Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Adrien stood in the extravagantly adorned hallway that led to his father's office, impatiently fussing with the cuff of his coat as he tried to straighten it. It was being stubborn, not wanting to appear presentable, but with a little finagling, he managed to get it situated just as the door at the end of the hall swung open.

He jumped, quickly spinning away from the mirror to watch Nathalie step out of the room. The Head of their maid staff had her eyes glued to a notebook in her hand while she held the door for him with the other. She addressed him without even looking up. “Adrien, your father will see you now.”

With a quick, courteous bow, Adrien took in a sharp breath and marched into the office. Nathalie slipped through the doorway behind him before closing it with a soft ‘click.’ The stifling quiet of the room immediately settled over him, almost suffocating as he rigidly stood with his hands behind his back, waiting for his presence to be acknowledged.

A clock sitting atop a bookcase ticked quietly while Gabriel sat at the ornate desk at the back of the room, his gaze focused on a canvas laid out before him. From his angle, Adrien managed to catch a glimpse of the refined sketch that his father was working on—most likely adding the finishing touches to one of his latest designs.

A moment of silence stretched between them before his father finally lowered the pencil and regarded him with a neutral expression. “Adrien. You wished to speak with me about a business venture?”

“Yes, father.” Though Adrien tried to keep his nerves from showing, he found his hand unconsciously messing with the hem of his sleeve. “I wanted to discuss some plans I have to earn my own living.”

“Your own living?” Gabriel’s voice wasn’t cold, but Adrien could hear the impatience in his tone. “Have I not already told you that you will one day inherit the entirety of this company and its wealth?" His hand swept out toward the wide window, through which Adrien could see a grand view of Paris with the Seine somewhere in the distance. "Everything has already been laid out for you here. There is no need for you to dirty your hands on some childish project.”

“It’s not childish!” Adrien quickly spouted, already feeling his resolve crumble slightly. “I’ve been preparing this for weeks without shirking the responsibilities that I already have.” From the inside pocket of his coat, Adrien dug out an envelope with a wax seal. “This is a contract for a full ship and crew, ready and able to transport goods to trade overseas.”

"Trade?" His father's eyes widened in surprise, an expression that rarely crossed his features. “You want to trade overseas? And you've somehow managed to procure yourself a ship,” Gabriel mumbled as his mouth turned down in a slight frown. “How did you acquire one so quickly?”

Adrien could hear the slight distaste in his tone. There was an unspoken, how did you do that without my knowing?

“I may have had a little luck, being in the right place at the right time,” Adrien said with a nervous smile, tucking the envelope back into his pocket. His father had no idea the lengths he had gone to get so far, and there was no doubt he wouldn't have approved of any of it if he knew. “I found a Captain of a small crew that wanted to retire, and he was looking for a new, reliable owner for his ship.”

His father hummed and leaned forward in the chair, lacing his fingers together in an arch over his desk. “It sounds too good to be true. Have you checked out the validity of this transaction?”

“I've done my research, and the contract is valid,” Adrien said with a little more confidence. Though he seemed to have his doubts, his father appeared to be listening. “It's not as good a deal as it sounds, though. The ship comes without a crew, and it's in need of some repair, but I've gathered together some acquaintances to help man it. After we take it on a test run to prove our abilities, we can pick up our own trade routes.”

“And transporting the goods yourself would allow you to amass a small bit of wealth.” Gabriel nodded as if he agreed with the idea, though his expression remained unreadable. “It’s an excellent opportunity, but I don’t see why you felt the need to procure your own ship. I could have provided you one through the company.”

“That’s…” Adrien hesitated, certain he wouldn't be allowed out of the house if he explained his real goal. He didn’t need wealth or riches; he simply needed a ship free of his father’s control. “It would feel hollow if I just used one you bought.” Unconsciously, his hand moved up to rub at the back of his neck as he brought up his next idea. “And I was hoping to help get things started by accompanying my new crew...”

His father’s eyes narrowed. “You want to travel with them?" Gabriel rubbed his fingers over his brow. "Adrien, you know how dangerous the sea is for merchant ships. I fail to see why you need to be present on their voyages.”

“It will establish more trust between us,” Adrien started quietly. “You established your own company by working closely with your staff and attaining resources by running the trades yourself. I want the same experience you had—”

“Adrien—” His father’s mouth stretched into a thin line as he gave him a stern glare.

“Is it so terrible to want to do something for myself, father?” Adrien turned and began pacing in front of the desk. “It’s not as if I haven’t made any preparations for the journey! If you’re so worried about my safety, then I can hire guards to help protect the ship!” he continued on before his father could stop him. “I just want to establish something with my own abilities, and once operations are running smoothly, then I can supervise from here.”

Gabriel was quiet for a moment as Adrien finished, and he quickly grew nervous, wondering if his father was considering his proposal or simply livid over the fact that he had interrupted him. Adrien moved his hands behind his back and straightened up, his fingers instinctively reaching for his sleeve to nervously fiddle with it.

“How long will you be gone?”

Adrien almost slumped in relief at his father’s words. “As long as there are no delays, our first trip will only be a few weeks.”

Gabriel closed his eyes with a soft grunt, picking up a pen on his desk and scribbling something into a notebook. “Contact the company at this address.” He ripped the slip of paper out and held it up. Adrien quickly stepped forward to take it. “They have reliable men that are experts with a sword. They should offer the best defenses for your ship and crew.”

“Thank you, father!” Adrien slipped the address into his pocket before turning toward the door. He was almost out into the hall when his father called him again.

“Adrien?”

He stopped in the doorway and turned his head. “Yes, father?”

Gabriel had spun his chair around, facing the wall where an elegant portrait of his mother hung. “When you return, I’d like to discuss the matter of your marriage.”

Adrien’s hand moved straight to his wrist and squeezed.

“A colleague of mine has been slipping the topic of his daughter into more of our conversations.” His father didn’t seem too concerned by Adrien’s silence as he continued without pause. “While I don’t care much for his lack of subtlety, she comes with a substantially impressive dowry should you be interested.”

“With all due respect, father,” Adrien began slowly as his hand clenched into a fist. “I’d prefer not to marry someone based on the amount of their wealth." He took a soft breath and tried to relax, focusing on calm thoughts. "Besides, I’d like to establish my own matters before worrying about settling down. How can I raise a family that I can’t support?”

“This company is more than enough—”

“A company that I don’t even know how to properly run?” Adrien lowered his arms and put on a forced smile, even though his father was no longer looking at him. “You can’t deny that this experience will help when it comes time for me to take over.”

His father hummed softly, a sound that Adrien wasn't certain how to interpret before Gabriel sighed. “Very well. But you can't keep putting this off much longer." His father swiveled toward the wall so that all he saw was the back of the chair. "Don’t blame me when there aren’t any eligible girls left in Paris.”

“I'll keep that in mind, father.” Adrien tried to keep the growl out of his tone and bowed quickly, taking that as his cue to leave. He ducked out the door and closed it softly behind him.

Adrien found the hallway empty, so he leaned back against the wall and let out a quiet sigh. “The girl I’m looking for isn’t in Paris anymore,” he mumbled softly to himself.

“Adrien?”

He choked back a yelp as his eyes shot up, seeing Nathalie standing in front of him with a stern expression fixed on her face. “Y-yes?” he stammered.

“You have a guest,” Nathalie said quickly, sounding annoyed. “He insisted on—”

“Yo!” a familiar voice interrupted her as a dark figure leaned out from behind Nathalie, waving his hand with a wide grin on his face. “How’d the meeting with your old man go?”

Adrien couldn’t keep the panic from his expression as he jumped forward and grabbed Nino by the neck of his tunic, quickly dragging him down the hall and around the corner. “Thank you so much Nathalie gotta go now bye!”

Adrien managed to whisk Nino out of the mansion so quickly, that by the time he’d pulled his friend to the courtyard, Adrien was leaning on his knees, huffing and wheezing to catch his breath.

“You still pining away for your princess?” Nino teased. Adrien turned his glare up to see his friend tilted forward, hands folded beneath his chin and eyelids fluttering playfully.

He straightened and gave Nino a light shove. “What were you thinking just showing up in there? My father may not know who you are, but he knows enough to realize who you aren’t!”

“Can you hear the words coming out of your mouth right now?” Nino gave a dismissive laugh and crossed his arms over his chest. “Relax, he never leaves the mansion, right? He didn’t see me, so he wouldn’t pick me out as some roguish, boat savvy, riff-raff.” Nino then poked a finger against Adrien's chest. “Besides, don’t change the subject. What was that mumbling about your little lady in there? Hmm?”

“You caught that?” Adrien groaned and drug a hand through his hair.

Nino smiled and pointed to his own ears. “My hearing’s pretty sharp. Don’t think your maid noticed though.”

“Good.” Adrien let out a heavy sigh. “My father’s been pushing me to take a wife. If I don’t hurry, he’s probably going to arrange something with a girl I don’t even know.”

Nino grimaced. “Yuck. Glad I don’t have to bother with that kind of thing.” His friend shifted closer and draped an arm over his shoulders. “But don’t worry, once we get you on that ship, the sea will be the only woman that calls to you!”

Adrien let out a genuine laugh, unable to keep a smile off his face with Nino’s encouragement. “I do want to get married one day, but it won’t be to anyone my father picks.” He lifted his arm and pulled back the sleeve of his coat, a warm smile lighting his face as his eyes moved over the charm band on his wrist. “There’s only one lady for me.”

Nino’s face shifted into a sly grin, and he pulled the hood of his cloak up over his head, shielding himself beneath a cover of dark green. “Ah, ready to set sail then and find your lady… Captain?”

Adrien reached into his shirt and tugged at something, giving Nino a glimpse of the small black mask he kept tucked away. He gave his friend a wink as his own smile grew. “Aye. Looks like it’s time for Chat Noir to get his claws out.”

Chapter Text

The night sky was overcast, thick clouds blotting out the stars, and the moon only a sliver of its usual self, granting almost no light to see by. Below the large ship, the sea was an abyss of shadows as the waves lapped against the bow.

This environment was perfect for Captain Chat Noir to set up an ambush.

Adrien adjusted the dark mask on his face as he peered through the lens of a spyglass, pointing it toward the hidden shore of a nearby island and marveling at all the detail he could see despite the pitch black of night.

Through the mysterious enhancements of the mask that he had inherited along with his title, Adrien was able to watch the drunken men as they stumbled about the shore. The cat ears on his head almost twitched as he picked up the raucous laughter, obnoxious boasting, and vulgar celebration of their latest raid. These pirates were responsible for attacking several towns on the French coast; stealing valuables along with kidnapping innocent women from their homes.

"I knew it would be a good idea to prowl around," Adrien practically growled.

Nino, his first-mate, groaned from beside him, squinting out at the dark shore despite not being able to see anything. "Now is not the time for making puns. Plus, that wasn't even remotely clever."

Adrien scoffed in mock offense. "Excuse me? I can make puns whenever I'm feline like it."

"Go cough up a hairball," Nino grumbled.

"Are we going to launch an attack?" Kim asked from off to the side. Chat turned to face him, and though they didn't have any lanterns lit on the ship so that they wouldn't be spotted, he could easily pick out the curious anticipation in Kim's expression.

Adrien lowered the spyglass with a nod and returned it to it's compact state before tossing it back to Kim. "They are heavily inebriated."

"Huh?" Kim nearly dropped the scope in his confusion.

"He means they're drunk off their asses," Nino clarified and Kim spun around in what looked like an attempt to cover up his laughter, lest he make too much noise and give their position away.

"And we're completely sober," Adrien said with a grin. 

Kim's snicker was followed by a soft belch. "Nope! Most of you are sober."

Nino shook his head while Adrien signaled up to Max at the helm to bring The Cataclysm around. With the night so dark, and their ship blending with the shadows of the waves, the pirates would never know what hit them.

"Can we celebrate after the fight?" Kim asked as he stowed the spyglass in a pouch that hung at his belt. "All the bread in the galley has gone stale."

Nino rubbed his chin, an eager gleam in his eye. "We are close to Paris. It would be a shame not to pick up some fresh supplies."

"Let's not jump ahead of ourselves." Though he tried to follow his own advice, Adrien couldn't hide his expectant grin, already making plans to visit the small patisserie near his home. "But I suppose we're all on the same page with what we want."

Kim clasped his hands together and licked his lips. "Fight some pirates, rescue some damsels, then head home to gorge on croissants and chocolate filled eclairs!"

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

“Have you heard the latest news about Chat Noir?”

Adrien tried not to look surprised at the mention of his alter-ego’s name. Instead, he kept his attention on the display of pastries in front of him, drawing out the time until he finally glanced up. “Something about helping Paris by apprehending a gang of thieves, I think?”

"Are you kidding? He did everyone in France a favor!" Tom jumped up and, using his rolling pin, mimed out slashing the air with a sword. "He ambushed the dread pirate Le Faucon and took out his entire crew of a hundred men! Saved some poor girls they had kidnapped in their raid, too!"

Adrien tried to hide the embarrassed flush on his face, but also couldn't help his widening smile. Tom may have been over-exaggerating the exploits of him and his crew just a bit, but his excitement to share the latest rumors appeared to be too infectious.

While it was true that they had saved the unfortunate group of women, Le Faucon only had about twenty men, and when he and his crew had taken them by surprise, most of them were too drunk to tell their sabers from their belt buckles.

