EllaWaterfall2: In a sense, Adrien's dream DID come true. It just wasn't as gruesome.

alexc1209: YAY! Now Mari knows the difference. Adrien and Marinette will eventually meet their new mortal enemy. Now, as for the matter of them knowing it's him or fighting him at first meet shall be left unsaid.

So to recap. Sabrina is an Akuma (gasp). She attacked Marinette. Marinette is injured. Allen is currently with Injured Mari on the way to the hospital. And Akuma!Sabrina has escaped. And we haven't even ended the night yet. Glorious.

Chapter 23: Nightmare

When they finally got to the Hospital, Marinette directed Allen towards the emergency entrance. It was quite a sight to see a bunch of people suddenly startled to see a new hero with an injured girl. Some looked on in fear, while others were staring with some curiosity. Her head was spinning as she was eventually passed off to a few doctors (I think the woman called them interns?). They had her ran over to a small hall where dozens of other people were sitting. The only thing separating each patient was a thin curtain.

One of the interns assessed her injuries. It was a short man with a boyish face. He had round features and seemed to be on edge. His named tag read "Dr. Lambert". She noticed the presence of a few officers. An older gentleman was seen talking to Allen. He had deactivated his power—Innocence—before they entered the hospital. She noticed then how hard it was to tell if any of her blood got on him. His black and red uniform hid a lot. Maybe that's the point of it…Dark thoughts aside, the doctor went to work.

A pale nurse pushed a tray of equipment near him. She watched him give the woman a subtle nod before she raced off somewhere else. "Can you tell me w-what happened?" he sounded a little fearful. His eyes constantly flickered to Allen during the whole interaction.

"There was an…Akuma and it attacked me. Mr..er Hero over there saved me while Ladybug fought it off." she lied through her teeth. Lambert looked at her for a moment before nodding in understanding.

"I get it. I was caught up in an attack before. Made me miss a bunch of days of work while being…well at work!" he laughed nervously. "I had to stay a few days before being able to leave."

"Is the hospital food as bad as I heard?" she smiled weakly.

"Worst." She chuckled along with him and grimaced at the sudden pain in her chest. "Now, I'm going to need you to remove your jacket so it can have a better look at that wound." She nodded her head and shed her blazer.

She made sure to bundle it up so that he wouldn't see the red kwami hiding in it. She carefully placed it beside her and out of the way. Her eyes scanned her shoulder and she winced. Guess it's true that once you look at an injury, then it starts to hurt. Or at least, in this case, hurt more. Her shoulder was drenched in blood. Some of it was dripping down the side of her shirt and running down the inside of her arm. She reached towards it and carefully moved her shirt to be able to see all of it. Some of the blood that stained the area around the cut seeped onto her fingers and stained the tips. She then carefully reached further and grabbed the edge of her sleeve. She tugged it up towards her injury and hissed once it got close. Unable to pull it up further due to the pain, she let it go.

She heard him hum. "We might need to remove that shirt as well." she blushed in embarrassment. "Or…wait!" he picked up a pair of scissors. "Let's save your dignity for a moment. I hope this isn't your favorite shirt." She shook her head. "Good."

He cut her sleeve off and made the hole around the wound bigger so he could work on it. Once that was over, he placed the scissors and the discarded cloth on the tray next to her. His gloved hands looked to have been stained from the blood. The man then grimaced.

"This will need stitches for sure." S-S-Stitches!? Her face paled. The doctor noticed her expression and gave an empathetic smile. "I'll use a general anesthetic for now then we'll work out some medication for the pain later. You gotta hang in there, Ms.?"

"Marinette. Marinette Dupain-Cheng." she weakly introduced herself.

He gestured to his name tag. "Dr. Alfred Lambert. I love your parent's bakery." I knew that name sounded familiar. This man was a regular in the mornings. She had always been at school by the time he came in. That didn't stop her parents from talking about the socially awkward doctor.

"Thanks."

"Let's clean these wounds before we introduce some stitches." and so he did. With the help of another free nurse. They cleaned the blood from her wounds. Afterward, they treated each with a kind of ointment. She had bit her lip to keep from hissing. The cuts on her hands were bandaged normally. Her scrape on her forehead was treated with another bandage. In between each, they had to clean up her bleeding stab wound.

