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Three weeks of painstaking work, each piece of fabric cut and embroidered with dedication and love, some of the best work she'd ever produced gone in a calculated moment of jealousy and spite.
"Oops. So sorry Marinette." Chloè sneered as she stood above Marinette, an empty plastic jug dripping blackberry juice on to the ground and a pastry box that had been filled with a Lemon and Raspberry Dacquoise lay crushed beneath her.
As she stood, Marinette looked down at her handmade knee-length pink qipao with painstakingly white blossoms embroidered along the edges and down the left side. It had short sleeves that stopped just below her biceps and the ties were made of white raw silk. The huge dark purple stain mixed with lemon cream and raspberriesspread across the torso and travelled down, discolouring the beautiful fabric further. She could feel the stickiness of the juice seep into her back as well. It was the final straw for the secret heroine.
Over the past week, Marinette had been victim to the spoiled girl's tantrums more so than usual, her parents had grounded her after she had snapped at Chloè in the bakery (who of course had promptly put on a mask of the blameless victim), Alya had called her out on lying to the blogger about not being at the location of several Akuma attacks which had only increased over the few days. Marinette was tired, upset and this was the last thing she wanted. The only bright spots in the past week had been Chat Noir and the Class Picnic.
Chat, thankfully, had toned down on the puns and flirtation when he had seen her mood slowly plummet over the days and had been extremely considerate towards her. In return, Marinette had allowed her kitty to be more touchy than she normally would and the few puns that had slipped past his lips made her smile. She had taken solace in the fact she was not the only one who had to put on a mask in front of family and friends to cover up the extremely dangerous work they did.
The Class Picnic, on the other hand, had been planned two months in advance by Marinette and Alya as Class President and Vice President as a surprise for the class. It was being held in her local park as a business-casual event with many of the students' parents in attendance. It was a chance for everyone to get together with their families to relax before the summer and most of the students had looked forward to it since it had been brought up. Food was prepared by some of the students and their parents while Marinette's parents provided the desserts. Tents, chairs and tables sprawled under the trees and the atmosphere was pleasant and content.
Marinette was running late as she had to put the last pieces of the Dacquoise together. Once she had shown up, her dress had been complimented along with all the effort she had put into the event and Marinette thought she'd be able to relax for the day.
A sudden trip and a crushed dessert later caused that dream to fly out of the window.
A snort from Sabrina brought Marinette out of her stunned feelings. She could see the smug countenance on Chloè's face, the supressed giggles in Sabrina's and the horrified look on Alya's. The stress from the week before rose up within Marinette causing her eyes to sting and her throat to close up. She could feel the stares of everyone in the vicinity and her fists clenched and shook.
"Marinette..." Marinette snapped her head to the left as Adrien, who looked so handsome in a dark green button up and thin black tie, reached out with one hand. Before he could make contact, Marinette turned on her heel and fled, tears streaming down her cheeks and a sob ripped out of her throat as she passed the gate.
"Marinette!" She ignored the calls of Adrien and Alya. Her parents were ignored also.
She ran. The world passed her by instantly. Feet pounded across concrete and through the bakery. Fleeing up the stairs, Marinette threw herself onto her chaise lounge, sobbing into her arms. She ignored the stickiness of the juice, the squeamish feeling of the dessert and Tikki's gentle pats. Her whole world collapsed into the soft arms her face was buried in and the tears running down her cheeks. Everything was ruined.
She barely registered Tikki's gasp and sudden absence of her comforting press against a wet cheek.
"NO! LEAVE HER ALONE! UGH, GET AWAY YOU VILE CREATURE!" Marinette's head snapped up and watched robotically as a black butterfly swiftly dodged Tikki's attempts to block it and collided with the ruined dress.
"
Fabricator. You have been surrounded by lies. You can show them that the fabrication of such falsehoods has its consequences. I can help you create a new truth. A new world with no lies. Just pure honest clarity. All I require in return is Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous."
Marinette couldn't help herself. She knew this was wrong. She knew she should say no. But the part of her that was angry at the world, sad that she could not share the truth with her friends, resentful of all the lies spoken to her and by her answered.
"Deal."
As the black smoke bubbled up over her, Marinette possessed just enough free-will to rip off her earrings and toss them aside. She made eye contact with Tikki as the dark aura of Hawk Moth trailed up her neck.
"RUN!"
Marinette had been too quick for Adrien to catch so he did the next best thing he could. He rounded on to Chloè who was already being yelled at by Alya.
