Serpentina lifted up Adrien's chin, smirking at the terrified look on his face. He pulled away, wincing at the hunger in her eyes.
"You're mine," she whispered, pink venom dripping off her tongue.
Adrien closed his eyes, thinking about Marinette. Her smile, her bluebell eyes. How much he loved her. Perhaps these thoughts would counteract whatever spell Serpentina would cast on him?
"Stop!" a loud voice suddenly boomed, causing Serpentina to turn around.
Adrien opened his eyes in surprise, recognizing the voice he knew so very well.
Gabriel was approaching them, his hands in his pockets. He lowered his glasses, staring intently at Serpentina.
Serpentina pulled away from Adrien, smiling playfully at the serious man. "Look who it is."
Adrien struggled, trying to free himself. "Father, get out of here! She's going to hurt you!"
"I won't let that happen. Not to me, or to you, son," Gabriel answered calmly. He stopped walking and planted himself in front of Serpentina. "Let him go."
"Not happening," she replied. "He is my Prince."
Gabriel chuckled dryly, now pacing in front of the akuma. "Drop the pathetic act. You wouldn't be here without help."
The air thickened considerably as Serpentina processed his words. She smirked. "You're right, thanks so much, Hawkmoth."
Gabriel remained calm and collected, his eyes slowly glancing over at Adrien to gauge his reaction; and it wasn't good.
The boy felt his world crashing down on him. His father couldn't be Hawkmoth... a terrible, ruthless, unforgiving supervillain! Adrien widened his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat before yelling out, "Did she just call you Hawkmoth?"
"It's not as bad as it appears to be," Gabriel answered, unswayed by Adrien's flustered emotions.
"Of course it's bad!" Adrien screamed, his face turning red. He then started his angry rant.
"You've put everyone I love in danger just for a couple of ancient jewelry! What kind of a father does that? And then keeps it a secret from his own son, nonetheless? I will never forgive you, father! Nothing in this world could justify--"
Pink venom shot out and splashed on Adrien's chest. He stopped his rant, looking down at himself. The world became fuzzy and suddenly he felt very dizzy...
"Fa..ther," Adrien mumbled, seeing two Gabriel's standing in front of him, before falling unconscious.
Serpentina grinned, crossing her arms. "You owe me big time."
"What did you do?" Gabriel asked.
"I put him under a spell. He will now forever be in love with me," Serpentina answered simply, ordering her servants to put Adrien down. "And I just stopped his little rant for you. You're welcome."
Gabriel paused, looking down at his unconscious son. "Will he remember anything that just conspired if the spell is broken?"
"Nope," she replied. "That is, of course, Ladybug captures my akuma and frees him. But that won't be happening."
"Good," he nodded. "I can't afford to let my secret out."
"Speaking of which," Serpentina continued, "If you leave me alone, I won't tell anyone about you being Hawkmoth and we can be all square. Deal?"
"Deal." They shook hands on it, and with that, Gabriel turned around and walked away. But before leaving, he paused, looking over his shoulder. "If Adrien breaks free from your spell, there will be hell to pay."
Serpentina shrugged with a twisted smirk on her face. "I guess that means you'll have to be on my side then and follow my orders."
Gabriel clenched his fists, his upper lip twitching. Without another word, he turned around and continued walking, not looking back.
*
Marinette felt her heart pounding out of her chest. Fear slowly swallowed her whole as she frantically searched the bakery for her tiny friend.
"Tikki!" Marinette whisper-yelled. "Where are you?"
She tried to find some clue or trace of her friend, but other than the crumbs of cookie laying there, nothing alerted Marinette.
It did tell her that Tikki had finished eating, though, so at least she was recharged before disappearing. Still, her kwami was missing.
Perhaps she had gone to locate her Chosen? Then again, Tikki wouldn't have moved at all without leaving a note for Marinette.
Everything was just horrible.
"Please, where are you?" Marinette called out desperately. She was going to search the entire house if she had to.
Now, without Tikki, Marinette was powerless. And more importantly, her tiny friend was possibly in a lot of danger. What if Serpentina's servants found her? What if they brought Tikki to Hawkmoth? What if--
"Marinette? Is that you?"
