Chapter Thirty-Seven:

"Good evening, Miraculous Games viewers!" Alec greeted, waving to the camera. The TV announcer was wearing his giraffe suit, his face painted like the animal. It appeared as though he was on his way to a children's birthday party rather than the biggest event of the year. "Mrs. Chamach and I are just outside the marvelous ball that is taking place in honor of our winner, Chloe Bourgeois!" He gestured behind him to the shining government building like it wasn't obvious enough, what with the shining spotlights and guests entering the wondrous garden and all. "This is definitely an occasion that cannot be missed!"

"Indeed," Nadja responded, smiling at the camera. She was dressed up for the occasion as well, though not as enthusiastically as Alec. She wore a simple gray dress with small gray and pink ears pinned on the top of her head. With a touch of pink on her nose, it was obvious she was trying to be a mouse. "We have a lot to look forward to tonight. Sadly, though, we were informed that President Agreste will not be in attendance this year, what with the news of his son's death."

Alec nodded sadly, his painted face looking almost clownish as he tried not to frown. "The poor man must be going through a hard grieving process. However, I'm glad he's taking the night off! He deserves a break. On a similar note, we have been told that the Game Master will be the one who crowns Queen Bee this year! Isn't that exciting?"

"Definitely, Alec," Mrs. Chamach commented with a small smile. "This will be the first year ever to have the Game Master, creator of the actual Miraculous Games arena, give out the winning title and crown."

"Oh, it just makes me want to squeal!" Alec admitted, bouncing on the balls of his feet. He turned to look at the camera. "Stay tuned for the full broadcast of this extravagant event! So many amazing things are going to happen tonight - I can just feel it! Don't miss out on the fun!"

* * *

Adrien crouched in the bushes, peeking through the leaves of the shrub. Lights were flashing inside the building, very much party style. It was weird, sitting out in the cold. If he hadn't have gone rogue, he would have been inside that dance hall. Funny how things work out. He remembered the past few years, standing on the dance floor and watching all of the charms dance around him. It wasn't like this was his first rodeo.

His mind flashed back to a time when he was much younger, maybe ten-years-old or so. He had hidden behind his mom, her blue and turquoise dress clenched in his small fists as he watched Charms walk by. It had been a long time ago, and he didn't remember much, but what he did remember was that he had been terrified of all of the Charm's masks. His mother had told him that they weren't going to hurt him - that they were only pretending.

Ah, if little Adrien had known back then what the present Adrien had done.

"Where are they?" Alya hissed, pulling aside some of the shrub's branches. Her comment brought Adrien back to the present. He shrugged.

"They might be caught up in something."

"Probably partying, if I know Kim," Alix muttered, scowling as she batted some of her pink flamingo feathers away. Adrien had noticed that the pink feather dress had been driving her crazy, especially the feathers that kept drooping over her eyes.

Alya elbowed her. Whether it was playfully or not, Adrien wasn't sure. Understanding girls wasn't really his forte. He had learned that lesson quickly enough over the past few hours...

His mind drifted back to Marinette. Her beautiful hair, her amazing voice, and her stunning eyes.

Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to push her out of his thoughts. She was safe. That's all that mattered. She was locked away in a comfortable with enough to survive one night. She had a bathroom, a comfortable bed, and hey, even some food that he had secretly stashed in there. She was just fine. He just had to keep a cool head and--

He stopped breathing. His whole body was frozen, no doubt as pale as a ghost, but his mind was running a million miles an hour.

All of this time he had been telling Marinette that shielding her was the only way to keep her safe, but in all reality... he was inflicting the same pain he had endured. He had been locked away, forced to stay in the mansion. His father no doubt had thought the same thing as he was.

Adrien has enough. He'll be safe and happy. I can't be there to protect him.

Alya noticed Adrien freeze. Furrowing her eyebrows, she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?"

Adrien finally took a deep breath and shook his head. It was time to come clean. "To be honest, no. I'm not okay..."

"Don't tell me you're going to puke on me," Alix protested.

Alya shot her an irritated glare before turning her attention back to Adrien. Her expression turned softer. "Is it about Marinette?" He looked at her. He didn't even have to say anything, his eyes gave enough away. Alya laughed. "Dude, I know these things. I can tell because you get this look on your face. Like you're thinking about waffles or something."

Mmm... waffles.

"Wait, why isn't she here?" Alix asked, randomly popping back into the conversation.

