It was several months after the bombing incident, and the family took their time to recover in the hospital. Everyone but Louis were eventually discharged from the hospital but Louis remained as he had more grievous injuries than anyone else and had to be put in rehabilitation for those months. It had felt everlasting to him, a slow drawl that lasted for a eternity when he knew that Gabriel was still walking out there, free. By this time, he had managed to grow most of his hair back and most of his skin had resurfaced, but the scars remained. His mummy like appearance was just reduced to a few bandages here and there, covering his hands here and there and just a single bandage of his cheek. He continued to stare at the other side of the wall as he let the sunshine wash over him, relishing that subtle warmth. He looked over at the table to grab his new phone as his old one was destroyed in the explosion to see several messages waiting for him.
"Let's see... one from Mom, two from the group chat I have with Gavin and Elena," Louis murmured, his eyes skimming down the list until they landed ont he last one. It was a message from Adrien, his dad. Louis gripped his phone tighter as he laid his back against the pillow. His dad had visited him almost every single day for the past few months and Louis surmised it was because he was trying to make up for 15 years of lost father-son bond time, which seemed almost impossible. However a warm feeling blossomed in Louis' chest as he knew Adrien was trying to step into that role, and that was enough for him. Louis had also looked into the explosion incident as he wanted to know if Gabriel had actually gotten away with it; let's just say, he almost did. Swiping his thumb up to unlock the screen, Louis went over the pictures of the police report his mom sent him and the videos of the press hounding Gabriel from Gavin. The man was merely a highly respected fashion designer, but not even he can get away with this kind of treachery. He had been arrested for only this specific crime but he has the court tied up for the duration of Louis' hospitalization. It astounded Louis that Gabriel hadn't been declared guilty, but his thoughts spoke otherwise: why was he even surprised? It's nothing new, Gabriel has gotten away with everything thus far, however Louis was going to make sure that it doesn't happen again, "I swear... there's no more room for error, Gabriel must pay the consequences..." Louis whispered to himself before allowing himself to be washed away into rest once again.
About halfway across the city, Marinette and Audrey were discussing marketing methods for the former's new clothing line "Adrift," Marinette had postponed development on the line after what happened and the public opinion on the matter had been kind. However, she had to get back into work one way or another and she had to visit Louis again in about half an hour too.
"I hadn't expected you would want to get back into work so soon after the incident, but you certainly surprised me," Audrey smiled knowingly, taking her time to sip her coffee with Marinette nodding in response.
"Yes, I would hate for the work to be delayed for so long, so after we're done with the report here, you can have your assistant," Marinette glanced over at the calm and still assistant that was standing nearby the table, "deliver the proposal to the marketing team."
"Yes, of course, but Marinette, are you sure you're okay? Have your attacks been frequent again?" Audrey asked with a hint of uncertainty as she didn't know how Marinette would take to that question. She set her cup for coffee to await for a response from the woman, who tilted her head down slightly, the shadows from her hair framing her face.
"I would be lying if I said they no longer bothered me... but yes, they do come back frequently. I've had several coping mechanisms to help cope with them though so I don't think you should worry," Marinette said solemnly, folding her hands in her lap and looking at a blank space in her surroundings.
"It does bother you he's still out there then, well, he's tied up in court so there's not much he can do to you, so I suspect you should be fine," Audrey replied as Marinette let out a laugh of mockery as if that sentence meant absolutely nothing, like a joke.
"It's funny that you think that I'm safe, but I know he'll find a way to come back. I've failed to protect my kids too many times to count. I've come to terms that I can't win," Marinette started to explain but Audrey softly cut her off.
"At least... not alone," Audrey added, flashing Marinette a reassuring smile, who slowly looked up to return that smile, "you have me, you have Adrien, and you have all your friends who know the truth."
"Or least part of it anyway," Marinette murmured, making eye contact with Audrey again to find an incredulous look on her face.
"You haven't told them?" Audrey asked quietly as Marinette leaned back to let out a large sigh that she had been keeping. It seemed to her that she was keeping back a lot of things these days: her emotions, her secrets, her life, her kids. It seemed like Marinette always had something to hide, and she hated it.
"Well... no, I have it stuck in my head if I say anything about my situation... it will somehow have consequences that I was subconsciously aware of, and I'm afraid because Gabriel drilled that into me," Marinette shuddered, thinking about how her secrecy was just a mental reflex that never allowed her to open up at all. The saddest part about it is that she didn't know how to get rid of it.
