Chapter 2: Resurrection

~A Year and 4 months Ago~

"--and then he just fell over!" 

A chorus of laughs filled the room as the previous fox shared a story.

Marinette had been told that he'd been quite the prankster before he received the fox miraculous. Maybe that was what had connected him so deeply with Trixx and had stabilised that connection throughout his years as a hero; the fox was well known to be a very tricky animal that no one could deceive.

She plastered a smile on her face. She was happy! Truly! But something felt off. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was one of the youngest holders there. Or maybe it was that pit of emptiness she felt in her heart. She knew something was missing but she just didn't know what. 

She couldn't describe the feeling but whatever it is was definitely sending a message to her brain because she just couldn't stop thinking these few words: What if I was still alive?

She couldn't help but wonder. If she hadn't fallen into the rings of death, would she be celebrating their victory with the rest of her friends and family? Would she be sitting under the moon next to the dark-haired man she cherished and beaming as they counted the stars and dreamt of the milky way? Would she be jumping around the streets of Paris with her beloved black cat and scoping the streets when the sun fell asleep in Gotham?

Or would everyone have been frightened the moment they saw her because they thought she was dead? Would they have run away the moment they caught sight of her dark locks and bluebell eyes? Would they have thought it better if she had died a hero and not survived the Grim Reaper's wrath? 

Would they have hated her?

She shuddered but then shook her head (mentally of course). How could she even think that! 

Of course they wouldn't hate her! Even when Chat was under the Reaper's spell, he didn't hate her; he hated himself. Poor Chat. Even in the pure midst of her fellow cheery wielders in this supposed 'paradise', she couldn't help but think that she could've helped him more instead of running away from him.

"Marinette?"

And Damian. Oh dear, grumpy Damian. She couldn't bear to think of life without him. Although she knew it was definitely extremely selfish of her to even garnish the thought in her mind, some part of her still wished that he would've died with her so they could be together right now. She thought back to a lesson she'd learnt in Dupont. She remembered the topic so vividly; Romeo and Juliet. They'd been discussing it right before valentines day to get in the mood of romance, however the veil had shattered the moment the end of the story came and they'd discovered that they had both committed suicide. It was that moment that had tore her brain into many different parts; the logical part stating matter of factly that what they did had been selfish and they would have to burn in the depths of Hell. The romantic part stating that their love must have been strong in order for them to even think about joint suicide I mean, they could've just eloped! The neutral part stating that what was done was done and there was no going back. Her classmates had even thrown a fuss about it and their different perspectives had clashed; Rose ever the romantic and Max ever the statistic. But what really broke the mood was when Kim had mentioned the fact that Romeo was way older than her. Not that age mattered, it just didn't sit well with her.

"Marinette?"

She shook her head. Enough rambling! The point was that it was only now that she understood how they would've felt at that moment; wanting to be with your beloved wherever they went and wanting them to be with you wherever you went even if it meant burning in Hell together. But thinking in a more..romantic..way would've changed her thoughts to adopt the idea of the flames in Hell in fact being flames of passion and everlasting love that would never simmer down; quite the poet she was.

"Marinette!"

She jumped. Her head snapping up to meet Chris' charming smile. 

"You okay there?"

She chuckled, "Yes, yes. Sorry! I was just thinking."

"I see."

She smiled at the woman. A normal person would've asked what she was thinking but Chris was no normal person.

"Well whatever you're thinking, hurry up because Tom would like to show you something."

She nodded and watched as the gold-eyed woman walked away.

Although she loved Chris, she just couldn't think of reasons she would really want to stay. Heaven was supposed to be peaceful and exciting, the moment at the end of time where you would rest with your loved ones, however this just felt like the end to her. Nothing more, nothing less. She didn't feel peaceful.

Heaven wasn't really abstract or heavily spiritual in which you would have to spend your time praying. It was indescribable. It wasn't where you could drink endless beer and party (she'd seen this in a movie, don't judge her train of thought) or where you would meet the Son of God and sit by His throne like she'd heard from church-goers. It really was indescribable. There was no word to really describe it. But she knew one thing for certain; it was like magic. If she were a scientist that had been blessed with the ticket to the white gates, she certainly would've thought it to be magic and know that there was no scientific way to explain something in the sky that no human eye could see.

Sometimes though, her mind led her further and deeper and she would actually doubt her being there. She'd asked Chris about it once. Wasn't it like cheating? To be granted passage into Paradise just because you were lucky enough to be blessed with powers and magical jewels. Chris had laughed and shook her head stating that she'd gotten it all wrong. She'd stated that there were in fact some wielders in Hell and it all depended on how you used those powers. Even then, Marinette had still felt wrong about the whole idea. Many people spent their lives worshipping 'the Big Guy' and had still managed to find themselves in the pits of doom. 

Just how was life judged?

-&-

Marinette stared at the lanky man in front of her. Although he was quite thin, he still had muscle on him and although he hadn't been blessed by the Goddess of Beauty, he was still attractive in personality. Although he was rather distant.

She still remembered the first time she'd met him. He hadn't talked despite Chris' attempts and had just nodded with a small smile.

The previous cat straightened up the moment he saw her and gestured for her to follow him. They reached a rocky terrain surrounded with trees (once again, Heaven was indescribable) and she gasped. The water trickled down and raced after each other. She'd only ever seen these online and never imagined she would be able to ever see the real thing. She never in her entire life (and after-life) thought she would be able to see a waterfall.

She stared at the masterpiece. Oh how she would've loved to have created a design featuring this lovely view. She could picture it already; a lovely ballgown, her first and best! The skirt would be an ever so luscious shade of blue that resembled the water and it would sparkle and shimmer when they wearer moved around, mimicking the tiny sparkles the water let as it raced down. The top piece would be simple to contrast the lacy, frilly bottom and of course, she wouldn't forget to paste her signature along the neck hidden from eyes that didn't want to see. The only problem she could think of was whether to add puffed sleeves or not? Sure they would add a more elegant and refined look, however in this modern day women preferred--

"Tim!"

She was cast out of her thought again by Chris' soft voice as she ran to meet the duo perched on the side of the waterfall. When she stopped, she had to take a few breaths before even managing to utter a word.

"Oh Tim!"

The man watched her concerned. "What? What's wrong? Did something happen. Are you okay?"

It was adorable when he was worried for her. It showed Marinette that they had indeed worked very well together in their crime-fighting days.

"Tim, the bell rang!"

He froze, his gaze moving from Chris' frantic face to Marinette's confused one.

"W-What's going on? What does that mean?" she asked, confusing laced in her worried voice.

He turned back to Chris. "This is very rare. It's happened a few times but I've never actually encountered it. Never--"

"What is going on?" she asked again, her voice more frantic, you could hear the impatience beginning to form.

Tim remained silent, his mouth gaping as he looked at the young woman.

Chris was the one to answer. "You're being called back into the world of the living Mari."

"You're being resurrected."