Chapter Twenty-Eight:
Fox lunged. Chat spun around and dropped to one knee as Nathanael's hand sailed over his head. Marinette moaned in Adrien's arms, her head rolling around dangerously. He needed to find a place to set her down while he fought. Fast.
Chat stood up and kicked the back of Nathan's legs. The cursed Charm crumpled, giving Chat just enough time to run over to the wall and set Marinette down. She didn't respond this time, her body not reacting. Biting his lip, Chat pulled out his broken baton then placed a hand on the knife that was still in her back. He had been afraid to take it out, but now he had no choice. He needed a weapon and it needed to be out of her back. With a grunt, he yanked it out as carefully as he could. Marinette sucked in a breath but didn't wake, even though her blood was starting to pool on the floor. Chat spun to face Fox.
His opponent had gotten to his feet, glaring and sneering at Chat.
"Nathanael, listen to me," Adrien begged, his arms outstretched. "Ladybug is hurt. If we don't get her out of here, she'll die."
"Why should I help her?" Fox questioned, but his voice wasn't his. It sounded like someone was trying to mimic his voice, but it wasn't quite right like they had an accent of some sort. "She ditched me a long time ago. It's not like I would have told her. She hurt me, you hurt me! So I'm going to hurt you in return!"
"Fox, please!" Chat pleaded, but his partner lunged at him. Adrien ducked just in time to miss Nathan's swinging fist. On instinct, Adrien kicked him, sending the Fox charm sprawling back. Hissing, Fox let out a fearsome cry. He glared at Chat, his eyes flickering with rage before gripping his pin. Adrien was confused at first, but it didn't take long for him to figure out what his enemy was doing.
"Mordetis!" Fox shouted.
As Nathan finished yelling, he opened his mouth. Chat watched in horror as sharp fangs grew where each of his incisors were, appearing to be as sharp as knives. Hunching over, Fox bared his new teeth and stalked forward. Adrien's legs began to shake. He wasn't sure fighting a boy with fangs for teeth was the smartest option.
Even though it scared him half to death, Chat planted his feet and tightened his grip on the knife. For Ladybug.
Nathan came running forward, then kicked his leg up. Chat blocked it with his baton. Another punch came flying toward his face. Chat ducked. Back and forth the two went. Fox would swung a fist, Adrien would attempt to block it. He was successful most of the time, but every once and awhile, the akumitized dog would smack him good.
Swing. Dodge. Swipe. Duck. Punch. Block.
Nathanael growled angrily, then sideswiped Chat's hand that held the knife. The blood-stained knife skidded away.
In victory, Nathan cried out as he raised both arms, "Die, stupid cat!"
Alarmed, Chat raised his baton and willed to open. It wasn't happy with the request, but it opened just enough to grip with both hands. Nathan's fists came down like wrecking balls. They slammed into his staff. The metal groaned in Adrien's gloved hands, warning him that it couldn't sustain much more pressure.
Fox's sneering face was mere inches away from Chat's terrified one.
"I'm going to take you down once and for all," Nathan gloated, his purple eyes glinting evilly and his tongue licking his sharp teeth. "Just like every other Charm I've faced that stood between Marinette and me."
"Nathanael," Adrien obtested, "please stop this. You're my friend! I want to free you from this! Let's get out of his arena and never return. Listen to me!"
"No!" Fox leaned in, teeth firmly clenched as he spoke. His voice was low, but his words sent chills through Chat's blood. "You may be the president's son, but that doesn't mean you can have everything you want. Ladybug is mine, always has been."
Adrien's eyebrows furrowed with rage. His green eyes flashed and he pressed back against Nathan's crazy super strength.
"Marinette isn't property," he stated, "and because you think that way, you never deserved her in the first place."
Fox screamed, then kneed Chat in the gut. Adrien's breath disappeared and he dropped to his knees, coughing and gasping for air. Nathan took the opportunity to take a fistful of his opponent's hair and throw his head sideways. Adrien let out a cry of pain, hitting the floor with a thud. One of his high-tech ears broke off, skittering across the floor and sparking. Fox planted a firm kick to his chest. Adrien fought for breath as he was forced to his back.
Nathanael rested his shoe on Chat's throat, pressing down on it as he leaned in.
"Did you really think you could fight me off, tomcat?"
Though he struggled to breathe, grasping his enemy's ankle tightly as he hopelessly fought for air, Adrien glared up at Fox. There had to be a way to get him to come around. The real Nathanael was still in there somewhere, fighting back. Hopefully. The real Nathan wouldn't hurt his friends like this.
"Nathanael..." Chat choked out desperately, "this isn't you..."
"That's where you're wrong." Fox leaned in and grabbed a handful of Adrien's precious locks. "I am Nathanael, the true Fox. I am the boy who has protected Ladybug throughout the entire Miraculous Games, and I'm not going to let you take her away from me. Not now, not ever."
"Nathan, p-please...!" Adrien begged, losing the fight against Fox's boot. Tears began to pool in the corners of his eyes. "This i-isn't you...! S-snap out of it... L-Ladybug is dying and we need to w-work together to get her out; to take down the Game Master!" The tears fell, tracing down his cheeks and dripping off of his jawline. Green eyes pleaded with the purple. "Do it for Marinette, for Ladybug!"
