No Way Out

Empty Eyes, A Coin, and A Reason

Adrien must have misheard what Marinette said. Nothing she was saying made any sense.

"Please," she continued. "My head hurts so much. Can you call my parents? They need to bring me to the hospital."

"No, Marinette," Adrien replied, shaking his head. "You don't need to go to the hospital. My father will heal you..."

"She doesn't understand," Gabriel interrupted. "Don't you see what's happened?"

He furrowed his brow. "What? What happened?"

"The Miracle Box is gone. Marinette thinks that she's thirteen again." He paused, hoping that he wouldn't have to say it out loud. It was clear by Adrien's expression, however, that he wasn't piecing it together. So he would have to break the news to him. "Marinette must have renounced her Guardianship of the Miracle Box."

Slowly shaking his head, Adrien couldn't even accept the possibility of that being true.

"She doesn't remember anything that's happened since she became Ladybug," Gabriel continued. "Her memory has been erased. The same thing happened to Wang Fu when he made Marinette the new Guardian."

"No," he whispered, getting teary-eyed. "No, she wouldn't do that. We didn't even meet each other until after she got her earrings. If she gave up the Guardianship, she wouldn't remember me at all." He stopped to shake his head again. "She would never do that. She's just confused from getting hit on the head." He looked straight at her. "You recognize me, right Princess?"

She just stared at him for a second. "My name is not Princess," she repeated quietly. "It's Mari..."

"Marinette," he tried again. "You recognize me, right? I'm your husband. I..." he stopped when he noticed a sudden shift in her expression.

They stared at each other for a moment, with him desperately searching her eyes. But there was absolutely no recognition to be found. Even worse, there was no love either.

Adrien tried again. "Do you remember me?" he asked, his voice cracking. After an agonizing few seconds of waiting, he watched Marinette shake her head ever so slightly. Then he let a tear out. "Use the Starfish," he said, turning to Gabriel. "Hurry up and use it on her. That will bring her memory back."

"If I transform, it will only frighten her more..." he tried to argue, but Adrien interrupted.

"Please Father, bring her back to me. I need her back," he whimpered.

Gabriel exhaled and looked at Marinette. "I know you don't understand any of this, but I'm going to help you. You just need to stay calm, and it's probably best if you close your eyes."

Completely confused and slowly becoming terrified, the last thing she was going to do was close her eyes, so she pointedly stared at him.

After a second, Gabriel continued. "All right, here we go. I'm just warning you, I'm going to look very different in a moment. Reaggle, points extend."

Marinette had to close her eyes from the flash of light. Then when she opened them again, she gasped. Gabriel Agreste didn't look like Gabriel Agreste anymore. He was now unrecognizable in an orange costume. Staring at him, she was reminded of  the woman in the watermelon suit, and that made her even more afraid. "No," she cried, trying to back away.

"I won't hurt you," he insisted. "Just give me your hand."

"No," she said, curling into herself and putting her arms over her head. After a second, she felt him put two hands on her forearm.

"Rewind!"

The pain instantly started to fade away. Surprised, she lowered her arms after he let go and looked at him again.