Miraculous Games

Chapter Forty-Four

Adrien's mood was slowly falling - Chloe's text didn't help - and his most recent text didn't lift his spirits any higher.

NINO: Bro, where'd you go? Your moms almost in tears.

Sighing, he shoved his phone into his pocket and turned his attention to the light. He couldn't think about all of that right now. After all, he was just about to solve everything. The light turned and before anyone could step off of the sidewalk, Adrien pushed past them and continued running.

Only one question bounced around in his mind: Would he get there in time?

* * *

Out of breath, Adrien bent over onto his knees and sucked in as much air as he could. He had just run almost all the way across the city without stopping - except for when the pedestrian signs told him not to. He wasn't that crazy. After all of that running, he had finally stopped in front of the secret bunker he had discovered a while back, thanks to his father's loose security when it came to the Miraculous Games.

The bunker wasn't much, just a small building that could have gotten away as an old, rundown store that went out of business a thousand years ago, at least, that's what Adrien thought. The sun had officially set, making the tension inside of Adrien swell just over the comfortable level. He was on edge, tense if you will. Part of him wanted to run inside while the other half of him wanted to wait outside and be a little bit more cautious. He compromised and opened the front door to the store open.

The door creaked as it swung, echoing around the empty room. Adrien knew this abandoned building like the back of his hand, and there was already one thing very off.

The store's door had been open.

Adrien stepped inside, glancing around for anything else that was out of place. He stopped, his heartbeat picking up speed. The hidden door that led into the Arena was wide open.

He had discovered this entrance after hacking into the Game Master's, his Father's, system. It hadn't been too difficult, which was a huge blessing. He had also discovered that this had been one of the very few points that the workers who helped maintained the arena came to clean. It was out of the way, so nobody knew about it except for the specially privileged.

What Adrien found kind of interesting when he first found the entrance was that the Arena couldn't be seen from above. It had been built underground and was used for every single Miraculous Games that had ever been put on. To think how many kids had died there...

Adrien pushed all of these thoughts aside as he examined the pathway to the hidden Arena door. The dust had been blown away, thanks to all of his traveling back and forth, but his Chat Noir boots weren't the only footprints there. It looked like something big had dragged along the floor.

Approaching the door, Adrien's sharp eye caught something. It stuck out of one of the cracks in the wood. He knelt down on one knee and pulled it out of the door. It was a mock-peacock feather.

His eyes widened and he flicked his attention to the door. How had she found this place? Had she been awake when he had carried her out? She couldn't have been, she had been stabbed in the back and was out cold when they had passed through here.

Adrien got to his feet and made his way through the door. Inside, a simple ladder led down into a long white hallway. He took the rungs two at a time, trying to quicken his descent. He jumped off the ladder at the bottom, his shoes making a thumping noise that resonated through the hallway. After taking one last glance up at the door, he turned and took off down the hallway.

The white hallways that he was running through connected the entire arena. It was like a maze, leading to anywhere in the giant area. He had snuck through them multiple times, knowing where each camera, sensor, and guard was stationed. Now, though, he didn't care if he was seen. Marinette was more important.