I woke up late. It's summer and my sleep schedule is worse than normal. Eh whatever. 

I haven't done much writing for this story this week because I was doing other stuff- namely watching an idol anime with my friend. I also spent time writing a one-shot but that isn't even done. I don't know when I will finish it.

............

"Adrien," her hands were trembling as she leaned against the door, having been let into his house as soon as she knocked. Her voice shuddered as she spoke, "I think someone followed me here again."

He was by her side in an instant and he held onto her shoulders, causing her to lean in and wrap her arms around his waist. He let her. He pulled her close. 

He gave her the chance to comfort herself in his arms before asking, "Did you turn to see who?"

He felt her head shake against his chest as she said, "I only caught a glimpse. All I could see was violet in the darkness. There was something about it which made me not want to see it anymore so I came as quick as I could," she clutched onto him more tightly, tears of frustration and fear leaking onto his clothes, "First that day. Then it happened again. Now this. Why is this happening to me?"

Only a few days before Luka had come back, Marinette found herself being followed again. She was lucky Adrien had agreed to meet her at a close location so she didn't have to feel too scared for her life. Adrien dealt with it easily enough.

But this time, Marinette had been at the other end of the town before she had begun to make her trek back home. It was already night. And just when she was about to reach home, she finally noticed the dark lingering feeling that gave her goose-bumps as she had been walking. It was then when she realised that she was being followed. 

But her parents weren't at home this night. Coincidentally, neither were Alya and Nino.

She quickly decided that her best bet at surviving was to get to Adrien, who she trusted to keep her safe.

He pushed her back a bit so he could see her as he talked, "We need to go now."

When it happened the second time, he was already anxious. Now that it happened a third time, he was sure that it couldn't just be a coincidence.

Marinette sniffled and looked up at him, "What? Now? But-"

"I know. You wanted to bring me to your parents so I could formally ask them permission to court you and I wanted to as well but-"

"What- how do you know- You want to court me?" For a second she forgot about her tears and looked up at him, her chin resting on his chest, hopeful.

In response, he kissed her forehead and smiled at her, before resting his chin on her head and wrapping his arms tightly around her, "I promise, we can talk about this later. But let's deal with this person first okay. I'm going to go out and try to see who it is. You stay here."

She nodded but didn't move out of his arms, not wanting to lose the safety net he had casted around her, protecting her closely from any possible attack. He let her stay there for a bit, happy to provide her physical reassurance that he was there. But he had to deal with whatever was following her so, reluctantly, he removed her arms from around him and took a step back. Her hands flopped to her sides, lightly hitting the fabric of her dress as it did so, and she turned her head as he moved past her, watching him leave through the front door.

Once he was out, door clamped shut behind him, her legs gave out and she dropped to the ground, letting out a loud mixture of panicked relief all in one. 

The feeling of being followed... it was terrifying.

It was suffocating.

It was revolting.

It made her feel itchy all over, as if hands were reaching out, trying to grab her from all sides. It made her feel like she wanted to climb up the largest building in sight, in hope that she could get away. It made her want to wither up into the ground and hide from the sunlight, so she could stay in the darkness, away from the perpetrator forever.

Her saving grace was only Adrien who, from the day they met, was ready to defend her no matter what the situation entailed.

But the more it happened, the more the stalking was getting to her. It was Adrien's courage which was channelled through her which let her get through the days. But she couldn't help but feel frightened even then.

She was honestly glad they were leaving.

............

Luka.

It was Luka.

Luka had been the one following her, creeping behind her like a shadow waiting to engulf its person. Lurking two steps behind her, as if he was a predator playing with it's prey, tricking it into a sense of security that they would be faster than the one trying to catch them.

What was worse was that this predator had abnormal means to get to her. 

She shouldn't have opened that door. She shouldn't have given into her worry that Adrien was taking so long and found herself witnessing that scene. She shouldn't have screamed Adrien's name when he was blasted by an unnatural force to a nearby tree and she shouldn't have brought (whatever was possessing) Luka's attention towards her, causing him to grin so menacingly that Marinette couldn't believe the person on front of her was truly her former betrothed. Was someone she had still wanted to stay friends with. Was someone she had known and cared for during a large portion of her life.

The being- she couldn't even address him by name, not when he was like this- moved closer to her, step by step, taunting her with every miniscule movement his body made, the violet and black light and smoke swirling around him like a tornado made of fire.

