Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sunlight was streaming over her closed eyelids, making it very hard to ignore the aching pain that racked her body. She took in a shakey breath which immediately resulted in a coughing fit. She coughed harshly, one hand flying up to cover her mouth, while the other lied limp at her side.

Marinette cracked her eyes open, blinking blearily as the hand covering her mouth slid up to shield her eyes from the blinding sunlight. She was lying on something soft, and a glance to her left revealed she was lying on some kind of yellow flower patch. Groaning, she propped herself up on one elbow, she looked around, but due to the shadows surrounding her, was unable to see much. Straining her eyes, she could just make out some kind of doorway.

A quiet groan to her right made her start, whipping her head around to face the sound. not even a foot away, a boy laid sprawled out, shifting into wakefulness. His halo of blonde curls framed his face and shone lightly in the sunlight, a shade she easily recognized.

"Adrien!"

She scrambled over to him on her hands and knees, ignoring her aching body in her concern for her crush, and reached for him. As she sank her fingers into his soft gold strands, he groaned again, his head shifting to face her. His eyes slowly slid open, unfocused and tired.

Marinette settled on her legs next to him, her hand migrating from Adrien's hair to his shoulder.

"You okay?" she asked, concerned.

He blinked slowly at her, as if unable to comprehend what he was seeing, then slowly rolled on to his side. Leaning slightly away from him, the bluenette glanced around at their surroundings.

With her eyes more accustomed to the dark, she was able to make out the walls of this strange cave they were in. The rough stone walls seemed almost black in the low light, and high above them, a opening to the outside, allowing sunlight to stream in. Too high to climb out without risking serious injury.

"Marinette?" Adrien spoke, sounding confused and a bit fearful. "Where are we? How did we get here?"

She started at the realization that she couldn't remember. Scanning her memories, she could only remember arriving late at school that morning and then, nothing. Meeting Adrien's green eyes, she suddenly was overcome with a sense of helplessness.

"I don't know."

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"I don't know."

There was something strangely finalizing about Marinette's words to Adrien, and as he rubbed his sore shoulder blade, he made a decision. They both had no recollection of how they got... wherever they were, and they both needed to get out. And since they both seemed hurt, but he was the superhero in this equation, he would have to figure out how to get home. Looking around, he realized that there was no way they could climb out, unless he was transformed, and-

He jolted upright, startling Marinette.

Plagg! He couldn't believe he had forgotten his little cat-kwami. he patted his shirt, searching for some sign that Plagg was there. His hand brushed over a lump in his pocket, too warm and bulky to be his phone, and breathed a sigh of relief. Plagg was still with him, he could still turn into Chat Noir if he needed to.

Fumbling a bit more, he withdrew his phone from his pocket to use as an excuse for his frantic pat-down, and smiled sheepishly at Marinette. "Thought maybe we could call someone to come help us, but..." he frowned as he studied his shattered screen. Any attempt to turn it on proved futile after a few minutes.

Sighing he slipped in into his pocket, meeting the bluenette's eyes. "I guess we can't. Is yours any good?" His question was met with hesitation, before Marinette glanced around at the ground. It took a second for Adrien to understand that she was probably looking for the purse that was always with her.

Wanting to help, he scanned the flower-covered ground for any sign of the pink fabric, but Marinette spotted it before he did. She scrambled over to where it laid, a few feet away from them, and peeked inside.

An almost inaudible sigh of relief escaped her, and if he hadn't had his enhanced hearing (one of the side effects of his cat miraculous), he would have missed it."Find it?" he asked, walking over to her, hopeful to have someway out of... where ever they were. She jumped, looking back at him before looking back to her purse and withdrawing a half of a flip phone.

She sighed, shoulders slumping.

"yep."

Adrien felt himself deflate a bit, but refused to let it deter him from making a plan of some kind. They still had options, and hopefully one that didn't involve him revealing his identity to her. Looking back up at the opening high above them, he hoped his lady was alright, and that she could handle any akuma that popped up on her own.

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Marinette glanced back at Adrien, before opening her purse again. While Tikki was there, her kwami seemed to be unconscious, lying limp at the bottom of her purse. Worry expanded in her chest, but she forced herself not to panic. Maybe she had fought a difficult akuma before this, and her kwami had expended too much energy. She still had cookies left, as well as a few other odds and ends.

Returning her attention to the rest of her purse, she took inventory of what she had. A few cookies, a small emergency sewing kit, a pair of nail clippers, the other half of her broken replacement phone, and a few band aids for any bouts of clumsiness that might happen throughout the day.

Closing her purse and standing, she strolled over to Adrien, who was staring at the opening high above them with a strangely wistful expression. Curious, Marinette cast her gaze up too, but the bright light made it impossible to see anything. Blinking to rid herself of the spots dancing in her vision, starting at the sudden chuckle at her side.

Adrien was staring at her with gentle amusement, a teasing smile on his lips. "The sun a bit blinding Mari? Why'd you do that?" Her nervousness that seemed to have abandoned her until that moment returned at full force. Her face exploded into color as she quickly looked away. "you just- I mean, you looked like.... like you saw s-something up th-there, and I-I thought..." she stammered, trailing off.

While it was true they had gotten closer after the akumatization of her uncle Cheng, she could hardly be expected to keep it together after he looked at her like /that/. She heard Adrien chuckle again, before saying, "Well, no way out if we try to go up. that cliff seems impossible to climb without rope or something."

Glancing up, Marinette was force to agree. The stone walls surrounding them, sloping up and over in a shape that reminded her if a jar. She shuddered at the thought, something in her mind clicking. That…sounded familiar.

/a bug in a jar/

She flinched, her hands flying to her temples as her headache suddenly worsened. Hot pain flashed before her eyes as they closed, and she gripped her head, doubling over. Her head was throbbing with pain, waves of discomfort travelling down her neck and through her whole body. With a cry, she fell to her knees, only vaguely aware of Adrien above her, placing tentative hands on her back, and desperately calling her name, asking what was wrong and what he could do to help.

She whimpered and collapse against him as another wave of pain wracked through her. Of course Marinette had experienced pain before, both as Ladybug and as herself, but this was different. This pain consumed her, it was all she could feel, and at that moment, all she could know. It seemed like an eternity before the pain slowly ebbed away, leaving her to become aware of the tears clinging to her cheeks, the arms holding her close, and how her head rested against a warm chest.

She nuzzled the soft fabric of Adrien's cotton shirt, taking deep breaths to calm herself. She enjoyed the sensation of Adrien's warm hands stroking her hair and down her back in his attempt to comfort her. His warm scent filled her senses, cheese with something warm and familiar. She sighed in contentment. Marinette felt strangely safe in his arms, and when she pulled away, she immediately missed the warmth he provided.

He seemed reluctant to let her go, but settled for clasping her hands between them. "You okay? What happened?" He fussed as she tugged a hand away to brush her tears from her face. She swallowed hard and coughed, trying to clear her throat enough to reassure him. Her body was still sore, but she could ignore it.

"Yeah, I'm okay now." she said, licking her lips. She avoided answering his last question, mostly because she didn't have an answer. What had happened?

She rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes and blinked. She needed something else to focus on, a distraction. Trying to understand her sudden agony a moment ago was only making her headache worse.

The light had dimmed, and she could only assume the sun was setting. They needed to move, at least to find somewhere safe to sleep. Her eyes were drawn to the nearly-forgotten doorway. Adrien followed her gaze, immediately looking curious when he caught sight of the door.

"We need to try to find someway out of here." She stood on shakey legs, wobbling a bit. She felt sort of detached, like her feet weren't really listening to what her head was telling them. Adrien stood and gripped her elbow in an attempt to steady her. His concern was clear as day, making his brows knit and his lips purse in a worried pout.

/Adorable/

She shook the thought off, determined to focus on the tasks at hand even as her cheeks grew pink. This was not the time or place to start stuttering and flailing. She could fangirl about this to Alya later, right now, she needed to focus on getting them out of here.

She took a few tentative steps forward until she was confident she could walk on her own, the tugged Adrien in the direction of the doorway. "Someone could live here, or maybe it's a way out." She shrugged as passed through the threshold. She gingerly replaced her purse in it's customary position, all too aware of the little kwami inside and looked around.

It was too dark to see anything other than a few shadow-y shapes that were probably the walls of a hallway or a room. Toeing slowly forward, as to not trip on anything, she clutched the strap of her purse with one hand, concentrating on the sounds of Adrien's breathing and steps beside her. It was eerily quiet to her, every sound they made echoing off the walls and in her ears.

She jumped when she felt a palm slide against her own, before calming and squeezing Adrien's hand in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture.

It was a few minutes longer before either of them saw light, both of them breathing a relieved sigh as they realized they must be getting close to the end of the room. They inadvertently sped up, hands clasped, blinking as it grew brighter.

The excitement that surged through her upon seeing the beam of what she hoped was sunlight, quickly turned to confusion as they realized that the light was coming from seemingly nowhere. Marinette strained her eyes and beyond the little patch of grass with a single golden flower, was more darkness. They both paused, disappointed.

That was, until that single golden flower twitched up from its previously drooping position, revealing glittering black eyes and a wide, toothy smile.

Chapter Text

Marinette strained her eyes and beyond the little patch of grass with a single golden flower, was more darkness. They both paused, disappointed.

That was, until that single golden flower twitched up from its previously drooping position, revealing a glittering black eyes and a wide, toothy smile.

"Howdy!" The flower crowed, it's voice shrill and startling. Marinette jumped at the sound of it, surprised. A quick glance at Adrien told her he felt just as unnerved.

