17. Chapter 17

"Marinette!" Chat Noir bellowed with green eyes roaming around the woods. "Princess, where are you?!"

All he got was his own echo.

On the first warning of his Miraculous, the black-clad superhero immediately fled out of the mansion and trailed the path where his friend possibly trekked off.

He had reviewed all the CCTV recordings so he knew she was anywhere but inside. Also, his partner told him that she led his Princess to a window, which was why he was in a deep bushy forest located at the back of the property.

His Princess.

It doesn't sound so bad, he thought. To be honest, he liked the ring of it.

How fitting for a beauty who lives in a sweets castle that has an upper balcony wherein one can view the finest sceneries of Paris.

But then, she wasn't your average Princess, and Ladybug didn't know her quirks that drove him insane.

That Marinette Dupain-Cheng was a lady that doesn't stay in one spot.

Like during Evillustrator, he left her in the banks of Seine but she decided to head back to the comforts of her home all by herself. And during Gamer's attack, he had her stayed on a building's roof deck for safety but did she obey him? No!

Oh, did he also mentioned her whereabouts during Animan's rampage?

Her unforgivable action in Gare St. Lazare reminded him to scold her later. He might forgive her on the stunts she pulled at the bus stop, but he'll never forget the bashes she made in the pub in Evreux, much more on her actions back in Howards' study room.

"Marinette!" he yelled with desperation. "Please answer me!"

He was very, very frustrated. Why can't she act like a Princess who must wait for her Knight to save her?

Why must she do her own bidding and go somewhere that was out of his reach?

Marinette might be a wonderful, brave and sensible girl, but she was just like any normal girls who are vulnerable in the face of danger - unlike his Lady who knows how to handle her fights without his help.

Another beep.

Chat Noir was using his remaining minutes to utilize the power of his Miraculous. He knew that once he de-transforms, he'll be stuck as Adrien, a useless civilian who doesn't have night visions and tracking speed to locate a runaway princess unless he has a Camembert for Plagg.

And right now, the cheese was the least among his concerns.

.

.

.

.

"Adrien! Adrien, where are you?!" Ladybug called his name for several times, searching the entire mansion but found none.

One of the police officers radioed her. [I'm sorry Ladybug, but we don't see any blonde-haired teen here.]

"It's alright, Detective Howe." the superheroine replied, eyeing the deep forest outside the windows that was darkened by dusk. "I'll just do some ground search."

[Do you want me to send you some back-ups?]

"No need. My partner and I can handle this."

[If you say so.] the Detective replied. [We don't mind returning the favor for busting Howards' ass.]

"It's our pleasure to kick a notorious criminal, even though he doesn't have a fine ass."

Ladybug couldn't tell them about Adrien. She knew that it'd be troublesome if his father or his father's assistant learned about his abduction from the authorities, and if that happens, her parents would definitely make a connection. She didn't want them to worry, and she didn't want her school to know about it either.

She'll be less miserable if that stupid cat didn't abandon her to look for her.

Her time was running out, and since she was out of cookies, she'll be stuck as Marinette throughout the course of the night. She must find Adrien before it happens.

Though she prided herself as an au fait, she couldn't deny that Chat Noir made her best.

The spotted heroine pulled out her yo-yo, flipped it to dial his number as she entered the woods.

.

.

.

.

Chat Noir immediately flipped his baton and answered the call upon hearing the first ring.

She didn't let him speak first.

"Where are you?"

"Still looking for Marinette." he huffed. "I can't find her."

"Of course you can't find her. She's not there."

His ears perked up, with agitation overwhelming him. "Where is she?!"

"She's...looking for Adrien."

"Why?!"

He didn't mean to yell her; he just finds it ludicrous. "There's no way she can find him!"

"What do you mean by that?!"

He winced when her voice boomed on his communicator. "That's because...he's looking for her."

"How did you know?!" she asked. "Where is he?!"

"You tell me, Bugaboo. He'll show up once Marinette appears."

"Tell you what, Chaton." she spat out. "Marinette is capable of handling her own self. So why don't you help me look for Adrien instead and we'll both be out of this hopeless situation!"

"..."

He went silent for a moment.

"Ladybug?"

"What?"

"Are you telling me that Adrien is less capable than Marinette?"

He heard her grumbled. "Of course not. Adrien is a perfect human being, and I can attest that, but that doesn't spare him to fall in a complicated situation."

"A very complicated situation, yes." he tried not to sound sarcastic but failed. "And I bet you've considered adding an implacable female who can be a maladroit on your checklist."