"Well, if it is just a reflex, then you should know your friends," Audrey gestured to herself, "and your significant other, won't let anything happen to you now that they know how dire your situation is. Adrien is trying to become a father, but he needs your willingness to open about everything." Marinette took a thoughtful sip from her cup of tea, pondering about how the reveal affected Adrien. She would think it would have been completely mind boggling and stress-inducing, but she didn't know how to remedy that except to say "you'll do great."
"Then I suppose it's time to tell the truth... about it all..." Marinette murmured as she used her hand to brush back her hair and look at the sky. Almost a year ago, she would have never imagined things would escalate to this point; however she would just have to do with the consequences.
Louis was watching the green line on the heartbeat monitor spike in a rhythmic pattern, faintly conscious of the fact that this was his own heartbeat. He had almost expected it to stop spiking from his own anxiety, but that moment never came. He then heard the door click open and the door moved to reveal Adrien with Hugo and Emma bounding right behind him.
"Hey you two! How was school?" Louis asked cheerily as Emma ran up to hug him, Hugo following with the gesture.
"It's been great! We learned hard multiplication and we learned about different countries," Hugo replied as Louis looked at him through tired eyes, however he still made the effort to lift his hand up to ruffle his brother's hair.
"Hey Louis, how have you been feeling?" Adrien asked as he sat down on the other side of the bed, setting a bag of stuff on the side table.
"Mostly tired Dad, but nothing other than that, I just hate being in this bed for so long," Louis groaned as the family looked sympathetically at him. He hated feeling powerless, but there's nothing he can do.
"You've been here for several months and the doctors said that you wouldn't be discharged until another 3 weeks so I get why you would be depressed here," Adrien rubbed Louis' hand comfortingly, who appreciated the gesture.
"Another... 3... weeks," Louis said with increasing emphatic weakness, time does fly by but it's easier said than done. Emma couldn't help but let out a small laugh before returning back to her serious demeanor. Louis has noticed that Hugo and Emma were a lot more despondent and solemn after the incident and he couldn't blame them. This entire ordeal forced them to be mature about the fact that there's someone actively trying to kill them, and as much as Louis could tell that they were trying to not let it bother them, he knew them better than that, "are you two ok? You still get nightmares Hugo?"
"Mmhmmm..." Hugo shook his head, "not anymore... the headaches have gone away, but not the memories." Louis groaned at his words and sighed, hearing Adrien take something out of the bag and he felt something warm on his leg. Snapping back to reality, he noticed a takeout box of food and he looked at his dad to find smiling.
"I got you all food for lunch, so eat up," Adrien flashed a smile at all of them before Louis tenderly picked up the box and tried to guess the contents.
"Is it... Chinese?" Louis guessed as he slowly opened the flap of the take out box, to find a carton of sautéed soba noodles with vegetables and chicken.
"Well I guess soba noodles are more Japanese but you were close," Adrien smirked as Louis let out a chuckle and the family decided to continue to eat in silence, the atmosphere tense. The atmosphere has always been like this ever since the incident, no one has the heart nor the courage to break the ice or lighten the mood.
"So... how... have you been doing? Since... Emilie's passing?" Louis decided to ask, noticing how Adrien's hand stopped mid way between twirling his fork around the noodles.
"Louis..." Hugo started to say as he set down his carton and glanced at their dad, who sighed in response.
"Fine... it's not like I thought she was ever going to wake up, but it's still... pretty difficult to just wrap my mind around it all," Adrien sighed as Louis could only look at him sympathetically. Suddenly, Adrien turned towards Louis with a look he's never seen before. It was serious and calculating, nothing at all like his usual gentle gaze, "Louis... in your dream, you met her right?"
Louis pondered for a moment before nodding. Adrien's gaze then softened and Louis felt his body release its unknown tension he didn't know he had.
"Yeah... I met her... on a dark beach at night. She was there longer than I have, and she was just sitting there, waiting for me," Louis explained absentmindedly. It was strange because he knew it was a dream and yet every single event that happened was so vivid: meeting his younger self, failing his challenge, stopping Gabriel, meeting Emilie and being thrown into the water, it just felt so surreal. Usually dreams are supposed to be forgotten within the first moments of waking up, but what happened seemed almost burned into his mind.
"I see... what did she say to you?" Adrien asked, Louis took a breath before replying.