She flinched back, quickly glancing behind her to confirm the direction of the house, and when she turned back, he was only a few feet away. He was closing in on her. 

He was lifting his hand to control a ball of power unlike anything she had seen with her own two eyes before, "If I cannot have you Marinette, no one can," he let the ball release, aiming straight for her.

She couldn't run. She couldn't hide. All she could do was duck down and hope whatever was aimed towards her would never meet it's target.

She ducked but a tall body came before her adorning clothes which differed from just moments before.

Only a few minutes ago, he had been wearing a simple but elegant black dress, the front and the back separated by slits on both sides from his hips to the end of the dress- which went all the way to his knees. It was only put together with a slim fitting pair of trousers matching in colour and black boots with a silver toe feature on each shoe. Even his hair was rather laid back for a person as high maintenance as Adrien was. He had only put it in a tight, high ponytail using a surprisingly blinding green ribbon and left it at that.

But the Adrien on front of her looked different yet so familiar. And it took her a few seconds to realise why. He looked like he had done so many times in her dreams. Only now it was the reality on front of her.

"Adrien..." she whispered at the sight before her.

His dress was a more exaggerated version of the simpler one. It had grown longer, and what had been subtle designs around his torso and shoulders, had practically grown into an armour gleaming in a substance which shifted from black obsidian to green to gold. Even his boots looked like he had stepped into a crystal cave and came out adorned with gifts from the cave dwelling Gods. His hair was still in a ponytail- giving her a view of his broad back made infinitely wider because of the armour which bordered it- but instead of a green ribbon, it was pure jade spikes shaped into a small crown which kept his hair together. 

It was as if she was in one of those dreams again.

Just like in those dreams, he even had the armoured nail tips which looked deadly to the touch, yet strangely, she wanted to feel those tips holding onto her face as their owner looked at her with the selfish desire of a person who wanted nothing but her.

The only thing he didn't have was a sword which could be commanded so effortlessly by him without even a word.

Just when the ball of dark energy was about to hit him, he blocked it with a large shield made of his own energy. Marinette, couldn't help but look up at him in awe. 

All that time she had been fantasising about another world, another life with Adrien. One where he had been so ready to protect her with a power greater than life. All this time she had seen herself in her dreams as his one opposite, yet the one who was closest to him. She saw them laughing and playing and using their powers to form skies full of wonder in small caves and crevices before disintegrating them in fear of being caught out. The thrill and the memories being more than enough for them. She saw them embracing and making promises for a future of them. A future where their races could live in harmony together. Where neither of them had to worry about being seen as the enemy.

It had been a world she had created. An escape she had wanted to be real.

Maybe it was.

"Something's not right. That power- it's not his," Adrien murmured, his eyebrows furrowed as his concentration was directed to the purple energy which was trying to eat away at his own. He turned his head so one of his eyes could see her, "When I say, you are going to go to the place we stayed at when you met me first."

"You mean-"

"Yes! That place!" It was an urgent plead not to let Luka know what could become their only safe place. He held his hand out to her, his other focused on keeping the majority of the shield's forces where the other being was trying to infiltrate it, "Take my hand. I'm going to give you some energy. When I do, close your eyes and think of only that place. Only that place. I'll come and find you when I'm done with this."

Marinette stood up and took his hand, but he didn't have time to be surprised that her reaction wasn't one of disbelief. He just gripped her hand tightly, sending a surge of energy through her, enough for her to teleport out of this place without harming her human body. 

As he transferred the energy, the cool feeling spreading across her body like ice forming, she said one last thing to him, "Come back safe to me, will you."

He grinned from the side of his face she could see and winked at her, "I always do M'lady."

She closed her eyes.

............

When she opened her eyes she found herself in the cave where Adrien had tended to her wounds and they had first bonded, Marinette grateful that he wasn't there to harm her and instantly forming a connection with him once that fear subsided. 

They hadn't been back to the cave much- there was no need to when Adrien had his own house. But they had decided it would be a good idea to try find it again in daylight- which took almost an entirety of the hours they had planned to spend together on that one day.

Even if they hadn't been here too much, it was a place only the two knew of. It would take time for Luka to find her in this cave. She just hoped Adrien would get out safely.

She shook her head and muttered out to the echoing walls which enclosed her, "Of course he would because..."

