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“Spots off.”
Words usually said with care and perhaps fatigue were now cold. Rather than the peaceful separation that Tikki was used to, the kwami was ejected forcefully from her stone, shoved away from her Chosen by the anger in her heart.
“Marinette,” she mourned quietly. Yet not quietly enough.
“Don’t, Tikki,” the girl snapped. She did not turn around, did not show her tears to the five-thousand-year-old kwami. “Just don’t.”
“But Marinette,” the being said. Her energy was low and her morale even lower, but she simply had to try to talk to her. She had to try. The red fairy-like creature flew up and around until she could see her Chosen’s face. “Please, just listen—”
“Listen?” the girl barked, eyes coming to a sharp focus on the kwami. Tikki flinched beneath such a heated gaze, but did not back away. “I did listen to you, Tikki! The Lucky Charms come from you! I used it and guess what, it worked!”
“Marinette—”
“Don’t you Marinette me!” the girl shouted. “It worked like a charm! Except for one little thing!”
“It can’t—”
“He’s dead and it’s all my fault!” Marinette screamed. “Why didn’t the Cure bring him back?! Why, Tikki!?”
“It’s not your fault, Marinette,” Tikki tried to calmly explain. The situation was delicate, fragile. One wrong word could send everything down the wrong path. “The miraculouses don’t always work on their partners. Ladybug couldn’t have saved him…”
That was the wrong thing to say.
Marinette jerked her head away, the tear tracks lining her face becoming angry. Tikki gulped. How could she fix this? How?
“Marinette,” she tried.
“You’re right, Tikki. You’re absolutely right,” the girl said. This would be an optimistic change if her charge were not reaching for her own ears. “Ladybug couldn’t have saved him…”
“Marinette…”
“I think Ladybug needs to go away. If she can’t even save her partner, who can she save?”
“Marine—!”
But the deed was done and Tikki was back inside her stone. Tears welled up in her eyes. This happened every single time. Every time a Chat Noir died, the Ladybug turned. Turned on their miraculous, turned on her.
“Plagg…?”
Despite being so near in his own stone, her counterpart refused to speak to her as well. Her Chosen blamed her. Her counterpart blamed her. And truth be known, she blamed her too.
And as she curled up into a little ball, she knew no one would hear her tears.
She only hoped she could do better next time.