No. No! No, no, no...

My legs crumbled beneath me and I fell to the ground, managing to keep a tight grip on Queenie. Chloe. My friend. No!

"Chloe... keep your eyes open, Chloe. Stay with me. Please." I begged, cupping her cheeks as I moved to hover over her.

Chloe laid on her side, the sword through her up to the hilt. She was wearing a beautiful sundress that complimented her blue eyes. Blue eyes. I met her eyes, blue against blue. Tears were pouring out of mine as I sat helpless. Chloe seemed amazingly calm and collected, as though our positions were switched.

I gingerly pressed my hands around her wound, not knowing what to do.

"Ch-C-Chat! Chat!" I screamed, hoping to bring him over here. I never took my eyes off my friend.

"B-Beh-B-...." Chloe muttered. I leaned in closer to catch what she said. "Behind."

I whipped my head around to see Hawkmoth right above me, a slim dagger in his hand. I couldn't move, couldn't speak as I watched the dagger come down, aimed at my heart.

"No!" A high, feminine voice screeched. I felt myself pushed out of the way by none other than the injured Chloe, her face scrunched up in determination.

I could only sit as she grabbed Hawkmoth by his collar using one hand and yanked herself up to see him face-to-face, her other hand gripping his wrist to keep the dagger from her.

I could only watch as she twisted his wrist and plunged the dagger in his heart. Gabriel seemed surprised as he looked down at the dagger that was meant for me.

With one final scream Chloe... hugged... Hawkmoth?

I was confused, until I saw the sword tip emerge from his back.

Chat and Rena finally joined me. I could tell that Chat was asking me questions, and Rena didn't waste a second to run to Chloe and rip Hawkmoth away from her.

Gabriel's transformation dropped with him. I could tell he was dead before he hit the ground.

Rena cradled Chloe as they both sank to the ground. Carapace groaned beside me and I jolted. I had almost forgotten about him.

"Chat, help Carapace." I mumbled as I numbly stood to go sit by Chloe and Rena.

"Chloe? Chloe! Can you hear me?" Rena was asking her, but she didn't respond. I could see the slight rise in her chest and felt an ounce of hope.

"Chloe? Hey, don't you die on me." I told her, taking hold of her hand and clutching it in mine. Chloe's eyes weakly opened to look at me, a small smirk playing on her lips.

"Ye-Yes ma'am." She chuckled, her face contorting in pain at the slight movement.

"Chloe Bourgeois. Never would have guessed." I told her, grinning a little.

"I know. Funny, I guess. Right, Mari?" She coughed, wincing. A small trickle of blood flowed down her chin. "It's funny... my biggest fear came true... but... I'm not... scared..."

"Yes. Very funny." I told her, not wanting to ask how she knew who I was behind the mask. "But don't worry. We're gonna fix you. Then we can have plenty more funny times. Right, girl?"

I released her hand and stood, whipping my yo-yo up as I yelled, "Lucky Charm!"

A single rose fell. I caught it before throwing it back up into the air saying, "Miraculous Ladybug!"

My ladybug's scoured the city, fixing the Eiffel Tower, the exploded apartment building, and finally it came and covered Chloe. I smiled as the Ladybug's dispersed, but immediately frowned when I saw the sword still in her.

"No... that was supposed to fix her." I murmured to no one in particular. Chat sidled beside me, Carapace beside him as we watched our fallen comrade. It wasn't supposed to end like this. "That was supposed to fix her!"

Chat tried to lay a hand on my shoulder comfortingly but I shrugged him off as my knees crumbled and I crawled next to Chloe.

"That was supposed to fix you," I told her, sorrow lacing my voice as I realized how truly helpless I was. "Chloe..."

My friend's mouth opened then closed, a weak smile forming as she slowly raised her hand and caressed my cheek. I understood what she was trying to tell me. She was forgiving me, telling me it wasn't my fault. It was all my fault. Her hand dropped and so did her eyes.

"Keep your eyes open!" I ordered when she shut them. A pained expression crossed her face as she opened her eyes, now filled with tears that refused to fall. She grasped my hand, bringing it to her lips and giving my knuckles a tender kiss.

This time, when she shut her eyes I knew they weren't going to open again.

To the rest of the world, very little had changed. The rain still trickled from the sky with the occasional crack of thunder, civilians crowded around the city without the knowledge of our fallen comrade, the moon still hung in the sky. For me, everything changed.

This was my fault.

I released Chloe's limp hand, letting it fall onto her chest and then land on the ground between us. Chat and Carapace stood behind us, Rena still  cradling Chloe's body and speaking sweet nothings to a girl who could no longer hear.

My vision blurred with tears.

•••

I ordered Carapace to go alert the authorities that the threat was over and the civilians may return to their dwellings. I sent Rena to collect Mayor Bourgeois.

Ladybug sat on the edge of the building, overlooking the city. My heart ached at the sight.

