A/N: WARNING! Things will get a little heated in this chapter. So, if you're.... thirteen, I'll suggest, or younger please be advised. If you want to skip through the fluff, go until you see;

{~~~}

     .... this!
     And I'm also dedicating this chapter to JustALamp who gave me the prompt that made me have to label this chapter as heated ;)
Again, things get heated. Proceed with caution. You've been warned. And it starts, now...

     I leaned over the railing of my favorite monument, the Eiffel Tower, and overlooked the city. My city. I breathed in the cool, crisp air and let out a content sigh. A pair of arms slipped around my waist, but I remained calm. I would know this arms anywhere.

"Minou." I smirked as I let Chat Noir's defined chest lean on my back as his head found itself in the crook of my neck.

"Princess." His voice was smooth, but there was something off about it. He sounded... wary. Tired. I turned around and slid my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest and hearing the steady heartbeat thrumming. "I love you."

"I love you, too." I replied as I lifted my head and found my nose inches from his. Without a second thought I crushed my lips to his.

I moved my lips against his as we kissed, gently licking his bottom lip for permission to enter. He obliged, and our tongues started mingling together. He was intoxicating, alluring, and everything I needed.

As we kissed, his hand found its way to the small of my back and pressed lightly, pushing me into him. My own hands wandered up to the nape of his neck, hands curling in his soft hair.

We pulled away briefly to breath before diving back in, with more fervor than before. As if we wouldn't see each other again.

Adrien moved his hands lower and gently scooped me up and set me down on the railing, I moved my legs to wrap around his waist as his hands rested on mine to keep me steady. I explored the new angle of entry to his mouth.

When we pulled back again instead of continuing I felt his lips start making a trail down my cheek, then my chin, neck, chest.... an involuntary moan escaped my lips as he gently bit a sensitive spot right above my collarbone. My legs squeezed against him harder and I leaned my head back to allow full access as a feeling of ecstasy filled me.

"Adrien." I warned, though I wasn't sure what I was warning him of. He continued his assault on my chest and I gasped. When he finally trailed back up to my lips I took control and began my own invasion.

I made a track of kisses down his cheek and then back towards the soft flesh right under his ear and behind his cheekbone. I grabbed a little with my teeth and sucked, letting it go with a pop. The slight moan he made had a satisfied smirk on my lips.

Suddenly, we were on the hard, metal floor. I wasn't sure when we moved, but I didn't care. My tongue darted out and licked the spot I had sucked on, easing the already red spot appearing.

I straddled Chat and gave a little jolt as his claws lightly scraped the exposed skin of my back where my shirt had gone up. I hadn't even known my transformation had completely wore off, but I did not care. The intensity died down and I pulled back, gasping heavily as I tried to regain my composure and slow my ragged breathing. Adrien wasn't any better off, and he caught my cerulean eyes in his stunningly emerald orbs. I felt captivated by the spark that erupted in a low pit in my stomach.

A mewling caught my attention and I glanced up to see the faint outline of a black cat, it's green eyes met mine and it meowed again. Turning away, the cat ducked down and rubbed its back on the ground as it turned. At this point my averted attention caught Chat's and he tilted his head back to see what I was looking at.

"Oh look, a baby me!" He joked. I poked him in the ribs and he chuckled.

"Wait, Adrien, look!" I pointed to the cat, who had stopped rolling around and now sat up, but that wasn't what caught my attention; I squinted to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me, but sure enough it was still there.

"Hey look, it's a baby you!" Another rib jab and chuckle.

I watched as the small, fluttering ladybug landed on the nose of the cat. I smiled softly at the pair.

Turning back to my partner, I booped his nose and smiled.

"I do believe I love you, Adrien Agreste."

"And I do believe I love you, Marinette Agreste."

"I do believe you mean Dupain-Cheng." I remarked sarcastically, an eye roll automatically happening.

"Not for long." He said, smirking as he started kissing me again.

{~~~}

Something rough and wet made a booping trail down my face and I giggled slightly at the tickling feeling. My eyes fluttered open and my heart seized as a furry face filled my vision. I abruptly sat up, a nervous hand hovering over my heart as I watched the creature, a fouine, scampered away.

