Whenever Monarch was defeated, we thought that everything would go back to how it was before. We thought we could express ourselves freely. We could feel what we wanted to feel. And we were able to. Just not for long. Lila Rossi as we know her, but...
It had been over a month since Marinette went missing, and the city of Paris had been engulfed in a cloud of worry and despair. As her best friend, I couldn't shake the feeling of emptiness that consumed me every day, the ache of not knowing where she was or if she was safe.
And then, just when we had begun to lose hope, Marinette returned. Well, she escaped and turned up at the manor's door, bloody and bruised. She arrived a day ago, but she wasn't the same bubbly, cheerful girl we all knew and loved. She looked different—paler, skinnier, and devoid of emotion. It was as if her spark had been extinguished, leaving behind a hollow shell of her former self.
I didn't expect for her to be the exact same. Especially since we have no idea the torture that the clown guy put her through.
I tried talking to her, reaching out to her, but she seemed distant, detached. She rarely spoke, and when she did, her words were hollow, devoid of any emotion. It was heartbreaking to see her like this, to witness the vibrant spirit I knew so well reduced to nothing but a shadow of its former self.
But it wasn't until night fell that things took a sinister turn. Marinette would wander off into the darkness, disappearing into the shadows without a word. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong, that whatever had happened to her during her absence had changed her in ways I couldn't comprehend.
Unable to sit idly by while my friend suffered in silence, I decided to follow her one night, determined to uncover the truth behind her strange behavior. I kept my distance, trailing her as she moved with purpose through the empty streets of Paris, until she led me to a place, I never expected to find her—the Hall of Justice.
My heart pounded in my chest as I watched Marinette break into the building, her movements swift and deliberate. I couldn't believe what I was seeing—my sweet, innocent friend, committing an act so out of character, so unlike her.
As she disappeared into the building, I hesitated for a moment, torn between confronting her and calling for help. But something inside me urged me to follow her, to uncover the truth behind her actions no matter the cost.
Slipping through the shadows, I made my way inside the station, careful to remain unnoticed as I searched for Marinette. What I found was beyond anything I could have imagined.
Marinette stood before a console; her expression blank as she worked with an efficiency that sent chills down my spine. It was as if she was operating on autopilot, her actions devoid of any hesitation or remorse.
I watched in horror as she accessed classified files, her fingers flying across the keyboard with a speed and precision that spoke of expertise far beyond her years. Whatever she was doing, it was clear that she was no longer the girl I thought I knew.
As she finished her task and turned to leave, I knew I had to confront her, to demand answers to the questions that had been plaguing me since her return. Stepping out of the shadows, I called out her name, my voice shaking with a mixture of fear and uncertainty.
Marinette froze, her eyes widening in surprise as she turned to face me. For a moment, there was a flicker of recognition in her gaze, a spark of the girl I once knew buried deep within the emptiness that now consumed her.
But it was gone in an instant, replaced once again by that blank, emotionless mask. Without a word, she turned and walked away, leaving me standing alone in the darkness, grappling with the truth of what I had witnessed.
As I watched her disappear into the night, I knew that whatever had happened to Marinette during her absence, it had changed her in ways I could never fully understand. And as much as it pained me to admit it, I feared that my friend was lost to me forever.