Rena and I had taken the courtesy to remove the sword from Chloe's chest, covering her in a blanket we borrowed. I could almost believe she was sleeping.

I cautiously approached my lady, making a move to sit beside her. She didn't react so I took that as permission to remain.

There we sat, side-by-side, watching the city we had come to know and love as the people started slowly trickling back to their homes.

I looked back when I heard the roof access door open, revealing Carapace and some policemen as they came onto the roof.

Marinette didn't make a move so I did. I got up and nodded to the police officers as I shook their hands.

"What happened?" One of them asked, looking at the two bodies.

"Is that Chloe Bourgeois?" One of the three police officers spoke, her voice shocked. No doubt she recognized the famous daughter of the mayor.

"I'm afraid so."

"What the heck happened here, Chat Noir?!" The one who spoke before spoke again.

So, I told them. I explained everything from the kidnapping of Marinette, making sure to stress that we were working with her and rescued her and removing any doubt that Ladybug was Marinette, to the realization that Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, training the three rookies, and everything that happened during the battle.

I was just finishing up when I heard a strange, choked sound. My eyes flickered over to the large man I had somehow missed entering the roof.

"Chloe!" Mayor Bourgeois cried as he flung himself at his only daughter, holding her body as he checked for any sign of life. He found none. "No! My precious girl... what happened to my baby girl?!"

•••

I sucked. I was the worst person ever. The worst Ladybug in the history of Ladybug's.

I was curled on my bed, the blanket pulled over my entire body as I attempted to hide myself from the world. The gentle patter of raindrops only furthered my despair as images of my friend, cold and lifeless, danced across my mind. The feel of her heavy and clammy hand as it fell from mine. But the sound I would truly never forget was the sorrowful wails of a man who lost his only daughter. I would never forget that.

"Marinette?" Adrien's soft voice broke through my grief enough for me to give him a small sound of acknowledgment that was somewhere between a whimper and a groan.

The stairs that led to my bed creaked as Adrien climbed them to get to me. I burrowed further into my blankets in a lame attempt to disappear. An almost inaudible sigh could be heard from my partner as I could feel his eyes on my buried form. The bed dipped as he wormed his way between the mattress and my blanket and settled down so that he was staring at me.

I was sure I looked horrendous. I had been crying off and on for most of the night and almost all of this morning as the hour to the funeral drew nearer. It had only been three days since Chloe's death and each day always proved harder than the last.

I was also a god-awful girlfriend. I knew that Adrien was hit just as hard, if not harder, by this as I was. Chloe had been his life long friend. But he, even if he didn't acknowledge it, also lost his only parent. He may have hated Gabriel, but he was still his father regardless. I knew that it had to have affected him somewhat. Adrien was trying his hardest to be happy and supportive of me and I loved him for that, but as we stared into each other's eyes I could see the pain etched into every stroke of green that colored his eyes.

"Adrien..." I trailed off as I brought a hand up to caress his cheek. He closed his eyes as he treasured the touch.

We shifted simultaneously, him opening his arms at the same moment that I buried my face in his chest and clung to him. I was amazed as tears poured down my cheeks again, thinking that by now I would surely have run out of any more tears to shed. But here they were. Mercilessly soaking Adrien's nice dress shirt.

It took almost a full minute of quiet sobs before I noticed that my head had a strange cold spot on it and another minute after that to realize that Adrien was crying as well. It went from him comforting and cradling me to me holding and reassuring him. I had been so caught up in my own loss I neglected his. A pang of fury flashed through me, directed at myself. How could I let Adrien come to this point?

"I'm here. I love you." I whispered to him as he nuzzled his nose into the crook of my neck. I ignored the tears and snot that soon coated my bare shoulder as my boyfriend finally mourned. I sent a silent thanks that I had decided to wear a strapless dress to the funeral so no damage was done.

He eventually tapered off his crying and soon settled into just a sniffle every other minute. I pulled back from him and wiped the tears off of his cheeks and pecked his nose.

"It's almost time for the funeral, minou. If we don't get up now we're going to be late." I said as I threw the blanket up and over both of us, rising to my knees and working my way down. I landed silently on my floor as I padded down to the bathroom that connected to my room. I saw my reflection and flinched.

I had to fix this.

I started by rinsing my face with cold water, hopefully clearing any remaining tears and waking my senses up some. Then I moved onto makeup, only doing the minimum. Making sure that anything I did put on wouldn't wash right off if I started crying again. My hair was a crow's nest but there was nothing I could do about it with my remaining time besides run a brush through. I had already donned my dress so all I had left was to put my shoes on.

Adrien was stood in the middle of my room, his back to me. His shoulders were hunched in and an aura of gloom presided around him. I slipped my simple black flats on and treaded over to him, touching the small of his back with the tips of my fingers.

