Under The Mask 🎭 (a Miraculous Ladybug Fanfic)

-39- Sudden Fists

Adrien paces around his room as Loyalty keeps looking through his stuff. He didn't know she'd take what he said so literally. She's on the second floor of his bedroom, sorting through all the different video games he has. He climbs the spiral staircase to meet her, and she holds the case of a game. "I recognize this one."

He looks over her shoulder. Ultimate Mega Strike. "That's the one we played together for school," He tells her, hoping something in her lost memory will jog. "We were paired up together for school and trained in your bedroom. I... I was a little nervous, to be honest. It was my first time alone in a pretty girl's bedroom."

"You think Marinette is pretty?" Loyalty asks, looking up at him.

"Of course I do. She's the most beautiful girl in the world."

"Statistically, that's impossible," She states, setting the video game back on the shelf. "Given the amount of people in the world—"

Adrien rolls his eyes. "She is the prettiest of them all."

Loyalty stares at Adrien, her gaze lingering, and he wonders for a moment if she's blushing, or the shadow from her eyes. "You're loyal to her, as I am to you."

"I-I guess you could put it that way," He admits, scratching the back of his neck. "I love her. I would do anything for her—for you."

"For me?" She questions, unsure. "But I'm not Marinette. I'm Loyalty."

"Still, I would do anything for you, too."

Loyalty nods to herself. "Interesting." She walks past him and steps down the spiral staircase back to the first floor of his room.

Adrien follows behind and stares at Plagg sleeping on the couch. His eyes widen with an idea. He'd send Plagg out to sneak around the house and find the bracelet his father is hiding. I don't know if he'd keep it on him or in the safe behind mother's portrait. It doesn't hurt to look. We have nothing to lose. He looks at Loyalty, standing in front of the TV, using the remote to flip through different channels. He had to distract her—after all she would never betray his father—and she might alert him if she knew his plan. "Hey, Loyalty?"

She turns off the TV and looks over. "Yes?"

"I want you to look at some pictures." Adrien grabs her hand and leads her over to his desk, letting her sit, and opens his photo gallery. He hopes looking at pictures and videos of their lives and friends would be enough to help break Hawk Moth's control on her. "Just look through these, please."

"Is there a reason why?" She asks, but still obeys.

"No." He shakes his head. "No reason."

"Alright." She grabs the mouse and starts looking through all his photo albums.

Adrien steps over to Plagg and nudges him gently. "Plagg—"

"Huh? Huh? What?" The kwami shouts, startled awake, and flies around. He notices his holder and glares. "Hey, I was sleeping!"

"Shh, Plagg, I need you to do something," He whispers, quietly enough so Loyalty can't overhear them. "I need you to sneak around the house and look for the akumatized object—Marinette's charm bracelet—and bring it back to me. Then we can free her from Hawk Moth's control."

The kwami offers his hand. "Fine, but cheese first since you woke me up from my cat nap."

Adrien rolls his eyes but reaches inside the cheese cabinet and hands him a piece. "Okay, there you go. Hurry!"

"Alright, alright!" Plagg eats the cheese in one bite and phases through the wall. He flies to Nathalie's room first, peeking in, and sees her talking with Hawk Moth. Of course his assistant would help him. He squints at Hawk Moth's hand. He's not holding it, so he must have hidden it already. Leaving her room, he floats down the foyer and eyes the office doors. Would it be too predictable if Hawk Moth hid the charm bracelet in the safe? Maybe, but the kwami still had to check.

"Bracelet, bracelet, where are you?" Plagg sings to himself as he phases through the door, then the portrait into the safe. There it was, sitting on the top shelf. "Stupid Hawk Moth." He grabs it and flies back to his holder's room. Loyalty still sits at the desk, scrolling, and he drops the bracelet in Adrien's hand. "Here you go, kid."

"Thanks, Plagg. Claws out!" Adrien transforms into Cat Noir and holds the bracelet is his gloved hand. "Cata—"

Loyalty's eyes burn red now as she jumps at the hero and slaps the bracelet out of his hand. "NO!"

Cat Noir stares at her with wide eyes. "Loyalty, what are you doing—" He ducks in time as she swings, and she keeps attacking him. "I don't want to fight you!" 

"You will," She sneers, lunging at him.

He avoids every attack, but with each miss, she gets faster and stronger. She punches him hard, causing him to flip over the couch. He lands on his back, out of breath, and as Loyalty leaps at him, he stands and grabs a pillow, swinging and hitting her with it. At least it's soft, he defends to himself. "Why are you attacking me?!"

Loyalty doesn't answer. She kicks the coffee table at Cat Noir and it flies at him, breaking on impact, and he rolls across the room. As he flips on his back, she stands above him. She raises a hand. "Fight back, cat."

"No!" Cat Noir grabs his staff and shoots it into her chest, sending her flying to the second floor of his room. She slams into the wall, falling face-first into a pile of video game cases. He stands slowly, wielding his staff, and takes careful steps over. "I'm sorry, Marinette! You know I don't want to hurt you." Why is Loyalty acting weird and attacking me? It's like a switched turned on in her mind. "Loyalty—"

Loyalty drops down behind Cat Noir and as he turns around, she backhands him across the face. His staff falls at his feet. She wraps a hand around his throat and picks him up, holding him high in the air. Her hand tightens. "Rule number one, I will not betray Gabriel Agreste."