"Tom, are you still going on about Chat Noir?" Sabine Cheng's exasperated sounding voice floated in from the doorway at the back of the bakery shortly before she entered carrying a large pastry box.

"Just filling Adrien in on the latest feats of Paris' hero," Tom said, quickly hiding the rolling pin behind his back. Sabine probably wouldn't have been happy to see her husband using it as a prop sword. "It might be difficult for him to keep up with news when he's sailing across the ocean."

"Actually, you'd be surprised what kind of stories we hear, even when docked in another country." Adrien suspiciously eyed the box as Sabine set it on the counter top. It was fairly large, more likely used for specialty cakes than what he had actually ordered. "That's not mine, is it?"

"It's exactly what you asked for, plus some chocolat au pain and a full set of macarons, on the house." Sabine winked as she patted the box.

Adrien shook his head, reaching for the extra notes in his pocket. "I can't accept those, I want to—"

Sabine cut him off with a quick wave of her hand. "You can and you will ." She took the box off the counter and practically shoved it into his arms, forcing him to accept it or drop it all onto the floor. "It's the least we can give you for everything you've done."

"I haven't done anything." Adrien frowned, his gaze quickly averting to the side. "We haven't actually found—"

"You're looking ," Sabine interrupted with a soft smile. "And that's enough to give us hope."

Adrien hesitated while trying to come up with another reason to either pay or refuse the treats outright, but instead he simply sighed in defeat. "Fine. Then I also want a batch of chouquettes, but I'm paying for those."

Tom chuckled, shuffling back to fill the order while Sabine simply responded with, "Whatever you say, dear."

Adrien soon bid them farewell. Though he carried much more than he had originally planned, he was certain that with the way his friends indulged in anything from the Dupain-Cheng bakery that the pastries wouldn't last long enough to spoil. He was too distracted by thoughts of the desserts himself to notice someone standing off to the side as he exited.

"Bought something extra?" Adrien jumped with a soft yelp before turning to face the speaker.

"Max!" Adrien hissed as his eyes flicked out to the scattering of people walking the streets. Luckily, no one seemed to be paying them any mind. "You can't just show up like this, I don't have my mask!"

"No worries," Max said with a shake of his head. "I have anticipated this and come up with a solution to deter anyone from discovering my identity." He glanced over his shoulder, then pulled Adrien by his elbow, leaning closer and lowering his voice. "I am wearing a disguise, so no one would ever guess I was a part of Chat Noir's crew."

Adrien's gaze flicked over his crewmate, but aside from the addition of a dark coat covering his shirt and suspenders, and a dressier pair of pants, Max didn't look any different than usual. "What disguise?"

Max pointed to his own face. "My eyepatch?"

True to what Max said, Adrien—in his panic—had missed that he was wearing an eyepatch over his left eye, awkwardly stuffed beneath his large-framed glasses.

"That's not going to work," Adrien said flatly.

"People are blind!" A high-pitched voice came out from beneath Max's coat right before a small parrot poked its head out.

"You brought Markov with you?" Adrien frowned down at the African Grey as Markov tilted his head innocently to the side. "Why couldn't you leave him behind?"

"Markov is my partner, and a valuable member of our crew!" Max scratched the feather's of Markov's crest, and the parrot clicked his beak with pleasure. "Aren't you, buddy?"

" We know that, believe me." Adrien's gaze turned to the street where a little girl appeared to have noticed and pointed at them with enthusiasm. "But he kind of sticks out for people that aren't used to him. Your disguise is one thing, but it's a dead giveaway if someone recognizes him from the ship."

"Hmm, fair point," Max hummed in thought before addressing the bird hiding in his shirt. "Perhaps it is better for you to return to the ship before you draw too much attention?"

"Aye, aye!" Markov nodded before squirming around in order to free himself. It was a miracle that Max didn't get whacked in the face when Markov took off into the air, making his way to the port in the Seine where the ship was docked.

"You should go too," Adrien said once Markov had flown out of sight. "Unless you want to sit through another boring tirade with my father."

"I didn't think you wanted to visit him this time?" Max inquired, following along beside Adrien as he started in the direction of his home.

"I didn't, but he wants an update on our finances and earnings." Adrien sighed. "If it keeps him from digging into what we're actually doing, I need to keep up appearances."

"We're doing well enough, so he should be satisfied." Max rubbed his chin, the two of them pausing at a corner to wait for a gap in the traffic before crossing the road. "Privateering is highly profitable, considering we spend nothing on acquiring trade goods."

Adrien nodded. "Almost too profitable to claim to be a standard merchant ship. We'll have to get rid of some money, or my father may start to wonder how we're making so much in such a short amount of time. He expects we might make a good fortune, but in only five months?"

That thought made him pause. Had it already been so long?

That makes eight months that she's been missing... he thought gloomily to himself.

Max's voice pulled him from his thoughts as he offered with a sly grin, "The rest of the crew would certainly know of a way to quickly spend any excess."

Adrien laughed at that. "I'm sure they would, but I'd rather it benefit someone who might need it." He looked back over his shoulder at the bakery, which was still visible down the street. "Maybe we could leave another anonymous investment with the Dupain-Chengs?"

"It is hardly anonymous when they know who it's from," Max deadpanned.

Adrien stopped walking and turned to blink back at Max. "Wait... You think they know?"

Max eyed the pair of boxes in his arms. "One of them might, at least. Those are more complimentary pastries from Madame Cheng, are they not?"

"Yes..." Adrien answered slowly while Max just nodded his head.

"Marinette's mother is a generous woman, but it appears that she is even more so insistent when it comes to showing us appreciation."

"She's just grateful that we're trying to find her daughter."

Max hummed. "Perhaps."

Their conversation settled into a comfortable quiet as they continued around a corner, the lull of the crowds bouncing along the cobblestones, muted amid the sound of horse and carriage traffic moving over the road beside them.

Max's voice eventually broke the peace. "You know that the odds of finding her are actually... quite minimal, at best."

"That's not going to stop me," Adrien quickly responded, his gaze set pointedly ahead of him while they walked. "Plenty of people are lost at sea. Some are eventually found."

"It wasn't my intention to stop you," Max mumbled while tapping his fingers together nervously and averting his eyes. "I just don't want you to feel... If we don't—I mean... The chance that Marinette may be—"

"It's okay, Max." Adrien stopped on the sidewalk and turned to him with a light expression. It wasn't exactly a smile; more of something that showed he appreciated his friend's concern. "There's only no chance of finding her if we stop looking."

Max eventually nodded before giving him a soft, "Aye."

"Now, then," Adrien said with a little more force than he intended as he shoved one of the boxes into Max's hands, eager to change the topic. "If you're going to accompany me, at least help with some of the lifting."

It didn't take very long for the two of them to come into view of the Agreste estate. The impressive mansion towered over the large stone walls that protected the decorated courtyard within.

"It never fails to astound me," Max said quietly as they slipped through the entrance gate, warily eyeing the guard that gave him a scrutinizing gaze. "My accommodations were not grand, but they were adequate." He motioned his head toward the two-story mansion. " This makes it seem as if I grew up in a dirt hole."

"It's not that big," Adrien grumbled as they walked up the cobblestone drive. There was a carriage parked off to the side that he wasn't surprised to see. His father often had meetings with partners and clients, and never cared to reschedule them even when he knew his own son would be visiting. If he was with someone, he usually made Adrien wait until he was through.

They continued on up to the door, and when Adrien swung the heavy knocker, it immediately opened to reveal Nathalie waiting for them. "Good afternoon, Adrien," she addressed him. "Your father wishes for you to join him in the study."

Adrien stifled a groan and simply nodded. It was bad enough he had to go over the doctored finances of his ship, now it seemed he would be dragged into another boring business meeting.

Adrien tried not to sag as he willed his legs to move through the pristine foyer and up the elaborate set of stairs. He knew his father didn't like to be kept waiting, but it still took them a moment to navigate the large mansion. As they approached the study, Adrien was surprised to hear a woman's voice float out into the hall.

Not that Adrien was shocked to think a woman might be discussing business deals. It was only because Gabriel tended to lean toward being more of a 'traditional' businessman. The only colleges that he had met before had all been men.

So it was this new development that first set Adrien's suspicions off.

"I can't thank you enough for your help," he heard a petite voice say through the open door. Adrien carefully balanced the pastry box in one hand and politely knocked against the frame with the other before stepping into the room. His father turned to face him as he entered, standing in front of the unlit fireplace while a young woman in a crimson evening gown sat in one of the chairs nearby.

"Ah, Adrien, how good of you to join us. We can hold off on any discussion of business for now. I first wanted to introduce you to our guest." Gabriel turned to the girl and swept his arm out toward her with a slight bow. "Due to some unfortunate circumstances, Mademoiselle Rossi will be staying with us for a while."

The girl in question stood up, taking her skirts delicately in her hands to give him a flourished curtsy. "Thank you, Monsieur Agreste." She smiled warmly at Adrien with a tilt of her head. Despite having just met her, he felt a flash of something uncomfortable squirm through him. "Please, call me Lila. Your father has told me so much about you, I feel as if we've already met."

Chapter Text

"They're gaining on us, Captain!"

Adrien didn't need Kim's warning to know that the enemy was closing in. One glance over his shoulder was enough to see the ominous colors of the flag flying on their mast.

Pirates. Of course it had to be pirates.

And not just any pirates. The emblem blazing on the black cloth was one he had encountered before. This group wasn't likely to let them go, let alone live, even if they surrendered peacefully.

"Damn those Spanish ships!" Nino yelled from somewhere on the lower deck while Adrien stood at the wheel, ignoring the burning pain and the feeling of blood dripping down his side. At some point, their pursuers had lobbed a powder flask, and the explosion had sent shrapnel across the deck. He hadn't noticed he'd been caught in it until he grabbed the wheel to steer and the injury had flared up.

"Kim! Man the cannons!" Alix barked out as she rolled a barrel of gun powder along the deck. "They're coming up on our starboard!"

They weren't in the best of circumstances, so he probably should have been paying more attention to his crew, but Adrien couldn't help his drifting thoughts. Maybe it was the wound making his head woozy, looking for an escape from the turmoil around him. Whatever the reason, it was all too easy to shift part of the blame for their situation on his father.

Adrien had already been wary upon finding a young, eligible woman that his father opened their home to in a troubling situation. While he didn’t say anything directly, Gabriel hadn't wasted any time in confirming Adrien's suspicions when he insisted his son give Lila a tour of the Agreste mansion so that she didn't get lost while staying there.

His father almost convinced Max to remain behind, leaving Adrien and Lila alone to traverse the grounds, but Adrien had dragged his navigator along under the guise that he hadn't yet seen the home's garden in autumn. Gabriel's only response was to hum with what sounded like displeasure, but he hadn't said anything to argue against it.

It was unfortunate that Lila had recently suffered the loss of her family to a terrible accident, but that didn't give his father the right to try and set them up when she was grieving her deceased parents. The girl was an only child with no other relatives, vulnerable after enduring a recent tragedy, and his father had tried to take advantage of that. Had he thought Adrien might want to marry her out of pity?

Granted, he did feel sorry for the girl, but deemed she needed her space to properly mourn. Adrien had offered his condolences and politely shown her around the house, listening to her recount stories of her own family before he escaped with the excuse that he needed to set off on another trade route, this one with an encroaching deadline. He made for damn sure to find his father and mention that he had to return to captaining The Emelie .

Lila was understanding and wished him well, while Adrien had pretended not to notice the pained wince from his father. He did feel a little guilty about using his mother's name, but it had been the perfect title to give the non-existent ship to keep his father from ever wanting to set foot on it, let alone see it. Gabriel was obviously not comfortable with it, but thankfully he had also respected his son's way of honoring his mother's memory.

In reality, The Cataclysm was a corsair with dark wood panels that helped it to blend into the shadows; a far-cry from something he might name after his mother. It was still a majestic ship despite its age and need of more frequent repairs—which it would certainly require if they managed to escape the bloody pirates blowing holes in it!

And he wouldn't have run into said pirates if he hadn't been in such a rush to escape all thoughts of his father and his stupid wedding plans.

Cannon fire echoed from his right, yanking him out of his thoughts, and the bannister behind him exploded in a spray of splinters. Adrien cursed as he tried to steer the ship away, but the Spanish galleon mimicked their own movements in close pursuit.

"Give it up, Chat Noir!" He turned his head to find that the enemy ship was now close enough for him to hear its captain yelling at him from her own deck. "You won't slip away this time!"

"Captain Hardrock!" Adrien called, his tone dripping with false cheer. "I thought that flag might have belonged to you!"

"They'll be the last colors you see before we send ya to Davy Jones!" Hardrock screamed back before turning to shout orders at her crew. Adrien felt a chill run down his spine at the amount of cannons lining up at the gun ports. She was certainly riled up this time.

Well, that probably had to do with the fact that the previous Chat Noir had a hand in the demise of her husband. While Adrien had no beef with the once infamous pirate pair, Hardrock obviously wanted revenge. He wasn't about to reveal the legacy behind the immortal captain of The Cataclysm, a ship that he had only recently inherited, but he was certain she wouldn't have cared whether he was the same Chat Noir or not when skewering him with her sword.

"Kim!" he barked as he tried to out-maneuver the other ship. "Hurry up with those defenses!"