Because the Adrien she knew and the Adrien in her dreams were the same person. 

Her fantasies that a world full of magic existed, a world full of fairies and demons and Gods and Goddesses and creatures that the imagination of the mortal world (as she had learnt from her dreams was called) could not think to design. Sure, this mortal world believed in these Gods, made stories about these creatures, wished to reach a place beyond their imagination, but this was even more than anyone could fathom. Her dreams held a myriad of possibilities of a greater level of life. It held the chance for more challenging matters. For more fulfilling roles. 

But it had been a wild desire stimulated more by the presence of Adrien.

She had never actually thought too much about why she got the dreams she did more than it just being her creative mind bursting for inspiration as she slept. The fact that her dreams would continue into the next was something she liked, but it had maybe driven her into slight insanity coming closer to the time she had met Adrien. Once they had met, the innate desire that drove her to look for him had subsided. But the dreams didn't.

But she still didn't think too much of it. Not when she had other things on her mind. Which was ironic when she could remember so many details from those dreams, like it wasn't her first time getting them.

Maybe she should have questioned it more but then she really wouldn't be sane.

"It's crazy. I'm going crazy..." she slapped her face a few times, as if it would cause her to gasp up from her cosy bed, so unlike the hard floor she was sitting on, and make her realise this was just another of her dreams.

It wasn't.

It was more like a nightmare. Seeing Luka possessed. Making him so wretched and unpleasant to look at. She couldn't get the image of his bright violet eyes, peering at her so malevolently, making her skin crawl as she thought of the vile way he looked at her. 

But it wasn't him was it? It wasn't Luka. No. It was like there was a monster who had taken advantage when he was in a vulnerable state and caused him to be like this. It couldn't be him. Not the Luka she knew.

Perhaps it explained why he acted so unruly to the news she broke a few days ago. Why, the Luka she knew, who would have accepted that they weren't right together- even if it stabbed him in his heart- would suddenly be so aggressive and so demanding around her.

She laughed bitterly, almost angry at herself. 

She really didn't love Luka like he deserved. If she did, she would have instantly realised that something was wrong with him. Not use his quips as ammunition to fire straight back at him. She would have been able to tell that maybe the way he was acting wasn't him. Wasn't the Luka she had known. But strangely, she had let herself see him only at the surface. She couldn't see that he had been trapped within himself, unable to get out. 

And his appearance today was a consequence of her own making.

"I'm sorry Luka."

............

"No! No plea-no. Let me-"

"Marinette! Wake up!"

"You can't- don't leave- let me- No!"

"Marinette!" She felt someone shake her.

"No! NO PLEASE! ADRIEN!"

"MARINETTE!"

She woke up with a gasp.

She slowly opened her eyes to realise that green eyes were staring at her and she had been resting in his arms for quite some time. She reached out to cup his cheek, breathing heavily as she did so. It was then that she realised that her eyes were blurry and she had been crying in her sleep.

She retracted her hand and asked, slightly distracted, "What time is it?"

She had passed out. From the exhaustion that came from using so much of the unnatural energy given to her? From her mind's constant state of back and forth as it tried to figure out the situation she was in? From the petrified state her body had been in even once she knew she was away from the danger?

He turned his head to take a look at the entrance of the cave, "The sun is starting to rise."

She groaned and slowly got up from him, still looking at his face, "Did you- did you deal with him."

"For now," he rasped out, as if just as he spoke, something was stepping on him, giving him less ability to speak properly.

In was then when she looked at him thoroughly and gasped, "Adrien!" Her hands went to touch him, who had torn clothes and multiple visible wounds amongst the tears. Her hands hovered over the wounds, not daring to touch them directly. They were shaking as she bit her lip, trying to suppress the quivers of her lip as she looked over his state, "What happened?"

"He's possessed by something," he coughed, unable to stop himself from telling her, "It's power is somehow able to match mine. Are you not going to tell me what caused you to scream my name like that?"

Marinette grabbed the bottom of her dress and pointedly avoided his question, "You're injured," she was about to rip her dress.

Before she could, he grabbed at her forearms and shook his head, "Leave it. It's not too bad."

"But-"

"Marinette," he said firmly, "I've had worse."

"But that doesn't mean you shouldn't treat it! If those wounds stay out in the open, it could become infected," she stated. She couldn't understand why he was being so stubborn right now.

