Miraculous Falls Vs The Forces of Evil

Stockholm Syndrome

(In which Adrien finally gets some peace, Plagg is annoying and they both are confronted by a strange figure in the shadows)

~~Adrien~~
"Well that was a fairly eventful day." Plagg announced from the corner of my desk.

"It was, wasn't it? Almost feels like it was enough to take up a whole week. At least I can rest now." I chuckled and rolled over on my bed to stare directly at the ceiling.

"True, but you're still grounded by your dad."

"I may be Plagg, but I have to obey him. You know how protective he can get when I go missing. I'd hate to stress father out. I hate seeing him this upset," Sighing heavily, I sat up a bit and began twirling the ring on my finger, "Sometimes I question if I'm even the right choice for Chat Noir."

Plagg paused mid-bite of cheese and zipped overhead to stare at me with his intense green eyes. He threw his tiny arms up in exasperation, "Adrien! You were chosen to be Chat Noir for many reasons! You're kind, passionate, determined, always help others, need I go on? Oh and you give me lovely, gooey camembert, so you're not that bad."

I swatted at him playfully with a slight chortle, "Gah, you flatter me! At least get that damn cheese out my face! I'm exhausted so I'm going to try and get some shut-eye. See you in a bit Plagg."

The kwami flew back over to my desk and sat there eating cheese again. Fatigue dominated my entire body. I was absolutely knackered. My eyes steadily closed and I allowed myself a couple of hours to nap in uninterrupted peace and rest my aching joints.

A buzz from my alarm caused my eyes to flutter open. I blinked a few times. It was still very dark, the only light coming from the city outside and my phone. I blindly checked the time. 3:44am. I'd been asleep for 4 hours and was due to be up in 3 hours and 1 minute. Father would kill me for being awake at this time.

A foreboding feeling of being watched crept over my whole body.

"Plagg? Is that you?" I called out in a whispered voice, "Stop messing around!"

"Why don't you just run away? I don't get why you'd stay here."

I froze. The voice that answered wasn't Plagg. It sounded somewhat familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on who it belonged to. Despite sounding familiar, it still had a smooth, unsettling quality to it. It appeared to originate from the corner of my room that was entirely bathed in shadows.

"W-who are you?" I asked.

"Adrien, Adrien, Adrien, why you haven't left this prison you're clearly trapped in will forever elude me." The voice drifted around, changing direction as it moved with no visible source.

"Who are you?! Plagg if that's you, give it a rest please!"

"Psh, I'm not Plagg. I'm just a concerned bystander who happened to notice your plight and decided to investigate." The voice hissed into my right ear before it returned back to the far corner.

"Right...so what do you actually want mysterious disembodied voice?"

"Answer me this Master Agreste, are you not annoyed by your father constantly confining you to your room? Frustrated that you have to obey his every word?"

"Well yes, but I love him. He's the only family I have left." I replied solemnly.

The voice tutted, "That's a prime example of what we call Stockholm Syndrome! Adrien, you deserve so much better than spending your days here."

"I'm not a hostage!" My voice responded angrily, "I'm free to come and go as I please, to do what I want!"

"Are you really? You don't look that way to me. Sure, you're provided for and taken care of well enough, but you're still trapped here, aren't you? I can sense the urge to be anywhere else but here. Your father is trapping you, you're blind to it all."

Anger boiled up inside me. I clutched my ring, spotting Plagg under the duvet.

"What do I do then? It's not like I can do anything." I poised to strike as soon as it revealed itself. It had to be an akuma!

"Well," the voice laughed, "I'm sure something can be...arranged."

With that remark, a single yellow eye with a black slit pupil stared back at me from the darkness, a flickering blue flame extending out from it. A dark humanoid figure emerged slightly, barely visible.

"It has been lovely meeting you Mr. Agreste, but I'm afraid I must dash. I bid thee farewell and I have no doubt we'll see each other again soon, but until then, I'll be watching you...always watching you..."

The suited figure vanished into the shadows once more. I switched on the light only to see there was nothing there.

"Why are you awake? Thought you were exhausted." Plagg stirred a little.

"It's nothing."

I lay back down and stared at the ceiling blankly. I couldn't get back to sleep. Who or what was that thing? Did I imagine it? Was it going to harm father?
I had to find out. I checked my phone. 4:12am. 4 missed calls, 3 new messages.
All from Marinette.