I took a few moments to settle my raging pulse before pushing myself into a sitting position, the rough terrain beneath me biting into my hands as I did. The sun was directly overhead and was mercilessly beating down on me, although the shade of the branches of the tree I was laying under provided enough shade to avoid a sunburn.

I scanned my surroundings quickly noting that, besides the scurrying fouine, there seemed to be no other living creatures. I didn't hear the lively chirping of birds, or a breeze to shuffle the branches of trees, or the crunching of leaves as animals scampered. It was as if the entire world was holding its breath.

Although I felt a little shaken up, I managed to pull myself over to the tree so that I could lean against it, wincing with every inch I moved.

I thought back to the dream I was having, smiling slightly. No, not a dream. A memory. One from not too long ago, either. Or it wasn't that long ago before I had been kidnapped. Now... I wasn't even sure what day it was anymore.

An awful smell accosted my nose, derailing my thoughts, and it took me a moment to figure out that the smell was me. I daringly glanced down at my ankles and immediately felt the need to throw up.

     (A/N: WARNING. I don't usually do these in the middle of the chapter, but felt the need to say that if you're squeamish about gore or blood or anything like that, go ahead and skip until you see; {~~~}
     You've been warned.)

    
They were definitely infected.
    
The skin around the wounds was red and while the cuts had scabbed over they were a yellow color, and seemed to be oozing some discolored pus. And the smell... oh god, the smell. Imagine you left a Tupperware filled with half-cooked  ground beef and left it outside to bake in the 100 degree heat for a month surrounded by garbage. That's what it smelled like.
    
I gagged and turned my head away as the smell seemed to grow stronger. Using the thin fabric of my dress to cover my mouth and nose, I turned back to my damaged ankles and inspected them further. If I moved them, a searing pain started.
     
Since the dress was already in ruins, I tore off some more of the fabric to tie around my ankles to keep the pus and blood from leaking all over my feet. It was easier this time since it was already halfway torn.

On top of the atrocity of my ankles, I had a dozen or so more cuts and dozens of bruises. And I was so dirty. I promised myself that I would never take showers for granted ever again. Or shoes.

I wanted to peak at the cut on my arm, but figure that wouldn't accomplish anything more than me having to tear off some more of my dress to rewrap it. If it got infected, I figured my ankles would kill me before they did anyways.

     {~~~} Short recap; the scrapes on Marinette's ankles are infected.

    
I sighed as I braced myself. I knew I had to get moving, if I wanted to get out of this place alive. And from the seemingly endless forest ahead, and behind, of me I felt my confidence waver.
    
Adrien, Alya, maman, papa, Nino, Chloe.... you are not allowed to die, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You still have a year of high school left, you have a loving boyfriend, an amazing best friend, and caring parents. Get up! I mentally yelled at myself. Interestingly enough, the thoughts gave me enough strength to push myself up off the ground and to a crouching position.
    
My head swam and I shut my eyes until my churning stomach calmed and my temples stopped throbbing. Taking in a preparing breath, I stood. I placed a hand on the tree to steady myself as I fought tears. I could do this.
    
I took a tentative step forward, grateful that my knees didn't buckle beneath me. Being Ladybug has given me at least some sense of physical strength, even if I hadn't been properly working out since I'd gotten captured. Except for the few strengthening exercises I had done when I was sure Hawkmoth hadn't been around. What can I say, I wanted to be prepared.

So, sucking it up, I put one foot in front of the other in a direction I thought was the opposite of where I had entered the clearing last night.
     
While I stumbled through the woods, ignoring the steady, pulsing throb of pain that wove through my body with every step, I thought of what I needed to do. Number one was cleaning my wounds and hopefully finding some medicine before I started having a fever and hallucinating. Number two, find Adrien. I had to tell him who his father really was and get Adrien as far away from him as possible. Number three, find some new clothes.

With these tasks in mind, I hummed a light tune to myself to keep my sanity from breaking away from me. It seemed as though the forest really, truly didn't end. It felt as if I could keep walking for eternity and never find an escape. I shook my head and tried to think of happier things, like seeing Adrien again. I had to find him, I needed to. I had to warn him, before it was too late. Too late for me.