"Already on it, Captain!" Kim ran below him on the deck, lugging a split cannonball with a metal beam between the two parts and stuffing it into the barrel. "Just taking some time to execute the perfect plan!"

Nino stepped back from his own cannon as the fuse lit in a spray of sparks and yelled at Kim from across the deck, "This isn't the time for one of your crazy ideas!"

The ship shook as another explosion rocked the decks below, but this didn't seem to deter Kim as he lengthened the fuse, lit it, then handed a rope to Nino. "Tie this to my cannon!" he yelled over the noise before running to the mast and climbing it with little effort.

"What!?" Nino shouted over the sound of explosions, nearly toppling over as the enemy fire hit the ship again.

"Just trust me!" Kim yelled back, swinging across the riggings for the mainsail. Nino didn't look happy, but did as he was told, securing the rope around the barrel with worried glances at the shrinking fuze.

"Step back!" Kim shouted, and Nino practically dove away as Kim jumped off the beam with the attached rope slung over it. The simple pulley system miraculously yanked the cannon up, angling it much more than a man could accomplish normally, right before the chain ball exploded out of the barrel in a flash of light and powder.

The projectile hit high up on Hardrock's ship, the metal bar ripping apart the sail and taking a good chunk of the mast with it. The small crow's nest toppled over, causing even more damage as it crashed to the deck.

Though another ripple of fire rang out from the opposing ship, Adrien let out a cry of relief when the galleon started losing speed. Soon enough, the pirates were struggling to keep up with The Cataclysm as they lagged behind.

"Their main sail is destroyed!" Alix laughed as she sprinted across the deck, shooting Hardrock a very unladylike gesture while the captain screamed at her crew to hurry and fix the damage.

"Max!" Adrien called out as his friend scrambled up onto the deck, looking disheveled from all the maintenance he must have been keeping up with below. "I'd rather not tango with Hardrock again so soon. Know of any places nearby we could hide out?"

"Ah! Uh..." Max saluted with a look of panic before his eyes widened. "Yes, Captain! I know of the perfect spot where they won't find us!"

"Great!" Adrien released the spokes of the ship's wheel and stumbled back, recovering quickly only to fall forward against the railing. "Take over for me?" he panted, grinning even as a flash of pain flared along his back. "I think I need a cat-nap."

"Stop making jokes like that!" Adrien heard Nino shout while his vision started to fade. Through the ringing in his ears, heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs beside him, announcing that his crewmates were scrambling to assist. A soft murmur indicated someone was speaking to him, but he couldn't make out any words through the haze.

Max will find us a safe place , Adrien thought to himself as a strong pair of arms carefully assisted him down to his quarters. He was only vaguely aware of sunlight shifting into the flicker of lanterns from the interior of his ship, and soon enough he felt the soft sheets of his bed beneath him.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Darkness surrounded her on all sides with no means of escape.

The pressure of the water squeezed her relentlessly, forcing the air from her burning lungs as she sank deeper and deeper.

“Marinette?”

She heard a friendly voice, soft and echoing… But it couldn’t help her. Whoever was calling to her wasn’t close enough.

“Marinette!”

The voice suddenly grew sharper, louder, and with a start, Marinette felt a tug on her arm. The hazy vision of water surrounding and suffocating her dispersed like a million foaming bubbles, and she quickly snapped out of the nightmare.

“Marinette?” Alya’s voice reached her ears in a more gentle tone, and Marinette opened her eyes to see the concerned face of her friend floating over her. “Did you have that dream again?” she asked softly.

Marinette was quiet for a moment as she took in her surroundings, which weren’t really much different from the nightmare she had just escaped. Water indeed pressed all around her, but it wasn’t drowning her; it couldn’t.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had that one…” Marinette closed her eyes and rubbed her hands against her forehead. With that slight movement, she felt her body drift closer to the ocean floor and instinctively curled her tail around a nearby rock to stabilize herself, the deep red of her fins almost blending with the dark surface.

“You know we can’t drown, right?”

Marinette peeked through an eyelid to see her friend with her hands on her hips as she flicked her tailfin to the side. “No offense, but it’s a really weird fear for a mermaid to have.”

“I know!” Marinette groaned as she flipped over and covered her face. “I don’t know why I keep having that dream, Alya! Leave it to me to have some crazy worries that don’t even make any sense.”

“Girls!”

Alya and Marinette turned to the entrance of their underwater cave where Tikki swam in through the opening. The spotted tail of their pod’s matriarch stirred up bubbles as she sped toward them. “Is something wrong? I heard shouting.”

Marinette lifted her hands in front of her, putting a reassuring smile on her face. “It was noth—”

“Marinette had that nightmare again,” Alya interrupted and Marinette shot her friend an annoyed glare. Alya simply shrugged.

“Oh, Marinette,” Tikki sighed and drifted closer, wrapping her arms around her in a gentle hug. “It’s not absurd to have that kind of dream, you know.”

“It’s just a nightmare,” Marinette mumbled, but her arms came up around Tikki’s back to return the gesture, finding a little of the discomfort brought about by her dream ebb away in the warmth of her embrace. “It doesn’t matter to me once I’m awake.”

“Perhaps,” Tikki mused, pulling away slightly to look down at Marinette. “But rather than being a part of your fears, it could instead be trying to tell you something important.”

“If it’s telling her to avoid the ocean, I think we’ve got a problem.” Alya swam over their shoulders and flailed her arms out to point all around them. “Kind of hard considering we live in it.”

Tikki giggled softly and released Marinette’s shoulders. “Maybe it’s not as straightforward as that, but it might be something to keep in mind.”

A faint, high-pitched wail drew their attention to the cave opening as Rose swam inside, her face scrunched in a pained expression as she held one of her hands in front of her. Tikki turned to meet their distressed friend with a concerned look. “Rose, what happened?”

“U-um…” Rose stammered softly and drew her hand closer to her chest. “I-I got bit by an octopus...”

Alya let out a sigh that sounded more like a groan. “You tried to pet one again, didn’t you?” She swam around Tikki and pointed an accusatory finger at Rose. “You know how super protective they are of their babies!”

“I know.” Rose deflated a little before perking right back up, the soft light in her eyes appearing to shimmer. “But… but the little ones are just too cute and fluffy!”

Marinette giggled. “Only you would call an octopus ‘fluffy.’”

“That’s because they are!” Rose cupped her cheeks with her hands, a big smile lighting up her face before she winced. “Oww…”

“Here.” Tikki reached out and gently turned Rose’s palm up to inspect the bite. A hazy trail of blood drifted up through the water from the puncture. “We should stop that up before you attract something.”

Alya shivered. “Ugh, bottomfeeders and sharks? No thank you.”

“I can take care of that…” Marinette quickly offered while reaching out toward Rose. Her hand hovered over the cut, and she closed her eyes. As she concentrated, a familiar warmth built up around her fingertips to emit a soft glow. When her eyelids fluttered open, the bite on Rose’s palm was only a small pink welt.

"Thank Triton for our miraculous healer." Alya grinned as Rose inspected her mended wound with wide eyes.

"It's not 'miraculous,'" Marinette mumbled. "You can still see it."

"Your ability is nothing short of incredible, Marinette," Tikki praised her. "You stopped the bleeding. Who knows what more you can do if you hone that skill." Tikki gently took a hold of Rose's wrist and pulled her toward the cave entrance. "Now, let's go find that octopus. You're going to apologize for scaring it."

Marinette and Alya returned Rose's wave as she disappeared out the opening behind Tikki. The two girls failed to contain their giggles when a sharp, "And no touching the babies again!" echoed through the water.

"Well," Alya sighed as she moved toward the front of the cave, glancing around with a sly look. "I think Tikki should be able to keep Rose out of trouble this time. C'mon!" She darted out into the open water, waving for Marinette to join her. "While they're busy with that, let's go soak up some sun!"

“Alya...” Though Marinette swam after her friend, she couldn't help the concerned expression that crossed her face. "Tikki probably won't like us going to the surface. You know what she'll say—"

“I know,” Alya interrupted with a quiet laugh. “Watch out for pirates, bandits, cut-throats and basically anything that walks on two legs.” Alya waved her hand through the water with a shrug. "As long as we're careful, she won't mind. And—” Alya started before Marinette could open her mouth and say another word "—If she's worried enough, I'll just communicate with her using the siren's call."

"Right..." Marinette nodded slowly, feeling a little less worried as she swam after Alya and left the cavern behind. The bright blue of the ocean lit up around them as the gentle light from above filtered in through the surface.

“Now this is way better than staying cooped up in that depressing cave for three days!” Alya swam ahead and spun around in the water, splaying her arms out to either side. “No wonder you were having nightmares again!”

Marinette drifted up beside her friend with a lazy flick of her tail. “It has been a long time since I’ve had that dream.” She pressed a hand to her forehead as she squeezed her eyes shut. “I wish I could remember more, but any time I try, it just gets... fuzzy.”

“You still can’t recall anything, huh?” She felt Alya place a comforting hand on her shoulder, gently patting the small patch of scales that dotted her skin.

Marinette opened her eyes to look down at the charm bracelet she wore around her wrist. Though she had no memory of where it had come from, the item was like a treasure to her. It was one of the only things she had from before she met Alya, Tikki and Rose.

“You were probably just worried about the hurricane.” Alya tilted her body, and the glow from above hit her orange and white scales, reflecting back golden highlights. “That stupid storm made a complete mess of everything.”

Marinette suddenly stopped in the water, concern furrowing her brow. “You think the cove is okay?”

Now it was Alya’s turn to appear worried, and the two exchanged a similar look, seeming to share the same thought.

Alya had been the one to find Marinette, beached on the shore of the small island several months ago. Mermaids didn’t go anywhere without a pod, so that she had been alone had been a factor of alarm, especially with her amnesia.

They had returned there many times in an attempt to jog Marinette’s memories, but nothing had ever returned to her, and no one had ever come searching for her. In the end, it simply became a special place for them to explore and relax.

“We can go check it out if you want. We were going to the surface already, so why not hit the best beach this side of the ocean?” Marinette followed after her as Alya suddenly rushed ahead. “Besides, I want to get as much sun as I possibly can!”

It didn’t take them long to reach the island, the water turning from a deep blue to a crisp and gentle aqua, with white sand leading all the way up to the shore. The surrounding cove was deep enough for them to swim comfortably, where they were able to go right up to the beach without breaking the surface.

As Marinette surged up with the waves and landed carefully on the sand, her friend quickly alighted next to her, both of them scanning along the shore to survey the damage.

The storm looked to have hit the island fairly hard. Despite the beautiful calm on such a clear day, broken palms and driftwood littered the sand around them, scattered along with the occasional human-made boat or broken contraption half-buried in the sand.

“Ugh… This will take forever to clear away.” Alya propped herself up on her elbows and drummed her fingers against her cheek. “The debris is all the way up to the trees.”

“I don’t even want to see how much of a mess the waterfall is,” Marinette grumbled while flipping over onto her back and spreading her arms out, closing her eyes gratefully as her scales quickly soaked up the heat. The cold of the ocean couldn’t bother her as long as she was submerged, but once the breeze from the open air touched her, goosebumps were quick to spread along the exposed parts of her skin.

“I just hope all those trees survived,” Alya said, slapping her tail against the waves. “You know how much Tikki loves it when we bring back fresh-picked... fruit...”

Marinette popped a single eyelid open as her friend went quiet. “What?” She quickly caught sight of Alya’s expression and rolled over onto her stomach, lifting herself up on her arms to follow her friend’s blank stare.

Looking out across the distant shore, it took her a moment to notice something large hidden behind the treeline as it floated over the waves.

“Is that…?” Marinette’s voice squeaked with fear.

“A ship?” Alya’s tone was not so much afraid as it was curious, and Marinette whipped her head around.

“We have to leave!” Marinette moved to launch away from the shore, but Alya grabbed Marinette’s wrist before she could flee.

“Hold on, Marinette! We don’t even know if it’s a pirate ship or not.”

“A pirate ship!?” Marinette hissed in a panic. “You know what Tikki told us!” She held up a pair of fingers in Alya’s face. “There are two kinds of dangerous humans: pirates and not pirates!”

“Come on, Marinette!” Alya threw her hands out. “Don’t you want to get to the bottom of this? Why are they even on this island? We haven’t seen any humans here before. It’s supposed to be deserted!”

“Alya! That doesn’t matter,” Marinette groaned. “If they see us, pirate or not, they’ll try to capture us and-and… chop us into parts for magic mumbo-jumbo or something!”

Tikki’s stories warning her to steer clear of any humans all came bubbling back to the surface of her mind. Even if they weren’t pirates looking to sell them or anything, Marinette could remember mention of how sailors might try to whisk them away simply for their own ‘enjoyment.’

“Doing that would be useless to them anyway.” Alya crossed her arms over her chest. “The magic is in the mermaid, not our ‘parts.’” She flipped one of her hands toward the waves, and in response, a spluttering of foam crashed into the sand.

“They don’t know that!” Marinette swung her arms out toward the ship docked in the distance. “Besides, I don't have magic like yours to defend myself! I can't even use the siren's call!”

Alya’s expression softened as she placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder. “You’ll figure it out sooner or later, some just take longer than others.”

