Chapter 15:

The two sides looked at each other in shock in weariness, wondering if the other was going to attack. A sudden banging on the door behind the humans startled them and the quickly backed away from it in fear, worried that "Bendy" was about to burst through. Luckily the door remained intact, keeping whatever was on the other side from getting to them. Boris, having snapped out of his trance, gestured for the group to follow him and started walking down the hall. The others looked each other in uncertainty, unsure if they should follow the living cartoon or if it was a trap. Boris paused when he noticed that the humans hadn't moved and once again gestured for them to follow.

"I think we should follow him," Henry decided, taking a step forward and giving the teens a reassuring grin. "I created Boris originally and if he's anything like what I remember, he won't hurt us."

"He certainly seems friendlier than anything else down here," Alya decided, her confidence returning. "I say let's go for it."

"Besides, he can't be worse then any of the other monsters down here," Nino agreed.

"Famous last words," Adrian joked, before wincing a little as the adrenaline faded and his injury reminded him it was there.

"Are you alright," Marinette immediately said, attempting to examine his injury. "Let me look."

"Maybe later, but I'm fine," Adrian said calmly, attempting to ease Marinette's worries. "Let's focus on getting somewhere safe first."

Marinette hesitated before reluctantly nodding. It was too risky to stay in their current position, but the moment they were in a safe place Marinette would make sure Adrian's injury was treated. Boris smiled once the group began to follow him and he once again began walking down the hallway. He leads them deeper into the studio and they rarely ran into any monsters. Occasionally, Boris would have them stop randomly. His ears would go up and his head would tilt to the side as if he was listening for something. The group would always become still and silent whenever Boris would do this and after a few minutes Boris would relax and they would continue on their way.

Eventually, Boris lead them into an obviously lived in area and once they were all inside, he shut a big metal door behind them. But instead of feeling trapped, the group felt safe for the first time since they had entered the studio.

"Is this has been where you've been hiding out?" Henry asked as the group began to spread out. Boris nodded happily.

"Cozy," Nino commented, sinking into a chair. "And for the most part, it seems ink free which is nice."

"Can you not talk?" Alya asked, finally voicing her curiosity. Boris just shook his head sadly and began making gestures with his hands, but the group couldn't figure out what he was trying to say.

"All this getting to know you is great and all, but are we forgetting something important," Plagg interrupted, hovering worriedly around Adrian's injured shoulder. "We've got a man down over here!"

"You're just being dramatic," Adrain tried to assure his kwamii. "It's just a scratch. And it almost sounds like you're worried Plagg."

"Of course I'm worried," Plagg scolded, waving his arms. "That "scratch" came from a creature overflowing with corrupted magic! It could have effects we don't even know about. We have to get it cleaned, now!"

"I'm on it!" Marinette said, coming over and helping roll up Adrian's sleeve. "I'll need some water, clean rags, and bandages."

Boris saluted and began walking down a hallway with Henry tagging along to help him. Alya and Nino just stood nearby to offer moral support to their friend.

"You are a cute little thing aren't you," Alya commented attempting to touch Plagg. "How are you flying?"

"Hands off the goods sister," Plagg said, evading Alya's hand. "And I'm a kwamii, just chalk full of magical power. I give Adrian the power to destroy anything he touches, so flying is a piece of cake. Or camembert."

"What do you mean by corrupted magic?" Marinette asked while she started cleaning Adrian's shoulder with a rag and water Boris had brought back.

"I'm not sure what it is exactly," Plagg said, his nose crinkling in disgust. "This place is full of all different sorts of magic all smashed together and twisted to bring those abominations to life. Just being in this place makes my skin crawl."

"That's why you were squirming the whole time we were here," Adrian said in realization. "If you thought it was so bad, why didn't you say anything?"

"It wasn't too bad until the machine was turned on," Tikki explained, floating up next to Plagg. "And at that point, it was too late to escape this place easily, so there wasn't much we could do."

"If the magic is corrupted, shouldn't I be able to purify it," Marinette wondered as she wrapped Adrian's now clean wound. "Since I do something similar with the akuma's after all."

"It should be possible in theory," Tikki admitted, tapping her chin in thought. "But I wouldn't attempt it until we have a more clear idea about what magic went into this place. If you ended up only purifying part of it, you'll make everything unstable and possibly volatile."

"Meaning you could bring the whole place crumbling down on top of us," Plagg stated bluntly. "If you really want to, you could attempt a purification on one of the monsters, but I doubt it'll do anything. Just as you need to find the source of an akuma first, you would need to find the source of the magic here before you could have any effect."

"Isn't the source of the magic that machine we turned on" Nino asked.

"I think it was initially," Tikki replied. "Or at least the host of the magic, but it's not anymore. It could be anywhere now."

"I guess that's pointless then," Marinette sighed, leaning back once her work was done.

"It was still a good idea," Adrian complemented, rolling his sleeve down. "And you have amazing first aid skills."

"But I better not have to use them again anytime soon," Marinette warned her tone a mix of playful and concern. "You really shouldn't have done that Adrian…"

"Nonsense. I'll always do everything I can to protect you, my lady," Adrian smiled, causing Marinette to blush. Alya coughed subtly to remind the two that they were there."

"So now that we know your big secret, why don't you tell us about how you became superheroes," Alya suggested with barely concealed excitement.

"Stories should wait until tomorrow," Henry cut in, much to Alya's disappointment. "It's been a long hard day and we should all rest and regain our energy."

The rest of the others agreed and they all began exploring the area for places to rest and things to eat.