From then on, anytime I would falter, or doubt, I would let memories of Adrien flood my mind. It was the only thing that kept me going.

~

"Gah...ugh!" I fumed as I kicked the skate board ramp. "So close, Plagg!" I continued my assault on the ramp until my toes started to throb. I glanced to my right to my bed, where my phone's screen was still alight with the text that sent another growl up my throat.

Hours. I had missed Marinette by hours. The police report had come in, and I was the first person Alya had sent it to. I didn't know how she did it, but I figured she used Chloé's friendship with Sabrina, aka the cop's daughter, to scrounge it up.

But this meant that she was still out there, all alone. Probably scared out of her mind. And something told me there was no way she would be able to get out of the surrounding forest she was inevitably trapped in. It was the only logical place that she could have disappeared in. Unless her captor had taken her again, but the evidence pointed to her escaping.

"I know, Adrien. I'm worried about her, too. But what I'm most worried about is the fact that she hasn't turned into Ladybug. I mean, if she had she would have been back by now, yeah?" Plagg questioned, hovering beside me as I contemplated it.

"You're right. It's been bugging me. Do you think something could have happened to Tikki? Can... can Kwami's die." I asked, concerned for the well being of the tiny creature I had grown to love over the past couple months. I didn't miss the look of concern on Plagg's face, either.

"Not technically, no. We're tied to our Miraculous. And they're virtually indestructible. I would have felt it if hers had been damaged or destroyed. My best guess, which is as good as the smell of Camembert, is that her captor took her Miraculous."

"Then do you think that her captor knows she's Ladybug? What if Hawkmoth captured her?"

"Nah, I doubt it. If Hawkmoth had snatched her Miraculous Paris would be destroyed. Nah. I'm guessing whoever took her earrings didn't know what they could do. S'my guess anyway." Plagg flew over to my bedside table and phased through the cabinet, phasing back through with a wheel of Camembert. I chuckled and shook my head. It didn't even surprise me that he was eating during a crisis.

"Once you're finished, you think you'll feel up to transforming and going to look for Mari? I know I've been having you transform and it's been tiring... -"

Plagg waved his paw dismissively. "Yeah, let's look for her. If we find her we will probably be able to find Tikki, too." He said, but with his mouth full of cheese it came out garbled and I almost couldn't understand him.

I really did feel bad. I knew that constantly being transformed as Chat Noir used a lot of his energy, even with all of the cheese I'd been giving him. But, it wasn't as if I was the only one who wanted it. I knew Plagg wanted to find Tikki as badly as I wanted to find Marinette. I'm sure if they could see us now, they'd call us cute for worrying over them so much. I watched as Plagg finished off his cheese wheel and gave me a thumbs up for the transformation.

I was about to say it when Plagg suddenly turned and made a dive towards the ground towards right under my bed. I raised my eyebrows at his actions.

"Plagg?" I knelt down as I watched my Kwami lug a small box out from underneath my bed, mumbling something.

"I don't know how I didn't sense them before. It was like one second they weren't here, then they were."

"What Plagg?"

"Tikki!" He shouted excitedly, holding up the box towards me. I eyed him as I took the small box and opened it. Sure enough, there was a pair of black stud earrings. Along with a note. I exchanged a look with Plagg as we both read the note;

I entrust this to you, Chat Noir. Keep it safe until you can return it to its rightful owner
-A friend

"Is this Marinette's Miraculous?" I asked, even though I knew the answer to the question. I knew her Miraculous as well as my own.

"It is!"

"How did it get in my room?"

"I don't-..." A knock sounded at my door and I quickly shut the lid to the box and slid it into my coat pocket. I'd have to worry about it later.

Thinking fast, I grabbed and threw my messenger bag across my shoulders to make it look like I was just leaving. Plagg flew and hid in my jacket's pocket with Tikki. I opened the door and took a half step back in surprise.

"Father?" I asked. I had assumed that it would be Nathalie at the door, or maybe Alya. I had absolutely not expected my father, who had never once knocked on my door. I grew immediately concerned at his presence, thinking that it must be something bad. Besides the original search party for Mari, I had seen my father less than even his usual absent standards. And that was saying something.