“Until then, I’m stuck needing a nanny,” Marinette grumbled with a pout. "When I sing, it doesn't carry through the water, and I can't navigate the ocean like other mermaids."

“Excuse me?” Alya planted her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes. “I am not your nanny , I’m your friend .” She then pushed away from the beach, diving into the waves before Marinette could stop her. “So, as your friend, I’m going to investigate that ship while you stay here!”

“What!? No!” Marinette cried out, but Alya was already halfway down the shore. She bit at her lip nervously as her eyes flicked between her friend and the ship that she was headed toward. “Damnit, Alya!” Marinette yelled before launching after her.

Marinette eventually caught up to Alya, who she found peeking around an outcropping of rocks along the surface of the bay. “See enough yet?” Marinette couldn’t help the nervous edge in her voice.

“You didn’t have to come with me, you know.” Alya raised an eyebrow as she glanced over her shoulder.

“I can’t just leave you alone.” Marinette sighed. “What if they spot you?” Her gaze quickly flitted over the small group of humans ambling about on the shore. “They outnumber us!”

“If they try anything, I’ll just drown them,” Alya said with a mischievous grin before a confused expression flickered across her face. “Did Tikki ever mention if they can breathe underwater?”

Marinette slapped her forehead and quietly groaned.

Alya opened her mouth to say something when loud shouting caused her to shut it, and both of them stiffened with fear.

“Relax,” Alya eventually whispered, her head peeking just slightly over the top of the rocks. “We haven’t been spotted.”

Before Marinette could try to drag her away, Alya darted around the barrier and swam further into the bay. As much as Marinette wanted to get as far away as possible, she reluctantly followed after her, not wanting to leave Alya alone so close to humans.

The small boat that Alya swam toward carried only three men, and Marinette hoped that they didn’t see them as she and Alya darted behind a stack of boulders jutting up from the water.

Even though one of them shouted loud enough for his voice to carry, Marinette couldn't make out the words. She watched him, and curiosity eventually won out as she took in the mask and mop of blond hair obscuring his face. For some reason, he was leaning so far over the water that it was a wonder he didn't fall in.

Was he searching for them!? Marinette had a moment of panic, but that subsided when he suddenly jumped into the water and briefly floundered about. He didn't come anywhere near them, and appeared to be searching for something in the sand below.

He hadn't been submerged long before he returned to the surface, empty-handed, and Marinette got a better look at his face when he pushed the sopping bangs from his eyes. Green eyes... They were sharp and piercing, with a different shape to them than a normal human's. Why does that feel... so...

“They don’t seem like pirates,” Alya mused softly beside her as the three humans in the dinghy appeared to argue. “Rose said they have wooden sticks for legs, but I don’t see any. Then again, I can't really get a good look at their feet.”

Alya’s voice sounded as if it had moved far away, because Marinette’s thoughts were struggling to drag something to the surface of her mind. There was a familiarity about the man's face, despite the mask he wore.

Was it his voice?

The color of his hair...?

...His eyes...?

As she tried to reach for that thought, it slipped through her fingers. That man had stirred something in her memory.

Marinette gasped at a sudden, sharp ache in her head, and she quickly dove beneath the water with a splash, her fingers rubbing her forehead to try and ease away the pain.

“What’s wrong?” Alya was instantly there beside her, reaching hesitantly toward her.

“I…” Marinette shook her head and winced from the dull throb. “I don’t know. My head started to hurt.” She pulled her hands away slowly and looked back at Alya, her friend’s brow furrowed with concern. “Alya, I… I feel like I know that man...”

“What?” Alya jerked back with a start, her eyes wide with surprise. Her mouth then quickly pulled into a thin frown as she gently took Marinette’s hands in her own. “You were right, it was a terrible idea to come here.”

“But… I recognized him…?” Marinette whispered. “If I know him…”

Alya put an arm around her shoulder and started to steer her away. “If a human is connected to your past, then he could very well be the reason your memory is gone.” Alya swam around to her front, clasping her hands again. “What if he hurt you? You don’t remember anything about him, right? You only recognize him? Do you even know who he is?”

Marinette was quiet as she thought about that. What Alya said was true. She couldn’t actually recall anything about him, aside from the fact that he only looked familiar. As terrified as she had been about going near them, it surprised her that knowing she might have had a connection with a human suddenly made her more curious to learn who they were.

With a determined frown, Marinette pulled away. “I want to figure this out. It’s the first clue I’ve found in relation to my memories.” Marinette swam around the rocky cove. “I’ll stay at a distance. You can tell Tikki where I’m at—without mentioning the humans—so she won’t have to worry.”

“Oh, no.” Alya shook her head. “I’m staying with you.” She tapped her chin with a frown. “But I agree, Tikki can’t know about this, she wouldn’t let us stay.” Alya crossed her arms with a worried look. “But are you sure you want to do this, Marinette?”

Marinette nodded, closing her hands into determined fists. “If that man is connected to my memories, I have to know more about him.” She turned to the cove, watching as their boat slowly rowed in toward shore. "We'll come back when they're gone. First, I want to see what he was looking for."

Chapter Text

Five months.

For five whole months he had managed to keep his adventures a complete secret from his father. Adrien placated him with stories of a budding trading business and the success of their voyages by tweaking and omitting certain details based on his actual exploits as Chat Noir. As far as his father knew, his ship hadn’t encountered many pirates along the way. He simply spun up some wild tales that the few who dared had been swiftly dealt with by the experts hired to defend him.

In reality, he was captaining his crew and taking on dangerous contracts, attacking ships that were deemed unlawful to France by a higher authority. Under the ‘prize law’ they seized any trade goods and sometimes even the ship itself to sell off and make a huge profit.

Though there had been a few hiccups, Adrien managed to keep up the ruse, as no one would ever suspect that the rough-housing, wise-cracking, sword-wielding Captain was polite and quiet Adrien Agreste. Chat Noir had quickly become a scourge to the Spanish fleets, and a hero to France for taking on commissions as a privateer, keeping his identity secret behind his mask; a mask that he had inherited through sheer luck.

Being in the right place at the right time, Adrien mused to himself, leaning forward against the edge of the dinghy. He couldn't help but think that his luck may have run out, considering the severity of the wound he'd received in Captain Hardrock's attack on his ship. He tried not to disturb the bandages around his stomach as Kim ferried them toward the shore.

Max had led his crew to the perfect place, just as he had hoped. Rather than a busy port, he somehow found a nearby island lush with fruit, situated with hideaway coves, and completely void of any people. Adrien was looking forward to relaxing a few days while they healed up and repaired the ship.

“Say that again!?”

Adrien sighed as Alix’s voice rose up behind him in the row boat. Their trip had been somewhat peaceful until Kim felt the need to inform Alix that her cooking the previous night was less-than-satisfactory.

“I’m just saying, if you’re gonna cook, at least make sure it’s… you know… edible?”

“Guys,” Adrien groaned. “Do you really need to continue this argument now?”

“You asked me to cook!” Alix yelled, either ignoring him or not hearing him at all. “I did you a favor when I took your shift in the galley, so at least have the decency to suck it up!”

"I'm sure this is very good for my recovery," Adrien grumbled to himself, smartly deciding to stay out of it. An argument between Alix and Kim could easily turn into a fight that would eventually fizzle itself out.

What he didn’t know, with his back to them, was that Kim had stood up in his agitation—not until the boat rocked unsteadily and threw the large man off his feet. Adrien released an almost animal-like yowl when Kim fell right on top of him.

Adrien was not a scrawny man, but with his injury and distraction from the pain, he simply gripped the side of the boat and sucked in a sharp breath while Kim scrambled to right himself. As such, Adrien barely registered the oar waving wildly at the edge of his vision before he felt a tug at his wrist.

The tension popped, and Adrien turned his eyes to the bay just in time to see his lucky charm disappear beneath the waves.

“No!” Adrien shot to the edge of the boat, completely ignoring the pain of his wound as his eyes darted across the water. It was so clear that he could practically see to the bottom a few feet away. Despite this, the charm was nowhere to be seen.

“Careful!” Kim called out. “You've still got your injury!"

"My lucky charm!” Adrien straightened up and pulled off his shirt. "It fell in!"

“Uh oh." Alix grabbed at his arm to try and haul him back. "Hold on! If it's in the water, then it might wash up on shore.”

Adrien didn't want to sit back and wait for that kind of chance. Tearing out of her grip, he dove right into the waves. The shock of cold was nothing compared to the sting of his wound as the salty water soaked through the bandages, but that didn't stop him from paddling forward and trying to see if his lucky charm had already buried itself in the sand.

He only swam back around once his lungs started burning, breaking the surface with a gasp while a pair of strong hands reached out to help him back onto the dinghy.

“Sorry about that, Captain,” Kim said while he and Alix stood over him with matching apologetic looks.

“It’s okay.” Adrien waved a hand as he leaned against the side of the boat. “You’ll both just have kitchen duty for the next week.”

“What!?” Alix shouted. “That’s not fair! It was Kim’s fault!”

“I can make it two weeks,” Adrien grumbled.

Alix threw her hands up with a groan while Kim smartly took the oars to row them toward shore. When the boat finally landed on solid ground, Adrien stumbled onto the sand, a sour look on his face.

“What happened to you?” Nino asked, standing to help him over to the small campfire they had going.

“Kim and Alix,” Adrien muttered, ignoring the sting in his side as he started working to pull off his wet pants. “They got into an argument, and my lucky charm wound up in the bay.”

Nino’s expression widened in surprise before he nodded toward the pair behind him. The two were busy dragging the boat further up onto shore so that the waves couldn’t take it. “You gonna have them search for it?”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Adrien turned to Alix and Kim and called out to them, “What do you say? Kitchen duty, or take a swim to find my charm?”

“Oh, boy!” Kim jumped up. “I’d rather swim instead!”

“Can I just have kitchen duty?” Alix grumbled with a flat expression. “I don’t mind the water, but I can’t exactly hang up my shirt and dry off like you guys.”

“Aww, Alix,” Kim said sweetly. “It’s not like you've got anything for us to see.”

Kim couldn’t sprint down the beach fast enough as Alix darted after him, shouting profanities that Adrien had never even heard before.

“Why do we keep those two around?” Nino grumbled with a shake of his head, slumping back against the logs they had dragged over to use as benches.

“Because Kim is strong enough to move a cannon by himself and Alix can kill a man five different ways with a parasol,” Adrien said with a mild grin.

Nino blinked before raising a curious brow. "How do you even know that?"

"Have you seen Alix with a knife?" Adrien laughed. "I'd be terrified to have her pointing a blunt object at me."

“They are extremely useful as a part of the ship’s defenses,” Max said from the other side of the fire pit. “Though there are multiple factors that affect any scenario, our chances of victory against Captain Hardrock the other day would have dropped to below five percent without Alix and Kim to aid us.”

“See?” Adrien waved a hand at Nino.

“Eh, they have their uses, but it’s not as if we’ll need to fight again anytime soon.” Nino picked up a half-buried bottle of rum from the sand. “We've got a lot of repairs to make, not to mention Hardrock will be out hunting for us. We may be heroes to the citizens of dear France, but as far as those Spaniards are concerned, we’re cut-throat pirates with a bounty on our heads."

“As long as we remain hidden here, our chances of being detected are fairly low,” Max explained as he unrolled the map he’d brought from the ship. “It would be best to stay for at least a few days, considering that, fully repaired, Captain Hardrock's ship could easily outrun us.”

“It’s a good thing you knew about this uncharted island.” Alix’s voice came from the direction of the water as she strode back, wringing out the bottom of her shirt. “How’d you find this place, anyway?”

“Ah.” Max grimaced, and Adrien paused in his attempts to get comfortable against the log-bench. "I might have—er... stolen it."

"Max..." he started with a warning tone, something tugging at his memory. "Where did you get that map from?"

Whether it was a calculated move on Max's part to take the attention off of himself, or simply his own honesty, Max quickly answered, "From your fiancée."

Nino choked on his sip of rum and Alix turned to Adrien with a look of disgust. “Woah, wait! When did this happen?”

"She's not my fiancée," Adrien growled in annoyance, partly because Max was only guessing, but mostly because he was closer to the truth than he knew. "Not technically , anyway."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Nino rasped out after pounding on his own chest.

"It was obvious what your father was trying to do," Max supplied while he carefully rolled up the map. "The last time we visited, he wanted to get you and Mademoiselle Lila alone, possibly as a way to get to know one another. And you've mentioned that he keeps badgering you about taking a wife."

"So, why technically?" Nino asked, giving Adrien a pressing stare.

"Remember that stop we made in Cherbourg?" Adrien muttered through grit teeth.

"Yeaaah?" Nino raised a brow as he said the word slowly. "We actually played a good little merchant ship and picked up those trade goods for your daddy dearest."

"Right, so he knew we would be there ahead of time." Adrien’s gaze hardened as he stared at a place slightly above the flickering campfire. "He sent a message there to 'surprise' me with the news that he had discussed some things with Mlle. Rossi, and she's thrilled to accept the marriage arrangements. You know!" He threw his hands up. "The ones he told me absolutely nothing about before making the decision himself!"

"That bastard," Nino growled, slamming his bottle against the sand. "Got you in a spot where you couldn't reject it."

“Complicates things a bit.” Alix folded her arms over her chest, then immediately dropped them from her wet shirt.

“Very much.” Adrien sighed before giving her a sideways look. “Speaking of complications, did you find my charm?”

