CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR:
RISING TIDES
The last time Marinette descended down into a dark tunnel, she had been a silly girl in love, desperate to prove herself worthy.
Now, a year later, she was doing it again. And she still felt like a silly girl.
On the bright side, her sister was just as crazy and determined as she was.
Though it was dark, the marble walls glowed white. The further inside Marinette and Bridgette went, the more they started to see a faint streak of gold appearing along the floor. It rippled against the marble like sunset-coloured water.
Marinette could feel Bridgette getting all jumpy beside her. From excitement or hastiness, she couldn't tell. Maybe both.
The golden streak grew brighter as the sisters exited the tunnel, emerging into an enormous chamber.
Bridgette's mouth hung agape as she took in the scene before her. "Amazing..." she breathed.
Marinette couldn't agree more, her eyes going wide from the size and grandness of it all.
The chamber, like the rest of the city, was completely made of pure marble. The room was cylindrical, stretching all the way to a high ceiling with a single, round skylight. The top half of the wall contained several slit-like windows. The bottom half beheld beautifully-carved murals of ancient gods and goddesses, all of whom were staring down with solemn faces as they encircled the chamber.
At the very bottom, where Marinette and Bridgette stood, six griffon statues encircled the floor. They were as tall as the great oak trees back at the Agreste palace, reaching up to about twenty feet high, maybe more. The griffons appeared to be screeching at each other with their massive, open beaks.
But the biggest eye-catcher of all was hovering high in the centre of the chamber, right in front of the griffons' heads: a giant, golden hand spinning slowly around like the earth on its axis.
Marinette's jaw dropped as she looked straight up at the dazzling sight above her. The sun beaming down from the skylight struck the golden hand, causing the whole thing to glow and send sparkling streaks along the marble walls.
"Is that the Hand of Midas?" Marinette asked with a hint of bewilderment. "I thought it'd be... you know, smaller."
Bridgette giggled. "No, that's not the Hand," she replied, "but I bet that's where the real one is."
"I hope you're right. I'd hate to haul that thing all the way across the sea."
The Queen of Thieves grinned.
Suddenly, a high keen filled the chamber.
Then, everything began to shake.
Adrien felled a stone guardian in the face before rolling out of the way of a second charging at him.
The spear went askew, and the prince whacked both the soldier's arms off before going for the legs. The guardian came crashing down, nothing but rubble now.
Turning around, Adrien paused to take in his surroundings, and a breather.
Nino wrenched his shield out of a fallen guardian before helping Max to his feet.
Rose was covered in pink, pellet dust, but she was otherwise unhurt.
Ivan was leaning on Mylene for support, and both of them looked exhausted.
Juleka and Kim lowered their weapons.
Alix panted as she removed her helmet, the bottom half of her face coated with grime and dust.
Cracked chucks of stone lay scattered all around the group. Not a single guardian remained standing.
Nino removed his hood and wiped a hand through his hair, which was dripping with sweat. "Phew! Score nine points for the heroes!" he cheered.
"And thieves!" Kim pointed out.
"Is there really a difference?" Alix asked with a grin.
Adrien was about to say "Not really"...
... when a high-pitched keen erupted throughout the entire island.
Adrien almost tripped over himself when a sudden tremor in the ground made him stumble.
The others stiffened and crouched low to keep their balance. All eyes snapped around for the source of the disturbance, but they found none.
Then, the rumbling stopped, and all was silent and still, like the soft waves of the sea.
Nino rose up. "Dude! Earthquake?"
Terror rose up in Adrien's gut. "More like turtle-quake," he said seriously, glancing around. "I think the big guy's not happy we did some redecorating around here."
At that moment, the prince spotted a streak of orange speeding towards the group.
It wasn't long before the light reformed into the fox-tailed Rena Rouge, who landed on the marble walkway next to Nino. She was dripping wet and smelled like fish.
Alya panted as she cast Adrien a look of alarm. "We've got a problem," she rasped.
"Let me guess," Alix said sarcastically, folding her arms. "Somebody gave the turtle indigestion?"
The redhead shot the speedster a scowl. "Maybe!" she spat.
THRROOOMM!
Everyone cried out as they fell to the ground from the violent shake.
The marble floors and buildings groaned from the tremor. The whole city sounded angry.
Now Adrien was really terrified, as where the rest of his companions.
Then, they all heard it: the soft, thrush of running water growing louder. And louder. And louder!
Rose screamed and pointed down to the left.
Adrien looked, and his eyes widened.