"We talked about how similar I was to you, Emilie thought I resembled you a lot," Louis continued, with his words ringing true in Adrien's ears, making his heart feel warm, "and how it was her fault that everything turned up like this. I almost agreed with her, because she was the reason why everything happened," Louis paused for a moment as he recalled what he said, and Adrien gestured his head slightly for him to continue, "I wanted... to blame her, it just seemed easier to assume so when I thought about why this all happened. Gabriel couldn't let it go... the past seemed so appealing that he drowned in it." Louis looked up into his father's eyes when he said that and Adrien understood.
"I see... I know you're mad Louis, and yes, my father did all of this for my mom, because he couldn't let go," Adrien started to say as Emma decided to cut in softly.
"Sorry Papa, but... I don't think that was necessarily the case. I don't think he did it for his wife as I think he just did it for himself. I think he was jealous of what you would be gaining if you completed the family, and it was his own bitterness that brought out his inner demons," Emma explained as Louis looked at her pensively before giving her a small smile. Even Adrien looked surprised at her words because her words seemed like a better interpretation of the motive behind his father's actions.
"Well said Emma, you've grown up to be a pretty wise girl," Adrien gently gazed down at her as she leaned into his body to snuggle a little. This was the kind of bond Adrien always wanted with his kids. The family ate in a comfortable silence after that, it wasn't until later that the door opened again to reveal Marinette holding a quadruple holder of drinks from the cafe she was just at.
"Hey guys, I brought you guys some drinks if you want them," Marinette said tiredly as Hugo and Emma immediately ran over to her to hug her.
"Hello Maman! Thank you so much! Did you get me my favorite?" Emma exclaimed, trying to pry open the plastic bag as Marinette held it gently out of her reach.
"Yes I did, yours is the strawberry coconut milk drink right?" Marinette asked, already knowing the answer. She continued to slowly lift the pink drink out of the bag as Emma squealed excitedly.
"Yes! Thank you Maman!" Emma quickly grabbed the drink and greedily started to drink it.
"Louis, yours is the green tea frappuccino right?" Marinette asked softly as she came over to the bed and handed the cold drink to Louis, who slowly raised his arm to grab it and settle it between his legs.
"Thanks Mom," Louis said quietly as Marinette smiled warmly at him and leaned in to peck a kiss on his cheek. Marinette then turned to Hugo who patiently waited for his drink.
"Hugo, here's your passion fruit tea," Marinette whispered as Hugo eagerly took his drink and sat beside her, leaning his head into her. The family continued to drink their beverages in silence, and it was often like this: there were just moments where no one knew what to say.
"Mari? You ok?" Adrien asked, leaning in to take a look at her troubled face, which continued to stare off in a reality of its own.
"No... but I'm just going to have to live with it," Marinette whispered, gripping her drink tighter as the pair heard the door click again and she looked up to find her other friends entering the room, "you guys..."
Alya, Nino, Chloé, Luka, and Kagami entered and they all gathered into somewhat of a circle around Louis' bed. Kagami eyed Adrien nervously as he caught her eye and nodded curtly before looking away.
"Hey Mari, we all came by to visit..." Alya started as Marinette eyes her suspiciously as she cut her off softly.
"Is that the only reason?" Marinette asked as Alya promptly shook her head.
"Audrey said that we needed to get the full story from you, she said we needed to know," Alya explained as Marinette leaned back slightly to let out a dismissive sigh of breath. Before she could say anything else, she heard Luka add to the speech.
"Marinette, I find it strange that despite being reunited with you for almost a year, we know almost nothing about you now. You haven't told us anything at all about what happened, and we deserve to know the truth," Luka added firmly as Marinette monotonously looked at Luka as if she had no comment to it. It took a few more moments for her to contemplate their cause and she felt a warm hand over hers. She looked up to find Adrien looking assuringly at her, and she never gets tired of his support.
"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Adrien asked with Louis quickly adding on behind them.
"Mom, you don't have to do this for me if you don't want to get into it," Louis looked at his mom worryingly as Hugo and Emma took their places at his side and mirrored his look at her. Marinette chuckled softly as she reached over to grab his hand, grasping it firmly in hers.
"I'm not doing it just for you Louis my dear, I'm doing it for me," Marinette sighed heavily as she felt the weight of her past hit her in a new wave, "I've been marching towards this day for a long time, I've only been pushing the line when... my past would eventually catch up with me. So... now's the time, and this involves all of you," Marinette brushed her bangs out of the way and looked at all of them with an intense look that they've grown to know and fear.
"Take all the time you need," Nino nodded his head as the other agreed as well before Chloé decided to chime in.
