Art credit: ferisae@tumblr

"Just die." The words repeated in Marinette's mind over and over again. She walked to the back of the school and hid under a staircase. She let the hood of her jacket fall off her head. She slipped a hand into her pocket pulling out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes.

"So this is how desperate I've become." She scoffed to herself. She lit it up and stuck it in her mouth taking a deep breath then releasing it only to start coughing. She took another breath of it and got use to it.

"Marinette you shouldn't do this. What if Hawkmoth gets you? Plus this is bad for you." Tikki panicked.

"Hasn't got me yet." She said in between breaths. They heard footsteps coming towards them. Marinette put out the cigarette, threw it to the side, hid the lighter and pack in her pocket, and popped a breath mint into her mouth.

"Marinette? Are you back here?" She recognized the voice. 'Oh crap please go away,' Marinette thought.

"Marinette." Crap.

"Marinette, what are you doing back here?" She looked up to see the blonde model looking down at her.

"Uh nothing. You should probably go back in the school." Marinette said trying to get him to go away.

"That doesn't answer my question. Plus school is almost over." Adrien chuckled, but then he saw the look on her face as she looked down at her hands. He kneeled down in front of her tilting his head trying to get her to look at him.

"Is everything alright?" He asked gently. She only nodded. All of her friend have noticed the change in the once happy girl. She doesn't talk as much as she use to or eat. She wears black jeans, black combat boots, a rose pink shirt, and a black jacket. Her hair was down and her bangs covered the right side of her face, around her eyes darkened from lack of sleep.

He noticed her looking around behind him searching for something. He looked behind himself to see nothing.

"What are you looking for?" He asked.

"Uh no one. I-I should really go." She said trying to excuse herself standing up. She started to quickly walk away but Adrien grabbed her wrist.

"Marinette, what's wrong?" Adrien said gently but sternly.

"Adrien, I'm sorry but I can't talk to you." She explained. Her heart shattered and she wanted to burst into tears right then and there but didn't want to look like a baby. Adrien could see there was more to what she was saying.

"Marinette, please tell me what's wrong." Adrien pleaded.

"I-I-I'm sorry. I can't." Marinette said, her voice shook and she slipped out of her crush's grasp. She ran around the corner to the bakery and to her apartment. When she opened the door she froze. She looked at her parents who had suitcases at their side and passports in their hands.

"What's going on?" Marinette asked confused. Her parents exchanged a nervous glance to each other.

"Sweetie, your grandpa Cheng is...sick. So your father and I need to go to China and help your grandparents for a few weeks." Sabine told her daughter.

"Wait, so I'm going to be here...by myself." Marinette said. Her parents nodded giving her a sympathetic look.

"What about the bakery?" She asked.

"The bakery will be closed on weekdays and we are asking you if you could run it on Saturdays and Sundays from 9-11 in the mornings and 2-3 in the afternoons. You get all the tips of course plus your usual pay." Her papa spoke up. Marinette stared at her parents not wanting them to go but knew they had to.

"Okay." Marinette mumbled looking at her feet.

"Oh, sweetie." Sabine cooed. She pulled her daughter into her arms and embraced her.

"We'll be back in a few weeks dear. We love you." Marinette watched as her parents walked out the door. She locked the door behind them as she was told to. She leaned against it squeezing her eyes shut and slid down the door. Tears slipped out of her eyes and she let out a strangled sob.

"Oh, Marinette." Tikki hugged the girl's cheek trying to comfort her.

Marinette cried out as much pain as she could and ended up passing out in her spot. She never felt so alone. 

~~~

"We need to send her help. Hawkmoth is close to taking her over and if we don't help, Paris will be destroyed."

The Ladybugs. Well, former ladybugs watched as Marinette cried herself to sleep. All of them looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

"Wait," Jeanne d'Arc, the Saint and warrior from France, said, "we look too old. We need someone who is 15 to help her and go to school with her. Plus, we are dead."

"She's right." Nada, a former palace servant from Ancient Egypt, stated. "Our powers can last us a little while on Earth but they will wear/where (idk) out eventually."

They thought for a minute. All the former Ladybugs were sitting in that area. Except one.

"There's one still living." Jie Jie, from ancient China, said. Her voice sounded like a flowing river, so peaceful.

"Hate to disappoint you Jie Jie, but she's stuck in her necklace amulet thingy. She's been stuck in there for 21 years." Hippolyta, the Amazonian queen, sighed.

"But it's not impossible to release her. We just need to find the amulet." Mudekudeku, from Namibia, stated.

"Okay. So it's decided. We'll look around France and Scotland for the amulet. And we will send Snow..."