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She won’t believe it.
This can’t be happening to her, it was impossible to think about it.
But the facts were clear, her lack of movement and strength on the body were facts screaming at her face, ramming onto her brain trying to make her comprehend the situation that she is currently in, trying to make her understand in the state she is in.
The burning pain she feels on her chest, going through her lungs and heart. Her bones shattered beyond belief, cracks should be there making her situation more hopeless, the sharp pain that breathing gives her everytime she tried to reach out for oxygen to try and live more time, more time for someone to come and save her.
Chloé gritted her teeth as she tried to move, even if a little. She was tearing up; her make-up was already a mess thanks to the circumstances, her legs were weak and her voice wouldn’t come up and she tried to scream in pain, scream for someone to come and help her.
It was so hard, though. The support beam that fell on her pierced one of her lungs and pinned her to the ground, she practically couldn’t move from this position, her only option was cry for help.
Her vocal chords were raspy and filled up with her own blood; she coughed some of it before she took in a sharp breath that pained her to the very core, as if a massive spear pierced her very soul to the endless hell that awaits everyone who isn’t a goody-two shoes.
“Plea-” She tried to plead – and cry - for help, but her throat burned in an immense pain, she recoiled and twisted her body trying to bear with it, but she only achieved that the beam that fell on her to move slightly making her bleed even more.
There was no way she was going to get out of this one.
I don’t need to worry, Ladybug could revive me. Chloé thought in desperation, her idol, the heroine of Paris would be able to heal her, right?
Nobody so far has died in an akuma attack, they have just gotten seriously injured but the akuma normally would go for the miraculous of Ladybug and Chat Noir, which she can presume gives them their powers and must be truly something powerful for Hawkmoth to terrorize Paris just to get them.
Her eyelids were getting heavier by the second, but she still couldn’t hear the blaring alarms of the city. Were they oblivious to what was happening? Well, she never expected the Akuma to appear in the lobby and break down the structure to make it fall.
Wait…! Now that she thinks about it, she didn’t hear the building falling. Maybe that is the power of the akuma, something with robbing sound to inanimate objects due to that she heard herself pleading for help, groaning in pain and crying through what she could manage thanks to the pain. That could be…!
In that moment she felt her head swirling around, making her lose focus. She was about to die, and she had no way of avoiding that.
The thought and realization finally made horror cripple through her body.
She was about to die.
She was about to die young at that.
She was probably going to be the first one in dying in an akuma attack, she thought about it earlier, but what would happen if Ladybug can’t make her comeback? What would happen to her body? Would someone mourn for her? There is her dad and Adrien, probably Jean…and…her… mother?
Another realization came to her as she saw flashes of life going through her eyes. Her mother would no bat an eye for her, she would die and so many people would be happy about it. so many people would be glad that she is gone, so many people would make a festival about it hidden from the eyes of her father.
Nobody would miss her; no more than two people.
Her body became weaker and weaker; she doesn’t feel her legs anymore. Her left arm was already out, destroyed by debris that fell on it, she couldn’t move her body in the slightest. Even so… she had to warn the people about the akuma, it would cause to much damage if she doesn’t do anything.
Looking around with his eyes, trying to focus while trying to stay awake. She found a particular lit up area in the debris in her right side; her phone was on, it survived the fall of the place.
A miracle.
She didn’t waste the little time she had and tried to stretch to grad the phone, her finger were touching the screen and little but little she was able to drag the phone.
Her breathing was weaker and weaker than before, she didn’t have much time. Her left eye lid finally gave in, and her right hand was about to go out. She felt coldness, a breeze cursed through her cones and she felt someone trying to pry her soul out of the body.
Death is here for her.
And she will make that only her goes this time.
She manages to press the akuma alert button and the city was blasted with the alarms, she was sure that Ladybug was already arriving to find the akuma.
She felt how her heart stopped beating; her lungs couldn’t get more air. It was her time, but at least, she did a good thing in the end and wasn’t selfish enough to worry only about her, this could be thought as an act of trying people to like her if she died, but no one would know it and she was fine with that.
Thinking about it, maybe this way, people will be happier without her.
The sadness of two, while ten thousands could be happy.
That isn’t selfish at all.
Chloé smiled while she closed her eyes.
Chloé bourgeois died with a smile on her face.
You have some good will on you; it would be waste for someone so young to die without a chance of redemption .
Nobody heard that voice speaking, but the tone of surprised on it and conviction were high enough for something to lit up Chloé’s body slightly before the light disappeared onto nothingness.
+++
She felt her eyes flutter to life, snapping open as she gasped for air. She felt like water washed over her, she felt how sweet and comfortable she is.
