Shattered

34) Seeing Double

Adrien's POV
Marinette and I climbed through the ventilation shaft, planning as we went.

"Any ideas?" I asked as I led the way through the metal tubes, trying my best to remember Hugo's map.

"I'm not really sure. I do think our best advantage is surprise, and we need to hold onto that."

"Agreed. Now how do we get that trigger?"

"I would just use my yo-yo and pull it out of his hands, but what if his reflexes kick in? What if I time it wrong or he's too quick? It's too much of a risk."

"I think this calls for your lucky charm."

"I think it does too, but I can't use it yet. When we get closer, when we get a better look at the situation, that's when we strike. And as soon as we grab it, use your cataclysm. We can't risk accidentally setting it off."

I nodded before thinking more about the situation.

"This isn't like normal, m'lady." I reminded her.

"How so? It's you, me, a villain to stop. Just like the good old days." I turned around to see her giving me a reassuring smile.

"I know but, there's no akuma to purify, no short cut if things go wrong. If something happens, if he hurts you, there's no 'miraculous Ladybug' to bring things back to normal."

She sighed before responding. "I'm the one who should be worried, you always like to sacrifice yourself for me, jump into danger." Her voice suddenly became more solemn and serious.

"I've seen you die, Adrien. Multiple times, you've burned, drowned, suffocated, and even bled to death at my feet. And all I could do was fix everything, hope that I could do something right, anything to find the akuma and bring you back. And even then, I can still see the scars it didn't fix, the small ones left there to remind me that if I had just been more careful you never would've gotten hurt. You're right, we don't get a second chance this time. Everything's at risk and there's nothing we can do about it. So promise me something. Don't be my knight, my hero. Don't take hits for me and don't try to save me, because no matter what happens... I can't lose you."

"I can't do that m'lady, I'm sorry."

"And why is that?"

"You may not want me to be your knight right now, not even your prince, but no matter what I will always be your partner. No fate could ever keep me away from your side and out of your arms. No matter what, I will always come running back... and if I have to take a hit so be it. I would much rather these scars be on my skin than yours, and I would rather die than see you suffer."

"Don't you dare say that Adrien Agreste."

"Why not? You're all I have to lose! You have a family that loves you, friends who adore you. You have so much talent and such amazing opportunities. But if I lose you, then I've lost everything. I love you, Marinette. More than you know."

"I love you too, Adrien." She answered softly. "I love you so much it hurts."

I smiled before concluding. "How about we make a deal, okay? How about we both protect each other? How about we take down the baddy, save those kids, and then you run into my arms. You run to me, and I'll hold you and never let go. How about we both get out of this without a scratch?"

"Sounds perfect." She smiled.

Before I had the chance to respond, I ran into another ventilation shaft, and if I remembered correctly, it was the one that led to the kitchen.

If we got into the kitchen we could get downstairs, and there was an entry way from the basement onto the stage, and the stage was in the gym. The little trap door was hidden quite well, most likely meant for dramatic disappearances in plays or shows.

"Here." I hissed, suddenly lowering my voice as I heard sirens beginning to circle outside, right around the thin wall. I quickly got to work, pulling off the metal cover and gently setting it next to me.

I swiftly hopped down from the shaft, Marinette at my heels, as we began looking for the stairs.

"Wait," my breath hitched as I grabbed my girlfriend, holding her still, "listen."

A couple voices could be heard across the hall, both sounding quite panicked.

"But how did they get in?" She whispered to me, sounding just as confused as I was.

I paused before listening to the voices.

"I've smelled better." The male said.

"I have too." The girl groaned. "But now's not the time to worry about body odor."

"Agreed. Do you still have that blueprint from Max?"

"Yeah, right here. Hmm... it looks like we're right by the staircase, if we go downstairs we can enter the trap door under the stage. The curtains are usually pulled down, so we should have the full backstage to ourselves. Get a chance to search our surroundings. Then we strike."

Wait a second, I thought, those voices sound familiar... and so does that plan.

I risked sticking my head around the corner, only to confirm my suspicions.

"May we be of any help?" I asked the older Ladybug and Chat Noir staring at us in complete shock.

"Leave it to us to find a way out of being held hostage." My future self smirked.

"Actually, it was Hugo's idea." Mari intervened. "We were backed up against a storage closet, and when no one was watching he helped us sneak in and reminded us about the ventilation shaft."

"Of course he did." Replied the older Marinette. "He's always been quick on his feet and great at improv strategizing."

"No one can beat him at Catan or Risk!" Her husband angrily muttered.

"With that being said, he was the one to get in contact with Max. Max was able to unlock the garbage shaft and called us right away. It sounds like they have a back up plan involving the mind wipe if things go south, too."

"And that means our first priority is disarming the bomb, not protecting our secrets." I agreed.

"Exactly. Now first step... let's get in there. Once we're in the gym, we'll figure out how to take down that suicidal sociopath."

"Got it. Let's go get a bomb."