Adrien's POV
Alya groaned from her place on the sofa.
"Can't sleep?" I asked, leaning against the countertop.
She punched the pillow and sighed. "I don't get how people sleep on the couches all the time on TV. It's impossible."
This woke up Nino, who'd been sleeping peacefully on a pile of cushions on the floor. "Yo, can you guys try to keep it down? It's hard enough as it is, sleeping on cushions."
"Well I told you that you could sleep on the couch and I'd sleep on the floor, but then you decided to man up and sleep on the floor. Not my fault!"
"Fair enough. I mean, there weren't a lot of options due to that liar lying in our bed."
We all cracked a smile at that.
Not even half an hour ago, Lila had kicked Nino and Alya out from the room, claiming that she'd sprained her ankle. When I asked her how she'd managed to make it up here with all her suitcases, she feigned hurt and collapsed on the floor, weeping. I had to drag a cussing Alya and a tired Nino out of the room moments later.
Nino and Alya slowly sat up and made their way over to me. "So, what's the game plan?"
That snapped me out of my reverie. "What game plan?"
"The...uh...the plan for getting Marinette back?" Nino folded his arms.
"Right, the...uh- plan. Well, to be honest, I haven't really-"
"Figured out a plan yet?"
Luka and Kagami had appeared at the bottom of the stairs- how had we not heard them coming down?
I stared at them. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm sorry, but I haven't figured anything out yet...but I was thinking we could get those miracul-" Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a strand of brown hair suddenly whipping out of sight from the staircase.
Damn it. Lila.
"-those...uh... miraculous noodles from the canteen! Yeah, the noodles there are amazing; have you tried them?"
"Noodles?! How can you be thinking of noodles at a time like this?! Marinette-"
"Oh, Alya, don't strain your sore throat! Guys, can you help me reach the glasses in the kitchen?" They all looked at me weirdly, but I gave them a look and they quickly obliged.
Once we were all in the kitchen, I shut the door and steered them as far away from it as possible.
I began speaking quietly and very fast. "Listen, I saw Lila on the staircase. She's trying to eavesdrop, so anything we say aloud could be caught by her. Oh my god, it all makes sense now- Marinette was right! Ah, this is so huge-"
"Adrien?"
I didn't hear Kagami over the rushing thoughts in my brain, spinning and bending into the truth about Lila.
"Adrien? Hello? Earth to Adrien Agreste?"
I still continued to pace back and forth, lost in my thought, lost in the fact that Lila was-
"ADRIEN AGRESTE!" It was then that I snapped out of it, rubbing my stinging cheek in agony.
"Sheesh Alya, you didn't have to-"
"Yes. Yes I did. Now will you please explain what the heck you're going on about?!" She whisper-yelled.
"Okay, fine, you should've just asked," I rolled my eyes, "Marinette had once given me a theory that Lila was working with Hawkmoth. At the time, I thought it was silly, but now it all adds up. When Lila was faking it as a superhero, Marinette told me later after the fight that her kwami hadn't recognised the miraculous from anywhere. Seems kind of suspicious, right? We've caught her lying before, who's to say she'll stop? Besides," I shrugged, "she once hated and still hates Ladybug- that's enough confirmation for me."
"True enough." Nino smiled. "Okay, I propose a plan. As soon as Lila's asleep, we can sneak out with our miraculouses- she left you with the Box, right Adrien?"
I nodded.
"Right," she continued, "we sneak out, and check out that palace you went to. See if we could find any clues as to where she might have gone."
"Yes... sounds good." Kagami replied, catching on. "We should bring our things too, just in case. I get the feeling that we won't be coming back here for a long time."
"Then it's agreed." I grinned. "We're getting Marinette back."
~
After coming out of the kitchen and 'reassuring' Lila that the medicine was just really, really, hard to reach, I soon realised that there was a flaw in our plan.
"Guys..." I frowned, "...I left the miracle box in our room. Y'know, the one which Lila took over and is now sleeping in? Do you not see this massive problem? How are we going to get your miraculouses?"
Plagg flew up from my pocket. He'd been so quiet I'd almost forgot he was there in the first place.
"Plagg, what are you doing?"
