"If our love is tragedy, why are you my remedy?" Clarity ~ Zedd

Helpful hint; be careful with who you trust!

    A loud thunk echoed through out the cold room as Chat's already sore body collided with what he believes was the floor. No crap, what else would you have landed on idiot? He tutted himself before grunting out at the person who he had inkling suspicion was the Puzzlemaker. "That's not nice, you little shit." He pushed himself up off the freezing to the touch floor, checking his surroundings. His semi-dry hair hungry in his face as he whipped his head around.

"Marinette! Where are you?" A blinding light shone in the room, temporarily disabling Chat as he used his hands to block it, nearly squinting his eyes shut from the intense brightness. As his eyes adjusted to the newly applied light, he saw Marinette in front of him. Her arms and legs were strapped against a thick and sturdy chair. Wires were attached to the chair and were latched on different parts of her bare skin, including her chest where her shirt was torn into a plunging neckline.

The thick cords twisted and curled around the legs of the metal seat she was on. Her head was hanging in an uncomfortable position, leading Adrien to believe she was hurt. "Marinette!" Her head snapped up at the sudden burst of sound that was her name. She caught a glimpse of him running towards him just before he was knocked back by a thick glass wall that separated them.

He winced as he fell before assessing what was in front of him. Seeing a smudge on the wall, he concluded it was made out of some strong glass, probably bulletproof. "Marinette! I'm coming, hold on!"

"A-Adrien? Why are you here? Where Chat?"

"What?" Adrien glanced down at his hands and sure enough, he was met with tanned skin, not leather. "Oh fuck... not good. Not good." He muttered a string of curses under his breath as he examined the palm of his hand, trying to figure out how his transformation wore off.

Right, I had used cataclysm to try to save Marinette.

With a quick jolt of his hand, he let out a relieved breath as he found the silver ring still fit snuggly against his forefinger. His relief was short lived as he remembered the situation the two were in. "Don't worry Marinette! It's going to be okay!"

It's gonna be okay... Right?

Adrien pulled on his hair in frustration before slamming his fists against the ungiving glass, kicking it harshly along with it. He couldn't look up to see her big blue eyes watch him fail at rescuing her. Agitated, he swung his head violently at the glass, but it did not break as it stared back at him almost patronizingly.

"You really are belligerent, y'know?" The Puzzlemaker's jovial voice echoed through out the enclosed room. Adrien groaned in disdain as he heard the irritating voice of his enemy.

"And you're really haughty, you manipulative psycho!" Adrien snarled at the taunting villain. "Let Marinette go!"

He didn't like this. Adrien didn't want to lose her- he couldn't! She needed to stay; be the only permanent thing he's ever had. He can't lose another person he cares about. If he did, he didn't know how he'd handle it.

He wouldn't be able to handle it, Adrien realized. He'd break. He'd have nothing left, no glue to hold him together. He couldn't bear to see her cry, and didn't want to imagine her hurt- or worse.

"Let's play a game. If you win, you can have her, free from harm."

"And if I don't?" He didn't want to know. He didn't want to hear what could possibly be Marinette's death. Adrien glanced over at her. She was struggling against the chair, her delicate fingers trembling as she tried to tug her hands out of the tight cuffs with no luck.

"That's for me to know." The Puzzlemaker announced in an overly energetic tone which caused Adrien to bite the inside of his cheek. He bit it hard enough for the copper taste of blood to seep from the sore and now torn flesh. "Do you want to know how to win?" Taking his silence as a no, the Puzzlemaker feigned a sigh. "I guess not."

"I do. Tell me how to win." Marinette's blue orbs met his green ones, looking at him in concern and shock. He held her stare with an intense gaze of his own. He felt as if a switch had been flipped inside of him as a sudden burst of anger began to bubble up from deep within him. "I said, tell me!"

His fist met the glass, the skin on his knuckles splitting from the force of the punch. Marinette had jerked back in surprise as she watched a red faced Adrien yell at the Puzzlemaker. "Tell me!"

"Geez, no need to get so aggravated. It's a really undignifying look for you." His voice was so condescending, Adrien had to bite the already cut flesh lining his cheek to keep himself from yelling at the twisted boy again and risking Marinette's safety. "The rules are simple, really! You just need to answer two out of three questions that I ask you correctly! Y'know how to do that, right?"

Adrien's jaw tightened as it locked in place, his teeth grinding harshly together. "Yes, I know how to do that." He managed to grit out of his locked jaw.