"I'm Flowey." It continued, still smiling in a friendly manner. "Flowey the flower!"

A sense of panic began to swell in Marinette's chest, and she grew worried. With Tikki out of commission, she was unable to transform into Ladybug. If this was a trap, she had no way to adequately protect herself, much less Adrien. There was only so much she could do as a civilian.

She wondered if this entire situation was something created by an akuma, but that theory begged the question; could an akuma be that powerful? Her experience dictated that the answer was no. No akuma before had ever been powerful enough to make an illusion like this. But maybe it was a dream? Either normal or akuma induced.

But this seemed too vivid to be a normal dream, and she doubted an akuma could fabricate something so real-feeling. This ache in her body was real, the feel of Adrien's hand against her own was real, and the crippling agony she had experienced not even ten minutes ago was /definitely/ real.

So what exactly was going on?

The flower hummed curiously, eyes flitting between the couple. "You're new to the underground, aren't 'cha?" It shook its head, It's yellow petals quivering at the movement, looking sympathetic. Marinette squeezed Adrien's hand nervously, edging closer to him.

"Lets go," he murmured in her ear, tugging her backwards. She nodded, backing up slowly away from "Flowey", keeping a careful eye on it, lest it suddenly went to attack them.

Seeing them shuffle away, the flower seemed to grow panicked, calling, "Uh, wait! I can help you!" As they paused, the flower gave them a wide smile that seemed forced. "I'm not the strangest thing in the underground, you know. Poor things, you must be so confused!"

Unsure, Marinette leaned closer to her companion. "Maybe an alternate universe created by an akuma?" She suggested. It still seemed a bit far-fetched but it was the only plausible explanation she could think of. Adrien pondered the idea for a moment, before adding, "like maybe a videogame based akuma? This could be a tutorial."

Being a gamer herself, she was almost inclined to agree. But there was something about this entire scenario, as well as when they were in that cave, that felt strangely real. Marinette glanced sideways at the flower. It didn't seem threatening, but if it was created by an akuma, then nothing here would be what it seemed.

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Adrien wasn't quite sure what to make of this flower yet.

It's overall appearance was a bit disarming, but there was something about it that just rubbed Adrien the wrong way (other than the fact it was talking). Marinette's akuma idea was definitely a plausible one, but it didn't seem right.

Having experienced akumas first hand, as Chat Noir, as well as Adrien, he was all too aware of what most were capable of. Although there were those who were more powerful than others, none of them were able to make a separate universe entirely, except the Pixelator.

Though, to be fair, he could only create empty pockets of space to hold a few people at a time, nothing this elaborate.

But how else could he explain this? This couldn't be real, right?

Right?

The sensation of Marinette squeezing his hand brought him from his thoughts. He was probably thinking too far into it. Besides, if it was an akuma, he had absolutely no doubt that his lady would be able to defeat it soon enough. For now, he would just have to roll with it, try his hardest to keep his identity hidden, and keep Marinette out of harms way.

She really didn't deserve to get mixed up with all this superhero and akuma business.

She was just too sweet.

"Someone ought to teach you two how things work around here!" The flower piped up, suddenly looking eager. It also somehow seemed closer than it was before. Hadn't they moved away? They certainly hadn't moved any closer. "I guess little old me will have to do. Ready?"

Jolting, Adrien took a step forward, slightly nudging Marinette behind him, but she refused to move. She fell into a defensive stance as she raised her arm in front of him, obviously intending to protect him from whatever the flower was planning to throw at them, which left him a little affronted.

It was his job as Chat noir to protect /her/, not the other way around. But, he supposed, that was just like his princess. Always ready to take a hit for someone else, even if it meant she got hurt in the process.

"Here we go!"

Suddenly, Adrien's vision flickered, and he felt as though something was being pulled out of him, and by the way Marinette gasped beside him, she was experiencing something similar. Not a second after, a glowing red light flew out of both him and his companion and merged together, settling in the space between them and the grinning flower. It molded into a heart shape, softly glowing and hovering a few inches off the ground.

"That," Flowey continued, as if that were completely normal, while he and Marinettelooked on in shock. "Is both of your souls. The very culmination of both of your beings! It seems that you two are connected, and they have joined together."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Marinette raise a hand to her chest, looking faint and worried. "Our souls...?"

Adrien was having a similar reaction. Somehow, this strange, talking flower had dragged theirs souls out of their bodies, and then they had merged together right in front of them. Adrien wasn't quite sure how to feel. But it was anything but trustful.

"Your soul starts off as weak, but it can grow if you gain a lot of LV. What's LV stand for, you might ask?" The golden flower suddenly looked a bit shifty-eyed, the corners of his smile twitching minutely. "Why, love, of course!"

He and Marinette exchanged a worried glance.

The flower's smile widened.

"You want some love, don't you?"

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"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!"

Marinette found herself growing more and more uneasy the longer the flower talked. The almost predatory way the flower was smiling at them, the disturbing eagerness in its voice. She found herself wishing they hadn't stopped when the flower had called them back.

She had half a mind to just stomp the flower into oblivion right now, but the idea that it could be a trap deterred her. That and the fact that Adrien could get harmed if 'Flowey' lashed out she refuse to let Adrien get hurt if she could prevent it.

"Down here, love is shared through..." It pause, as if it were considering what to say. The flower glanced to the side before continuing. "...little white...'friendliness pellets'."

Small, white pellets appeared and floated behind him as it talked, spinning and strange. Something heavy settled in Marinette's chest the longer she stared at them, a sense of dread creeping up her spine. She didn't want to know what those 'friendliness pellets' would do if they came into contact with her or Adrien.

The flower gave her what she assumed was supposed to be a reassuring smile as the pellets suddenly floated in their direction. "Here, get as many as you can!"

"Marin-" Adrien started, but broke off as she shoved them both to the ground as the pellets grew near. But Marinette realized that they weren't aimed at them. They were headed straight for the glowing heart.

As soon as they made contact, the heart gave a violent shake, and Marinette felt a hot wave of shuddering pain shoot through her. She felt faint and weak, and far worse than she had when any akuma had struck her. She gave a quivering, pained gasp, clutching at her chest, as Adrien emitted a pained noise from beneath her.

"You idiots."

Marinette jerked at the sound of the flower's voice, once so strained to sound cheerful and friendly, now sinister and mocking. Not even previous akumas had sounded so disturbingly eager, as though inflicting crippling pain was the best form of entertainment to pass the time. A frightened shiver ran through her as she panted, almost unable to comprehend what the flower was saying to them.

Flower's smile was twisted with sadistic glee, wide and manic. It's eyes were narrowed and glaring at them both. "In this world, it's kill or be killed!"

"Why would anyone pass up an opportunity like this!? Two for the price of one!"

Marinette watched in horror as a circle of white bullets appeared, surrounding the glowing heart and steadily growing closer. While she couldn't possibly fully understand what was going on, she wasn't stupid enough to not make the connection between them and the heart.

If the heart was hit, it would apparently physically affect both her and Adrien, no matter how hard she tried to protect him. Which made sense in a strange sort of way, if you lived in a world where abnormal situation were the norm. The flower did say the heart was a combination of both their souls, so it would stand to reason, if the soul was damaged, they would be hurt as well. Maybe even killed, if the damage was enough.

Of course, realizing that now was pointless.

"Die."

The flower laughed maniacally, a sound that echoed in her ears as she gripped Adrien's shirt hard enough to turn her knuckles white. What would her parents think if she never came home? Or Alya? What would Chat noir do if she never came back? And Adrien-

She looked down at him, meeting his wide, beautiful green eyes. He didn't deserve to die like this, neither of them did. She felt herself begin to tear up.

Then suddenly, the flower's cackling was cut off. When Marinette looked up, the pellets that had been circling the heart were now gone. It made a sound of confusion, looking angrily confounded, before a fireball came out of the darkness. It screamed in surprise when it was hit and knocked out of their line of sight, where it was swallow by the darkness.

Both Marinette and Adrien watched as a strange goat-monster wearing a purple dress stepped into the light, looking at both of them with worried eyes

Chapter Text

Then suddenly, the flower's cackling was cut off. When Marinette looked up, the pellets that had be circling the heart were now gone. It made a sound of confusion, looking angrily confused, before a fireball came out of the darkness. It screamed in surprise when it was hit, and was knocked out of their line of sight and was swallow by the darkness.

Both Marinette and Adrien watched as a strange goat-monster wearing a purple dress stepped into the light, looking at both of them with worried eyes.

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"What a terrible creature, torturing such poor, innocent children..."

All Adrien could do was stare.

Because he and Marinette had been under the threat of death by a flower, a sudden fireball had thrown it far away from them, and now a strange goat-woman was standing before them, talking with his mother's voice.

It was a bit much for Adrien to comprehend.

Marinette sat up, her eyes teary with fear and staring at the figure before them with wary confusion. She obviously didn't trust the goat-lady, which was understandable, considering what they had just been through. But the sound of his mother's voice coming out of her mouth made him involuntarily relax.

He hadn't heard her voice in so long...

"Ah, do not be afraid, my children" it- she soothed, calm and still , probably as to not frighten them any more than they already were.

A sudden torrent of memories nearly brought tears to his eyes, and a heavy weight settled in his chest as he reminded himself that it wasn't his mother speaking, but some sort of monster that could just as easily be a trap as Flowey was.

But... She didn't really give the impression that she was dangerous, not like Flowey. Whether it was just her voice or something else,she just made Adrien feel safe and protected. Like he was safe in bed warm and happy.

Like he was home.

