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Adrien's P.O.V
I groaned as I started to return to consciousness. My temple ached as if I dove in head first onto a stone-paved path. There is an itchy feeling constricting me with some other forms. I assumed that the material was a rope. Was I captured and tied up with other victims?
I blinked as dizziness made it hard to see but everything was starting to take form. I was correct about the rope but that did not mean I enjoyed the satisfaction of being correct.
"What is going on? Did someone knock me out?" I wondered in my head, squinting at the familiarity of the scene, "Is this the hideout?"
A dreadful sensation twisted in my stomach when knowing all too well that we were inside the hideout. There are a few guys dressed head to toe in black clothing and holding Banshees, monitoring our every move.
This was not good. Why can I not remember what had commenced before I blacked out?
Another shot of pain went through my skull, making me wince.
"Oh good, you are awake," a male voice whispered.
I peeked over my left shoulder to see a scraggly guy tied up with me. He had a darker tone of skin and brown eyes. There was no ounce of fear creasing his face. For a hostage, he was excellent at keeping calm and collected. He seemed more logical than anything.
"I do advise you to be careful. You may be suffering from a slight concussion and your injury is starting to swell," he stated.
"Injury?" I questioned, urging him to explain.
"Yes, I do not know what happened to you but I have a seventy-five percent theory that someone may have hit you on the head," he informed me.
His gaze shifted over to the other guys with guns and glared at them as if to silently say they were the ones who knocked me out.
Even as my mind throbbed, I am slowly recalling the events that commenced earlier.
These are not just some guys with guns. They are SSS members. I had chased one around the corner and was met with another SSS member with a bit more muscle than the gunman. This SSS member wielded a metal bat.
With how hard that SSS member hit my temple, I would be dead if not for my super suit protecting me.
Now that I think about it...why are my senses not heightened? And my suit would have protected me from the scratch of the rope. Yet, I feel it more vividly.
I finally noticed that I was indeed not wearing my suit. What worried me more was my miraculous was no longer on my finger, leaving that part of my skin cold without it.
An intensity weighed heavy on my soul. Though it was not chilly in the hideout, I could not help feeling the cold crawling along my skin as the color drained from it. I had to remember my training and keep myself from panicking. It would do me no good.
But losing my miraculous was a major problem.
Master Fu told me to never let it out of my sight and to keep it safe from any evil.
Fu had once told me that the cat and ladybug miraculous hold a mighty power when brought together. It can grant any wish imaginable but it comes with an even greater price to keep the balance. A price that should never be paid.
Fortunately, there are only a few people who know about this. I probably should have told Ladybug if Master Fu had not informed her of the direness of losing her miraculous.
Yet, I cannot ignore my failure in keeping the miraculous of the black cat safe and can only hope Ladybug still has hers. My concern for my Kwami outweighed everything else. I cannot imagine the torture they put Plagg through unless he returned to this miraculous or managed to hide somewhere.
"I swear, if this blasphemy group hurts Plagg, I will show them why you do not mess with me," I thought, glaring daggers at the men.
This situation has also made me wonder. Are the ones tied up with me my teammates? The ones that I have fought alongside with for many years. If I figured this out, the chances are that they must know about me to. This is not how I imagined we would reveal ourselves nor is it ideal this deep into the war.
I am unable to see the person tied back to back with me but I can see the person to my right.
I glanced in that direction, seeing the familiar face of Zoe. I am baffled, having only recently met her in her civilian form but never knew she had been by my side since childhood. I knew right off the bat that she was Vesperia.
I held back from accidentally saying her name out loud. I would endanger Lady Olympia if they found out the connection between her and Zoe. These SSS members will not know any of us. We are merely a random group of young adults to them...a group that has also been saving Paris for years as superheroes.
Zoe did not look like she was high in spirits. She seemed to be quite dejected and at a loss with everything. Has she already given up so easily?
"Keep your chin up, Vesperia," I told her, "We will get out of this."
"I believe you," she said but her mood was still dull, "I just wish I was...of more use."
I frowned, nearly forgetting that she could not walk. Her powers must help her in that regard.
I loud bang grabbed our attention. The SSS member with the bat had hit the metal weapon on the floor. I growled, shooting the approaching male with a heated glare.
"Quiet down! Or I will give you a matching bump on the other side of your head," the SSS member with the bat warned, threateningly patting the end of the bat in the palm of his other hand.
As much as I wanted to antagonize this man, I cannot risk endangering my team while we are in this predicament. We need to figure out how to escape without them noticing. Ladybug will need our assistance to deal with these SSS members.
"Hey," a scratchy voice whispered. I turned to my male teammate, thinking it was him who spoke. Yet, he was faced the other way, talking to the fourth person in our captured bunch.