"Okie dokie! Question number one!" The sing song tune came out of the speakers. "Who are you?"

Marinette and Adrien frowned as they heard the question, confusion clouding over their faces. Why was he asking such an easy question?

"I'm Adrien Agreste."

"Wrong!"

"What?" The two held an incredulous look as a melodic but cynical laugh filled the room. How could he possibly be wrong on his own name? Did he want it personality wise? Marinette stared at Adrien curiously, a little bit of fear leaking through. Is this just a delusion? What if he's not really here? What if I'm actually all alone?

"Now, for getting the wrong answer, it's punishment time!"

"No! Don't hurt him!" Marinette screeched, shocking Adrien by how much raw emotion filled her voice to try to protect him. Marinette on the other hand had never felt so helpless until this moment. She pulled her arms back, desperately trying to slip her hands from the squeezing cuffs. She whimpered as her bruising wrists were pressed against the warm metal. "Please don't hurt him!"

Adrien winced as he watched the frantic girl, who looked like she was on the brink of tears. No... She's crying... Why is she crying?! She can't waste her tears on me!

"I'll be fine Marinette. As long as you're okay, I'll be fine."

"Oh, I'm not gonna physically hurt him my sweet Mari. I'd much rather kill two birds with one stone."

Marinette didn't understand what he meant until she saw Adrien throwing his body against the window, his hands hitting it once more. Bloody smears were left behind from his injured knuckles. "Don't do it! Please!" His voice cracked as he stared at her horrified expression. "I'm begging you- No!"

A shrill scream filled the air, so loud that it was hard to believe the sound alone didn't break the glass. Adrien shouted and screamed louder than he could ever remember screaming.

He felt so helpless as he watched Marinette scream in pain as electrical currents passed through her body, stimulating every nerve with an intense shock followed quickly by a blazing heat. She thrashed around in the metal chair, trying to escape as she tore her throat with ear splitting screams. She felt her skin burning with excruciating pain as if she were being burned in a bonfire, the sickening smell of burning flesh filling the air. She felt as if her skin was bubbling from where the wires were connected on her and could feel herself ready to slip consciousness.

And then it all stopped.

The electricity stopped coursing through her body, leaving her a gasping, spastic mess in the chair. Her body pulsed as she uncontrollably twitched every few seconds, the shocks exiting her system. Her eyes felt heavy, drooping as she slumped forward, losing all the previous strength she had.

"I'll kill you! I'll turn you to dust!" Adrien threatened the cackling Puzzlemaker, his fingernails that were caked in his dried blood dug keenly into his thighs as he yelled at the akuma. This akuma was the worst one they've ever had to deal with in all the years he was Chat Noir. Is he even an akuma? "I swear I will kill you."

"Now you know not to get the next two questions wrong! One more blast from that and she won't live to see tomorrow!" A maniacal cackling filled the room, fueling Adrien's anger. "I figure if it would have been on volt higher, her heart would've stopped beating. That means she'd be dead, y'know?"

"Question number two!" Adrien scowled at the tyrantful villain before looking over at Marinette who looked ready to fall asleep. Her body had stopped convulsing with the lingering shocks, but she was still dealing with the after effects of being electrocuted. Panic quickly washed over Adrien as he felt his blood run cold.

"Keep your eyes on me Marinette! Don't close your eyes, do you hear me?" A slow, hardly noticeable nod came from the bluenette. She hated this feeling, this feeling of being completely powerless. It brought back less than pleasant memories for her, ones she fought so hard to keep sealed away in the deepest caverns in her mind. Her tears welled up behind her closed lids. She couldn't let herself cry for this man- she refused to. She forced her heavy eyes open, meeting Adrien's gaze.

Please don't come back. You need to be strong Marinette, stronger than you are now. She's not here, but this Puzzlemaker is. And you are not going to feel weak, not to anyone else, so don't you cry damn it! Don't let those painful memories seep through, don't make any cracks in that strong wall that you've spent so many years building and strengthening.

"What is Marinette's biggest fear?" Marinette's pupils dilated, her eyes widening as the Puzzlemaker finished his question. How could he possibly know what hers was? There's no one, not even her parents, who knew what her fear was. Except for-

Chat Noir.

Oooo I wonder what happens next?

Word Count: 1,726

Date, January 17th, 2017

Until next time, peace!