THIS IS A TRIGGER WARNING. 

This chapter is immensely sad. It is about suicide and miscarriage which, if it is something which triggers you, I suggest not to read this chapter. I will put an explanation/summary in the notes at the end of the chapter so if you do not want the detail but still want to know the premise of this chapter, please go to the end notes.

Also hi. I'm a bit late. Cuz I woke up late and had some stuff to do and when I remembered I had to do this, I was a bit reluctant to because this chapter is sad.

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

"Alya? Nino?" It was the first thing she said when they had reached the portal that Luka had directed them to.  

When her and Adrien had gotten there, they had expected to be met with a few guards who they would have to deal with, not the sight of a rather distraught Alya being held by Nino- who, just like his lover, had tears streaming down their face.

When Alya heard her best friend's voice, she became tense against Nino's shoulders and whispered, barely audible, "It can't be."

Marinette let go of Adrien's hand and ran to where her friends were. As soon as she was within arms distance of them, she gathered the both of them into her own arms and hurriedly smothered them with the longing she had for her friends. She had missed them dearly. She had wished to see them badly. 

Before the war, she would admit, she hadn't had too many friends. Sure there had been people she worked with, and she had cared for so many of them. After all, that was the nature of Creation, to care for all that was created, for life was her very essence. But she had rarely had people who had done the same for her. Who wholeheartedly cared about her wellbeing, her life, her own wishes. In all honesty, the only one who had done that back then (other than her parents) had been Adrien.

Alya and Nino had been a breath of fresh air that Marinette didn't even know she had taken. 

She had never expected to miss them as much as she did, but when she hugged them, she squeezed them tightly, not wanting them to slip out her grasp ever again. 

Missing these two felt different to missing Adrien. With Adrien, there was never a passing second where she didn't miss him, for he had always consumed her every thought even when he was barely a centimetre away from her. With Adrien, missing him was like an intense hunger which could never be satiated. She craved his feeling and his touch, even when his touch edged deep into her, reaching her very soul and even further. 

With Alya and Nino she missed the way they had been so warm to her. For a long time, even before the war, Marinette had forgotten what the warmth of parents had felt like. It was like an emptiness within her which she had felt even when she hadn't had her memories. Only, when she had met Alya and Nino, they had managed to fill the void and nestle themselves into her heart. She had found herself caring for them more than her usual responsibility towards all of creation. She had found herself becoming part of not only a meaningful friendship, but a loving family. 

She had felt devastated back when, even when she was supposed to be the traitor, they had been so willing to be on her side. But she had also felt a warmth in the way that they hadn't completely abandoned her- like she had expected them to.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry," she choked out, a sudden aching feeling of guilt passed through her. She moved away to look at them and placed a hand on both of their wet faces whilst shaking her head sadly, "I- what happened to you?"

The couple shared a solemn look as Alya placed a hand on her stomach. She bit her lip, distressed at the thoughts that plagued her. A dreading feeling hit the pit of Marinette's own stomach but she steeled her nerves and looked at Nino to answer.

He looked equally as distraught as Alya but he still answered croakily, "We- oh Sol- oh Gods- we lost the baby."

Adrien, who had been listening quietly and watching from behind them, for the first time in his life, felt his heart drop for someone other than his family.

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

"What did you say?" Alya hissed, glaring at Luka who had come to them in the middle of the night. 

"I- I can't say it again. Don't make me say it again."

Alya stormed over to him, tears already streaming down her face, and she looked at him fiercely. She reached out and gripped his shoulder hard and grit her teeth, "Don't play games with me Luka and tell me straight. Why would you kill her? WHY WOULD YOU MURDER MY BEST FRIEND?"

Luka found himself kneeling on the floor also in a state of tears, "I- I'm sorry. Alya, Nino I-"

Before he could say anything else, Alya brought swung her hand up before bringing it down powerfully to hit his face, causing him to fall to the floor, "SORRY IS NOT GOING TO BRING HER BACK- It- it..." she was breathing heavily, Nino rushing to her side, trying to get her to regulate her breaths, but he too could barely hold it together.

As Nino held his wife in his arms, he quietly asked, "Where..." but he couldn't finish his sentence. It was caught up in his throat. 

Luka understood anyways. He stalled for a moment but told them truthfully, "She asked me to let her be with him- I- they're together. It's what she wanted."

Alya sobbed in Nino's shoulder and whimpered, "What are we going to do? What are we going to tell her parents?"

At that, Luka slowly brought out a letter which had been in his pocket and held it up to the two of them, "Just give them this please. That is all I ask."

