Sunlight reflects off the glass cage Marinette's trapped in, blinding her as she opens her eyes. Her head's spinning in a million ways. She squints, sitting up, and rubs her head. There's a little window above her. It's morning. "Morning?" She whispers to herself, looking down. She's still in her red ball gown. Her wrists are bound with rope. "Where am I?" The memories of last night come rushing back to her. The fashion show. Scavenger hunt. Ice cream. Art museum. How did she get here? She opens her purse and freaks when Tikki isn't there. "Tikki?!" She whispers, looking around. "Tikki! Are you here?" Marinette's sometch rumbles and she hugs her stomach, pushing that feeling away. What matters most is finding a way out of here, not breakfast.
Without Tikki, there's no way she can transform into Ladybug.
The door opens. Evillustrator steps in, carrying a silver tray. "Good. You're awake."
Marinette's eyes widen. "Nathaniel? No! You've been akumatized again."
"I'm not Nathaniel anymore." Evillustrator uses his tablet to erase part of the glass cage she's in. He slides the tray in. Prison food for his prisoner. "I made your favorite. Strawberry pancakes with chocolate chips. I even made you a mango smoothie." How does Nathaniel know that? Marinette eyes the food, cautious. Last time she ate something, she fainted. "There's nothing wrong it with. I swear." Reaching over, he grabs a strawberry and eats it before replacing the empty space. "You talk a lot in your sleep, you know."
"Nathaniel..." Marinette's eyes widen as he gets mad and she corrects herself. "Evillustrator, please get rid of the cage." It would help her escape. He eyes her, suspicious of her intentions. "It's too small in here. I feel cramped. You can keep the ropes on. Just, please, get rid of the cage."
"Only if you'll eat." Marinette nods. Evillustrator keeps his word and erases the glass box, along with the ropes. "I can trust you, I hope, to not run away. Because that wouldn't make me very happy."
Marinette pulls the tray closer and starts eating. She's already gained some of his trust. She has to play along until she can find a way out. Or someone finds her first. She looks around the room and asks, "Where are we?"
"My aunt's cabin. She only uses it during the summer." Evillustrator sits down across from Marinette. "We're out in the middle of the woods. In the middle of nowhere." He leans in, whispering, "No one will ever find us."
Marinette stares in fear as a tear sneaks down her cheek. She takes another bite. "Wow. These pancakes are good."
Evillustrator smiles. "I'm glad you like them. I was hoping I got the recipe right."
She finishes eating and pushes the tray aside. Evillustrator scoots closer until her back hits the wall. "How long have I been here?" She asks softly, trying to put some distance between them.
"About nine hours."
"Nine hours? Was I sleeping the whole time?" Marinette looks at her purse. I wonder if anyone is even looking for me. Is Adrien? Is he worried sick about me? "Why was I out for so long?"
Evillustrator grabs her hand. "I didn't have a choice, Marinette. I had to get you to come willingly. I knew you would only eat the ice cream if it reminded you of... him."
"Wait, the ice cream?" Her eyes widen. "You drugged me, Evillustrator?"
"It wasn't technically a drug. Just crushed up sleeping pills. But it doesn't matter. You're here now." Evillustrator pulls Marinette closer. "We can be together now."
"Won't people be suspicious when they don't see me at school?"
Evillustrator laughs. "School doesn't matter anymore. It's just you and me, Marinette. What could be better than that?"
"But Adrien—"
"Shut up about Adrien!" Evillustrator grabs Marinette's untouched smoothie and throws it against the wall. The glass shatters and breaks everywhere. Marinette jumps. "You already talk about him in your sleep. I don't need to hear it when you're awake. If Adrien loved you, he would be here! He would have found you by now." He reaches down and grabs her chin, forcing her attention on him. "If anyone truly loved you, they would be out looking for you. But look around, Mari. No one's here. No one's looking for you."
Marinette uses this chance to gain more of his trust. "So, you love me more than Adrien does?"
"Of course, Mari!" Evillustrator smiles and drops her face, reaching for her hand instead. "I always have and always will love you. More than that stuck up, superficial model. It just makes sense. Even Hawkmoth doesn't want you and Adrien together."
Marinette's eyes widen. Even Hawkmoth doesn't want you and Adrien together. Could he be...?
Evillustrator leans in to kiss Marinette, but she doesn't move. He stops and glares at her. "I can see that you don't love me back. Fine. I won't beg for your affection. But you will give it to me one day." Standing up, Evillustrator storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him. He doesn't lock it.
"I could run," Marinette whispers to herself, standing up. "He didn't lock the door. He's testing me. There's probably a trap waiting for me out the door." And she's right. Evillustrator was testing her, testing her loyalty. Would she take the chance to escape if given? Marinette looks at the broken glass and smoothie chunks on the wall. Something worse than that would happen to her if she left, and without Tikki she can't protect herself.
