When Duty and Desire Meet

Chapter 4

Marinette's POV

Nathaniel's eyes had been roaming around the room for quite some time, always ending back on me, however, his eyes didn't feel like the only pair watching me. A secret camera maybe? That seemed the likeliest option of the long list that ran through my head. My head was still a bit fuzzy from when I had a panic attack and was knocked out in an alleyway a day ago. Wait. Was it a day? An hour? What if I had been missing for weeks? A fresh wave of panic surged over me, coating me in a thin layer of sweat and paling my already fair complexion to the point of ghostly. My stomach turned and nausea was added on to the list of current problems I was facing. The rope around my neck wasn't helping the situation, and I had slowly been losing oxygen throughout the duration of time I was awake. I managed to choke out, "Need. Air." before allowing the lack of oxygen to consume me and I passed out.

When I regained consciousness, I was no longer in the sterile white laboratory feeling room, but in a small bedroom with an uncomfortable, thin spring mattress that I lay on, a small wooden bedside table, an antique dresser that sat opposite the bed, and a small closet with a sliding wooden door. As I sat up, I remembered that Tikki was still nowhere to be found. Scrambling out of bed, I searched frantically for my small purse and backpack that should've been with me. Where was Tikki?! Suddenly, it hit me. She had gone into the Miracle Box to try and contact Nooroo on his 3500th cycle, and that Tikki wouldn't be contacting me anytime soon. I only hoped that she would realize that something was wrong and try to come and find me, otherwise, I don't think that I can escape with my clumsy an uncoordinated nature.

I started to panic yet again, the overwhelming sense of helplessness rushing through my body from head to toe, causing me to collapse back onto my bed with quickened breaths. How was I going to escape this place? Where was I? My head was spinning with too many unanswered questions and just as I was about to start crying, the sound of a key clicking in the lock of my door brought me from the brink of a complete mental breakdown. The relief was only temporary, however, because as soon as I saw who was standing casually against the door frame, my anxiety doubled and I backed up to the furthest corner of the room to distance myself from this all too familiar face that haunted my dreams.

Adrien's POV

The waiting sucked. I feel bad for even thinking this while Marinette was in a room strapped to a metal board, but I can only take so much uneventfulness before I started getting antsy. I thought of sparking up a conversation with Plagg, only to remember that he had mysteriously vanished this morning. I realized now that I should've looked harder to find him, but I didn't want to arouse suspicion from Nathalie or my father at home and I figured that I could just call Plagg from wherever he was hiding to transform. I was very wrong. This was the fifth attempt at a transformation, my chanting got slightly louder and more aggressive from frustration. After yet another unsuccessful attempt at transforming into Chat Noir, I gave up, not wanting to make too much noise. I guess I was just going to have to save Marinette as Adrien, and not swoop in like a knight in shining armor to save his princess as Chat Noir.

Princess. I liked that name, especially associated with Marinette. Maybe Chat Noir will have to pay her a visit and try out the nickname after this whole fiasco was over. Stay focused, Adrien! I scolded myself. This was no time for getting sidetracked. I looked back up at Marinette only to find that she was no longer on the board or in my line of sight. The sound of a door handle turning sent my brain into a frenzy, and I tucked myself deep into a corner of the hallway, willing myself to become one with the shadows. When I saw Nathanial walk out of the room carrying a passed out Marinette bridal style, my blood boiled and I had to restrain myself from jumping Nathanial then and there. I didn't know if he had any backup on the way, or if he was armed, so I decided to follow him from a distance and observe. Who knows, maybe I could take out this whole organization along with Nathanial. 

I saw him around the corner of a hallway that branched off of the entrance of the building to the left, so I followed silently and stealthily, checking behind me every few seconds to ensure I wasn't being followed. This constant paranoia of someone lurking behind me, however, caused me to lose sight of Nathanial at a fork in the hallway, and as I looked at all three paths that branched off from the main hallway, I didn't see Nathanial or Marinette. As I was deciding which branch of the hallway to take, the sound of footsteps filled my ears and sparked panic from deep within my core. I looked around desperately and tried the nearest door I could find, but to no avail. My only option was to run back the way I came, and that I did. As I made it back to the foyer of the building, I realized that I wouldn't be able to save Marinette without the stealth and agility of Chat Noir. With this realization, I decided that I should take the risk of leaving and coming back for Marinette as Chat Noir and stealthily slipped out the door, sprinting around the building and back towards my residence. I would find Plagg, and come back to rescue Marinette.

I saw a few comments that were wondering whether or not Adrien was still Chat Noir inn the is story, and I hope this chapter helped clear up any confusion. If not, then I will confirm this: both of our main characters still have their alter egos in this story and they will play important roles in the development of the plot.

*whispers to myself, "what plot?"*

Also, yes. That was an Odd1sOut reference, but also a SomethingElseYT reference.

-Tomato out