"Actually, I kinda need to be somewhere soon, so I may not have all the time on the world," Chloé kinda interjected, but was immediately elbowed in the side by Alya, who threw a pointed look at her, "Never mind, never mind, take all the time you need Marinette."
Marinette took a deep breath before looking back through the mental book in her mind of all the things that led up to this point, "Well... to begin, you're all aware that I became pregnant with Louis almost 16 years ago?" Marinette asked as everyone nodded, "that night when I found out about my pregnancy, Gabriel confronted me in the bakery," Marinette continued as she felt Adrien tense beside her at the mention of Gabriel's confrontation, "and told me to abort Louis."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock as they all glanced at Louis, who kept his eyes down towards the bed sheets and his hands folded in his lap.
"And did you? I mean it's obvious you didn't, but what did you say?" Chloé inquired as Marinette slowly nodded and continued.
"I said that my body is my choice, and I knew that Adrien would help me in my time of need. I knew that... and yet," Marinette recalled, remembering the time where she thought she had Adrien to help her, the hope that she wasn't going to be alone, but all of that shattered, "he told me that if news got out that Adrien had a baby at that time, his career and reputation would be ruined. And he and I both knew that, and he was more than willing to bet that chance that I would immediately change my mind... which I did," Marinette continued to wring her hands slightly as she felt more sentences formulate in her mind, prompting her to continue to explain. The scrapping of chairs snapped her back to reality as she saw her friends grab chairs to sit down and listen to her more intently.
"And so... he forced me to go AWOL, and leave my life behind. He knew that I didn't want to risk Adrien's life by derailing it, so he proposed a plan where I cut off all contact with anyone in my former life and live a new life away from it all. Thus, the letters I wrote were the result of that," Marinette raised her leg to drape it over the other, putting her hands on her knee to get comfortable. She could tell that everyone was surprised by her words, and she could also tell that the pieces concerning her disappearance were starting to connect.
"That's when you wrote the letters... after you got blackmailed, and now that I think about it," Nino murmured as he suddenly started to realize what Marinette did, "you wrote hints within each of our letters that you were going to have a baby weren't you? Except for Lila's letter." Nino added on at the end as the others like in a chain reaction agreed with Nino.
"That's right! I remember she mentioned something about an existence that kept her apart from us," Chloé recalled as Marinette chuckled and sighed as if this wasn't really any news to her.
"You remember that I wrote that? 15 years and all of you still remember..." Marinette murmured as Adrien interjected softly.
"That day was burned into our minds, it was devastating when you disappeared, of course we would remember what you left behind," Adrien said softly, squeezing her hand softly as Marinette bowed her head slightly as she looked at the floor.
"I see... well, for the next 6 years after that, I raised Louis in secret and I was under constant watch by Gabriel's men, making certain that I don't break the contract or even come remotely in contact with any of you, ever. He made me sign a contract before I disappeared ensuring that I would never come back into your lives. And I followed his orders dutifully, for 15 years," Marinette explained as she could feel her friends' mouths just drop in horror.
"And what about when Hugo and Emma was born?" Kagami asked as Marinette looked as a matter of factly at her.
"I was getting to that," Marinette replied curtly, causing Kagami to shrink back without saying another word, "6 years after my disappearance, I became pregnant with the twins, and Hugo, Emma, I'm so sorry, I never meant for you two to find out this way. You two are still too young to properly grasp what happened, and I'm sorry," Marinette tried to wipe away the tears as she tried to speak through small sobs. She felt two pairs of arms warp around her own on either side, and she saw both her kids laying their heads against her arms.
"Maman... it's ok, we know you tried to protect us as long as you could," Hugo murmured, Emma on the other side nodding her head in agreement.
"Ok... so, Chloé, do you remember the day when you tried to get pregnant with Adrien's baby?" Marinette asked as Chloé slowly nodded and realized what she meant.
"Yes I do, it was kind of a low point for me," Chloé sighed sheepishly as the others looked at her in understanding.
"You never did get pregnant did you?" Marinette asked further as the question wasn't exactly for her to know but for Chloé to realize.
"No, the doctor told me that it didn't give? But... how do you know that? It's not as if I told you, how did you even know about that?" Chloé demanded as Marinette sighed, flexing her fingers on her knee before answering.
"I was there, the day you were supposed to get artificially inseminated, I was getting a pap smear but somehow, the records got messed up and I got inseminated in your place," Marinette explained, hearing an audible gasp from Chloé and looking up to see her mouth agape at her.