The soft voice startled her, pausing her rambling thoughts. It came from behind the half open door that led upstairs to her apartment. A glimmer of hope filled Marinette's entire being as she realized the voice was real.
Her kwami was okay!
"Tikki? Oh, Tikki, I'm so glad you're okay!!" Marinette cheered, moving towards the door to open it fully so she could give the kwami a big (tiny) hug!
Pushing the door open, Marinette expected to see her beloved red friend floating in the air with a determined smile.
Instead, she was greeted with blonde. Lots of it.
"Chloe?" Marinette gasped, clutching her chest. "W-what are you doing here?!"
"I came looking for you!" Chloe said quickly, fiddling with her fingers. "I tried calling Sabrina and Adrien but they never answered... who is Tikki?"
"No one!" Marinette panicked, her face turning red.
"Anyway, I wanted to see if you were okay! This akuma is crazy!"
"Tell me about it," Marinette huffed. She then blinked, realizing that Chloe just admitted she was concerned with her well-being. "Did you just admit you cared about me?"
Chloe clicked her tongue, crossing her arms and pouting. "I suppose I did."
Marinette then snapped back into reality, remembering that Tikki was missing.
"Look, Chloe, I appreciate the concern, but we are gonna have to part ways," Marinette frowned, heart thumping wildly. She slowly started to back away.
"No!" Chloe yelled, grabbing Marinette's wrist. "I'm scared. This akuma is really freaky."
"I'm sorry. I'm very busy and I can't have anybody else with me," Marinette said, pulling away. "I doubt Serpentina would be after you anyway."
"I've seen what she can do. I don't want that to happen to me! And I've barely seen Ladybug and Chat Noir around to stop her!"
"They'll stop her. I promise!" Marinette nodded.
"Oh, that's right. You have connections with Ladybug."
Marinette overexaggerated a smile. "Yeah, and she told me she would be on her way soon!"
"Okay," Chloe mumbled, looking at the ground.
A few seconds passed, and the air grew thick with anticipation.
"I have to go," Marinette said quietly. "Stay here if you want, it's safer that way."
"Where are you going?" Chloe asked, crossing her arms.
"To find my boyfriend," Marinette answered. "Alone. I have a score to settle with this akuma."
Chloe's eyes widened as it finally sank in. "Don't tell me it's-"
"Louise?" Marinette guessed, nodding her head with a distasteful grin, "Yep." She then gave a little wave, heading for the door. "I gotta go. Bye Chloe."
"Be careful, loser," Chloe half smiled.
"Will do."
Exiting the bakery, Marinette scowered the streets for any clues of her lost kwami. She was certain that a servant found her and brought her to Serpentina.
So for the time being, Marinette had to settle this without Ladybug, at least until she found Tikki.
She also wondered, where was Chat? It was possible he fell victim to Serpentina. After all, he would've shown up by now.
Walking the streets, Marinette realized it was useless. She wasn't going to find Tikki out in the open. Someone definitely had her.
A voice suddenly screamed bloody murder, alerting Marinette.
She picked up the pace, now running towards the distressed voice. She found a red-headed girl curled up into a ball beside a parked car in the middle of the street.
Marinette approached her cautiously, reaching out a hand. "Are you okay?" she asked.
The girl shivered, sobbing quietly.
"I can get you to safety," Marinette continued, placing a hand on her shoulder. "It's going to be alright."
The red-headed girl quickly spun around, a smashed her fist against Marinette's cheek. She stumbled backwards from the force, falling on her butt with a hard thud.
Marinette winced, grabbing her throbbing cheek. Her eyes watered from the sudden pain, and was unable to discern the facial characteristics of the girl.
But one detail was indisputable. The girl had glowing pink eyes. That Marinette could definitely make out.
The girl wasn't crying at all; she had a neutral expression on her face. The sobbing was all an act to pull Marinette in.
She got to her feet, still holding her now bruised cheek. Marinette gritted her teeth from the pain. "Thanks for that. Serpentina sent you, I assume."
The girl didn't answer, she continued to stand directly across from Marinette with a relaxed face. Her pink glowing eyes were eerily starting to sink into her though, creeping her out.
