Chapter Text
Adrien ran across the rooftops, clutching Marinette with everything his body had. Marinette understood how stressed he’d become and found herself unable to do anything but hold on as he sped above the cityscape. Running into Gabriel was the last thing that either of them expected, and finding out that he was Hawkmoth this entire time was not something she thought possible. Adrien had every right to be upset, but he was panicking. They couldn’t afford to be dealing with this, too.
“Chat, I need you to stop,” Marinette said. He didn’t react at first and continued to run across a roof.
“Chat Noir, stop right now!” she said again, this time louder.
“We need to put as much space between us and him as we can,” Adrien shook his head as he landed on a high rooftop.
Marinette agreed, but with Arvid across the city, he had the means to track their trail and spot their manoeuvres from a distance. People leaping from the top of buildings wasn’t an uncommon enough sight regarding heroes, after all. What would Marinette do if he found them?
“I don’t oppose the need for a getaway,” Marinette attempted to explain. “But I need you to stop, because we have no clue what Hawkmoth is going to do, and Arvid might show up anytime. Please, stop!”
She must have reached him, because Adrien lost his concentration, tripped over what Marinette thought to be a loose roof tile and took a fall. He caught himself and landed gracefully enough and Marinette remained uninjured, but she pushed free from his arms and checked on him after.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“No, I’m not,” Adrien stated in a sharp tone.
“I can imagine that you’re not,” she tried to offer. “We need to find somewhere safe to talk about this.”
“I want to kill that fucking bastard.”
Marinette’s whole body tensed. She shook her head and offered him her hand.
“Don’t talk like that,” Marinette implored.
“The hell I can’t!”
“I don’t mean to say that your anger isn’t valid,” she clarified. “But this is the last place we should be doing this.”
“He made me kill people,” Adrien shot back, his anger misdirected. “I’m so tired of him doing what he thinks is best for me. He spent my entire life controlling every little thing that I do. He lied to me. Father pretended he cared after the Akuma attack, after he’s the one who Akumatized me to begin with. I thought I killed you. Marinette, my classmates were mourning you. I mourned you. He faked concern, yet remained oblivious to my feelings. This caused me to break down, attempt suicide, and endure his surveillance and forced therapy. Everything this man has ever done is to control me.”
“I promise you,” Marinette looked around, certain that they were sitting ducks. Here she was twenty-four years old, an adult guardian of her miracle box, trained to fight and do battle and magic, but she couldn’t comfort her dearest friend, the person she loved.
“When the time comes, I’ll make sure that you get the revenge that you need. I won’t stop you, but we cannot be out here. Your father might send an Akuma. He’ll try to Akumatize one of us, and right now you are an easy target . We can’t let that happen. What if Arvid catches our scent? Please, please, Adrien, we have to leave here. Leave the city.”
His eyes shot at her. “You want us to run away?”
“We don't have any other choice. We would be absent for a day, perhaps even a short time. We can lie low until we figure out a new plan.”
“I don’t like the thought of leaving,” Adrien confessed. “I want to slice my father to pieces.”
“Which is why we can’t,” Marinette tried to explain. “We know that he’s Hawkmoth now. He might send an Akuma our way. And I’ve witnessed your capabilities when akumatized in your transformed state. I haven’t told you yet, but it is apocalyptic. We cannot risk that.”
“Why is everything falling apart?” Adrien cried. “I wanna fight and stop him. I need this to be over.”
Marinette sighed. “You’ve come such a long way, and I’ve tried to prepare you, but I’ve got no clue what’s happening anymore. ”Marinette reached for him and cupped his face, caressing him. A stray tear fell down his cheek and a part of her heart broke for him.“You kept me alive all these years,” she told him. “I promise you, I’m going to do the same for you. Let’s leave and go back to our little hideout.”
“If we run,” he said. “I don’t think I want to return, but I know we have to.”
Marinette nodded her head. “We have a responsibility to retrieve those Miraculous, but we also have someone else we need to avoid.”
Adrien agreed, “Alright.”
Both rose to their feet, but as they did, Adrien’s eyes widened. A gasp escaped his lips, and he turned as he grabbed Marinette and pushed her aside. Everything happened in slow motion. Fear gripped her, but she landed.