Instead of answering, he clicked his fingers and green light emanated from where his wounds were, causing her to squint her eyes, "I've placed a magical barricade around them. They won't get infected now. I promise. But you won't be able to treat it right now."

"You're in pain."

"Nothing I can't deal with."

Marinette frowned as she watched him, his eyes and head drooping as he spoke and the grip of his hands loosening from around her, "You're exhausted."

He must have stayed awake to be alert of their surroundings.

His head lifted a bit as he snorted, "Who would have thought?"

"Rest. I'll be on the lookout whilst you do."

Even if he wanted to disagree he knew that's all his body wanted right now, "Mhm."

............

Luka screamed angrily as he surveyed the injuries left on his skin. The more he encountered Destruction, the more his urge to grab his sword and push it right through the centre of the so-called heart of Destruction overcame him. 

But it wouldn't kill him.

What if it could?

"What?"

What if it could kill him?

"Could I really do that?"

I will give you the power to. If you can promise me that you will actually kill him.

"I-"

Think! You can have Marinette all you want if he's out of the way.

"Why are you so eager to kill him? Who are you anyways?"

If you kill him I will tell you who I am.

"Why? Is he your enemy too."

No. Far from it. He is my most flawed creation. And anything beyond perfection must be destroyed. The sword. Use it. 

He looked down at the sword in his hands. It had appeared from out of nowhere and looked transparent, like a dark cloud. But he was holding it as if the hilt wasn't like the smoke of fire. So easy to see, so hard to catch. The weight was somehow almost similar to that of his actual sword. Purple lightning, something that was becoming so familiar to him that even his fingertips tingled at the slight tinge of current it sent through him, accompanied the smoke of the sword in a form which shaped what would just have been a long black mist into something more sharp, more feral.

"I'll do it."

............

Hands hovered over those wounds again, their owner silently hoping that her idea would work.

She closed her eyes, trying to channel the energy within her, and she could feel a hint of it stirring, awakening, ready to be used. 

'Please be enough,' she wished.

She opened her eyes and exhaled quietly, so as to not disturb the slumber the man on front of her was in. 

She could feel it, the energy. It was fainter than when he had passed some along to her, but it was of the same essence. Balance. It was the feeling of balance. As if with it, she was more whole, more complete. She stared at her hands for a few seconds, which was (if she was not mistaken) just a tiny bit brighter, and she brushed her hands against his wounds. 

'Please stop the pain,' She pleaded as, even in his rest, he would writhe uncomfortably and his face would contort painfully.

Once she was done, she sighed in relief. Though his wounds were still visible, it seemed that the little difference she wanted to make worked out. His wounds were still there but the evil essence in which his wounds had been inflicted had been decreased. 

She lifted a hand to wipe the sweat over her face. 

She stood up and went to the entrance again, hoping that once he woke up, he wouldn't realise that anything was amiss.

............

"Are you not going to ask?" He had woken up a few hours later to find that Marinette had been pacing near the entrance of the cave, only to come to him once he had made it known he was awake, "Are you not curious about anything that you saw? Are you not even the slightest bit scared of what you saw?"

"Whatever it is that is possessing Luka is what scares me," she spoke sincerely as she moved about to check over him. It seemed that his wounds were actually slowly starting to heal, though only she realised. The problem was that it was too slow.

"Why are you not surprised?" He seemed to have less difficulty speaking this time around. She silently thanked the Goddess of luck for that.

She stopped her fussing over him and moved to sit cross legged by his side and, looking straight into his eyes, she said, "I had these dreams," she decided it would be useless to hide at least this from him. 

"Dreams?" He shifted in his place, wanting to sit more upright.

Her head bobbed back and forth slowly in confirmation, "Dreams about you. About us actually."

He raised an eyebrow, "Are you trying to tell me something?"

She laughed, "More like I was trying to tell myself something," she said it almost jokingly but it was the truth, "These dreams... they involved a world beyond anything this one had. One where I was a fairy Goddess and you were a God and demon king. And then there was a few where I believed I was only a fairy because I had died and then come back to life and could not remember my past life. Obviously, I thought these were only just dreams."

His mouth was slightly parted and he was frozen in his spot, "You-" to say he was beyond shocked was an understatement!