"You were there that day? So why didn't the doctor tell me she messed up?" Chloé continued as Marinette tucked an stand of hair behind her ear and cleared her voice again to speak, her family and friends hanging on to every word.
"I told her to lie to you about it, because she was on leave on that day, so one of the other doctors had to do it instead apparently, but when she found out, she panicked," Marinette explained, feeling the anger roll off of Chloé in waves, "I said it was easier just to say that the insemination didn't work because it was a believable lie. However, the entire thing is shrouded in mystery because I don't believe they found the doctor that made the mistake. He vanished into thin air or so they say," Marinette sighed as she finished telling her story. She looked back at Chloé to find a look of utter disbelief on her face, she couldn't really blame her though.
"So... we had the chance to meet again then, and you didn't care that time either?" Chloé whispered, her disdain and disappointment clear in her voice, Marinette opened her mouth to try to talk but she couldn't find any words, "Adrien told me that when you guys finally saw each other again after 15 years, you ran from him and caused a huge commotion at our old highschool for no particular reason. Then, my mom told me that you tried to escape Style Queen Magazine when you heard that Adrien, Alya, and Nino were visiting. You would have gotten away if it wasn't for the fact that my mom blew your cover. Both times, you didn't even want to see us again, so why are you trying so hard now to mend fences?"
"You don't understand Chloé," Marinette tried to say but she was cut off again by Chloé.
"You think I don't?! The Marinette I knew wouldn't have been so easily deterred by this injustice. It's absolutely ridiculous that you just sat idly by, taking what that man has done to you!" Chloé exclaimed as Marinette scoffed and spoke again.
"The Marinette you know is dead, and she has been for a long time. Chloé, I have seen things and been through things that are unspeakable, but I will speak. Chloé, I have been almost murdered three times! Do you understand that?!" Marinette countered back as she slammed her hands down on the bed and gripped it with a crushing force. After calming down after a moment, she repeated it again, the words heavy on her heart, "the Marinette you know is dead, and I'm sorry I'm not the bubbly, happy go lucky person I used to be."
It was silent only for a moment, everyone didn't know what to say, but they knew the woman sitting in front of them was not the Marinette they knew. That pig tailed goofy yet strong willed girl no longer stood where she did, yet but a shell remains.
"I-... I'm sorry..." Chloé whispered, Marinette eyeing her suspiciously, trying to find the reason for her outburst, but she thought nothing of it.
"It changes someone Chloé, I almost got murdered three times. The first time was when the twins were born," Marinette recalled, her mind bringing up the memories like nothing, like it no longer bothered her to remember, "Gabriel had trapped me, Louis, and the twins in the hospital room and tried to take the twins by force," Marinette continued as she fished for her phone in her purse and proceeded to look through her videos that she had saved, "the hospital had sent me the security footage from that night." She held her phone up so the others could see the whole scene play out. The audio was tense, sounding almost chilling as they could hear Marinette talking to Gabriel for a moment before hearing the yells that followed. They could see Louis tackling Gabriel from the bed and Louis' screams as he was slammed against the front of the bed. The screams of her and Louis combined never failed to make her cringe in fear, making her close her eyes because she could no longer bring herself to look. The cries of the twins could be heard throughout the whole video and finally they saw Louis grab the scalpel knife and stab Gabriel in his hand, sounding a horrible scream. Marinette looked up to see their faces and she could see was horror and utter shock.
"Oh my god..." Luka murmured breathlessly. Marinette could feel the waves of anger roll of Adrien as she knew he had been privy of this information for such a long time, and knowing this dehumanizing act of horror actually happened set him on fire to no end.
"Marinette... I'm sorry... you had to go through that," Kagami said silently, earning a nod of understanding from Marinette.
"Oh my god..." Nino was just almost speechless that something like this could happen to his friend. He felt Alya cling tightly to his sleeve, he could tell that she was afraid of what she just watched as well.
"I'm sorry Mari, you've been through a lot more than I have, and I shouldn't have snapped at you," Chloé sighed as she looked sympathetically at Marinette, who nodded in response and let out a small chuckle, "it was just easier to get mad at you or at least blame you for something, just like the good old days," Chloé laughed breathlessly, earning a smile from the other woman, who also let out a small laugh.
"Yeah, just like the good old days... but I'm afraid those days are gone Chloé," Marinette sighed, brushing a few strands of hair out of her way and they all sat there silently. The weight of her words falling heavy on their shoulders.
"Girl, you're sure you've told us everything? There's nothing left to say?" Alya asked, with the other woman nodding in response.