Marinette's hand settled on his shoulder, squeezing reassuringly. "Adrien," she whispered, "are you okay?"

He glance up at her, their eyes locking as she stared at him in concern. Her sky-blue eyes flitted to the monster momentarily, making sure she didn't get any closer before meeting his again. He nodded mutely, unable to speak.

She stared at him a moment longer, clearly unconvinced, but turned back to the goat-lady. The monster looked like some kind of goat hybrid, pure white fur, limp ears and small ivory horns growing out if the top of her head. There was also something about her features that was undeniably female, her expression concerned and motherly.

"Who are you?" Marinette asked, leaning over Adrien protectively. The move snapped Adrien out of his daze and he tensed, ready to jump up and run at the first sign of trouble. Though his heart was aching painfully at the sound of his mother's voice, he knew that this being in front of them was not his mother, no matter how much he wished she was.

The goat-woman smiled reassuringly. "I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins." She explained patiently. Adrien's heart twisted painfully, though his body felt warm. "I pass through this place every day to see if anyone has fallen down. You two are the first humans to come in a long time."

Adrien exchanged a glance with Marinette, who seemed just as startled as he did.

The first /humans/? Did that mean that the only living things down here were strange human-like monsters like this goat-woman and Flowey? Where did the humans that came before them go? How long was 'a long time'?

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, feeling lost and overwhelmed. There was a consistent burning in his chest, an ache in his heart, and a painful migraine from trying to understand everything that was happening.

He was tired, sore, and emotionally and physically done.

"Mari," he sighed, internally giving up trying to make this entire scenario make sense. Whether or not this was all real or akuma-induced, he doubted it would make much of a difference in the long run. He would only get distracted if he tried to puzzle this out and make sense of everything. They needed to find a way home. And if 'Toriel' could provide a solution, he might as well take that chance.

Besides, even if he was just a civilian, that didn't mean he didn't have the ability to protect Marinette or himself. His father had made one of his extracurricular activities fencing, and jumping from roof to roof as Chat noir came with obvious perks. And maybe a few that weren't so obvious.

"You poor children, you must be exhausted!" Toriel exclaimed, still not coming closer. Marinette was still tensed with anticipation beside him, and her placed a gentle hand on her wrist, murmuring her name again. "Mari."

She jumped at his touch, looking down at him with pink-tinged cheeks.

He was glad she was here. She was a good friend, if not a little shy, and severed as a fixed point in all this confusion. She was proof that this wasn't some twisted illusion borne from his own subconscious, and a reminder of a home he could return to.

He kept his voice low, both out of the need to keep his thoughts unheard and just plain exhaustion. "She did save us. Maybe she can show us a way out. Or at least maybe a place to rest and get something to eat."

She bit her lip as she stared at him, looking like she was mulling over his words.

She clearly didn't want to go with the goat-lady, which Adrien perfectly understood. After being attacked by a flower of all things, he was a little on edge too. But the possibility of food and rest were clouding his judgement, and he could also see how tired Marinette was.

Her eyelids were drooping, as if desperate to close, and he could practically hear her stomach growling at the mention of food. How long had it been since they had eaten? He couldn't remember.

She looked at him hesitantly. "I don't know if that's a good idea..." She trailed off, biting her lip again in thought, torn.

Taking initiative, as there wasn't a lot of other options, he faced Toriel and, bracing himself for her achingly familiar voice, inquired, "Do you know a way out of here?"

The goat-lady seemed delightfully surprised he had spoken to her, and nodded, her expression pleased and warm. "Yes. As the caretaker of the ruins, I know my way down in this place quite well. I will show you the way to my home, where I can take care of both of you." She turned, looking back and gesturing for them to follow, looking minutely relieved as well as happy. "Come! I will guide you through the catacombs. This way."

She disappeared through a doorway that Adrien didn't remember being there before, an was quickly swallowed by darkness.

He slowly stood, wincing as his body protested painfully. Marinette gripped his elbow, trying to help him, but gasped quietly, having seemed to forgotten that she was also hurt.

Adrien felt a ball of guilt settle in his throat. If he had reacted quicker, neither of them would be hurt right now. He studied her for further injuries, maybe something he could tend to, but all he could see were a few bruises on the parts of her skin that weren't covered by her clothes.

He jumped when he felt soft fingers brush against his shoulder.

Marinette was staring at his face intently, her brows furrowed in concern. She took a step toward him and then slowly, gently, she lifted her hand and cupped his cheek. Her fingers were cool against his skin, and her thumb was softly traced his cheek bone. Her blue eyes were intense, in a way that almost reminded him of Ladybug, and then she murmured, "you're hurt..."

He felt his face heat, and she suddenly seemed to realize what she had been doing. Her own face practically burst into flames as she stuttered and rambled, obviously embarrassed.

"S-sorry! It's just t-that you have a b-bruise and I-I just thought..." Her voice faded, and she looked down, flustered and nervous.

He chuckled.

"No, it's fine," he assured, amused. There was the stammering Marinette he knew. Adrien jerked his thumb at the door Toriel had disappeared through. "Thank you for worrying about me, I appreciate it. But we'd better go catch up with Toriel before we lose her."

She met his eyes briefly, before looking down and nodding.

Pausing, he debated with himself for a moment. Before he could convince himself not to, he shyly took Marinette's hand in his own. Her head jerked up, her eyes wide and cheeks bright red as she stared at him. A light blush coming to his own face, he quietly asked, "uh, is this okay?"

She squeaked and nodded again, vigorously.

Adrien felt himself smile genuinely at her, happy.

He led the way to the purple-highlighted door, Marinette slowly trailing behind him. The door led to a bright room, the walls constructed with purple brick, and the smooth purple floor tapped quietly beneath their feet. Twin staircases led the way up to a higher level were Toriel was waiting, the lower space between the stairs covered in scarlet leaves. Those same scarlet leaves were outlining a square on the ground in front of them, and were also scattered across the floor.

Adrien let out a nervous and exhausted breath, taking in his new surroundings. Marinette squeezed his hand beside him reassuringly. They stepped forward, and Adrien felt his chest contract with nerves.

Was this a good idea, following Toriel deeper inside this place? If something happened, could he protect Marinette long enough for her to find a way home?

Would they even be able to make it home?

Something hidden halfway under a leaf caught his eye, reflecting light in his vision. He couldn't tell what exactly it was, but he focused on it, and stared until his eyes watered.

Can we do this?

He hadn't even realized he had spoken out loud until Marinette answered, pressing against him until they leaned on each other, shoulder to shoulder, and she replied, "yeah, I think we can do this, together."

He glanced side-long at her, taking in the determination etched in her features, and felt hope expand in his chest.

He nodded.

They could do this.

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Marinette muffled a pained groan as they slowly made their way up the stairs. Whatever Flowey had thrown at the heart had really affected her in a negative way. A physical, and painful way.

She heard Adrien panting in exertion beside her and knew she wasn't alone in her suffering. Though the pain was gradually fading, it still was enough to hinder her movements. Her arms felt stiff and her legs felt heavy.

She met Toriel's worried gaze when they made it to the top, trying to keep from leaning too heavily on Adrien.

She, personally, wasn't quite sure what to make of Toriel. The goat-woman definitely didn't give off a threatening feeling like Flowey had, nor did she give Marinette a sense of foreboding that the akumas before had given her. Her entire presence seemed almost maternal, reminding her of her own mother, though Marinette knew that it could easily be a trick.

And Adrien's face when Toriel had rescued them...

It was almost painful to see, a strange sense of longing and something deeper, darker.

She vaguely wonder if the mother-y feeling Toriel gave reminded him of his own mother. Marinette was aware that she was no longer around, but she did know what happen to her, or his family. She wished she did know, if only just to comfort him.

She looked at him now as he panted for breath, and wished she knew more about him.

He was so kind, so sweet, and so hurt. She saw sometimes, they way he stared at her and her own parents with a wistful expression. She was aware of the distant relationship he had with his father. She knew that he used modeling as a way to please his father. But she didn't know /him/.

What did he want in life? What were his dreams? His goals?

She didn't know.

But she wanted to.

Once they caught their breath, they followed Toriel into the next room, which had much of the same construction of the last room, though smaller, and with a few more additions. There was a pattern of unusually large buttons inlaid in the floor, and the door at the opposite end of the room was closed, and beside it was a stone sign on the left and a black and yellow and black switch on the right.

Toriel waited for them on the side of the room, away from the buttons. She and Adrien stopped in front of the doorway as Toriel said, "Welcome to your new home, innocent ones. Allow me to educate you in the operation of the ruins."

Marinette started at the goat-woman's words. Home? She had to bite her tongue to prevent herself from bursting out a denying response. This was /not/ their home. They couldn't stay here. Adrien's father was surely missing him desperately, and Nino too. And she was ladybug, one half of the duo heroes of Paris, with friends and family probably worried sick about her at home.

And Chat.

Oh, her kitty. How was he doing without her? While she had the up most confidence that her partner could handle nearly any situation, that trust didn't extend to believing he could purify the akumas. She prayed that there hadn't been any attacks since she left, however long ago that was.

She hoped he was okay.

She watched as Toriel stepped on several buttons in a seemingly ordered way, before pressing the switch. The purple door slid open so fast it seemed to disappear.

Toriel faced them, still insisting on keeping space between them, something Marinette was grateful for. She still wasn't sure how much she trusted her yet.

"The ruins are full of puzzles. Ancient fusions between diversions and doorkeys." Toriel explained, her strange, furry hands clasped in front of her."One must solve them to move from room to room. Please adjust yourself to the sight of them."

