Take My Heart With You

Eiffel Tower

Everything was blurry. For a second, Adrien didn't know who or where he was. He didn't know why he was sprawled on the floor, or why he was somewhere else that wasn't his house. 

Then, everything had processed. 

Adrien was in a room at Master Fu's. Shooting pains sprung into his arms and legs as he tried to stand up, falling back down onto the floor with a thud. He tried to stand up once again, this time managing to make it onto his feet before patting himself down. 

He was in his normal clothes. He turned around and spotted Plagg lying down on a platter, remnants of cheese surrounding his small body.  

He sighed as he turned around once again, assessing the broken glass on the floor. 

Broken Glass? Why...

His thoughts were interrupted as Master Fu knocked on the door and came in, holding a tray filled with fruit, and other breakfast items. 

"Good Morning Adrien. I trust you slept well?" 

Adrien nodded in response, taking the tray from Master Fu, but placing it down immediately as a shock of pain attacked his left arm. 

Adrien gasped as he saw the long scar that spread from the palm of his left hand all the way to the wrist, making it look as if it was cracked, of some sorts. 

"Ah Yes. The pain should subside in a few minutes or so. This is the reason why Chat Noir's do not destroy the Akuma. Unlike the ladybug, they get lasting mementos of the destruction they caused to the Akuma."

Akuma? 

In a wave of nausea, everything that he had done for the last few days came back to him as he collapsed onto his knees. 

Marinette

"Marinette. Master Fu, is she-"

"Calm down Adrien. As the effects of the Akuma is released, Marinette should be free of all inflictions caused upon her after the bullet shot from the akumatised"

A relieved grin spread across Adrien's face as revelations cleared themselves in his brain.

"So, she should have her memories back and she should also be free from the love imprisonment spell that Luka had cast upon her", Continued Master Fu. 

"Where can I find her?"

"Most likely the place where she was the spell was the first cast. Do you remember-"

Master Fu sighed and stopped talking as he realized the man's absence. No doubt Master Fu's last spoken words had fallen on deaf ears as the blonde grabbed a sleeping plagg and bolted out the door. 

Adrien's feet pounded the tarmac with all the grace of a sack of wet concrete, the springing graceful steps of twenty miles earlier had long since disappeared. His rasping throat was as parched as a dead lizard in the desert sun. His head bobbed loosely from side to side with each footfall and his eyes felt heavy in their sockets. He had to save Marinette. 

Plagg's screaming from inside of Adrien's coat was muffled, the mini sounds unheard to the blonde's ears. He was far too concentrated on running as fast as he could. 

As the city came out of the darkness of night, Adrien crossed the Seine in silence. 

Without the traffic, he ran right down the centre of the street and not far away lay The Eiffel Tower, like a skeleton of metal projecting up into a sky that was rapidly becoming blue.

A morning like this should be foggy, misty at the least, but in contrast to Adrien mood, it looked determined to be a story-book perfect day in Paris - only without any Parisians loitering about in the streets. Perhaps he should be inside too, but we wouldn't. He was going to get to Marinette back no matter what. 

Standing at the base looking up,  Adrien could truly say he never appreciated its size. The legs as far apart as your average town plaza and the metal dull. 

It truly looked formidable.

He reached out to touch it, cold of course. But then what was he expecting? Adrien pushed on for the stairs, no electricity meant no elevators. The clang of his feet on the steps and his ragarrd breath echoed around him as he ran, stitches forming in his stomach as Adrien ignored the burn of his lungs and legs. 

He climbed countless stairs until he reached the top. He leaned against one of the metal structures, sliding down on his back until he reached a sitting stance on the floor. Adrien's rough breathing was the only thing that could be heard as he regained his strength and gave his muscles time to rest after the long sprint. 

The sound of a sob startled Adrien. 

He was on high alert. Was someone crying?

He pressed himself against the metal beams and peeked around to the other side, careful not to be seen. He slipped around and walked further towards the noise, an old metal pole he found gripped in his hand as a form of defence. 

As he inched towards the shadows, he realised that the noises were coming from a dark corner in the room. 

As the newly risen sun poured into the top section illuminating the place, Adrien gasped as he saw a bloody Marinette sitting in the corner, crying her eyes out. 

To Be Continued...