Adrien had jumped back, but he was holding his arm as blood poured down. Marinette turned, and she locked eyes with the last person she wanted to see. Arvid stood, his hand raised and a crimson liquid dripped down his claws. He was grinning, and looked at her, and then to Adrien.
“I guess we finally meet,” Arvid told Adrien casually. “What was it she called you? Chat Noir?”
Adrien said nothing; he stepped towards Marinette, as if to get between them. Marinette felt a tightness in her chest and became frightene. She’d been hoping to avoid all of this, but once again, all her plans had gone awry.
Arvid didn’t seem to be bothered that Adrien was protecting her. And he shrugged, “You’ve been hard to hunt down there, little missy.”
Marinette licked her lips as she tried to find words or figure out what she was supposed to do. A single wrong move would kill Adrien, and another careless mistake would send her back to the temple, a return from which she’d never escape.
Arvid glanced to Adrien again. “I guess I nicked you there, didn’t I?”
Adrien attempted to not show that it bothered him, but Marinette noticed he was in some pain. They rarely took damage to this degree when transformed. The magic was supposed to protect them, but the Miraculous amplified their abilities. Arvid was naturally strong, while transformed, he had the power to slice right through the protection from their suits. Marinette tried to stand her ground, but she realized there was very little that she’d could do against him. She took a bag that had the miracle box, and placed it in Adrien's hands.
“I’m going to ask something impossible of you,” she whispered. Arvid heard her, but she had to believe she was protecting Adrien somehow. “You need to take this and get as far out of the city as you can. I don’t care where you go, but you have to protect it.”
“I am not leaving you,” Adrien refused.
“You’re my secondary guardian,” she explained to him. “If I fail, you’ll need to protect the box at all costs. Take it.”
The last thing he wanted was to leave her with Arvid, but she wasn’t about to let him get in the way or let herself get harmed. She gathered from Arvid’s expression that he was unwilling to put this fight off further. And as much as Marinette would have loved to do that, there was no other choice.
“Spots on,” she said, allowing the red light to envelop her, transforming, giving her some more protection.
She brushed past Adrien like it was nothing and stood between him and Arvid.
“Get out of here,” Marinette commanded.
She turned, grabbing her Yo-Yo, and spun it around, ready to use it as a shield or a weapon.
“I’m not leaving,” he said.
Marinette looked back at him and gave him a soft smile. “You have to.”
It took all her strength, but with as much weight and power as possible, Marinette body-checked Adrien, making him lose his balance until he fell from the roof. He landed below. And when Marinette was sure that he was far enough away, she turned back to Arvid.
She was stunned for a second when she saw he was already coming at her, prepared to push past her for Adrien. And as soon as he looked in the air, ready to meet Adrien down on the ground below, she released her Yo-Yo, wrapping it around his throat.
He landed with a thud at the edge of the roof, his claws ripping at his neck, trying to get free. He got his fingers underneath the string to give him some leeway, but he failed to separate himself from the magical string choking him.
Marinette wouldn’t let go. She’d held onto a lot of rage from all his crimes against her. Marinette would’ve loved to have killed this man, and the fact that he was now ignoring her, trying to get to the one person she loved most, she refused to let him. She pulled in that string tight, hoping that she’d at least cut off the circulation to his fingers. But the miraculous ability wouldn’t let that happen, but she didn’t care. She was still going to keep him where she wanted him.
“You’re not going anywhere,” she hissed.
He was gasping for air, but his eyes fell on her, and he glared at her with the same fury that he did the night that he slit her wrists and killed her. If he got free, something very similar would happen again, so she wouldn’t let him go as long as possible. She glanced down to see Adrien looking up at her. She looked at him.
“Get out of here!” she yelled. “Please, for the love of God, get out of here.”
Arvid turned and struggled, but she yanked on the yo-yo string tighter, keeping him in place. Marinette experienced some relief when she glanced back and saw him running in the opposite direction.
She took a deep breath . ‘Keep him here long enough until Adrien can get away.’
That is all Marinette dared to wish for.