Marinette pursed her lips as Toriel left the room, uncomfortable.

She glanced at Adrien, who met her gaze with an unsure one, before he cracked a nervous smile and joked, " 'M not really sure I hand handle both diversions /and/ doorkeys. I guess I got to leave it to your cleverness."

Marinette let out a strained laugh, glad he was at least tempting to regain a sense of normalcy. She was also surprised, though. She hadn't pegged him as a jokester. But it did its job, and she felt a bit more comfortable. And , with even as nervous and shakey as his demeanor was, as he relaxed along with her, he nearly reminded her of Chat.

"Thanks for the compliment." She laughed, wincing as a twinge of pain ran through her body. "But I think it'd be better if we put our heads together when solving these puzzles."

Adrien's smile grew a little bigger, a little more sincere and nodded, taking a step forward and walking after Toriel, and looking back as if he was making sure he wasn't leaving her behind. "Great idea, Mari. One that I commend you for."

Marinette snorted in amusement, inwardly pleased to know of this new,playful side of Adrien. She found she liked the sight of his laughing grins a lot more than his polite smiles.

As they grew closer to the doorway, the sign beside it caught Marinette's eye. It read;

'only the fearless may proceed.
Brave ones, foolish ones.
Both walk not the middle road.'

They passed under the threshold, the new room opening up into a large corridor, purple, with a lavender colored path leading to they right, leading farther into the well-lit room. Vibrant green vines clung to the walls, and several rivers cut the walls into sections, neat wood bridges continuing the path.

A sign was stationed at the turn of the path, and though it was in front of them, Marinette could quite make it out. Toriel stood next to the sign, smiling pleasantly.

"To progress here, you will need to trigger several switches", she explained as they grew near. "Do not worry, I have labelled the ones that you need to flip."

Internally, Marinette questioned the necessity of the explanation, and the labels, exchanging a glance with Adrien. He looked mildly amused, though his expression still contained traces of unease. She imagined her expression looked much of the same.

They followed as Toriel walked quickly down the path, but marinette pause to read the stone signed hung on the wall and the one staked into the ground. The floor-bound one read 'Read the signs' and the one they strayed off the path to read said 'stay on the path'.

Adrien laughed, sounding horribly amused while Marinette let out an annoyed huff. She had been expecting the signs to say something helpful or cryptic like the last one. It turns out they were just useless. Go figure.

Though, she mused as they continued down the path, her slight frustration was worth it if it made Adrien smile again.

They crossed the first bridge, noticing how Toriel had blocked the way forward. The goat-woman inclined her head toward the wall, and the bluenette noticed a switch with several arrows pointing at it on the wall. Marinette pressed it, feeling a strange sense of discomfort as she left Adrien's side.

She waved it off as her lingering obsessive crush, which had since calmed down considerably. Well, enough for her to talk like a normal human in conversation instead of spluttering like an idiot.

She notice a slight tension in Adrien's shoulders that seemed to relax as she returned to his side, and sent him a questioning glance. He shrugged in reply, as if he himself didn't quite know what was wrong. As they continued together to flip the next switch while Toriel stood guard in front of some rather large spikes in the ground, she wondered if he also felt that same sense of discomfort she had.

The spikes sank into the floor as she flipped the switch, pointedly ignoring the one switch that wasn't labeled, though it did spark Adrien's curiosity for some reason. She herself wondered when and why Toriel had labeled the necessary switches to open up the doorway. Had it been for the humans that had come before them?

"Splendid!" Toriel beamed, genuinely pleased. "I am proud of you, little ones. Let us move to the next room."

As they trailed after her Marinette warily eyeing the slots the deadly-looking spikes had disappeared into, Adrienne leaned over and whispered in her ear, "I don't think that other switch even worked."

The next room was smaller, with a small, worn dummy off to the side. It reminded Marinette of her dress form in her room, the thought immediately making her homesick.

Toriel's face seemed far more concerned then it had a moment ago as she explained, "as humans living in the underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation."

Then she smiled at them.

"However, worry not! The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will feel yourself enter a 'fight', which is one of the only times weaker monsters can harm you. You both will be able to feel when you are entering a fight, as your vision will alter slightly, and you will be unable to interact with things outside of this 'fight' area. You, physically should be able to move as well, though you can only move from the designated area when you choose to flee or win the ' fight'."

"I suggest striking up a friendly conversation. Stall for a time, then I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice talking to the dummy."

She moved to stand in front of the door way again as Marinette and Adrien awkwardly walked up to the doll. As soon as they got close enough, the heart suddenly appeared in between them, Marinette's vision focusing on the dummy before her as everything went dark. Suddenly, Marinette became aware of several choices she could choose to enact toward the dummy. Not so much as options were tangible or visible, but she could feel inside of her what choices she had when interacting with it.

Though she was aware of what she had to do, and why, she still felt incredibly awkward as she stuttered out a quick, "uh, how a-are you?"

There was a long pause, before something inside of her told her that the dummy didn't seem much for conversation. She almost snorted at the ridiculous reply, and she heard Adrien make a similar noise beside her, and she can only assume he heard the same thing she had.

As her vision turned back to normal, she noticed Toriel smiling proudly at them, looking happy. "Ah, very good! You both are very good."

They followed her to the next room, sharing secret amused glances with one another. Marinette found herself growing more and more comfortable with this situation, whether or not that was because of Toriel's maternal aura, or the absolutely ridiculous scenarios that had occurred directly after the Flowey incident, or the fact that nearly equally strange things had happened on a nearly daily basis back in Paris.

The next room was another wide hallway, though the pathway was a bit more winding, it was shorter,and there was a distinct lack of rivers. The end narrowed a bit, and seemed to turn right.

"There is another puzzle in this room..." Toriel mused. "I wonder if one of you can solve it."

Marinette doubted she couldn't, if this new puzzle was like the ones before it. Not to discredit Toriel in any way, as Marinette was actually growing increasingly fond of her as she lead them deeper into the 'ruins', but she seemed a bit unsure of how to handle older teens. With the way she had been taking care of them, it was almost like she had only handled younger children before meeting them.

They followed her through the room, but as they turned the corner, a strange frog-like creature seemed to jump out from nowhere. Instantly, Marinette's vision darkened, and the heart appear between her and Adrien again. The frog, which the new informative part of her supplied the name Froggit, shifted its head to the side.

Marinette was aware she had the option to fight it, but she doubted she would be able to unless it proved dangerous. It was just too cute. Adrien reacted before she did, blurting out something like, "I like your eyes."

As it stared at them, Marinette got a distinct feeling it couldn't understand him, but seem flattered anyway. She nearly laughed.

Toriel entered the 'fight' almost immediately after, glaring daggers at the Froggit. The Froggit seemed fearful, and shuffled away, which Marinette commended it for. If she had been on the receiving end of that look, she would have done anything to prevent a confrontation with the owner of the deadly look.

As soon as the froggit was out of sight, Toriel continued on without a word. She exchanged an amused look with Adrien, and was suddenly struck with the sudden realization that they had been doing that /a lot/. When had they gotten so close that they could communicate through just looks?

She had heard somewhere that if two people go through hard times together, they will more than likely become inseparable, but she didn't even think it had been more than half a day since they had woken up in that patch of flowers. When had they gotten so attuned to each other?

"The western room is the eastern room's blueprint." Adrien read out loud, startling Marinette out of her thoughts. "Hmm, I wonder when that's gonna come in handy."

The blue-eyed girl shrugged, trying to wave her thoughts away. She shouldn't be so deep in thought, not when monsters could literally pop out from nowhere and attack them. She had to be ready to protect Adrien if a monster attacked them before Toriel could chase it off.

They turned another corner and immediately stopped short at the sight of a pathway of spikes in front of them, the only other exit on the opposite end of said spikes. She cast a wary glance at Toriel who stood in front of them, facing away. The goat-woman turned to look at them, a doubtful look on her face.

"This is the puzzle, but..." She paused, looking hesitant. "Here, taken my hand for a moment, both of you. And stay close."

making no effort to hide her troubled confusion, she looked to Adrien for his okay, almost without thinking. He also looked unsure but nodded and smiled as brightly as he could, which calmed her some.

Taking Toriel's hand in her own was like holding hands with a person wearing fur gloves, which was reassuring somehow. Slowly, she and Adrien, who had taken hold of Toriel's other hand, followed the goat-woman over the spikes. To Marinette's immense relief, the deadly-looking spikes disappeared before anyone was in danger of hurting themselves. They walked in a strange zig-sagging pattern until they had all reached the other side safely.

As Marinette let out a near-silent breath of relief, she realized that she and Adrien had been holding hands the entire way across, though for the life of her, she couldn't remember how that had happened. Had she grabbed his hand first? Had she come off too clingy? Or had he taken her hand? And had it been him just looking for comfort or had it been to comfort her?

Her mind so overtaken by her panicked internal interrogation, she barely heard Toriel say, "puzzles seem a little too dangerous for now." But she made herself snap out of it when Toriel me at to the next room.

The aforementioned room turned out to be another long corridor, built with purple bricks, and with the occasional vines growing up the walls. The only thing wrong with it was the seemingly endless expanse. She couldn't seen the end of the room at all.

Toriel was facing them as they walled in, her smile taking a nervous edge. "You have done excellently thus far, my children. However... I have a difficult request to ask both of you. Here she paused whether out of hesitation or a need for dramatic effect, Marinette wasn't sure. "I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself."

She glanced side-long, as though she couldn't quite bring herself to meet their eyes.

"Forgive me for this."