"This might be your only chance, Marinette." She turns to see another version of herself standing under the window.
She blinks. "Yup. I'm definitely hallucinating."
"Go! Escape! What are you waiting for?"
"I have to play it smart." Sighing, she adjusts her dress and sits back down, leaning her head against the wall. "Adrien will save me. I know it."
***
Cat Noir and Tikki hide out in a tree outside a cabin.
"Are you sure Marinette's here, Tikki?" Cat Noir asks. "This seems more like a place where people vacation to, not hold hostages."
"Evillustrator brought her here. I promise. She's in the attic." Tikki points to a small window near the roof. "I had to leave Marinette alone to come get you, so I have no idea what she's been through. Evillustrator only leaves her alone for short periods of times. About ten to twenty minutes between. Marinette's all alone. But I had to go for help."
"You did the right thing, Tikki." Cat Noir pats her head. His staff beeps and he opens to a screen.
Nadia Chamack stands outside the art museum. "Marinette Dupain-Cheng's kidnapping has broken the news of every new channel all over France. All hands are on deck in search for her rescue. The mayor of Paris has declared all schools and businesses to be shut down until she is safely found. Civilians have started forming rescue parties all over the city—"
Cat Noir closes his staff. "I'm glad people are looking for her now, but it doesn't help us here. Plagg was right. How am I supposed to defeat him without Ladybug? Who's going to de-evilize the akuma?"
"I have a plan, Cat Noir." Tikki faces him. "We need to get Marinette as far away from Evillustrator as possible. I'll create a distraction and you'll break through that window." She points towards the roof. "And save her. You'll take her and run. We know Evillustrator will follow once he realizes Marinette's gone, but if we can hide Marinette, she can transform into Ladybug without revealing her secret identity to Cat Noir, Evillustrator, or Hawkmoth."
"Why couldn't Plagg and I think of that?"
"Because all you two think about is girls and cheese," Tikki counters, laughing.
Cat Noir defends, "At least I'm only thinking about one girl. Plagg goes on and on about different kinds of cheeses he wants to try."
Tikki rolls her eyes. "After Marinette's safe and becomes Ladybug, we'll capture the akuma and free Nathaniel."
"I don't really like that part of the plan," Cat Noir mutters. Tikki smacks the back of his head. "Hey! I was joking! Kind of..."
"Focus, Cat Noir!" Tikki gestures to the back door. "I'm going to go through there and create a distraction. You'll only have little time to go in and get Marinette. Are you ready?"
"I was born ready."
***
Evillustrator walks back upstairs to Marinette. He opens the door and steps in the room. "You didn't run."
"I didn't want to," Marinette whispers. "I wanted to stay."
"With me?"
She nods. "Yes. But I want to stay with Nathaniel. Not Evillustrator." Standing up, she walks over and grabs his hand. "Destroy the akumitized object, Nathaniel. We'll be together. Forever, I promise. Isn't that what you wanted?"
A purple butterfly silhouette appears on Evillustrator's face as Hawkmoth talks to him. "Don't listen to her! It's a trap. Once you get Ladybug and Cat Noir's miraculous, you can do whatever you want with Marinette, but remember we have a deal!"
"You're lying!" Evillustrator pushes Marinette against the wall. Her head smacks against the concrete and bounces off, blood pooling at her scalp. "Don't take me for a fool, Marinette. You can't double cross me. I was wrong about you. You don't love me! You never will, and it's all Adrien's fault. So now you leave me no choice."
"What are you going to do, Nathaniel?"
"I'm going to hurt you to get to Adrien." Evillustrator draws a baseball bat on his tablet and catches it as it appears into thin air. "If I break your heart, do you think he'll feel it?"
Marinette scoots back as he steps forward, raising the bat. "Nathaniel, you don't have to do this."
As he's about to swing and hit her, there's a crash downstairs. "What is going on?" He leaves the room, locking the door behind him, and goes downstairs.
The window above Marinette breaks and she shields her face as glass falls around her. Cat Noir drops in. Her eyes widen. "Cat Noir?"
"No time to talk, Princess." Cat Noir scoops her up in his arms and jumps, dropping down outside the window. He holds Marinette tight as he uses his staff to leap them forward, straying further away from the cabin. "We need to find you a safe place to hide."
"MARINETTE!" Evillustrator shouts from the cabin. "I'LL FIND YOU!"
"Better make that fast, Cat Noir," Marinette whispers. She had to transform into Ladybug. But with Cat Noir here she'd risk revealing her identity. She spots a small outhouse and points to it. "There!"
Cat Noir falls to the ground and sets Marinette down. "Stay here. I'll bring Evillustrator away from here."
