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Chapter 5 — The Blackmail

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Nothing happened for a couple of days. Adrien and Marinette took any occasion they could to sit down together and brainstorm on setting up a plan to counteract whatever Gabriel wanted to do.

"I just wish I could contact Su-Han," Ladybug mused one afternoon after patrol. They were sitting in their usual spot, the one facing the Eiffel Tower where they had spent so many days and nights together.

Chat Noir winced. "What for? The man's caused more trouble than done any good."

"Chat," scolded Ladybug.

"What? He was only good at watching stupid kitten videos on YouTube. He created more tension between us and put an enormous amount of stress on you."

Ladybug sighed. "I know. But…he's the celestial Guardian and an adult. It may not seem like it from what we know of him, but he must have some experience that could be crucial to us. For instance, he may know a way to protect you."

"How?" Chat Noir glared at her. "Unless I can snap that ring off his fingers, there's nothing I can do to prevent my father from moving me around."

"Maybe," Ladybug said with a big sigh, "maybe he knows a way. To make you…human?"

Chat Noir gasped, his breath catching as his heartbeat sped. He looked down and fell silent for a while, but Ladybug didn't notice. Ladybug was busy writing stuff on her pad.

"Because there must have already been a case of a sentimonster created like a real human; I'm sure that in the course of the millennia there must've been. And if there's a way to change you…" Then, Ladybug lifted her head from her pad and looked at her partner, and her words died in her throat. "What's wrong?" she asked when she noticed his gloomy look. He shrugged and turned the other way but Marinette grabbed his shoulder and forced him to meet her gaze. "What's wrong, minou? Haven't we said we would tell each other everything?"

"I'm okay."

But Ladybug wouldn't have it. "No, you're not. Have I said something wrong?"

He shook his head but didn't speak and didn't look at her again, his arms hugging his shoulders. "No," he said eventually. "It's just…it's very silly, Milady, forget about it."

But Ladybug's frown grew sterner. "No, Minou, now you tell me. It can't be that silly if it's affecting you like this."

"It's just…" He gulped dryly, his Adam's apple bobbing, and then huffed. "I—I don't know if I want to."

Ladybug blinked. "If you want to?"

"To change." He looked at her and she looked back with a frown of pure disbelief. "It's just…this is what I am. It's what my mother created me to be. I mean…would becoming human change me in any way? Everyone's always wanted me to be different than what I am. My father has always controlled every aspect of my life. I don't want to be different, I want to be me…"

Ladybug's frown showed her confusion. "But if you've been created to be like a human, nothing would really change, right, except you not being able to be controlled with an amok or killed. Right?"

His silence was deafening. Eventually, he gave her a small smile and looked at her again, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. "Of course, you're right. It was silly of me. Forget about it."

They kept brainstorming, sometimes during patrol and some other times again during their school breaks.

"Agh, why can't we come up with a solution?" Marinette mused one afternoon, as they sat at the school's cafeteria in front of a discarded cup of cold coffee.

Adrien made to say something, but some of their classmates passed by, so he fell silent, wincing slightly when he noticed that Lila had walked past him. She'd shot him a look he hadn't liked at all.

The Italian brunette smiled cunningly and turned around, reaching out to him and tapping on his arm. He shot an icy glance at her, but she looked back unimpressed.

"Can I have a word, Adrien?"

He lifted an eyebrow and changed position to lean on the back of his seat, his arms folded over his chest. "Sure."

"In private," she added, her gaze never losing his.

He winced again. "There's nothing that you can't tell me here and now." But she leaned in, invading his personal space and looking him straight in the eye, a sly smile stretching her lips.

"Believe me," she whispered so softly only he could hear her, "you don't want Marinette to know about this." Her smile changed into a smirk that twisted the pit of his stomach. He stood, his gaze never losing hers.

"This better be important," he muttered. Then he glanced at Marinette. "I'll be right back." After waiting for Marinette to give him a frowny nod, he clenched his fist and followed Lila.

Only to look at her baffled as she opened the door of an empty classroom, had a sneaky peek inside, and then went in, gesturing to him to follow her. After he went through the door too, she leaned on the door and he heard the lock clicking shut. He stiffened and turned towards Lila, his confused gaze meeting her satisfied smirk.

"What…" Adrien said, but he couldn't continue because the next words that came out of Lila's mouth were those he'd never, ever thought he'd hear from her.