"Are you going somewhere?" My father asked, raising a perfectly smooth eyebrow as he noted the bag slung around my shoulders.

"Oh, well, yes actually. I was going to Alya's house to go over some things with her and Nino. Mostly stuff about the case. Trying to figure out some new hint or clue. Then there's a search party later they we're going to go. We're going to be sweeping through the woods in search of her." The half lie rolled off of my tongue, and I felt a bitter taste in the back of my throat. I may not have been particularly close to my father, but I had a distaste for lying. Although it was almost true. The search party part, at least.

"Actually, Adrien, I'm here to discuss some important matters with you. Please, sit." He gestured behind me to my white couch and I automatically obliged, backing up and sitting on the couch while my father followed suit. There was an awkward pause, as if he was trying to find the words to say. I had never seen my father hesitate with his words but one time, a week after my mother disappeared and he had to explain to me that she wasn't coming back. He had the same expression he did that day, and a growing knot twisted in my stomach.

"You wanted to discuss something, father?" I prompted, he cleared his throat.

"Yes. I know that you've been going through some... stuff lately. With the girl missing and all. And I want you to know that I do care for you, son. And I have your best interests at heart. I always have. And I know what you feel. She was your first crush, after all. It's hard. I felt the same way when your moth-... when your mother disappeared. I felt lost.

"But, I want you to believe that what I'm doing is the best option for you. It'll be rough, I know. You have friends here, you've integrated to the school."

Where was this going? I scrunched my eyebrows together as I tried to decipher what he was trying to convey. A slight suspicion started in the back of my mind, but I tried my best to ignore it.

"What are you saying, father?" I asked. Another long pause. "Father?"

"I'm sending you away, Adrien!" He snapped, giving me a cold look. "It's too dangerous here in the city. With Ladybug gone and Akuma attacks practically every day, it's become a hazard to your safety. Me and the team decided that since we're opening up a line in Ireland anyways, our top model should go as well.

"And I know it'll be difficult. Changing homes, changing schools. Meeting new people and such. But I have no doubt that you'll be able to handle it. You're my son, after all."

All at once a million objections formed. I couldn't leave! Not with Marinette missing, and Paris' need of my alter ego, Chat Noir. I just couldn't! Not to mention all of the friends I've made here. No! Absolutely not. Just as I was about to voice these points, my father cut me off with a single raised fist. I instinctually flinched back and snapped my mouth shut, biting my tongue to keep from spewing something I would most likely regret.

"This isn't up for discussion, Adrien. The decision is final. I've already arranged your school transfer, passport, and I have your new room stocked and ready for your use."
     "But-..." Another raised fist and another bitten tongue. I felt Plagg stir in my pocket and another flurry of panic swept through me. He couldn't make me leave, could he? I was almost eighteen. Surely he couldn't. He wouldn't. Couldn't. Paris needs me. Marinette needed me. I couldn't abandon them!

"Mari?" I forced out, earning a glare from my father.

"She's either dead or sold as a sex slave. Either way, I don't think you'll see her again, son." The coldness of his words hit me like an icicle through the heart.

"Father!" I protested, standing as I faced him.

"Sit down!" He barked and I immediately sat, my pulse thundering against the skin of my throat. "I know it may be hard to hear, but I'm not going to sugar coat these things for you, Adrien. You need to face reality. She's been gone over a month. She's gone, son."

Suddenly, my face grew warm as I tried to control myself. A wave of rage poured through me, startling me, but not enough to stop it.

"SHE IS NOT GONE!" I screamed, rushing to my feet for a second time with no intentions of backing down. "And I am not leaving! Marinette is alive, and I will find her. And if you think you can stop me... -"

"What, Adrien?" My father stood so that he was eye level with me. "What are going to do to me? Hmm?" He took a few steps forward and my earlier rage melted away into fear. With a snap of his fingers, I felt large fists grab my upper arms.

I gasped from surprise and whipped my head to look behind me. Gorilla stood there, my arms in his vise like grip. I hadn't even seen him enter my room!

"Let go of me!" I struggled against the hands, but even with my almost supernatural strength that came from being Chat Noir I couldn't shake him off. It was like trying to break metal chains.

My father approached me, grabbing my chin so I was forced to look at him.