When all of that was over, Lambert picked up a bent needle, tweezers, and thread. The girl squirmed a little and tried to mentally prepare herself for it. She sat patiently as he sterilized the needle. Once that was over, she watched him loop the thread through the needle and tie a knot. Her stomach tied up along with it. He then placed it down on a clean wipe.

The doctor turned and pulled the iron tray towards him. On it was a row of tools. She watched as the doctor pick up a tiny vial labeled "Lidocaine", a common local anesthetic. The man removed the vial's cap and revealed another seal underneath it. He took the uncapped syringe and poked it in the seal's center. Carefully, he pushed the pump down, turned the vial upside down, and then slowing pulled the pump back. Lambert only allowed there to be a small amount of the drug to be in the needle. Carefully, he positioned the needle near her wound.

"Don't worry. It'll pinch but it's not that bad." her response was a nervous whimper.

He lightly pinched her skin with his thumb and index finger. She turned her head away as he quickly injected the needle at a slight angle. True to his word, it pitched like a bee sting. The whole interaction took only a few seconds to do and it was done as fast as it started. The needle was removed and discarded safely. He quickly wiped the spot and waited for the drug to kick in. A minute and a half flew by before he poked at the spot and questioned her.

"Can you feel it when I do this?" he lightly pressed on the spot. Marinette shook her head and he stopped. This made her slightly less nervous. "Ready?" she nodded her head once again and sat still as he went to work. Thanks to the drug, she watched as he inserted the needle. The pain wasn't there but it still made her flinch after every stitch. Marinette was also marveled at the sight of her broken skin being pulled back together. The last stitch was tied off and her wound was cleaned once again. She then had to sit through the process of him bandaging the wound. Which went rather quickly. She noted his expert movements during the process.

"That went rather well, don't you think?"

"Better than I thought." he laughed at her comment.

"We'll have to inform your parents that you were brought here. So…" he awkwardly trailed off.

"I'll give you the home phone number." he brought out a piece of paper as the nurse was putting away the used materials. Marinette recited her family's number for him.

"Alright!" he clicked his pen a few time as he spoke. "I'll be back in a few minutes." she nodded as he walked away.

Allen noticed that the doctor had left her side and seemed to excuse himself from the officers. He walked to her side and stood next to her temporary bed. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, thanks for saving me." he shook his head.

"No need to thank me. I'm just sorry I took so long to get to you."

"No! You came right on time." She laid her hands in her lap. Before silence could fill the air, Marinette decided that now was the time to drill him for questions. She had a right to know what just tried to kill her. And if it was possible that it would do it again. "Can I ask…what was that?" she spoke in a low voice. Her eyes went to the officers. They were conversing quietly before turning away. A radio interrupted whatever they were saying and they walked away.

Everyone else was too busy around them to notice. "That was an Akuma." He spoke with such sureness.

She gasped. So a part of her lie was right! She was attacked by an Akuma. If an Akuma really did attack her, then could Hawkmoth know my Identity? She pushed that thought out of her mind. If that was the was the case, then it would've demanded her miraculous. So why did it ask her for Innocence? "So…like the monsters that terrorize the city?"

"Uhm…yes and no. You see, those "akuma" are different from the one you encountered." She was shocked. Different? How could they be different? Confused, she decided to voice this question of hers and was met with a rather…interesting answer. "Well, those "akuma" seemed to reverse when Ladybug purifies them. They ended up leaving a seemingly normal human behind…though, I don't understand how that is possible." that last bit was whispered yet she still heard it.

How could he not understand? He had told her that he and the exorcists had fought Hawkmoth—er the Earl since the dawn of time. That is if this Earl and Hawkmoth are the same. Something she wasn't too sure on anymore. Because if that thing was one of Hawkmoth's weapons…then why had he waited so long to use it on them? Unless….

"But the one you saw…that isn't human at all."

She felt her skin crawl. "Then…what are they?" she was afraid to know the answer. At this time, an older brunette doctor strolled by them. Allen was quiet for a moment as the man passed.

"They're weapons." He suddenly spoke so matter-of-factly. "Programmed to murder humans to evolve." That made her feel ill. Weapons….like a machine?!

"So it's just a killing machine!?" Why would someone go out of their way to create a sick thing? She thought Hawkmoth was evil but whoever made these things took the cake.

Allen turned to her sharply, "They're not just machines. They're living weapons."

"L-Living?!"

He nodded his head. "It has a soul implanted into it. The soul is controlled by the creator and its frustration is used to drive it towards evolution. They're born out of human despair."

