My Lady

Chapter 8: He Knows Them

      Marinette stopped with Tikki in front of Adrien's house and looked at it intently with Tikki in hand. She took a half step toward the gate, but made a hard turn down the street and sprinted until the house was no longer in view, and made a few turns just to be sure.
      She placed Tikki on the ground and brought herself to her knees with tears in her eyes. She spoke with her voice cracking in several pitches.
      ".You! You, tell him where I am! If I don't see you two by sun down, you'll have hell to pay! And you better make sure he has his little friend too. I'm doing this for you, you know. She couldn't care less as long as she gets her hands on all of you for Hawkmoth. I can't get her to crack so she got me to crack instead. I'm sorry. Just tell him where I am."
      Marinette ran back leaving Tikki behind. Tikki couldn't understand what Marinette was trying to say, but thought it over until she could.
      "She did this for me? What does she- she bought me time to get her help again! Chat, Adrien, Plagg! She wanted me to tell him where she is. That has to be Adrien's housr but why- No!"
      Tikki back tracked to Adrien's house and stared intently for a minute before running to find Black Cat. Not to her surprise, he was no longer at the tower as he was in search of Marinette. The fainted citizens began to wake up confused and fearful. It wasn't long before they noticed the gaping crater and debris at the base of the tower, and Alya woke up with bruises.
Tikki approached Alya frantically and deliberately.
"Alya, I'm Tikki and I'm a kwa- I'm a Ladybug spirit and I'm looking for Black Cat. Have you seen him?"
"I can't not put this on my blog! Where is my ph-"
"Alya, please! I need to know if you've seen Black Cat. There's lives at stake!"
Alya stared at Tikki for a moment in near shock and then looked at her surroundings. She understood that this was more important than her LadyBlog and felt ashamed for considering it.
"I have seen him. He was there when I woke up and asked if I was hurt. Apparently I was in the middle of him and a villain called Sgt. Angst. I'm a little banged up, but I told him I was fine. After that, he ran off over in that direction by the bakery."
Alya's eyes grew wide when she finished that last sentence.
"Is Marinette okay? I'm going over there right now!"
"No!" huffed Tikki. "You're better of getting home and telling these people to do the same."
"I'm not turning my back on my best friend if she's not okay! You still haven't answered me now that I think about it. Is she okay?"
" She will be if-"
"Will be? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means that right now, she is in a situation where she needs help to get back to her old self. If you really are concerned about her well-being, go home and stay away from her house."
"Where's Ladybug in all of this? What's wrong with Marinette? How do you know my name in the first goddamned place?"
"Ladybug isn't... she isn't here right now."
"Then where the hell is she?"
"She's also in trouble, and that's why I NEED to find Black Cat. I care about her too much and I know what I need to do to help her. You know what that feels like. If you want Marinette to get help let me get Cat. You need to go home. Please."
Tikki's voice began to crack at the end of her pleads. Alya looked at her sternly, but tears began to form in her eyes. Before she opened her mouth, she turned her head away from Tikki towards Marinette's house, closed her eyes, and let the tears fall.
"Okay. I'll go home. Just answer me one question. Is Ladybug at the same place as Marinette?"
Tikki stared at Alya unable to make eye contact still. The silence was suspended in the air with Tikki unable to answer her.
Alya opened her eyes and turned her head back toward Tikki.
"Let me re-phrase that." She leaned in so her face was centimeters away from Tikki's.
"Is Marinette Ladybug?"
Tikki's eyes began scanning the ground, afraid of Alya's stare.
"I understand. I'll go home."
Alya and Tikki parted ways. Alya began assisting those who were awake and searched for help for those who weren't. As for Tikki, she went to the bakery, a familiar place that no longer offered her comfort.
The door was wide open, but nothing inside was disturbed or strewn about. She went upstairs to Marinette's room. Inside was Cat who was standing over the chair that Marinette had fallen in earlier that afternoon. Oblivious to Tikki's presence, he began talking at the chair.
"I'm sorry I couldn't take the two seconds it would've taken to repay your kindness. I would love to get something at the bakery sometime. I'll pay for it, honest. It's no big deal. My dad has money, and what's fifteen minutes. My photographer isn't know for being on time anyway. We can even eat at the park if you'd like. Photo shoots would probably better if I had a friend with me anyway."
      Cat's eyes were invaded by a storm of tears, but his face remained un-moving. Tikki broke the new silence and urged Cat of the information she had on Marinette's possible location.
      "Cat, I think I know where Marinette is."
      Cat's eyes widened and he turned is whole body towards Tikki.
      "Tell me. We need to find her!"
      "She's... I think she's at your house."
      Cat's eyebrows began to furrow. Things that eluded him in the past began to, strange as it was, began to make sense with those words.
      "I'll take you. I'm not losing her again. I don't care what I have to go through."

      "Or who I have to take care of."