Alone

Chapter 18

"Oh, I will." Said Twister.

Chat Noir could almost hear the smirk playing on the villain's lips. Chat noticed that Marinette had noticed the oddly satisfied voice of the villain. Her tense posture, rigid against Chat's chest, slightly shivering tested Chat Noir's limits. He couldn't bear the thought of his Princess, his brave Princess, cowering away from someone. The only thing that was keeping him from using his Cataclysm on this room was Marinette.

Chat felt something inside him shatter as he stared into space. He felt the jagged shards pierce every corner of his body, not forgetting his heart. His eyes turned into slits as his mouth twisted into a frown.

Marinette felt Chat Noir's arms grip her tighter. She knew that he was about to lose his temper. Even though she had never seen Chat lose his composure, she knew that there was a thin line between his control and the anger that was boiling inside him. Marinette raised a hand and placed it gently on Chat's left shoulder. As if emerging from a trance, Chat Noir flinched and looked down at the hand resting on his shoulder.

The warm feeling that came with the wave of affection nearly made Chat Noir stumble. His heart swelled with love for his Princess. He felt the sharp edges inside him smoothen. His eyes returned to their normal size, the mesmerising green eyes looking down at Marinette.

"It'll be alright, Princess. I promise." Said Chat Noir smiling warmly at the girl in his arms.

Marinette nodded and started looking around, trying to find an escape route. But they were surrounded by tiled walls and nothing else.

"Do you see anything, Chat?" Asked Marinette knowing that nothing could hide from Chat's vision.

Chat Noir looked away from Marinette and started doing his own examination of the room. Chat Noir's cat-vision kicked in and soon, he was able to see every tiny gap in between the tiles. His enhanced vision showed him the slightly larger gaps on the wall that was just large enough to fit four fingers at once. They were hidden quite well. No normal person could see them but Chat knew that Solitude hadn't expected Adrien to be here as Chat Noir.

Chat looked down at Marinette and pointed to the gaps on the wall with his chin. Marinette tried her best to make out the gaps on the wall hit her hindered sight didn't do much help. She sighed and turned to Chat. She knew that she'd have to trust him on this one but then again, she'd trust Chat blindly.

"Okay, Marinette. This is going to be tough." Said Chat Noir looking around, trying to find a solution to his problems.

"What's the matter, Chat?" Marinette asked, hoping to help the blond superhero.

"The exit is right above us, Princess. We're going to have to climb."

Marinette felt sick to her stomach. She knew that she was in no shape to climb, much less walk. So how were they going to escape? The water was rising quite rapidly and Marinette's legs were almost underwater.

"You're going to have to climb on my back." Said Chat after a few seconds of silent thinking.

Marinette started at Chat like he was crazy. She knew that Chat's suggestion was the only possible way for both of them to get out of here but she wasn't willing to be a burden.

"Chat, it's fine. I can climb on my own. You don't have to carry me. I'm feeling much better already!"

Now Chat was staring at Marinette knowing that she was crazy. There was no way he was letting her get onto her feet without his consent. Just a simple look at Marinette's pale face and Chat knew that the girl wouldn't survive one second on her feet. He knew that his Princess was the strongest person he'd met but he knew that sometimes, she too was struggling with some things. And he wasn't going to let her struggle on her own.