"Despair? But how? How could an emotion create such an evil being?" The irony of that question was that emotions are used to create evil villains, so a killing machine created from despair wasn't too far fetched.

Allen suddenly looked sad. It broke her heart, but she needed to know what this thing was. "Despair summons the creator or most commonly known as The Earl who then makes a deal with the human. A deal to bring back their loved one from the dead."

She gasped and regretted. Each breath she took, her chest would protest with pain. She heard another gasp and turned her head. No one was staring at them or seemingly obviously listening. Unknown to them was a male figure hidden by a curtain. "B-Back from the dead? You mean he can revive people?"

"No." His tone was oddly harsh. "Not exactly. He only brings back the soul. The grieving person is asked to call it back and it's then bound to a special skeleton. From there the skeleton kills the human and wears its skin."

She nearly puked at the description. "So, they just slip into our world? How can someone tell who's an akuma?"

"You can't." his answer made a shiver go down her spine. There were so many people that she knew. That she saved. Anyone of them could've been these killer monsters. Anyone of them.

"Then…how do you kill it?" She suspected it had to do with that special Innocence they talked about.

"Only exorcists like me can purify akuma."

Of course. She didn't let her mind linger on how he used purify to describe defeating the monsters. It suddenly hit her at the reality that real monsters—the kind from storybooks—existed. Then could Sabrina…? She didn't want to think that, but it was hard not to.

"But how do you know? Do you just go around thinking everyone is an akuma?"

He smiled sadly. "For some of my fellow exorcists, that's the case. They have to think that anyone who talks to them, anyone they meet, is one. But for me, my scar lets me see the souls of Akuma. It's the only way I can tell who is what." Scar. The realization that his strange "tattoo" was actually a scar shook through her core. How'd he get such a thing? Was it an accident? Did some sick bastard give it to him? Who would do that? Leave a scar like that on a kid?

"How'd you get it?" the words spilled before she could catch them.

"It's a long personal story, that I'd rather not get into right now." that sounded like the line he had rehearsed.

"Oh! Sorry!" she looked down in shame. Way to go, Marinette.

"It's fine. You're not the first and you won't be the last."

"S-So…where did the A-Akuma go?"

He pursed his lips. "It seemed that it phased through the ground. I can tell you that it's not anywhere near here." That didn't make her feel better at all. A monster that knows who I am and only the newbies can kill it? How great. She glanced back at him and let her mind turn. It wouldn't be safe to be left alone. The beast knew who she was. It was probably the thing that was watching her. But maybe…

"If it had been a Level One, I would've made quick work of it before it could escape. But any hit on you would've been fatal. I guess in a way, you're lucky that it was a Level Two that attacked you and not a Level One." Allen suddenly told her.

That was the first time he referenced any "levels". That made her even more uneasy. "What makes a Level One any different?"

There was a shuffling of feet as staff members went by. "Well, they shoot a sort of bullet. If it hits you, you'll be infected by their virus and instantly turn into dust."

"Dust!? That's im—" she had no chance to say anything as the curtain was forcefully drawn.

Behind it was an angry looking doctor. He had raven hair and bright blue eyes. He looked to be in his late or maybe mid-twenties. He drew the curtain back over their little group. "I need you to tell me everything you know about these akumas." was all he said. His gaze was aimed at Allen.

"Who are you?" Allen was on guard.

"I'm Dr. Léon Lépine. And recently a patient of mine died in the exact way you described." So he told them about Esther Jones. The girl who had been turned into an akuma a long while ago.

The girl had started out normal. A minor cold was all she had. Then suddenly, her health took a nose dive. She had all these weird symptoms and something strange in her blood. Black stars, believe it or not. Allen had seemed startled by the information for only a brief moment. It turned out that a nurse named, Olivia Bonnot, had been the cause for her decline. Marinette knew that it was the same nurse who had been on the news. People had been speculating that she was the one who was being the disappearances because her "lair" had unidentified bones and bodies in it. It was a sick tale. Afterward, it seemed that Esther had been shot by the nurse. Esther crumbled while the woman fled. Along with a small ginger girl who had accompanied her.

Léon said that police speculated that the girl was taken hostage by Olivia, but no one reported her missing. His description of the girl reminded her of Sabrina. The girl was at school the day after this, so Marinette was doubtful about. If it was her and she was not harmed, then she could be in cahoots with the serial killer. No way…that's like something out of a bad film. True to word, he described Esther's demise as her crumbling into dust.

