Chapter 1 | Ladybug

Marinette Dupain-Cheng, also known as Ladybug, is now one of the last uninfected people in the world.

Or perhaps, even the last one.

She's watched most of her classmates, teachers, family, and even strangers either die or get infected by that damn woman. And she wasn't sure anymore whether living through this hellhole, even just for another second, would be better than just giving in into the madness that woman created.

The once-aspiring fashion designer gazed blankly upon the barren land from atop of ruins that was once the Agreste Mansion. Her bluebell eyes landed upon a heap of land, where she had just buried the last of her friends.

She knew that she was taking on a very huge risk just by coming back to this city, but she couldn't care less. The man had saved her from an attack without any hidden intentions for once, so the least she could do was to bury him with his son.

Marinette couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at the irony of it all. Had anyone told her that in ten years, Hawkmoth would become one of her most closest acquaintances and lay down his life to safe his all-time arch enemy, she would probably let out the most hideous snort in their face.

Yet, here they are.

Paris's own superhero, Ladybug, grieving over Hawkmoth's death and bringing him all the way back to his home just so she could give him a proper burial.

Letting out a soft sigh, Marinette brought her gaze back to the sky, wondering whether she should just stop it all. She brought a hand up and brushed a finger to the ladybug-themed earring, before going downwards to her collarbone where Cat's silver ring lay as a necklace.

It's been three years since Adrien's death, two years since her bubbly kwami got taken and one year since Monsieur Agreste decided that she was a good enough company to stick around—

Boom!

Springing into action, Marinette quickly jumped off of the boulder she was sitting on and dove into a roll to elevate the impact on her body. The impact forced layers of dust to gather in the air and obscure her sight.

"My, my, my. Is that who I think it is?" A high-pitched voice said with wonder, making her jaw clench in frustration.

Marinette stayed silent. Talking would just make it faster for that woman to find her, which is the last thing she needed. Shifting into a defensive stance, she silently scrutinized the area before breaking into a light sprint when she saw a path out.

She was quick to realize, however, that it was not the right move.

Marinette should've expected it, really. She already had the world in her hands and had nothing to lose. And they both know that the chances of Ladybug defeating her were already long gone, what with the lack of her longtime partner — Cat Noir.

So, she should've known that for all of her impatience, she would somehow have enough patience to ambush her.

Wild vines came to life as they wrapped around her limps, immobilising her in air. A wave of brown hair appeared before her, followed by a wicked smirk.

"Marinette Dupain-Cheng."

Marinette clenched her jaw even tighter that it started to hurt.

"Lila." She bit out hotly.

Lila faked a gasp, putting her hands onto her heart in mock hurt. "Why, Ladybug, one might think that you don't seem happy to meet me!" She exclaimed oh-so-sadly.

"Has it finally crossed your mind that I actually don't like you?"

Marinette basked in the irritation that flashed across her face for a second, before dread sets in when Lila beamed back.

"You know, it's been quite a while since we met, hasn't it?" She tapped a ringer on her chin as if thinking deeply, "It's almost been three years, I think."

Marinette winced and braced herself, knowing exactly what was coming next.

"I really have to thank you for your generous gift! I know that you had a very hard time parting with my doll."

She stayed silent, focusing instead on her breathing as to not give her the reaction she wanted, if the click of her tongue was of any indication.

"That's why I thought that I ought to return the favor."

When she heard a set of sound, Marinette immediately raised her head in alert. In Lila's hand was Vulpina's flute, which wasn't there before. Lila smiled smugly at her before lifting it up to her mouth, blowing into it while rapidly moving her finger accordingly. A ball of light appeared out of thin air and made its way in rapid pace towards her.

All she could do was shut her eyes tightly and wait for it to finally end.

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White.

All she could see was white.

Where even is this? Is this what the afterlife actually looks like?

"Marinette!"

At the call of her name, Marinette immediately whipped her head to her right, she didn't bother to brush off strands of her short hair that fell on her eyes. The sight that greeted almost had her in tears — if it wasn't for the fact that her tears had dried up over the years.

Tikki and the other kwamis were floating mid-air, smiling at her.

"Tikki?" She breathed in awe for a moment before reality struck her.

"Tikki!"

She took off into a run, dashing quickly before the illusion could wear off. She was aware that this could just be another one of Vulpina's ploy, that monster revels in other people's misery — especially Ladybug's. But she couldn't careless. If she's going to die anyway, the least she should do is take a final look at her closest companion.

Tikki beamed at her, "Marinette!" She exclaimed happily, followed by multiple "Ladybug!"s as the other kwamis also greeted her when she stood in front of her.

Tikki went to hug her but Wayzz stopped her, "Not now Tikki, there's not much time." He said apologetically, gaining an understanding nod from the red-and-black-spotted kwami.

"Of course."

The turtle kwami whirled around to Marinette with a serious expression. "If you're wondering where this is, we are currently inside of Vulpina's flute." He said, making Marinette look around in suspicion.

"Is this where she kept all of you?"

The kwamis solemnly nodded back at her.

"But— How is that possible?" She sputtered in shock.

Wayzz gave her a small proud smile, "We were able to gather enough energy to pull you in just before you were hit." His smile then dropped, "But the important thing is that we are going to help you turn things around."

Marinette winced immediately. "I—" She sighed mid-sentence, "I don't think we can—" She stopped when Wayzz raised his hand.