Tendrils of ocean were curling along the marble towers of the lower city. Foamy waves crashed against every structure, slipped past every column, and submerged every statue and gargoyle in their wake.
The more Adrien watched, the more massive the waves became, swallowing the city little by little.
Then Nino shouted, "Adrien!"
The prince snapped around to the other side of the walkway, where an enormous wave brushed up against the grand citadel, sending rain down everywhere and drenching the companions.
"See what I mean?!" Alya cried. "The isle's sinking!"
Mylene panicked and glanced between Ivan and Alix. "What do we do?! I can't swim!"
Nino glanced over the thieves. "Everyone – get to the boat!"
"It's too far!" Max argued. "The odds of us reaching it in time are –"
"We don't have a choice!" Adrien retorted, drawing himself up like his father did when giving orders. "We have to try! Trust me – waiting for the end to come is far worse!"
Six of the seven thieves stared at him incredulously.
But one matched the prince's stamina. "Let's go," Alix yelled, "or the next things filling with water will be us!"
This time, no one had the courage to argue. Kim rushed over to help carry Ivan while Juleka led the way. Everyone else followed in a heavy sprint.
Everyone... except Adrien.
For at that moment, the prince realized there were still two blue-haired sisters unaccounted for. He craned his neck up at the glimmering citadel, hoping for his lady to appear on her flying yo-yo.
When she didn't, the prince's dread hardened into resolve.
He knew Nino and Alya would object to him leaving, and they couldn't afford to wait for his sake.
But the one thing Adrien could not afford was to leave his future bride and love of his life behind.
The prince made his decision in less than a second... and sped towards the mountainous maze of marble.
All around him, the sea exploded.
Bridgette stiffened after the second shockwave.
Marinette giggled awkwardly. "Feels like Alya got a little carried away," she said.
The Queen of Thieves snapped to feet, her insides going as cold as the dark depths beneath their feet. "No," she said urgently. "It's the Vanishing Isle! The turtle is diving!"
Only then did her younger sister's face pale, and her chuckle was less enthusiastic this time. "Oh. I... might have forgotten about that."
Just then, a great whoosh emitted from the same dark tunnel that the sisters had entered through.
Bridgette and Marinette looked into the expanse. They couldn't see anything, but it didn't take long for them to recognize the thunder of a raging sea – the same sound of the storm that occurred during Marinette's Challenge.
Bridgette grasped her sister's hand. "Quickly! Start climbing!" she cried as she yanked Marinette towards the feet of the closest griffin statue.
The older blunette went first, grabbing onto the thick scales of the griffin with ease before pulling herself up. Marinette followed close behind, pulling out her yo-yo as she climbed.
Suddenly, water burst out of the tunnel and hit the other side of the chamber with a bone-rattling CRASH!
The resulting force caused the statue to shake, and freezing water engulfed Bridgette. She heard Marinette screaming before the wave drowned out all noise.
Bridgette felt her fingers being wrenched from the stones... and she went spinning into oblivion.
She thrashed and kicked out at nothing. Seawater stung her eyes and filled her mouth. Her hair went askew and wrapped around her face, choking her even more. Bridgette refused to stop, but the cold, flaming pain in her chest could not be ignored. Put it out, put it out!
But no matter how she moved or tried to see, she couldn't find the surface. Her blood chilled. Her fingers went numb.
Then... another set of fingers grabbed her.
The next thing Bridgette knew, she was soaring out of the water and into open air by her arm. It was actually much colder than the frigid sea that had almost drowned her.
Gasping and coughing and shivering, Bridgette shook her wet hair free of her face. Then, she looked up into the face of her rescuer.
Marinette smiled down at her, despite her sloppy, string-like hair and chattering teeth. She held Bridgette in one hand while holding the string of her yo-yo in the other.
The rolling ball was wrapped around the neck of the giant griffin the sisters had tried to climb, and now they hung suspended over the rising pool of water below.
Bridgette cleared the water out of her lungs before speaking, "You've done this before, haven't you?"
Marinette smirked. "Well, I did almost drown in the sea once, but it wasn't exactly the same."
Suddenly, more rushing water burst from the mouths of the six griffins, pouring into the chamber like rain from a spout.
The sisters were out of reach of the miniature waterfall from the statue they hung from, but they both knew they wouldn't be for long.
"Hang on!" Marinette called over the deafening rush of the sea. "I'll get us to the top!"
Hawkmoth felt the cold before he woke up.
