Miraculous Games

Chapter Forty-Two

Chapter Forty-Two:

Ladybug groaned and rubbed her head. What was going on? Why did her head hurt so much? She sat up, rubbing her temples and trying to get her bearings. Glancing around the room, she saw her friends and fellow Charms all moaning and getting up off of the floor. Wincing, Marinette gritted her teeth and grabbed her arm. Why did it feel like she had been stabbed?

As she looked down, she saw a pair of black and green ears to her left. She sucked in a breath and flicked her gaze toward them. No more than five feet away, Adrien lay motionless.

"Adrien!" she exclaimed.

She scrambled over to him, tripping over her dress, but she didn't care. She scooped him up into her arms and brushed his bangs out of his face.

"Adrien? Adrien, can you hear me?"

He didn't respond with words, but with a long, painful moan. His eyes opened slightly, his green eyes dull in color. With much effort, he was able to lift the corner of his mouth into a smirk.

"What a beauty to wake up to..." he muttered, voice raspy and exhausted.

Marinette's eyes started to tear up. She pulled him closer as she said, "Oh, Adrien... I'm so glad you're alive."

He winced, but wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I never would have left you, My Lady..."

Marinette buried her head into his shoulder, desperately wishing that she never had to let go. They were okay. They were alive, safe, and - best of all - they won.

"Marinette!" someone shouted.

As reluctant as she was to let go, the urgency of the call was enough to make her pull away from their close embrace. Both she and Adrien looked over to see who had called her. Across the room, Alya and Nino were hunched over someone that was still sprawled on the floor. Marinette scanned the room, trying to count the Charms. She got up to twenty-two and realized that it was a Charm on the floor. But who?

Shakily getting to her feet, glanced down at Adrien. He waved for her to go. Hesitantly, Marinette made her way over to her best friend. She was so used to seeing Alya happy that the desperation in her face alarmed her. As she got closer, she realized why.

"Nathanael!" Marinette exclaimed. She dropped to her knees and scooped him up into her arms. Unlike Adrien, he didn't moan or make any noise whatsoever. His form was weak and lifeless. She wrapped her hand around his cheek.

"Nathan? Fox? Can you hear me?"

He didn't respond. She checked his pulse, her mind running a thousand miles an hour. He had to be okay. He had to live. They had been through so much together. He couldn't just be gone. She had so many things she had to make up to him. She had played him, the guilt of that weighing her down, and she wanted to repay him, to apologize, something! He had so many things to do, to accomplish, and to achieve. He had to return home and talk to his parents about their crazy adventure. He had to submit an art piece depicting his Miraculous Games experience. He couldn't just be...

She felt nothing.

Desperately, she pressed her ear to his chest. No heartbeat. No breath.

He was gone.

Tears welled up in her eyes and she bit her lip. The loss hurt so much more than any electric dart someone could throw at her. She couldn't hear anyone else around her, it was as if they weren't even there. It was only her and Nathanael...

As much as she didn't want to, tears slipped out of the corners of her eyes and she began to sob. He had been here for her every step of the way and protected her from some of the worst enemies. And yet... she had thrown it away as if it was nothing. As much as she loved Adrien, the loss of one of her best friends was enough to tear her apart. She began to wail, clutching Nathanael's body as tightly as she could. She could feel hands on her shoulders trying to pull her away, but she fought back, screaming at them to leave her alone.