"..."

She was silent for a moment.

"Chat Noir?"

"What?"

"Did you just call Marinette clumsy?"

He sighed exasperatedly. He must convince her partner not to look for him.

"She self-proclaimed it - not that I agreed with her statement, but she has flaws like any human being."

Which makes her more adorable, he wanted to add but stopped himself.

"She might be in danger. She might be scared or trapped somewhere. I can't let a powerless girl roam around in this big, dark forest!"

"..."

"..."

"I can't believe you're a sexist."

He gaped at her comment. A few hours ago someone accused him as misogynist.

"I'm not a -"

"I know Marinette more than you do," she stated matter-of-factly. "And she's not your damsel in distress."

Somehow her words offended him.

"I know Adrien more than you do," he stressed his words. "And he can handle himself without your help."

"..."

"..."

Both were silent as they composed themselves of not being mad at their insufferable partner.

"You know what? Fine! Do your own way and look for your Princess who will never show up at all!"

"Yeah, I'll do that - and rest assured that I can find her first before you got your Prince!"

The two simultaneously hang up.

.

.

.

.

Ladybug was three spots down.

She couldn't believe she wasted her time debating with Chat Noir about nonsensical things.

Looking at her yoyo's screen, she remembered the other functions of her weapon.

Tikki had once joked that the power of Miraculous was blending with the technology trends. The more you utilized it, the frequent it will perform its self-upgrade.

That was why she wasn't surprised about her yoyo's GPS function when she searched for Pixelator's residence. She even mapped out Madame Chamack's location and her phone number without checking the directory during Puppeteer's havoc.

So why not use it to contact Adrien?

As far as she knows, he had his phone with him. He was able to charge its battery back in the pub just enough to answer few calls.

Unless he turned it off, or that he didn't have any cell receptions.

Worse, he lost it.

Shoving all the negative thoughts on the back of her head, Ladybug dialed his number.

She got an error.

She tapped some applications for a trace why she was bouncing back and got a signal.

She mapped it out and finally found Adrien's location.

However, he was moving fast - way too fast for a normal human being. As if...

"Someone took him." she uttered with disbelief.

Cold fear crept through her gut as she hurriedly followed the signal.

.

.

.

.

Plagg said that the Miraculous transformation was similar to an illusion - it was there, but not actually there.

His spandex suit was a false appearance of Chat Noir's civilian clothes, and the mask was only a symbol of Miraculous protection against fellow holders - Ladybug included. He often called it as a superhero logic.

But when his Miraculous disappeared during Reflekta's attack, he finally understood what his lazy kwami meant.

It was there, but not actually there.

So when he felt a vibration on his right thigh, he knew it was his phone - his civilian's phone - and it wasn't a text due to its constant alert.

Someone was calling Adrien.

Is it Natalie? he thought. Or perhaps, Marinette?

Unfortunately, the phone already blended on his civilian garments, and for him to retrieve it, he had to de-transform.

He couldn't do that.

Why can't Plagg alter my pocket suit like Doraemon where I can pull my things out from nothingness?

His phone alert was non-stop, almost distracted him to notice his Miraculous beep. One claw left.

"Wait for me, Marinette." the black-clad hero muttered to himself.

He finally reached the edge of the forest. There was a cliff on the end, and with the help of his night vision, he found a concrete road on its bottom.

Cats were not like dogs who have superior sniffing abilities, though Chat Noir was granted with heightened senses compared to normal beings.

But still, it wasn't enough to locate his Princess.

He found a large ten-wheeler truck parked at the side, and with his hearing ability he sensed that the engine was on, probably the driver was on a short break after being called by nature.

The slope was low, so there'd be a probability that his friend might've slipped there - if not by accident, then likely intentional.

If Marinette reached the road, then someone must've seen her there. Unless she hitchhiked for help.

Worse, someone hit her then took her away.

He shook his head, erasing the lingering fears on his mind. Muddling his thoughts would never help his search.

Landed on the truck's roof, he roamed his eyes around for any human presence. The driver was already in his seat and about to turn the wheels.

He was about to run and leap towards the front when a whirring sounded behind him. His danger sense rose despite the presence's familiarity.

Preparing his baton, he aimed it towards the presence until he realized that it was no other than Ladybug herself.

He saw the surprise ebbed on her face when she unintentionally hauled her yo-yo towards him, and thanks to his reflex, he deflected the weapon out of his way.

Which actually a bad move because Ladybug lost her momentum.

And before he could register everything, a red light flashed and fell on top of him.