. we're just trying to.. intimidate you?" Chloe said, although it sounded more like a question. I chuckled, amused. "How's that working out for you?" "Not really well," Kagami responded, chuckling as well. The bell rang and we all went to our separate classes. But… I forgot about a certain liar. "Mari!" Cried the snake. "Lila," I replied in a saccharine tone.

"What are you doing here?" Even if the question was supposed to make her sound curious, I knew she was actually displeased that I wasn't being detained.

"Well, the police determined my innocence and let me go." I swear I saw her eyes twitch.

"Did they now? I scarcely believe that, if I say so myself," she "grandly" said as if trying to impress others with her "old-fashioned" talking. I honestly have no idea what she was trying to achieve.

"Yeah Mari!" Shouted her most devoted puppet, "Why would they let you go? You literally tried to kill her!"

"Did I really? I thought I wasn't capable of that. 'Sides, you would really believe Lila before even asking me about it? Some fact-based person you are."

"Sure, but given your history with Lila-"

"You mean my supposed bullying history with Lila."

"Shut up," Alix snapped, "you're not really in a position to argue right now."

"Oh? What you gonna do about it, shortie?" Chlo was defending me. How sweet of her, but I was doing just fine on my own. I told her so. "Sure you were, hon, sure you were," she grinned. "But you're still in a big mess, and I'm still-" "Expecting the explanation, I know, I know. Stop reminding me."

"Geez, girl, I was just teasing, besides I only reminded you… once? Or was it twice? I can't remember."

The class watched us, unamused. "Oh Chloe," I started, "I forgot. Some nitwits need to be dealt with before we can happily.. banter." She snickered before turning back to the crappy class, in which the students looked shocked. "What happened to you?" Cried Rose, who was normally the sweetest of them all. "You used to be amazing! So nice, and helpful, and kind, and generous, and now, you- you're just mean!"

"Ah, stop with the crap," I snapped. My breaking point had just been reached. "You guys are the ones that shunned me, a girl you've known since kindergarten, because you listened to a stupid freaking girl who joined literally less than half a year ago. But, do I care? Absolutely not! Just remember this, suckers, and remember it well. You stick with Rossi, I can pretty much guarantee that all of your careers are over before they've even started." I turned around, and motioned for Chloe to follow me as I left the classroom. Before I exited the door, I turned around and said one last thing. "Oh, and, Cesaire? If I were you, I'd take your blog down before you get sued for.. hmm, let's see, what are you being sued for? Oh! That's right, defamation. Your "bestie" Lila is a snake and a liar."

"Defamation?" Cesaire gasped in horror. What for? Her blog, once about Ladybug, now it was about Lila's adventures. She noticed that in the past couple months, she had lost a lot of followers and everyone in the comments was saying how Lila's clearly a liar and how much of a fool the blogger is. She dismissed the comments. It was rude of those people to make fun of her and Lila. It's not her fault that the Italian was so much more fortunate than others. But now, Mari's words shook her belief in her best friend. But defamation was a huge charge.. just like murder… oh God. But… that couldn't be true! Mari could be lying. Then, suddenly, her phone vibrated. She checked it and paled.

Marinette saw her former best friend's face and smirked. "Finally realized the truth, Cesaire?"

"Why did my mom just text me saying that I need to take my blog down otherwise I'd get charged… for defamation.. YOU WITCH! I know you had something to do with this! You will regret this, I promise you!"

I laughed in her face. "It's not good to make promises you can't keep, Cesaire." Her face colored so darkly and wore such a funny expression that even I had a hard time keeping my face straight.

"Go," she said very coldly with what was apparently supposed to be a glare. A pathetic one if you asked me. "Leave, no one wants you here."

"Good! I don't want to be here either. So long, suckers"

Chlo, who should have been defending me, was cracking up in laughter. "Come on Chlo! Let's go somewhere where we're actually appreciated, unlike these nutheads." And with that, we left the cursed classroom. "Okay," began Chloe, "not that I hate it or anything, but where did you, meek and shy Mari, get that courage from?" "Obviously from some-"

"Mari!" Shouted a voice I wished to never hear again.

"Agreste," I said coldly. He, however, did not catch the hint and didn't back off.

"What was that? You hurt their feel-"

"No. NO! I refuse to listen to that darn crap any longer! Their feelings? What about mine, heh? No, just because you considered me the school's "everyday Ladybug," does not mean I have no feelings. It doesn't mean that I don't cry every single dang night, wishing my life was better. Can you even imagine how many akumas I've had to repel? Get away. I don't ever want to see you again, you hear me?"

"But-"

I moved closer and in one swift second, yanked him down to eye level.

"Ever." My glare was never a joke. As expected, his face whitened and he nodded hurriedly. "Good," I smiled, although it was a lot more creepy than a normal smile. He ran off, like the coward he was. I spun to face Chloe, only to be met with a white face, awestruck eyes and a wide open mouth. I chuckled nervously. "What. The. Actual. Heck. Was. That." I swallowed and opened my mouth to defend myself, but Chloe wasn't finished. "Did you just scare the living heck out of your CRUSH?"

