Miraculous Games

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty:

The color scheme was darker than normal, the screen behind the Miraculous Games hosts having been dimmed and saturated in its color. Alec had a box of tissues in front of him while Nadja had a single one in her hand. The usually clear table was now littered with used tissues - most of them on Alec's side.

"Hello, viewers," Nadja greeted, her tone grim. "We have some bad news to tell you."

Alec burst into tears. He started to sob into a tissue as he threw himself across the table.

"He's dead!" he shouted through the salty tears. "Adrien Agreste is dead!"

Nadja patted his back. "It'll be okay, Alec. We just have to stay strong." Even as she said this, a tear traced her cheek and she lowered her gaze. She turned to the camera but didn't look at the lens. "We give our deepest condolences to President Gabriel Agreste and apologize for his loss."

She turned back to Alec, continuing to rub his back as she told the news story.

"Adrien Agreste's room was found destroyed and covered in blood this morning by one of Gabriel's servants, Nino Lahiffe. The police were directly notified and it has been confirmed that it was, indeed, Adrien's blood. The body is still missing, but the police are almost positive, by the amount of blood that was soaked into white towels, that there may not be a whole body left."

Alec wailed. Nadja bit her lip to stop it from trembling and she finally looked up into the camera. Her eyes watered, threatening to spill over her perfect lashes.

"In the light of the situation, it has been decreed by President Agreste himself that he will be personally training Queen Bee, winner of the Miraculous Games, to be the new leader of our country. We, at the Miraculous Games, fully support this decision and look forward to the new announcements of Chloe Bourgeois's leadership."

* * *

Adrien stumbled across the rooftop, causing Marinette to wince and grip his neck tighter.

"You could at least be careful," she scolded.

He chuckled and helped her down. "I can only try my best, My Lady." He willed his staff to close, and after a lot of sparking and creaking, it did as it was told. Adrien gazed at it sadly for a few minutes before sighing and tucking it across his back. "Come on, we need to get inside before we're spotted. Black tends to stick out like a sore thumb against white marble in the middle of the day."

"I'm not complaining," Marinette muttered. Adrien gave her a Chat worthy mischievous smirk, then waved her forward.

"The trap door should be this way. You'd be surprised how much I know about these buildings."

"I've learned not to be surprised by what you bring to the table." Ladybug turned around and winked at him. She then bent down and, with the help of Adrien, yanked open.

"Do you want me to go first?" Adrien asked.

She climbed in first, giving him a raised eyebrow. "I appreciate the concern, but I can handle myself most of the time."

He spread his hands. "I only ask because you've been stabbed in the back, burned from head to toe pretty much, and-"

"Oh, shut up, Kitty, and get down here before you're seen."

Adrien broke into a wide grin. He would take that as a win. The two of them made their way down the ladder and stopped at the bottom. It reminded Adrien too much of the arena and he couldn't help but be on high alert. He took a step forward, only to have his foot land in a bucket of water. He cringed and lifted his foot.