#adrinettemonthday8

She could see Alix and Kim locked in an intense battle of thumb war, with Mylène and Ivan watching on in amusement. Max was discreetly staring down at his lap, the flash of a screen against his glasses a clear give away that he was getting a head start on the latest update to Ultimate Mecha Strike III. Juleka and Rose sat side-by-side, leaning against each other. Rose’s head rested on Juleka’s shoulder and both seemed to be fast asleep. Nathanael seemed to share the same idea. He sat in his chair, arms crossed, and head bobbing forward gently.

Eventually, Marinette found who she was looking for. Her eyes widened as she pinpointed Adrien in the front row, one of the only students actually paying attention. From the row behind him, Marinette watched in horror as Chloe leaned forward to whisper something in his ear.

Her grip on the heavyweight velour tightened, bunching the material up into her fists. But Marinette gained no comfort from its warmth and softness. She continued to stare as Adrien turned, leaning slightly back, to nod politely at Chloe with a small smile. He quickly whispered back to her before he faced forward once more, and Marinette’s breath faltered. For a moment it seemed as if his eyes locked onto her, spotting her amidst the red material. In a panic she jumped backwards, dropping the curtain and backing away.

She carefully readjusted her fingerless, lace gloves, desperately wanting to grab at her hair or pull on her pigtails. However she fought the urge, remembering all the hard work and effort Alya had put into completing her new look. Her usual deep, dark hair had been temporary coloured with hair chalk, effectively staining the ends purple.

To add to the new hairstyle, her makeup had been done up with an exuberant amount of smoky eyeshadow and smudged liner. The meticulous time spent put into blending and getting both eyes as symmetrical as possible had paid off. And the dark contrast made her blue eyes pop even in the low lighting.  

Furthermore, her whole outfit was quite the fashion statement, differing greatly from her regular ensemble. In lieu of her typical pink pants and ballet flats, she wore vertical-striped, black and yellow leggings and clunky, black combat boots. Gone was her signature, white t-shirt with its subtle floral accents. Instead, it was replaced with a black scoop neck tank top dress that ended in a playful flare above her mid-thigh. Panels of synthetic leather were another added detail, hidden but still slightly discernable in the pleats of the skirt. The shiny material added further dimension and echoed the lines of her leggings.

Overtop her dress was the real statement piece of the entire getup: a black, sequined jacket with yellow trim, further adorned with golden epaulettes across her shoulders. Having worked hard on the jacket for days, Marinette had come to appreciate the way it flashed in the light; it was designed for performing. Even in the dark backstage area it seemed to catch every available light, sparkling and glittering like starlight.

With all these factors combined, Marinette resembled a rock star… no a rock legend.

There she was, almost an exact replica of the famous Jagged Stone.

Or as Alya had earlier dubbed her…

Jagged Pebble.

"Yes, I'm Alice." She starts walking, and he grabs her arm. "You said you'd let me go!"

"I said I'd leave you alone if you said it and it wasn't true," he corrects her. "But it is. I can tell. You're Alice. I thought, as soon as you heard me, but then you said it... and it's true."

What the shit. He's deranged.

Then again, he's also still flickering in and out of existence... only that false smile is consistent.

"I have pepper spray," she tells him, reaching into her purse.

"That's great!" he begins pulling her arm.

She yanks away. "Where are you trying to take me?"

He stares for a minute, and then that smile widens. "Why, Wonderland, of course!" For a moment he's solid, and she sees his face.

"Adrien...?"

Then, everything fades to black.

...

She wakes up in a forest, held in his arms. "Oh, Alice, you're awake!"

"My name isn't Alice..." she murmurs, slowly attaining lucidity. "It's Marinette. Where are we?"

"I told you, Wonderland..." as his voice trails off, she looks up. He's wearing a black mask, and... cat ears? Cat eyes too, and leather. If she hadn't seen his face for that moment earlier, she'd never have known who he was.