I am confused until feeling something poking at my cheek.
"Chat, I am down here."
Plagg was hiding behind my shoulder. I only relaxed a little seeing that Plagg was okay.
"Thank goodness you are alright. Are the other Kwamis doing well to?" I asked.
"They are fine. You should be worrying more about yourselves than us Kwamis, considering you four are the ones tied up," Plagg pointed out.
"I am just glad you are okay," I replied.
"You will be to once I give the signal," Plagg said. I was confused for a moment before what he said started to sink in.
"Plagg, no," I scolded the little black cat.
"Plagg, yes," he mocked before waving his arm in the air. Three other Kwamis flew out from different hiding spots and zipped around the room, causing a ruckus. This distracted the SSS members.
"Demons! They summoned demons to take our souls!" one of the members shouted, fearful of the small flying animals.
Well, I can tell that he is not the brains of this operation. And clearly, none of them are as they all seemed to take his word for it. They used their weapons to attack the Kwamis but had a difficult time doing so. With how small the Kwamis are, it was like someone trying to shoot a fly with a gun.
That did not help my anxiety though. There was still a possibility that one of them could get hurt or worse.
Plagg had left to release us from our binds.
"Chat Noir, do you know what the plan is?" my male teammate asked.
"I do not," I responded. I do not know where our miraculous are or the whereabouts of the rest of our team.
"Vesperia and..." I trailed off, unknowing of what hero my male teammate was.
"Pegasus," he answered.
"Pegasus," I said, testing it on my tongue. It was strange saying our hero names without our super suits on.
"Do either of you know where everyone else is?" I asked.
"I believe Ladybug is still in the lady's changing quarters battling against the leader of this mission group," Zoe answered.
If I was not very anxious before, I sure am bursting with it now. Ladybug is fighting the leader by herself. As much as she is a skilled warrior, I am still concerned about her well-being against such a strong opponent.
"If I do recall," Pegasus started, breaking me out of my worried thoughts, "Rena Rogue and Carapace are still in the prison room. I have not seen Polymouse."
"So, Bunnyx is tied up with us?" I questioned.
"That is correct," Pegasus answered as the rope went limp and released us from its grip.
Pegasus and I quickly picked up Zoe and carried her into the hallway. Bunnyx—a short, red-haired woman—followed behind us to watch our backs. Plagg appeared a second later, flying near me.
"Thank you for the rescue, Plagg. Do you by chance know where our miraculous are?" I asked.
"I believe that mission leader has all of the stolen miraculous," Plagg informed, "She is currently fighting Ladybug in the lady's room."
This would be tricky. It was tough fighting the SSS members with our miraculous. Now, we have no powers to fight back and only have our hand-to-hand combat training as our only weapon. This would be like bringing a knife to a gunfight.
And as much as I hate to admit it, Zoe will be more of a burden than help without her ability to walk.
"Go into this room," I ordered, nudging my head at my bedroom door. Luckily, I do not have many personal items that would give away my identity aside from my baby blanket that has my name. But that should be hidden away. I trust they will not snoop through my things. Zoe is the only one who really knows me.
Bunnyx opened the door and we entered the room. Bunnyx just managed to close the door as footsteps raced down the hallway.
"I cannot believe you dimwits let them escape!" I recognized the voice of the member holding a bat, "That assassin will have our heads if we do not find and recapture them."
His voice was drowned out as he went further down the hallway.
I let out a sigh, "We are safe for now. They probably think we went to the prison room."
Pegasus and I set Zoe down on my bed. Bunnyx spoke to us through her hands but I did not know any sign language. Yet, it seemed that Pegasus knew what she was saying.
"Yes, but how would we get them back?" Pegasus asked.
"What did she say?" I asked.
"She said that we need to get our miraculous back. But I do not know how we would be able to do so. Even if we outnumber her, she still has a ninety-ninety percent chance of winning. The odds are pretty stacked against us," Pegasus explained.
I hummed in thought, "Well, we still have a one percent chance of winning. I think I might have an idea."
I turned to Plagg, who was gouging down some cheese on my stand.
"Plagg, do you think you can gather the Kwamis and get the miraculous back to us?" I questioned.
"That depends on how much cheese you can offer," Plagg said. I could see the small smirk adorning his cheeks.
"You will not get any if we are all dead," I replied, bluntly. Plagg paused for a second to think before letting out a grunt of agreement.
"Alright, you got me there. Well played," Plagg gave in as he phased through the wall.
"What are you planning?" Zoe questioned me.
"It will be risky but one of the Kwamis can grab the miraculous while the rest surprise attack the assassin. It is not my best plan but it is the only one I can think of," I replied, sheepishly, "I am curious about how you two got your miraculous swiped."