"Well..." He cleared his throat. "I thought this may be a good time to introduce myself, say a couple things-"
"There's cheese in the fridge, if that's what you- oh, okay, nevermind, not anymore."
I didn't get a response as he'd already phased through to his beloved food. I could hear some very nice compliments aimed at the aged cheese I'd left in there before Plagg began devouring it.
I laughed at his antics. "Well, uh, that's Plagg. My kwami. He's obsessed with cheese, especially camanbert, and he's louder than a foghorn. Plagg, say hi!"
"Mm, hey friends of Adrien, and woah this cheese is good..."
"Yep, that's Plagg for you. Anyway, back to the Miracle Box-"
"Okay," Nino spoke excitedly, "I was thinking we drill a huge hole in the ceiling, then I lower myself down using- Luka, what are you doing?"
Luka had been fiddling around with the dining table, running his hands along the inside until he pressed on something. Out popped the Miracle Box.
"Are you freaking kidding me-"
"I- oh c'mon-"
"How'd you do that?"
Luka smirked. "Just a little something to keep the Miracle Box secure. I always sit in that seat, so..."
"You smart little-"
"Well. No time to waste, let's go find Marinette! Again!"
We all quickly tiptoed out of the cabin, careful not to make a lot of noise (Nino had a lot of trouble with this- Alya had to carry him out). Quickly transforming, one by one, we leapt away in the direction of the Broken Kingdom.
I'm going to find you, Marinette, if it's the last thing I do.
~
A while later, we arrived at the palace. Unfortunately, the ball seemed to still be going on, something none of us had accounted for.
Stupid brain.
"Damn it." Kagami cursed. "How are we supposed to look for clues in this crowd?"
"Okay," I muttered, "she disappeared from the balcony. I'll go check there, can you guys scout around the palace? If you find something, just signal, and we'll regroup. Sound good?"
They nodded in confirmation and scattered. I took a deep breath, then went to check the roof.
As I landed on the rooftop, my eyes darted from corner to corner, searching for a sign of... anything, really. Despite my heightened cat-like senses, it was a full minute before I noticed the sliver of red fabric peeking out from behind a wall. I hastily grabbed it, and it trailed to...
Ladybug's dress, now tattered and dirty.
Goddamit, she took off the dress? I was hoping that she wouldn't be able to move very quickly in that monstrosity (a beautiful dress, though still s monstrosity), so she wouldn't have gotten that far. She could be halfway across the world by now, for all I knew!
My cat ears drooping, I slowly walked towards the railing, leaning against it and looking out at the beautiful scenery. For such a 'Broken Kingdom' this didn't seem so...broken. It seemed so full of life and joy, as if this little section of the world was alive itself.
I sighed and turned around, hoping to join the others in the search around the palace. As I was about to jump away, I noticed a perfect circle of class laying on a nearby section of the castle. The edges glowed a faint orange.
I narrowed my eyes. Was that cut away by some sort of heat- powered weapon?
I swung onto the turret. The glass had been cut precisely, as if by a very sharp weapon- I guessed a sword of some kind. This clearly was not the work of a guard or member of the kingdom. Who was it then?
My heart quickened. Marinette. I'd learned by now that most out of the ordinary things usually tied to her. What would be so important to her in that part of the castle?
I closed my eyes and tried to recall any information I'd heard about the place. I vaguely remembered my father studying a map when we were driving to the ball in the first place. I'd hardly got a glimpse, but now I was sure that it was a map of the palace. I tried to envision the map. My father had circled in red a section of the palace on the left of the ballroom...where I was standing right now.
The question had to be raised- why did my father do that? It couldn't be a coincidence that he'd circled the exact same spot where Ladybug had evidently gone. The only solution that made sense were if he was tracking her. Watching her every move. It would only make sense if my father was H-
I doubled over, coughing and wheezing. When I finally stood up straight, there were tears in my eyes. There was no way that was possible. My father might've been cold and distant, but there was no way he had so much rage to put on that miraculous and terrorize the citizens of Paris (and in that one special case, New York). But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made: why I never saw him, his reluctancy to come out of the house, his tendency to-
But hang on. Hawkmoth had a partner. Mayura. And the only woman close enough to him for him to trust was-
Natalie. Oh my god. Natalie was Mayura? The hair, the clothes the-
Oh. My. God.
