Miraculous Games

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Chapter Twenty-Nine:

Chat stumbled through his bathroom window, sweating and covered in blood. Marinette's limp body was pressed tightly against his chest. He hadn't let his grip loosen the whole time he ran, but now that he felt safe at home, he let his fingers slacken. He tossed his baton into the bone-dry sink, which sent it spinning in circles before stopping at the bottom of the bowl. Bowing his head in exhaustion, Adrien reached up to his face and took off his black mask. It was shredded on one side while the other half was stained with blood. Clutching it in his hand, he stumbled to the bathroom door and opened it.

Someone let out a surprised cry. Adrien's head shot up and he took a step back, his grasp tightening on Marinette. He was ready to fight again.

"Dude, what are you doing?!" Nino exclaimed, coming out of his hiding spot from behind the couch. It appeared as though he had jumped there when Adrien had opened the door. His eyes fell to Marinette's broken body. His face paled. "Oh no..."

"Nino, I need your help," Adrien said, his eyes pleading with his friend. "We need to get Marinette to a doctor." He turned away and walked directly over to his bed. With as much caution as possible, he set Ladybug down on her side and pressed his left hand against the wound on her back.

"But... but how did you get out of the arena without being seen?" Nino asked as he came over to the foot of the bed.

"We didn't. The Game Master discovered us as we were escaping, turned one of our friends against us, and disappeared before I could get to him." Adrien turned to look up at his friend. "Fetch some gauze, hydrogen peroxide, a knife, and as many towels as you can."

Nino nodded and immediately left to get the supplies. Once he was gone, Adrien looked back at Marinette. Her face was ghostly pale and it almost seemed as though her skin was transparent. After taking off his blood-stained gloves and tossing them onto his side table, Adrien knelt down beside his bed. He lovingly brushed his fingers across her cheek. He could feel her slight breath tickle his thumb, but other than that, he didn't receive any response from her.

"It'll be okay, My Lady," he whispered. "You're going to get better, don't you worry."

Marinette didn't make the slightest of movements, except for taking in a deep breath. Adrien's eyebrows raised in surprise and he leaned in.

"Mari, can you hear me? Can you move?"

She didn't respond. Just then, Nino walked in, his arms full of towels and a bag full of the other things Adrien had requested swung on his wrist.

"Is this enough?" he asked.

Adrien nodded and got to his feet. "Yes, this should be plenty." He turned back to look at Marinette. "I may not be a certified doctor, but this will be the best I can do for her, for now, at least." He bent down and carefully pulled her arms out of her sleeves. He then, with as much caution as possible, peeled her jacket off of her back. He tossed it aside and held out his hand.

"Knife," he ordered.

Nino dropped the towels on the other side of the bed and stuffed his hand into the bag that dangled on his arm. He pulled out the pocket knife and handed it to his friend. Adrien took it gratefully, then came around the side of the bed and grabbed the bottom of Marinette's shirt.

He closed his eyes and muttered, "I'm so sorry, My Lady."

Then, he gripped the knife tighter and cut the shirt from bottom to collar. It stuck to her body at first, but after Adrien requested help from Nino, the two were able to remove the cloth from around the wound.