"What the Hell?! How dare you trip Marinette? God, are you so jealous of her that you'd descend into doing that to her?" Alya was absent of her usual plaid and jeans, instead dressed in a red and black chequered dress with a knee-length swing cut skirt and square neck line that sat comfortably above the cleavage. Her red slingback pumps caused her to be eye level with Chloè as they squared off, a fishtail braid trailing down her spine.
Contrastingly, Chloè was clothed in a strapless white lace dress that stopped mid-thigh. A yellow silk knitted shrug was tight across her shoulders as she cocked one hand on her hip and looked disinterestedly at her yellow painted nails on the other hand. Bright yellow high heels shifted as Chloè spoke degradingly at the dark haired blogger. "It was an accident. Wasn't it Sabrina?"
Sabrina, the ever faithful lap dog, nodded vigorously, her own simple spaghetti strapped purple dress swaying with the movement.
That is when Adrien intervened. It had been a year since he began public school and the way Chloè talked to others was an eye-opener. The numb look on Marinette's face was one he hoped he would never see again, especially since he'd started to notice how brilliant she was after the Evillustrator Akuma. Stepping between the two girls, Adrien absently noted the entire class staring at him. He supposed that him standing up to Chloè publically was going to become a spectacle. "Chloè, you are a goddamn liar. Everyone saw you trip Marinette and frankly, I'm sick of you bullying her." His jaw clenched as he watched Chloè's mouth drop open and her eyes begin to water. He thought he should feel bad but a flash of wide heartbroken blue eyes squashed that feeling before it could even begin bloom. He suppressed the urge to cling to his black suit pants or to run his hands through his hair in agitation. "I don't know what you were thinking but it's time that you grew up. You can't just bully your way through life anymore. I've had enough of your lies Chloè."
"What a coincidence. So have I." The cold voice echoed over the park and all heads turned to a young woman.
The Akuma stood above the centre fountain, perched with expert balance. She appeared to be wearing a Chinese Hanfu dress. The under cloth was a dark pink while the wide sleeved quju was black, edged with a dark pink band and the entire outfit had electric pink butterflies scattered through it. The sleeves were so long, they complete shrouded the woman's hands in darkness. The pink sash was wide and tight around her ribs with a perfect bow tied in the middle and draping perfectly down centre of the outfit. The loose shoulder length black hair blew in the wind and narrow dark blue eyes seemed to pin point Chloè. Her lips were painted a cruel red while her emotionless face was whiter than snow with pink butterfly wings bursting from the corner of each eye.
"Liars should never be rewarded yet they always seem to be. Appearances are biggest liars of all though. You take that away and the truth can usually be found. So if the way you look can make you a liar then I will show you the truth." A single arm shot forward and from the shadows of the sleeve, a wide strip of black and pink fabric shot out and surrounded Chloè, wrapping her up like a mummy for a brief horrifying moment. Yanking her arm back, the woman's fabric receded leaving a mannequin in the image of Chloè. The clothes were dirty, torn and were not fit to be worn by anyone. Words like 'Liar', 'Bully' and 'Cruel' were inscribed across the cloth.
"Everyone lies. Therefore, everyone pays." The woman thrust both arms forward and multiple ribbons of fabric targeted the crowd which scattered the moment she finished speaking. Screams penetrated the air and were cut off violently as the fabric caught their victims and changed them into mannequin-like versions of themselves. The mayor and surprisingly, Natalie were the first to be targeted among the crowd.
The Akuma descended from the fountain smoothly with the aid of the ribbons and stalked though the madness. She regarded everything with a cool expression.
Interestingly, when ribbons targeted certain people such as Rose or Tom Dupain-Cheng, they stopped before they could envelope the victim. They pulled away and targeted another casualty, allowing the first intended to make their escapes. One such ribbon reacted that way towards Nino who grabbed Adrien's arm and pulled him toward Alya who in true LadyBlogger fashion, had her phone out to record everything live.
By the time the two boys reached Alya, most of the crowd had either escaped or been turned to mannequins, leaving the three teens hidden behind a tree. Or so they thought.
Three strips of ribbon shot out and grasped each of them around the waist, depositing them at the foot of the Akuma. She looked down at them with cold dark eyes. Something seemed to glimmer in the corner of her eye before it was ruthlessly squashed.
Ayla was the first to stand, scooping up her phone and focusing it on the strange woman in front of her. The two boys stood shoulder to shoulder with her, tense with anticipation. "Who are you?" Alya demanded before anyone else could speak.
