AN: So this chapter and the next one are going to be a bit of a detour to show what Adrien's been through during all this time.
Chapter 42:
AngerHateAngerTearYouApartAngerHateHateHowDareYouKillKillKillRipToShreds… Thoughts and feelings flooded through his mind, driving his body to move and attack. He had very little awareness of who he was or what was going on, but none of it mattered. All that mattered was the prey he was hunting and currently doing his best to rip to shreds. He sank his fangs into the metal shoulder, easily ripping it out and causing his prey to shriek in pain. His prey was trying to throw him off, but he refused to let it, sinking his claws deeper to maintain balance. But his prey was more clever than he realized, reaching around to grab him and throwing him away. He slammed into a wall before falling into the ink.
He was dazed only for a moment, the excess ink absorbing into his wounds and restoring him to full strength. He bared his fangs in anger at seeing his prey trying to escape and chased after him. A noise from behind, caused him to stop though. There must have been more enemies than he realized! He quickly turned and growled in warning, daring the two enemies he could now see to attack. They didn't come close, but they were making noises at each other. They must be planning to kill him! With another growl, he ran forward, preparing to dispatch these new enemies.
They shouted at him in fear and desperation, their voices cutting through the fog of hate and anger in him. Those voices were familiar… not of enemies to rip apart… but of dear ones that were meant to be protected… He came to a stop in front of them, blinking as he focused on their features. Why were they so familiar? He backed up shaking his head, trying desperately to make sense of all the contradictory thoughts and instincts. He looked at them again and realized they were his family… his Lady… He was about to attack his Lady!
He felt fear and horror at what he had been about to do, his dread increasing as he could feel his sense of clarity beginning to slip once more. He couldn't allow himself to endanger his Lady… he had to get out now! He quickly turned and fled, ignoring the pleas of his Lady to stay. He couldn't stay, not when he could hurt her! He ran and he ran, having no idea where he 0was headed only that he had to put as much distance between himself and his Lady. It was his only clear thought as feelings and ideas that weren't his own seemed to flood into him from all directions.
It soon became overwhelming and he collapsed, skidding across the floor as he came to a stop. He gripped his head in agony as the screaming of the ink filled his ears, threatening to drag him down with them. The was also another voice, one full of power and hate that almost overwhelmed him. He had to block it all out! He had to stay himself… for his Lady…
He didn't know how long he lay there struggling, but slowly the voices began to dull and he felt more solid in his own body. As he blinked opened his eyes and slowly loosened his grip, he became aware of a flying…insect?.. buzzing around his head. He tried to shoo it away, but it just dodged and buzzed angerly at him. He decided to ignore it and focus on keeping himself together. He looked at his hands, wondering about them. He knew they were different, though he wasn't sure how. He could barely recall anything about himself. All he knew was that he had dear ones he needed to protect… especially his Lady…
His head snapped up and he looked to the side. He didn't know how, but his instincts were telling him his Lady was in danger! He growled and began running toward where he knew his Lady to be. The buzzing insect was following after him, but he didn't care. All that mattered was that he get to his Lady in time. He soon came to a pile of twisted metal and he could smell blood, making him growl in anger. He could see the mad angel reaching for his Lady! He lunged forward, though the mad angel was able to pull back her hand in time. She tried to strike him, but he was far faster and easily more skilled than her. He gave her a scratch on the shoulder, though he could have easily gone for her neck. She seemed to realize this as she looked him in terror. She quickly retreated, knowing she had no chance against him. A part of him wanted to finish her off, but he had more important things to worry about.
He went over to his Lady and carefully picked her up. He took her out of the metal and gently laid her on the floor. Being extra cautious not to let his claws cause any more damage, he checked over his Lady's wounds. Most of them weren't too bad, but he hissed when he saw the wound on her head, especially because it was leaking ink as well as blood. He didn't know why, but he knew that was a really bad thing. He bandages his Lady's wounds as well as he could, before turning back to the pile of metal. He could see others in there, more of his dear ones, that also needed his help. One by one, he pulled out the others and treated their wounds as best he could.
As soon as he finished, he noticed that the buzzing insect wasn't around him. Instead, it was inside the pile of metal. Curious and…maybe… a little concerned… he went to investigate. The black insect was by a red insect that was lying unconscious. He recognized the red one… it belongs to his Lady… carefully scooping up the red one, he took it over to his Lady…
Having done what he could do, he crouched down and watched over his Lady. His only real thought was the need to protect her. He stayed there for a long time, long enough that the red one woke up and began talking to the black inse… no… that wasn't right… not insect… kwamii… Plagg… His thoughts were becoming clearer… He was starting to remember…
A groan drew his attention… It seemed the older one… Henry… was waking up. Knowing that Henry would be able to take care of his Lady and the others, he looked one last time at his Lady before running off into the shadows. It was still safer for him to be away while he sorted through his returning memories.