not what she seems//miraculous au

the return of a hero

"You don't love me the way that she did, you can never match her," Adrien had screamed , his eyes filled with hatred.

"No Adrien that's not true, I love you," She had yelled back from the ground, "I've loved you ever since the day we met, you're my everything,"

"You're wrong," Adrien had said as he activated his Cataclysm, "You fell in love with Adrien, and he's not real, he's fake and you can't love something that's not real," Adrien had stared at her with stone-cold eyes as he walked closer to her.

"No, you're real," She had said as she slid back on the floor, bumping into the coffin, "You have to be real,"

"I'm not Marinette, so I might as well destroy those earrings and bring back someone who loved me for who I truly am," Adrien had walked over to her with no mercy in his eyes, his white mask making his icy blues eyes look even scarier, Adrien kneeled down next to Marinette's shaking, helpless body,

"Goodnight m'lady,"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

"Adrien!" Marinette woke up in a cold sweat, she was breathing heavily, and her heart was beating aggressively at the memory. Marinette touched her ears on impulse and was met with naked earlobes.

"Marinette!" Alya rushed over to her as Marinette clutched her heart, sitting up in her bed. Alya had refused to leave Marinette's side since "The Betrayal" and had been protecting her from the press and making sure her health was maintained, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Marinette said once her breathing had slowed down, "I just had another nightmare." Marinette tried to give Alya a reassuring smile, but the tears in her eyes weren't very convincing.

"Oh girl," Alya pursed her lips and gave her a hug, careful not to squeeze her ribs too hard, "Are you sure you can go to school today?"

"I'm sure," Marinette said as she started to get out of bed, she was immediately welcomed with a dizzy spell and had to lay back down again, "I've waited long enough,"

"Are you sure you're going to be able to deal with...everything?" Marinette nodded confidently and tried to get out of bed, she was still a little dizzy after doing it, but she hadn't fainted so that was good.

"I know I can do it," Marinette said as she started to get ready, she walked by her desk and stopped short when she noticed the box sitting on her desk, "And I think I'm ready for those again too,"

"Are you sure Marinette?" Alya asked worriedly as Marinette held the box in her hand, "I know that you were pretty worried about putting them back on again,"

Marinette stared intently at the box in her hand, "Paris needs Ladybug," Marinette opened the box and was met with a nostalgic burst of pink light.

"Marinette!" Tikki exclaimed once she saw who had opened the box, Tikki hugged her owner's cheek and Marinette laughed happily. Suddenly, Tikki saw all of Marinette.

This girl was not the Marinette that Tikki remembered, this girl was sad and sullen with messy dark hair and broken eyes. Her skin was pale and her lips lacked their normal pink hue.

"Hi Tikki," Marinette said as she smiled, Alya watched in the corner, not wanting to disturb their reunion.

"I'll be right back Marinette," Alya said as she started walking downstairs.

"Alya truly is a great friend!" Tikki said cheerfully, "Has she been staying with you all this time?"

"She has, she's been staying on my chaise ever since I got back from the hospital," Marinette pointed to the chaise where all of Alya's stuff was scattered about.