The hustle and bustle of the hospital did not help to soothe Marianne's nerves at all. Apparently, both of her parents got injured tonight, together with aunt Chloe and uncle Nino, although they sustained minor injuries.

Just...How did it happen? And how didn't anyone see anything? Furthermore, why is there a blank space in her memory? Nothing makes sense, no matter how you put it. The only suspects she has in mind are akumas which haven't appeared since the disappearance of Hawkmoth, Paris's greatest super villain, and Spotty. But Spotty can't leave her mind and there was absolutely no sign of Hawkmoth in over 15 years. He most likely got bored or retired. What if a new villain appeared while her parents are not capable to fight?

"ANNIE!" A small blond child jumped into Marianne's lap, whimpering as he curled up in a ball. Behind him, Eva, Louis and grandpa Tom came as fast as they could, worry etched on their faces.
"Shhh Hugo, everything's gonna be alright. Mommy and daddy are alright." She stroked his golden locks in a soothing matter while he sniffled into her shirt.

"B-but t-they a-are h-hurt!"
"That's ok, Hugo! They will recover, they are the strongest people alive!" Marianne said in a cheery tone, hoping he won't sense her worry. Secretly, she was trying to believe her words. No, she believes her words! This is not the time to be sad, this is the time to find out what happened and how didn't she notice someone dragging her own mother into a park she was in?

"B-but, Annie..." Hugo sniffled as he looked up.
"No buts. Mommy and daddy are big, brave and smart superheroes who can't die, ok? And you are their smart little chaton who will make them 'get well' cupcakes. Am I right?" Marianne encouraged him as she lightly pinched his cheeks.

Hugo's eyes lit up at the word cupcakes. Apart from being a major sweet tooth, Hugo's greatest passion is baking sweets with grandpa Tom, and pastries with mommy. He loved spending hours in front of the oven, just watching the dough bake.
"Yes, Annie! I promise I won't fail them!"
"Well then, get going soldier!" They saluted each other before Hugo jumped into Tom's arms, clapping and begging him to bake cupcakes with him. Tom looked at Marianne with a worried expression, not sure if he should leave her and Louis alone in here. She just waved her hand and smiled.
"It's ok, grandpapa. We can handle it. I promise to call you when they wake up."

Tom walked over to her with a smile and kissed her forehead.
"My brave little macaron, take care of Louis and Eva. Don't get into trouble, and wish me luck with the little devil-" He interrupted himself with a cough. "-angel!" Marianne laughed and nodded, as Tom walked away with a dancing Hugo in front of him.

As soon as they turned the corner, Marianne frowned and looked at the floor.
"Sister, what's on your mind?" Louis stepped forward with worry in his voice.
"Something is bothering me. What happened to me? How did mom get injured and I didn't, if there was an attack?"
"Maybe you were well hidden?"
"No, I was in plain sight. She was hidden."
"Maybe the attack happened somewhere else, and the attacker dragged her into the park without her noticing?" Eva chimed in with a suggestion.
"Hm, possibly, but that brings it back to me. How didn't I notice it? Somebody dragged my mother into the same park I was in, without me even flinching. We need to get to the bottom of this." Marianne looked at Louis and Eva, as if she's looking for a solution in their faces. Louis leaned against the wall, and Eva sat down next to her.

A few long moments of silence passed, before Louis spoke up:
"Where did this happen, sis?"
"The park in the Tulip street."
"Alright, I came here with my bike, I'll drive there and search for any clues that might help us in any way. You girls can try and remember something, ok?"
Both girls nodded, and soon enough Louis was running down the hallway to the parking lot.

Marianne didn't know what to say, where to start. The adrenaline caused by shock was slowly diminishing, making her brain flooded with emotions. Her emotions tried to break free, her calm disappearing. The world was spinning for her, even if Spotty tried to help her. She gripped her head, and curled up in a ball.
Marianne! It's gonna be ok goldie locks! It's gonna be ok! You need to remember now, your parents are very strong, you will be alright!

Marianne shook her head and trembled. What did she do?! What happened?! How could she let this?!
Marianne!
Marianne!
"Marianne! Come on gurl, no one's gonna hurt you!" Eva shook her shoulders, confused by her sudden breakdown.
"Are you ok? Want to go for a walk?"
"No, we need to stay here with our parents. I just..." Marianne trailed off as she slowly lifted her head, not meeting Eva's eyes.

Eva smiled and shook her head.
"You don't have to explain it to me. Just relax and let's get to the bottom of this." She stood up and sat in front of her on the floor.
"Ok, what happened after we split? You were alright then."

Marianne took a deep breath, and nodded as if to confrim her determination has returned.
"Well, I wanted to go for a longer walk, so I walked a few kilometres down the street before I turned a corner, and entered Tulip street. I can't really remember what I was thinking about, but I suddenly heard a raspy, creepy voice talking to me. It was replying to something I thought. Then, I remember something about cats and cat food, and everything got really fuzzy and weird, I don't even know how to describe it. Maybe that's how drunk people feel? I started losing my balance, so I leaned on the tree, but the tree was made of...Snakes? I don't know, it was so blurry. I stumbled into the park and passed out behind a bench, and when I woke up, the moon was high in the sky, and...I found h-her." Marianne's voice hitched a little at the end.