“Uh…” Alix pointed to the beach where Kim was striding up through the waves with his soggy shirt in hand. “Maybe ask Kim?”

“No luck.” Kim shrugged as he stepped up next to Alix. “Sorry, Captain.”

Adrien didn’t say anything to that, instead, he fell sideways onto the sand with a loud groan.

“I know this may be the last thing you want to talk about,” Nino began. “But I’m a bit curious to hear more about this fiancée of yours.” He gave Adrien a sly look. “Do you think she's hot?”

Adrien immediately glowered at him. “Really?”

“Hey,” Nino shrugged. “It’ll help with the marriage if she’s easy on the eyes.”

“From what I saw, her skin tone and facial structure give her an attractive aesthetic,” Max answered, while Markov provided a sharp wolf-whistle for his own appraisal. "And I believe she is of Italian descent."

"Exotic," Kim said while Alix just made a face.

“You guys are terrible,” Adrien groaned. “I guess she is? I didn’t look at her like that .”

“Blinded by your true lady-love?” Nino smirked before taking a swig from his bottle, which surprisingly had not shattered after getting slammed to the ground.

“I knew what my father was trying to do and I wasn't interested,” Adrien said, closing his eyes and propping his hands beneath his head. “All I know is that her parents died in an accident, and she has no siblings or cousins to speak of.”

Adrien paused, recalling a moment on their tour when Lila had shown him some of her own things that she had brought with her. She was very proud, to say the least, to show off her impressive collection of maps. According to her, they had all either been passed down through her family, or were ones she made herself. “And she’s a surprisingly skilled cartographer.”

“Perks,” Kim hummed. “She’s loaded.”

"And how do you figure that?" Alix turned and glared at him.

Max answered before Kim could open his mouth, "If Gabriel Agreste condones her marrying his son, then it is highly likely that she inherited a substantial estate when her parents passed. And seeing as how she has no other relatives to share with or split between, it is only natural that their entire wealth has become hers."

“I don’t need money!” Adrien fumed, popping up onto his elbows to glare at his friends. “I’d only met her once before my father dropped it on me that he wants me to marry her!”

"Alright!" Alix massaged her forehead as if she might have been consoling a headache. "But this girl? She isn't okay with this, right?"

Adrien hesitated. “She seems… happy with it?" He continued explaining at Alix's bewildered look, "There was a short letter from her included in the message, and it doesn't feel like the words of a girl that just became a grieving orphan. She might just be excited... Like getting a new family... In a way.” He ran a hand through his hair, letting out a heavy sigh. “She’s already been through enough, losing her parents like that. I don't know if I have the heart to tell her I’m in love with someone else.”

“With all due respect, Cap,” Alix started. “You shouldn’t let her believe that for too long, because if she gets attached, then there will be no wrath like her’s when you finally let her down.”

"None too sure about that, Alix." Nino chuckled. “Not all girls are like you.”

“Shut up!” Alix snapped.

Their conversation devolved into laughter and idle chatter as the day waned on, eventually turning to dusk when the sky darkened. The clouds above them burned black and orange, mirroring the embers of the low campfire that smoldered into charred coals. Adrien remained by the dying fire as the rest of his crew slowly retreated to the ship, until he was the only one left. He reassured Nino that he didn’t have to stay awake to return the dinghy for him, but after his first mate had disappeared onto the ship, quiet music eventually drifted from above. Adrien smirked, knowing that Nino had ignored him about heading to sleep without him.

After a moment of listening and humming along, Adrien stood and shuffled purposefully along the sand, finding his feet moving in tune to the music and chuckling to himself despite the turmoil of his thoughts.

Kim tried searching in the water again before heading back on board, but the charm was nowhere to be seen.

“I can’t believe I lost it…” Adrien muttered as he climbed out onto the rocky path that jutted into the cove, its surface almost invisible against the shadow of the calm waters.

He dropped to the rocks and settled there in the middle of the bay, the darkness of the ocean only disrupted by the brilliant flecks of stars painting the sky. If his charm hadn't washed up on shore, then it was likely long gone by now.

‘It’s my good-luck charm,’ a soft voice rang through his head at the memory. He closed his eyes, visualizing the playful smile that alighted her lips when Marinette had placed the beads against his palm and winked. ‘You should try it for yourself.'

I wonder if she still has the one I gave her… Adrien mused to himself, trying to avoid a darker thought that skirted the edge of his mind. Regardless of his efforts to escape it, it came unbidden, and he hated himself for it.

She couldn't still have it if she's gone.

He almost growled out loud in his frustration, but paused when he heard a soft splash from nearby. Peeking out through one of his eyelids, he saw a flash of movement in the water, something that shimmered beneath the glow of the moon.

Though he hadn’t moved an inch, Adrien stilled himself, not wanting to scare whatever it was. He was always fascinated by any sea life—especially dolphins. He excitedly hoped it was a dolphin. He held a particular respect for them, and they were lively creatures, always happy to entertain. No matter what kind of day he’d been having, it was always a good one when he could watch the dolphins dive and dance about the wake of the ship while they were traveling.

The water made no sound as something silently breached the surface, and his eyes widened in shock at what appeared to be a small figure floating in the waves.

I'm seeing things, he thought, because he knew that what he was looking at couldn't have been real. A trick of the light perhaps, or a mistaken shape in the water's reflection.

Otherwise, he had no explanation for the vision that swam before him, dark strands of hair pooling in gentle waves along her back, shining almost blue in the moonlight. Her pale skin appeared to glimmer from flecks of pearlescent scales scattered like freckles across her shoulders.

And then she spun around, and he knew that he was dreaming.

Her piercing eyes scanned the water as if she were searching for something below the waves. Before his brain could comprehend just what he was seeing, she dove beneath the surface, stirring up a gentle spray with a flick of her red tail fin.

A mermaid?

Had he actually seen a mermaid?

And not just some random, run-of-the-mill wives' tale come to life. This one looked to be the spitting image of his missing friend.

Which... made sense, if he remembered the stories. Didn't mermaids use illusions and trickery to lure sailors in before drowning them? Then again, this particular creature—if it wasn't just a hallucination—hadn't appeared remotely interested in him or even aware that he'd been there.

Adrien shook his head before rubbing his eyes. It had to have been some kind of side effect... He knew Kim shouldn't have used that much alcohol to disinfect his wound. Drunk through skin contact... Was that a thing?

His attention focused on the waves again as she splashed back to the surface, scrubbing any doubt from his mind that what he saw might have been his wild imagination. She still hadn't noticed him, his dark clothes most likely blending into the rocks that he huddled against. But thanks to his mask, he could see her almost clear as day. Those familiar bluebell eyes intently focused on a tiny object in her hand, with her mouth pulled down in a small frown as she squinted at it.

Then she lifted her arm out of the water, holding up the very charm bracelet that he had lost earlier in the day, turning it about in the faint moonlight to see it better. That was when a glint of something on her wrist caught his eye, and it suddenly felt as if his breath had caught in his throat.

His charm. She was wearing his charm; the one that he had crafted for Marinette shortly after she generously gifted him the one that she had made. He valued the gesture so much, he'd wanted to give her something equally special in return.

"Marinette...?"

His voice was barely a whisper, but the girl froze, her head whipping around to finally focus on his dark form hunched by the rocks. Her eyes widened with fear as she stared at him.

He hadn't expected that kind of expression, but it stirred within him a longing to console her,  to reassure her that he wasn't a stranger. Why was there no recognition in her eyes? It had to be her... right?

He shifted his foot, trying to make a subtle movement, but she flinched, and before he could react, she dove beneath the waves.

"Wait—! Marinette!" He jumped up, ignoring the stinging protest from his wound, his eyes searching the dark water for any signs of her. Damn she was fast! He hadn't even gotten to his feet and he could clearly see that she was already gone.

"Shit!" He pounded his fist against the rocks, gritting his teeth as he tried to collect his thoughts and calm down. Marinette... That was Marinette, wasn't it?

"Oy!"

Adrien lifted his gaze toward the ship, spotting Nino leaning over the railing with a lantern in his hand. "You alright down there, Captain?"

"Nino!" Adrien jumped up and waved his arms over his head. "I need to come aboard!"

It didn't take long for Nino to bring out the dinghy and ferry him back onto the ship, and he wasted no time dashing about to gather up his small crew for an impromptu meeting on the deck. Kim made a show of letting out a loud yawn as he leaned against the railing while the others stood close by.

"So what's this about, Captain?" Alix asked with a bit of impatience in her tone. It wasn't too late, but considering all the repairs they'd had to work on, it had been a long day for everyone.

Adrien stood before them silently, his hand resting on his chin as he wondered if he should try to explain. Where did he begin with such a tale? Surely they wouldn't believe him on either account. 'Marinette is a mermaid,' certainly wasn't a good way to start.

Despite all his doubts, he decided to get straight to the point. "I saw Marinette."

Kim slipped off the railing in the middle of another yawn, while Alix simply stared back at him with a stunned look. Max actually knocked his own glasses off, but Markov luckily struck out fast enough to catch them in his beak. Nino's jaw just seemed to drop open and flounder for a moment before he found his words.

"Did you say, 'Marinette?'" Nino's eyes quickly flicked around the deck, then back to Adrien. "Marinette, Marinette? As in, our Marinette?"

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold it!" Alix waved her hands in front of her. "You saw Marinette? Out here? On a deserted island in the middle of the ocean?"

"Where is she now?" Kim asked, his voice a bit calmer than the others. It was almost as if he wasn't surprised by the news at all.

"Uh..." Adrien hesitated. "She... swam away."

His friends were quiet until Max leaned forward and adjusted his glasses back onto his face, wearing a skeptical look. "How much have you had to drink?"

"I haven't been drinking!" Adrien threw up his hands and started pacing across the deck in front of his gathered crew. "She was here! Out there! I saw her swim away because—" He stopped and let out a heavy sigh. "Look, I know this is going to sound crazy but she..." He turned to face them with the most serious look he could muster. "She was a mermaid."

"Alright!" Nino pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "I think we've had a pretty tiring week, what with those rogues from the cay and narrowly escaping Hardrock herself." He swung his arms around and motioned toward the cabin door. "I think we all need a long night of proper rest, right?"

"Nino," Adrien growled. "I'm not sleep-deprived." He pointed to the mask he wore on his own face. "I know what I saw! And I know it sounds crazy—"

"Not that crazy, actually," Kim spoke up, and Adrien stopped to stare at him. "It makes sense that she swam away, since she's a mermaid and all."

"That's it. I'm done!" Nino stood up with his arms in the air. "I'm too tired for this kind of mess!"

"Are you saying you believe the captain's story, Kim?" Max asked.

"Of course!" Kim turned to them with a perplexed expression. "Hard to deny when I saw a pair of mermaids myself as I was looking for the captain's charm this afternoon."

Silence fell between them all as everyone seemed to process that. The sound of Nino's retreating footsteps had even stopped. Adrien eventually broke the stillness, his voice practically growling. "Kim... Why didn't you mention this before?"

"Well, duh!" He shrugged his shoulders with a shake of his head. "None of you would have believed me. But now that Adrien's seen them too, it means that what I saw was real!"

A sharp, 'pap!' sounded through the night as Alix slapped her forehead. "You're such a doofus!"

"It is highly unlikely that both Adrien and Kim would imagine seeing the same hallucination, even with Kim's excessive drinking factored in," Max mused softly.

"And, it would make sense as to why we haven't seen her after all this time," Adrien added, pacing up the deck again. "She's a mermaid." He paused at that, scratching his scalp before crossing his arms over his chest. "How is it possible for humans to become mermaids? What am I even asking..."

"I don't know anything about all that superstitious monster stuff, so I wouldn't know." Nino leaned back against the railing with a sigh.

"Marinette is not a monster." Adrien spun around to glare at him, and Nino lifted his hands in front of him.

"No, no she's not," Nino agreed before holding up a finger. "So the question is this: If you saw Marinette, then why did she swim away?"

"Well," Kim shrugged. "The only way to meet a mermaid is to catch one, because they don't trust humans."

"Of course." Nino's head fell into his open palm. "Makes perfect sense if it wasn't her, because why wouldn't she trust Adrien?"

"He's wearing a mask!" Kim rolled his eyes. "She obviously didn't recognize him."

"Why am I even having this conversation!?" Nino suddenly jumped up. "This is all crazy! Alix!" He stabbed his finger her way. "You agree with me, right?"

Alix tilted her head with an odd look, but then shrugged. "It's the best lead we've had so far."

"I'm going to bed!" Nino suddenly shouted, stomping off toward the cabins. "Wake me up when you've all slept off your drunk hallucinations, or cabin fever or... whatever this is."

Adrien turned back to the rest of his crew while Nino disappeared below deck. "You guys believe me?"

"'Believe' is a strong word." Alix gestured with her fingers to make air quotes. "But I mostly want to see if you and Kim are telling the truth or just spouting a load of bull."

Max's eyes gleamed curiously. "It is not outside the realm of scientific plausibility."

"I want to see a mermaid!" Markov screeched, earning a scratch on the head from Max.

"Okay." Adrien clapped his hands together. "Then we don't want to cause a commotion and scare her off like I did. We need a gentle approach."

"I could repurpose the harpoon guns for nets?" Max offered, rubbing his chin.

