Breaking the Mask (Book Three)

Chapter 16

Above the chaos happening all around them, a lightbulb flickered above Emma's head. She shot her gaze to her younger siblings.

"We can go save Mom and Dad!" Emma exclaimed.

Rena's mouth dropped open, "Emma, you can't do that! It's too dangerous!"

"But they're in danger!" Emma yelled, "You and the other heroes need to protect Paris!"

"Can someone please explain what the fuck is going on?!" Hugo cut in.

Rena was caught off-guard by the little boy's foul language, but shook it off. Kids these days were learning bad words at a young age anyways. Besides, language was the least important thing at the moment.

"Do you boys not know about your parents' secret identities?" Rena asked.

Louis and Hugo blinked in confusion. They turned their heads to look at each other, to which the boys simply shrugged simultaneously. Rena took their movements as a no. There was no time to ask Emma how she knew about their secrets, so the superheroine decided to just jump straight to the point.

"Well, your parents are Ladybug and Chat Noir," Rena explained.

As expected, both of the boys' mouths dropped all the way down to the floor while their eyes became the size of tennis balls. Before either of them could respond to this surprising piece of information, Rena continued to speak.

"They went to London to take out the villain in charge of all this chaos, which is why they left you three to stay with us"

"And like I said a hundred times already, they need our help," An annoyed Emma repeated.

"Your parents trusted us to watch you," Rena said, "I don't want to-"

"Alya, come on!" Emma whined, "They're asking for help so please just let us help them! This is our parents we're talking about!"

"But-"

"She's right," Louis interrupted, "We can't just stay here while our parents are in need of backup"

"Not to mention they're your best friends," Hugo added, "You wouldn't want to leave them to deal with this issue alone, would you?"

Rena pressed her lips together and looked back at the battles taking place outside their home. Queen Bee had now joined Carapace in defending the city. With a sigh, Rena turned back to the three kids in front of her.

"Fine, I'll let you kids go," The superhero said in defeat, "I'm counting on you to save them. One of you has to use the horse miraculous, the pair of glasses, to teleport to their location. The other two can use whatever miraculous you want"

Hugo's eyes lit up in excitement. He turned to his green-haired brother and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him rapidly. Louis stiffened at his brother's sudden burst of enthusiasm.

"This is so cool!" Hugo exclaimed, "We're gonna be using miraculouses! We're gonna be superheroes, Louis!"

"I would like for you to take your hands off me," Louis mumbled.

"Anyways, let's not waste any more time," Emma suggested, "Let's go save Mom and Dad"

~

Adrien grabbed the collar of Chat Noir's suit and pinned his fake alter ego against the wall. His teeth grinded against each other in anger while his green eyes burned with fury. A crimson droplet of blood ran vertically down his cheek from their clash earlier.

"Tell me how to stop these monsters right now," Adrien seethed.

Chat Noir snickered, "I'm not scared of you y'know"

Adrien tightened his grip around his collar, making Chat Noir gasp from the tightness in his throat. As much as he hated his cousin at the moment, Adrien tried not to make his grip too tight out of fear that he would accidentally kill him. Killing people was not a part of his job, even if he was facing the enemy right now.

"Tell me!" Adrien demanded, his fists shaking against his cousin's throat.

A sinister smile spread upon Chat Noir's lips, "I have one thing to tell you, Adrien"

The snarl on Adrien's lips faded and turned neutral. He lifted an eyebrow in confusion. Before he knew it, Chat Noir pushed himself off the wall and clasped his hands around Adrien's throat. Adrien gasped as he was thrown to the ground with Chat Noir pinning him from his throat.

He moved his hands from his cousin's suit collar and placed them on either one of Chat Noir's wrists while his legs kicked rapidly in an attempt to break free. His struggling only caused Chat Noir to tighten his hold around his throat, making Adrien gag from his lack of air.

"You should have taken my miraculous right there when you had me," Chat Noir said.

Choking noises came from Adrien's lips as he struggled to catch a breath. His legs stopped kicking while his chest grew tight and his head spun in circles.

Ladybug threw her yo-yo at Chat Noir. The circular part of her magic weapon wrapped around the enemy's waist. Using every inch of strength she could muster, the superheroine tugged on the string, forcing Chat Noir to get off her husband and slam into a wall on the far side of the room.

Adrien sat up, panting in an attempt to catch his breath. He looked at Ladybug, who now laid on the floor with her hand pressed against her wound and her face scrunched up in pain. Her movements have caused the wound to open even more, making the pool of blood grow underneath her.

Adrien gasped at scurried over to his wife. He knelt down beside her, holding the back of her head in his hand. A series of violent coughs escaped her lips, which were accompanied by droplets of blood coming out of her throat.

"Marinette, use your Miraculous Ladybug!" Adrien demanded.

Before he knew it, a pink glow surrounded the tips of her feet and fingers. The light traveled up her arms and legs, revealing the skin and clothes underneath her suit. Adrien panicked and looked into his wife's eyes, which were now closed shut. Her head grew limp against his hand while her mask continued to disappear from her face. Tears snuck out of Adrien's eyes when he realized what was happening.

"Marinette, please! Stay with me!" Adrien shouted.

No response. Adrien lowered his head until his face hovered directly in front of hers. With his lips trembling, he pressed his forehead against hers, where the icy cold sensation of her skin spread to his.

"Please," Adrien whimpered, "Don't go"

He repeatedly begged for her to open her eyes while he sobbed, as if that could somehow bring her back. But it was no use. Adrien cradled her limp and lifeless body in his arms, not caring about her blood staining his clothes.