The Agreste Internship - Book 2

Chapter 12: Missing

Adrien looked over at Viperion wearily, he was still trying to piece together what had happened. The last thing he remembered was that he was back in the hotel room and his father had called him. His father threatened to fire Marinette, and then everything since then was blank. And now his whole room was destroyed and he had a feeling that he had screwed everything up. Judging by the Chat Blanc photos of him and Marinette, he figured his cover was blown. "So... uh, you know who I am?" Adrien asked Viperion.

He nodded. "I could have burnt you to a crisp, pretty boy, but Mari would have never forgiven me if I singed a single hair on your perfect head."

This riled Adrien up. "Well it wouldn't have been a fair fight since you are injured anyway, maybe we should wait a few weeks and then meet in the yard after school. I'll show you some of my fencing moves, and I'm sure you'd be..."

"Hey, you two! We don't have time to fight!" Marinette said as she stood between them. Seriously they were acting like two little boys fighting over a toy. "Gabriel Agreste has the creation and destruction miraculouses, and you two are flexing your muscles and you guys are obsessed with having a huge testosterone fest."

"Your right, Mari," Adrien mumbled quietly.

"Of course, Mari," Viperion muttered.

"We should get that arrow out of your shoulder," Mari said.

"Wait, removing the arrow might cause him to bleed more than he is," Adrien explained. Not that he was anywhere near as good at archery as Kagami. It was like an obsession with her. But he had taken classes and knew about first aid when it came to archery accidents. Though this didn't look like an accident. Viperion had yet to explain, and they didn't quite have the time.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't hurt anymore," Luka said. But he wasn't talking about the wound in his shoulder. His heart had broken, yet again. He had rushed into love and lost yet again. Don't think about it. Don't think about her.

Instead, he opened up a portal to Gabriel's office and they all walked through it together.

But when they stepped through the shimmering portal they found that his office was empty. Gabriel is nowhere to be found. "There's a basement... But I don't remember exactly which buttons to push to get there." Adrien went to the picture and pushed a few disguised buttons. He accidentally triggered the elevator for the attic. All three of them stood in silence as they examined the nearly empty room. A large butterfly window stood on the wall opposite the elevator.

Oh, so this is Hawk Moth's lair. Adrien thought. It had been above his head this whole time, seriously how dense can I be? There's a frickin butterfly window on the outside of the house. How did I not put two and two together? 

"He's not here. Let's check the basement." He wanted to find his father so he could demand an explanation. But Hawk Moth wasn't there. Adrien pushed a few more of the buttons and then the elevator went down to the basement. They all walked up to the center where his mother was sitting inside a stasis chamber. 

Just then, at that moment his whole life was falling apart in front of his eyes. First his mom, then his father. Death, loss, betrayal. Lies, deception, and evil. Adrien felt himself slip into hopelessness, but then Marinette put her hand on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Adrien."

He took her hand and squeezed it and then gave it a kiss. Right now she was literally his world. Because in that moment, Adrien had nothing left. "I love you, Mari."

Viperion rolled his eyes. "Come on, Adrien. We've got to find your father. Where is he?"

Hawk Moth was nowhere to be found. But if the house was on lockdown, how did he escape? And where would he go?