My heart was beating rapidly, trying to break free of the restrictions of my chest and flop to the floor. At least, that's what it felt like to me. I'd just discovered the identity of our enemy, and I was heartbroken by who lay behind the mask. I thought back to the time Ladybug had told me about her idea of Fath- Gabriel being Hawkmoth. If only I'd trusted her over my doubts, none of this would have ever happened. Gabriel would've been caught, and we would've actually gotten to enjoy our holiday to Spain...
Never mind that right now, Marinette was in trouble. I dropped down into the hole and made my way down a dark tunnel. The tunnel emptied into a room. In the corner, there was a pile of limbs and bodies- the guards. Did Ladybug do this?
I quickly grabbed someone's arm and felt for a pulse. Thankfully, it was there, as it was for everyone else. They were just knocked unconscious. I left them, quickly taking away all their weapons and chucking far down the tunnel. That should buy me some time, as little as it may be. I sprinted past them into another room. This one was smaller than the one before. I might've imagined it, but I think I heard a faint groan coming to the corner of the room, but I pushed ahead.
And stumbled straight into two people just as the hall to the room behind me closed.
"Woah!" I mumbled, looking up at the two people, worry sinking in as I realized who they were. "Felix? And you must be Bridgette."
She flipped me upside down and held a knife to my throat. "How do you know who I am?"
"I..um...Alya told me! Apparently, Marinette told her, and when she went missing, she told us! I swear!"
"Who's Alya? And what do you mean, us?"
"Easy, Bridge, that's my cousin." Felix grinned.
She hesitantly released me. "So, you're the Adrien Agreste my sister has been gushing over in her sleep?"
"Yeah I am- wait, she gushes about me in her sleep?"
Felix smirked. "Don't let it go to your head." His smile faded. "It's not going to happen now, anyway."
Bridgette's upper lip quivered.
"Wait...what do you mean?!"
They looked down at the floor, shamefully.
"I...hang on, where's Marinette?"
Bridgette fell to the floor and started crying. Felix dropped down next to her and rubbed her back soothingly, tears forming in his eyes too.
"Felix," I asked, my voice dangerously quiet, "where's Marinette?"
"I...I... a s-spike broke her a-arm, okay?! It w-was poisoned, a-and she was..."
"She was WHAT?! ANSWER ME!"
"Sh-She was d-dying, so she t-told us... to g-go, to s-save o-ourselves."
"AND YOU LISTENED?!" I was so mad I pushed him against the wall, my eyes stinging.
"Adrien!" Bridgette yelled, scrambling up from your spot on the floor. "Stop! This isn't you! My sister would always talk about how amazing and kind you were, don't do this!"
I dropped Felix to the floor, shame overwhelming me. "I'm so, so, so, sorry Felix, I don't know what came over me."
He smiled sadly. "Come here," he said, holding his arms out.
I fell into his hug, releasing my transformation and sobbing into Felix's armour, not even paying to the attention that he had armour.
"W-Where is she? Can I s-see her?" I stuttered out.
"I'm sorry, Adrien." Bridgette cried. "She was in that room."
With a sudden blast of adrenaline, I rushed at the door and pounded on it furiously. "C'mon, let me in! Marinette, can you hear me? MARINETTE?!"
"...Adrien?" I heard a faint reply.
"Marinette!" I called, ignoring the hopeful looks of Bridgette and Felix. "Marinette, it's me! Are you okay?"
She coughed, "I think I'm getting worse..."
"Mari, don't say that! We can help you, you just have to-"
"Adrien, th-the others already tried. Nothing will work."
I looked at them desparately.
"We had medicine...but she wouldn't take it..."
"Marinette," I whispered, "why didn't you take the medicine? It could've helped!"
She sighed softly, as if she'd had to explain this already- which she probably had to. "Adrien...more dangerous things ahead...you'll need it."
"We need you more...Marinette, I need you more."
"Adrien...I..."
"I love you." We spoke simultaneously before I heard a thump on the other side.
"Marinette?! MARINETTE?!"
I didn't get a reply.
A/Nl Dam it I broke my own heart-
Word Count: 2397 words
-MyCrazyFandoms