Though, the only thing she could see…was darkness.
She got up from the ground before putting a hand behind her head, she noticed how her hair was loose; there wasn’t a tie there. “Where…could I be?” She asked.
Chloé looked around only to find darkness surrounding her from all directions, though there was a ball of light up ahead. She began to walk toward it, felling how the ball of light began to move slowly away from her, but not enough to be in a constant track. It quickly became nearer as she walked, she put a hand on it before feeling an overflowing emotion that she couldn’t quite describe.
The lightbulb made a flash and she had to cover her eyes.
An image of a young Dupain-Cheng appeared a smile all over her face while playing with other kids.
Why am I seeing this? Chloé thought.
Dupain-Cheng fell on the ground and scratch herself on the knee, blood began to draw from it as the other kids began to call for an adult and trying to make her feel better. Weirdly, enough, she recognized a blonde girl that was there, trying to help Marinette.
She was dressed in a bee theme outfit, pony tail and blue eyes.
“Is that…me? Am I seeing a memory?” Chloé said under her breath, almost like a whisper, not quite believing her eyes.
“Marinette, everything is fine! You parents are coming!” her young self said, trying to make the young Dupain-Cheng stop crying.
“But…it hurts.” Dupain-Cheng wailed lightly.
“Don’t worry; once they come here you’ll be alright!”
The memory made a vine wrap around her heart, making it pump emotions into her very soul as she felt confusion washing over her thanks to the memory. She was disoriented thanks to this, why was she seeing this?
She watched how Dupain-Cheng’s parents came worried about her daughter, as they quickly made her stop crying and took her home. Her young herself quickly went home after that and asked about her mother, where was she? as if she could hear the thoughts of the memory.
“She is on a trip, Mademoiselle. She should be here in a month.” She remembered Jean saying that.
Why am I seeing this? What could this possibly mean? Chloé thought.
Her expression fell but nodded before running off to her room. The light went out, and she noticed how the darkness wasn’t so much dark now. A path has been made where the next ball of light was, she was curious, this light balls could pretty much be her memories, but why should she see them? Wasn’t she already dead? What could possibly seeing her memories do?
She walked and touched the next lightbulb.
It was again her, this time she was in front of Le Grand Paris. Mr. Cuddly was at her side, but he was on the ground.
This…
“I don’t have time for you; I need to get quickly on my next plane.” The words of her mother made her younger self stop in hear dead tracks. She looked so hurt.
I remember this, too…
She didn’t need to be there to remember what went through her head on that time. She could still remember it, like the palm of her hand.
She doesn’t have time for me?
I am not enough for her?
Am I not worthy of her time?
Am I not exceptional?
Am I not her… daughter?
Those thoughts still plagued her to this day.
Do I need to be like her to get her attention? To be…her daughter?
That thought alone caught her attention; it was the thought that changed her life forever into the cool and untouchable Chloé that she is today. The Chloé that has so much power that you could say that she is the mayor in a way.
From that day onward, she started to be loud and always seeking attention. She began to forget everyone’s name except Adrien’s.
Adrien…
She caught her breath when a sudden memory passed through the light, a blonde woman playing with her and Adrien on his house.
Auntie Emilie… what would she think on me when if she knew what I became?
Maybe be proud of her for finally deciding what to do with her life. Or disappointed on how she became a bitch, someone to despise, to not be nearby. She would look her with so much sadness.
Chloé looked down as she thought on that. She looked at her hands, was she even proud on what she had become? Was she happy with it?
Sure, she felt happy, having everything she wanted and having everyone do anything she says could give anyone happiness in a way. But was she, truly to the very core, happy with herself?
All the bullying she had caused, all the pain and tears she had made happen. Was she truly happy with that? She had been friends with Dupain-Cheng once and later that was broken because she wanted her mother to be proud of her. All because she wanted to have both of her parents with her.
Both of her parents with her…attention from parents.
The friends she had made go away from her to avoid being bullied by her; all because they were scared of what she might do with having her father would her pinky finger. Sabrina only did things that she made her do, was she truly even a friend to begin with? The thoughts were filling Chloé’s mind as she saw the scenes playing around on the light. All the bullying, harmful words, using her father and so on.
Watching her doing all of those things, just felt wrong. Her emotions were bottling up inside of her, she couldn’t pinpoint which one she was feeling but she could take a few guesses: Anger, Denial, Proudness – on herself – and Sadness. She didn’t want to know which one she is truly feeling, because it might say more about herself than she ever knew.
“What happened to you Chloé!?” She heard young Dupain-Cheng ask – more like shout – at her.