And with that she turned and hurried away, moving surprisingly fast. Soon, they both lost sight of her altogether.

Now, if Marinette had been in her normal state, she probably would have been able to keep up with Toriel, especially with her being Ladybug. But the fact of the matter was, she was hungry, tired, still a little sore, and definitely in no position to go chasing after motherly goat-women. So she and Adrien followed at a much more sedated pace.

They made slight conversation as they walked, discussing things like hobbies and personal favorites. She was surprised to find out he was a bit of a closet otaku, with quite the list of anime to choose from. He also told her he loved caramel and chocolates, and he was interested in physics, of all things.

In turn, she told him about her gaming exploits on the weekends with her papa, and how she was more of a fan of cordial cherries than caramel, and explained at his new project she had been working on, a dress solely based on Chat noir. His face looked a little red as she rambled on about the finer details she had planned, but she brushed off as exertion while injured. When she had asked him if he was alright, he had coughed and nodded, and while still confused, Marinette decide to let it go.

The end of the hallway seemed to come out of nowhere, but a large pillar and a new doorway marked the end of there little 'adventure'. As soon as they had passed the pillar, searching for Toriel, she walked out from behind it to stand in front of them with a reassuring smile.

"Greetings my children. Do not worry, I did not leave you. I was merely behind this pillar the whole time." Marinette was hard pressed not to laugh at this strange display of concern. It was as if Toriel really didn't know how to connect and relate to teenagers. She faintly wondered if all the humans that had come before them had been either a child or an adult.

"Thank you for trusting me. However, there was an important reason for this exercise." She paused again, and this time Marinette was almost positive it was to establish more drama. "... to test your independence."

She seemed apologetic. "I must attend to some business, and you must stay alone for a while. I would prefer it if you remained here. It's horribly dangerous to explore in this , especially without a proper guide and guardian."

Something seemed to occur to her then, and she lit up with this new thought. "I have an idea. I will give you both a cell phone to share. If you have a need for anything, just call."

Pulling a small flip phone out of seemingly nowhere, she placed it in Marinette's hand, and patted them both on the head. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw adrien flinch at Toriel's touch, and them almost immediately relaxed under her hand, looking blissful. "Be good, alright?"

Adrien visible deflated as Toriel rushed out of the room, and then, almost as if it was an instinctual reaction, he made as if he were going to follow her. Marinette snagged his hand before he made out passed the threshold.

"What are you doing?" She nearly hissed, barely managing to control herself. "She told us to stay here! It could be dangerous!"

He shook himself, as if to clear some fuzzy thoughts, and looked at her. Hid eyes seemed almost glazed as they took her in, looking her up and down before admitting sheepishly, "I dont know what I was , but now that am I think about it, wouldn't safer with Toriel? We could still catch her if we hurried. And we could always called her if we got lost."

Marinette paused at his reasoning, torn. On one hand, Toriel had told them to stay and that it was too dangerous for them to go by themselves. On the other, it was also dangerous to stay here, especially when they were injured and anything could jump out and attack them. That, and it was a great deal safer with Toriel and her death glares and fire balls.

Seeing her considering the idea, Adrien asked, "so, princess, shall we stay or go?"

Chapter Text

Marinette paused at his reasoning, torn. On one hand, Toriel had told them to stay and that it was too dangerous for them to go by themselves. On the other, it was also dangerous to stay here, especially when they were injured and anything could jump out and attack them. That, and it was a great deal safer with Toriel and her death glares and fire balls.

Seeing her considering the idea, Adrien asked, "so, princess, shall we stay or go?"

"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"

They ended up trying to follow Toriel.

As Adrien led her by the hand into the next room, she explained to herself the nessessity of their choice. Staying put would make them an easy target, they didn't know if Toriel was ever going to come back, but even in her head, they sounded like excuses. Ultimately, it had been Adrien's pleading expression that had done her in.

And him calling her 'princess' had just been icing on the cake.

The room ended up being another hallway that twisted right, and then turned left at the end. Dark purple bricks made up the walls, the floor still the same as the other rooms. On the wall left of them, a dark doorway loomed. There were several patches of scarlet leaves, another one of those shining things nestled in the pile closest to them. And on the left side of the black doorway, a Froggit shifted from side to side.

Both she and Adrien jumped at the unexpected sight of it, and froze instinctively, waiting for it to do something. Like the one before, it was pure white, a small pair of eyes peeking up at them from where they laid on his underbelly, but other than rocking slowly, it didn't move.

The ring of a phone broke the tense silence.

Marinette fumbled with it for a moment, the picked up, holding against her ear while Adrien leaned in close to listen. "Hello? This is Toriel. You have not left the room, have you?"

Marinette exchanged a guilty look with Adrien.

"There are a few puzzles ahead that I have yet to explain." Toriel explained sounding worried. Marinette felt even more guilt swell in her chest. "It would be dangerous to try and solve them by yourselves. Be good, alright?"

The other line clicked off, and Marinette sighed heavily. "Maybe we should stay..." She trailed off, and, unable to meet her companion's eyes, she found herself staring at the strange shining thing on the ground, still unable to make out what it was that was reflecting light. But the longer she stared at it, the more determined and sure she became about their decision, though she couldn't explained why.

"I don't know Marinette." Adrien started, breaking her out of her reverie. He was rubbing the back of his neck in that adorable nervous gesture of his, looking rueful. "For some reason, I just felt like we /needed/ to leave. That it would be a bad idea to stay in one place for that long..."

She smiled in a comforting way, and raised both hands to calm him. "No, no. It's fine. We might as well continue while we're here. Besides, I have a feeling that Toriel won't really be mad at us, she'll just be worried."

To their left, the Froggit ribitted behind them, which, by itself, wasn't that attention-grabbing, but the fact that the new side of her seemed to be translating the croaking into words.

"Excuse me, humans." The frog literally chirped. "I have some advice for you two about battling monsters."

Intrigued, the aforementioned humans focused their full attention on the frog, slightly relieved that it wasn't attacking them. Yet.

"If you 'act' a certain way or 'fight' until you almost defeat them..." the Froggit ribbited. "They might not want to battle you anymore." It looked up at them with both sets of eyes, pleading. "If a monster does not want to fight you, please... use some 'mercy' humans."

Seemingly content it had said it's piece, it settled, still bobbing from side to side.

Marinette let out a breath. "So, we don't have to fight them? We don't have to hurt anything?" It had been weighing on her mind a bit. If Toriel was no longer there to protect them, whose to say that the monsters they would encounter would be willing to give up? She would have to... hurt them, but this time, there would be no miraculous cure. Subconsciously, her hand settled against her bag, where Tikki was nestled.

But now, she knew she didn't have to hurt anything, and that knowledge lifted a huge weight off her shoulders.

"Okay, so where to, princess?" Adrien asked playfully, though he still looked as relieved as she felt. "Right or left?"

There it was again, that nickname. For some reason, it sounded awfully familiar, though she couldn't quite remember where she had heard it from. It definitely hadn't come from Adrien; there was no way she would've forgotten something like that. Maybe it had come from her papa?

"Uh, left?" She blurted, soon remembering Adrien had asked her a question. He smiled beautifully at her, but she shook off her inner fangirl and followed his lead into the pitch-black doorway.

"Through the creepy no-go zone it is then!" Adrien joked, though the room on the other side was not so much creepy, just peculiar, much like the rest of this place.

Smaller than the others, though with the same construction. Streams flowed on either side of the room, a thick patch of vines hanging on the wall opposite of them. In the middle of the room, a small pedestal with a bowl of candy, surrounded by a ring of red leaves. The bowl was labeled 'take one'.

Marinette approached the bowl cautiously, but after a small exchange with Adrien, they both decided to leave it alone. Better safe than sorry, though the look on her companion's face was near regretful, and as he placed an unconscious hand against his stomach, she realized that he was probably starving.

Though she wasn't quite sure when she last had eaten, she was only a bit hungry, maybe a little more than peckish. But she knew Adrien probably didn't have the luxury of big, family-made meals that were meant to fill you up, especially as a model.

As they left the room, she took pity on his probably empty stomach, reached for her purse, and carefully took out one of her cookies. It was chocolate chip, Tikki's favorite, and though she felt bad about taking her kwami's cookies, she knew that Tikki would also want Adrien to have it.
She had more to spare, and besides, Tikki was never one to let another sweet-lover starve, and neither was she.

"Here, Adrien," she said, nudging him to get his attention. " you're probably pretty hungry right? This, um, is safe to eat."

The look of his face as he stared at the offered food was priceless, and she couldn't help the laugh that escaped her. He looked like a kid in a candy store with a pocket full of cash.

Of course when she laughed, he made a serious effort to control himself, and graciously accepted the treat with his normal polite grace. But this time, he was a bit more dramatic.

"Thank you Mari," he said genuinely, then went on with a flourish, "I will savor every bite."

As they continued on to the next room, with Adrien enjoying every crumb of the cookie she had given him, they encountered a small, adorable little monster that had made them enter a fight. The other part of her relayed the options to Marinette, but she was unable to help but console such a forlorn-looking person. Unfortunately, as soon as she had uttered one word, the poor little thing had burst into tears and had flown away, leaving two gold coins behind.

It felt like she had won the fight, and therefore the gold, and she got the feeling that the little "whimsum" would not come back for it, nor want it back. Eventually, it was Adrien who pocketed it, as Marinette was still hesitant to take something from the little monster.

"I, uh, don't know if it's the same for you, but... there's this... voice in my head... that's kind of... explaining everything that's been happening so far and... it hasn't been wrong so far so... I think we can trust it." Adrien explained nervously, clearly unsure how she would react to him listening to voices in his head.

