Side Effects
Day 7
@marinettemarch
Marinette was unsure what was wrong with her. One minute she was fine, just going about her everyday life, the next she was bent over the bathroom sink holding her stomach.
At first, she thought it was due to the akuma she had fought with an hour ago. It had gotten in a really good kick to the stomach, knocking the wind out of Ladybug. But the attack wasn't that serious and the pain disappeared as soon as she de-transformed. If there were any lasting effects she would have felt it after returning to normal, not an hour afterward.
No, this pain was…different.
It felt like her stomach was twisting itself inside out. Like something was squirming inside her and trying to burst its way out. Images of the horrific alien movie that Alya made her watch a few weeks back flashed through her mind. Marinette was really glad that the bathroom was empty and that her friends didn't follow her in.
Marinette was in the cafeteria not too long ago. She bought something simple from the lunch line and sat with Alya and some of the other girls. Normal day, just talking about what happened in class or what they did in the weekend. Marinette had only taken a single bite of her food before that pain in her stomach returned. She quickly excused herself and found the nearest restroom.
"Oh god, what's wrong with my stomach," cried Marinette as she fell onto her knees.
Tears gathered at the corner of her eyes. Every movement was agony! Her breath was becoming erratic and her vision was getting blurred. Panic started settling in as she felt helpless. Was this what it was like to die?
"Marinette?!" Her hazy vision barely made out a floating red blob. "Marinette what's wrong?!"
But Marinette couldn't answer, she felt it. Something was clawing up her throat. Stomach acid? Was she going to throw up? With a burst of strength, Marinette pulled herself up from the ground and promptly retched into the sink.
It was minutes – MINUTES – of retching something foul from her throat before Marinette could finally take a deep breath. She spat out something papery from her mouth. It tasted…odd. Like delicate crepe paper but with a bitter, sour taste. What had she eaten that was crunchy and sour?
Luckily her vision began to clear up and she could finally make out outlines of the bathroom and Tikki.
But what was with that horrified look on the kwami's face?
Reaching for the knob to wash away the bile, Marinette froze as she gazed down into the sink. What she spewed wasn't bile or stomach aid…it was purple. A dark, thick, purplish goo that gave off an eerie – familiar – glow. And then, as her vision finally focused, she saw them.
Butterfly wings
Tiny, broken butterfly wings.
Dozens of them, sticking out of the purplish bile that slowly seeped into the drain, leaving only a thin trail of slime and wings sticking to the porcelain. Lifting her fingers into her mouth, Marinette pulled out the crinkled, torn remains of a butterfly's wing.
It took everything she had to not start screaming.
Instead, she immediately started rinsing out her mouth. She didn't care if whatever she puked was going down the drains and into the pipes. At the moment, all Marinette cared was getting the akumatized butterflies from her mouth.
"Tikki," Marinette gasped, looking up at her still frozen kwami. "What…is this?"
"…it's corruption," revealed Tikki.
"Corruption?" Marinette parroted in confusion. "What's corruption?"
"Kwamis aren't meant to be used for evil," explained Tikki. "We aren't meant to fight each other. We are to bring peace and order to the world. But with Nooroo being used by Hawk Moth, his power is being tainted with each use."
"Okay…" Marinette said. "But what does this have to do with me puking akuma butterflies?"
"Well, when you use Miraculous Cure, it's meant to cleanse all the damage that has been done since the akuma's arrival…including the akuma."
"I know. I have to capture and cleanse the akuma before I used Miraculous Cure."
"Exactly, but…the akuma isn't technically cleansed," answered Tikki.
"What?!" exclaimed Marinette. "But the white butterflies…"
"Are released from the akuma's influence but Nooroo's power doesn't disappear. Nooroo's power is supposed to be returned to him but since it cannot, as it was used for evil, it has to be stored."
"Stored?" Marinette's eyes widen. "Stored where?"
"…in you," Tikki squeaked.
"Me…" Marinette echoed. "So…what I just threw up…"
"Was the remnants of akuma corruption," finished the red kwami. "It's kept dormant in the host until it can be reunited with its original kwami. It's happened before but…it never taken this long for a host to contain tainted magic without returning it to kwami."
"So what, it's becoming black goo inside my stomach?" Marinette gasped.
"It's solidifying," corrected Tikki. "And it's dangerous. We need to see Master Fu after school."
"Forget after school," hissed Marinette, washing away the remains of the akuma goo. "We're seeing Master Fu right now!"
A brief look into a future fic I want to write. It seems perfect for day 7 of Marinette March.