"From what I can tell, it seems that this "Olivia" is a level two." Allen said after his tale. "or a very bad human being. However, the way this Esther died is exactly how one would go from a shot from a Level one."

"How can I stop it?" the man boldly asked.

In an instant, they both answered. "You can't."

"I highly advise against any attempts of going after it." Allen looked concerned. "I know it's not helpful to say, but you should leave this up to us—er the heroes." he seemed hesitant to say "hero".

The man looked almost defeated. "I was afraid that you'd say that. What am I suppose to do? Her parents are angry and grieving. I'm forbidden from every telling them how their kid passed. Now, they think we illegally torched their child." he sounded as stressed as he looked.

"Well, there's thr—er five of us. We'll find it soon enough." Allen seemed to fall into a routine of comforting the man.

While he was doing that, Lambert came back with her parents in tow. Instantly, they ran to her side and held her. Each of them cried out how worried they were and how thankful they were to Allen for saving her. Allen was acting modestly as usual, while the Doctors were silent. She watched Lambert drift to the older man and whisper.

"Don't squeeze me too tightly. My chest hurts." she chuckled and her parents instantly let her go. That alerted both doctors.

Léon fell into a superior type of role as he looked her over. "Lambert, did you check for any internal injury."

"I just requested a Chest MRI and X-ray to be sure."

"Add a CT scan for safe measure." Dr. Lépine walked towards her. He pulled out a pair of gloves and slipped them on. "Is it difficult to breathe, Ms. Dupain-Cheng?"

She grimaced and nodded her head. "I feel like the deeper breaths I take, the more my chest will ache."

Lépine hummed and went about re-examining her. The two doctors (Doctor and Intern to be more accurate) spit medical terms left and right. It confused everyone, but not as bad as it did Allen. She swore that she saw swirls in the guy's eyes. The two doctors instructed her family to be on stand by while she went to get the tests done. It felt odd being under random machines for a few hours. But, what could she do?

In the end, they upgraded her from the floor she was on to a room to herself. Her family sat around as they waited for the results. She loved her parents to death—she grimaced at the phrase—but she really wanted them to leave so she could speak to Allen some more. Her mother had continued to shower him with praise. The boy kept his modesty throughout the entire interaction.

Instead, she focused on what information she did have. There was a raging monster running around the city. From the way it spoke to her, it seemed to be out for her blood. It was hard to believe that there was such a thing called Akuma that was literally used by a crooked person to kill people. That anyone she met could be one. That stranger that passed by her on the way to school. That customer that comes into the bakery at the same time every day. The kids playing in the park could be one. Her friends could be one. Adrien could be one. At that, her mind started to turn. It's possible that he was one. His mother did "Disappear". Disappear could very well mean death. But if that's the case then it's likely that his father could be one. The man, Gabriel Agreste. He was strict and practically emotionless. Sure, she loved his designs, but he could very well be one of the creatures—monsters. But it was just as possible that they were not one. If Madame Agreste did die, it would be all over the news.

Sabrina could be one…Her mother did die…

It was possible that the girl could be an akuma. She fit the memo. But…that's…not possible…right? She wanted to believe that the girl wouldn't have been visited by The Creator. That she didn't put her mother's soul into a living machine. That she didn't die as well. If that was the case, then Ladybug was definitely a failure. If she had prevented her from dying in the first place. Acted quicker. Noticed faster. Then Sabrina wouldn't even be a possible candidate for an Akuma.

"Ms. Dupain-Cheng," Allen suddenly spoke, "Are you alright?"

It seemed that by her losing herself in thought, she caused her company to worry. The girl shook her head. She had a suspicion but it was best to get all the evidence first. Tikki had said she felt a "darkness" in Sabrina. It could be possible. But…She didn't want to believe something like that. Not yet.

"I'm fine! Just trying to process…what happened." her parents looked at her with sympathy and equally pained expressions. Allen looked empathetic.

Her mother reached out and grabbed her hand. Her father placed his large hand on her head. Each was silently trying to comfort her. Marinette smiled and closed her eyes. She felt so thankful to have them here. To think, her original plan was to just go home and deal with the pain herself. Her eyes glazed over as she missed Allen diverting his eyes from the scene.

During this emotional moment, the people they were waiting for showed up. Dr. Lépine and Lambert walked in with folders of transparent paper. "We got the results!"

