lila's revenge

Chapter 36

Lucy's POV:

I know Lila is texting Adrien. Probably trying to arrange a time to give him more of that memory stuff. I don't care if he forgets me, if it means that Marinette is okay then it's a good thing. Speaking of Marinette, I know Lila and Emma are currently busy, which means no one is stopping me from checking on her. Lila would hear me if I tried to leave through the front door, but nothing is stopping me from getting there with the help of my kwami.

As if reading my thoughts, Tikki and Sapph fly out from where they had been hiding. I could tell that Tikki had been feeling a bit lonely ever since Plagg had returned to Adrien earlier. The best way to cheer her up would be to let her visit Marinette with me.

"Do you guys fancy a late night visit?" I whisper, aware of the prying ears of my cousin.

They both nod back happily.

"Sapph, fins out!" I say quietly and a blue light fills my eyes as I transform. When the light fades, only Tikki waits in front of me, with a soft smile on her face.

"Lets go, I think I  remember the way." she comments, flying to the window. Glancing around I check for citizens in the street before jumping out of the window and into the night.

We make it back to the street in a short amount of time, and I push open the door. It makes a loud creaking noise, and I step through just as I hear someone speak behind me.

"And where do you think you're going?" 

My heart stops, and I spot Tikki hiding through the door to prevent her being seen. I turn slowly, expecting one of Lila's minions, or worse my cousin herself. How do I explain I was just doing a casual patrol. A certain black clad cat comes into my view as I turn and I sigh in relief.

"Oh Chat Noir, hey. I was just checking out this house, I'd never seen it before." I explain, carefully closing the door so he couldn't use his night vision and spot Tikki.

"That sounds fun, mind if I join you?" He says, moving towards me.

"NO, I mean yes. Sorry, but I'd rather do this myself."

"Why?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowed beneath his mask.

"Shouldn't you be doing your patrol anyway?" I retort, standing in front of the door to stop him entering.

"Well yes, but Ladybug never showed up." He replied sadly, shoulders drooping.

That's because the love of your life is here you idiot. But I don't tell him that. Instead I smile sadly at him.

"She must be busy today, she'll probably explain tomorrow?" I suggest hopefully, hoping that Lila releases Marinette quickly. The poor kitty cat looks lost and unhappy.

"I guess so, well have a nice evening on your own." he says bitterly, before extending his baton and turning.

"Wait, Adrien, you know it's not like that. You'll see Ladybug soon, I'm sure. If you want I'll do patrol with you later?" I reason with him quickly.

"You.. You know my identity?" He asks, startled, looking at me with wide eyes.

"Well yeah, you gave me my miraculous." I say casually with a shrug.

Confusion fills his eyes before he grabs his forehead in pain.

"All okay?" 

"Yeah, my head just really hurt, probably getting a headache." he reasons. " I might head home instead and take some medicine. Could you finish patrol for me after your private adventure?" 

I nod, ignoring the bitterness in his tone as he finished the sentence.

"Bye Chat Noir." 

He waves quickly before jumping away.

Taking a deep breath I push open the door to Marinette's prison and join Tikki waiting on the other side.

"I'll get Plagg to speak to him." She says, catching my expression.

"No, it's fine, he won't remember me after tomorrow anyway." I reply, opening the door to the basement.

Tikki doesn't reply, instead flying down the stairs beside me.

"Marinette?" I whisper nervously. Muffled noises sound from the far corner so I make my way over there. I really regret not bringing a torch.

As I make my way closer, Tikki gasps and hurries towards the noises.

"Marinette!" she cries, pulling down the gag gently.

"Tikki, how did you get here?" Marinette responds in disbelief, hugging the kwami happily.

"Hey Marinette." I say, crouching down next to her.

"Er hey, do I know you?" she asks. What does she mean, she hasn't been drugged too has she?

Oh wait, she's never seen me transformed.

"Sorry, Sapph fins in." I call and let the transformation drop.

"Lucy!!" Marinette exclaims when she realises it's me. I let Sapph into my pocket before hugging Marinette.

"It's okay, I've got a plan to get  you out." I say confidently.

"It's a good plan too." Tikki comments from where she's perched on Marinette's pigtail.

Marinette chuckles, patting the kwamis head gently.

"Go on."

"Well I'm assuming you know Adrien has forgotten about you?" I start. She nods harshly, not meeting my eyes.

"We confessed our love for one another, and then she took his memory of me away, in front of my eyes."  she recalls, eyes trained on the ground as she tries to hold back tears.

"And whenever he gets too close to a memory involving you, he gets a searing headache." I add, causing her to look back up at me.

"So how is this a plan?" she asks sadly.

"There's a loophole, Chloe and I found out about it at school today when we interviewed him."

Marinette gestures for me to continue.

"He still loves and remembers everything about Ladybug."

Her eyes widen with hope before reality hits.

"But how is that going to help if his Ladybug is trapped in some random basement?" she asks bitterly.

"That's where I come in." I say confidently and Tikki nods firmly.

"Oh?" Marinette asks.

"I persuaded Lila that you could come back to school if no one remembered you except me."

Marinette scoffs. "What's the catch then? There's no way she'd just let me come back."

"The catch is that, Adrien loses his memory of me, meaning I cannot impact his memory of you at all. As no one else remembers you, they would be unable to bring back memories of you so I was her only threat."

Marinette watches my expression sadly as I speak.

"Are you sure you want to do that?" she asks quietly, her voice catching slightly.

I nod calmly, and her eyes fill with tears.

She wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly.

"Thank you." She whispers into my shoulder.

"I should get going, Chat Noir asked me to do his patrol for him." I say sadly, standing up.

"Lazy Cat." She exclaims laughing.

"Kind of, I may have brought him too close to remembering you though, which is why he went home with a headache." I explain awkwardly.

Marinette laughs sadly. "Silly kitty, I miss him." 

"I really should be off, I don't want Lila to become suspicious of me." I say, stepping away.

Marinette nods and waves us off, Tikki flying away from her owner, back to where I was. I transform back and give a final wave before running out of the house and onto the rooftops of Paris to finish Chat's patrol.