"You do whatever she says, huh?" Marinette continued, lowering her hand from her face. She inched closer cautiously. "Whoever is in there, can you hear me? Break free!"
The girl's expression changed, curling her lips into an aggressive snarl. She lunged forward, hands aimed for Marinette's neck and pink eyes unwavering.
Marinette quickly dodged the attack, falling to the concrete. She turned around, watching the girl run past her.
"This curse is pretty strong," Marinette whispered to herself. Her hands pressed against the concrete, Marinette felt something gritty underneath her fingertips.
She glanced down and saw light brown crumbs scattered around on the ground.
Cookie crumbs.
Marinette was too busy and didn't see the girl move forward, clawing at Marinette's leg.
"Ah!" Marinette screamed in pain, grabbing her thigh. She was caught off guard and the servants nails dug deep into her skin.
Marinette got to her feet shakily, holding her leg. She felt a warm liquid oozing out. That didn't matter, though. Tikki was here. There were cookie crumbs!
"You!" Marinette yelled at the feral girl. "Where is she? I know Tikki was here! And you took her, didn't you?"
"I'll never tell," the girl said, her voice raspy and monotone. Then, she bared her teeth and lunged at Marinette again.
She barely dodged the attack, jumping behind a car. Marinette winced, wishing Chat or someone would show up to help her.
Footsteps slowly approached Marinette who was trying to find a way to escape.
"You're done," the servant said, towering over Marinette.
She was cornered, a foolish mistake on Marinette's part. She didn't want to give up, but she didn't know what else to do.
Tikki was still missing, Chat Noir was supposedly captured, and Marinette was trapped. This servant was obviously going to bring her back to Serpentina where she would meet her fate.
But as Marinette sat there, she remembered something.
She is Ladybug. The only glimmer of hope this city has left. She hasn't been captured yet. She can't give in to this villain. She can't give up on so many people; not her parents, not Alya and Nino, and not Adrien.
Then, motion caught Marinette's eye. Across the street, peeking out from behind a car tire, was Tikki. She looked a little battered and bruised, but she was safe and out of Hawkmoth's hands.
Happiness burst in Marinette's chest. She was so glad her kwami was safe!
"Any last words before I drag you to the Queen?" the girl asked, drawing Marinette's attention away. She tilted her head.
"Sorry," Marinette responded with a shrug.
"Wha-"
In a flash, Marinette extended her right leg and swiped it through the legs of the servant, causing her to crash to the ground.
"Ooh, that must've hurt," Marinette winced, quickly getting to her feet. "At least I said sorry though?"
The servant grunted in response and Marinette ran over to where Tikki was. She picked up the kwami and kissed her head.
"Are you okay?" Marinette asked, her heart beating furiously.
"Yes," Tikki coughed, melting into Marinette's touch. She then tugged on her index finger. "You need to transform... Time is running out."
"No! You're hurt. You need to rest. What did that servant do to you?"
"She was just rough with me. Throwing me around like I was a toy. She was about to bring me to Serpentina but then she stopped when she heard you coming. That's when she went into full on crying mode. I didn't know what was going on so I stayed put.. I'm sorry, I should've warned you-"
"Dont apologize, you didn't know," Marinette quickly interjected. "For all you know I could've been another threat."
"I should've sensed you..." Tikki mumbled.
"You were injured and shaken up. That probably hindered your powers."
Tikki shrugged. "I suppose. But you need to transform. Who knows what Serpentina has done while Ladybug was gone?"
Marinette suddenly felt a lump in her throat. She looked away, unable to admit the horrible truth to Tikki.
Tikki flew up in front of Marinette's face. "What's wrong? Dont tell me-"
"Adrien was captured and turned into her slave," Marinette mumbled.
Tikki covered her mouth with her tiny hands. "Oh no..." She began to internally panic. She knew Adrien was Chat Noir all along, ever since Ladybug fought Dark Owl, and that meant Plagg was in danger too!
"We need to see if they're okay!" Tikki yelled.
"They?" Marinette asked.
"I mean, him! He!" Tikki stuttered back. "Please transform, I promise I'm okay."
Marinette gulped. Now was the time.
"Tikki, spots on!"
Don't worry Adrien, Marinette thought. I'm coming to save you.