She had assured him it was the same for her as well, which was as much of a relief for her as it was for him. It wasn't wasn't just her who was hearing things.

The room had large slots in the walls, and a strange netting-thing across the middle of the floor, too wide to jump over. Of course, Adrien had offered to go across first, but was cut off by Marinette as she pushed him back and practically ran across. There was absolutely no way she was going to let him risk himself for her. After all, it was her job as a superhero to save the civilians, not the other way around.

Unfortunately for this superhero, the netting gave away beneath her feet almost as soon as she had stepped on, and she fell.

She let out a surprised shriek, and she heard Adrien yell out her name in panic. She flailed, trying to find purchase on something, anything, but ended up grasping at empty air. Luck though, it seemed, was on her side today, and she ended up falling gently into a pile of red leaves.

They scattered slightly when she landed, springing up into the air and fluttering. She gasped slightly, then breathed a relieved sigh, eyes fluttering closed.

"Marinette! /Marinette/!" Adrien cried above her. Her eyes flew open at the sound of his voice, and with a start she realized she couldn't see him. The ceiling was completely dark, though she knew there was the upper level she had fallen from.

"I'm here! I'm fine, Adrien!" She called, wanting to get rid of that desperate tone out of his voice. He shouldn't sound like that. No one should, least of all the boy who had so little happiness.

She heard him gasp in relief, and rush to confirm that she really was okay, no fatal injuries or broken bones she felt the need to hide from him. She reassured him she was fine, and smiled. When he pressed further, she was secretly pleased. It was nice to have a familiar face here, who was worried about her, and was helping her get home.

The room she had dropped in on was surprisingly well-lit, and other than the pile of leaves in the middle, it was empty. There were two doorways on one wall, which she couldn't see far into. A quick discussion with Adrien later, and she was peeking past the threshold, trying to see a way out.

She was about to tell her companion as much, but as she turned, she stepped farther into the doorway than she planned, and suddenly found herself being dropped from the vents in the wall, right next to Adrien.

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"Marinette!" Adrien scrambled over to her from his place kneeling before the hole she had presumably disappeared into. He pulled her desperately to him, wrapping his arms around her and squeezing. Surprised, she hesitantly hugged him back. "Thank goodness." He sighed.

"Adrien?" She questioned, pulling back a bit, even if she /really/ didn't want to. "I said I was okay. Are you okay?"

He looked fine, just relieved. Far more relieved than she thought he'd be. He was looking her over for any wounds, as if he had to see for himself that she really was okay. Finally convinced she was fine, he pulled her into another tight hug.

This time, Marinette felt heat rise to her face. "Uh, Adrien?"

"Don't you ever scare me like that again." He breathed, his face hidden in the crook of her neck. She shivered at the feel of his warm breath on her skin. "Promise me Mari. I haven't felt that scared since..." He trailed off, the unsaid words out of Marinette's ability to guess. "Just please, promise me."

Her hands grasped at the back of his white over-shirt tightly, unsure what she should tell him. Lie and say she wouldn't do it again? Or tell the truth, and say she wouldn't let him get hurt. Because she wouldn't. She refused to let him get hurt for her.

The longer he held her, the more he seemed to realize this. He slowly let go, but kept a firm grip on her arms as he stared at her. "If you won't keep out of harms way, I'll just have to make it my job to protect you first."

"-"-"-"-"-" -"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"

It was fairly simple to figure out how to get passed the netting after that.

Marinette wasn't happy with Adrien's decision, but ultimately decided she would just have to be faster than him, and with Ladybug's speed and strength affecting her civilian counterpart, it would be easy. Hopefully.

After they both jumped down (Adrien had insisted on going first. She only let him because she already knew there was nothing dangerous down there) they went through the opposite doorway, and appeared on the other side of the mesh floor.

There next room looked a bit more dangerous, as it had a line of spikes blocking the opposite end of the room. The purple bricks were decorated with vibrant green vines, a stone sign was inlaid between them. A large button was placed in the floor, and next to it, about a foot away, was a large rock.

They took a step into the room, when suddenly the phone went off. She fumbled with it, as she had put it in her purse, careful not to disturb Tikki.

"Hello? This is Toriel." Chimed the voice on the other end. Adrien pressed closer to her to hear the conversation. "For no reason in particular... which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch?"

Marinette gave Adrien a questioning look, puzzled at the random question, and he returned the look. Personally, she prefered cinnamon, as it reminded her of the many baking escapades she had with her parents, but she was fine with any sweet. It looked like Adrien was having a much harder time choosing.

"Uh..." He started, looking horribly torn over something so strange, it almost made her laugh."...Butterscotch?" He spoke as if he was asking a question, looking to her for some sort of confirmation that he had made a good choice.

She grinned increasingly at him, and agreed, "Butterscotch is good."

Toriel responed in a pleasant voice, ""Oh, I see. Thank you very much!" And then the other line clicked off. But as they took another step into the room, the phone went off again, in Marinette's hand, as she hadn't had enough time to tuck it away into her purse.

"Hello? This is Toriel." The goat-woman greeted. "You do not /dislike/ cinnamon do you? I know what your preference is, but..."

She seemed to hesitate on the other end, and Marinette exchanged a glance with her companion, who still looked a little unsure about his decision.

"Would you turn up your nose if you found it on your plate?" Toriel continued, but before either of them could reply, she cut in, sounding distracted. "Right, right I understand. Thank you for being patient, by the way."

As the called ended, they looked at each other with a slightly guilty expression, but decided to continue pressing on. They hadn't gotten very far, but Marinette felt this was the right choice, though she couldn't quite explain why.

The rest of their trip through the ruins was an interesting one.

The room following was another floor of mesh netting, and though it took a little longer to memorize the pattern, they moved on quickly enough. The next room involved a simple puzzle and a rather exasperating conversation with a rock, which for some reason, went down in her memory as the strangest conversation so far, as she could neither see a mouth or anything similar.

They encountered several froggits, all of whom were spared and left little gold pieces behind. They were small in her hands as she slipped them into her pocket, counting about seven altogether.

After strolling through a narrow hallway, they confronted a ghost that seemed to be resting on a pile of leaves and pretending to sleep. But when they tried to move it, it engaged a fight that was both saddening and very cute. Especially when it made a little hat out of his tears. It triggered a pitying and sympathetic part of her that wanted nothing more than to befriend it. But as soon as the fight was over, it quickly disappeared before she could say anything.

There was a crossroads in the neighboring room, and after a quick discussion, found a spider bakesale. Marinette nearly squealed in fright at the sight of them. It was a side effect of being Ladybug, an intense fear of spiders. It wasn't so bad around frogs and birds, but spiders had always made her edgy. Adrien had ended up purchasing a doughnut from them, as she had been too scare to get close, and he had seemed so wistful, staring at the pastries for sale.

They moved on, enjoying some conversation with a few froggits that she could be sworn she had seen before, but couldn't say for sure. They all looked very similar.

Then a room with several swatches of netting, and only one switch to find, and several monsters to fight. They had decided to stick together, as she didn't want Adrien to be left alone, and he felt the same. After gaining quite a bit of gold and acquiring a faded ribbon ("maybe if you look cuter, the monsters won't try to hit you," Adrien had laughed, tying it to one of her pigtails.), they found the switch and moved on.

There was a room involving several differently colored switches, and pillars, then they found a room with a large, bare tree, with bark so dark it almost looked black, and was surrounded by leaves.

"Oh dear, that took longer than I thought it would." Toriel's voice sighed, filling Marinette with a sense of elation. They had found her! And fended for themselves fairly well, if she did say so. They paused as Toriel came around the tree, her phone held against her ear, perhaps trying to call them.

She she saw them, she rushed to them, standing before them with an intensely worried expression. "How did you get here, my children? Are you hurt?"

Marinette could barely conceal her guilt. When encountering the froggits, whimsums, and nabstablook, they had each taken a few hits. She could feel each hit bringing them closer to... something, and the pain was shattering to endure. But with every blow, they became easier to push through, and they were able to recover rather quickly.

It had been clear from the first battle that their safety would have to be a joint effort. While damage to the heart/soul was horrible, they had accidentally discovered that a monster's attacks couldn't affect their physical bodies, or at least the monsters they had encountered so far couldn't.

Toriel seemed to see this and looked at them with sympathy. "There, there. I will heal you." She murmured, and instantly, any lingering pain was gone. She let out a sigh of relief, meeting Toriel's regretful gaze.

"I should not have left you both alone for so long. It was irresponsible to try to surprise you both like this." She gasped, looking embarrassed. Adrien's gaze caught her eye, and she shrugged when he quirked an eyebrow in question. "Well, I suppose I cannot hide it any longer. Come, small ones!"

Toriel moved away, motioning for them to follow as she walked toward a little house with twin patches of leaves below the windows. It was a cute, tidy little house, one that somehow reminded her of her own. She felt a sudden wave of homesickness, but strengthened her resolve. She would find a way back home for her, and Adrien.

She had to.

The door-less threshold of the house led to a room of wood floor boards and off-white walls, giving the house a cozy, lived-in feeling. The whole house smelled wonderful, like a pie or maybe a cake, and Marinette felt her stomach growl.

"Do you smell that?" Toriel asked, standing in front of a staircase that went farther underground. "Surprise! It's a butterscotch-cinnamon pie." She grinned at them, looking incredibly happy. Marinette couldn't help but smile back. "I thought we might celebrate your arrival."