Adrien's shoulders tensed. He didn't want to answer her question, but he had a feeling both Alix and Alya would keep pestering him if he didn't. He bit the inside of his lip before sinking down to the ground and crossing his legs. With a trembling hand, he rubbed his forehead.

"I... I locked her away."

Both Alya and Alix stopped, then looked at each other in shock.

"You did what?" Alya inquired.

Adrien bowed his head, his whole body stiff. When he spoke, he had expected his voice to quiver, but it was as dead as roadkill. "I locked her in her bedroom. I knew that she would want to come with so I... I took the situation into my own hands. I couldn't have her get hurt, not again."

Alix leaned back on her hands. She appeared interested in what he had to say but was making a point not to speak a word. Alya, on the other hand, folded her arms and gave Adrien a stern glare.

"Adrien, you can't just shove her away like that. She's an independent woman! She can make her own choices and accept the consequences for them."

"But I just..." Adrien clenched his fists and grit his teeth. "She almost died in my arms and I couldn't just... not do anything. She would only hurt herself if she came and if she got hurt, I don't know if I could live with myself knowing that I could have prevented it..."

Alya's expression softened. She unfolded her arms and placed a hand on Adrien's knee. Her eyes were bold, but her voice was calm.

"Adrien, you can't force anyone to do anything. Marinette survived the Miraculous Games. I'm sure she'd be able to survive this."

"She has a point," Alix jumped in. Adrien hadn't thought she was paying attention, but apparently, she was.

He shook his head and pulled away from Alya's grip. "But what you guys don't understand is a number of things that are at risk here." He looked directly at the girl in the fox costume. "Alya, the Game Master is trying to murder Marinette." Before Alya could ask questions, he plowed on. "He knew that I was Chat Noir and used it against me to get the chance to kill Ladybug. I can't let that happen again, especially since we're going into his territory."

Alya was quiet for a few moments, staring at him as if waiting for him to go on, then sighed and hung her head. "Even with that, you can't force decisions upon her. I realize how much you love her, but this is on an entirely different playing field, Adrien. If you love her as much as I believe you do, you would let her make her own decisions. Whether they be good or bad, you need to support her and only warn her of the danger. That's all. Don't force her next time, okay?"

"If there is a next time," Alix muttered.

Adrien opened his mouth to say something, but just then, the shrub rustled. All three kids froze, holding their breaths. Had they been spotted? Had they been talking too loudly? Adrien noticed out of the corner of his eye that Alya clenched her fists. Was she going to deck whoever was on the other side of the leaves?

"Guys? You in here?" a familiar voice said. A hand parted some of the branches, revealing a pair of brown glasses and ginger hair tucked into a pair of red panda ears.

The three Charms let out a huge sigh of relief. It was only Sabrina.

"Yeah, we're here," Alix replied, getting to her feet and revealing herself. Alya and Adrien followed her lead, though much more cautiously. Once Adrien stood up, he was able to see that Kim was standing over by the far door, attempting to appear casual like he was getting a breath of fresh air. However, he didn't see Max anywhere.

"Where's Max?" Alya asked.

"He's finding a way to hack the cameras," Sabrina answered, waving them out of the bush. "It shouldn't take long for him to send us the feed."

"Perfect," Adrien responded. He figured that it was time to be a leader now. He didn't have time to think about his mistakes and show his weaknesses. His friends and teammates needed him. "Let's get inside and try to keep a low profile until Max sends us the camera data."

The group nodded. As they walked over to the door, Alya and Alix brushed themselves off, trying to rid themselves of any leaves or dirt that would suggest that they had been hiding a bush. Once they reached the door, everyone went inside, following Kim and Sabrina - except for Adrien. He stopped at the door, looking back outside at the brilliant night sky.

He had a feeling that his whole world was going to change.

Taking a deep breath, Adrien straightened his purple moth-themed suit and stepped into the abyss of people.

* * *

Marinette took a deep breath as she took in the stunningly beautiful stars above her. Oh, it felt so freeing to be out of the Charm center. Though they building had been fairly large, there was nothing that could replace the feeling of a cold breeze blowing through her hair or the smell of fresh air.

"Ladybug," Nathanael whispered to her.

She turned. He was standing near an open hatch, his elephant costume looking kinda ridiculous compared to their situation. It didn't fit his character very well, but that didn't matter. It was the disguise that counted.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

Marinette took one final deep breath, then nodded. The two charms made their way into the hatch, dropping down into a long hallway. Marinette landed on both her feet, careful not to rip her blue and green dress. The mask on her face slipped a little bit, but she decided not to pay any attention to it. Nathan landed right beside her, cautiously looking up and down the hallway.