Just as he finished saying that, Fox's purple eyes flickered. It was almost like an old TV screen, flipping back and forth between channels. Turquoise blue flashed for a split second before the purple returned.
"Stop it," Fox growled.
Adrien didn't. " She won't survive without you! Save her!"
"STOP!" Fox raised his fist to punch Chat across the face, but his arm halted mid-swing. His eyes kept switching between the dark purple and their normal color. For a moment, Adrien saw the un-akumatized Nathanael staring down at his friend in fear, but the second passed so quickly, it almost seemed like a dream.
"You little-"
"I can't help her anymore! She's going to die!" Chat shouted. He squeezed his eyes shut, tears flowing freely down his face.
He couldn't bear this pain anymore, not the pain of being choked to death, but the responsibility to keep Marinette alive. She was less than ten feet away, but there wasn't anything else he could do. He and Marinette were both going to die. But not by just anything, by one of their most trusted friends.
Choking back a sob, he let out the most heartbreaking plea of his entire life:
"Save her, Nathanael!"
Snap!
Fox sucked in a violent gasp. The pressure disappeared from Adrien's neck and the protector charm's airway opened. He took a deep breath, his lungs filling with much-needed air. He barely had enough time to feel like himself again before Nathanael screamed in pain. Chat quickly turned his attention to his akumatized friend.
Fox was on his knees, his knuckles turning white from clenching them so tightly. He was hunched over, appearing as though he might projectile vomit. His back was arched and his whole body shook.
"G-get out o-of h-h-here..." he coughed, his voice like an old record - scratched up and cracking. "Get M-Marinette t-to s-safety..."
Adrien scrambled to his feet. "But what about you?"
With trembling fingers, Nathanael reached for something on his jacket. Chat realized with a shock what it was: his Miraculous. It was flickering back and forth between orange and the deep blackish-purple, but couldn't stay constantly one color.
"T-there's only o-one way y-y-you'll b-be able t-to esc-cape..."
Nathan gripped it tightly. He grimaced, as though it were burning his fingers. He tilted his head just enough to catch Adrien's gaze. The purple had completely vanished from his eyes. The turquoise blue orbs answered every question Adrien could have asked at that moment. However, the most prominent thing about them was the message it sent him.
Run.
"T-tell her w-what I d-did f-for her... w-will y-you...?"
Adrien's heart broke. He could see the amount of suffering manifesting itself through Nathanael's expression, and he couldn't help but bit his lip to keep from crying. With tearful eyes, he nodded and took a step back.
"I promise."
Not much had been said, but so much had been understood. Reluctantly, Adrien turned his back to Fox, taking a moment to honor his commitment, before rushing over Marinette. Behind him, he couldn't block out Nathanael's gut-wrenching screams.
However, once they started, they abruptly stopped.
Closing his eyes, Adrien told himself that if he ever saw Nathanael again, he would apologize for everything he had ever said or done to hurt him.
Chat scooped Marinette's bloody and broken body into his arms. She had lost a lot of blood, especially after he had pulled the knife out of her back. Even with that, he could still feel a faint heartbeat. She was still with him.
Adrien took off down the hallway. Ladybug's blood dropped between his fingers and stained his Chat Noir costume, but he didn't care. He needed to get her out of there as soon as possible. The Game Master had disappeared, though Adrien didn't care one bit.
All that mattered was getting Marinette to safety.
* * *
"It's back online!" Alec announced.
"Oh, thank the stars," Nadja commented, resting a hand over her heart. "I was so worried we had lost connection for good."
The male host nodded. "I can't help but agree with you. Seems like a lot has happened since we last had a connection." Alec leaned in a checked the statistics in the bottom corner. His eyes widened.
"I can't believe it!" he exclaimed.
"What is it?" Mrs. Chamach asked.
He pointed to the chart, his mouth stretching into a wide smile. "We have a winner!"
"Really? That was fast," Nadja said.
"I know right?!" Clearing his throat, Alec straightened his posture and turned toward the camera. He plastered the biggest smile he had ever produced across his face. "Ladies and gentleman, I am proud to announce that there is one remaining Charm in the games and the winner of this year's Miraculous Games is... Chloe Bourgeois!"
---
Surprise?
Guys, I probably say this too much, but I honestly feel like it needs to be said every chapter... Thank you so much for your support. Miraculous Games is almost at 8K reads and proudly has 435 votes. That is insane. Like, seriously insane. Thank you for the reads, the sweet votes, and especially the amazing comments.
Speaking of comments, let's jump to my favorite comment!
Favorite comment:
By: ElusiveSprings
I SWEAR IF MY DIGGIDY DARN SWEET CINNAMON CAT CHILD DIES IM GONNA THROW THIS PHONE OVER THE GREAT WALL OF TRUMP
Okay, I DIED laughing when I read this. Thank you so much, dear reader, for your hilarious comment.
If you would like to have a shot at being my favorite comment, be sure to leave one! (Hint, the creative/funny ones are amazing. Reactions are also hilarious).
Again, thank you so much for everything guys. It means so much to me. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. :)
And, as always, have a Miraculous day!
You were true to your promise, so I'll stay true to mine.
(yeah, I know that's not what he's saying exactly in this gif, but I couldn't find one of the actual moment. Sorry :[ )