"The gist of what you all should know is that I was trapped for a very long time, with no way out. That's all, and now," Marinette said, not specifically looking at anything but a point in space. Her hands stayed curled up in her lap, anticipating something or bracing for a bad omen, "I'm beginning to see that light near the end of this nightmare. And I have you all to thank for it. Thank you for listening to my story, and believing in me." Marinette let out a small smile as she released her clenched hands and clapped them on her knees to relieve herself of her defensive position.
"Well, it's about time, now that we know, we're going to take back everything he stole from you," Nino declared, standing up to emphasize the statement, causing everyone to smile tiredly at him. Adrien nodded as he gently took a hold of Marinette's forearms, making her turn her attention to him. Within her vision, she could see their twins, their oldest son, and the love of her life all in one place, and she could never express how much she loved that they were all together.
"I promise Marinette... we'll take everything back," Adrien looked determinedly into her eyes, which glistened with tears, reflecting her very few surges of emotion. Adrien turned his attention to his children and brought them in closer, letting them snuggle into his sides. Hugo and Emma couldn't help but giggle and do exactly that, much to Louis' joy.
"I know you will... you may keep lousy track of your promises, but you always keep them in the end. So... I know we will," Marinette smiled and Adrien couldn't help but let up a cheeky grin as he brought her in and hugged her tight. Taking in her body, her scent, it always seemed familiar and their hugs were always the best. There are always these moments of peace and reprieve right before another storm comes, and Louis could see that storm coming even if no one seemed to care at the moment.
"This peace... won't last... until he's locked up for good," Louis murmured to himself before he felt himself zone out again, staring off into the pellucid distance like before.
Author's Note: Hey guys! THIS CHAPTER IS FINALLY DONE! I'm sorry it took such a long time but here it is. So I'm gonna focusing a little more on this story as Future Past may have to wait, however since this chapter is done, I will work on the next chapter for my other fanfic Future Past. I'm so passionate about the idea and made so many plot lines in my head about it could go. Anyway, the next few chapters in this story are pretty dramatic as it will become a crossover for a few chapters. I'm doing a crossover with Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Miraculous Ladybug! And so as a treat, I have written some paragraphs that are in the next couple of chapters below from different scenes (you'll know when it's a different scene) , enjoy and bear with me for the release of the next few chapters!
Marinette gripped her phone tightly as she stared at the phone screen. An article was showing on screen of a very familiar woman that she hadn't seen in 8 years, and she's finding out about this now. Why now of all times? Why didn't she find out sooner?
"Where did you find this?" Marinette asked lowly as she looked up at Alya, who just continued to stare in shock without giving any words, "how did I not know that Dr. Alver was dead all these years?!"
"Oh hello, you must be my new client?" Marinette heard a voice call out to her from the hallway and she turned to find a man decked out in a full navy blue suit, and spiked yet slicked back hair. She had to admit it was a weird combination, but it did suit him.
"Yes... and you are?" Marinette asked as a tall yet slender woman appeared from behind him and smiled wide at her. Her clothes was not what she was expecting to see at a courthouse, but she was in no position to judge.
"My name's Phoenix Wright, it's nice to meet you," Phoenix introduced himself as Marinette nodded cordially and shook his outstretched hand.
"But you can call him Nick!" The girl chimes in as Marinette noticed he immediately got annoyed and chided her. She found it kind of endearing though.
"Maya! How many times do I have to tell you that formalities are a must in these cases!"
"You're under oath boy, so let me ask you again, are you who you say you are? Because your name doesn't match the documents I have on file," The prosecutor asked tersely as Louis felt his hands become incredibly sweating and he felt like he was gonna slip off the stand at any moment because of the sweat. He glanced to his right to find the man, the demon looking at him as if he knew Louis' internal battles. Why does that man have the power to know so much? The guy doesn't even act like a grandfather and yet how does he know Louis' own personal thoughts to such a degree?
"I uhhh..." Louis trembled with his words as his eyes kept flickering towards Gabriel, who looked pointedly at him and slowly shook his head, telling Louis to not answer the question.
"Louis! It's ok! You can trust us! Under the law and in this courtroom, I will not let anything happen to you. You will come out innocent and you will walk away free!" Phoenix pleaded with Louis, who gripped the stand tightly until his knuckles turned white.
"Right... in the courtroom... but what about after? He'll kill us anyway!" Louis breathed out as he clenched his eyes in fear, his mind feeling like it's spiraling. However, sadly, there was nothing he could do for himself, not anymore.
