Punisher

Chapter 10

Marinette Dupain Cheng

Alya sat up in her bed. Rubbing her thumb over her miraculous. No one had come to retrieve it, and Chat Noir...

It was terrible. She just wanted to push that memory to the back of her head to be forgotten, what she saw. It was horrifying, but she remembered it clearly. Every word that was said, his last breath, Marinette wailing as she hugged his lifeless body. And all she could do was stand and watch.

She watched someone die. Right in front of her, he died smiling. It made her stomach knot with grief. Marinette was so heartbroken, it wasn't like her breakdown. It was true heartbreak. She's never seen someone like that before.

Not that she was trying to be suspicious. Now wasn't the right time to be a journalist. But she could tell there was something there. That those two weren't just friends. At least, to her. She couldn't imagine her and Nino being in a situation like that...she didn't even want to think about it. It made her sick.

Her eyes scanned over the miraculous again, memories flooding back to haunt her.

She was Rena Rouge. Punisher had dropped her hammer when her flute knocked it out of her hands. And she heard Punisher warn Chat Noir to look out, she saw the akuma's eyes. And was surprised when she immediately jumped off.

Of course, she followed. She was worried. Chat Noir was nowhere to be seen, but what she did see was Punisher digging into a pile of rubble, she was confused about why she was doing that. Until she saw the hero finally being dug up.

She moved to help, but Punisher held him in her arms protectively.

"Don't touch him!"

Everything unfolded. It was so sad, so painful to watch. No one should have to go through that, she watched as Marinette defied Hawkmoth. Before Chat died, she smiled, she smiled for him. And it made him happy, but what was painful. The most painful thing Alya has ever heard. Was her scream. The pained scream of when Chat had lost all his life, it was broken, it wasn't just a scream. Her voice crumbled into tears near the end. She said no between sobs.

Her heart hurt. She had no idea what to do, Marinette wouldn't let her near them. She wished she just saved Chat, instead of arguing. Marinette has been through enough...they had been through enough.

Not only had she just watched her best friends lover, close friend, whoever he was to her, die. She watched as Marinette tore her own akumatized object. Look at her hands, her whole body was shaking. As if she was questioning her own actions. And then she looked at Chat Noir. She stood up and ran away, she couldn't even find her as Rena Rouge.

Ladybugs, ladybugs swarmed everywhere, and when it finally got to Chat Noir. He was gone, he just disappeared. Leaving her unknown to the fact if he was alive or dead. Alya was left with so much weight on her shoulders, but she couldn't compare to Marinette's.

Maybe they took him to the hospital, maybe somewhere to rest, or took him to his loved ones. She swallowed a hard lump in her throat. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She was left to wonder about this. Maybe she'll never get an answer. Maybe she will. But Miraculous ladybug has always revived him. Why wouldn't it now?

Trixx had been silent. She guessed the kwami had known what happened. And was leaving Alya to process, or calm.

She hoped Marinette was alright, what kind of question was that. She hoped Marinette wasn't going to do anything dangerous. The only people who could help her were her parents, Adrien, And apparently Chat Noir. It didn't help that Marinette reverted back to her broken self. But probably remembered everything, and that could be enough to push someone over the edge.