The doctors walked over to the strange white squares on the wall. With a button press, they lit up. They slid the sheets up and a black and white figure was seen. It was her ribcage, organs, and tissue. Each featured in a different way.

"Lucky for you, it seems you didn't break any ribs. However, your ribs are bruised. It's best to treat them the same way."

"Does that mean that I have to stay here?"

Léon shook his head, "Not at all. As long as you tread with caution and take your prescribed medication, you'll be fine."

"Though, it's best to stay away from dark alleys from now on," Alfred added. The crowd chuckled a bit as he continued on. "The majority of your injuries will heal in about 2 weeks. But your ribs will take a little longer. It's different for everyone, but the average is around 3 to 6 weeks. So take it easy."

"You're very healthy, so our hope is that by week 4, you'll be okay." Léon finished.

That was a relief. But still, a potential 6 weeks out of action? It would be easy for her at school, but no one knew she was Ladybug. How could she patrol and help with the investigation if she was supposed to take it easy? Maybe, I'll leave it up to Lavi and Chat…Lavi knew just about (or maybe more than) she did about the situation. So, it would be best to leave it up to him. Wait! Her eyes widened a bit before she blinked her shocked expression away. Lavi had mentioned that the scene had looked like an akuma attack. Allen's words came to mind at that moment.

Jean was truly dead. No doubt about it. He had been turned into that strange dust. The stars…they had to have been the Akuma's calling card. And…I can't do a thing to stop either of these monsters. Or…just this one. If the notion of leveling up was real (which, at this point, she didn't doubt it), then that Level One could be the same monster that attacked her.

"Well, this is good news." her mother sighed.

Lambert nodded, "Indeed. You are free to leave if you wish. We'll have a discharge slip ready for you."

"Um.." her father spoke up, "I think I speak for me and my wife when I say that we would feel at ease if we had her stay here for the night."

"Papa!" she cried. She couldn't be stuck in the hospital! Especially not the same one that had a death/Akuma nurse a few days ago.

"Your father's right. But, I would feel even better if we stayed with her." her mother added.

A strange look appeared over Léon's face before he nodded, "That's alright. It's much better this way. This way we can teach her how to treat her injuries daily when she leaves in the morning."

Was it better really? I guess so…but how will I speak with Tikki—or Allen—alone!? Other than the death nurse, she was almost okay with staying here. A little wary, but okay. Especially since her home felt off to her. Maybe…the monster was the one stalking me. That lingering feeling of eyes on her was completely gone now. However, she was sure if she went back, then she would be on edge every day. Yet, it made her feel strange to be cooped up like this. She had no choice in the end.

The medical professional's pagers went off and they excused themselves. Marinette finally looked to see what Allen had been doing. The boy looked in be in complete awe of her medical results and the entire room. It looked like a child just walked into a candy store. She glanced over at the nightstand at her bag. She'll have to speak with Tikki later in the day, for now…

"I'm a little hungry." that caught her parent's attention, "All of this drained the energy out of me."

Her mother was the first to respond, "We should see if we can get you something out the vending machine."

"Or bring some leftover soup from home." her father chimed. She didn't think the hospital would allow that, but she didn't really know.

Her parents, however, seemed a bit hesitant to leave. Allen noticed this and spoke up, "I'll stay a bit longer to make sure nothing else happens to her."

"Bless your soul," her mother smiled at him, "We'll be back as fast as we can." The two parents shuffled out. Her father didn't leave before ruffling Allen's hair and thanking him again before waving her farewell. She giggled to see Allen act a bit flustered at the move. He fixed his hair and glanced over at her.

"How are you doing?"

"Physically, better. Minus the pain," she confessed.

"How about emotionally?" he tilted his head with empathy in his eyes.

She sighed, "Fearful? I don't know. It's a bit hard to take in such a…grim and gruesome reality." he nodded and sat in the chair next to her bed.

"It's like that for everyone at first." he was silent after that.

Marinette pursed her lips at his silence, "This is that part where you say it's get's better."

He smiled sadly, "I wouldn't want to lie and say that. I'd say…you get numb to the fact as time goes on." Of course. Why did reality have to be sad some times?

She sighed again and looked out the window, "What's the probability that it'll attack me again?" she asked.

"Unlikely, but it's possible. Why do you ask?"

Marinette shifted in her seat and nervously played with her fingers. "It called me by name and told me that it had been waiting for its' moment to strike."

"Odd, that could mean that it knows you and is targeting you specifically." the exorcist cupped his chin in thought.

