Keeper of the Lost Cities: The Second Moonlark (a KOTLC/MLB crossover)

Chapter Two: Adrien

The forest around him was eerily silent.

Adrien kept running, faster and faster, watching as trees with trunks and leaves in many different colors sprang into existence. He didn't know what the trees were, yet he could feel a sense of familiarity, like he was supposed to be in this strange world. He didn't even know what or who he was running from.

All Adrien knew was that he had to keep going.

Faster still, he kept staring at the multicolored trees around him, engraved stones at the bases of the trunks, colors in a wide range of different skin tones. The leaves went from brown and black to red and what he could only say was blonde. Flowers blossomed, all in varying shades of blue. He didn't even know what the colors were supposed to mean, but again, he felt like he should be knowing.

The next thing Adrien knew, he collided with a small tree, more green than the rest of the forest, the words "Sophie Elizabeth Foster" engraved on the stark white stone. He paused, staring at the tree next to it, with wild reddish leaves and periwinkle blooms.

But Adrien started running again, still unsure why he was running in the first place. Surely whatever--or whoever--was chasing him would have at least shown itself by now. But still he kept running, white jacket tearing on branches that stuck out like obstacles, his feet tripping on exposed roots as the same word pounded in his head.

Legacy.

Legacy.

Legacy.

Adrien felt his breathing shorten, his legs ready to give out, but he still had no choice but to run.

Then he saw the stuff.

Glops of black goo started forming on random spots, his arms, his legs, his abdomen. He tried to wipe it off, but it had no intention of going away as it began to slowly spread throughout his body. Panicking, he tried to wipe the stuff off, but it wouldn't budge. Soon, he could see the goo beginning to obscure his vision.

He was running out of time.

Adrien heard a clap of thunder, and the next thing he knew, he was free-falling into the void, hearing cries for help, only they were in another voice, and not his.

He sat up quickly, the moonlight illuminating his pale face as he wiped sweat off his forehead.

It was only a nightmare, he tried to reassure himself. It was just a dream.

But he had been having nightmares for a few days now. And every single time, he would hear that cry for help. Someone was in danger.

He just didn't know who.

Still breathing quickly, Adrien went into the bathroom to try and calm himself down, only when he looked in the mirror...

A pair of ice blue eyes stared back.

Panicking, he stumbled backwards, crashing into the wall behind him as he ducked under the mirror's bottom edge, squeezing his eyes shut and praying that it wasn't real. And when he looked back, his eyes were green again.

What. Was. Happening?

"Another nightmare?"

Adrien turned to see Plagg, his Kwami, flying into the bathroom. Adrien bit his lip and nodded.

"Kid, you realize that this is the third nightmare in a row that you've had," Plagg pointed out.

And Adrien did know that.

But he didn't know why he was having non stop nightmares like this.

It felt like there was someone out there, really in mortal danger, and he needed to save them.

Slowly, using the sink for support, Adrien peeled himself from the tiled floor, wiping sweat off his forehead as his legs wobbly moved back towards his bed. Only, tonight, he decided to change course, heading to the corner of his room and pulling out a dusty box he hadn't looked in for years.

"Gross," Plagg said as Adrien opened the box, a cloud of dust billowing in their faces. "What is that thing?"

"It's... got stuff from when I was little," Adrien shoved his arm inside, searching for something. "I stopped filling it when I was like seven."

Luckily, what he was looking for wasn't that deep as he pulled out a small stuffed animal. Truth be told, he never really figured out what it was, it looked like a black bat with emerald eyes and a silvery sheen to it, the fur more grey.

"You wanna sleep with a stuffed animal?" Plagg laughed. "Are you crazy?"

"No, I just think I need an emotional support animal right now," Adrien rolled his eyes as he put the lid back on the box.

"Let me guess, you gave it a funny name," Plagg snickered.

"I think I remember what I named it," Adrien said, feeling memories return. "I named it like... I don't know... No, I actually can't remember."

"Well, you can continue being a dork and actually name it," Plagg chuckled.

"Hush," Adrien rolled his eyes again as he slid the box back into its little area, standing up and heading over to the large window in his room, watching the moon streak its light across the empty streets.

Well, not entirely empty.

Adrien peered closer to see a figure walking alone, their hands stuffed in their pockets. As they got closer, he could see that it was a boy, with shining blue eyes and ruffled blond hair. He wore a fancy blue tunic and was busy messing with some strangely shaped pendant.

Adrien swore he should've known who the boy was.

But even long after the boy disappeared from his view, he still didn't know.

It was like his memory was in a daze, trying to figure out what was going on.

Well, he was determined to figure out what as well.

And when he went back to sleep, he could still hear soft echoes in his head.

Legacy.

Legacy.

Legacy...