I am the worst updater, an old story I know. Nevertheless, here we go!
This story includes spoilers for ML S5E23 but will not be consistent with the finale. Probably. Saying this because 23 is the latest episode I've been able to find in English (on YouTube) even though it's not officially anywhere yet, and it inspired this fic because OH MY GOSH we have been waiting five seasons and it happened at the saddest possible moment *cue floods of tears*
This will be Adrien-centric because he's precious. I want to show his journey since he's bound to change as a person since he's been controlled (literally) for so much of his life, once he finds out his father's secrets.
Enjoy, ML fans! (::)
The plane to London landed and Adrien was spent from crying. His father had the power to turn him into a little kid again, totally alone and totally helpless, unable to make his own decisions.
Had he been hoping too much to think Father would ever allow him to grow up? And if he did, would it be too late for him and Marinette to be together? He couldn't think of giving up on her! But from where he stood, there seemed to be no way out. The claustrophobic weight settled in his chest as he stiffly got up from his seat and walked down the stairs, a soft pang of warmth piercing it for a second with the memory of what had happened on those stairs less than an hour earlier.
His bodyguard stayed right behind him as they entered a waiting car. Knowing he wouldn't get an answer, he begged for one anyway. "Where are we going?"
His bodyguard's eyes betrayed regret and sympathy, but Adrien recognized the same fear in them. He was as trapped as Adrien himself.
The tinted windows prevented him from seeing anything they drove past. Almost like being kidnapped. Which would have been a lot cooler if he'd been Chat Noir and the kidnapper anyone but his own father. Then he could have fought back.
When the car stopped, Gorilla gave him a sympathetic hand on the shoulder before exiting and ushering him in through a massive metal door along a wide stone wall. Panic seized him as he tried to look around and see where he was, if any landmarks in the familiar city would stand out, but there were very few lights besides the car and everything else was totally dark. Inside, if possible, it was even darker. Gorilla turned a few yellowed knobs and several lightbulbs came on at once, barely illuminating a long, narrow hallway. He guided Adrien down a few of those before finally stopping at a smaller door, unlocking it with a key.
Adrien was a superhero and he wasn't supposed to give in to fear but fear was also a survival instinct and everything about this screamed 'GET OUT!'
He was bracing to sprint back the way they'd come when he saw what was in the room and stopped in his tracks, confused. "Kagami?!"
From inside the room, which actually had decent lighting and seemed larger than the hallways, at least, Kagami also stared back at him in confusion. She wasn't wearing her usual school uniform, and her hair was slightly mussed, which for Kagami, spoke of serious trouble. "Adrien?!"
The Gorilla ushered him inside the room, robbing him of his opportunity for escape. Realizing this, he craned his neck as subtly as he could manage to get a close look at the key his bodyguard had used to unlock this particular door, in case he needed to 'borrow' it.
The reality of Ladybug needing his help and him being far from Paris was growing in his mind with each minute. He'd meant to warn her before he left, thinking he'd have most of the summer to do so, but instead he hadn't even gotten a chance to transform, let alone find a temporary holder for his Miraculous or come up with some other plan.
Kagami stood directly in front of him, interrupting his thoughts. She spoke in hushed tones, eyeing his bodyguard to ensure he was just far enough away not to hear. "Do you have any idea why our parents would send us to this place?"
"I have no idea what 'this place' even is," Adrien matched her voice level. "They wouldn't let me see anything on the way here. I've always known my father was controlling, but I'm starting to feel like I've been sent to prison."
Kagami's eyebrow twitched. "A pretty luxury prison, if I've ever seen one."
Evidently, she'd seen more prisons than he had, which was exactly zero prisons.
"But, I'm starting to agree with you." She snatched his chin and turned it in the direction of the main room. There were no windows. The light was all fluorescent. There were armchairs and fashionable decor, but only one door besides the one he'd come through. "See this? There are exactly five rooms in here we have access to. There's a woman who comes in twice a day to cook and clean and besides telling me that she wouldn't answer any of my questions. The end of the five rooms is a dead end. A broken elevator, and when I pried it open, it only goes down. Not up."
Adrien's brow furrowed. "What happens when you look up?"
"Solid stone ceiling."
He was starting to get impatient to steal *ahem* borrow that key and be rid of this place as quickly as humanly possible. Kagami, however, wasn't finished. "I've been thinking about why our parents could possibly want us in a place like this. It's not like they've been unsuccessful at sheltering us from business secrets in our regular living arrangements."
Not 'homes'. 'Living arrangements'. Adrien hated that she wasn't wrong.
"My theory is that they're protecting us from something they can't while we're in Paris. We know the Alliance sends out warnings when there's akuma attacks. Maybe our parents have somehow heard warnings about or used Alliance to predict an attack in advance. A big one, on such a scale that in order to ensure our safety, they felt the need to lock us in an underground bunker. Since they know we're acquainted with Ladybug and Chat Noir, it would make sense that they would try to ensure we don't place our lives at risk trying to help them."
Her brow wrinkled slightly as she peered at him, finishing her theory.
"Are you all right? Your face has completely lost its color."
Adrien remembered to blink, right before remembering to swallow the nonexistent saliva in his mouth to try and get his throat to make sounds like it was supposed to. Completely blanking on how he should respond, he offered a completely fake and completely alarming grin. "Purr-fectly delightful. Absolutely. Thrilled. To be here."
Kagami stared at him like his brain had just short-circuited. Which, to be fair, it probably had. "You're acting weird. What's wrong? Are you worried about Marinette?"
He really couldn't claim responsibility for what was coming out of his mouth at that point. "Marinette? Marinette, my girlfriend, who my father hates? Who I left in Paris for a giant akuma attack while I am stuck 300 kilometers away, underground, with-" he stopped and checked his phone, "-no cell service? That Marinette?" His voice had reached a pitch he hadn't used in a year or two.
Kagami stared him down evenly. "You need to get a hold of yourself. Panicking is not going to help this situation."
"Panicking? Who's panicking?! I've literally never been this calm!"
"It's freezing in this room and you are sweating profusely."
He crossed his arms. "That's helpful, Kagami, thanks."
"You'll actually be thanking me before long," she turned abruptly and began scrolling through her phone, looking for something specific. "I was able to contact someone before I was taken here who might be able to help us escape."
Adrien's heart lurched in hope. "Wait, really? Someone's coming? Who was it?"
"Felix," Kagami answered calmly, not turning around.
As fast as it had risen, his hopes came crashing to the ground. "Uhh...Kagami, I hate to break it to you, but you don't know some of the things Felix has done lately. I'm all for giving people second chances, but I'm not holding my breath that Felix 'coming to rescue us' isn't some sort of trick."
"You misjudge him," Kagami stated, as though it were a fact. "And that's not something I say often. There are very few people I trust."
"There are very few people I distrust, and he's one of them."
"You're wrong about him," Kagami held up an airtag, offering a slight smirk. "He's headed this way, whether you like it or not. And if you do turn out to be right, you know I'll always have your back."