"It kept also told me to hand over "The Innocence" uhm…" she quickly added, "Whatever that is."

At the mention of Innocence, he straightened his posture and scanned her. "Innocence?! Could it be that you—?" he squinted his eyes at her. His gaze made her squirm a bit. "You might have it. Or at least been around it enough."

"Does that mean I'm in danger of encountering it again?"

"Possibly. Should you have innocence, then that won't be the only Akuma after you." That made her nervous. The idea of more than one of those monsters after her filled her with horror. Her eyes quickly glanced at the window. Hopefully, this fear won't attract Hawkmoth. That wouldn't be the best thing. Though, considering how the exorcists can defeat them too…I'll be safe. She just didn't want it to be purified via a large sword.

Marinette clutched her hands into fists and brought them to the front of her body. "If that's the case, can you protect me? I-I mean like…help me. You said that only exorcists can kill it and I'm no exorcist."

The angel gave her a smile and nodded his head. "Of course!" Relief filled her as she smiled back at him. She never thought she would have to ask for protection from anyone again after the Evilllustrator incident. Although…working with Chat outside of costume was a little bit fun. It was enjoyable to see him act silly around her civilian self.

"Thank you, Mr. Walker." he suddenly laughed and shook his head.

"Call me Allen. Mr. Walker is far too formal." He scratched his cheek and glanced away. His mind seemed to wander. She noticed the white gloves on his hands. With the chill that was in the air, she discarded the thought of them.

She smiled, "Don't you have some sort of superhero name?"

"Superhero name?" Allen tilted his head in question.

She shook her head. "Yeah, it's like an alias. Like how we call Ladybug, Ladybug instead of…whatever her real name is."

"No. I can't say I have one."

"How about a nickname?" Suddenly his expression turned dark. She recalled that Lavi had a cute nickname for Allen but the boy didn't seem to appreciate it. I bet all his friends gave him nicknames that he doesn't like. Typical friends. Speaking of nicknames, she was reminded a few that Chat had bestowed upon her. Both as a Hero and a Civilian.

"You know I'm Innocent. Don't you, Bugaboo?"

"I'll be your knight for tonight's ball, Princess."

She couldn't help to smile at the memories. She looked back at Allen and noticed how his eyebrows furrowed in thought. It seemed that this nickname or alias thing was difficult for him to think about. The girl waved her hand to get his attention. "It's fine. You could always wait for the news to come up with a nickname for you and use that." He grimaced. "Or! You could use some traits you have to construct a nickname! Like…er White—" she curled her hand and waved it as she thought. "—er…and just add a title to it?"

"Maybe I'll just stick to Allen."

"That seems like a good idea."

Her parents showed up an hour later with hot soup for her. Marinette wasn't surprised to see them have an extra for Allen. Although the boy refused at first, he was no match for her mother. They all ate that late night as time seemed to fly by.

Allen lingered around long enough for them to all converse. The time was spent to be as light-hearted as possible. She suspected it was to increase her mood, not that she had any qualms. The best part of the whole thing was seeing the majority of her father's puns fail on Allen. The odd part was seeing the far older and more general puns (the overused ones) actually get a response (in the form of a small smile). It seems that her father's goal was to get him to Laugh. Despite the prying nature of her parents, Allen never revealed too much personal information. Only unnecessary details about himself. The little things like his favorite color (Purple), favorite food (Mitarashi Dango), hobbies (Eating, Ha), and even his birthday.

"Whoa, whoa…You're telling me that your birthday is on Christmas?" she was shocked at the idea. It was not hard to think that people had a birthday the same day as their favorite holiday. But that's got to be too lucky.

"Is that so hard to believe?" He took another sip of his soup. The boy was obviously trying to hold himself back. She had witnessed him go to eat before retreating a few times.

"No! It's not hard to believe, it's amazing!" her mother giggled, "You must get double the amount of presents!"

At that, he tilted his head. "No, not really."

"No presents?! Then at least people celebrate it right?" Her father looked at him with wide eyes.

"Eh…sort of."

The entire family gasped in shock. Marinette placed her hand lightly over her heart. "Have you never had a birthday party?!"

"Uhm, well..." He scratched the back of his head.

"Are you kidding me!? No party? No cake, presents, or decorations. Not even a sign that says "Happy Birthday Allen!"?" she sighed. What was with all these parents and not letting their kids have birthday parties?

