A New Partner | #MLWattysAwards | ✔️

Volpina's Illusion

Marinette was up in her room, mindlessly chatting with her kwami as she worked on her fashion designs.

"Oh Marinette, I love that dress!" Tikki admired her holder's work.

"Thank you, Tikki! This one was the one I've been planning to make for our upcoming school dance," Marinette beamed happily, sketching her ideal work.

"I bet you just can't wait to ask your true love," Tikki teased Marinette playfully, giggling.

"Me ask Adrien? Tikki, you know what I'd say if I even managed to walk up to him without having some sort of anxiety," Marinette reminded her with an eye roll and an unladylike snort.

"Ah-ugh. Agh! Hehe- um," Tikki mimicked Marinette. They both giggled at the memory of her previous experiences at her attempts of talking to her beloved crush.

As they continued to giggle and chat, they halted once they heard a strange noise from her patio. Tikki gasped and flew behind Marinette.

"Tikki, go try to find a hiding spot," Marinette whispered to her kwami, assuming Chat Noir was paying her another visit.

Already feeling the silliness she wanted to present to her kitty, she ascended to her patio with a smirk on her face. However, it quickly disappeared once she saw who the mysterious noise-maker was: another akuma.

"I found out your true identity, Ladybug! You can't hide behind your pathetic mask anymore!" Volpina snared at the girl.

"What? I-I'm not Ladybug. Honestly, I'm nothing like her! She's our superheroine! I'm just Marinette," She tried to convince the akuma, nervously tugging at one of her pigtails.

"Oh, save it. It's obvious. The blue hair and pigtails. How did nobody notice?! Is everyone oblivious or what?!" Volpina complained.

"Ladybug could be anyone, Volpina!" Marinette claimed, getting ready to slip away to make her transformation.

"You ruined my chances at having a normal life! If it weren't for you, I could've been a normal girl! It's all because you got jealous... You couldn't help, but to get all nosey and destroy what I had just earned back! I had another chance and you ruined it!" Volpina yelled, tears beginning to form at the corners of her eyes as she fought them off.

"No, Lila... I-It was all my fault. I'm so sorry. Please," Marinette whispered, now realizing the true damage she had caused the poor girl. She gently tried to comfort her, but Volpina pulled out her flute.

"We could work this out, Lila. I promise, it doesn't have to be like this," Marinette held her hands out in front of her.

Lila's jaw trembled emotionally and her tears escaped, falling over her mask. She fell to her knees and dropped it.

Seemingly sliding into the situation from thin air, a masked hero jumped onto Marinette's balcony and attempted to swipe away the weapon.

Stop being so weak! She did this to you!
Volpina tried to ignore Hawkmoth's thundering voice, but she couldn't stop hearing his words. An evil power bubbled within her, causing her weakness to turn to rage. She pulled the flute back from Chat Noir and glared at the girl who ruined her life.

Marinette took this opportunity to run somewhere she could transform. Hawkmoth seized her control, forcing Volpina created an illusion of Ladybug running over to help. The illusion tripped and came to a fall where she gripped her hand onto the side of a large building. Her yoyo slipped from the illusion's grip and clattered onto the ground. Portraying a familiar look of distress, the Ladybug-looking illusion squealed in a realistically terrorized yelp.

"Chat Noir, my yoyo!" The illusion yelled from a distance to keep Chat Noir distracted.

The leather-covered boy gasped and let out a response. Not wanting to lose his partner, Chat Noir immediately tried ran to help her.

"Tikki, spo-" Marinette had begun to say before she was cut off by a push, accidentally sending her to fall off the balcony.

"No, Marinette!" Tikki screamed. Quickly, she slipped away to find Chat or something that could help pull her back up.

"Lila, please!" Marinette reached up with a single hand, but it cramped her other one, causing it to become more slippery.

Grumbling, Volpina decided she was done with whatever this was, and offered her hand to try and grab her, but by that point, Marinette's hands already slipped.

"Marinette!" Volpina yelled, her flute breaking under her step, causing the akuma to fly out of her. She reached out, but knew it was too late once she hit the ground. "No, no! Marinette!!" She screamed, seeing her on the floor.

Marinette fell to the ground and wheezed, unable to find words with the unbearable pain she felt burning through her body. She whimpered out a cry and held her hand over the wound. Tears ran from her blue eyes and muffling her oncoming yell of pain with her inability to say a word.

"Marinette!! Chat?! Chat Noir!!" She screamed, calling out to him as she was seeing the girl barely able to move.

Tikki came back with Chat Noir, and the both of them yelled out once they saw what Lila was screaming and crying about.

After going to the Ladybug that was only an illusion and discovering the truth, Chat Noir used all his strength and power to come as fast as possible to her balcony. When he saw her condition, his mind blanked and his heart took control.

Rage and tears ran through his veins and burned him from the inside out. "What happened to you?! Marinette, did Lila do this?!"

"Ch-Chat! Don't leave..." she struggled to say, knowing she was coming to the end as her kwami was fluttering around, unsure of what to do.

"No, Marinette! I'm not leaving you! Don't worry my lady, I'm going to get you to a hospital! They can save you there!" Chat attempted to bring her, but before he knew it, the blue life from her eyes faded.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng had passed away.