He couldn't face her parents. He couldn't face the two who had once been like loving parents to him. Who had made him promise to always protect her. To always be good to her. Even if it was just their mortal shell, he couldn't face telling them that he hadn't been able to keep his promise. That he had went against it. That he was a coward and he even had intentions to kill her.

"It's not your fault," funnily enough, he believed she would say that. No matter who she was, Creation or Marinette, she had always been forgiving.

'But it is Marinette.' 

"I'm not even dead," she would reason with him.

'It doesn't make the mass of my actions hurt any less.'

He couldn't even face the fact that it was someone else, not him, who tried their hardest to fulfil a promise Luka had made with her parents. Destruction did not even know about the promise, yet he had been better in protecting their only daughter.

He stood up clumsily and took a step back, which made the couple turn to him. Nino spoke, his nostrils flaring with anger, "Where do you think you're going?"

He looked at his own hands which were dyed crimson with the weight of his sins, "I- from now on, don't think of me as an old friend. Just think of me as a murderer. Because that is what I am. Resent me and hate me all you want. I deserve it more than anything. I will take everything that comes to me."

Nino bit his lip and his head moved in disbelief. He scoffed and pointed to the door, "Get out."

"I-"

Nino wasn't someone who raised his voice. He had always been the one to speak calmly during an argument or heated discussion. He had always felt that raising his voice wasn't going to change much, except anger the other more.

But this time, he couldn't help it. He shook his finger harshly and shouted, "I said GET OUT!" Alya was shaking in his arms and so he held her tighter, still seething at the one he had once seen as his best friend, "And don't ever let us see you again Luka. If we do, I'll kill you myself."

Luka understood what he was trying to say. Despite what he had done, Nino was giving him one more chance to run. However, he was also trying to tell him to live with the burden of what he had done. Death was too good for him. It was too easy. So Luka should live with the pain he had caused and repent for what he had done away from them. It had been what he was planning to do regardless. 

He had to go back to Soleria and atone the way Marinette wanted him to.

With one more regretfully anguished look, Luka was gone.

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

"Huh," Sabine said looking at the envelope which had been left on the kitchen counter, visible to both, "Someone wrote a letter to us. But how did it end up here?"

From behind her, Tom shrugged, "Open it dear."

Sabine nodded and opened the envelope. She took out the letter and dropped the envelope back onto the counter. She unfolded the letter inside and intended to skim through the contents quickly but she found herself dropping it in shock as her eyes rested on one sentence.

Marinette is not alive.

Aware that his wife was now shaking, he tried to move her behind him but she stopped him and picked the letter back up. Together, they read the letter, becoming more and more emotional. 

I killed her.

I'm sorry.

She has chosen my punishment and I must fulfil her wish.

It's my fault.

I couldn't take the fact that she wanted to marry someone else. I hated that she fell in love with someone else.

I can't face the both of you. 

I killed them both.

Deep down I knew she was never mine. But I hated it. I hated knowing that she would rather be with him. I hated how I could never understand her the way he did. How she understood him in a way she never could for me. I hated how she looked at him and how she let him touch her so easily. There were no barriers between them and I hated it.

It's my fault.

I'm sorry.

I must go and atone for my sins in the only way I can.

Their daughter... their sweet little girl. Their Marinette. They would never be able to see the delightful smile which graced her face ever again. They would never be able to hear her honey-like voice which they had always been willing to hear no matter what time of day. They would never be able to see their daughter, who was so bright, so full of life. Who was so determined to be happy. They would never be able to see that. 

Their beautiful daughter was gone forever.

All because of Luka.

And, as if their day could not become bleaker, they received more bad news.

Someone from their village rushed in a few hours later, when they were still reeling from the loss of their own daughter, and started exclaiming, "It's a tragedy! Tom! Sabine!"

Exhausted and eyes rimmed red, Sabine quietly answered, "What is it?"

"Its yer daughter's friends!" The couple shared a look pit with dread, "A few of us were worried because they hadn't come out of the house for a few days. They- they were found dead! Officer Roger told me to come get the two of yer. There is some information that he said you need ter know."

At that point, Sabine felt dizzy. She held her hand to her temple and sobbed, closing her eyes painfully. Her daughter and her daughter's friends, all of them gone. 

Before the sun had been shining but now the clouds had covered the sky and the rain pelted harsh against the town.

So many precious lives, they ceased to exist, as if they were washed out by the rain and could never find their way back.