Adrien was practically beaming beside her, bouncing on the balls of his feet in his excitement, and she couldn't help but giggle at the sight. This was a strange, scary place, but Toriel was warm and kind, Adrien was happy, and they were in a place that felt safe and smelt like home. The soul she was now aware of inside her fluttered pleasantly, and she felt content.

It would be horrible to leave.

Marinette wasn't sure how she would be able to pull away from the haven they had found here.

Almost as if she had read Marinette's mind, Toriel continued, "I want you both to have a nice time living here." Marinette's smile slipped, and beside her she could feel Adrien still. "So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight."

An inner part of her recoiled at the thought of consuming snails, but a later part was more concerned with what this goat-woman was saying. They couldn't stay here! They /couldn't/, no matter how inviting this place, how Toriel, was. They had a family, friends, waiting for them back at home, in Paris. She had a partner that needed her, a city that relied on her, and an evil villain who needed to be stopped. They couldn't stay.

No matter how much they wanted to.

"Here, I have another surprise for you two." Toriel continued happily, seemingly unaware of Marinette's inner turmoil as she disappeared down the right hallway. She snuck a glance at Adrien, who met her gaze with his own remorseful one. She bit her lip, feeling conflicted as they both turned to follow Toriel. She felt Adrien reach for her hand, and she gripped it back tightly, grateful for the support she could give and receive from him.

The hallway was long and had several doors on one side, the yellow lighting make the place seem warm and cozy. There was an intricate rug on the floor, nearly as long as the hall was, and several tall vases filled with a familiar-looking plant rested next to small drawers topped with a potted flower.

"This is it..." Toriel said, pausing in front of the closest door. Marinette and Adrien stood beside her, hands still clasped. "A room of your own. I hope you like it!"

Marinette felt her chest twinge painfully with guilt. She had done so much for both of them, and all they could do was leave. It grew even worse when she felt Toriel's fluffy hands stroke comfortingly through her hair, and she could feel her heart lodge in her throat.

Suddenly Toriel turned away, looking worried.

"Is something burning...?" Marinette her Toriel mutter to herself, before addressing both of them in a louder voice, "Um, make yourself at home" before she rushed off.

Alone and disheartened, Marinette could feel herself press a little closer to Adrien, subconsciously seeking comfort. He leaned into her, and she could feel him rubbing his thumb across her knuckles.

"I almost don't want to leave," the girl muttered to her companion. He nodded once in agreement. "But I know we have to. We have to go home."

Her boy squeezed her hand, giving her enough courage to reach and open the door to their room.

Only to immediately step back at the sight of it.

It was a lovely little room, but it was clearly designed for someone much younger than them both. The bed was small, barely enough for both of them to lay on, with a box of toys at the foot of it. There was a wardrobe, a few lamps, and stuffed toys, things Marinette knew someone like Manon would be delighted to have, places to hide, and toys to play with.

But they were both a great deal older than Manon, so why...?

"Maybe the humans who fell down before us were children." Adrien spoke up from beside her, making her jump. "Or maybe Toriel had her own..."

He trailed off, looking around the room. She had to agree with him, as it did make sense, but it was horrible to think about. A child falling down, alone, in a strange place, only to be attacked by things you would only see in a cartoon. They must've been so scared...

She took a step into the room, and the part of her that seemed knowledgeable in all things of this place, urged her to sleep. It assured her that any previous owners would mind her taking their place in this home, that they were both wholly welcome, and safe.

She gingerly settled on the bed, the mattress sinking under her weight, feeling the soft, worn threads of the comforter against the pads of her fingers. Adrien followed her lead, moving to turn off the lights before sitting down beside her. The bed dipped even more, making them lean into each other, and suddenly Marinette was struck by the intimacy of sharing a bed, a small bed, with a boy, one that was her crush no less.

Marinette's face exploded into color, and she bit down on her tongue in an effort to not make any strange, flustered sounds that normally came out around him. Unfortunately, Adrien had seemed to connect the dots about the same time she had, and was also looking rather nervous.

"Oh, s-sorry Marinette!" He stuttered, looking unfairly adorable as his hand rubbed the back of his neck in that endearing nervous gesture of his. "I g-guess I could, like, m-maybe sleep on the floor, o-or something."

She could practically hear Alya screaming at her to not let this once-in-a-lifetime chance pass her by, Tikki's voice that accompanied it was only slightly less enthusiastic, and she could feel herself grab his sleeve before he could move away.

"No!" She blurted, holding tight to his shirt. He started, clearly surprised as he turned to look at her. Blushing even deeper, but unwilling to let go she corrected herself, remembering every piece of advice both her best friend and kwami had given her. "I-I mean..." She took a deep breath to steady herself, then continued. "I don't want to be alone." She looked shyly through her eyelashes up at him, biting her lip for good measure. "I'm scared."

Adrien looked down-right scandalized, staring at her with blown eyes and red cheeks. He opened his mouth to say something, but the words seemed to become stuck in his throat and he coughed out his response.

"O-oh, u-um, okay. I guess I can s-stay."

"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"-"

For Adrien, who had only slept with another person when he was very little, hiding away in his mother's blankets from nightmares, trying to sleep with Marinette beside him was very awkward.

The bed was very small, and it seemed to only shrink as they tried to situated themselves comfortably. There was no possible way to avoid touching each other, though they did try, and eventually made a mutual decision to sleep back-to-back.

The warm press of Marinette against his back was unnerving, and he could practically /feel/ his etiquette instructor 's disappointment with him, even though he knew they were probably far, far away. But the overall experience wasn't all that bad, just far more intimate than he was used to.

Eventually, exhaustion wore him down and he fell asleep, only to be awoken by his stomach growling.

The tiny room was filled with the scent of Toriel's butterscotch-cinnamon pie, a slice if which was settled on a plate in the middle of the room. But as he turned to get out of bed, he realized that he and Marinette were definitely /not/ in the position they had fallen asleep in.

Somehow, in the small space they had, they had both managed to turn around to face each other. Marinette's face was pressed into his chest, her arms wrapped loosely around his back. His own hands rested atop her waist, the other was serving as his companion's pillow, and as he attempted to shift away, she clung to him even more.

Her warm breath permeated his thin cotton shirt, making him shiver, and her nails lightly dug into his skin as she gripped the fabric of his clothes.

/Whoa/.

He swallowed hard as she pressed closer, one of her legs pressing closer to his. Her face tilted up and pressed against his neck, her soft lips parting to exhale again, her free hand coming up between them, but got caught on the hem of his shirt. He gasped as her cool, slender fingers brushed lightly across his stomach before settling.

It took a long while for him to carefully untangle himself from her, as she did seem rather clingy in her sleep and he was still a little groggy, but eventually, he got free. Quietly, as not to disturb Marinette, he padded to the door and slowly opened it, grateful it didn't creak. Sighing in relief when the bluenette didn't even stir, he closed the door and wandered left, running a hand through his messy bed-head.

He passed the staircase, gazing curiously down, before moving on left. His keen hearing could pick up the crackling of a fire, and the perfume of wood-smoke scenting the air. Turing around the corner, he saw Toriel sitting in a large, plush chair, peering down down through a pair of glasses settled on her nose, reading a book. She looked up when he came in.

"Up already, I see." She smiled at him as he yawned. "Where is your friend?"

He blushed at the thought of Marinette, before replying, "O-oh, she's, um, she's still sleeping, mom." Looking back to that moment later, he decided that it was a combination of still waking up and the fact Toriel's voice sounded so similar to his mother's, was the reason behind his mistake. As it was, he was very panicked the second he realized this, meeting Toriel's surprised eyes with his own.

"Oh! Um, sorry. It's just... you sound a lot like my mother-" he stuttered quietly, trailing off as he took in her still-surprise expression. Then suddenly, and surprisingly, the fur on Toriel's cheeks seemed to tinge pink.

"Well... I suppose... would that make you happy? To call me ...mother?" Toriel started, clearly flustered, and maybe a little flattered. Adrien hesitated. His mother had always been a sensitive subject for him, ever since she had disappeared about a year ago. He had absolutely no desire to replace her in any way, but...

"Toriel, look, I think you're nice and... and you'd make an amazing mom, but I..." He trailed off, not sure how to say this without hurting her. "my mom is kind of... missing, and I don't really want anyone to take her place, because she might come back to me one day."

To his relief, Toriel didn't seem hurt, but was looking at him with a gentle understanding. Placing her book aside, she leaned forward and held her arms out. Only hesitating for a moment, Adrien stepped forward and was engulfed in a warm, very comforting hug. They stood like that for about a minute before Toriel scooped him up, holding him to her with her furry hands.

"I understand, small one. You do not need to explain yourself to me. I would not even think about replacing your mother." Emotions welled up within Adrien, so intense they brought tears to his eyes, and he buried his face into the fur on Toriel's neck, embarrassed. He felt /so/ safe, so protected, a feeling he hadn't experienced for nearly a year. Toriel's white fur was impossibly soft, and he leaned back to look at her muzzle-like mouth stretched into a motherly smile that made him ache with the familiarity of it.

"You can call me whatever you like, dear. I suppose I could be your adopted aunt of sorts." She pressed a tentative kiss to his forehead before setting him on the floor again. His legs were a little unsteady from the sudden onslaught of emotion, so he decided to settle in front of the fire, enjoying the warmth it provided. Toriel left for a moment and came back carrying two plates of pie, and that was how they stayed, in a comfortable silence, until Marinette woke.

It was the most content Adrien had felt since his mother disappeared.

This place truly felt like home.