"Duusu; spread my feathers." As the Miraculous magic wrapped around Lila and her hard gaze fixed on his eyes became even harder, Adrien's face lost all colour. She smirked. "Haven't spoken to your lovely cousin recently, right?"

Adrien couldn't remember how to breathe. "What's the meaning of this, Lila? Where's Félix?"

In place of Lila now stood an indigo-skinned figure with a similar hairstyle to Lila but a hat shaped like a peacock's eyespot decorated her head and her body was wrapped in a stylish mermaid-like suit that ended with a trail that looked like a peacock's tail.

"I'm not Lila anymore. I'm Pavona." Her smirk widened. "And don't worry. Your stupid cousin is safe." Then she noticed that his glare had hardened and she started cackling. "I can't say the same about you if you don't stop glaring at me like that."

"I don't und—" Adrien started to say, but she shut him up by showing him one of her hands. Holding a ring.

"The colour of your face tells me otherwise." She leaned in; her face mere millimetres from his, her satisfied smirk never leaving her lips. "Give me only a reason…"

Adrien gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. "You wouldn't."

Her gaze hardened. "Try me. I only need to snap my fingers, you know it."

"That's not my father's ring." Adrien frowned after taking a good look at the silver jewel in Lila's hand. He feigned confidence by folding his arms across his chest, but his fingers were so cold they almost felt like icicles on his skin. "If it was, you would've used it. How—" He felt his throat getting very dry. What had Félix done? The last time he had seen them in the same room, his cousin didn't like Lila at all.

"Your cousin is a clever thing and a very good actor. He fooled us all that day on the train."

Yes, he knew that very well. Adrien sighed—Félix had fooled even Ladybug herself.

"But he made a mistake."

"Hm?" Adrien raised an eyebrow. Félix wasn't one to make mistakes.

Lila's smirk was creepy, it gave a ghastly light to her face and made her eyes gleam in a way that churned his stomach. "He left his duffel bag in the bathroom of the train. With Nathalie's tablet in it."

"Oh." Understanding flashed in Adrien's eyes. Understanding mixed with pure terror because, as he'd seen right the other day, Nathalie's tablet also held the video she had shown to Gabriel. Had Lila discovered Ladybug's identity? Nathalie had mentioned that she had 'just' downloaded the video. Was it too much to hope that Lila hadn't been able to see the information? His heart skipped a beat.

"That's how I found out about your dirty little secret. And your cousin's."

Oh no…did she really know Ladybug's identity? Or was she just referring to him? Adrien paled further as Lila cackled again.

"Maybe I should call him your 'brother'."

Although Lila was still smirking and looking at him triumphantly, the longer she kept focusing on his secret and not mentioning Laybug's identity, the more Adrien felt the desperate need to breathe a sigh of relief. At least Marinette was safe.

His posture was much stiffer than it should have been when, feigning confidence he didn't feel and almost betrayed by the way his voice was shaking, he snapped at her, "You haven't answered my question. How did you get the Peacock?" Surely Félix wasn't that gullible.

Lila's smirk became even eerier. "Wrong question, Tesoro. You should ask what I want to do with it. Because that involves you. And the little pest that you now seem to hold on a pedestal and worship the ground she walks on." She noticed his frown and continued, "Did you think I didn't notice how you look at her? The other day you stood there like an idiot waving at her for over five minutes."

That made colour rush back to Adrien's cheeks. His whole face felt so hot he was sure it was rivalling Ladybug's mask. "And this is relevant because…?" he said, strangling his words out of his mouth.

She grabbed him by the collar, her gaze seething when she met his eyes. He gulped. "I promised her I would make her life a misery. I promised I'd make her end up alone, that she would lose everyone, especially you."

When did Lila promise Marinette that? Adrien's heart skipped another beat. So it wasn't just her dislike for liars that drove Marinette away from Lila. Had Lila threatened Marinette? He was about to ask her when his frown must've given away his intention and Lila's hold on his collar grew stronger.

"From now on, you'll be a good pet. You'll follow me everywhere and ignore Marinette. You'll do whatever I ask you to do." She stamped a kiss straight to his lips that made his stomach churn and want to puke. His reaction must've been very evident because Lila cackled again. "You can be a better actor than this, Agreste."

