missing

five

a few months later...

Marinette was exhausted. She knew she shouldn't have stayed up so late last night, but she did it anyway. And now there was a mission, and she was practically falling asleep. So she called chat noir's phone.

"Hey, um...I'm probably gonna mess up during the mission, because I'm practically falling asleep. So do you think you could just call me when you need me to cleanse the akuma, or if you need serious help?" she asked.

"Sure," chat smirked, though ladybug couldn't see it through the phone. He was happy that ladybug was finally trusting him to handle a mission by himself. "Just don't fall asleep on me, you promise?"

"I promise," said Marinette. "I love you, chat."

"Love you too, m'lady," he replied, and hung up the phone.

Marinette did her best to stay awake, but she couldn't help herself. Eventually, she slipped into the realm of the dreamworld.

••••••••••

When Marinette woke up, it was dark out. She mentally cursed herself, but told herself that they could always get the akuma later. She checked her phone, and that's when she knew something was wrong. Ten missed calls. Panicking, she called chat noir on the phone. Someone picked up, and she breathed a sigh of relief. But the relief quickly vanished.

"Is this ladybug?" a woman's voice asked.

"Yes," Marinette replied.

"You should get over to the station now...it's important."

Marinette was extremely worried at this point. What if...no, she couldn't think that way. She transformed into ladybug, and hurried as fast as she could.

When she arrived, a somber looking woman was waiting for her. "We didn't want to watch it yet...I think you should see it first. You can watch it in there." The woman pointed to a room with a tv, and ladybug went inside. She closed the door and put in the tape, expecting the worst.

Chat Noir appeared on the screen, fighting off a villain. She saw him get out his phone, and tried to call Marinette. Marinette already knew there would be no answer. This went on and on, until the villain had a limp chat noir in his arms. "I won't give you my ring," he grumbled.

"Maybe not while you're alive," said the villain snarkily.

A look appeared in chat's eyes. It was the look of a man who knew he was about to die. "Marinette....I love you, and don't you forget that." Then he smiled weakly, as the villain crushed him.

Silent tears ran down Marinette's cheeks. "Tikki...." she said, "I can't be a good ladybug without chat noir. It just won't be the same. So I'm done with my life as a superhero. I'm sorry," she said. She placed tikki gently on the floor, and left the room. She would no longer be ladybug. She would just be Marinette, the Marinette who could have saved her lover's life if she had just picked up the phone.