"You will do as you're told, Adrien. And you will either go willingly or we will have to force you. Easy way or hard way, son. It's up to you."

"Marinette..."

"Forget the stupid girl! She's nothing more than a whore, probably only dating you because of your connections."

"LIKE HELL!" I mustered up all of the courage I could and then, with my all-too-free legs, I kicked my father in the groin.

He instantly doubled over in pain and I smirked slightly. Normally, I would never have dreamed of hitting my father; it felt surprisingly good.

But my victory was short lived.

My father's hand shot up and I barely had time to blink before his fist caught me square in the jaw. I saw stars and groaned.

I could taste something metallic. Blood. I opened my eyes to glare at my father. This was the first time he had ever truly hit me before. All of the empathy I had given him suddenly disappeared as I realized that he didn't care. Not about me, not about Marinette, not even mom! He only looked out for himself. He didn't care if I had opinions, or whether or not I liked something. He expected me to just do it like I was his slave.

I mustered up the deepest look of loathing I could and stared my father straight in the eyes. He could hate me, insult me, hit me, and hurt me all he liked. But I was not going to sit here while he insulted Marinette. Not my Marinette.

"Take him away. Get him out of my sight." He snapped, matching my glare evenly.

I could do nothing as I was carried out of the room. I wanted to transform, but knew my identity had to remain secret. But maybe if my father knew I was Chat Noir, he'd understand why I needed to stay... I dismissed the thought. There would be no reasoning with him.

Gorilla carried me all the way to the garage, ignoring my consistent protests and threats. He only paused once, to set me down and hold both of my hands in one of his while he unlocked one of the cars with blacked out windows and shoved me into the backseat. I grunted as I hit the seats and bounced off of the floor. By the time I turned around the door was shut. There was no inside handle.

The car was like a mini version of my limo, with a divider separating me and the drivers seat. I didn't doubt that it was locked. I let out a frustrated scream as the car started. This wasn't fair!

Again, transforming into Chat Noir tempted me. But I didn't want to risk revealing my identity to Gorilla, even if he didn't speak. I instead slammed my body against the door of the car. When that only resulted in a bruised shoulder, I turned towards the divider. Like I had thought, it was locked.

Tears of frustration fell down my cheeks as I dejectedly sat on the ground. I would not forget, or forgive, this incident. He couldn't legally hold me when I turned eighteen.

Time passed without my knowledge, and I stared blankly at the material of the seat. The sun slowly crept down, until it disappeared completely. Plagg kept quiet, but I could still feel him moving in my pocket, along with the slight bulge of the earring box. There were microphones in the compartment I was in, so it was too risky to talk to him. I wondered about his thoughts on the situation. Surely he had some magical power to fix this situation.

One moment I was sitting on the floor of the car, the next my body flew into the air and slammed into the divider window so hard I heard a crack; I wasn't sure if it was me or the window. I groaned as I checked to see what had caused Gorilla to suddenly stop. Through the small crack I had caused in the divider I managed to see his blurry outline as he stood in front of the car, crouching in front of something. Someone. I could see pale, beat up legs.

Before I could register what I was doing, I grabbed the headrest and used the two prongs as a dangerous weapon as I repeatedly smashed it into the window. With one crack already there, soon the whole divider shattered. I paused before going through, making sure no jagged shards would cut me.

I scrambled out of the car and ran towards Gorilla who had just caught sight of me and was frowning, as if trying to figure out how I'd gotten out. I paid him no mind. I instead zeroed in on the person laying in the middle of the road whose body was illuminated by the headlights.

I couldn't believed it as I fell to my knees, gently scooping up the unconscious figure. Warm breath tickled my hand as it hovered over their mouth. Midnight blue hair cascaded through my hands as I cradled her head.

"Marinette?" I crooned, gently stroking her cheek. She groaned slightly and my heart raced.

She looked beautiful. Even with her terribly tangled hair with twigs and leaves scattered in, the various cuts and bruises, she was absolutely breath taking. She wore a skimpy dress, and I could see where she had obviously torn it to make the strips that covered her ankles and her left upper arm. Her normally porcelain skin was covered in several layers of dirt and nature. A beautiful mess.

