...ngh
Why did she feel so twisted up?
Wait.
Where WAS she?
Marinette's eyes shot open.
Well… sort of.
Even as she did it, she could tell something was off.
She didn't physically 'feel' her eyelids move; it was more like she willed them to open and then they were.
Actually…
Looking around, everything seemed… weird. Like her peripheral vision just didn't exist anymore.
No… more like everything that she didn't focus on, just wasn't there anymore.
Not that there was much to look at. Just weird dark purple goo all around, making up the ground, the sky, and walls far off in the distance.
Very familiar purple goo.
Her heart sank.
She didn't have a point of comparison - how could she? She'd never undergone this before.
But she'd seen it happen enough times.
The goo, the weird unrealness, the churning in her gut - all pointed to one thing.
Akumatization.
None of Hawkmoth's victims had ever mentioned this happening before though! Did they just forget? She supposed it was possible; they forgot everything they did while akumatized after all, perhaps that included trauma from being locked inside their own head.
Or maybe…
Concentrating for a moment, Marinette imagined being able to see the outside world, being back in her body properly.
Everything swirled, and for a few seconds she was there.
She seemed to be a lot further off the ground than before. Confused, she attempted to turn her head and look at her body.
She couldn't.
Her body moved on its own, dashing around the pod that contained Adrien's mother (that whole mess was something she'd have to unpack later, preferably when she was human and could help talk Adrien through it).
And paused.
Alya.
She felt her eyes narrow, her mouth open-
NO.
For a heartbeat, Marinette tensed, waiting for her akumatized form to betray Alya's location.
Why not? A voice - well, not REALLY a voice, a mental voice - asked her.
It sounded angry. Frustrated. Hurt. Even fearful.
It sounded like her.
But she was right here! So how…?
Wait.
Her akuma was moving on her own.
Which meant that she probably had a mind separate from her own.
And if she could communicate with her, maybe she could be reasoned with? At least to some extent. Or tricked, if it came down to that.
"Hawkmoth didn't ask you to go after Alya, did he?" she asked, praying she was right about how the situation had gone down during the time she'd been out of the loop.
Well, no...
"And exposing her wouldn't help Adrien at all, would it?
No. It wouldn't help My boy at all.
With that, the akuma turned away from Alya, leaping out of the chamber.
Marinette internally smiled, about to talk to her akumatized self some more-
*Ka-SLURP*
She found herself unceremoniously wrenched back to her prison from before.
But this time instead of the goo staying obediently underneath her feet, it crawled up her legs, even reaching her waist.
The way it churned so fast… she got the impression that somehow, the goo was angry.
She tried to visualize herself back to where she was.
But felt herself hit some sort of wall, some sort of barrier.
She could see the outside world for moments, for glimpses, hear it sporadically, but the goo wouldn't let her reach all the way in, wouldn't let her inhabit that world.
Looking around wildly, Marinette looked for some sort of solution.
Everything here was her own cognition. She could try to change it, to warp it - but the goo would fight back.
"I hope Adrien and Alya are having a better time than I am," she muttered, trying repeatedly to force herself into her akuma form's paws once again to no avail. "Because I don't know whether I can pull off the same trick twice."
Panther mrowed in disappointment and frustration, tail lashing.
She was fast, but Chat Noir was clever and had a head start.
At first she thought that wouldn't be a problem, not with her sense of smell. She tracked him to a shop… and then lost his scent.
Why did air freshener have to exist?
Hawkmoth cursed, then stilled. He glanced out across the city, stroking his chin. "If we can't find Chat Noir and the Guardian, perhaps we can use their absence for something else." He glanced down at her. "Panther, do you happen to know where the Guardian keeps the Miracle Box? The Miraculous would be very helpful in gaining the power to retrieve Chat Noir's Miraculous, to set things right."
Yes! Yes, she knew where that was! Anything to help Her boy. He may not accept he needed the help right now, but he would once she made him happy again!
With a start she raced off, making a beeline for Master Fu's home.
Everything was just the way it'd been left.
"So this is where the Guardian of the Miraculous lives?" Hawkmoth said, glancing around. "Somehow I expected something a little… grander."
Panther ignored him, instead jumping up and grabbing the disguised Miracle Box from its table.
Hawkmoth frowned at her. "What…?" Comprehension slowly dawned as he picked up the record player, feeling something moving around in it. "Clever Guardian," he smirked, finding the mechanism to open it up, "but not clever enough."
He surveyed the jewelry. "Pity I don't know all the kwami's names, but no matter. I was able to beat Ladybug and Chat Noir before, and with this within my grasp and you by my side, they're going to have a lot more trouble than on Heroes Day."
Panther purred in agreement.
Yet something about that reference bothered her.
Heroes Day… Hawkmoth had fought her and Chat Noir, had hit her and Chat Noir, hadn't he?
It was necessary, but… but they'd still been hurt.
Her boy had been hurt.
But short term hurt was necessary to make things better in the long-term… right?
Something didn't seem right.
For a moment she wanted to wrest the Miracle Box from Hawkmoth, take it somewhere far away.
But… but if she did that he'd take away her power. She wouldn't be able to help Her boy anymore.
Are you really helping him now?
Startled, she glanced around wildly, pupils blown open wide.
But there was nothing.
"Panther, what is it?" Hawkmoth asked frantically.
Panther shook her head.
Of COURSE she was helping him, this was best for him!
...right?