21: Hopeless

~*~*~

Oh, to hell with hiding around. You'd do it later, strategically of course, but for now...

You flew to the school, bursting through the window. Classes just started, everyone was still settling down, but they silenced as soon as you were there.

Three of them. 

Marinette, who was Ladybug.

Jake, who was a jerk.

And Adrien, who you felt strangely angry at but at the same time wanted to tell him everything about Jake.

Hmm... Two included Jake, and you really. wanted to get back at him... But Ladybug came first. Once you eliminated her, you'd be free to do what you want.

But then what happens after that...?

Nevermind; think about the present.

You sent out a whisp, which was much, much faster than last time you'd received your powers. It dashed at Marinette, who narrowly avoided it at the cost of Ivan being attacked instead.

"H-Huh..?!" She yelled as she ducked.

Various screams and yells resounded throughout the room as Ivan paled, twitching as he clutched the fabric around his core and collapsed onto the table, completely motionless. The white whisp came back to you, which you absorbed contently. Wow, that was great. And you were stronger than last time too.

"Marinette, don't dodge..." You sighed, sending more at her. She ran and dodged a few before leaving the classroom, slamming the door open as she ran through so it'd fling back. You lunged forward, flying in pursuit of her, your form somehow collapsing and slithering through the crack of the door. Oh, so you could do that too...

Marinette panted as she tried to run as fast as she could. She ran down the stairs as fast as she could, quickly swinging around and disappearing into a room below. You shifted through the space between the steps, then got onto the floor in your proper form. You smirked.

You could feel her fear. Her negativity; you could sense it.

You walked into the girl's bathroom, walking to the center and looking around, before letting out a whisp form your fingers.

"Here...?" You mumbled to yourself, before glancing to the side and seeing her behind the door. She jumped and attempted to run, but you slammed the door before she could do so. She sprung back to the other side of the room with a gulp. Your whisps shot at her, but she dodged every one with a somehow ungraceful and awkward skill. 

"Y-Y/N, stop...!" She yelled, screaming as she dove forward and out the way of the whisps. You sighed as you continued to control the whisps to attempt and strike her core, which she rolled to avoid. You attempted changing up the pattern, but she kicked up from the floor and ran.

"Nah."

"Why are you doing this?!" She gulped. You rolled your eyes.

"Isn't that obvious?" You sighed, closing your eyes bringing a hand to your face before sending her a malicious smirk followed by a low chuckle. She froze, glancing at you.

"You... remember? About... last time?"

Her dramatic pause was the end of her, since at that exact moment, a whisp dove right into her core. Looks like Paris' hope was gone.

"Aren't you silly, ? You sure do change when you're in Ladybug form, though." You chuckled at her helpless form. She was sprawled out on the ground, twitched slightly. She had turned into Ladybug in front of you, since you already knew. She didn't even have enough power to get up, let alone use her lucky charm. "What was that little bug that flew into your earing?"

She let out a small groan as she tried to reach for her yoyo, which you held high above your head. You laughed.

"You look so pitiful; I almost feel sorry... I should really leave you, but I sort of don't want to... Oh, right, I have Jerk-u to deal with..." You sighed. Ladybug's dull eyes connected with yours, as if asking a question. You shrugged. "He's just a jerk, nothing more to it. I'm still going to mess with him, though."

You started to pace around, flinging the yoyo aside. It landed on top of a barrier between the bathroom stalls. You continued, "Oh, right, gotta find Chat Noir and tell him about your identity to-"

"NO!" She yelled. Exhausted panting followed her short outburst. "N-No matter what... Don't..."

"...Eh? You react that much to me telling Chat Noir, but not leaving you here, or throwing your yoyo, huh? Well, you have a plan then, don't you?" You smirked. Though her eyes were dull and emotionless, the way her eyebrows were slightly furrowed gave it all away. "Oooh, I got it, didn't I?"

She didn't reply.

"Ah, you make me feel like I'm talking to a wall... Well, Ladybug, guess you're coming with me." You shrugged, picking her up and slinging her over your shoulder. She coughed as she collided with your back. You'd have to stay solid since you were carrying her...

"Hm, you know what? Your outfit is too obvious. Your cat friend might see us. Maybe a plastic bag would be better..."

And so, you had Ladybug in a black bin bag (that was previously filled with trash). You hoped she wouldn't suffocate. You only needed to solidify your hand, the rest of you was fine. It was still classtime, so you just checked if the coast was clear and snuck out. You then rushed off to find somewhere to put her.

You snuck through alleyways, and after forever, you finally found a place to hide. It was a warehouse and seemingly abandoned. You searched around and there was nothing; nothing to suggest someone had been there or anything. You thought you saw a needle for a second, but that wasn't it. As much as you needed Ladybug out the way, you wouldn't leave her in a druggies' den.

You found a secluded room and set things up before tying the exhausted girl up.

"Hmm, this seems nice, doesn't it?" You said to Ladybug, who was completely unresponsive. "You're not dead, are you? I don't want to kill people, I just need you out the way for now. Oh, right, I need to take these, too..."

Your hand edged closer to her earrings.

"No...!" Ladybug choked out. You let out a sigh.

"Come on, just give them to me..." You mumbled, she shook her head and weakly tried to push your arm back. 

"S-spots... o-...!" Before she could continue, you clasped her mouth shut, tilting her head so you could take both earrings. She turned back, a tear leaking from her eyes. 

"Oh, don't be so dramatic... I don't even know where Hawkmoth is right now; he hasn't contacted me. Anyway, I shouldn't take this with me, since Chat Noir might take it from me..." You mumbled to yourself. More tears spilled silently from Marinette's lifeless eyes. You ignored her and walked off. "I'll bring you lunch sometime later and you've gotta go to the bathroom by yourself; I ain't helping you with that..."

You left the room to find a place to put the earrings. You found a place you'd remember in the next room over and left the building.

You left her, racing through the city to find Chat Noir.