Switched

Chapter 10 - Shock

Adrien rushed to get ready to meet Marinette. He had to talk to her about his nightmare. He had so many questions. Plagg gave Adrien a worried look.

"What's up with you?" Plagg asked. "You seem out of it today. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, I just had a nightmare."

"Ooh see. I had a nightmare too. I dreamt that all the Camembert in the world had disappeared! I was forced to eat some other gross cheese." Plagg sighed dramatically. "It was awful!"

Adrien chuckled after Plagg told him of his nightmare. "Is Camembert all you ever think about?" Adrien asked.

Plagg stared into space as he thought of a response. "Seems so. I can't think of anything other than Camembert. Do you happen to have any?"

Adrien tossed him a piece he had been saving and Plagg ate it happily.

Once he finished, Plagg flew into Adrien's bag (technically Marinette's bag) and Adrien headed downstairs. He asked Sabine if he could hang out with some friends, and she said it was alright. Adrien was astonished by how few questions she asked. She told him he could go out without having an hour-long discussion about why he should be allowed to. His father would never.

He left the house, pulled Marinette's phone out of the bag he was carrying to message her. When he pulled out the phone, he almost dropped it on the ground. He couldn't believe what he had read.

I love you too.

WHAT?! He thought. She said she loves me?! I must have been too tired last night to even register the fact that she said that. This is insane! What do I say now?

Good morning, bugaboo. Are you ready to meet up?

He was expecting her to answer right away. He got worried when she hadn't responded after 10 minutes.

I'm waiting in the park for you. Text me when you're coming.

Five more minutes passed. Then ten. Then twenty. His mind was filling up with all the possible things that may have happened to her. He couldn't understand why he was so anxious. She's always late and sleeps in all the time. Why did he feel so awful right now?

He decided to stop at his house to check on her. He didn't think he would be let inside, but he thought it was worth a shot. If he has to, he could always sneak in through the window. He did technically live there, so he figured it would be alright.

He arrived at the house and rang the doorbell. He heard Nathalie's voice through the speaker in the security camera. "How can I help you?" Nathalie asked.

"I had plans to meet up with Adrien today. I messaged him a while ago and he hasn't answered. Is he alright?"

Nathalie hesitated for an uncomfortably long time before responding. Adrien wondered what was preventing her from answering.

"Adrien is a little preoccupied right now, but you can come in and wait for him if you'd like," Nathalie responded. Her voice cracked ever so slightly when finishing her sentence. Was she...crying?

The gates opened and Adrien was let inside. He was cautious while walking in. Something felt very wrong, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Dread seemed to loom in the atmosphere.

He could tell Nathalie was upset. She was looking at the ground and holding her breath, trying not to cry.

"Nathalie, are you okay? What's wrong?" Adrien asked, forgetting he was in Marinette's body. "I mean ma'am, I'm sorry. You look upset. Can I help you?"

Adrien's remark only seemed to make Nathalie tenser. It didn't seem like she thought what he said was weird. It seemed like she was conflicted rather than confused.

"I'm fine, thank you," she said, faking a smile. Her smile quickly faded.

"So...where's Adrien?" Adrien asked, referring to Marinette.

"I...I'll take you to him. Follow me please."

Nathalie turned and walked into his father's study. Adrien followed. She stopped in front of the painting of his mother. "I want you to do exactly as I do. Watch carefully."

Before Adrien could ask for clarification, Nathalie had pressed buttons that were hidden in the panting. She was then brought down some sort of tube. It all happened too fast. Adrien was having trouble comprehending what just happened. He wondered what had happened to her and if she was alright.

He did exactly as she did with the buttons on the painting and he was brought down the same tube. He looked around confused. Where is he?

"Adrien, please forgive me for this," Nathalie whispered under her breath as Adrien came down the tube.

Adrien instantly felt sick when saw a nightmare worse than he could ever imagine unfolding in front of him.

He first saw Shadowmoth. His expression made Adrien's whole body shiver. Even worse, he was patting Nathalie on the shoulder, as if saying, "good job". How had he gotten Nathalie roped into this mess?

"What's going on here? I just want to talk to Mar...Adrien. Where is he? What have you done?"

All Shadowmoth did was smirk. Adrien looked around and noticed Marinette in his body, standing perfectly straight and staring at the ground. Adrien ran over to her and hugged her.
Marinette jumped back, startled by the sudden embrace.

"I'm so happy you're safe," Adrien said, tears streaming down his cheeks. "Please, can you tell me what's going on? Did Shadowmoth hurt you?"

Marinette began to sob uncontrollably. Her legs gave out. Adrien caught her in his arms. Her eyes, his eyes, were full of fear.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered to him. "It's all my fault."

"Enough of this nonsense," Shadowmoth interrupted.

Adrien turned his attention to him. "What did you do to her?!"

"Her?" Shadowmoth questioned. A smile began to creep on his face again.

"Who cares!" Adrien shouted with frustration. "What did you do to him?! Tell me!"

"You have two options," Shadowmoth announced. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Choose wisely."

Adrien was about to transform and answer that question with a cataclysm, but Marinette yelled to him to stop. Her blood-curdling scream made Adrien forget everything around him and focus all his attention on her. He ran over to her and whispered, "Mari, please, tell me what's wrong."

"Give him your miraculous," she demanded.

"Ha, that's not happening," Adrien responded. He looked to Marinette for some sort of sign to let him know what she was thinking. He got nothing. Ladybug doesn't give up, he thought. What did I miss that filled her with so much despair?

"You have to trust me," she said, not taking her eyes off the floor. "He's much more powerful than we could've imagined. I always know what to do, you know. Please, give it to him."

Adrien was confused. Marinette whispered to him, "I have a plan. Give him your miraculous. Trust me!"

There was something Marinette was hiding. She was keeping something important from Adrien and he knew it.

He looked up at Shadowmoth and for the first time, did not put all his faith into his partner. "You'll get my miraculous, over my dead body!"

"Ah, so you've chosen the hard way then. Well son, if that's what you want, so be it."