A Pixie Problem

Chapter Twenty-One: Hoaxer

I gasp, tears filling my eyes. He looked just like they did. Eyes scooped out, arms and legs pointing in the wrong direction, fingers broken, that stupid smile clawed into his face. He was a walking, talking, mutilated corpse. 

I scream. 

This wasn't a part of what Pinky promise showed me. This was new. 

"If I were you, I would look up." Robin said, the flimsy skin around his mouth moving with his words. 

I did. I knew what awaited me there, I knew what I would see. I just couldn't seem to stop myself. I apparently loved torturing myself. 

Instead of merely looking up at the sight before me. I make sure everything else is the same. I count the bodies in the sky. Six. I inspect the faces of each person. Naming them as soon as the recondition hits. It always hits immediately. I count them down.

Six. Alya.

Five. Chat Noir.

Four. Luka.

Three. Mama.

Two. Papa.

One. Dami.

Everything changed. Nothing stayed the same. More people died. 

Tears streamed down my face. My heart felt as if it were broken. Everyone that I loved was dead. 

"You could have prevented this, Marinette." Hoaxer says from behind me. I spin around to face her, "If you had kept your goody-two-shoes mouth shut, this wouldn't have had to happen." 

"I didn't make you into this. You did this yourself." I whisper.

"No, I didn't. This," She spreads her arms around her, "is all your fault."

Your fault.

Your fault.

Your fault.

My fault.

My fault.

My fault.

My fault. 

I was spiraling. My biggest fear was confirmed by the person I despised the most. The one person who could make me feel like nothing yet make me feel everything with just a word. The one person who made me hate myself and question myself. Who made me feel so angry just by existing. She pointed out and brought my fear to life.

I was glaring at her, tears still rolling down my cheeks. My jaw clenched and teeth grinding together. She waved her hand in the air, as if she was casting aside something that she didn't like. 

The air around us brightened slightly, the lighting above stopped, and the bodies disappeared with a loud poof. 

It was all fake. Just another illusion. 

"Chloe helped me dissect you better. She's known you far longer than I have. Though your fear is something quite obvious. You can see it on your face whenever you're fighting against the monsters I created. That first attack with Pinky Promise was only a set up. I wanted you to recognize the day you would die. I wanted you to think you knew what to expect." She circled me like a vulture, "I heard about your little vigilantes you brought in from Gotham. I figured since we were bringing in friends, I'd call in a favor from someone else in the same city." 

A figure steps out from behind the fountain. He had green hair, pale skin, and a red smile. He looked deranged. He also looked like a really ugly clown. 

My tears dried up. All I could feel was relief. Relief at the fact that none of it was real. Even so, I was still on edge. Wary of what this new person was capable of. He could be the one that's Hoaxed.