I'm Here

Chapter 4

"Words just can't describe what I'm feeling right now. Anger? Hate? Revenge? Confused? Angry at the world for letting this happen, hatred for the stupid driver who wasn't paying attention. Revenge on the person who could've stopped this, but didn't. Confused as to why this could happen? Why me? The world hates me. A world without Adrien, I don't know what I would do. The funeral wasn't the ideal scene. It wasn't raining, like it usually does in funerals from the movies. Things were still normal, as if he never died. But I just don't want to accept the fact that he's really gone." Marinette stopped writing as she saw a tear drip onto her diary, she wiped her eyes and continued, "it turns out, according to Nathalie, they were on their way to the airport to move to the states. But he never told me this, and never said 'bye'. I loved him. He's the only guy I could ever love, and might be the only guy that could ever love me. So is my life really over just like that?"

"Marinette! Didn't you hear?! There's a fire in downtown Paris! We have to transform!" Tikki flew up to Marinette.

"What? Oh, okay..." Marinette sniffed and stood up, "Tikki, spots on."

Tikki flew into her earrings and Marinette transformed into Ladybug, only not as enthusiastic as she always is.

She climbed out onto her balcony and threw her yoyo, flying towards the rising smoke. As soon as she got to the scene, she ran up to the building and analyzed it.

"Please! Ladybug! Save my cat! He's still in there!" The little boy about ten years old pleaded.

"I'll see what I could do." Ladybug reassured him as she ran up to the building, "why couldn't Cat Noir have taken care of this..."

She climbed over smoking debris and avoided flames as she ran to the stairway. But before she could run up, she saw a door. She opened the door and found more flames in the garage. She gasped when she saw one of the Flames just reach the gasoline tank of the car. She ran out as fast as she could as the house burst right behind her. She groaned as she tried to get herself back up off the grass, then started coughing from the smoke. She looked up and saw that the room where the cat was sitting in was filled with flames. No one could've lived through it.

"Chat!" The boy cried as tears filled his eyes.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked.

"He named the cat after his favorite hero." A neighbor told her.

"Where was Cat Noir?! He could've saved him... Now Chat's dead..." The boy cried as he fell to the grass.

"I'm... I'm so sorry...." Ladybug apologized, and before anyone could say anything to her, or before she started bawling, she ran off, threw her yoyo, and flew off to her house. She landed on her balcony and transformed back into Marinette, catching Tikki in the palm of her hand.

"What happened?" Tikki asked.

"I can't do this Tikki.... I just let a little boy's cat die... Not only that, he thought that Cat Noir would've done better. But he wasn't even there."

"Relax Marinette! We can work through this together! It's what Adrien would've wanted!"

"I don't know, Tikki..." Marinette shook her head as she started to cry, "I'm losing it. Leave all the saving to Cat Noir. He hasn't lost anyone he loves. I'm sure he can do better without me."

".... I know what you need. You haven't done this yet." Tikki said as she grabbed Marinette's hand and started pulling her towards the door.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

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Marinette stood staring as she clutched a bouquet of flowers.

"Go ahead." Tikki gestured Marinette to actually walk forward. Marinette nodded, and walked forward. She knelt down in the grass and laid the bouquet in front of Adrien's grave.

"Hey Adrien. I just wanted to tell you..." Marinette turned back to Tikki, who nodded, "I wanted to tell you before you died, that I'm Ladybug. People always wanted Ladybug to date Cat Noir, but I just couldn't, because I loved you already. And I still love you. But... Why did you have to go so soon..." Marinette whispered as she started crying. She let her tears fall on the grass as Tikki flew up to her and hugged her. Tikki gasped as soon as she looked up and saw a black figure standing on the top of a nearby building.

"Uh, M-Marinette?" Tikki tapped her, "there's something up there watching you."

Marinette looked up, but as soon as she did, the figure had left.

"I think it was just your imagination, Tikki." Marinette wiped her eyes as she got up and left.

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"Where has Ladybug gone, we wonder? She made her last appearance at a fire in downtown Paris, failing to save a boy's pet cat, Chat." Mrs. Chamack said on the news.

"Cat Noir would be honored to know that he has a fan." The dark figure murmured as he watched the news on his phone from the top of a building.

"Cat Noir never made it to the scene on time to help his partner. So now the main question many Parisians have is what has happened to our guardians?"

"Poor Marinette..." The figure sighed as he looked down at Marinette, crying at Adrien's grave, "looks like I'm going to have to pay her a surprise visit."

The dark figure smirked as he put his phone away stood up, tussled his blonde hair, smiled, took out his staff, and, Cat Noir himself, alive, jumped off the building and left.