Back to Back 2

Devastation

Chat Noir hurried across town. Along the way, he used his baton like a phone to try to call Ladybug.

It went right to voice-mail, meaning that Marinette wasn't transformed at the moment. So with fear in his heart, he continued sprinting and leaping over the rooftops of Paris.

Finally, his destination was within sight. He approached the apartment building and jumped through the open window into Alya's room.

It was empty. Getting increasingly worried, he tried to call Ladybug's yo-yo again, but the voice-mail answered instead of her.

He needed to talk with Marinette and warn her about Amelie. She was supposed to be at Alya's.

Without any other ideas, Chat Noir had to be reckless. "Claws in."

Plagg appeared as Adrien now stood in Chat Noir's place. "What are you doing?" he asked. "You're going to have an awfully hard time trying to explain what Adrien Agreste is doing here if anyone walks in."

"I know it's risky," he replied. "But I need to get in touch with Marinette, and she's not transformed." He quickly took his phone out from his pocket and called her regular phone number.

After one ring, she answered. "Adrien?"

"Where are you?" he asked desperately. "Why aren't you at Alya's?"

He could hear her talk to someone else through the line. "Give me a second." Then a moment later, Marinette continued in a hushed voice. "Well, I'm still with her. We left her house ten minutes ago and we're almost at school. Wasn't that what we decided on? That I would stay with Alya all day?"

Adrien exhaled, relieved to know that she was safe. "I... I guess I assumed that you two would stay here."

"We still have school. We can't just blow it off. It would look suspicious if half the class didn't show up today."

"I know but... wait, never mind. That's not important. I need to tell you that Gabriel isn't behind this whole thing. Amelie is the one who stole the Butterfly Miraculous from you."

There was silence over the line.

After a minute, Adrien had to check that she was still there. "Marinette, did you hear me?"

"Yeah, I heard you," she said quietly. "I just, I can't believe it. Amelie is involved in this? Are you sure? I mean, why would she do that?"

"I don't know why, but it's definitely her. It's not Gabriel like we thought. Emilie's fine. She's not sick or anything again. In fact, she's the one..."

A sudden loud noise cut him off. He spun around to see a building a few blocks away break apart and collapse down below the skyline. Stunned, he continued into the phone. "It's starting. An akuma attack must be starting. I just saw a huge building get destroyed."

"It has to be," Marinette quickly replied. "We just heard an explosion where we are, but we didn't see anything. Alya will send the signal and then we'll meet you there."

"Stay with her the whole time," Adrien insisted.

"I will." And she disconnected the call.

Adrien put his phone away and grabbed a piece of Camembert for Plagg, who swallowed it whole. Then he just looked at him for a minute.

"Well?" the kwami asked. "Are we going or not?"

"We're going. I just need to focus."

The sound of another building collapsing in the distance made Plagg fold his tiny arms across his chest. "Focus on what?"