"Nothing all out like that. Maybe someone would get me my favorite food and a little trinket, but that's fine really. You know they say less is more."

"That just won't do! Once Christmas gets here, I'm baking one big cake for you, deal?" Her father offered.

"I'll make something special for you." she also pitched in. She didn't know why she offered. But hey, she made something for Adrien on his birthday. Her parents raised her not to leave anyone out, so Allen Walker was going to get a cake this year. And maybe something handmade.

"You're all too kind. But it's fine really. I would settle with just a "Happy Birthday". It's the thought that counts right?"

"Nonsense," her mother waved the notion away. "We'll have a proper party. You just bring yourself and your friends."

The moment was so carefree and happy. The little family (Including Allen) enjoyed their time together until the boy saw the time. He excused himself as they all thanked him one more time. They wished him a good night as the Doctors came in. She hoped that, per their new contract, Allen wouldn't stray too far.

The next few hours were spent with her doctors. Dr. Lépine had let Lambert take the reins of the entire session, only butting on a few times to correct or test him. They taught her and her parents how to care for her wounds and gave another refresher of her estimated timeline of recovery. She was given a list of the things she couldn't do while her ribs were healing. The basic rundown was that she had to be careful. Treat the bruising as if she had broken ribs. She had to be treated delicately. That part irritated her a bit, but she understood the reasoning. They also told her to take deep breaths and cough freely. It'll hurt, but it needed to be done to clear out any mucus in the lungs or something. They recommended for her to hold a pillow to her chest should that happen. They also taught her about how much pain medication she could take and when to take it. They went through a scary list of side effects (per her mother's request) and what to do should she take more than necessary.

Each word and caution she heard, she felt a bit nervous at how long she'd be out of commission as Ladybug. She couldn't very well hand over her miraculous to someone. For as long as she's been in the game, it made her nervous to give her miraculous away to a novice. She would have to depend on Chat and the rest of the exorcists. Though…She thought back to how they defeated the last akuma— Er…should I even call them akuma anymore? That word had now been associated with the monster that was terrorizing the city (and her).

I'll have to talk with Master Fu about my sudden absence. At best, Hawkmoth would keep this sudden chill he had. Worst, she would have to activate Alya again. And I'm not well to do all the introductions and questions they'll have. A sudden thought came to her. Did Master Fu know about Akuma? The kind that Allen and his friends fought? He knew of the Earl, so maybe he did.

After a bit more small talk, it was decided that it was time for everyone to go to bed. The doctors were lured away with another medical emergency. It was odd to lay in a hospital bed. Marinette took a while to get comfortable. She stared at her bag the entire time. Waiting for her parents to drift from the waking realm. When the time came, she spotted her bag wiggle a bit before a red blur came out of it. In a matter of seconds, Tikki zoomed up to her. The kwami looked panicked and concerned. She stroked her chosen's cheek and spoke in a hushed volume.

"Marinette! Oh god, are you okay? I'm so sorry! I should've done something more—"

"Hey.." she interrupted the kwami. "It's fine. You did the best you could." Her answer didn't satisfy Tikki because she ended up mumbling underneath her breath. Marinette could see the guilt in her big blue eyes and felt at ease. She felt foolish for feeling wary about the kwami earlier upon seeing her react in this way. The heroine reached over and cupped her in her hands. She brought the kwami close to her face and nuzzled against her.

"It's fine. I'm okay. I'm safe now. I was saved."

Her kwami seemed to calm down because she released a sigh and relaxed in her hand. They were silent for a period of time before Tikki spoke up once again. "Are you going to tell Chat what happened?"

That was a good question. Was she going to tell Chat that she was being targeted by a bloodthirsty monster? Knowing the cat, he would jump in on protecting her, no questions asked. However, she did not want the poor guy to get killed. She wouldn't be able to take it if her partner died because of her. This was an enemy that they couldn't dream of defeating. So her choice was obvious.

"I'll tell him…after it's defeated." she yawned and closed her eyes. Her exhaustion catching up with her.

In the background, she could hear Tikki scolding but her mind decided to block the sound out in favor of finally getting a nice sleep. She silently prayed that no one else would have to fall victim to that beast. Although, a dark feeling in her knew that her prayer would go unheard.

This chapter was more of a dialogue and explaining chapter than anything else. Now Marinette knows the truth (or the difference) between the Akuma she fights and they fight. Yay! I hope you enjoyed it.

Ciao-su~!