"See anyone?"

Ladybug shook her head. "No, no one is here."

"Perfect. The ballroom should only be a couple doors away from here."

The pair made their way down the hallway, careful not to make a lot of noise. They followed the sound of booming music to a door that was obviously the entrance. It was wide open, the sound of the ball pouring into the empty hallway. Marinette found it surprising that no one was in the hall, but she decided not to question it. The fates were working in their favor.

And, just like that, she and Nathanael were inside. They emerged into the ballroom on the second floor. Stairs lead down to the main dance floor on both sides of them. In the very center of the room, a large stage with a single microphone stood proudly. Marinette figured that Queen Bee had not been crowned the winner yet, which was a blessing all on its own.

Speaking of Queen Bee, Marinette could see her even from across the room. She was chatting with a group of young men, giggling and flirting with them. Her dress - ugh, her dress - was about as revealing as a towel after a shower. It fit her body so tightly, Marinette couldn't even stand to look at her. How she breathed in it, she had no idea. On top of the skin-tight satin that accentuated every curve, black lace traced the scooping neckline, created what appeared to be stripes across her chest and abdomen, and lined each edge of the fabric. The black against her skin made her appear to be made of porcelain. Her blue eyeshadow was caked on more than Marinette had seen it last - and that was saying a lot. Ladybug could see the ugly blue even through the holes in Chloe's mask.

It was a miracle she had even survived the games.

Luckily, unlike Chloe, Nathanael and Marinette blended in perfectly with the rest of the crowd. Everyone was dressed up like an animal, mimicking the Miraculous Games theme. It was odd being back in the same ballroom at a dance, Marinette thought. Even more surprisingly, she never would have expected to have been back here with Nathanael by her side again. Funny how life worked like that.

The two Charms made their way through the crowd of people. Marinette saw animals of all different kinds. Mice, Kangaroos, bears, and all kinds of other creatures milled about the room. They drank from fancy glasses, chortled over silly topics, and gossiped about the latest news. Marinette tuned into one of the conversations between a Rabbit and a Seal nearby.

"Can you believe it? After everything that's happened, I'm not surprised that he isn't here."

"I didn't doubt the news in the slightest once I heard it. What with his wife gone forever and his son presumably dead, I'm surprised it took him this long to hand over the leadership role."

"Indeed, but didn't you hear Macie's juicy news? She told me that she caught wind of some doctors chatting and saying that Adrien isn't dead at all!"

Insert a gasp from the Seal. "How scandalous!"

"I know right? I bet it's all part of a huge political scandal."

"It wouldn't surprise me in the least. What with all of the rumors surrounding..."

Marinette tuned out after that. Her mind started spinning in circles. They knew that Adrien was alive? That was totally going to ruin everything! If they didn't act quickly before the news spread- but wait. What if it was already too late?

"Nathan," Marinette hissed, grabbing his arm to make him look at her, but before she could continue, there was a loud dinging noise that echoed around the room. All attention turned toward the stage. At the microphone, Alec stood proudly. Marinette cringed at the amount of makeup on his face but decided to ignore it once she heard what he said.

"If we could have Chloe Bourgeois come to the stage, we would like to begin the Miraculous Games Crowning!"

Marinette's blood ran cold. It was time. 

---

Tada! It's a real update!

I hope you guys liked the chapter. I stayed up super late typing it up for you guys because I keep my promises. Twenty minutes until midnight, but hey, I said you guys would get an update today. *wink*

You guys excited for the action to start? I AM! I'm so pumped. I have the next 2-3 chapters already plotted and I just need to write it. Thankfully, now that the school musical is over, I have 2 weeks until my life gets crazy again. Let's see if we can finish a fanfic in that amount of time, shall we? 

I think that's all the announcements I have, so let's go to my favorite comment. 

Favorite comment:

By: Peridotbutt

NOOOOOOO I WANTED RUE TO BE NATHANIEL NOT MARI

All I'm going to say is this... you're on the right track. 

Also, as a reminder, it would be great if you guys could keep the comments clean of language or other inappropriate material. The reason I say this is because I have very high standards when it comes to swearing and such, and I want everyone to feel comfortable. Thank you so much for understanding!

Well, I think that's it. 

And, as always, have a Miraculous day!