Marinette shrugged, "I was only surprised to realise those dreams may, in fact, be true. They are... aren't they? Everything I saw in those dreams, they actually happened, didn't they?"

"You don't think it's impossible?" 

He didn't think that it would be so early on into this that she would start to remember. But then again, this was Ladybug. This was Creation. This was Marinette. She had already been regaining her memories before. But then she encountered this obstacle, someone- and now he was sure it was most likely Luka- had kidnapped her, had pushed her progress back, had caused her to loose her memories again. But she was fighting it. She was always supposed to get to the point of getting her memories back, but when something threatened that, the natural way in which the retaining of memories was supposed to happen became disturbed. She had lost her memories again but her magic fought to bring it back quickly. 

He just didn't know why.

"Well then, that would mean you are impossible," she gave him a smile and came closer to him, a sudden bout of confidence making her whisper into his ear, "And I just happen to like a bit of impossible."

He let out a loud laugh, despite his ears being a shocking red, and turned his face towards her. She herself had been overcome by embarrassment from what she had just said and was sitting, her face stuck in the same place it had been when she had whispered those words to him. He couldn't help it when he laughed. It was like he was once again back in those times when they would sneak out to meet each other, where they would find a place much alike this cave, and they would joke around and flirt with each other. And then she would say something she would find embarrassing and her face would become red as she turned away. And she would huff at him because it made him laugh more than the jokes they would share. Not because it was something embarrassing, but because her words made him happy.

Her words were like a medicine to the harshness he would face because of his father.

"I'm pleased," he said once his laughter subsided, "That you are remembering. It means that soon, you will be all of yourself again."

"I hope that is a good thing," she shyly remarked.

He brought his hand to her face and leaned a little closer, "It's simply the best."

She leaned closer as well, until the both of their faces were almost touching by the nose. Marinette looked deeply into his eyes, and her heart swelled as she saw the utmost feeling of admiration staring right back at her. She couldn't look away, she couldn't even blink. She didn't want to. All she wanted was to be able to stare into those eyes, and explore the galaxy that had been poured into him, waiting and wanting for so long to be adored. 

"Can we," she whispered, "Do you think we can talk about that thing now? That thing from earlier?" She didn't need to speak loudly when her lips were just an inch from his own lips, just a few more inches from his ears. 

"You saw in your dreams," he whispered back, knowing what she wanted to talk about, "You should already know just how much I want you."

She raised her eyebrow almost challenging him, "And just how much is that?" 

He moved his hand, the one which wasn't cupping her face, to grab onto her waist and pull her even closer. She gasped as he did and he smirked, "Do you know? I've restrained myself so much in this last month, not wanting to scare you off, but there was never a day in which I didn't want you. There was never a day in which I wished that I could throw all of that restraint and once again make you mine. I was going to wait. Was going to let you come to me slowly. But this Little Bug seems to be more hasty than I realised."

"Maybe this Little Bug  doesn't want to make you wait any longer. Maybe she wants you to throw that restraint out of sight. And maybe... maybe she wants you to-"

Suddenly his face dropped from the content and playful smirk to a more serious and alert expression. He moved his hand to cover her mouth and came even closer to whisper to her, "Shh. I sense that he's close."

Marinette's face immediately became serious and she nodded. He stood up, lifting her with him and she exclaimed, though not too loudly, "We need to get out of here. Now!"

............

Okay so yes Marinette knew that when she was thanking the Goddess of luck, she was essentially just thanking herself. She had a lot of time to think about it okay.

The only reason I know the word Myriad is because of Heathers: The Musical.

Also, I just had to add the part where Adrien says "It's simply the best." It was too good of an opportunity to pass up.

You have no idea just how much I wanted to write a kiss scene here. I wanted to punch myself for not writing it. But I had already planned not to do it. And past me was adamant about it so we, unfortunately, did not get the kiss scene. I'm sorry but also, I kind of am not because it was needed. Don't worry though. You won't have to wait too long for another kiss though. I promise. 

So I haven't actually mentioned this yet but originally, Chloe was going to be part of this part of the story. I was originally going to make her a demon who likes to cause havoc in the mortal realm but would help Adrien and Marinette because her and Adrien are friends but once I changed the story, I had to scrap that entirely and I couldn't fit her in. I may write an extra where our couple has an adventure and meets her along the way. Tell me if you'd like that or not.

See you soon lovelies <3