28: Pathetic

"How are you finding your new home, oh great kwami of creation?" said Gabriel in his most spiteful tone to mock Tikki. The little kwami struggled sitting up to look at the man before her, her body had weakened in the days she's been encapsulated in the cramped glass. Not only has she been cruelly held captive, she's also been starved since the day of her arrival.

She mustered up all the stregth to grow a smile to humor her pathetic kidnapper, "Oh I am loving my stay. In fact, I'd consider dying here and now in this beautiful garden you've set up for your dead wife."

Gabriel frowned, "Emily is not dead." he replied, anger in his tone, "She's in a coma and I need to wake her with the ladybug and black cat miraculous."

Tikki lets out a light laugh, "You really think everything will work your way, huh?"

"Of course. Once your master realizes where you are, she'll surely ask Chat Noir for help to find my lair and then they'll both fall under my trap."

Amused, Tikki scoffs, "My master isn't dumb Hawkmoth. She'll see through your plan."

Tikki expected a flustered Gabriel, but instead, he grinned at her as if he already knew what she was thinking.

"Save your pity speech when Ladybug arrives," he said turning his back to her walking away, "Don't think I've been idly waiting for the new guardian, little one."

He steps into the lift, pausing to glance at Tikki one last time, "Worry not, you won't die in that state. I've been studying you spirits." he grinned in confidence and the door closes, taking Gabriel up, disappearing in front of her.

The moment Gabriel had gone, Tikki falls to the floor of the glass, her body becoming heavier and weaker by the day.

"Marinette...be careful." she whispers under her breath and faints.

* * * * * * *

As soon as Chat Noir and Wayzz arrives back to his bedroom, Adrien detransforms staring intently at Plagg who had just separated from him.

"You're mad are you?" said Plagg shyly.

"I'm not even trying to hide it now." Adrien replied, pulling out his phone, blasting up a classical piece, setting it up on the piano.

"This way no one will interrupt us." he said and walked towards the stairs of his loft. He glanced at the two, making them jolt, then proceeds to go up alone.

"He's really mad." Plagg whispers.

"No surprise with that." the turtle replied.

Wayzz flies ahead upward and Plagg came after, messing up his ears, scared and frustrated of how complicated things had become. Plagg is already expecting an eruption from Adrien by now.

The three met in Adrien's bed, each taking a space facing towards each other. Plagg and Wayzz sat beside each other while Adrien had his legs crossed, eyes almost piercing the two.

"Well, let's hear it." said Adrien, sounding unimpressed.

Wayzz was ready to start, but Plagg suddenly stood up and groveled to Adrien,

"Before anything could be said," the black cat pleaded, "I would like to apologize for my incapability as your partner."

Adrien was startled with his partner's words. His eyes softened as he watch over to his black cat bowing to the sheets.

"Plagg.." he mumbles, voice in a tone of shame.

"It was all for your sake Adrien," he looks up to the saddened boy, "Ladybug and I did all that to protect you."

"But you don't need to protect me! I should be working side by side with you!" he reasons.

"And that is what Hawkmoth expects to happen." said Wayzz, holding Plagg's hand to stand up.

Adrien diverts his attention to the little green, "What?" he said under his breath.

"Ladybug, the new guardian, did not do all this to show you how untrustworthy you are Adrien." Wayzz said in strong intonations, "After Tikki was captured by Hawkmoth, she had it calculated that Hawkmoth wants to lure you both into finding his lair making it easier for him to fulfill his goal in taking both of your miraculous."

"Tikki she.." Plagg shook his head from the image of his friend tortured, "She wanted to find a clue on Hawkmoth but ended up being caught."

"Despite being unable to transform into Ladybug, the master tried her best to tell you everything Adrien, even if it meant using an illusion to convey it to you. However, with the current level of her mastery, the miraculous still holds limitations thus making its usability shortened to a few minutes to last."

"That's why Ladybug ran to the shadows." Adrien now feels like he's finally caught on, "But wouldn't it be more dangerous for her to search for the lair on her own?"

"If anything, it will keep Hawkmoth from fulfilling his plans if you stay away from this."

Adrien noticed how Wayzz had been mentioning about a plan that Hawkmoth had been holding on to. It made sense how Hawkmoth had been chasing them all this time to get their miraculous for power, but what exactly lies beneath that facade of power?

"This plan you speak of..." he initiates, "It doesn't seem like he wants all of the miraculous. What exactly does Hawkmoth want to do once he has the ladybug and chat noir miraculous?"

"The ultimate wish." Plagg answers, making Adrien more confused, "That's what Hawkmoth is after." he adds.

"What Plagg said is about this power granted to whoever conjointly uses both the ladybug and cat miraculous granting the holder one ultimate wish." Wayzz explains, "Although there are no certainty due to unfound text pertaining to its reliability, it is presumed that once this wish is made, something will be lost. That is what we are avoiding here to happen."

Now that his mind is clearer, Adrien leans back to his pillows, trying to process what Wayzz had said. The dots have been connected, and for Adrien, it felt like the calm lull of the ocean had started to crash in waves on the sturdy walls of his imagination. All of his 'jumping into conclusions' have finally ceased, now that he has perspective of what is to come.

It was bigger than what he had in mind. Hawkmoth could wish for eternal life killing all of the people in exchange, and that horrified the heck out of him.