He grimaced in disgust and wiped his lips with the back of his hand as soon as she freed his collar, stepping back, away from her, unable to lift his head and look her in the eye. "What if I won't?" Now he gathered enough courage to look at her and the loathing in her eyes frightened him. "You can't control me unless you have the ring. And I'm pretty sure you don't have it."

"You're right, I don't." Somehow her smirk became even wider, and scarier. She moved her thumb and middle finger together, mimicking a snap. "But I have other ways. Don't tempt me, Adrien. Unlike your father, I don't care at all. Remember, just a snap, and you're gone."

He paled. "You wouldn't want to lose your 'pet', as you called me…" The words came out of his throat so hoarse that he would've wanted to kick himself for sounding so weak.

"I can create a better one," she breathed in his face. "One that would obey me in everything, one that would really hurt Marinette. Think about it. Do you want me to replace you?"

No. That was the answer and she knew it damn well. She also knew that he knew she wasn't kidding. At least his father had promised maman that he wouldn't harm Adrien. Knowing Lila, Adrien was certain that she wouldn't think about it twice.

He gulped. With his heart in his throat and a burning sensation at the pit of his stomach, he knew perfectly well that he had only one choice.

"Okay," he whispered.

Lila put a hand to her ear, the smirk stretching her lips looking even more ghastly. "What did you say? I couldn't quite hear you. You know, my tinnitus…"

Forgive me, Marinette. Adrien clasped his hands into fists and clenched them so hard that his whole arms started shaking as he repeated, louder, "I said, okay."

§§§

Adrien waited until Lila went out of the room, holding his breath, his heart thumping in his ears. The Italian girl smirked at him, walked back to the entrance of the classroom and blew him a fake kiss before finally exiting his view. His insides jolted as he let out a sigh of relief.

"Phew, that went…better than I thought," muttered Plagg, getting out of his shirt.

Adrien frowned at him. "Better? How can it have gone better than you thought? What had you thought exactly, Plagg? She threatened me!"

"Yes, I know, I was there," the black kwami said, "no need for you to point it out. However," he continued with a little smirk, "she hasn't decided to start using you straight away, so we have time to make up a plan. First—"

Adrien interrupted him, "But she wants to use me, Plagg. Why, all of sudden, does everybody want to use me like a puppet against Marinette?" He brought his hands to his hair and growled. "Is it normal that I'm much more terrified about what Lila would ask me to do than about what my father ever could?"

Plagg gave him a stare. "Totally," he deadpanned. "But don't interrupt me, gamin. Take a couple of breaths and get out of panic mode, will you? She can give you orders, but you don't have to obey. Unlike with your father. You can still refuse."

"Yes, but—" Adrien, despite Plagg's words, was still in panic mode, his hands still in his hair as his face flushed red. "If I refuse, she can snap me away. Can I really afford to refuse? What if she does as she threatened and she creates another copy of me and uses it to hurt Marinette even more than I ever could?"

Plagg sighed. "If you didn't keep interrupting me, I would tell you."

"S-sorry," Adrien muttered, interrupting Plagg again.

The black kwami sighed. "As soon as you have a chance, tell Pigtails. She needs to know it all to be prepared to face what will come next. As for what the witch threatened you with—" Plagg stretched tiny fingers from his paw. "First, she doesn't know what emotion your mother used to make you, so she can't replicate you exactly as you are. Second, she doesn't know you, so she wouldn't be able to make your copy act the same way you do. This would make Pigtails suspicious, anyway, since she knows you quite well. Third, she doesn't know that you're Chat Noir. If anything happened to you and she recreated you, gamin, do you think I would allow your copy that she controlled to get hold of your Miraculous? As devastated as I would be to have lost you, that new sentimonster wouldn't be you. I would take the ring, run back to Pigtails and tell her everything that she needs to know."

For the first time since Lila had threatened him, a gleam of hope flashed through Adrien's eyes. "You're right, Plagg, I hadn't thought about it."

"Of course I'm right," Plagg huffed. "I always am."

§§§

However, the rest of the morning went by with a slowness that was giving Adrien anxiety. His heart was racing so quickly in his chest that he was starting to feel quite dizzy. He kept looking at his watch, and at the clock in the classroom, and the time seemed to never want to pass.

"A watched pot never boils," Plagg whispered when Adrien gave a quick look at his hiding place.

