Of Magic and Mayhem

Ch. 11

'They abandoned me. They forgot about me!'
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Adrien jolted awake, terrified by the sudden, intense feelings of pain and betrayal. He rushed to the door, and threw it open to see Marinette quickly jump down from her room. Her eyes were wide and brimming with unshed tears. He quickly wrapped his arms around her. She sobbed against his chest as he pet her and held her just as tightly as she held him. He burried his nose in her hair, trying to calm himself with her scent.

"What happened?", came the voice of Tom Dupain. Adrien just shook his head, ears flat. "My baby girl is upset. Is it so bad that a father wants to know what made his little girl cry?" Marinette sniffled a bit, "I-I'm sorry, Daddy." "No, no, no, honey. It's ok. How about we all go downstairs and I'll make some of my famous hot chocolate, and you guys can tell me what's wrong. How's that sound?"

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Marinette tried to speak. She really did, but her words were tearful and made no sense to her father. Tom looked to Adrien, silently asking for the Mau to fill in the gaps. Unfortunately, Adrien told him the same things Marinette did, albeit a bit more clearly as far as word formation goes. "Son. For all intents and purposes, you are apart of this family. That means I will try my best to help you grow and protect you from harm. I can only do that if I know what's going on."

Adrien saw something flicker in Tom's eyes as he layed a hand on the younger's arm, leaving it there for a few seconds. "I want to help you.", he stated, casually pulling his hand away. Adrien eyed the older man wearily, suspicious of what just happened. "Now, since it's", he glanced at the clock, "4:30 in the morning, why don't we go ahead and have breakfast?"

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"I'm telling you, Plagg! Something's going down. I don't know what, how, or when, but I think I know why." "Alright, hotshot. Enlighten me. Why is this being supposedly after you and Ladybird?" Adrien racked his brain for the right memory as the dark fairy impatiently stared him down, then sighed, "Look, kid. What did you feel?" "Like I was having my chest torn open from the inside." "Okay. So intense emotional pain. Anything else tacked into it?" Adrien strained to remember, then came across a hollow feeling....just like, "Abandonment."

At that, a look crossed Plagg's face, "Are you sure?" Adrien nodded, "I've felt that my whole life, Plagg. I'm pretty sure I know how that feels." "Oh no. No. No! That can't be it. He was too young!" "PLAGG! What is it?!" "Kid. If I'm right, and the gods know I hope I'm not, we have a serious situation on our hands."

With that, the dark fairy turned to leave. Adrien followed him up the stairs to Tikki's balcony. Normally, Plagg wouldn't go up there unless she asked, but if his hunch was correct, they had to act quickly.

He burst through the door, a panicked look on his face. Marinette glance between him and Adrien, then to Tikki. "Plagg?" "I think we have a serious situation. It's unlikely, but it makes too much sense!" "Um...what does?", Mari cut in. "Sit." "I CAN'T! I think I know why they've been so on edge these past few lives. Tikki, I think Black Cat and Ladybird are in danger."

(AN: Theories! Go!)