"What? No! You call that 'gentle!?'" Adrien immediately shouted. "No harpoon guns! Re-purposed or not! She's not a... a fish!"

"It could be a last resort," Alix tried, although with the frown she wore, it looked like she didn't really agree with that plan either. "If this is Marinette, she didn't want to stick around for some reason."

"She came into shore with a purpose..." Adrien leaned against the railing, recalling how she had found his charm. Had she recognized it?

Hold on. He suddenly perked up at a realization. Did she swim into the cove just to find it? So she saw when I lost the charm. That means she's been watching us since this afternoon?

"I think you're right, Kim." He turned to his friend with a grin. "She might not have recognized me with my mask or seen me well enough in the darkness, which is why we should try again in the morning." Adrien turned his head to look out over the dark water. "I have a feeling she'll come back."

They spent a few more hours discussing a plan while Max headed straight to his workshop to alter the small harpoon guns kept in one of the holds below. Adrien didn't like the idea of trying to capture her, but he also didn't want to take the risk of losing her again.

After coming up with patrol routes and ways to effectively sneak up on mermaids, they all eventually retired to their cabins, Adrien unable to get to sleep with the excited hum that buzzed through his thoughts. Saying that he looked forward to the next day was an understatement. So many months had passed, and now he’d finally caught a glimpse of her. He was also closer to finding out what happened to her, but more than anything, he simply yearned to see her again.

That day, eight months ago, Marinette was supposed to have left on a simple trip. He had been devastated when news eventually came back that she had fallen overboard in a storm and… been lost at sea.

It had hit him so painfully, when he thought he'd never see her again. He would never hear her soft voice, the chime of her laughter, or witness the way she always stuttered so nervously around him. He couldn’t see that her kindness and gifts were anything more than just friendship. In his defense, any time he asked, she'd always denied that she felt there might be something more between them.

But it took losing her to understand the feelings behind every gesture and moment that he had spent with her, and despite not knowing what it was, he had only fully realized it when it was too late.

He hadn't understood how much he loved her until she was gone.

Chapter Text

Marinette sped through the dark water, heart pounding against her ribs while she clutched the small charm close to her chest.

He knows my name. The thought repeated endlessly through her head as if stuck in a whirlpool, her mind unable to get past that initial shock. How does a human know my name!?

"Woah, girl!" Alya appeared out of the darkness as she swam forward with her arms up, a concerned expression on her face. "What's wrong?" Her eyes flitted over Marinette's shoulder, searching the depth as if something might appear there. "You're not being chased, are you?"

"He saw me!" Marinette cried out, her voice cracking in panic. "A-and he knew my name! Alya, he knows me!"

"Alright, slow down," Alya instructed, her voice soft and calm. "Just take deep breaths." She laid her hands over Marinette's shoulders. The gentle touch and her friend's reassurance seemed to work, taking a bit of the edge off of Marinette's confusion. Soon enough, her rapid pulse had returned to a reasonable rhythm.

"So, start from the beginning?" Alya asked softly. "Who saw you?"

"The... The man from the boat. The one with the mask?" Marinette's voice came out a bit less rattled, even if she did hesitate with her explanation. "I didn't notice that he was sitting on the rocks in the bay. I couldn't see him in the dark until he... he called to me."

"Is that when he...?" Alya's eyes widened. "So he somehow knows your name? "

Marinette nodded before moving her clasped hands away from her chest, opening them slowly to reveal the charm band nestled within. Alya's gaze moved over it and narrowed as she stared. Marinette whispered, "This is what he dropped."

"They look similar," Alya mumbled as her eyes flicked up to the side, and Marinette followed her friend's gaze to her own charm. "That can't be a coincidence, unless you two somehow got them from the same place. But even so..."

"I don't remember where mine came from." Marinette fidgeted nervously while she stared at it, trying to will the memory into place. But the harder she tried, the more her head ached with an odd sensation. Something thrashed in the back of her mind, almost as if fighting her.

Alya suddenly sighed, snapping Marinette out of her trance. "Then I'll have to help you to investigate. Though it will have to wait until morning. They're probably all asleep by now."

"Really?" Marinette squeaked before slumping over in the water. "We're not going to spy on them again, are we?"

"Nope," Alya answered with a mischievous grin. "I'm going to talk with them."

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

The sun shone brightly while Nino whittled at a twig of driftwood that he found. While the others hiked off across the island to see if they could spot the supposed 'mermaids,' he chose to remain on the beach near the ship. Adrien thought it was a good idea in case they returned, but Nino simply didn't want to waste the whole day traipsing about, searching for creatures of legends and tall tales.

As he cut off another shaving of wood, the waves lapped against the sand and quickly sped towards his bare feet where he sat. He had no worry of them reaching him though, because he had chosen a spot just up the shore, far enough away to keep himself dry.

So when a tall wave suddenly crashed and licked at his heels, Nino jumped back and dropped his knife, gaze shooting to the sea to find a mound of bubbles foaming in the surf.

Nino blinked to clear his vision, because he swore he saw a shape moving up out of the water. He lifted a hand to rub at his eyes, and when he opened them, he jerked back, shocked to find a very odd... yet... pleasant sight sitting before him.

Coppery hair hung over the woman's shoulders in wavy lengths, brown skin almost seeming to glow in the sunlight. At first glance, she appeared to be a normal human. But... no. She was anything but normal.

It took his brain a moment to process that she wasn't actually wearing any clothes. The pearlescent scales over her chest might have first looked like undergarments to him, as they covered the more 'sensitive' areas of her figure. His curious eyes trailed down to her hips, where a golden tail eventually tapered to a point and transparent fins curled above the surf.

Nino's mouth fell open, but no words came to him.

"Hey there." A playful smirk tugged at her lips as she spoke. "Would you be willing to have a chat? I've got a few questions."

"D-do you?" Nino's voice cracked out about an octave higher than normal, and he turned his head to clear his throat. "Well, uh... Sure? I can oblige that." He nodded dumbly, thinking it was ironic. He had about ten million questions trying to fight to the forefront of his mind about her.

"I appreciate it." Her eyes traveled over him slowly, and Nino subtly tried to sit up straighter. "But first," she said, pointing a slim finger above his shoulder. "Is that going to be a problem?"

"What?" Nino took a second to look back, noting the harpoon-gun-turned-net-launcher and quickly raised his hands. "Nope! No, that's... that's for fishing. Not for mermaids." He slung the weapon off and tossed it as far as he could down the beach. It hit the sand with a muted thunk as he leaned forward with a grin. "Though you do appear to be quite the catch."

The words left his lips before he could stop them, and Nino mentally kicked himself even as he gave her a wink. He had been stuck for far too long with Adrien on that boat. Just as he feared, the mermaid didn't appear amused. She crossed her arms over her chest and raised a single eyebrow above the stern frown she gave him.

The expression was just so... so normal and human, that it took away a bit of the edge to his nerves. "Err..." he brilliantly started. "You had some questions?"

"Right." She unfolded her arms and leaned forward. Nino instinctively tilted away, eyes glancing to the side nervously. "There was another human with you that apparently recognized a friend of mine. He somehow knew her name."

"Her name?" Nino parroted back, and a thought occurred to him. "Actually, wait, before that." He raised his hands apologetically. "I wouldn't mind introducing myself first." His eyes flicked up to hers, and when she didn't answer, he offered his hand. "Name's Nino. Nino Lahiffe. I've never met any mermaids before." 

She eyed his hand warily before looking up with a curious frown. "Alya."

Nino dropped his arm with a bit of a pout, but seeing as how she lived in the ocean, maybe she just didn't know standard customs. He glanced around her, eyeing the waves, but she had obviously come alone. "So, your friend. Her name's Marinette?"

"Your companion somehow knew her." Alya tilted her head. "And I'm here to protect her, depending on how you answer my questions." Without giving him any chance to respond, she leaned forward and rested a hand on her hip. "Are you pirates?"

Nino's eyes flicked away, uncertain with how to answer that. Technically, the Spanish considered them as such, but back home, they were nothing less than heroes to the people and excellent privateers as far as the government was concerned.

"Well, uh... That depends on who you ask?" He realized his mistake when he noticed her gaze narrow. "But we definitely aren't! We don't kill innocent people or... or kidnap mermaids or anything like that." He jerked a thumb toward his chest and gave her a cocky smile. "We're actually proper heroes in our hometown of France. Mostly used to saving abducted children and pretty maidens."

"Okaaay..." Alya didn't look impressed, though her icy gaze seemed to defrost just a little. "So how does your friend know mine?"

"He’s been searching for her," Nino quickly started. "She disappeared eight months ago—so almost a year now?"

At this bit of information, Alya's expression changed to a look of surprise. He continued on before she could interject. "He saw Marinette last night in the bay, and he recognized her charm because it's the one he gave her."

"So they really did meet before?" Alya frowned and bit at her lip, leaning her head on her palm and drumming her fingers over her cheek.

Nino hummed thoughtfully, sensing something off about that. "Uh... Shouldn't she already know that though?"

"No..." Alya's voice seemed hesitant as she answered, giving him a sideways glance. "She doesn't have any memories of meeting him." Nino stiffened when her gaze focused back on him. "Which leads me to my next question: Why are you searching for her?"

"Why else?" Nino relaxed with a chuckle. "Most of us grew up together, so we're all friends. Marinette and him were even close as kids." And maybe a bit more than that now, at least for Adrien, he thought.

"What, like a pod?" Alya raised a brow. "You're telling me that a bunch of human children found a mermaid and made friends with her without any problems?"

"No, no, that's not it." Nino waved his hands with a shake of his head before looking back up. "It gets a bit weird. The Marinette we know is—was... human."

There was a slight pause in which the only sound was the gentle toss of waves spilling out over the shore. Alya's wide eyes locked onto his for a moment before she seemed to shake out of her surprise. "What you're saying isn't possible, then. Marinette is a mermaid, so she can't be the same girl you're looking for."

Nino laughed at that. "Seriously? I'm talking to you aren't I?" She made a face at that, and he quickly tried to back-track. "Two minutes ago, I didn't think mermaids were even real! Now, though? I can't really question the scenario of a human suddenly turning up as one months after her own disappearance."

"Okay, another question." Alya raised a single finger before pointing it at him. "How did your Marinette disappear?"

Nino leaned back with a sigh. "She was going off to live with relatives of hers for a bit. She's got a cousin that works with silk, and she wanted to apprentice with her to learn better tricks of the trade." Nino winked and added, "Girl's a natural talent. But anyway, on the trip there, the ship ran into a bad hurricane and she fell overboard." His expression darkened as he remembered the day the news broke. "There wasn't much chance she'd survived, but our Captain refused to believe she was gone, so we've all been looking for her since."

Her brows furrowed, and Nino thought she looked slightly distraught by that before her expression shifted and she asked, "Can humans drown?"

Nino blinked back at her. "Uh... yea? I mean, we don't breathe under—oh, wait! I see. It makes sense why you wouldn't know that." He scratched his head as his gaze flicked to her neck. "Do you guys have gills like fish or is it magic or something?"

"Inherent magical ability," Alya answered, much to his surprise. "So you can't 'drown' us with air or anything."

"Duly noted." Nino then tilted forward, fixing a serious look on his face. "So, now that it looks like I've answered your questions, how about you consider another one of mine? Is there any possibility that your Marinette is the same as ours? Cause, according to our Captain, she's a dead ringer. Plus, she's wearing my boy's charm."

Alya pursed her lips. "It... might be possible."

"How long ago did she lose her memory?" Nino asked, a thought suddenly occurring to him. "If it's along the same time-frame..." he trailed off.

She was quiet for a moment, possibly thinking before she softly grunted. "About two seasons ago." She held up her hands, displaying eight fingers. "If your ‘months’ are anything like the moon phases, then it’s been eight since I found her, and when we met, she had already lost her memories. She wasn't alone for very long before that."

"’Moon phases?’ Like new moons? Then that would make it around the same time," he murmured. "But how did she—"

Both of them must have been too focused on their conversation, because Nino didn't even notice Kim charging down the beach until the harpoon gun went off. The net unfurled past his vision with a snap and quickly collided with the mermaid before him.

Rather than getting caught, however, she simply disintegrated into a bubbling mess of seafoam.

"Wh... What the—!?" Nino sputtered in horror before spinning around with a glare, his eyes blazing as they landed on his idiot of a friend that at least had the decency to look mortified. "KIM!!! What the hell was that!?!"

"I-I didn't mean to kill her!!!" Kim wailed, dropping the net gun into the sand at his feet.

"We were having a conversation!" Nino angrily shouted right as Max and Alix jogged up at all the commotion. Markov must have been watching from the sky and alerted them, because the parrot shortly landed on Max's shoulder, squawking excitedly about mermaids and bubbles.

"That was... much more effective than I anticipated," Max said breathlessly as he leaned forward on his knees. "But I believe the foam was merely an illusion."

Nino calmed down a bit as Max's words sank in. "Wait... She wasn't real?"

"What's going on!?" Nino heard Adrien's voice shout from far off. Moment's later, with a crashing of leaves and bushes, he finally burst out onto the sandy beach. His Chat Noir mask had been stowed in his jacket, all of them agreeing that if he ran into Marinette again, she wouldn't swim away if she could easily recognize him. He panted as he jogged up. "I heard screaming?"