Adrien pursed his lips and paled, but nodded nervously and tried to pay attention to the lesson and read the notes that were laying in front of him on his desk, although the words on the pages just washed off him as soon as his eye caught a glimpse of them. He turned around, casually shooting a glance at Marinette, but with the corner of his eye he noticed that Lila was looking at him from her seat at the back, very intently, and he turned around again.

He couldn't risk it. He would talk to Ladybug during patrol. Hopefully, Lila wouldn't start putting her plan into action so quickly that he wouldn't be allowed to do so, right?

When the morning lesson finally finished, Adrien thanked God that it was a Wednesday, so he wouldn't need to endure the same torture in the afternoon. Besides, when he reluctantly watched Marinette go home and he reached M. D'Argentcourt's fencing class, he was told that the teacher wasn't feeling well and had gone home, so his afternoon fencing practice had been cancelled for that day.

As he breathed a sigh of relief, he felt a hand tap his shoulder and jerked around to see Kagami staring back at him, a frown on her face and folding her arms over her chest.

"Maybe it's for the best that our practice session has been cancelled, Adrien. You don't look well at all, either—you're pale. And jumpy. It would be no fun beating you in a fight."

Thanks, Kagami, thought Adrien, but he knew that the Japanese girl was genuinely worried for him; just…she was a little blunt as usual, and right now the last thing he could take was more stress. "I'm okay, thanks for your concern, Kagami." He pretended to relax a little and smiled at her as he walked away, but he could see that Kagami's gaze was still full of worry as she watched him leave.

For once, Adrien was grateful when he crossed the Gorilla's gaze and sat in the sedan to go back to the mansion. It wouldn't take too long; soon he'd be back home and he'd get into his room, set it up as usual and go to patrol. Talk to Marinette. Make her aware of the latest development in his doom. As soon as the sedan stopped in front of the Agreste mansion, the boy jolted out and rushed through the gate and up the stairs.

"You're home early," Nathalie said from the top of the stairs he was currently climbing.

"Fencing practice was cancelled," Adrien explained. "I'll go to my room to play some piano if that's alright."

Nathalie smiled at him and nodded, giving him a pat on the back, probably trying to reassure him. As if it was possible to do just that—Adrien sighed but kept climbing the stairs until he reached the corridor on the first floor, and then marched to his room, his senses on high alert in case his fa—Gabriel decided to call on him. But he never did, so very soon after that, Chat Noir was jumping around the rooftops of Paris, trying to reach his meeting point with Ladybug in a haste.

But Ladybug wasn't there, and Chat Noir sighed, sitting down on the rooftop and waiting for his partner to arrive. To then stand up again, because he was too nervous and the rooftop felt like fire under his bum. He walked around in circles, until he saw that almost an hour had passed since the time of their meeting, so he decided to hop to Marinette's boulangerie to see what she was doing.

At least something good had come out of all this ordeal. He knew who she was, so he could always check up on her and didn't have to wait forever for her to show up like it had happened so many times before. But when he reached her home and had a peek inside the shop, he saw exactly why his partner hadn't come to patrol. There was a long queue of customers and Marinette was stuck at the till serving people, for God knows how long.

Chat Noir sighed and slouched his shoulders—alright, he wouldn't be able to talk to her today, then. Better go back home and send her a message from his baton before he detransformed. With a sigh, he stole a last look at the pigtailed girl in the shop; then, he extended his stick and hopped away.

To Be Continued…

Author's Note

Hello everyone!

Thank you for the feedback on chapter 3! I think that now you understand what part of this chapter took me the longest to write and why it cost a lot to me (I must admit that I gagged a little when I wrote Lila kissing Adrien. Ugh. Sorry to any Liladrien shipper, but I really can't stand it)

Anyway, I'm curious to know what you thought and felt about this chapter because this was the part that triggered the whole story, both what Lila did and the conversation between Ladybug and Chat Noir. So do tell me what you think, and I'm curious to know what you reckon will happen next.

The next chapter is quite important, too; it sets another landmark for what will happen in the future and what will be the main climax. So I'll see you next week with chapter 6, "Félix has clever ideas". See you then!

As usual, if you read this and enjoy reading, writing and talking about Miraculous, please join my favourite Discord servers, Miraculous Fanworks (discord dot gg slash mlfanworks) and Miraculous Discordance (discord dot gg slash QwgKdUhJNJ). I'll wait for you there!