"Fabricator. Is this live?" The woman tilted her head and dark amusement peaked for a moment across her face before it became blank once more.
Alya blinked. "Uh, yes? You do know that Ladybug and Chat Noir will be here to stop you at any moment right?" Alya spoke with confidence that was swiftly crushed when the Akuma gave a cruel smirk of humour.
"Chat Noir? Possibly. However, the girl behind the Ladybug is no longer a problem for me which is why I want you to film this message for him." Alya went pale and raised the phone in shaking hands as the malicious smile of Fabricator was broadcasted across The LadyBlog. Adrien had also gone pale and taken a step back as his mind raced.
Fabricator smiled cruelly at the camera. "Hello Kitty Cat. Your Lady is long gone and you should know that it is rather rude to keep a girl waiting." She tilted her head and once again, something glimmered in her dark eyes. "This princess will be waiting for you at the tallest tower in Paris, my knight." Adrien's eyes widened. There was only one girl he had ever referred to as Princess and himself as a knight.
'It couldn't be...Oh God.'
Fabricator turned away before glancing over her shoulder, a teasing note in her voice. "Don't be late, Kitty." An arm shot a band of fabric off into the distance and the Akuma swung away in a matter eerily reminiscent of the missing Parisian heroine.
Alya took a deep breath and turned to Nino who looked as pale and as shook up as she did. "What was that all about?"
Nino shook his head. "I have no idea. Adrien?" The two friends looked.
Adrien was gone.
Deep within the mind of Fabricator, a part of Marinette struggled against the consuming feelings of the Akuma which had taken possession of her. That part had been terrified by the destruction she had wrought. She prayed that Chat would not appear, not until she had a secure location and the mental strength to fight back against the dark whispers of Hawk Moth. Thankfully, it appeared he did not know the other identity of the girl whom he had taken possession of.
It had been a stroke of luck and pure will that caused Marinette to influence that Akuma inside her into sparing people she had sensed were more honest than the others. Her own parents, Nino, Ayla and a few of her classmates had managed to escape her destruction. When she had caught Adrien, the desire to change him had almost been too much. He had a secret. A huge one that caused him to lie so much. It broke Marinette's heart to know that he lied for such a secret. It was only thanks to Alya's blessed habit of liveblogging Akuma attacks that Marinette was able to focus Fabricator's attention on to isolating Chat, though it killed her to do so.
Chat would be fine though. Tikki had managed to escape with her earrings and would find him before he arrived at the Effiel Tower. She had dropped hints to Chat, praying that he would remember the 'Princess' he had tried to defend from an Akuma months back, that it would give him a hint as to who she was.
Marinette stepped back in her mind, allowing Fabricator to take full control. She could hear the screams of her victims and the terror in their eyes made her want to throw up. Every where she swung, ribbons shot out to surround casualties and leaving mannequins behind. It was horrifying but, she had to stay focused. The victims would be fine. She would be fine.
Chat would save them.
Chat would save her.
She just had to wait for the right moment.
Chat leapt over rooftops, the street below flying by. He knew he was on the right path. Every where he looked, the eerie mannequins littered the streets. Children and adults alike, frozen in time. He had to ignore it. He had to save them and his Lady. He had to save Marinette.
"CHAT! CHAT NOIR!"
Chat skidded to halt, half a mile from Champ De Mars and Marinette, as the high pitched voice echoed across the block.
A small red Kwami fluttered up to him, two studs clasped in her tiny hands. Her wide blue eyes were streaming with tears and she smiled weakly as she landed in Chat's hands. As he brought her up to eye level, she burst into heart wrenching sobs.
"I'm so sorry! I should have stopped it! I should have done something!" She dropped the earrings and pressed her hands to her eyes. Her petite body shook and her antenna curled down miserably.
Chat readjusted her into one hand and pressed a gentle finger to the Kwami's black spotted cheek. "Hey, it's okay, Little Lady. You wouldn't have been able to stop Fabricator if she caught Ladybug off guard. We'll stop her. We'll save Ladybug." He gave her a shaky smile, his words sounding more confident than he felt.
The Kwami nuzzled into the finger. "I'm Tikki. It's nice to finally meet you properly." She sniffed, rubbed a hand under her nose and picked up the earrings. Tiny red hands held out the earrings towards a stunned Chat. "She trusts you and she wants you to look after these."
Chat knew his Lady trusted him, but with the sources of her abilities? It was the ultimate expression of trust between the two heroes. He took the Miraculous and slipped them into his pocket securely.
