Midnight Under The Eiffel Tower

Chapter 15

"My miraculous!" Adrien rushed closer to Ladybug, seizing her hand and keeping her from being yanked with the vine. "I'm coming with you!"

"No, it's not safe!" Ladybug argued, trying to shake him off.

"I'm Cat Noir!" Adrien insisted. "I can help!" He tightened his grip on her hand.

The creeper suddenly jerked Ladybug into the air. "I guess we don't have a choice!" She clutched Adrien's hand desperately as the vine dragged them over the roofs of Paris.

Ladybug couldn't help but stare down at the real Cat Noir. Everything made sense now; the green eyes, the blonde hair, the banter that had gone between them as they tried to figure out the clues...she was surprised she hadn't figured it out earlier.

"Adrien, it's been you all along, hasn't it?"

Adrien nodded glumly. "I didn't want for you to find out this way."

"You should be glad we were far enough away from the school when you lost your miraculous," Ladybug said, winking. "Now it's just me that knows who you really are."

Adrien stared down at the river that was flashing beneath them. "What am I going to tell Marinette? I just left her there..." He sighed. "Some prom date I've been, running off every other second to change into Cat Noir."

Ladybug gasped, remembering the incident at Notre Dame. "That was you! That was all you!"

Adrien looked up at her in confusion. "What? What was me?"

Ladybug snapped her mouth shut. "N-nothing." She tried to think of something to say to help support her identity. "You, uh, went to prom?"

Adrien nodded, his eyes brightening. "Yeah! We've had so much fun! We..." he trailed off, his eyes narrowing. "Hang on. Were you at prom too? Is that how you got here so quickly?"

Ladybug nodded, flushing slightly but remaining silent.

"With who?" Adrien demanded.

"I, uh..." Ladybug was cut off as the vine suddenly jerked, and Ladybug and Adrien yelped, falling to the ground. They were at the top of the Eiffel Tower, the metal grating surrounding them teeming with vines.

"Watch out!" Adrien cried a warning as the vines under Ladybug's feet started moving towards her. She leapt out of the way, hanging on the side of the tower. Then she yelped as her handhold moved, and she climbed higher to avoid the vines.

Adrien stood on the vines, frowning curiously. "Why are they only attacking you?"

"They must not realize you're a threat!" Ladybug panted, jumping off the side of the tower back to the balcony. "They don't recognize you!"

The vine that brought them there snaked its way to the yellow elevator, Adrien's silver ring gleaming in the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower.

"Oh no you don't!" Ladybug lashed out with her yo-yo, and the magical wire sliced cleanly through the vine. The ring clattered to the grated floor, shining in the darkness of the lift.

"Gotcha!" Ladybug rushed forward, yanking open the door to the lift and jumping inside. The darkness engulfed her, and Adrien lost sight of the superhero.

"Ladybug, no!" Adrien cried, dashing toward the elevator. "It could be a..."

A huge network of vines suddenly started to fall from the antenna, making a cage over the open door.

"...trap." Adrien finished, his heart sinking.

"No!" Ladybug yelled from the darkness inside the lift, kicking against the vines. "I-I'm trapped!"

Adrien seized the vines trying to yank them apart. "I'll get you out, m'lady!"

"Adrien, no! They'll know it's you!" Adrien heard movement from inside, then saw a bright flash of light. "You've got to take these! If I can't get out, I at least won't give her my miraculous!"

"Take what?" Adrien asked, bewildered. "Ladybug?"

Ladybug kicked open a window, then threw out a small purse. "My earrings! They're in the purse!" She broke off, realizing what she had done. "M-my purse."

The vines quickly swarmed over the window, covering up the hole Ladybug had created.
"But...but you still have my ring!" Adrien stuttered, grabbing the purse and running his hand over the hole, now completely covered with vines. "Ladybug?"

"Exactly!" Ladybug cried, her voice growing fainter as the vines expanded. "They don't know who we are! Poison Ivy's nowhere nearby, it's just her vines. Once she finds out she's captured me..." Ladybug's voice quivered. "That's when she'll come. You've got to get me out of here, Adrien! Hurry!"

"But...but..." Adrien stared down at the purse in his hands. It was a small black and pink clutch purse with an M on the front. He felt a stab of excitement in his chest. "M-Marinette?"

The vines were starting to harden, changing from a bright green to the dark brown.

Adrien leaned up against the side of the elevator, his thoughts swirling. "All this time...throughout the whole date...it's been you all along!"

Marinette was silent, and Adrien glanced behind him. "Marinette? Are you still there?"

"I'm here." Marinette's voice was tense with anxiety. "I'm here, Adrien."

Adrien's heart ached as he thought about the two girls he liked-Make that one, he amended-were trapped in the plant-covered cage. He rose to his feet determinedly, slinging Marinette's purse across his body.

"I'll get you out," He said firmly. "I promise, Marinette."

"Thanks, Adrien." Marinette answered, her voice weak.

Adrien started pacing. "I need to be able to break through these vines. What do I have that can stop them?

"Vines are plants," Marinette noted, and Adrien could hear her feet tapping on the metal grate.

"Yeah, but how can I get them to go away?" Adrien ran his hands through his hair, wishing his brain would move faster. "Plants don't like fire, right? Do you have any matches or anything?"

"Matches?" Marinette repeated. "No, Adrien. Fresh out of matches."

Adrien groaned, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "If it was daytime, we could use the sun to start a fire. But it's night..." His hands closed around the decorated flashlight from his prom date. He drew it out of his pocket, staring at it.

"Marinette, the flashlight you made for me has batteries, right?"

"Y-yeah, I think so?"

Adrien grinned. "I've got an idea!"