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

Nino knew something was wrong the moment he stepped foot into the house. It was eerily quiet, in contrast to the usual noise Alya would make when she was inside. Alya had never been one to sit still, even whilst pregnant. Whenever he would come back, he would find her reading a book or going over some of her own work or cooking recipes according to her mother's instructions. If not, she would be sleeping. 

But when she slept, the quiet was usually peaceful. 

This quiet was different.

The only thing he felt was a sense of trepidation.

He made his way up the stairs, praying that his sense was wrong, that it was just an effect of the past few days creeping up on them. Learning that their best friend... all they could be was sad. Step by step, he came closer to their room where he was sure his wife would be, and all he could hope was that the quiet was only because she was soundly asleep. 

He opened the door and at first, he thought he was right. There his beautiful wife was on their bed, one hand resting on her ever growing stomach, the other limp against the other side. At first he didn't seem unusual. 

But there was still something wrong about this picture.

He had always loved observing his wife as she slept. In his eyes, she was ethereal, and when sleeping, somehow even more. He loved to watch the minute changes in her expression as she dreamt. The way she would sometimes fidget to get into a better position, especially now she was carrying another. He loved watching the way her breaths were so calm in her sleep, and he knew when exactly she would fall into a deeper state of sleep for her chest would rise and fall rhythmically in a steady way. 

She wasn't breathing.

He knew as soon as he walked in that something was wrong. It took him a moment to realise that it looked like she wasn't breathing. He rushed to her side wanting to check if his hunch was true.

"Please Alya," he whispered, trying to look for her pulse but to no avail...

She was gone. 

He held onto her hand which had been laying on her stomach and he cried. His wife, his love, she was gone from this world. 

He blamed himself. He should have stayed. Or he should have asked her to come with him. He shouldn't have left her even for a few minutes because all she could think about was about how their best friend was gone. Alya had cried and cried and he had too and so he shouldn't have left his wife alone. He should have just stayed and comforted her as they both mourned the loss of Marinette. 

Now he had to mourn the loss of them both.

"Oh gods! Oh why?" He sobbed, not understanding why they had to be punished by the Gods. Why they had to be the ones to be enveloped in tragedy when all they had wished for was happiness.

They had been so happy a few days ago. He remembered how they had woken up and how he pressed fluttering kisses to her belly to wake her up, and they had been so oblivious to the fact that their best friend was being murdered. Now that day felt like it had been years ago. It felt as if all they had been was miserable.

But now there was no hope.

Alya was gone too.

Alya had left him too.

For so long he had lived a life where he had everything he wanted. A beautiful girlfriend turned wife. A fun job. Great friends. A new addition to their small family. He had thought that this was the way it would always be. He had been living as if he was in a wonderful dream.

But the vicious reality was that it had always been edging on to become a nightmare.

He didn't know how long he sat there crying over the dead body of his wife. He didn't even care that his body felt numb from staying in one place for too long.

When he sat a bit up, he noticed that her hand which had been on his side of the bed was holding something, and because her body had become limp, it was more visible. It was a small blue glass bottle which was not completely transparent but enough so that he could see that there was still some content inside.

He moved around so he was sat on his side of the bed, and he slowly pried the bottle from her hand, inspecting it. He had never seen the bottle before and he wondered where she had gotten it from. She had barely left the house in the last few days and when she had, he had been with her all of those times. So where did she get it?

It was smaller than his palm but but big enough to be able to take a few sips. By the look of it, Alya must have only taken one or two. He unscrewed the cap even though he had an inkling that whatever was inside was deadly. He took a whiff of the contents and his face immediately screwed in discomfort. Just from smelling, whatever was inside left a stinging sensation. 

He looked from the bottle to his wife and used his other hand to take hold of her cheek, "I'm sorry my love."

He wondered if she had been in pain as she died. How long had it taken? How long had she been lying there, her life barely clinging on? How long had it taken for her to breathe her last? He had so many questions he would never get the answer to. Had she cried? Had she felt regret? Had she thought about him in her last moments? 

He hated himself for leaving her alone. He blamed himself for wanting a few moments alone to wrap his head around everything that had caused them sorrow. He blamed himself for not coming back sooner

He looked back at the bottle and let out an agonising sigh as more tears fell down his face.

What was the point of his life if there was nothing left to make him feel happy? Luka had been his friend and someone who shared musical interests with him. Working and playing with him had made him feel happy. Marinette had been like his sister. Seeing her smile had always made him smile. He had hoped he would be able to protect her like a brother should. Seeing her safe made his heart feel content. Alya was his life. She was the person he revolved around. The moment they had made their vows, he had made a silent one. That they would be happy together for the rest of their lives.