'I won't let you down my Lady.'
Tikki fluttered up and latched onto Chat's collar, pressing her wet face into his neck. Whether it was for her own comfort or his, Chat didn't know but it filled him a determination he had never felt before. Ensuring the Ladybug Kwami was stable, Chat took off even faster than before.
The Eiffel Tower loomed in a way that intimidated him. Mannequins, frozen in a variety of poses, decorated the area. It was jarringly silent as he ascended the famous structure. As he leapt from steel beam to steel beam, he felt his heart begin to race and Tikki press her tiny body closer.
Chat flipped himself over a beam and landed on the abandoned first floor of the tower. Hunched over and cautious, he stepped out of the shadows. He barely noticed Tikki's absence as a cool voice called across the walkway.
"Hello, Chat Noir. "
Chat took a deep breath, steeling himself for the fight ahead. He turned slowly and raised his head. Dark blue met electric green and Chat tilted his head in greeting.
"Afternoon, Princess."
The Akumatised Marinette scowled down at the hero from her spot above him. She stood like a vengeful goddess preparing to judge him. Thankfully, she didn't have any of her fabric strips out of her sleeves. "Don't call me that. It is just another lie."
Chat narrowed his own eyes, skittering over her form, seeking out the possible location of the Akuma. He had to distract her. "Oh. I don't know about that, Marinette. You do have the personality of a princess. Kind, sweet and one of the most honest people I've met. Seems like a princess to me."
Red lips pursed as she turned her head away. Her back was stiff and her shoulders shook with some unforeseen emotion. Her voice was bitter. "Princesses don't lie. I've told too many myself. To everyone. My friends. My family. The one person I trust most and he doesn't even know who I am because. I. LIED!" Her voice rose in anguish and frustration as her face twisted into something dark and self-recriminating. She breath heavily for a moment, her eyes closed before they snapped open with a vengeance. "Everyone lies, Kitty. What lies have you been hiding?" With that, six bands of dark material erupted from her arms.
Chat cursed under his breath as he flipped backwards to avoid the attacks. They slammed through the concrete and steel, leaving deep gouges in the ground. The force behind each hit caused the tower to creek and groan. He would have to try to wrap this up quickly, least Marinette brought down the entire building during the fight.
Slipping into the shadows and steel, Chat leapt from beam to beam, each leap taking him closer to Fabricator.
He made a desperate jump to tackle her around the waist but she slipped away easily. As she threw more streams of fabric at him, he spun around, sweeping a foot out to catch two strands and stand on them. It proved to be a mistake as she yanked the fabric back to dislocate him. Chat threw himself back, landing in a handspring and making another leap for her.
He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and his throat was heaving choked up breaths. Chat had never felt like this when fighting an Akuma before. But this was no normal Akuma fight.
Normally, he'd have his Lady by his side, thinking swiftly to bring the fight to an end.
Normally, it wasn't Marinette he was fighting. The sweet class president who had spent so many sleepless nights to make this day brilliant. She was kind, confident, quick thinking and so very brave. Chat could only pray that the usual post Akuma symptoms held true and she wouldn't remember doing this. He did not want to hurt her, even as she threw deadly attack after deadly attack at the Unlucky hero. He knew she would only blame herself if he got hurt.
He was brought out his internal worries by a strip of fabric inches from his nose.
'Akuma first. Worry about everything later.'
His opponent moved from her vantage point to stand in the centre of the walkway and watched him with cloudy eyes. Multiple thin strips raced out of her sleeves, each one shooting closer to capture her pray.
Chat dodged and parried. He leapt and twisted. He swung-
"AH!"
-and single thin ribbon sliced through his cheek, leaving a slim cut two inches long trailing along his apple of his cheek. The sudden pain caused him to falter for a brief split second which was all Fabricator needed.
Four ribbons wrapped around his limbs while one made its way around his torso and dragged him to dangle like a puppet before Fabricator. His limbs were held tight no matter how much he struggled. The cut on his cheek bled freely but he ignored it to look the Akuma in the eye.
"Princess... Marinette! Listen to me!" He grit his teeth as the bindings tightened.
Face pulled taunt, Fabricator strode towards him, stopping just a few inches away from his face. "No more lies!" She snarled out before her face went blank. Her eyes, glimmering with some unknown emotion once more, skittered over his face. "Who are you, Chat Noir?" The murmured words were almost lost to the wind.
Chat tried one last time as she reached for his mask with a tiny pale hand that had slipped out of the long sleeve. "Marinette. Please. I'm begging you."
