The hospital doors burst open, and Tom and Sabine Dupain Cheng rushed inside, with a few other people Chloe, Mylene and Rose didn't recognise. Their eyes were red, cheeks tear stained and eyes frantically darting everywhere inside the building. The girls were anxiously waiting in the hallway outside Marinette's room, Chat Noir inside with her.

"Where's our daughter? Where's Marinette?" Tom and Sabine asked. Rose shakily pointed at Marinette's door, and Sabine immediately flew through it. Everyone else could hear commotion from the other side of the door, but it eventually quietened down. During the commotion, Tom glared at Chloe.

"How dare you bully and abuse my daughter - she did nothing to you!" Tom yelled. Chloe did nothing in return, except lower her head in shame.

"I'm really sorry - I genuinely never meant to harm your daughter - I swear!" She said, saying nothing else.

Rose and Mylene immediately jumped to her defence. "She was akumatised - it wasn't her fault! Ever since, she's been doing her best to be kind and nice to Marinette."

Tom looked back to Chloe in shock.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought you did all this on purpose, and then when Marinette..." He paused, letting out a couple more tears, before continuing, "I just felt so upset and angry on her behalf."

Instead of angrily retorting back to him, Chloe simply nodded and said: "It's alright."

However, the other girls weren't so happy.

"If you really want to be mad at someone, be mad at Alya!" Mylene jumped in.

"Y - yeah!" Rose supported Mylene. "Alya betrayed Marinette because Marinette forgave Chloe. Alya has just been super mean and wrote her these awful notes and... and... was just a big meanie!!"

Three ladies ran forward and joined Tom. Mylene and Rose were able to recognise one - Marinette's grandma, from her birthday (Chloe wasn't there, so she didn't know her). The other two however, none of them recognised.

"Who is this... Alya?" The older woman asked.

"We just want to... talk to her." The younger woman added, cracking her knuckles.

"Sure you do." Chloe said sarcastically. "Not that I mind - Alya's been acting incredibly stuck up lately. I really don't know what's gotten into her."

Conveniently, the hospital doors fly open once again, and Alya runs inside. Sweat dripped down her forehead, and her eyes also appeared red.

"Wh - Where's Marinette?" Alya asked, out of breath.

"Like there's any way in hell we'd tell you - Alya." Chloe snarled at her.

"I'm her best friend - you have to tell me!"

"You stopped being her best friend when you TOLD HER TO DIE!" Chloe screamed back. Her hands were clenched, and she did her best to refrain herself from running at Alya right then and there - she needed to stay in the hospital - to see Marinette.

Once the older ladies in the room realised that girl is the Alya the others were talking about, they immediately jumped into action. They angrily strode forward and held eye contact with her.

"Oh! You're Marinette's grandma, right? Gina? Who are you two?" She greeted them, first talking to Marinette's grandma, then turning to the other two ladies.

"You have no right to talk to me, after what you did to Marinette." Gina growled. She turned her head away from Alya, and the other two ladies approached.

"I'm Marinette's Aunt - Sylvie. This is my daughter - Marinette's cousin - Belle." Sylvie stated coldly, not wanting this pathetic excuse of a person learn her name.

Belle continued to walk forward and stood directly in front of Alya. She looked at Alya for a brief second, before she whipped her hand around and-

SMACK.

Alya stood still in shock, and cupped her angry red cheek in her hand, glancing back up at Belle.

"You deserve worse than that, but I can tell you seem genuinely sorry, so I'll give you one chance to make up with Marinette." She took another step forward, so that their faces were millimetres apart.

"But if you ever deliberately hurt her again..."

She let the threat hang in the air, and once again cracked her knuckles. Alya flinched and took a couple steps back.

"I genuinely want to make up with Marinette - I was awful and cruel to her... I was just-"

SMACK!

Now with both cheeks burning red, Alya recoiled once again, tripped, and sprawled out on the floor. Belle stood over her, emitting a dangerous red aura.

"Save it for Marinette." She growled. Sylvie, reluctantly grasped Belle's wrist and hauled her away from Alya.

"Contain yourself Belle - I'm sure we'll hear some news soon."

--InMarinette'sRoomEarlier--

Marinette rubbed her eyes and slowly woke up.

Where was she? Wait-

Oh.

OH.

OH NO.

She shot upright in bed, and glanced around, and at herself.

"I... I..."

She put her hands to her face and started to cry.

I can't believe I tried to commit suicide - and failed. These people seem like they care so much about me, but... all I can think about is how pathetic and useless I am.

She shook her head.

No! Those girls - my f-f-friends - risked their lives to help me, to save me even. I need to trust them. Even Chloe, I'm sure she's changed for the better.

She sighed and remembered the events that occurred before she fell.

"Wait, didn't their grip slip? Didn't I end up falling either way?" She muttered to herself.