Pegasus and Bunnyx perked up when the attention was brought to them. Bunnyx turned to Pegasus, expecting him to explain everything since she would not be able to communicate with me.
"I would say the same way your miraculous was taken. We were jumped," Pegasus answered. Bunnyx nodded in agreement.
"Could you be a little more descriptive? You both can travel through portals and get the jump on them a lot easier, especially you Bunnyx. You can see the future. How did you not see it coming?" I asked.
Bunnyx signed her answer but I did not understand a single thing she was forming with her hand gestures. I turned to Pegasus, hoping for a translation.
"Bunnyx said that the future is never set in stone. There is no way to predict what events would happen and what their outcome would be. It is like trying to predict the weather. There are many different choices and alternate worlds, it is almost impossible to pick one, let alone, narrow it down," Pegasus explained.
"In conclusion, she did consider a possible attack to commence. But she did not know what exactly what kind or if there even was one that would happen out of many outcomes."
"I suppose...that makes sense..." I trailed off, still somewhat confused but in a way, it sort of made sense.
"Time travel is quite a fascinating concept but one that is truly difficult to understand, even for someone like me," Pegasus assured, "Something so simple as choosing a drink could alter many occurrences."
Bunnyx clapped her hands, applauding Pegasus as if he nailed explaining her powers. I would have to agree. I knew the rabbit miraculous was powerful—probably the most powerful out of all of our miraculous—but I never knew how truly perplexing her powers worked.
I was about to ask something else but immediately locked my lips. The sound of footsteps and voices of the SSS members were heard going down the hallway.
"Find those filthy rats and kill them! I do not want one demonic vessel left not a corpse!" one commanded, "Check every room if you have to!"
As light on my feet as possible, I pulled out two old swords Master Fu gifted me in my youth out from my stand. These swords were what I used to train with until I was able to receive my miraculous.
"We will barricade the door quickly and quietly with everything in here," I whispered to them, handing off my second blade to Pegasus, "If they do get in, Pegasus and I will try to fend them off for as long as possible."
Just as Pegasus was reaching for the sword, Bunnyx grasped it first, shaking her head.
She used her sign language to tell us whatever flaw we made in our plan. Pegasus narrowed his eyes, seeming somewhat offended but understanding at the same time.
"What did she say?" Zoe asked.
Pegasus sighed, "She said, "No offense, but I am more skilled with sword fighting than you are, Pegasus."
"Very well," I whispered, "We have no time to discuss who is the better sword fighter. We need to block the door, now."
I helped Zoe off of my bed before pushing it in front of the door along with Pegasus and Bunnyx. We continued to quietly block the door until it was covered the best it could with the little I had.
This barricade would not last for very long but it would buy us some time. Hopefully, Plagg and the other Kwamis will get back soon with the miraculous.
The door started to shake before the sound of someone yelling "They are in here" came from the other side. Pegasus, Bunnyx, and I helped hold the barricade as the SSS members tried to break in.
"Hurry, Plagg!" I thought.
Plagg's P.O.V
I did not realize how difficult the task of finding the other Kwamis would be.
"Ugh, why do I have to do all the work?" I complained to myself, "I should have recruited the other two to help me find the others. This is too much work."
No matter how much I complained, I continued looking. As much as I do not show or say my feelings, I do care for them. I will accomplish my task in finding the Kwamis to help me get the miraculous back.
I phased through the wall, ending up in the men's changing room. I started to search the room until I heard the sounds of voices coming from the other side of the wall. The lady's changing room was next to the men's.
My curiosity out won my need to find the other Kwamis.
I flew over to the wall and phased enough through it to see what was happening in the lady's changing room.
Ladybug stood guarded with the bee miraculous in her hand. She stared down a woman wielding swords. Her wear and weapons gave away her position in the SSS group. She is the leader.
"I may have to pause in my search. Ladybug looks like she may need some assistance…and she may be able to help me retrieve the miraculous," I thought, entering the lady's changing room. I kept hidden and quietly made my way up to the newly formed hole in the ceiling.
"Is someone redecorating? Cause they are doing a terrible job at it," I commented before shrugging, "Oh well, I am about to make it worse."
I was not going to use my cataclysm. That would be a bit too overboard. But I am the deity of destruction and the bringer of bad luck.
I know how to destroy things without my power.
"Heads up," I teasingly said. I poked on a not-so-stable piece of debris and the chaos ensued from there.
Not too long later, debris rained out from the hole and onto that assassin below. The woman was caught off guard, which gave Ladybug enough time to put on the bee miraculous. Pollen materialized into thin air.
"And let the show begin," I said.
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