He didn't move a muscle as I moved to give him a hug, resting my cheek on his solid back as I felt the silkiness of his shirt. I allowed us a few moments to enjoy it until I heard my parents calling our names. I frowned and drew away from him.

He turned to me and I almost crumbled at the sight of his broken spirit that was prominent in his dimmed eyes. The green eyes that once held so much adoration and optimism now looked like a doll's eyes; glassy and lifeless.

He took my hand and we started to descend down the ladder to meet my parents.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

The rain continued to drizzle as we stepped into the crowded church, separating after having been huddled beneath an umbrella. Adrien shook the umbrella clear of rain droplets and collapsed it, setting it in the provided umbrella holder before we entered the building.

There were probably hundreds of people in the building, I saw dozens of people having to stand since there were no spots left. I scanned the crowd until I spotted a familiar redhead. I laced my hand with Adrien's and led him through the packed bodies until we arrived to the row where Alya was ferociously fending off people who were trying to sit in the two seats that she had saved for you and Adrien.

Nino, who was sitting next to Alya, spotted you and Adrien and a wave of relief visibly washed over him as he motioned for you two to sit. You both obliged and took the seats they had saved.

"Thank goodness you got here, Alya almost got into a fist fight to keep those seats." Nino told me as I sat next to him. I lightly chuckled at the thought. I could see Alya doing that.

"Sorry. And thanks for saving us seats. Although I hope that if Alya had gotten into a fist fight you would have recorded it."

"Had my camera at the ready."

We both hollowly laughed as I shifted to lean into Adrien's arm. He had been awfully quiet since we left the house. My partner looped our arms together and clasped our hands. I immediately noticed that his hand was clammy.

Nino tapped my shoulder and I leaned back towards him so he could speak in my ear directly so I could hear him over the boisterous people.

"Is Adrien alright? I know he was pretty anxious all last night." He told me. I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"Why was he anxious?" I asked.

"Pretty sure his father's funeral this morning had everything to do with it."

It was as though a bucket of iced water had drenched me. The news shocked me so much that I audibly gasped and my eyes widened. Adrien focused his attention to me and mouthed, "What's wrong?"

I leaned back towards Adrien and harshly whispered, "Why didn't you tell me your father's funeral was this morning?"

Adrien's eyebrows raised and then scrunched as he accusingly glared at Nino who had switched places with Alya to hide behind her.

"Adrien!" I scolded, bringing his attention back to me. He opened and closed his mouth but no words came. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The blonde boy closed his eyes and huffed before saying, "I knew you were already stressed about Chloe's funeral. I didn't want to stress you further by having to worry about me. Besides... he didn't deserve your presence at his funeral and if I told you you would have wanted to go."

I frowned as I stared at my boyfriend. I couldn't believe he did this. Why would he think he had to go through that alone?

"Adrien, even if Gabriel did terrible things he's still your father. You shouldn't have had to attend his funeral by yourself."

"I'm sorry, Mari. I know I should have told you." He apologized.

"Yes, you should have." I told him. I was going to continue with a lecture but the pastor's booming voice filled the church and commanding immediate attention. Everyone quickly quieted as he began what I was sure was a well planned speech.

I purposefully tuned out the words of the pastor as he droned on and on. I couldn't concentrate on anything other than the mahogany coffin that was on a stand directly in front of the pulpit. Beneath the smoothed wood I knew laid the form of Chloe. I was sure she was adorned in her favorite dress, fixed up to look as though she wasn't dead even though she was. I often wondered why people were dressed up to appear to be peacefully sleeping for funerals and now I knew; sometimes it's easier to pretend that the truth was not the facts. Funerals were, after all, not for the dead but for the ones they left behind.

I closed my eyes to try and control my now rabid breathing. Adrien noticed and instantly went into comforting mode, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. I breathed in his scent and felt myself calm. I could make it through this. I still had Adrien. We could make it through this. We just needed some time to mourn before we could move on. But we'd make it through. I knew in my heart that we would make it. There was no other option. We just had to.

I am honestly SO SORRY FOR BEING AN AWFUL AUTHOR-CHAN WHO NEVER UPDATES HER BOOK. But I hope you're as excited as I am that this book is coming to a close. Only one chapter left before the end. Are you ready?

Chapter song; Fix You by Coldplay

Word Count; 3,122

I really hope you enjoyed the chapter. As a writer, it's difficult to tell how good the chapter is because since you wrote it, it sounds cliché, boring, and cringe. I hope it wasn't like that for you guys.

Heads up! I will be doing a Q&A with some of the character's soon, so stay tuned. Start thinking of some questions you (might possibly) want to ask them. The following characters are available for questioning;

Marinette/Ladybug, Adrien/Chat Noir, Tikki, Plagg, Alya, Nino, Sabrina, NooRoo, Rena, Carapace, and Mr. & Mrs. Dupain-Cheng

I'll post a specific chapter for you to leave the comments. Hope you're prepared for the next chapter!