I heard a slight gasp and glanced back at her face to see her eyes wide open, staring at me.

"A-Adrien?" She asked, her lower lip wobbled a bit as her eyes became glassy. Suddenly, instead of me holding her she was holding me. Her arms flew around my neck as she let out a few muffled sobs. My arms encircled her instinctually and I cradled the back of her head. "I knew-knew you-you'd find me."

"Shh. Yes. I'm here. Shh. I'm here, sweetheart. Don't worry, I'm here." She continued to cry into my shoulder and I felt my heart tear. "Princess, shh..."

Just as suddenly as she held me she pulled back, wiping her eyes with her hands. "I-I have to tell you something!"

"Of course, Princess. What is it?" It was still hard for me to process that she was here, in my arms. Some part of me thought that maybe this was a dream. That I was still unconscious in the car. I ignored those thoughts.

She opened her mouth to speak but was overcome with convulsions as she violently shivered. I finally took note in her red cheeks and flushed face. I brought a hand to her forehead and jerked back.

"Mari, you're burning up!" I gasped, unsure. "I need to get you to a hospital!"

"No!" Marinette had a wild, terrified look on her face. "I can't go somewhere public. Please, Adrien." She buried her face into my chest and I sighed.

"Why, princess? What's wrong?" I questioned.

She looked at me, opening her mouth to answer, before her eyes flickered to Gorilla for the first time. Her eyes widened as her breathing hitched. I felt instantly protective and turned to glare at Gorilla. I didn't know what he'd done to cause that reaction but I didn't like it.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I-I need to talk to you. Privately." She flickered her eyes back to me and then to Gorilla again. I got the message. I had never hated Gorilla, so I felt a pang of guilt for what I was about to do.

Curling my fingers around the headrest, which was laying beside me, I gave myself two seconds to prepare.

In a swift motion I lunged at Gorilla, bringing the headrest prongs down hard enough to knock him out. At first, I thought I'd killed him. But after checking his pulse, I was assured he was okay.

I went back over to Marinette, who's mouth was set in a determined line. I scooped her up and brought her to the car. I set her on the hood as I cleaned out the glass shards that covered the seats. As soon as I thought I got the majority of it, I helped Marinette into the seat and buckled her in before running around to my side and sliding into the drivers seat. Making a U-Turn, I headed back in the opposite direction Gorilla had been taking me.

About a minute in and Marinette unbuckled her seatbelt. I was about to scold her when I felt her arms slip around me as she laid on my side. I smiled as the position reminded me of a day so long ago, when we had watched Cats together for the first time. Using one hand to steer, I laid an arm around her.

"Where do you want to go? You need to get your injuries checked out." I glanced over at her before returning my eyes to the road.

"There's this place that I think is safe... I'll give you directions." As she instructed me on where to turn as we entered the city, I kept glancing down at her. God, she was beautiful.

"Mari... why can't I take you to the hospital?" I didn't want to upset her, but I needed to know what she was scared of.

"We should really wait until we reach our destination, first." She kept her head down, ignoring my pointed looks. Her eyes were closed, and I figured she was close to falling asleep.

"Mari..."

"I-I don't think it's a good idea. To tell you."

"Tell me what?" I prodded.

Marinette let out a big yawn as she snuggled closer. "Tell you that your father is Hawkmoth." She replied sleepily.

And if the girl had been aware of the words that slipped out of her mouth and looked up, she would have seen the shell-shocked face of her boyfriend, who's entire world had seemed to flip over. Again.

Too bad she didn't.

A/N: O M G ! 5512 words! I literally have stayed up all night to update, so I sincerely hope you enjoyed it! I made a promise to update, and I don't want to disappoint everyone. So how did you like it? I work really hard to make sure that each chapter is worth the read. Did you like the ending? And, OH, before I forget, I wanted to ask you guy's opinion on something; do you want for me to make a space between paragraphs? Or keep it the way it is already, like an actual book? Comment below your thoughts on it. Anyways, my eyes are burning and my hands are cramping. I, again, really hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll hopefully update soon. Thanks for the patience!
(And the above song is Hero, sung by Sterling Knight. Does anyone recognize what it's from? (If you do you're awesome, if you don't you're also awesome))