Then, he tasted salt and fish.
Spitting it out, Hawkmoth rose up to his knees, which were soaked through along the front of his clothes. He looked around to see water pouring down the small staircase behind him. Somewhere in the distance, he heard waves crashing against stone.
Hawkmoth gritted his teeth and slowly stood up before retrieving his cane sword. "Blasted Ladybug," he cursed. "The next time I see her, I'll..."
He trailed off when he heard voices not far from him. Female voices.
Curious, Hawkmoth headed down the pathway until he came up to a small tunnel leading inside the grand citadel.
Water poured steadily into the entrance. Though it was pitch-black, the voices were definitely coming from inside.
"We're almost there!" cried a familiar alto. "Don't you see, Marinette? We were meant to do this together! Come on!"
Hawkmoth's silver mask crinkled with dark delight, and the corners of his mouth rose up in a sly grin.
Our last fight began with water and stone, the King of Thieves thought, and so shall it end.
With his sword in hand, Hawkmoth stole silently into the darkness, letting the water guide him to his unwitting prey.
A great wave crashed over the walkway.
It would have washed the thieves and heroes away had it not been for Alya's magical shield. The pendant around her neck flared with orange light as she held the translucent orb up with her hands.
Once the wave ceased, Alya released the magic and nearly toppled over.
Nino was immediately at her side. "Aly?"
The enchantress panted and shook her head. "I can't take another hit like that," she said weakly.
"Then we gotta move faster!" Nino called to the others before taking Alya's hand and running.
The sea hadn't risen to their level yet, but the mist and spray from the resulting waves left the marble sleek and slippery. Every so often, someone's foot would screech along the floor and send that same someone falling over.
But Nino was surprised to see how steadfastly loyal Alix's friends were; helping each other back up and staying tightly-knit together as they ran.
At last, Juleka cried, "There it is!"
All eyes looked to see the small boat leaning peacefully on its side on top of the small hill of turtle shell. The water was now rising higher, and the wooden hull started to groan.
Nino knew it was now or never. "Hurry – get onboard!"
They all raced to the boat just as a swell came up behind the group. The boys helped the ladies in first before scrambling over the edge themselves. Once he and Alya were onboard, Nino did a quick head-count.
His lungs turned to stone. "Where's Adrien?" he demanded.
Eight heads turned in all directions. None of them – save for Rose – were spiked with gold.
"Where's Marinette?" Now Alya was the one panicking. "I thought she'd be back by now!"
Suddenly, a hard wave slammed against the boat, causing it to tip back up into an upright position.
Everyone screamed and scattered about the deck as the ship bobbled and teetered back and forth.
Nino held Alya close as he felt a series of sloshing beneath the wood under his back.
Then, it stopped... but the boat continued to bob and rise higher. It was back on the water.
Nino and Alya scrambled to their feet, and the former practically threw himself against the ledge as he peered out towards the citadel.
The turtle was completely gone, and the white city was being swallowed slowly by a great torrent of sea foam.
But there was no living soul on the isle to be seen. No queen, no prince, no Ladybug.
Alix's blue eyes became thin and glossy. "Bridgette..." she croaked. She covered her head with her hands. "I should've gone after her! What was I thinking?!"
Nino swore under his breath. "Marinette went after her sister," he said, "and Adrien went after Marinette." And I didn't see him slip away, he thought miserably. What kind of captain of the guard am I if I can't guard the prince?
The seven thieves eyed each other, apparently exchanging some kind of blank-faced, secret code.
"So what are we waiting for?" Ivan asked, pounding his fist into his palm. "Let's go get our friends back."
Juleka nodded. "We don't give up on our own," she said.
"I'm with you!" Mylene stated bravely.
"All for one and one for all!" Rose declared.
"Let's do it!" Kim and Max cheered with a fist bump.
Alix smiled and turned to Nino and Alya, her expression bearing that childish, iron will. "Looks like the eyes have it," the pink-haired speedster said, "and I still owe Ladybug for busting me out of prison."
Nino blinked. Despite what these young bandits had done, the green-hooded captain couldn't help but admire their camaraderie. Now I know why Bridgette found it hard to leave her old life behind, Nino thought with a warm smile.
"It's too dangerous," Alya interjected.
Nino nodded. "And our best friends are in the middle of it. Copper-Girl's right: we don't give up on our own."
He raced up to the helm and gripped the wheel like a true captain ready to brave the seas. "Set the sail and secure yourselves!" he called. "We're going in!"