"Cat Noir!" Marinette cups his face as he turns to leave. "Be careful."
"Always." He winks before running off.
Marinette closes the door. "Tikki!" She hugs her red kwami and smiles. "I'm so sorry for not listening to you. You were right."
Tikki kisses her cheek. "We can discuss this later, Marinette. You need to transform!"
"Tikki, spots on!"
Cat Noir leaps back across the forest where he last saw Evillustrator. He ducks just in time as a rocket comes flying towards him. "Hey, that's not fair! You can create your own weapons and all I have are my claws."
"Where is Marinette, Cat Noir?" Evillustrator asks, gripping the pen in his hand. "Tell me!"
"How about... no." Cat Noir smirks. "It's not fun if I give her away so easily."
"Then I'll beat it out of you!" Evillustrator draws a gorilla on his tablet and one appears in front of them. The gorilla shakes the tree Cat Noir's standing in and he falls. "Tell me where she is! Now!"
Ladybug's yo-yo wraps around Cat Noir's wrist. She pulls him out of the way as the gorilla's fist smashes into the ground. "Need a hand?"
"Always on time, Milady." Cat Noir kisses her hand.
"What have you done with Marinette?!" Evillustrator screams.
Ladybug crosses her arms. "Sounds like you can't take a hint, Evillustrator. I guess Marinette's just not that into you."
"Milady, I have a question." Cat Noir faces Ladybug. "What would you say to the idea of us getting matching rings?"
"Now is not the time for proposals, Cat Noir!" Ladybug spins her yo-yo into a shied.
Cat Noir shrugs. "Hey, a cat's curious. I just need to know if you're serious about me before I order them."
Ladybug rolls her eyes.
"Stop wasting my time!" Evillustrator holds up his pen. "I'll sketch you two some matching caskets! What do you think about that?"
Cat Noir's nose scrunches in disgust. "No thanks, Mr. Etch-A-Sketch. Milady and I are going to be cremated together when it's our time. Together until the end. Burning in the flames of our passionate love for each other. Isn't that right, Bugaboo?"
"I don't know who's more annoying right now," Ladybug mutters, glaring at her partner. "You or Evillustrator."
Evillustrator draws on his tablet. Bear traps fall above them. Cat Noir tackles Ladybug and pushes her out the way. His belt snaps in the other bear trap and pulls him back, tripping over his own feet. "Good thing I'm not physically connected to my tail."
"We need to destroy the akuma. Lucky charm!" Ladybug throws her yo-yo in the air. A red bottle drops in her hand. "A love potion?" She questions, glancing over at Cat Noir.
"I don't need a love potion to know I'm in love with you, Milady," Cat Noir flirts as he continues to struggle to take the bear trap off his belt.
Hawkmoth talks to Evillustrator again. "Get their miraculous! Now! Or I'll take away your powers and you'll never have Marinette! Never!"
Evillustrator growls, drawing three lions on his tablet. The three cats drop down in front of Ladybug and Cat Noir. "You like cats, don't you, Ladybug? Well cat sit these three for me real quick. I need to go find Marinette."
Ladybug looks around, waiting for anything to light up. "What am I supposed to do?" The three lions in front of her glow and she smirks with an idea. "Here, kitty kitty..."
"Are you insane?" Cat Noir shouts, eyes wide. "You're calling the lions closer?!"
Ladybug kneels down. "Just a few more steps, my pretty kitties."
The lions growl in sync, opening their mouths to bite. Ladybug uses her yo-yo to ties their legs together and pry their mouths open. She takes the love potion and pours it into their mouths while they're tied up. Their eyes glow pink. She releases her yo-yo. The lions walk over and start licking her face, purring. "Perfect. Just what I needed."
"Ah. Smart move, Bugaboo." Cat Noir gets his belt free, and as he steps forward, it gets trapped in another bear trap. "Oh, come on!"
"Who's a good kitty?" Ladybug scratches the back of their necks. They purr louder.
Frowning, Cat Noir asks, "Why don't you touch me like that?"
She blushes and shouts, "Not now, Cat!"
Evillustrator stares in shock. "No! What did you do?"
"Call me the Cat Whisperer." Ladybug faces Evillustrator with a smirk. "Meow. Now my kitties, find the akumitized object on Evillustrator!"
The three lions jump and tackle Evillustrator, biting through his clothes until they find the balled up paper in his pocket. One of the lions brings it over to Ladybug, laying down in front of her. He rubs his head against her leg. "Who's a good kitty?" Ladybug opens the note. It's another poem for Marinette. She rips it in half. A purple butterfly appears and she quickly catches it.
"I'm a good kitty." Cat Noir trips as the bear traps disappears and he falls on his face.
Standing up, Ladybug throws the empty love potion bottle in the air. "Miraculous ladybug!" Everything appears back to normal.
