Warped Reality

Chapter Twenty

Adrien

He stared in horror at Marinette, who fell to the floor, taking half of the cane with her. A dark purple butterfly flew free, and Felix quickly trapped it with the yo-yo. He released the acuma, diving to her side.

"Marinette? Are you okay?"

She groaned, clutching her stomach as she sat up.

"What... what happened? Where am I?"

She looked around hazily, and his gut twisted. It was a different Marinette. Not his. Another alternate reality version.

"Why would she do that?" He hissed, shrinking away from the wrong Marinette.

"Relax. We can fix it. She called on her lucky charm earlier. Did you see what it was?"

He shook his head, trying to recall if he had seen anything. Whatever it was had been small.

"A coin? Something small I think."

"Look around."

Felix dropped to his knees on the other side of the kitchen, as the Marinette in front of him started to panic.

"How did I get here?"

"Ugh... what happened?" The acuma groaned behind him, and he held in a frustrated shout.

They both needed to be quiet, he needed to focus.

"Were we acumatized?" Marinette asked, and he shot an annoyed look at Felix, who offered the girl a charming smile.

"You were both involved in an acuma attack. If you could help us find the lucky charm, which is small and red and black, then we can return everything back to normal. Do you mind helping us look?"

Adrien almost gagged at how kind he sounded. It was so unnatural coming from him. Uncomfortably so.

"Uh... of course." The acuma free man sighed, and they all began searching.

He prayed that whatever reality she had landed in was a good one. That she was safe, wherever she was.

Marinette

She shivered, her teeth chattering together and disrupting the soft sound of water lapping against the walls. She took a moment to take in her surroundings, first at the water that she was crouched in. It reached all the way to her shoulders, and it was freezing. She was in what looked to be the remnants of an office building, with chairs and desks submerged in the water with her. The room was tilted, as if the entire building was sitting at an angle. She reached up and touched her ears, finding only one earring. Where was she? What was happening here?

"Everyday...after a mission with M'lady
I ask for a minute of her time..."

She froze, her gaze darting to the open doorway at the top of the incline. It... it couldn't be.

"But she leaves me alone...on the roof
I'm just a little kitty on a roof..."

She shuddered, her eyes watering. Not this again. Not him again.

"All alone without his lady...
Every day...she leaves me on the roof...
All alone without his lady..."

She held her breath as the voice grew louder, presumably as he got closer. She shifted farther into the water, trying to get as close to the wall as she could. She had no where to go in here. Stepping on her left leg alerted her to a sharp pain that the icy water had dulled before. She lifted her leg out of the water, flinching at the deep gash that ran across her shin. Had Chat done that?