The unknown emotion seemed to glimmer brighter in her eyes. Streaks of bright blue began to shoot through the darker blue of her eyes and her jaw locked. Her hand began to tremble.
"MARINETTE! FIGHT IT!" Chat snapped his head to side as he watched Ladybug's Kwami, Tikki, zip through the air to hover by his face. "Fight it! You can! MARINETTE!" The tiny creature was crying again.
'Tikki knows Marinette.'
A painful moan brought his attention back to Fabricator who was shaking violently. Her hand that had been reaching for his mask was now pressed against her temple, her eyes were squeezed shut. A sharp gasp and familiar bright blue eyes bore into his. The binds around his body loosened.
'Marinette...is...Ladybug?'
She was in pain.
So much pain.
But the agony was worth it.
She could feel the Akuma trying to take back control of her body and squeeze the life out of Chat Noir.-
"Foolish girl! You think you can stop me!"
-She could hear Hawk Moth screaming at her inside her head.
The desire to give in -
"Take the Miraculous!"
-was almost too much to bare.
Oh and the pain.
Her eyes focused on Chat's dumbfounded face and narrowed her world down to his eyes. The same green eyes that followed her into battle. That watched her carefully and defended her every time. The eyes that always made her feel safe.
She could take the pain so long as those eyes were on her.
"...Dr...Dress."
Chat startled and stared at her.-
"Just give in, little girl! Nothing will stop me!"
-He shook off the last vestiges of the fabric around him.
She screamed and shook as she fought against the voice in her head and the darkness in her heart.
"A...kuma...Dress!"
She could tell when Chat realised what she had said. He surged forward, wrapping her in his arms, his claws reaching up to grab the back of the collar -
"NO!"
-and tore the dress in two. The split travelled down the length of her spine, baring her back and bra strap to the world. A tiny black butterfly fluttered out of the dress and Marinette collapsed against Chat in relief.
The pain had stopped but the exhaustion crashed over her.
"Oh no, you don't! Get back here."
Marinette sunk to her knees in Chat's embrace and twisted her head to watch Tikki tackle the Akuma. A burst of white light later and a purified white butterfly disappeared into the sky as Marinette smiled and rested her head against Chat's shoulder. She gave a sigh of relief. She knew she could count on her Kitty.
Chat brought his arms up to hold her against him and buried her face into his neck, curling around her. "I am so glad you're safe, My Lady."
Marinette's smile widened into the black material as black smoke bubbled over her, leaving just Marinette behind in a stained and ruined
qipao.
She didn't really care about the dress anymore. Marinette pressed her face into his neck further, breathing in the comforting smell of Chat. She could feel his blood pumping and hear his heart beat which settled her fears quicker than she thought it would.
"Marinette! I'm so sorry! I.." A sobbing kwami interrupted the hug between the two teens and Marinette reached up to cradle Tikki tiredly.
"Hey, hey, hey, I'm ok. You did your best and I'm ok now." She leaned into Chat's chest as she nuzzled Tikki and kissed the black spot on her forehead. Marinette had thanked every deity she knew of and all of her ancestors when she had realised that Tikki had managed to get herself and the Ladybug Miraculous away from Fabricator.
Tikki gave a watery smile and sniffed as she giggled. "I knew I made a good choice with you. Not many Ladybugs can fight off Akuma possession and even fewer can do it without the Miraculous. I'm so proud of you!"
The strong familiar arms around her squeezed tightly. "Yeah, she is pretty special, isn't she?" The soft voice spoke into her ear and she twisted her head up to meet his eyes.
"Hey Kitty." She reached up with a shaky hand and swiped her thumb across the cut gently. She frowned as her thumb came away wet and red. "I'm so sor..." A finger was placed on her lips to silence her.
"No need, Princess. You are completely worth it." He gave Marinette a gentle smile as he helped her stand. He brushed a strand of hair from her face as she gave a tired smile. "How I never saw it, I'll never understand. To think all this time, My Lady was the Princess." Chat wrapped his arm around Marinette and began to escort her back to her home after Marinette briefly became Ladybug to create a Miraculous Light to heal the damage she had done.
An hour later, Marinette was in soft flannel pyjamas on the balcony, watching as the sunset changed the colours of the sky. So much had changed in just one day.
Chat knew who she was and tomorrow, she would know him as well.
She softly smiled up at the sky in a thoughtful manner.
No more lies.
No more fear.
Just two teens and the raw open truth.
Marinette couldn't wait.