Author's Notes:
-Normally, I wouldn't do this, but since the recognition for this fanfic is hardly getting anywhere, you get two chapters in one day. We're at the end of Cat Noir's arc. Who will tell the tale next? Stay tuned to find out.
Let's continue!
Cat Noir thought that finding Marinette was going to be easy. Of course, he had no idea just how wrong he was. First stop; Goussainville. An abandoned city inside of Paris. He had to be sure he was in the right place, since there was a nearby town named Goussainville that was active. Rather confusing, right? He walked down the streets of cobblestone until he eventually found a large mansion in the center of this ghostown. It was said to once have a beautiful and well-maintained garden, but now there was a field of who-knows-what growing there. The roof was gone, there was no floor and many of the windows were missing or broken.
Could Hawkmoth really be hiding here? Cat Noir thought to himself.
I somehow doubt it, but it can't hurt to look. Plagg answered.
He went up to the door and scanned the area. There was nothing there. All the remaining furniture had been ruined by time and the elements of nature. He went up the stairs, which soon crumbled after he climbed up them.
Something tells me he's not here.
Gee, what was your first guess?
He ignored Plagg's sarcasm and continued looking in Goussainville by going to the Goussainville Church of St. Paul and St. Peter. He heard that it was closed to the public, but if Hawkmoth was ignoring the rules, he had to as well. He entered the church through a broken window and searched every nook and cranny. He found... nothing. After searching the rest of Goussainville, which took the rest of the day, he gave up and went back home. Adrien caught up on schoolwork, ate a small dinner and then he dropped out of his photoshoots.
After visiting other locations last week, Cat Noir went to Le Fort du Buc, an abandoned fort nearby the Versailles Palace. Entry to the public was absolutely forbidden, but he didn't care. He also thought that this was one of the most likely places Hawkmoth would be hiding. He broke in and started exploring the forbidden fortress. He eventually found a golden-colored room with a few lights in it. He began to smile to himself. Maybe Hawkmoth (and Marinette) was here?
He went down the stairs and explored the deepest areas of this place. He found nothing except an artist, who was down there painting. He interrogated him, and forced him to remove his clothes down to his boxers. He was not Hawkmoth and the man slapped Cat Noir after it was all said and done.
"I could have sworn he was here..." Cat Noir muttered.
After that, he went to Le Sanatorium de Langue. He failed and gave up his Chinese lessons. L'abbatoir de la Nausee; failure. He gave up his piano lessons. After having recently the Rothschild Castle, he stood on a deserted rooftop in Paris. He had been searching for a month, without any success.
"I don't understand... Why can't I find her?" he asked the empty air.
"How was I supposed to know that's where the akuma was?!" he heard a feminine voice scream from afar.
"You idiot! Akumatized objects are always the villain's main weapon!" a masculine voice retorted.
That response came from Renard. Abeille glared at him. "You're wrong! It's usually a weapon, but not always. Have you not heard of the Gamer? Antibug? Kung Food?!"
"Guys, knock it off!" Jade interrupted.
Abeille's Miraculous beeped again. He gasped upon seeing his former teammates arguing among themselves.
"You should have known better!"
"We were about to be vanquished! What did you expect me to do?"
Jade yelled, "Knock it off you two!"
His cries were ignored, much to Cat Noir's dismay.
What are they even arguing about? he thought.
He missed part of Abeille's comment. "... for every fault!"
"I'm trying to protect the city! With the Lucky Duo gone, there's no room for error!"
He felt guilty. He had forgotten about the city in his hunt for Hawkmoth/search for Marinette.
This is all my fault! Should I say something?! What do I do?!
"Until my time runs out!"
Why are they fighting?!
Abeille's comb lost another point, derailing his train of thought.
"You can't do anything right! Ladybug made the wrong choice!"
Abeille felt her anger reaching her boiling point. "Shut up! I never want to see either of you again!"
Cat Noir felt himself shaking in fear. He was paralyzed. If he entered the scene, would he make things better? Or would they only get worse? Renard looked at his black and yellow dressed co-worker. "You can't lie. You know I'm right. You don't belong here on the team! You don't deserve your Miraculous!"
That's when Abeille snapped. "I said, 'Shut the hell up!'"
She slapped Renard in the face. Hard. Cat Noir gasped along with the nearby spectators. Abeille looked at them in terror as her Miraculous beeped again. Cat Noir, (and the other heroes) knew she only had one minute left. She ran away crying, pushing innocent civilians out of the way as she ran west.
Jade glared at Renard angrily. "Nice going, Renard!"
Renard looked at Jade as if he was crazy. "What? I'm only being honest."
"With the Lucky Duo M.I.A, we need all the help we can get! And now Abeille's left us behind!"
Once again, Cat Noir felt guilty. "So what? You're the one in charge of the group! It's your fault she left."
"My fault? You're the one always criticizing her! You're nothing but a jerk!"
He scoffed. "What?! I am not a jerk!"
"You're really horrible! I can't stand working with you and Abeille arguing 24/7!"
"If I'm so horrible, then maybe I should leave too. I don't need you punks!"
Renard stormed off, heading east.
"Fine!" Jade Ninja yelled. "With friends like you, who needs... enemies?"
Cat Noir gasped as Jade's anger turned to sorrow. He went south as the crowd dispersed. Cat Noir felt horrible.
Then he realized he could have done something to stop them.
I should have told them the truth, about why I've been gone. What happened to Ladybug as a result of Marinette being kidnapped without revealing her secret identity. But instead, I'm still trapped in my own dark web of lies.
After traveling north, he was on top of the Notre Dame. Every place on his list had been crossed out. In a separate column, titled, Places Hawkmoth couldn't be, read, Francois Dupont, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower and any nearby buildings...
Cat Noir was beyond exhausted. He hadn't slept in the last three days, and his hope was beginning to shatter. "I've given up everything to try and find her. Where could Hawkmoth and Marinette be? I feel like I'm so close yet so far..." He closed his eyes only for them to rapidly open up again. He sighed. "Come on Adrien, you need to get home."
He jumped off the rooftop of the Notre Dame and went back home. If only he knew just how right he was.