Nino pointed accusingly at his offending crewmate as he yelled, "Kim scared away the mermaid!" 

"Mermaid?" Adrien froze in his tracks before them, his hand clutching his side where his wound was. Nino suspected he might have set it bleeding again with all his running. "You saw Marinette?"

"No, but she knows Marinette." Nino sent another glare Kim's way. "And Kim turned her into seafoam in the middle of my finding out!"

"What!?" Adrien yelped as he spun toward Kim.

"She's not dead!" Kim cried. "Max said it was magic!"

"She is alive," Max reassured everyone before turning to Nino. "Did you happen to get any useful information from her before Kim ruined everything?"

"Plenty." Nino nodded, clearing his throat to drown out Kim's indignant whine. "From what I heard, I'm pretty sure mermaid-Marinette is our Marinette."

"How do you know?" Adrien's voice was quiet, sounding hopeful.

"She doesn't have any memories from eight months ago. Lost them around the same time our girl disappeared." Nino rubbed his chin, recalling the important details. "I talked with Alya for a good while before Kim interrupted us."

"Alya, huh?" Alix asked with a playful grin.

"Alix, I swear..." Nino muttered.

"Well," Max started. "Now that Kim's scared them off, there is zero chance they'll be coming back to this beach."

"Ugh." Adrien slumped down against the sand, dropping his head in his hands. "Why is my luck so rotten when it comes to finding her?"

"No worries, mate." Nino patted his shoulder reassuringly. "If I know Marinette—and I do—then there's no way she can stay away from you for very long."

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

"Alya, are you alright?" Marinette asked with concern.

"I'm fine," Alya answered with an angry frown, looking anything but fine with her hands stretched out in front of her, tiny bubbles fizzing through the water from her fingertips. "They just interrupted my magic."

"Okay, good. Well then, that could have gone better." Marinette slumped her shoulders as she floated next to Alya out in the cove. They were hidden at a safe distance from where Alya's illusion-self had conversed with the man named Nino.

"I think things are starting to come together, though," Alya said with a smile. "So one of them took me by surprise and tried to attack my spell. That doesn't mean they're all bad." She averted her eyes as she added softly, "That Nino guy seems alright. Weird, but alright."

"And he knew about my charm, right?" Marinette lifted her wrist to point to the bracelet in question, her tailfin jittering with her nerves. "They know who I am! Where I came from!"

"But he said you used to be human?" Alya tilted her head as she pursed her lips. "It's not that I believe it's impossible..." she mumbled as her voice faded.

"I think... I think I believe him," Marinette answered, wrapping her arms around herself. "I just have this feeling, Alya... It started yesterday when we first saw them, and since then it's just been growing..."

Alya looked at her with a frown. "It isn't just your headache?"

"No." Marinette pouted. "Although that hasn't gotten any better." Her eyes darted to the side. "Maybe... Maybe Tikki would know something. We should tell her what we found out."

"That... That might be our only option." Alya's eyes widened with what might have been fear as she pointed over her shoulder, but Marinette didn't get a chance to turn before she heard the stern voice shout at them.

"Tell me what?"

Marinette spun around to watch Tikki approach with Rose following close behind. "What have you two been up to?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Alya quickly answered, waving her hands wildly as Tikki stopped in front of them and crossed her arms over her chest. She didn't look convinced that they were doing 'nothing.' "Just dealing with the hurricane's mess!"

"Really?" Tikki arched a curious brow, staring at them with an intense, scrutinizing gaze. Marinette felt herself wither beneath it. "You've been gone the whole day trying to clean the beach?" She tilted forward. "It has nothing to do with the pirate ship docked at the island?"

"Oh dear," Rose whispered beneath her hands.

"W-wait! They're not pirates!" Marinette blurted in a rush. "AAH—I mean—we haven't gone—uh, that close! And we definitely haven't talked with them!"

Alya groaned softly, hiding her face as she shook her head.

"You spoke with them?" Tikki asked with widening eyes, and Marinette 'eeped' as she winced. The water shuddered with Tikki's rising voice. "I've told you how dangerous it is to approach humans! Let alone pirates!"

"T-they're not pirates!" Marinette repeated. "And one of them knows me!" Alya's hands made a slicing motion through the water in the corner of Marinette's vision, but caught up in her panic, she kept going. "A-and he looked familiar to me, like we'd met before! Even though he was wearing a mask!"

Rather than Tikki getting angrier, as she feared, their matriarch appeared to immediately deflate with a surprised look. "A mask?" She furrowed her brow. "Did he have black cat ears as well?"

The question caught Marinette off-guard, and she stared silently at Tikki until she cleared her throat. "Oh-uh... Y-yes? The mask was black. A-and his eyes..." Marinette trailed off as she remembered them. "They didn't look like normal eyes."

Something unusual seemed to pass through Tikki's expression, but as quickly as Marinette spotted it, it was gone. "How exactly did you meet him?" Tikki asked more calmly.

"We... didn't really." Marinette hesitated before continuing. "Not intentionally, anyway. I was in the cove looking for something he dropped. We waited until night so they wouldn't see us, but somehow... he still spotted me. He was even able to recognize me." She brought forward the charm she had found in the bay, holding it up alongside her own. "I was looking for this... They look so much alike. A-and he knew my name."

Tikki pursed her lips, her eyes flicking between the two charms. She eventually reached out and placed her hand over Marinette's. "I think I would like to meet him myself."

"What!?" Alya's startled yelp mirrored all of their reactions as Marinette's jaw dropped open.

"Oooh! We're going to meet humans?" Rose excitedly cried.

"B-but you're always telling us how dangerous they are!" Marinette only managed to stutter when she finally found her voice again. "Why would you suddenly want to meet one?"

"Apart from the fact that he knows who you are?" Tikki mused softly, a soft smile pulling at her lips. "Or at least, he appears to." She picked the charm bracelet out of Marinette's hands and turned it slowly, as if appraising it. "And these are too similar to deny that there's a deeper connection."

"Really?" Alya frowned. "Because of some jewelry?"

"That, yes." Tikki nodded. "But mostly because, of all the humans that I believe are dangerous in this world, there is one exception." She placed the man's charm gently back into Marinette's hands. "The chances that you've met him, out of all people, are phenomenally small, but still possible."

Alya and Marinette exchanged a confused glance before Alya slowly asked, "And what makes this human so different?"

"He's a hero," Tikki answered with a smile. "A legend among humans, so well-renowned that we occasionally hear tales of him down in the sea." She tapped the space between her own eyes. "Chat Noir wears a mask to hide his true identity, taking down pirates and protecting innocents that cannot defend themselves."

"Okay," Alya said with a curious look. "So... you meet him, and then what? If he is the Chat Noir, what do we do?"

"Well, you wanted to know more about him, right?" Tikki laid her hand over Marinette's shoulder, and she couldn't help but look a little guilty at wanting to hide the truth earlier. "If this human that knows you really is the legendary hero, then we'll all be able to speak with him soon enough."

Chapter Text

"We've fff-hound her Nino! Finally did!" Adrien ranted as he wobbled over the deck, waving an empty bottle above his head. "No doubt that shesh definitely Marinette!"

Adrien had his back to Nino, but he could practically hear his friend's eyes roll when he spoke. "How do you figure that, mate?"

He spun around and almost lost his balance, but grabbed onto the railing at the last second to catch himself and pointed in Nino's direction. "Why else would life shee fit to keep me from her when we just manage to find her!" Adrien continued his raving, even as he stumbled toward his friend. "Eight montsh!" he slurred. "Eight! I almost gave up! And no wonder it took so long to find her!" He jabbed his drink at Nino. "She's grown fins! She's probably been swimmin' all around us!"

Adrien paused a moment to take another swig from his bottle, only to stare at it blankly when he realized the glass was empty. Had he really drunk all that rum in so little time? But he couldn't see through the darkness anymore, because last time he checked, the sun had still been out.

"You know," Nino started. "There's no such thing as too much rum." He lifted himself and strolled closer, catching a hold of Adrien's shirt before he could completely topple over. "Pirates, privateers, merchants... Drinking is simply a staple of being out on the sea." Nino then pointed a finger in Adrien's face, and he crossed his eyes to focus on it. "But you, my friend, have had too much rum."

"Nonsense." Adrien knocked his hand away. "Kim's had more than me."

"And he's blackout drunk in the galley." Nino frowned, pulling Adrien's arm around his shoulders. "Not exactly prime condition for searching for Marinette, right?"

Adrien paused at this, seeing a bit of reason behind those words while Nino directed him toward the cabins. If he couldn't think straight, then he very well couldn't use his wits to find her again. "Right... right..." he mumbled, half-coherently. "We need a plan."

"You can come up with one in the morning." Nino patted his shoulder as they moved through the door and carefully stepped down the short entryway that led to Adrien's room. "Once you get over your hangover, that is."

Adrien let out a quick bark of laughter. "I won't get a hangover!" Nino opened the door for him, and Adrien swung his arm out, the momentum carrying him into his quarters with a surprisingly graceful spin. He even managed to pull himself into what he thought was a heroic stance. "I am Chat Noir! Hero of the seas! Drinker of rum!"

"Is that who you are?" Nino chuckled as he leaned against the door frame.

"I can out-drink any captain worth his barnacles in sea-spit," he boasted confidently and definitely not at all impaired by his drunken state.

"Sure, sure, whatever that means." Nino waved his hand, not sounding too convinced, but before Adrien could voice any arguments, Nino turned on his heel. "You can prove that if you wake up without a hangover."

"Ha! Yeah." Adrien flopped back onto the bed, feeling woozy. "I'll show you, turtle-head."

Adrien did not, in fact, 'show him.' Because when morning finally came, he woke up to an ungodly nausea churning in his stomach. He barely made it to the bucket in his room before he lost the entirety of his previous meal.

"Is that the tune of a hangover, I hear?" Nino's voice drifted through the door before it swung open, his cheerful face peeking through.

"You're chipper," Adrien grumbled, dragging a hand through his hair as he hunched over the pail on the floor.

"Just celebrating the bet you lost." Nino grinned.

Adrien blinked slowly, the gears in his head squeaking with rust as he tried to recall exactly what he had done in his drunken stupor. "I don't remember making a bet."

"No one ever does," Nino sang a little too happily. Adrien would have to remember to ask the crew if any of them had witnessed the so-called ‘bet.’ "You gonna hang around here to recover, or do you wanna join everyone on the island?"

"What's everyone else doing?" Adrien asked while rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

Nino pushed the door open wider and strolled inside. "Kim's managed to catch breakfast, despite nursing his own hangover, while Alix is searching the beaches on her own." Nino shrugged at the questioning face Adrien made. "She figures Marinette might be a little less scared to approach her. Never heard any stories about mermen, right?" He then jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "And Max has Markov flying above the island to see if he can spot anything, but last I saw, he was exploring some river in the forest."

"Ugh." Adrien ran a hand down his face, wincing from the pounding headache at his temples. "Do we have anything that isn't alcoholic? I need water."

"Can you stomach any food?" Nino asked as he moved out into the hall, Adrien standing and carefully stepping after him. "We've got bread that hasn't gone stale yet if you need something light."

Adrien tried a few remedies to recover as swiftly as possible, but despite the immunity he had built up to the effects of alcohol over his time sailing, it still took too long before he felt well enough to join Nino on the dinghy and make their way toward shore. When they arrived, Kim was nowhere to be seen, even though Nino had told him he would be cooking by the campfire.

Nino made an irritated sound in his throat as he jumped out of the row boat and waved his hands toward the empty camp. "It's like dealing with a bunch of toddlers. Can none of you hold your rum?" Nino jabbed a finger at the ground, shooting Adrien a stern look as he stumbled toward the firepit and eased himself against the sand. "Stay here! I'm gonna make sure Kim's not fallen off a cliff somewhere."

"Right. Yes. Sure," Adrien muttered, covering his eyes against the unforgiving glare of the sun. He probably would have shown a bit more concern if it didn't feel like the light was trying to repeatedly smash him over the head with a giant rock. "No worries, I'm not moving."

With those assurances, Nino ran off, leaving Adrien to stew alone on the beach. Though he didn't feel like getting up at all, his legs jittered with the need to do something more than just sit idly by while his crew did all the work. Thoughts of Marinette kept popping into his brain, prodding him into action before the nausea would slap that idea away, and he'd slump back to the ground like a useless doll.

Eventually, he was struck with the urge to relieve himself; a consequence of drinking all that water to try and drown out the effects of the hangover. While a part of Adrien didn't care where he picked a spot to pee, the sound of the waves crashing into the nearby shore suddenly reminded him of just how close he was to the ocean.

An ocean where Marinette was currently swimming in and possibly watching him.

So he groaned and grumbled as he stumbled to his feet and off toward the privacy of the trees, spurred on by the idea that he didn't want the love of his life happening upon him as he exposed himself along the beach to take care of bodily functions.

The forested area turned out to be a nice choice, as the shade offered a bit of relief from the sun. In the quiet of the woods, he listened to the ocean breeze gently nudge the palms, their leaves whispering as a bird—possibly Markov—cried off in the distance. And among the soft, gentle noises, Adrien managed to hone in on something unusual—a melody of sorts that he almost missed despite the serenity of his surroundings. He finished his business quickly, stopping to focus on the distant song. He could have sworn it was the delicate, lyrical voice of a woman singing.