8 8 8
Adrien didn’t like that he was fleeing. He hated it, but he knew how important it was to keep the Miraculous safe. If Plagg could talk to him right now, he’d be urging him to leave, to protect it with everything he had. Adrien would not take the secondary Guardian title lightly.
However, every bit of Adrien’s heart was telling him to go back and get her if Arvid was down. Maybe Adrien might at least steal the wolf Miraculous away from him. But that’s not what Marinette wanted.
Reluctantly, Adrien continued. He had two enemies. He’d have to look out for three, or four, depending on if there was an Akuma, Sentimonster. Or in some sick, twisted fate, Hawkmoth or Mayura showed up.
Adrien hoped and prayed that Marinette would subdue Arvid and escape. He had no sense of direction or plan, but he had to get somewhere safe. He had to keep the Miracle box out of the wrong hands.
He didn’t have a clue if he should remain transformed or try to blend into a crowd. The streets were empty, and he supposed most people were gone or were hiding out in their homes, hoping for the best.
Adrien felt like a coward, knowing that right now he was running and wouldn’t be there to save them, even though that’s the type of person Adrien was, or used to be anyway. Whatever was going to happen,he let his feet guide him. He hoped and prayed that he would find Marinette again later.
He’d gone about ten blocks away when he noticed movement above him on the roofs. Adrien dodged into an alleyway and looked up. He was sure that he’d seen someone on the roof above, but he didn’t see it now. Being cautious was something he knew would be the safest option at the moment. He knelt down, hoping that they hadn’t seen him. Perhaps just a bird. His heart stopped when he noticed a form jump down to the streets below, and they turned and looked directly in Adrien’s direction.
They wore a costume, a flowing cape across their back, their face covered, obscuring all features. Adrien saw it was a woman whose costume was a muddy grey in shade. She approached Adrien, and before he had time to react, she had grabbed him by the collar of his costume and had thrown him into the wall of the building he had been trying to hide between.
“Where is Ladybug?” she demanded, making Adrien’s entire body stiffen.
“What?” he asked.
“You’re the Cat Boy, right? You’re the one that she trusted with the Cat Miraculous?”
This couldn’t be an Akuma, but he worried now that this was somebody from the temple.
She studied him. “Well, you look like him, perhaps older, I guess. So, where is she?”
Adrien frowned again. “I have nothing to say to you.”
“Where is my friend?” the woman shot.
Something clicked in Adrien’s mind, and his mouth fell open. “Are you Siv?” Adrien asked. Her eyes widened, and she loosened her grip.
“She told you about me?” she whispered.
Adrien adjusted himself and nodded. “She explained to me you were the only real friend she had there. She showed me some of her memories, and you were in them.”
The woman’s entire body relaxed, and she stepped away from Adrien, giving him some space.
“I left the temple as soon as Arvid did. I’m aware he’s here, causing some issues already, and I saw that you and Ladybug ran earlier, but I can’t find her, and now you’re alone. Is Ladybug okay?” Siv asked.
Adrien shook his head. “I don’t know.” He turned to look in the direction that he had come from. “She’s fighting Arvid right now. She told me to run with the Miracle box.”
Siv cursed under her breath.“That idiot. He is going to kill her if he gets the chance. We need to get to them.”
“What makes you think that you’re going to stop him any better than Ladybug?” Adrien asked, showing Siv his injured arm. She grabbed his arm suddenly, making Adrien wince.
“It’s already healing, luckily. It's uncommon to be injured while using a Miraculous, but you can heal while using it. It looks slow, but it’s stopped bleeding mostly,” Siv stated. “Still, we should treat it after we get Ladybug back.”
“How are we going to do that"?” Adrien asked.
Siv looked over her shoulder back at him and grinned. “I got an army on my side.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Did you somehow convince the other miraculous users from the temple to come help?”
“Those brainwashed lunatics?” Siv asked. “No way, and how would they help? I got something way better.”
“Like what?” Adrien asked.
Siv grinned wider. “I believe two-thousand years of history is on my side.”
