Half Way

Confusing Whispers, A Nightingale and An Ending

Complete darkness.

Then drops of light shimmering down from above, illuminating the space around her.

Complete silence.

Then the delicate sound of a faint breeze passing by her ears.

For a moment, Ladybug didn't understand what was happening. She felt like she was levitating, but her feet were still on the floor. She was still in the repository.

Looking around she saw Hawk Moth a few meters away and Adrien was on the floor next to her. But neither of them were moving. Not even the white butterfly was flapping its wings. Everything around her was perfectly still.

Glancing down she noticed that her costume was different. It was still red with black spots, but there was a panel of black fabric going down the sides. Her arms and hands were black too. And instead of her usual pigtails, her hair was in a long braid with a red ribbon tied through the length of it. She reached up to discover two cat ears on her head.

What was going on? Why was everything frozen? This never happened before when she unified two kwamis. She could feel energy radiating from every cell in her body.

Hearing a faint noise behind her, Ladybug spun around. There was nothing there. Then another noise from her side, like a whisper. Nothing there either. Then more whispers coming from all around her.

She listened but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Most of them weren't even in French, but an array of other languages.

More and more whispers as she struggled to understand.

Then there was a singular clear question. "Marinette, what are you doing?"

Her eyes widened as she recognized the voice. "Master Fu?" she asked, tears stinging her eyes.

"Yes Marinette, it's me," Fu replied.

"I don't understand," she said, shaking her head. "How are you here?"

"I'm not really here. A part of me was bound to my Miraculous the first time I used it. Those other voices that you hear are previous holders too. As long as the Miraculouses exist, a piece of us will always be here, all around you. You can only hear us now because you unified Plagg and Tikki. You have the ultimate power, the power of creation and destruction, and you're able to do things that no other Miraculous holder can do."

"But why has time stopped?"

"It hasn't stopped. You're just moving so fast that it seems like everything else is staying still. It's one of your special abilities," he explained.

"I don't want these powers," she insisted. "I only wanted to protect Adrien from his father." Her tears were overwhelming her eyes. "Gabriel Agreste is Hawk Moth. I can't believe that he would actually try to akumatize his own son. The last time that happened Adrien killed everyone and destroyed Paris. That can't happen again."

"Well it seems as though you have the chance to finally defeat Hawk Moth now. Use this opportunity to take his Miraculous away from him."

She shook her head. "Even if I take it away, he won't stop. He knows that it's me and Adrien and he'll keep coming after us any way that he can. Adrien will never be safe," she said, a tear falling down her cheek. "His father will torture him with guilt every chance that he gets. He'll never give up, not until he gets what he wants."

"What does he want?" Fu asked.

"He wants his wife, Adrien's mother, to wake up. But he can't get it, not on his own." Ladybug stared ahead, not really seeing anything. "It's like that story 'The Nightingale and the Rose.' The student couldn't find the rose on his own because his love wasn't genuine. Only the nightingale's love was real."