As it is, she wraps her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder. "Adrien, where have you been? Why are you calling me Alice? Don't you remember who I am?"

He's quiet for a moment, and she looks up. The smile is too wide, and it looks like it's hurting him. He looks twisted, broken... Nothing like the Adrien she loved, last year. The Adrien who disappeared, the day after he kissed her. The calm self-confidence, the subtle grin, and even the clarity in his green eyes... all gone, replaced with insanity, that broken smile, and the eyes of a cat. She doesn't want to see him like this.

"I... I'm not Adrien. Not anymore," he sighs. "My name's Chat. Cheshire Chat Noir."

"What are you talking about?" she wriggles in his arms, and he sets her down. "Adrien, please. Tell me what's going on."

"Wonderland needs us to be Alice and Chat," he tells her softly. "Marinette, please... we need to do this. Can't you do this? For me?"

"Is this what you've been doing for the last year?" she demands, eyes flashing with hurt and anger. "Being a cat for Wonderland? What Wonderland needs, did you ever think about what Paris needs? We needed you, Adrien."

"No you didn't-"

"I NEEDED YOU!" she shoves him away, tears in her eyes. "You can't just show up and kidnap me and expect me to go along with this."

He cringes away, still with that smile. "The people here are in trouble. Marinette, I'm sorry I left you, I never meant to, but..."

"Stop smiling like that," she crosses her arms. "This isn't a game."

"I... I can't..."

"You've lost your mind, Adrien!"

"I know. But Marinette, we have to stop him!"

"Stop who?"

"The Butterfly King."

She falters. He takes her hand. "Please, Marinette. Do this with me, and I'll come home with you, I purr-omise."

"You swear?"

"Claw-se my heart."

She sighs. "Fine. I'll be Alice, and we'll play out this fantasy. And then we'll go back home."

His eyes light up, and for a moment, the smile looks real as he hugs her. "Thank you, Alice. My little Ladybug girl." She laughs slightly... she has to admit, being back in Adrien's arms is wonderful. Even if it's really Chat right now.

...

They've been walking for about an hour, and Marinette's feeling very, very conflicted.

First off, Adrien's alive, which is great and everything she's been desperately hoping for a year.

However, second, he's completely delusional and thinks they're in Wonderland and are going to take down the Butterfly King.

Third, she can't escape because they're in the middle of the woods somewhere.

And fourth, she's completely exhausted and they don't seem to be coming to any real place any time soon...

Until suddenly, there's a table. With... cookies and soda.

"Um, Adr- Chat? What the hell is that?"

"Who knows? I do, but I shouldn't say, it breaks the rules, the rules are all that give me the paw-wer we'll need to fight, fight him, save them..."

He was so much more lucid an hour ago. She sighs, and inspects the table. The cookies have a tag saying "eat me." The soda says "drink me." She looks up at Adrien. "Is this poisoned?"

"No..." he starts, and she takes a sip of the soda, "and yes." She spits it out, eyes going huge.

"What the hell, Adrien?" Why does her voice sound higher? What on Earth is this? "Adrien, why is everything getting bigger... oh my god, oh my god, I'm shrinking, oh my god!" She looks up at him, way up, she can't be much bigger than a doll now... He lifts her up, and she gives him a terrified look. "Adrien, I'm scared, what just happened?"

"I can't tell you. You've accepted the role of the Ladybug girl Alice," he hugs her very gently, and she tries to hug him back, but he's so huge...

"Why are we doing this? Who are we doing this for?" It's real, she knows that now... or she's on acid, but she's pretty sure even acid doesn't work quite that instantly...

"The Butterfly King is a tyrant. Wonderland is full of magic... but he wants it all for himself. He extracts it from the people..." Adrien hugs her tighter. "He must be stopped."

"Why do we have to be the ones to do it?"

"Because if we don't, who will?"

"I... I don't know..." she grabs his shirt, holding him to herself as best she can.

He sighs, and lifts one of the cookies, handing it to her. "I can't tell you what it does, or what to do."