Miraculous Games

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"No!" Fox leaned in, teeth firmly clenched as he spoke. His voice was low, but his words sent chills through Chat's blood. "You may be the president's son, but that doesn't mean you can have everything you want. Ladybug is mine, always has been."

Adrien's eyebrows furrowed with rage. His green eyes flashed and he pressed back against Nathan's crazy super strength.

"Marinette isn't property," he stated, "and because you think that way, you never deserved her in the first place."

Fox screamed, then kneed Chat in the gut. Adrien's breath disappeared and he dropped to his knees, coughing and gasping for air. Nathan took the opportunity to take a fistful of his opponent's hair and throw his head sideways. Adrien let out a cry of pain, hitting the floor with a thud. One of his high-tech ears broke off, skittering across the floor and sparking. Fox planted a firm kick to his chest. Adrien fought for breath as he was forced to his back.

Nathanael rested his shoe on Chat's throat, pressing down on it as he leaned in.

"Did you really think you could fight me off, tomcat?"

Though he struggled to breathe, grasping his enemy's ankle tightly as he hopelessly fought for air, Adrien glared up at Fox. There had to be a way to get him to come around. The real Nathanael was still in there somewhere, fighting back. Hopefully. The real Nathan wouldn't hurt his friends like this.

"Nathanael..." Chat choked out desperately, "this isn't you..."

"That's where you're wrong." Fox leaned in and grabbed a handful of Adrien's precious locks. "I am Nathanael, the true Fox. I am the boy who has protected Ladybug throughout the entire Miraculous Games, and I'm not going to let you take her away from me. Not now, not ever."

"Nathan, p-please...!" Adrien begged, losing the fight against Fox's boot. Tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes. "This i-isn't you...! S-snap out of it... L-Ladybug is dying and we need to w-work together to get her out; to take down the Game Master!" The tears fell, tracing down his cheeks and dripping off of his jawline. Green eyes pleaded with the purple. "Do it for Marinette, for Ladybug!"

Just as he finished saying that, Fox's purple eyes flickered. It was almost like an old TV screen, flipping back and forth between channels. Turquoise blue flashed for a split second before the purple returned.

"Stop it," Fox growled.

Adrien didn't. " She won't survive without you! Save her!"

"STOP!" Fox raised his fist to punch Chat across the face, but his arm halted mid-swing. His eyes kept switching between the dark purple and their normal color. For a moment, Adrien saw the un-akumatized Nathanael staring down at his friend in fear, but the second passed so quickly, it almost seemed like a dream.

"You little-"

"I can't help her anymore! She's going to die!" Chat shouted. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears flowing freely down his face.

He couldn't bear this pain anymore, not the pain of being choked to death, but the responsibility to keep Marinette alive. She was less than ten feet away, but there wasn't anything else he could do. He and Marinette were both going to die. But not by just anything, by one of their most trusted friends.

Choking back a sob, he let out the most heartbreaking plea of his entire life:

"Save her, Nathanael!"

Snap!

Fox sucked in a violent gasp. The pressure disappeared from Adrien's neck and the protector charm's airway opened. He took a deep breath, his lungs filling with much-needed air. He barely had enough time to feel like himself again before Nathanael screamed in pain. Chat quickly turned his attention to his akumatized friend.