He didn't think he would be able to look at another instrument without thinking of everything that had happened, that had made this life which had felt so delightful, become the worst possible torment a soul could deal with. He had failed to protect Marinette like he had hoped he would. Moreover, he had failed to keep Alya happy for the rest of her life.

In the end, she was suffering heartbreak which could only be alleviated by the quietness of death. 

The only thing he wanted now was to follow her, whether it was to an endless darkness or to an afterlife, he didn't care. He just wished to end everything.

Alya had been his life. Without her in it, he was dead anyways.

He didn't even hesitate when he lifted the bottle and gulped down the rest of the contents, not even caring of how the liquid burned his whole mouth and stung his throat as it entered his body. He quickly lay besides her and let his hand clutch the one on her stomach tightly. He didn't care if his body was in wrenching agony, if it felt like millions of poisonous needles hit him all at once, spreading violently inside him rapidly.

All he could do was press himself against her body and duck his head into her shoulder as he thought, 'Did you have to go through this too?'

He imagined how she was laying there alone, how she would have been suffering just as, if not more than he had been. It hurt to think about but it was all his thoughts wondered to.

Why did he leave her? Why didn't he stay for just a bit longer? Why didn't he comfort her more and show her that she didn't have to endure everything on her own? 

'I'm sorry Alya.'

He didn't scream or shout as the poison surged through his veins. Occasionally, he just whimpered and nudged himself closer to her. He had always wondered how he would die, had hoped that when he would, she would be right by his side. In a way, she had been. But he had never expected it to be this way. He had never expected just how painful his heart would feel. It hurt more than whatever the poison was doing to him.

So he didn't scream. 

'Wherever you are, I'll follow you, my love.'

His eyes became bleary. His thoughts became more muddled. 

In his last moments Nino held onto his wife, Alya, and made a final wish that in his next life, he would be with her again.

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

Honestly, to me this was sadder than when Marinette died. I feel especially sad for Nino in this. And editing this one last time, I really just skimmed through because my eyes were already tearing up and I couldn't deal with it. Hopefully there were no mistakes. If there were please tell me.

As promised, a summary of this chapter. Here are the points you need to know to move on:

1. Adrien and Marinette were going to retrieve Alya and Nino from the mortal realm but end up finding them already back.

2. Nino tells them that they lost the baby.

3. A flashback to how it happened. Luka tells them that he killed Marinette and Adrien and then Nino asks him to leave. Before he does, Luka gives them a letter to give to Tom and Sabine.

4. Another flashback now to Tom and Sabine reading the letter but someone rushes in to tell them more bad news, Alya and Nino have both died. And I didn't really mention it, but Alya had left a note which caused them to determine how she died, and that Nino must have been distraught over his wife's death and followed her. Also in the letter, there are mentions of Luka and how Alya couldn't take the fact that someone she had seen as important to her killed another important person to her.

5. Flashback to Nino finding Alya dead- I'll spare the details of how- but, Nino also ends up dead. (This is the punishment they had to endure in the mortal realm which allowed them to come back.)

6. Not actually in the chapter but after this, they end up outside the portal back in Soleria where they start crying with each other about the loss of their friend and their baby, which is when Marinette and Adrien come.

And that's it for this chapter. I think... this has honestly been the hardest one for me to write. I thought Part 2 Chapter 10 would be the saddest so far, but this one really hits close to my heart.

I know what it is like to feel worthless. To feel like you don't matter. To feel like no one cares for you. To feel like there is nothing in this life worth living. I went through a time where all I could think was "What is the point of my life?" and even now sometimes I wonder the same thing. But thankfully, I remember the people who have been here for me, my family, my friends, and you guys.

I am so thankful for each and everyone of you who read my stories. It reminded me that I am appreciated. It made me happier.

So if there is ever a time when you need someone to talk to when you are having a hard time, I will be willing to listen. Even if I can't offer solutions, I want to be someone that you know will appreciate you, just as you have appreciated me.

Even if we are all strangers, I just want you all to know that there is someone who wants to give you all some of the love from the bottom of her heart, who is thankful for all of you, and who hopes that even for a few seconds, she will give you a reason to smile, just as you all have given her so many reasons to.

I love you all very much.

One additional thing I have to say is next week, I may not be able to update. I'm not sure yet. I'll try my best to but I have something to do that day. So be aware that there may be a delay in updating (and I'm really sorry about today's delay).

See you soon lovelies <3