Chameliona || A Miraculous Fanfiction

Chapter 4

Marinette's P.O.V.

(half an hour earlier)

Despite the exhausted state Marinette was in, she hurried over her campus, trying to get to her sketching class on time. Halfway there, she caught sight of something purple in the corner of her eye, thanks to her heightened senses she had obtained through years of training.

"An Akuma," Marinette grumbled angrily. Suddenly the girl was fully awake again, turning on her heel and sprinting into a nearby alleyway to transform into Parises Superhero, Ladybug. Peeking into her purse, she saw her small kwami sleeping heavily. Sighing, Marinette woke her by slightly tickling her stomach. Tikki did not look good, her skin greying, far from its usual radiant red and she looked squished. She was utterly drained too.

"Is it morning yet?", the kwami muttered sleepily, rubbing its big bug eyes.

"I'm afraid not, Tikki, there's another akuma on the loose!"

The kwami let out a grunt. "We can't keep going on like this, Marinette! It's too much! I can't guarantee I'll be able to keep the transformation up for long!"

"I know. I need to figure something out, and I will. I promise! I'll fix everything, but right now we have to fight one more time before we can rest. I'm so, so sorry!" The girl felt horrible having to force Tikki into transforming once more, but there was no way she could just sit by and do nothing.

Trying to ignore the little god's reproachful look, Marinette issued the command: "Tikki, spots on!" and sent an automated warning to her partner, Adrien. Hoping he would catch up with her quickly, she started scaling the wall of the immensely tall residence next to her, with help of her magic yoyo. The bluenette managed to catch one last glimpse of the akuma before it headed off to the south of Paris, in direction of the Seine river.

Taking a deep breath to gather her strength, Ladybug closed her eyes to prepare for the inevitable battle ahead, which would lead to her missing class again. A gigantic leap catapulted her into the air, in hot pursuit of the akuma.

Halfway there, Ladybugs yoyo flashed with an incoming call:

"Ladybug, where are you?" Chat spoke, seemingly having already transformed, as she could hear the wind rushing past him through the phone, while he vaulted over Paris' skyline.

"Parc de Belleville! Come quick, the akuma is flying towards its target and heading south!" Ladybug replied breathlessly.

"Hold on, I'm on my way!"

Ladybug could feel the exhaustion deep in her bones. Gritting her teeth together she kept on going, even though her muscles were burning. She badly needed rest. Hawkmoth had been especially relentless these past few days, sending out akuma after akuma, and most Ladybug had fought alone, as Adrien had only just returned from a modelling trip to New York, that his father had pressured him into. So Adrien was well-rested and Marinette bone-weary.

But she clung to what little strength she had left, trying to focus and squinting to see the akuma in the distance.

Chat Noir had soon caught up and joined his best friend, immediately noticing her pale face and trembling muscles.

"Ladybug!" he uttered, a little shocked, as he fell in step beside her. "You look horrible!!"

She huffed out a laugh. "It's good to see you too, Chat!

"Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to see you, but you don't look your usual flowery self!"

Shooting him a glare, the superhero replied: "You try fighting five akumas in a row!" Which she immediately regretted, knowing Adrien had felt bad for having to leave, but she had made him go on the trip, claiming she could handle it.

"I'm sorry, Chat, I didn't mean it that way. I'm alright," she replied, thinking back to Tikkis warning ashamedly.

"All good," Chat Noir replied, busy jumping over a particularly large gap between two buildings.

The bluenette turned her head to give him what she hoped was a reassuring smile, all the while racing after the akuma. And at that fatal moment, Ladybugs kwami gave away, leaving Marinette to drop 50 feet from Paris' skyline.

Adrien's P.O.V.

"Shoot."

Retracting his pole, Chat Noir let himself drop after his partner, glad for his reflexes that had caused him to react immediately after Ladybugs transformation had dropped. He landed on the ground just seconds before an unconscious Marinette hit the concrete floor and rolled himself under her, grunting at having to take the brunt of his partner's fall. Gripping her tight, Chat let them roll a few more meters in the abandoned side street they had just been crossing.

"Oh, fudge." Adrien sat up and gently laid the bluenette's head onto his lap. He quickly checked her breathing and looked around to see if someone could have seen her detransform.

They had been lucky, the buildings limiting the grimy street featured no windows, and there was nobody about. He was growing more nervous by the minute, what on earth had happened? Why had Tikki dropped the transformation? He could feel Plaggs anxiousness aswell, through the magic bond that connected them. Whatever it was, they had to get away from here.

Marinette needed a proper bed to rest in, there was no way she would be able to fight like this. He was going to have to face the akuma alone, even though he had no idea how he would manage. But not even shaking was waking the girl.

"Marinette?"

"Hey. Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

"We're going to get you somewhere safe. I'll carry you now, if that's okay. You'll be alright" He felt slightly hideous talking to her when she was so clearly not alright. Hoisting her up onto his back and loading Tikki, who lay sleeping on her owner's stomach, into Marinette's purse, he started off over Paris' rooftops in direction of the Dupain-Cheng bakery.

Marinette's P.O.V.

Marinette found herself tightly tucked into her bed. Her head throbbed as she tried to remember what had happened. As a worried-looking Adrien, who was pacing her bedroom, came into view, the memories came flooding back. The last thing she could recall was Tikkis transformation dropping, and then nothing more. She must have fainted in the shock and exhaustion of it all.

"Hey. You're awake." Adrien looked relieved, but instantly moved to prevent her from getting out of bed, as she had been trying to do. Even though she protested, secretly Marinette was glad, she had never felt more powerless and deflated.

"You are not going anywhere. Why didn't you tell me you were about to collapse? You need to accept that you are outpowered. You are in no condition to fight right now." Adrien looked at her firmly.

Sighing, Marinette leaned back onto her cushions. "I know, I'm sorry. I should have been honest with you, and myself. Tikki warned me that this could happen. She has barely been able to recover."

Looking at her sleeping kwami, she winced slightly. Plagg had curled up next to her, keeping a protective arm around her. The little green-eyed god looked up, earnest for once, and spoke softly, as not to wake Tikki:

"She'll be alright, but she needs loads of rest, and something like this must never happen again. When kwamis suffer too great an exhaustion, they might lapse into a sleep that they cannot wake up from, for years."

Shocked, Marinette looked at Adrien with wide eyes. Judging by his expression, this was news to him too.

"I'll fix it, and it won't happen again. I promise!"

"I know." The kwami replied. "I trust you."

Closing her eyes for a brief second, Marinette thought of her options. Since Master Fu had retired, not much time had passed. This was the first big problem she had to face herself. And suddenly, as clear as rain, she saw what she had to do.

"I am going to distribute a new Miraculous!"

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Everyone loves a good cliffhanger ;)

What do you think will happen next?

Word Count: 1323