"I didn't say you're going to do it alone, Marinette." He smiled and paused for a bit, "We are actually going to send you back in time with the energy we have left to prevent this tragedy from ever happening."

Blue-bell eyes widen in shock, "You can do that?" Marinette asked.

"A lot of things are possible with just the power of Creation and Destruction," Wayzz gestured at Tikki and Plagg, then to the other kwamis, "Now imagine if we combine all of our powers together."

"I guess that's a good logic. But," Marinette deflated, "How would we know that it'd really work?"

For a moment, the Turtle Kwami stared at her resolutely. "We have to try."

She gazed at the different kwamis one by one before landing on Tikki, "I—" She trailed, feeling very unsure for the first time in years.

"Please, Marinette." Tikki pleaded softly.

Marinette let out a breath, forcing on a small smile, which looked more like a grimace. "I want to, I really do. I also don't want the world to continue on like this. But I've already failed everyone." She looked at Tikki, eyes burning from unshed tears.

"What if I fail again? What if I'm not supposed to be Ladybug? I was the only one who made the call to spare her! Everyone listened, and look what my decision brought to the world!" She didn't realize that she had started shouting, her pent-up guilt bubbled up to the surface as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

Tikki quickly floated towards Marinette's crumpled form and cried along. She didn't know that Marinette had been carrying all of these burden by herself. If her burst of emotion was anything to go by, then she had probably started feeling guilty from the start.

"It's not your fault, Marinette! Lila was the one who made the choice! It's not your fault!!" Tikki said between sobs.

"I don't know if I can do it, Tikki. I'll just fail again—"

"Of course, you can!" A voice cut in as Plagg emerged out of the crowd of kwamis.

The black kwami floated to her face and patted her cheek a couple of times. "You're Ladybug!" He stated so surely, "Do you think that Master Fu would have chosen the wrong person?"

Marinette furrowed her brows, "He could've made a mistake."

"He already made a huge mistake once in his early years, do you really think he would risk making another mistake?" Plagg tried again as Marinette fell silent, "Alright, fine. Maybe you failed this time. Then shouldn't you at least try when we actually have a chance?"

He watched her for a few seconds before continuing, "Did you know that Adrien would always talk about his lady in admiration?" He purposefully chose not to acknowledge her flinch, "Where is that Ladybug—?"

"Plagg!!" Tikki gasped but he ignored her and pushed through.

"—The lady who my human would always gush my ears out in every five seconds? The one who fearlessly dealt with akumatized villains ten times bigger than her? Do you know where she is?" Plagg asked, looking right into her eyes.

Marinette could only shake her head, she didn't know where he's trying to go with this. She knew that the person he was looking for was gone.

She's not Ladybug anymore.

Not after letting Paris— the whole world down.

Plagg silently kept eye contact with her, until he finally said "Well, I do." He raised a hand to tap at her forehead, "I know she's in there somewhere, you just gotta stop drowning yourself in self-pity and move on. We have a second chance now, and we can't do it without Ladybug."

After he finished his speech, it was like a fire had suddenly lit up inside of her. It was like her eyes were finally open to a new world.

A new chance.

Her resolve was hardened in a matter of seconds.

Right.

This was her second chance.

Their second chance.

Marinette exhaled slowly, her shoulders feeling lighter than ever before. Her lips started to form into a confident smile that Ladybug would always wore.

"Right." She agreed before slowly nodding and repeatedly slapping her cheeks lightly, "Right, right, right, right." She repeated again.

Tikki watched with open relief as her human started to regain her usual self, a familiar spark now decorated the once dull eyes. She gave Plagg a grateful nod and made a mental note to give him a ton of cheese. Because for all of his brash and tactlessness, he would always know what to say in these kind of situation.

Wayzz floated back towards Marinette, having let the two powerful kwamis to take charge on encouraging Ladybug, and smiled happily.

"So, are you feeling up to the job, Ladybug?"

Marinette nodded determinedly at him, eyes glinting with a new vigor.

"Wonderful. Then we shall begin immediately." He exclaimed, then gestured for the other kwamis to prepare before looking back at her, "I need you to unify the ladybug and the cat miraculous."

Marinette nodded again before taking out Chat Noir's miraculous and placing it onto her index finger.

"Tikki, Plagg." She intertwined her fingers and look at the both of them, sharing nods of resolution.

"Unify."

Both kwamis wasted no time to get into their respective miraculouses and her person began to glow as a black-striped red suit manifasted, gradually replacing her tattered outfit.

When she opened her eyes, the kwamis already surrounded her and started chanting in a language she didn't understand. But her voice unconsciously joined theirs, her mouth moving to form unfamiliar words.

Then she was suddenly aware of a light coming out from underneath all of them, which was shining brighter and brighter over time.

And finally, the chantings stopped.

The kwamis looked at Marinette and gave her nods of encouragement, looking as confident as ever even as they all started to disintegrate into the air, including herself.

They faded one by one, until there was only Wayzz left.

The turtle miraculous smiled and parted with one last line.

"You are Ladybug, Marinette. Never forget that."

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Have been scouring through this fandom — this pairing specifically — for a while now, and I don't think I've found one with the time travel fix-it trope.

So I decided to make my own :D

Fair warning though, I am very very bad at keeping up with my updates despite posting new fics.

J Out!