"Yes, you did, but I caught you Milady." A voice spoke out from across the room. In a panic, Marinette's head shot to where the suspicious voice was coming from, and spotted Chat Noir, who was swinging his belt tail, and looking at her with a soft smile.

"Wha - Chat Noir! Oh yeah, you caught me, thank - wait!" She paused in her apologetic stammering. "You can't call me 'Milady', that's what you call..." she trailed off, remembering he already knew she is Ladybug.

"I know that's what I call Ladybug... MILADY." He interrupted her with a grin. Marinette quickly flung her head around once again, this time to scour for eavesdropping people. Chat Noir basically revealed her identity to whomever is in the room with them. Chat Noir was quick to notice her panicked state and was even quicker to try and comfort her concerns.

"Ahh - don't worry! I told the nurses to leave us alone. I checked the cameras to make sure they're off, and I've been using the bathroom nearby to change into my civilian identity, recoup, and transform back into Chat Noir!"

"That's incredibly dangerous!" Marinette scolded him. "You never know if someone is watching you." She frowned at him and looked away towards the window. Glancing outside, it felt as if time had slowed down. The leaves in the trees refused to fall, the wind refused to blow, birds refused to fly.

Marinette clenched her fist.

She wanted to fly.

"Marinette?"

Marinette jumped, glancing back to Chat Noir, who was looking at her, concerned.

"Y - yeah?"

"Umm... Here. You probably miss her."

Marinette frowned again, this time in confusion, as he walked towards her, and sat at the edge of her hospital bed. He reached to his left shoulder and cupped something perched there. He brought his cupped hands to Marinette's face and opened them up to show Marinette what - or who - was in them.

"Tikki!!" Marinette gasped. "You - Chat Noir... you k-know each other?"

"Well we didn't until you started your... spontaneous trips to the school roof." Tikki gently briefed Marinette.

"Wait - you told Chat Noir about that stuff??" Marinette said in a fluster.

"I... did more than that..." Tikki struggled to get the explanation out to Marinette, knowing she wouldn't be happy with what she did.

"Marinette... I read your letter. To me, I mean. I read it early." Marinette's expression grew darker and more pained as Tikki continued: "I read it and realised what you were gonna do. I immediately flew to Adrien and told him what was happening."

"Once she told me," Chat Noir said, continuing Tikki's story, "I shouted in surprise, ran as fast as I could to the school bathrooms - but some guys were in their washing hands. I then ran to the locker rooms-"

"Makes sense..." Marinette muttered under her breath. "They're the two spots I'd go to..." She paused, noticing Chat Noir had paused his story. "Oh - I'm sorry! Continue!!"

"Uhh, so when I ran into the locker room, I bumped into your friends - Chloe, Mylene and Rose. They asked me why I was so flustered, and I diverted their attention away from it, by asking them to grab a non-existent book I left on the school roof. I said I had to go home right now, but the book is really important to me."

Marinette stared at him questionably, and he sheepishly pulled a book from a nearby seat to show Marinette.

"I grabbed this from my locker, to use as proof later. Anyways;" He dramatically cleared his throat and continued, Marinette trying - and failing - not to giggle.

"It was partially a way to divert attention away from me in the locker room, and partially a way to get them on the roof, to distract you long enough, for me to run outside the school to an alleyway, transform, and jump back to the roof to stop you. Luckily, it worked, and I was there just in time to catch you. I'm sorry I wasn't faster!" Chat Noir said, genuinely upset.

"What? Y - You did nothing wrong! If a regular citizen was in my place, I as Ladybug would've done the exact same things as you - wait." She paused, reminiscing over what Chat Noir had just said to her.

"You found all this out... at my school. You transformed... by my school. You talked to my classmates as if THEY KNEW YOU. Who are you??"

Chat Noir froze, realising his mistake.

Then he thought about it.

"Well... I know who you are, so it's only fair that I tell you who I am."

Marinette watched in awe, as Chat Noir brought his hands together, and rested them on his chest. He stood up, and walked to the end of her bed, in full view of Marinette.

"Plagg, claws-"

BANG.

"Marinette! Oh my sweet child, I'm so sorry about what happened to you! I wish I was there for you more, if I could take all this back I would!"

"M - Mum?"

Hey guys! So... I guess the story is going to continue - for ONE MORE CHAPTER, I PROMISE IT'LL BE THE LAST ONE AFTER THIS ONE.

Lol, okay so I'm on my sixth word document, and there's still no Alya in the room, and Marinette and Adrien haven't had a chance to properly talk yet and... this chapter is long enough as it is XD

Don't worry, I'll have a lot of free time tomorrow, so I'll try to finish the FINAL. CHAPTER. In the next 24 hours.

Hope you guys enjoyed - and be ready for the finale!!!

But for now...

Peachy out! 😊