Which One

22 Marinette

White specks filled Marinette's vision. It was suddenly replaced with darkness. She blinked a few times to adjust her eyesight. She was in a dark room with dim lights that surrounded her. She tried to move but was forced to stay in place. There were chains around her arms and waist. Across the room, there was a boy whose hands were above his head, locked in handcuffs that were attached to the wall. It was Adrien.

He was bloody and bruised. The red liquid was puddled beneath his body. Adrien's shirt was off to show slashes of red engraved on his chest. There were probably more slashes on his back. His head was looking at the ground.

Marinette glanced at her arm. A bandage was wrapped around it. It was new. Weird. This whole situation seemed weird. And Adrien was hurt.

"Adrien! Adrien? Come on. Talk to me! Adrien! Adri-"

She stopped. Adrien tilted his head to meet Marinette's gaze.

"Marinette," Adrien croaked.

Adrien's hair was a mess. Every strand was out of place and it was obvious that he had been sweating. Tears sprung in his eyes.

"W-what happened?" Marinette stammered.

Adrien looked down again. A tear slipped down his cheek. Then he started to explain.
...

Adrien woke up with great pain around his wrists. Handcuffs were tightened around them, cutting off the blood circulation. He glanced at the far side of the dark room. Marinette was wrapped up in chains. Adrien stared at her, making sure he could see her chest rise and fall. He sighed with relief when he was sure she was still breathing. He knew they had a fight earlier, but he still cared for her.

A light slivered through the room. A shadow crept towards him. Adrien wished he could transform into Chat Noir and use cataclysm, but he wasn't sure where Plagg was. The shadow finally reached Adrien. It was too dark to see much, but he could still make out a man that was in front of him. He spoke in a deep voice.

"Adrian." His voice was both warming and threatening. A chill ran through Adrien's spine. He knew this man's voice. "I've been waiting for you to wake up. We need to talk."

Adrien almost jumped out of his cuffs and punched his father. He stopped from the pain it was causing.

"How could you lie to me? How could you!?" Adrien cried out.

"You lied to me too, Adrien. Don't you forget that," Gabriel warned as he stepped out from the dark.

"Father. How could you? I-"

"Silence, Adrien. I will not listen to you cry."

His father gave him a death glare. Adrien looked down. He bit his lip to keep from sobbing.

"You don't understand. If I can get yours and Ladybug's miraculous, then I could wish for your mother back," Gabriel explained.

Adrien stared into his father's ice-cold eyes. "Mom?"

"Yes. I can bring her back."

Adrien wanted to believe it, but he couldn't. His mom was gone. Lost.

"If you wished for Mom back, then someone else would lose their mom! I can't let you do that," Adrien screamed.

Gabriel's face darkened. Something new and evil took over. This was not Adrien's father anymore.

"Don't you want to be happy? Don't you want her back?" Gabriel questioned.

"I want more than anything to be happy again with Mom...but not like this," Adrien choked out.

"It is not your decision. I will have your miraculous. Whether you like it or not!"

Gabriel pushed a button that electrocuted Adrien. Adrien's brain fizzled as did his body. The pain was immediate. A fire-like feeling shocked his organs and made his nerves go numb. Adrien screamed. Blood oozed out of his mouth. The cuffs dropped Adrien's hands. He was too weak to sit up, so he laid on the ground. His father took out an electric whip.

"This is what you deserve," the man who was supposedly Adrien's father boomed.

"No!" Adrien barely managed to yell.

The impact sent a surge of pain throughout Adrien's body. He didn't have the energy to scream. He just let the pain numb him and sear through his muscles. Gabriel raised the whip in the air.

"This is for keeping your secret from me!"

Wham!

Blood drizzled off of Adrien's back.

"This is for sneaking out!"

Wham!

More blood.

"This is for not saving your mother!"

Wham!

The last swing was the hardest. The pain never disappeared. Gabriel lifted Adrien's head. They locked eyes. It was hard to focus on the monster in front of Adrien.

"It's for your mother. I'm doing this for us," Gabriel whispered.

Tears stroked the sides of Adrien's face. His back was bloody and sweaty. His head fell back on the floor. He was so tired and his body ached of pain and soreness.

Gabriel stood and took Adrien's ring. He put Adrien back into his cuffs. Adrien had no clue as to whom that man was. That was not his father. Something happened to Gabriel.

Blackness fogged Adrien's view.
...

Adrien had no miraculous. No father. No hope. It was up to Marinette to fix this.

It was up to Ladybug.

I hate doing this to Adrien! Ah. I'm sorry. (◞‸◟ㆀ)
Bug Out.

-CringeWorthyaf
880 words