Wayzz floats over to check on the spaced out Adrien. The boy hadn't been talking for a while which worried him.

"I take your silence as a sign that you understand what we're fighting for." he said.

Plagg flew over, looking apologetic at his boy, "Adrien, you don't have to think about it that deeply. Ladybug will find Tikki and Hawkmoth won't get his way. You know how reliable your partner is, right?"

"It's not that." Adrien's voice shuddered. He fixed his posture and looked at Wayzz and Plagg straight in the eye, "I'm reeling on the fact that she's carrying all this on her own!"

Adrien was mad, but not at the two nor at Ladybug. He was mad at himself. He doesn't like the feeling that he's the one being protected while his partner is suffering.

"You saw her earlier, right?" Adrien whimpers, "She was hurting."

"But that was a mirage." Plagg added.

"Yes, however due to her strong emotions, Ladybug had also replicated her inner desire that had accidentally manifested into the illusion." Wayzz cuts him.

Adrien pulls a pillow and slams it in front of him, eyes raging in sadness, "Didn't you see how she broke down? That was already a cry for help. And yet..and yet..." he felt heat run through his lids, but strongly held it back.

Wayzz understood what Adrien meant. He too did not want Marinette carrying this on her own, but he too had to consider how Marinette has been carefully planning this out. If only there was a way that they could help her that won't risk both their ends.

Light bulb.

"There might be a way to help." Wayzz mumbles, perking up Adrien from his distraught.

"How? Tell me. Anything."

Wayzz screws up his face, "It's not certain but I am considering it. The master did assign me to keep watch of you." he mumbles.

"Well? What is it?" Plagg intrudes, also getting curious.

Wayzz looks up, "When Nooroo visited the master, he mentioned one factor on how Tikki got captured before Hawkmoth had complete grasp of her."

"Nooroo...isn't that Hawkmoth's kwami?" Adrien repeats.

Wayzz nods, "Despite being on Hawkmoth's side, Nooroo is a good friend of ours. As a matter of fact, we're counting on him right now to watch over Tikki."

"Of course." Plagg snaps his fingers, "Nooroo mentioned that Tikki followed someone and that's how she ended up in Hawkmoth's place."

"If only we could investigate on the whereabouts of that day when Tikki disappeared through that person, then we might be able to find a clue on sneaking into Hawkmoth's lair." added Wayzz.

"Then I'll do that. It's merely investigating right?"

"I appreciate your eagerness Adrien but..I believe this person we're talking about is as dangerous as Hawkmoth. Even Ladybug herself was shaken on the thought."

"Even Ladybug? Who is this?"

Wayzz and Plagg exchanged glances. Plagg stepped forward to Adrien patting the boy's hand, "It's Volpina."

Adrien gasps, "Lila is working with Hawkmoth!?"

((A/N: I'm not gonna be surprised if Lila becomes the new HM soon.))

* * * * * * * * *

Deep into the night, Wayzz and Plagg sleep soundly at the sofa all bundled up in warmth, while Adrien who had been lying down on his bed for hours now, has his thoughts running wild. He couldn't sleep thinking about all that he's learned about the current status quo.

He sits up, messing his hair. The sight of Ladybug breaking down in front of him kept replaying in his head. He's always looked up to her. Ladybug was his idol and he admired her so much for being strong and responsible. Her becoming the guardian was no surprise. He always knew she was up for the task. But despite how hard she tries to hide it, he knows she's trying to be someone she's not which is taking a toll on her.

"I want to see her." he mumbles to himself.

In his frustration, Adrien pulls out his phone, impulsively opening his inbox, putting Marinette on the 'send to' tab. He does realize it's already 11 at night and yet the time isn't stopping him. The blue balloon lights up on his side the instant he sends.

Adrien: 「You awake?」

Two minutes have passed and there was no reply.

Adrien: 「Sorry to bother you if you're asleep, I just wanted to ask you something.」

Another minute had passed and he thought that maybe he should just send her something to read by the time she wakes up.

Adrien: 「I know this is probably me getting frustrated not being able to sleep but...can we talk about us?_

He pauses. Re-reading that didn't come out the way he wanted it. What could they possibly talk about THEM when there wasn't a THEM to begin with. He hasn't even spoken to Kagami. He frowns deleting it almost all the way, trying again.

Adrien: 「I know this is sudden, but if you need somebody to talk to for your lyrics, I'm all ears.」

Sent.

The moment he pressed send, he locks his phone, slipping it under his sheets, nodding to himself like a dork. Adrien Agreste acting like a little girl in love was fresh.

Proud of what he had done, he decides to get off the bed and take a trip to his book collection, hoping a book could take away his worries and tire him to sleep. But as he got to his feet, he noticed something odd struck by the light coming from his window under his desk. He carefully walked through the darkness, his eyes adjusting to what he was looking at. He reaches for it under the table, pulling it out to the stray light for a clearer view.

"A jewelry box?" he whispers, opening the lid then studying it's contours, "This looks like something an intricate person would use." he chuckles, slipping it inside his messenger bag for school. He walks to the stairs of his loft yawning, reaching for the switch of his bathroom. He carefully slides it open knowing Wayzz and Plagg were sleeping soundly in the living.

"It's funny how Marinette and Ladybug had become distant to me lately." he thought to himself as he closed the door.