“What do you want, commoner? I have better thing to do than be with you, you are loser and I am a winner.”
“You never boasted about money before, what happened!?”
“What? Are you jealous?”
The face of Dupain-Cheng before going with her parents left Chloé conflicted. Why did she say those things back then? She was…lost.
She didn’t know what to make of this situation, she had been seeing her life so far and all the bad things she had done. So much bad things compared to good things.
You are finally getting it, aren’t you?
A voice spoke and snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked around only to find a snake slowly making its way toward her. She felt no danger, though. It wrapped itself around her leg and went up her body.
You are finally sseeing all the pain you’ve caused, especially to her.
Chloé knew who ‘her’ was. So she kept silent.
Let me sshow you ssssomething, and you can tell me what iss in your heart, you sssoul.
She was still silent, but a silhouette appeared from the light. Dupain-Cheng with her parents… smiling… playing. Then… images of everyone with their parents. Some of them have absent parents but they were still happy, as if it didn’t matter where there was someone missing or not.
Then it clicked.
She smiled sadly. “So it was me…” she said under breath.
What do you mean young one?
“It was me… I always say that everyone is jealous of me because of my fame and money, but now I think… that the one jealous… was me.” Chloé whispered; the smile still on her face. “I was the one who was jealous of everyone.”
How so…?
“I was jealous of everyone having parents who were caring with them, always being there for them, not having someone else to watch over them, dong it themselves. I was jealous of that, I guess. I became so obsessed with my mother that I was mad that everyone got happy lives but not me. Dupain-Cheng had it better, two parents and caring friends. I guess that’s why I decided to target her, to somewhat unleash my displeasure of her situation.” Chloé said as she had finally discover what emotion was inside of her, but she tried to repress it, she wasn’t to suppose to show that emotion so often.
The light went out before another part of the darkness was illuminated, on the other side of Dupain-Cheng, her young version, her mini-version whatever you want to call it. She was on the bright side.
Chloé was on the dark one.
Time passed quickly and she saw how they arrived at the first day of school when Adrien came. When Ladybug came to Paris.
Marinette was on the bright side.
She was on the dark one.
Marinette began to have friends, more confidence. While she remained alone without no one else than her father and Adrien.
Still…
Marinette was on the bright side.
She was on the dark one.
Adrien began to walk toward the bright side, everyone smiling while some scowled at her. Tears began to spill from her eyes as she finally understood everything that the light was showing her.
Marinette was on the bright side.
She was on the dark one.
Her father began to disappear from the dark side, but he didn’t go to the bright one, he simply disappeared. She was alone, she felt alone.
Chloé didn’t want to watch anymore, she get it now. She’d messed up big time, because of her insane wanting of having her mother proud of her; she destroyed whatever good life with friends she could’ve had. It didn’t matter anymore, she was death, and maybe Ladybug couldn’t revive her anymore.
Well… I Guess I deserve this. She thought while brushing off her tears with her hand, trying to walk to another path, a path on the dark side of things.
Let me sshow you one lassst thing.
The voice said; the snake moved on her neck making her move along it. She whirled to see a very strange image.
She found herself on the bright side.
“What?” The tears she had previously dried had come back, much stronger this time. No matter how much she tried she couldn’t stop. “What is this!?” She shouted.
Why did you think she wasss alwaysss so sstubborn with you after sshe regained confidence?
Chloé didn’t want to know.
She kept silent.
She knew deep down the answer.
Why would her…? After all…?
What do you want to do? You want to finally be free and not sssee anything more?
“Show me.” Chloé said through her tears.
What?
“Show me all the pain I have caused…” Chloé extended her answer. “I need to know every bad thing I have done, is the least I can do. I want to feel what they felt; I need to know how bad I was.”
She waited for a couple of seconds; the voice seemed to have stopped. She looked down at the snake, which was looking at her.
If you want to.
Chloé felt how the light covered her being.
+++
Chloé’s eyes opened again as she tried to register what happened. She was looking at the ceiling; wind blew and bathed her being. It felt relaxing… and weird. She moved her head to the left, to see someone in hospital clothes.
It was nurse, putting a pot with flowers on the desk beside her.
“It was good that Ladybug can restore everything…” She didn’t catch the rest of the sentence. The nurse simply looked at her, as if she was to see something and check it up before she noticed that she was looking at her.
The nurse ran off of the room, something about the doctor.
Chloé simply was there lying on the bed while thinking on something. Guilt was washing over her as she remembered when she was death. But a smile tugs her lips before she thought on something as she fell asleep again, thinking no the very thing that made her realize how bad she was.
I am grateful for that death.