Ghosts Of Adrien's Past

Chapter 16: Spelled just like escape

Adrien wasn't sure when it had happened but someone silencer managed to take his ring. His transformation was ripped away and the dark jewellery.

His day wasn't exactly going to plan. His head rang and he couldn't feel his fingers. He had the vague sense of blood rushing down his nose and one of his eyes swelling. Silencer dropped the front of adrien's shirt and let him fall to the ground. Silencers knuckles were bloody and beaten. The woman across the room was toying with the ring between her fingers. Adrien's arms were spread out and his legs bent.
He weakly turned his head to look at Marinette with half shut eyes. She wasn't moving, but her chest was slightly rising.
The synthetic ladybug stood over him and blocked his vision. She'd been talking to him but, he hadn't really heard any of it.
"Who killed me, Adrien? Who did it?"
He spat out the blood collecting in his mouth.
"She's not- dead yet..."
ladybug hummed.
"Not yet. But soon, I suppose, her remaining lung will collapse"
Adrien groaned and tried to move his fingers. He caught a glimpse of the woman in purple over by the corner going to slip the ring onto one of her fingers.
"I wouldn't do that..."

He moaned, gazing up at the cracked ceiling. She chuckled softly.
"And why not? I'm half way to everything I've ever wanted"
He laughed, drops of blood flying out of his mouth.
"The guardian chooses the holder"
She ignored him and went to continue her actions, the ring was half way down her finger.
"Do that, and you will regret it forever"
"I'm not taking advice from some hero-hazbin who toppled over when someone slipped behind his guard"
He moaned again and turned his attention back to Marinette.
"It's gonna be okay, m'lady"
He whispered, and the synthetic ladybug suddenly shrank back to doll size and was seized by silencer. Adrien waited patiently for the corrupt ring to do its job.
He closed his eyes as the sound of the new Hawkmoth's screams filled the air. She had slipped the ring on.
"Silencer!"
She hissed.
"It's the wrong ring!"
"Impossible!"

Silencer shot back, and raced over to her. She yanked the ring on and threw it to the ground, slamming her heel down on it. It cracked under the strength and shattered. A mass explosion of darkness screamed into the air with years worth of decaying hatred.
Adrien acted fast.
He scrambled for a piece of the broken ring, closed his fist around it, and dragged Marinette towards him by her arm. It was just like hotel morning where his nails had lengthened to claws when he got near the sickness in her blood. He slashed her open. The black ichor flew out of her and into his hand closed around the ring piece. He shook with the pain as the rest of it shot out of her and into him.
He didn't give his body time to register what had entreated his arm as he flew around and tackled the she-moth to the ground.
His hand had gone black, and he used it to his advantage to rip the miraculous from her chest and crush it between his claws.
His head fogged with dizziness, but he managed to drag himself up and stumble over to silencer. The villain was looking at his hands as if they weren't there. Adrien clasped silencers forearm and dragged his claws down until they caught onto the akumatized miraculous and ripped it off. He shook his head of the stars clouding his vision and dragged a hand through his hair.

A blinding light shone for about three seconds before everything seemed 'normal' again. One of his eyes was closed, though, and there might've been three other people in the room. He wasn't entirely sure. His head ached and he still couldn't feel his hands.
"I'm think I'm gonna...I'm pretty tired guys..."
He tried to keep his eyes open, but something was looming up in front of him. Like, the floor.
"Oh"
He said, before he fell literally face first into the floor and didn't move.
~~~~~~~~~
There are things you can't fight. Acts of god. You see a hurricane, you've got to get out of the way. But when you're in a mask and black armour, suddenly, you can fight the hurricane. And you can win.
But Adrien wasn't in any of those. His mask was gone, and he had no armour. He lost the fight.

He opened his eyes and almost closed them again at the blinding whiteness he saw. A beeping noice filled his ears, and one of his eyes pounded and throbbed. He sat up slowly with a groan, and felt a soft hand atop his. He looked to the side and pushed his hair out of his face with his free hand. Mari was sitting beside his bed, dark circles printed under her eyes.
He blinked a few times and pulled the small monitor off of his forefinger.
"Hey"
She said quietly, and he looked around. He was in a private hospital bed, his old clothes gone and replaced with a hospital patient dress.
"What happened?"
He asked.
"I don't know what you did, Adrien, but it worked. I felt something cut my arm and then a few seconds later I was fine. I transformed and used my miraculous as quickly as I could"
"But- if you used it, why am I in a hospital?"
She sighed through her nose.
"You took the corruption into yourself. And- I healed it, I think- but it took all of your energy. You were so weak your heart could barely beat properly. So an ambulance came and took you here. You've been unconscious for about Thirty hours"

He drank the sight of her in.
"You haven't slept, have you?"
She looked away from him.
"Marinette-"
"I didn't want you to wake up alone"
He blinked with heavy eyes.
"You're in the same clothes. You could've at least taken a shower"
She scoffed at him.
"Oh, 'thank you, Marinette. Thank you for staying with me, for covering at work for me, for everything'"
"You covered me for work?"
He asked, confused. She relaxed slightly and nodded.
"Your assistant called, practically screamed at me, and I explained you'd be indefinitely"
Everything suddenly came crashing down on him. The reality of it all.
"My identity- the ring-"
"Calm down, it's okay. Everything's fine. I told the doctors you were a victim caught in the fighting"
"The ring? Plagg?"
"It's fine, he's safe"
Adrien sighed and fell back against the plush pillows.
"If I've been asleep for thirty hours, how did I get this room?"
"I paid for it"
She said, 'matter of factly'. He closed his eyes.
"Mari, you shouldn't-"
"I'm just as wealthy as you, thank you very much"
He snorted.
"Well, that's stretching it a little"
She lightly smacked his arm.
"Shut up, Agreste. If it weren't for me your identity would be all over Paris and Shanghai news, you would be in an ordinary hospital room and your assistant would be here dragging you by your tail back to Shanghai"

He chuckled enough to make his chest bounce and stared at the ceiling for a little. He turned his palm over and interlaced his fingers with hers.
"Thank you for taking care of me, Mari"
She was silent for a little.
"You're welcome"
She said, and held his hand tight.
"Now, What's this I hear about a half-naked chat noir running around Paris in the middle of the night blind drunk?"
She said, and his stomach dropped. He turned his head towards her. She had a frown on her face, a look that said 'I'm waiting'.
"I can explain?"