"Uh… yeah?"

"Nah, this is a dream. I absolutely refuse to believe that all this crap just went down." Classic Chloe, I grinned. "Oh, you're grinning now? So you think this is a joke?"

"I mean, technically… yeah?"

"What am I gonna do with this girl," she muttered under her breath.

"You can deal with me. I'm sure it's not that hard."

"Oh, it is that hard."

"Okay. Shut up. Let's go back to my place. Text Luka and Kagami informing them of our location."

"Okay, Mom," she teased.

/Time Skip/

Now, I was in my apartment, surrounded by my best friends, who were looking at me expectantly. "Sit down," I sighed, "it's a long story." They seated themselves, then, I began telling them of my horrifying backstory.

"Okay… I was never born in Paris. The Dupain-Chengs are- sorry, were not my real parents. And.. I'm not who you think I am," I started. The trio nodded at me, encouraging me to keep going. "I never knew my real parents, or my birthplace. I just know that I was handed over to- you guys know of the League of Assassins?" Their eyes widened. I could tell they were starting to put the pieces together. I continued. "I was handed to the head of the League to be trained as a weapon. I was ruthlessly trained. A single hesitation, an unnoticeable mistake, I was," I closely watched their faces, "dead." Chloe gasped, a hand over her mouth. The other two looked horrified and I saw Luka's hand on Kagami's, comforting her. "There's this pit, it's called the Lazarus Pit. It can bring you back to life. The League exploited this. I've lost count of how many times I've been killed. Well over 150 times, that's for sure. I was killed at least once every week. If I were to give you an exact count, 225 times, maybe?" Kagami had a tear streaming down her cheek as she realized the hell I had to go through as a child. "But, the Pit also makes you extremely bloodthirsty. The fact I could keep it under control boosted others' respect for me. It's still there, though. When Chloe told me of the situation with her parents, that's when I finally let it take control." Realization dawned on their faces. "I was trained to be an emotionless, ruthless, brutal and perfect assassin. I.. exceeded their hopes for me in training, and I was passed along to the most feared assassin in the League, Lady Shiva. That's where my death count really started to accelerate. One day, I was introduced to the heir of the League, Damian al Ghul. We were betrothed through the Pit. It's an irreversible thing." I pulled down my shirt so they could see the mark it left on my chest. "If either one of us were unfaithful, well, let's just say you'd go through a lot of pain." The others were beyond horrified at this point. "We grew really close. He was my best friend, my safe place."

"Was?" Chloe asked carefully.

"He died. An assassin attacked the League and while I escaped, he did not." At this point I let a couple tears slip down my face. "Then, I was brought here, to Paris, given to the Dupain-Chengs and told to keep a shy and kind cover," I finished. I wiped the tears off and schooled my face into a blank expression. Luka was the first to speak. "That's horrible, I'm sorry," he said with a look of extreme sadness. "Don't apologize," I said emotionlessly, "It's not your fault."

"Don't do that, Marinette," Kagami said quietly, "don't shut us out."

"I need help packing my stuff. I'm moving to Gotham," I completely changed the subject. They all nodded, knowing not to say anything that might set me off. But then their brains processed what I just said.

"Moving to Gotham? Why?" Kagami asked.

"There's nothing left for me here. Other than you guys, of course."

"Well Luka and I are unable to assist you in packing because we have to get back to school soon. Speaking of, why did you two return home before lunchtime?"

"The class was unbearable."

"Aren't they always?"

"Yes, but now more so than before."

"Very well. Luka, let's go. Mari, when do you plan to leave?"

"Don't worry, I won't leave without saying bye to you guys. But, since I, I'm sorry, the class has won a trip to Gotham. I'm just going along with them. Why should I pay for my own ticket when I can get there for free?" The three of them chuckled. Then Chloe shocked me. "I'm coming along with you."

"What?"

"I'm gonna come with you. I don't have anything else left for me either here. But your house-"

"It's big enough for both of us to live in, don't worry. I'm very glad you decided to come with me, Gotham's gonna be lonely."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Luka laughed, "We're also gonna miss you so bad. You better call us at least twice every week, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear Luka," I responded. Chloe nodded. "But now," she said, "I also need to pack."

"Wait. What school are you going to attend?" She gave me a weird look.

"You're not the only one who got into the most prestigious school in all of America."

"Why did I even ask that… nevermind. Chloe, go home and pack."

"What about school?" Luka asked.

I scoffed, "They can manage without us for a day. They don't want us there anyways. It's a win-win."

Luka and Kagami left, leaving me alone with Chloe. "Chlo," I said, "what would I do without you?" She glanced up at me and grinned. "I don't know, Mari. I don't know."

I know you guys can't wait for Damian and Mari to meet again, and I promise you, it's coming soon! As always, please comment!