Evillustrator turns back into Nathaniel. He looks around, confused. "Huh? Where am I?"
"Pound it!" Ladybug and Cat Noir fist bump.
"So, you dropped everything to come and rescue this girl?" Ladybug asks. Cat Noir gives her a look. "I saw that girl's kidnapping on the news. Does Kitty have a soft spot for the baker girl?"
"Only for you, Milady." Cat Noir grabs her hand and kisses it.
Ladybug's earrings beep. "Oops, gotta go, Kitty!" She wraps her yo-yo around a tree. "Bug out!" She flies off through the forest, jumping from tree to tree back to the outhouse where Marinette is supposed to be. She transforms back just as she steps inside. "How did Cat Noir even find me, Tikki?"
"Uh..." Tikki looks around. "You know how Cat Noir is. He probably followed your scent or something. You know, to be a hero."
Marinette rolls her eyes. "He would do that. But it's sweet that he came for me." She looks down and sighs. "I wonder if Adrien's looking for me."
Before Tikki can say anything, the door opens. Cat Noir stands there. "Marinette! You're safe."
Without a second thought, Marinette throws her arms around Cat Noir, accidentally tackling him to the ground, and starts to cry into his chest. Everything that has happened finally takes a toll on her. Her shoulders shake with each sob. "I was so scared," She admits as Cat Noir sits them up, keeping a hand on her back. "I-I was alone and didn't know if anyone was looking for me—"
"The whole city of Paris is looking for you, Marinette." Cat Noir cups her cheek. "There's search parties all over the city."
"Really?"
Cat Noir nods, helping her to her feet. "Cute dress, by the way. Makes calling you Princess more fitting." Marinette didn't even care about the nickname. She's so happy to see him. "Come on. We've got to get you home." He picks Marinette up, carrying her through the forest until they reach the city again. He keeps an arm around her waist as he leads her to the crowd that's formed below the Eiffel Tower.
"All these people were looking for me?" Marinette questions, genuinely shocked.
"Of course, Mari." Cat Noir sets Marinette down. "You're special."
Marinette hugs Cat Noir.
The crowd of people spot Marinette. Screams erupt from them as everyone starts running over. "Gotta go, Princess." Cat Noir grabs Marinette's hand and kisses it. "See you late tonight on your balcony?"
Marinette nods as he extends his staff and leaves, quickly jumping behind a building before the crowd can stop him. She turns towards the people, looking behind them. Where's Adrien?
Her parents are the first to hug her. "Marinette!" Tom squeezes her tight. "We were so worried about you!" She didn't even care that she couldn't breath. She's just happy to be home.
Alya, Nino, Rose, Juleka, Alix, and Mylene come running over. "Marinette!" Her friends tackle her in a hug.
She holds on tight to them, fearful that if she lets go she'll never see them again. She stands up and looks between them. "W-Where's Adrien?" Was he really not looking for her? Was Evillustrator right?
"Adrien's been out all day looking for you, girl!" Alya smiles. "He even skipped school."
"But have you heard from him?"
Nino shakes his head. "No. Not a word dude."
Marinette pushes through the crowd, dodging questions and elbows. "Adrien!" She shouts, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Adrien!" She needed to see him. To hold him. Reporters surround her as they bomb her with questions.
"Cat Noir saved you! Are you two in a secret relationship?"
"Where have you been this whole time? And where's your kidnapper?"
"How does it feel to know all of Paris formed search parties for you?"
Marinette ducks between a reporters legs as her friends and family create a wall between her and the reporters.
"Marinette!" She spins around, eyes searching in the direction of the voice, and she smiles. Adrien starts running towards her. She takes off, crying, and throws her arms around him. He grabs her waist and holds her tight, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. He doesn't dare let go. "Marinette..." He smiles and leans back to cup her face. "I was so worried about you."
"So you were looking for me?" Marinette asks, hopeful.
"Of course!" Adrien rubs her cheek with his thumb, wiping away a tear. "Of course I was. I never stopped looking for you."
Marinette finally notices the hoodie he's wearing and doesn't even question it. She's just glad to be back home with him. "Adrien, you have no idea how much I missed you."
"I'm so sorry, Mari." Adrien shakes his head, angry at himself. "I should have been there to protect you."
"Hey..." She grabs his face and he looks up. "None of this is your fault. You're here now and that's all that matters." She hugs him again, resting her head against his chest, wishing they could stay in each other's arms forever.
***
Hawkmoth stands defeated. He throws his cane against the wall. "No! I was so close. Evillustrator was perfect! Or so I thought..."
"What do you want to do now, sir?" Nathalie asks, tablet in hand. "Proceed to plan two?"
"Adrien's birthday is coming up." He smirks to himself. "That'll be the perfect opportunity to create a little... chaos."