8 8 8
Of course, it would have taken Arvid only so long to figure out what to do. He inched towards her, and Marinette had no choice but to back up, except there was only so much for her to back up to. Arvid had gotten to his feet and was pulling on the string back. She almost fell forward a few times when he pulled, but Marinette jumped back to another roof, giving him some distance again. Her hold on him tightened, and he gasped for air, falling to his knees again.
Right now, they were at a stalemate. She hoped she might make him stumble from the roof, and perhaps, with some luck on her side, she might snap his neck. That seemed the only choice available to Marinette at that moment. The idea of being a killer was foreign to her, but concerning this man, she wished perhaps even he might perish in a strange mishap. She doubted the world would be worse off without him.
She couldn’t make him budge at all, and he almost pulled her off the roof a couple of time. If she released the yo-yo, it would be ideal if he chased after her, but he might even turn around and go after Adrien. He was spiteful enough to do it. Marinette dedicated the last ten years of her life to protecting the Miracle box and now she wanted to at least spend these moments protecting Adrien too.
She hoped and prayed to keep Arvid distracted. Right now, anything would be helpful. Marinette always had the worst luck, and today was no different. The bastard had yanked on her yo-yo string again, and the string snapped. It was supposed to be impossible to break the string. It had only ever happened once before, ten years ago. She could mend the yo-yo, but she was unsure whether Arvid would offer her another chance to put the yo-yo around his neck or elsewhere on his person.
The yo-yo returned to her hand, formed and repaired again, but she frowned, making eye contact with Arvid. Enraged, Arvid made eye contact with her.
‘Please come towards me,’ she thought to herself. ‘I’d rather you come after me than after Adrien. Please, please come at me.’
Regrettably, he came at her.
Marinette tried to prepare herself, but he was so quick. She started swinging her yo-yo around to protect herself, but he dodged around it, and he gave her a sharp uppercut. His speed stunned her, causing a hard fall. Marinette was furious, and before her ascent, he was on top of her once more. His hands were around her throat, and he was strangling her. He didn’t even hesitate. He was choking the life out of her. Her eyes watered and blurred. She felt her face hot and burned as it fought for oxygen.
“I’m going to kill you,” he said. “And I’m going to finish the job this time. I’m going to hunt down your little pretty boy, and I’m going to kill him, and I’m going to take your Miracle box and I’m going to take them back to the temple myself. I will secure them there, preventing them from falling into the wrong hands, like yours.”
What he was saying wasn’t true. He was the last person who should have any sort of power. Arvid proved to her that those who sought power would be nothing but destructive with such impossible power. Still, Marinette struggled, and she tried to pull his hands off, clawing at him, anything she could do, but his grip was not loosening.
She thought somehow she might’ve gotten lucky when he pulled his hand away and loosened it with his other hand. She coughed and gasped for air and tried to get free, but an intense pain filled her chest. Marinette glanced down and saw that he had stuck his claws right into her chest.
She gasped, but no sound came. More pain flowed over her when he released his other hand and then struck her in the side. She tried to roll away, but he would not give her the chance, and she felt certain death awaited her there. Arvid was going to keep stabbing her with his claws until she bled out.
She thought about renouncing her claim as guardian. At least Adrien would have full control of the box and protect it. Adrien would know she did it, and she hoped he would flee the city and not look back. She had wanted him to be better trained than this, but it would be better than nothing. As long as he and the other Miraculous were safe, she could forget and die with her mind clear. Just like Master Fu had all those years ago.
She opened her mouth, ready to renounce her title as guardian. But no sound came. A low moan was all that she could manage. She felt like she was choking, and she rolled over to her side, hoping that it might give her the breath she needed. Arvid climbed to his feet, and kicked her hard in the back. She gasped and tried to move away, but he grabbed her by the back of her costume, and he lifted her up, dangling her in front of him.
“You were such a pathetic waste,” Arvid told her. “Your Master chose wrong.”
Marinette closed her eyes, tears falling from her eyes, both from the choking burning sensation and Marinette accepting what was going to happen. She’d died once already. Her time seemed to have come.
She accepted her fate, regardless of how much she wished it wasn’t true. Her body felt lighter and heavier all at once, and with one last attempt at a breath and failing, Marinette’s body went limp as she lost consciousness.