At The End Of It All

Stalemate

Four or five hours, give or take, he responded boredly. Hard to keep track of time when I'm stuck in a place like this with a person like you.

A smirk crossed my lips, and I knew he noticed when I felt him perk up in curiosity.

"The day isn't up yet," I said, and I felt his confusion grow. "So...I'm asking for your help."

What?

"You'd think you'd want to win," I said, repeating his words from before. He chuckled deviously.

You never fail to impress me in new ways, Adrien. He manifested into his physical form and bent over to look me right in the face. His glowing eyes lit the room up with a dull light. "How exactly do you want me to help you?"

"I need to get out of here. Whatever it takes."

He grinned. "Well, since you've proven to me that you're smarter than you look, I'll show you a little mercy. I won't take over your body, and I will help you, but...I will take whatever measure necessary. Agreed?"

"Sounds good."

He straightened. "Well then, let's get this over with, shall we, Plagg?"

My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Pla-" I cut off into a scream as Chaos violently crashed into my stomach, making pain erupt inside me. He seemed to dissolve into my skin, and the agony didn't stop for a second. It felt like I was sitting on a fire that slowly and deliberately spread through my entire body. I screamed in excruciating pain, my entire body growing taut and rigid. I couldn't move.

And then, like a light going out, it all stopped, and I slumped, sliding out of the chair and landing in a heap on the floor, free of my restraints. I could barely register my movements, but I was vaguely aware that I stood up and began walking towards a dark spot right beside the door. But there was something weird about the way I walked.

I was on all fours.

I pressed silently against the wall as the door opened and a man in a white lab coat walked inside, but he was ten times larger than he was supposed to be. In fact, everything was bigger now. It gave me whiplash, and made my brain even slower.

The man's eyes widened at the sight of the empty room. While he gaped, I slunk silently out of the room and darted across the floor, keeping to the shadows. I wasn't even aware of where I was, and my mind was still numb from pain.

Chaos...what is this? I murmured, my thoughts barely coherent.

This is me helping. Along with Plagg, of course, however much I would love to leave him here.

Hey!

Oh, shut up. You know he wouldn't leave you even if I tried to force him to.

What's...going on...?

Shh, Yellowhead. Just sleep.

Despite myself, I felt my mind float into unconsciousness, but my body didn't stop moving for a moment.

Chaos was in control.

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Marinette's P.O.V

We trudged into the bakery, exhausted from the trip. Alya was groaning about eating too much pound cake, Nino tried to comfort her, and Chloe was laughing like a normal person for once. It was endearing, seeing them all like this. Chloe seemed better than she was during the trip to the Seine. She wasn't so bad, after all.

I just hoped she'd stay that way.

"Mama! Papa! I'm home!"

"Oh, hello, Alya, Nino!" Mama said sweetly, and her eyes widened at the sight of Nath. "Nathaniel! You're on your feet!" She rushed over to pull him into a hug. "I see that my daughter seems to be doing a good job taking care of you."

He laughed. "Trust me, she's better than some of the doctors down at the hospital. Maybe that's why I got better so fast." He grinned at me, and I looked away, heat gathering in my cheeks.

"Oh, Chloe Bourgeois!" Mama exclaimed. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, I was just hanging out with Mari and the others, Ma'am," she said shyly, and Mama laughed.

"Oh, just call me Sabine, darling. It's nice to see you!"

"Th-thank you," she smiled.

"Oh, hello, kids," Papa said, appearing out of nowhere. He was holding a platter full of cake slices. "I made a bunch of treats, and I don't think the three of us can eat all of them. Would you like to join us for dinner?"

"Ah, I can't. I have to head home early and take me medicine," Nath said, making a pained expression. "They aren't the best, but I have to take them if I want to heal up fast."

"And I'm stuffed!" Alya moaned, holding her stomach. "I'm totally having a pound cake baby right now, and it's Nino's!" Nino turned bright red at her words, and she cackled. "What are you blushing for? You're the one who introduced pound cake to me, so it's your fault!"

"I think I'll just take her home now," Nino said exasperatedly, leading Alya out of the bakery, but not before she nabbed a piece of cake from off of the platter.

"I'm prepared to die," she hissed before allowing herself to be dragged off by Nino.

"I have to eat dinner at my house," Chloe said, and she smiled at Mama before turning to leave.

I turned to Nath, who smiled at me. "Well, I have to go. See you at school?"

"Yeah."

He bent over to me and whispered in my ear. "Good luck." When he pulled away, I noticed a hint of sadness in his eyes, but it disappeared quickly.

But I saw it.

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I couldn't eat much of dinner, since we had eaten at a small eatery by the Seine. I went up the stairs to my room two at a time, the only thing I needed in that moment being sleep. Tikki hovered beside me.

"Do you have a plan, Marinette?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet. But I'll think of something. We need to save Chat, and then we can focus on Adrien." Love or not, Adrien could wait. I needed Chaton. My partner was the only important thing for now. Once he was safe, I would be in a positive enough state of mind to try and help Adrien, no matter how much he pushed me away.

As I opened the door to my room, all possible plans or decisions for the future went flying out of the window.

Because there, sprawled out on my floor, unconscious and clad in a grey jumpsuit, was Adrien.

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Word Count: 1617.

We're having holidays, and I had nothing to do, so I wrote.

You're welcome.