"Uh...Cats? Cat food? Snakes? Moon? Girl, that doesn't make any sense!" Eva was completely dumbfounded by her story.
"Maybe you were drugged?"
"No! No I haven't met a single moving thing after we split! Unless you drugged me." Marianne looked at her with a raised eyebrow. Eva shot her an offended look, but Marianne brushed it off.

"Miss Agreste, Miss Lahiffe-Cesairé, you may visit your parents now." A nurse interrupted them with a stoic expression, not even gazing at them.

The girls were up in a flash, and ran into the room to be with their parents.

With Louis

Louis finally reached the quaint park, and left his bike next to the sectioned off part, where they found his mother.
He took his phone off, and thought out loud.
"Where did she say she woke up? Behind the bench?"
He walked over to the bench, and apart from the squashed grass where Mariane once layed, nothing was out of the usual. He sighed and looked around.
"She passed out here, that means she came from the South entrance. That is  Tulip street."

He decided to leave his bike here. Its not like anyone will steal it, residents are petrified of this park now, ridiculous rumors have already started to appear about this place.

He exited the park and headed towards the nearest bus stop, the one where Eva gets on. While on the way there, he spotted something. At the end of the street, there was an old cherry tree, but now its gone, with no signs of anyone pulling it out. The grass was untouched around where it once stood. He approached with caution, constantly looking around to see if anything else is out of the ordinary.

When he came there, all he found was branches and twigs, twisted in a weird way. Did the tree turn into that? However, there was something else. A strong and sudden presence of dread, and the heavy air made him take a few steps back, as if something hissed at him to get back.

He gripped his shirt and breathed in pants as the dread would not go away until he found the source of it. Quickly moving the sticks around, he found the weirdest thing he had ever seen.

A discarded snake skin. It was purple, glimmering even without a light source. Heavy fumes poured out of it, not easily visible to the naked eye.

He had to take it back, and show it to Marianne.
"This should help us solve the mystery!"
He took the skin with a napkin, fearing it might be poisonous, and quickly ran to his bike, calling Marianne whilst running.

With the girls

Marianne had streams of tears on her face as she hugged both of her parents to death, Eva doing the same, although a bit gentler.

"I'm so glad you are ok! Don't scare us like that ever again, guys!" Marianne cried into Marinette's chest.
"I promise we won't, baby! We never meant to scare you like that!" Marinette choked out, her eyes filled with tears.

Suddenly, the ringtone, 'Blood Moon Ball' rang from Marianne's back pocket. She quickly excused herself and Eva, and went outside.

She put Louis on speaker:
"Yeah, little bro? We are listening."
"I found the weirdest thing!"
"Well tell us already, Dumbo! We don't have all day!" Eva snapped at him, anxious to get back to her parents.
"Oh shut up! Anyways, the cherry tree and the end of Tulip disappeared,only a few twigs left of it. They were all twisted in a really weird way, like snakes. Speaking of snakes, I found a snake skin. It's the most bizarre thing ever!"
"Snakes... Louis, come quickly, and take it with you! Mom and dad have woken up!" Marianne replied this time.
"Really?"
"Yes, now hurry! Bye!" She hung up, and looked at Eva.

"Eve, I think we're on to something, but its time to stop beating around the bush and ask her directly." Eva nodded in agreement, and they both walked into the room with grim expressions.

"What's wrong, dudettes?" Nino asked them, trying to light up the situation. Marianne sent him a smile, and sat at the edge of her bed.

"Mom?"
"Yes, Annie?"
" What happened at the park? Why is dad here, and aunt Alya, and uncle Nino? Did...Did I hurt you? Is that why I blacked out?" Marianne had so much more questions to ask, but Marinette interrupted her with a sad smile.
"Annie-"

A knock on the door stopped her answer. It was officer Roger, his serious eyes gleaming behind his glasses. He took off his hat, and slicked back his gray-orange hair, before putting it back on.
"You know why I'm here."

Adrien bit his lip and looked at the bed sheet he was covered with.
"Do what you have to do, commander Roger."
Roger sighed, and let 8 young officers in.

"What is going on in here?!" Eva and Marianne cried, but got no reply.

"Adrien Agreste, Marinette Agreste, Nino Lahiffé, and Alya Lahiffe-Cesairé, I arrest you on the counts of endangerment of public safety, private property destruction, and attempted 1st degree murder and suicide. You have a right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in court."

"Annie, Eva, take your siblings and go to aunt Chloe! She will take care of you!" Marinette yelled to them as they were carried out of the room

And just like that, Marianne, Eva and Louis lost their parents again.

################################

Done! I won't even try to tell you anything other than the truth. I was being a lazy ass procrastinator. I didn't lie before, but this time it was exclusively my lazyness.

Anyways, I hope you liked the chapter, bye!

Stay safe, kitties!

OceanFury