Chapter Text

When Marinette woke up, she found herself alone in the room Toriel had provided. Momentarily dazed from sleep, she jolted up in the tiny twin-sized bed and looked around for Adrien, and upon realizing he wasn’t there, she took a moment to collect herself. The entire room smelled like home, like baked pastries and warm comfort food, and it made her ache with homesickness. She spotted the slice of pie on the middle of the floor, and after a moment of hesitation lifted up the plate to her face.

Breathing in, she detected hints of cinnamon and butterscotch, reminded of the odd questions Toriel had asked earlier, and smiled softly. Although her near-overwhelming protectiveness had been originally off-putting, the care behind her actions was clear, and Marinette felt she could trust the goat-woman. And Adrien seemed to emotionally latch onto her immediately, something Marinette felt she could sympathize with due to his circumstances.

That line of thinking drew the smile from her face, worried and sad for her friend.

His attachment to Toriel was going to make it difficult once they inevitably left, for all three of them. The motherly monster seemed intent on adopting them both and having them live in the Ruins with her. Adrien seemed torn between staying and leaving, between staying here to be loved and fed, and going back home to a distant father and empty home. Even if his friends were there in Paris with him, they could never replace a solid, loving parental figure.

Sighing, Marinette let the slice of pie rest in her lap, brows furrowed with conflicting emotions.

For her, there wasn't really a choice. She was going to go home, and most of her plan also involved Adrien coming with her, and she didn't really think she could leave him here. From what she had seen, this was a small space that, while full of love, couldn't provide all the opportunities that she felt adrien deserved. While the creatures seemed reasonably friendly, Marinette doubted that they would be good for constant company, and if Toriel was the only constant, Adrien would more than likely grow up very lonely, and would probably regret his choice in the long run.

Shaking her head, she stood. She needed to discuss this with adrien, and not make assumptions based on what she thought may happen. She only hoped that Adrien could see all that was waiting for him back home.

Leaving the plate of pie on the bed, she quietly left the room to go find Adrien. It really was such a lovely little home, washed with soft yellow light that made everything seem more, homey, somehow. It made her ache for her home even more though, this feeling of safety and acceptance. It was a lot, to leave behind, and to wallow in, even as you know it's probably as close as you could get to the real thing, for at least a little while. It was difficult, to say the least.

Making her way down the hall, following both her nose and the sound of a crackling fire, she can see Toriel, reading glasses perched carefully on her nose, with a sleeping Adrien tucked safely in her arms. It warmed her just as much as it hurt. Toriel glanced up briefly in Marinette’s direction, offering a motherly smile before motioning with her book to take a seat on the floor, which she does.

“I hope you don't mind the quiet dear, but I would hate it if he woke before he was meant to. The poor dear seemed so exhausted. Thank goodness I found you when I did, I don't think I would've ever forgiven myself if a child got hurt here in the ruins when I could've been there to prevent it...” A grim look crossed her face, sending Marinette on alert, before Toriel quickly wiped it away with a slightly strained smile. “Well, in any case it's best not to worry now. You both are safe here.”

Marinette remained quiet, offering Toriel her own strained smile, but her mind was racing. That sounded… ominous, like something like this had happened before. But how? She vaguely remembered an akuma she and Chat Noir had been fighting, a child running straight towards a chasm, a fall, then… blankness, right up until she woke with Adrien by her side, surrounded by golden flowers. Even what she could vaguely recall was fuzzy. She remembered fighting, but not what the akuma’s powers were. She remembered a child, but their face was blurry, indistinct. A chasm, but she could only recall it as more of a void, an endless abyss. Then the sensation of falling, which was something she had grown rather used to as ladybug, but there was something strange about this time, something different…

Even as she pressed her own memory for answers, spikes of pain warned her from taking it too far. It was so frustrating! It wasn't like the memories were taken, she could still feel them, like she was on the cusp of solving some great mystery, but it evaded her everytime she got close. Or, more accurately, inflicted with blinding pain to make her stop from following the trail every time she got close.

At the edge of her senses she could just make out the sound of Toriel humming, flipping the pages of her book, the soft crackle of the slowly smoldering fireplace. With a sigh she let it go. She could think about this later, preferably with Adrien to bounce ideas off of. In the meantime though…

“So, Toriel, what happened to the humans who fell down here before us?” Might as well as the difficult questions now. It was proving difficult to keep track of time underground, but considering they woke up underground, explored the ruins a bit, then fell asleep again, it had at least been a day. Akumas typically occurred at least once every week or so, give or take a few days, and operating under the assumption that she had managed to purify the one she and Chat had been fighting before this, she had at least a week to get back before Hawkmoth struck again.

God, she hoped she had managed to finish the last one off, because if he hadn’t…

She grinded that line of thinking to a halt. She had faith in Chat. Even if she wasn't there, he was a clever enough kitty that he should be able to come up with something to hold his and Paris over until she returned. She had to believe that.

Toriel’s silence brought Marinette back to the task at hand, and judging by the way she was turned away, Marinette assumed that whatever the answer was, it wasn't going to be a happy one. The tension built as the silence drew out longer before Toriel seemed to finally give in, heaving a heavy sigh and adjusting Adrien to a more comfortable position on her shoulder.

“I… hmm, how to phrase this. It's been sometime since I've encountered an older human. Most of those who fall into the ruins are far younger than you two, but perhaps it's for the best. Maybe you will understand why I try so hard to keep every one of them safe.” Toriel’s head bows, still faced away, and nuzzles Adrien’s hair ever so gently. Marinette resolves to stay quiet for now. It's very clear how hard it is for Toriel to talk about this.

When Toriel finally does look up to meet Marinette’s gaze, her expression is resolute, if a little watery.

“No, I think both of you should hear this.” she said firmly, gently nudging adrien awake. He stirs slightly at the prodding, eyes still bleary with sleep.

“Wha- what’s going on?” he yawns.

Both Marinette and Toriel take a moment to explain, and with the added promise of answers he swiftly perks up, clearly interested in gaining some context about this place they found themselves in. as soon as they’re settled on the floor, Toriel takes another deep, fortifying breath and begins.

“It's been about a decade or so since a human arrived in the ruins. As far as I was aware, only children ever fell into the underground, though I couldn't say why. You two are the only exception to this I've seen thus far, though I'm far from immortal, so it's possible that one of a similar age came before my time. That aside…” she pauses, seeming conflicted and sad, before drooping a bit in defeat. “This is impossible to say carefully. All of the human children that I've encountered thus far are probably no longer alive.”

Marinette froze at that. After what seemed so long to go without any answers, only to get this now…

Adrien was in a similar state of shock, though he seemed to find his word faster that Marinette could manage.

“Why? What do you mean? What killed them? Why did you say probably?” Adrien sounds panicked, desperate. Marinette placed a hand on his shoulder, still struck mute in shock and despair.

Not even the akumas dealt this kind of destruction, or maybe they had, but she had always been able to fix it. Ladybug had always been able to fix it. But as she watched as the grief on Toriel’s face morphed into something closer to blankness in an attempt to gather herself, Marinette doubted very much she had the capabilities to reverse these tragedies, even if she had been able to before. This was something that Toriel still hadn't fully come to terms with, still mourning those lost children even as she continued living where more would inevitably fall into the ruins.

Toriel took a moment to wipe her eyes and clear her throat before continuing.

“I suppose I should start at the beginning. Before anyone of us existed, monsters and humans lived together in harmony, but a war between the two broke out, a war that the humans won.” she settled further into her chair, looking impossibly tired. “The monsters were then sealed and trapped underground by a magical barrier that no monster can pass. This is where the children come in. a human’s soul is infinitely more powerful than a monster’s, and is the key to breaking the barrier and allowing the monsters back to the surface. Of course, the ruler of the underground, Asgore, believes the only way to get Human souls is to take them.” Her face tightens in disgust. “A belief few have attempted to disprove. If the legends are to be believed, only seven human souls are needed to break the barrier.”

At this point Toriel takes a moment to rub her red eyes with a free hand, the other tightly gripping the couch arm, like it physically pained her to recount this story.

Of course it does, Marinette thought to herself. Toriel probably believed each child lost was a failure on her part, a notion that would be hard for even the most callous person to shrug off. Adrien himself also looked pained, and a little sick, a sentiment that Marinette echoed down to the very core of her being. It was difficult to hear, and clearly more so for Toriel to say. But they needed to know. Any information on how this strange place worked could mean the difference between life or death for either of them, and she had already promised to herself to keep Adrien safe and to return to Paris, a task that would be more difficult the less information they had.

“I have had six children come into my care and insist on leaving thus far. If they have indeed perished as i suspect, then the monsters only need a single soul left to break the barrier. I would like to prevent any more deaths from taking place, but I also understand the need to return to where you belong. So I am giving you this choice now.”

With that she stands to her full height, towering over both of them, her face set in stone, determined, but sad too.

“You can either stay with me, help me build a life here and prevent anymore children from leaving the ruins toward their near-certain demise. Or…” She kneels down to meet both their eyes, her own red rimmed and surrounded by tear-soaked fur.

“You can try your luck traversing the underground. Both of you together might stand a chance, but there are a great many things beyond the ruins that wish to possess a human soul, and not only to break the barrier.”

She stands again and makes toward the bedrooms, casting a glance back at them before she leaves the room.

“Take as much time as you need to decide. This isn't an easy decision, and it's one I wish you didn't have to make. I'll be in my room. Come get me once you've decided.” and then she was gone, soft footsteps fading the farther away she became.

Marinette looked over toward Adrien, both with tears brimming in their eyes, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight.

What to do now?