Paris

72

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Adrien's P.O.V

   I groaned as I started to return to consciousness. My temple ached as if I dove in head first onto a stone-paved path. There is an itchy feeling constricting me with some other forms. I assumed that the material was a rope. Was I captured and tied up with other victims?

I blinked as dizziness made it difficult to see but everything was starting to take form. I was correct about the rope but that did not mean I enjoyed the satisfaction of being correct.

"What is going on? Did someone knock me out?" I wondered in my head, squinting at the familiarity of the scene, "Is this the hideout?"

A dreadful sensation twisted in my stomach when knowing all too well that we were inside the hideout. There are a few guys dressed head to toe in black clothing and holding Banshees, monitoring our every move.

This was not good. Why can I not remember what had commenced before I blacked out?

Another shot of pain went through my skull, making me wince.

"Oh good, you are awake," a male voice whispered.

I peeked over my left shoulder to see a scraggly guy tied up with me. He had a darker tone of skin and brown eyes. There was no ounce of fear creasing his face. For a hostage, he was excellent at keeping calm and collected. He seemed more logical than anything.

"I do advise you to be careful. You may be suffering from a slight concussion and your injury is starting to swell," he stated.

"Injury?" I questioned, urging him to explain.

"Yes, I do not know what happened to you but I have a seventy-five percent theory that someone may have hit you on the head," he informed me.
His gaze shifted over to the other guys with guns and glared at them as if to silently say they were the ones who knocked me out.

   Even as my mind throbbed, I am slowly recalling the events that commenced earlier.

   These are not just some guys with guns. They are SSS members. I had chased one around the corner and was met with another SSS member with a bit more muscle than the gunman. This SSS member wielded a metal bat.

   With how hard that SSS member hit my temple, I would be dead if not for my super suit protecting me.

   Now that I think about it...why are my senses not heightened? And my suit would have protected me from the scratch of the rope. Yet, I feel it more vividly.

   I finally noticed that I was indeed not wearing my suit. What worried me more was my miraculous was no longer on my finger, leaving that part of my skin cold without it.

   An intensity weighed heavy on my soul. Though it was not chilly in the hideout, I could not help feeling the cold crawling along my skin as the color drained from it. I had to remember my training and keep myself from panicking. It would do me no good.

   But losing my miraculous was a major problem.

   Master Fu told me to never let it out of my sight and to keep it safe from any evil.

   Fu had once told me that the cat and ladybug miraculous hold a mighty power when brought together. It can grant any wish imaginable but it comes with an even greater price to keep the balance. A price that should never be paid.

   Fortunately, there are only a few people who know about this. I probably should have told Ladybug if Master Fu had not informed her of the direness of losing her miraculous.