It took his hungover brain a moment to eliminate Alix as the source, because she had gone off elsewhere and, frankly, held a tune just as well as a fishing net could hold water. Neither was it any of the rest of his crew, as the voice was definitely feminine.

Adrien crashed off through the brush after the voice, following it deeper toward the heart of the island as the song grew louder.

Eventually, he came to an inland cove where steep, rocky cliffs sheltered a small lake. A waterfall cascaded over the pool where he swore he could see colorful figures darting before they disappeared into the foam at his arrival. The singing stopped, and Adrien lifted his gaze at a flash of movement in the far shadows.

His heart clamored in his chest when he caught sight of a red tail fin just as it disappeared beneath the surface, and his gaze followed a shape through the clear water as it swam toward the shore on which he stood. Adrien held his breath when the woman finally breached the surface, lifting her arms and settling herself comfortably on one of the rocks jutting out of the waves.

As she tucked her dark hair away from her face, Adrien deflated with disappointment, because the mermaid was not Marinette. Her red scales sparkled in the sunlight with small black spots that had created a similar pattern. Still, Adrien couldn’t help but stare at her, uncertain about what to say, and she watched him back almost expectantly and without fear. While he tried to cobble together some sort of coherent greeting, her gentle voice finally broke the silence between them.

"Hello.”

"Oh... uh, hi?" Adrien jolted out of his stupor and stumbled closer. "You're not Alya by chance, are you?"

"My name is actually Tikki." The mermaid's tail curled around the rock that she lounged on, her mouth turned up at the corners in an amused looking smirk. "But as the matriarch of our pod, I do look after one named Alya."

“Oh.” Adrien blinked. “That sounds important."

Tikki giggled, then lifted her body off of the rock and dipped into the water. With a few strokes of her long tail, she swam onto the shore, propping her body against her arms and peering up at him from the shallow waves. "I am simply the oldest. I guide and take care of my younger charges. And you are?"

"Oh, uh, Adrien." He finally remembered his manners and folded forward in a polite bow. "Adrien Agreste."

Tikki swept a calculating gaze from his head to his feet. "And… that's all? No other titles?” She tilted her head. “One in particular that comes with a certain mask?"

Adrien’s eyes widened in surprise. Outside of his crew, no one knew of his identity, but then again, he didn’t know a thing about mermaids and their capabilities or how this one appeared to know about him. Hesitantly, he reached into his vest and pulled out his mask. "And... Sometimes I am a captain. You’ve heard of Chat Noir?"

She leaned back and gave him a nod. Either she was simply answering his question or satisfied with his honesty. "I have also heard you've been looking for Marinette."

“Marinette?” Adrien perked up at her name. “So you know her?”

Tikki hummed in affirmation, and his heart skipped a beat. His eyes flicked back to the cove near the waterfall. Were those shapes from before the mermaids of her pod? Was Marinette with them? As much as he itched to just jump into the water to find out for himself, he politely held his feet firmly on the ground as Tikki continued, “I had to meet with you first to see what you want with her.”

"W-well, the Marinette that we've been searching for is a human,” Adrien explained. “She was lost at sea during a hurricane. But when I met her the other night..." He shook his head. "She couldn't be anyone but her. And she has the lucky charm that I made."

"A human lost at sea?" Tikki mumbled. "So you just want to reunite?"

"More than anything," Adrien said with a yearning that he didn't hold back. "She's... important to me, and an amazing friend to all of us.” He knelt down on the sand a few feet in front of Tikki so that they would be eye-level with one another. “I don't want anything with her, I just want to help her return home."

Tikki’s eyes seemed to soften, but she held up a finger and pointed at the mask he still held in his hand. “Another question, first. Would you tell me how you got that?"

Adrien brushed his thumb over the dark leather, wondering if he was allowed to divulge that information. His predecessor had told him never to reveal his identity, and he had more than one reason to keep it a secret. Although, it didn’t seem to matter, considering Tikki appeared to know quite a bit about him already.

"The previous Chat Noir gave it to me," Adrien started slowly, deciding that the cat was already out of the bag with his identity anyway. "He trained me in order to take on the title."

"So Plagg wanted to retire?" Tikki asked, and he blinked at her with surprise.

"You... You know Plagg?" he stammered, dumbfounded. It struck him as funny that he found that more shocking than the fact that he was talking with a mermaid.

"I've known many Chat Noirs." Tikki gave him a gentle smile. "Although, I am ashamed to admit that I didn’t recognize The Cataclysm sooner.”

“You even know the ship?” Adrien asked before rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “We, ah... recently had to make a few repairs.” He paused before quickly adding, “Pirates.”

“Ah.” Tikki nodded with an understanding look. “But yes, I do know a lot about the 'legendary' captain. Each one takes on the mask, the duty, and the title. They protect and serve for a time before finding a successor.” Tikki leaned forward and curled her tail above the surf behind her. “I'm curious as to how you met Plagg."

"Pure luck," Adrien started to explain. "I just happened to stow away on his ship. I was trying to find a way to search for Marinette." He smiled fondly at the memory. "I guess Plagg saw something in me and how determined I was, because he didn't throw me overboard when I was found out. Instead, he asked if I wanted to destroy my father’s stupid rules."

Tikki shook her head with a sigh. "That definitely sounds like him."

"Not to be rude," Adrien said, hesitantly glancing behind her. "But, what does me being Chat Noir have to do with Marinette?"

"Nothing. Or maybe everything." Tikki waved a hand idly over her shoulder. "If some random human were trying to find Marinette, then I wouldn't have let you near her." Her eyes momentarily flashed, and a cold, disturbing chill rushed down his spine at the look. "But Chat Noir?" Her expression softened. "You're the one human that I'm willing to trust."

"Oh." Adrien brightened up at that. "Then... Does that mean I can meet her again?" he asked hopefully. "Properly, this time. And no nets. Definitely no nets."

Tikki nodded, and Adrien couldn’t help the wide grin that broke out over his face. "It seems only natural, considering your Marinette and my charge are one in the same."

Adrien blinked at that before asking, "Wait... You knew she used to be human?"

"I had my suspicions." Tikki folded her arms as she curled her tail around in the water. "Mermaids may be born alone when we are infants, but we know how to swim by instinct. It’s how we seek out our own kind to grow with. But she’s practically an adult, and when Alya found her, she didn’t know how to properly use her fins."

"So..." Adrien hesitated, trying to come up with an explanation for Marinette’s transformation. It had obviously been through some kind of magical means. "But—How does something like this happen?"

"I can think of only one thing." Tikki's gaze turned to the side and seemed to darken. "There was a time when I was captured by humans. In their greed, they ripped the scales from my flesh." She gently ran a hand over her tail. "My captors made them into powerful trinkets that stole my magic—miraculous objects that shouldn't exist." She turned her gaze up to him. "If someone used them, they would certainly have the ability to transform into a mermaid."

"You were captured?" Adrien's gaze hardened. He had only just met her, but Tikki seemed like a kind, reasonable person. She also appeared to be very protective of Marinette. He could appreciate that, so he didn’t like the idea of anyone harming her.

"I was also rescued.” Tikki’s comforting smile took some of the edge off of his anger. “The young sailor that helped me to escape managed to retrieve my stolen scales." She brushed her earlobes with her fingers, which Adrien noticed were empty of any jewelry. "A pair of red ones were made into earrings, while a black spot was fastened into a ring, which I gifted to my hero. He became the first Chat Noir.”

“But wait…” Her story took a moment more to sink in, his brain still slightly addled from his hangover. “Did Marinette do this to herself or…?” His fingers dug into the sand at the thought of the alternative.

Tikki immediately shook her head. “No. My earrings were stolen before I met her.” She drummed her fingers against her chin, looking disturbed with her eyebrows drawn together. “I don’t remember anything about encountering the thief, only that I was missing a chunk of time before the earrings went missing. And when I met Marinette, she happened to suffer a similar bout of amnesia?”

“So someone did this to her.” He clenched his teeth, but it didn’t help to settle his roiling thoughts. If he ever met the scum behind it all... “They took your earrings, used them to turn her into a mermaid, then somehow made you both forget? Why?”

“That’s what I aim to find out.” She pointed at the middle of his chest, close enough to almost touch him. "We can get to the bottom of this when you find my earrings with the power of the ring."

"You say that," Adrien started slowly, trying to recall if she had mentioned anything else about the object. The way she spoke made it seem like she expected him to know more about it. "But... what is this ring?"

Tikki blinked at him. "The ring?" Her eyes moved down to his hands, her brow seeming to furrow in confusion when she didn’t find what she was looking for. "The one with great, destructive magic?"

Adrien spread his empty fingers to affirm he didn’t have anything like that. "I uh... didn't get one?"

Tikki slapped her forehead and groaned. "That infuriating man!” Water splashed up behind her when she thrashed her tail about the waves. “How could Plagg not pass on the ring!?"

"Sorry," Adrien quickly and automatically answered.

"This is not your fault," Tikki fumed, clutching her hand against her temple and waving at him gently with the other. "We are going to find that jellyfish-for-brains and have him explain how he could forget something so important!"

"What does this ring do, exactly?" Adrien asked.

"Apart from containing a spell that can destroy anything it touches?" Tikki laughed softly, shaking her head while his eyes widened from shock. "It can help you find the earrings, and will also be a good defense against whoever stole them from me.” Her nose wrinkled as she frowned. “The thief is either sly or powerful, and not a good combination to be up against if it is both."

"We might be able to locate Plagg,” Adrien offered. “If he has the ring, then we can get it from him easily enough."

Tikki nodded. "You'll need it if you want to find the earrings. They are the best chance of returning Marinette to her rightful form."

"Then I'll do anything to help you retrieve them." Adrien nodded, determination set in his expression. If it was for Marinette, he would sail the world twice over and fight a hundred Captain Hardrocks if needed.

"I thought you might say something like that." Tikki smiled before turning to the bay and lifting her hand to hover just below her chin. She sang out a soft note, and the surface of the water in front of her distorted with soft ripples. Tikki then motioned her head toward the lake, and Adrien stared over the water as a trio of shapes darted just beneath the surface. He sucked in his breath when the three mermaids appeared, his attention fully captivated by the dark-haired girl in the middle.

"Marinette," Tikki beckoned to her, and she cast a nervous glance his way before swimming forward slowly. "I think you two should have a proper re-introduction."

Adrien tried to remember to breathe as she approached, but his lungs seemed to forget how to function when she alighted on the shore next to Tikki. Though he had seen her just the other day, having her right in front of him caused his pulse to quicken. He had gotten a decent look at her face, but he hadn’t seen her fully, her body partially concealed by the dark water that night.

His cheeks flushed pink when his eyes trailed down and he realized that she wasn’t wearing anything. Granted, there were pearlescent scales covering her chest, but they were light enough that there almost appeared to be nothing there. Female sailors—mostly Alix—didn’t care much about sticking to traditional feminine fashions, but this was the most amount of skin he had ever seen a woman display in his entire life. With Tikki, he hadn’t really noticed. Marinette, however, was leaning toward him rather—

“You’re Chat Noir?” His eyes shot up at the sound of her delicate voice and their gazes met. His heart skipped a beat and the resulting adrenaline helped to pull him from his stupor.

“Purr -leasure to make your acquaintance, milady.” He bowed. “I am indeed known as Chat Noir when I wear my mask, but as I’m not on duty at the moment, you can call me Adrien.”

“Adrien?” she breathed his name softly, and he saw something there in her eyes that gave him hope. Maybe she had lost her memory but… Did she remember him despite all that she had experienced?

Her gaze searched him, and just when he thought he could see the recognition register, she suddenly winced and lifted a hand to her forehead.

“What’s wrong?” Adrien quickly asked, reaching forward just short of touching her. He wasn’t certain, with her missing memories, that she would be comfortable with him. Luckily, Tikki offered assistance in his place as she wrapped a protective arm around Marinette’s shoulders.

“I don’t… know,” Marinette said slowly. “But it’s… You’re familiar to me, I can feel it. Oww…” She closed her eyes with another flinch and mumbled, “Whenever I think I’m remembering something, my headache just gets worse.”

Tikki pulled her closer and laid her forehead against Marinette’s. “Hmm… No doubt there is a spell in place preventing her memories from returning, and one that appears to lack any sympathy.” She then turned to face Adrien. “We should find Plagg as soon as possible. How much do you trust your crew?”

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Adrien reconvened with his ship mates on the main beach, where The Cataclysm floated out in the deeper waters of the bay. Using Markov to help gather everyone together, they all managed to return in time to marvel at the sight of the mermaids swimming through the surf. No one said a word when Tikki floated up with the waves to glide to a gentle stop before them, joined shortly on the sand by her three charges.

"See?" Adrien nudged Nino with his elbow. His friend appeared to be having trouble keeping his mouth shut. "Told you I spotted Marinette in the water."

Nino tore his gaze away from the mermaids before it quickly returned to Marinette, his eyes eventually narrowing when he took in the dark spots against the red of her tail. His mouth pulled into a thin frown as he shook his head. "Really?"

Adrien made no effort to restrain his laughter before composing himself and bowing. “Since we’ve already had our formal introductions, allow me to introduce my crew.” He waved his hand out to each of his friends. “To my left is my first-mate Nino. To my right: Alix, Kim, Max and—”

Before he could finish, Markov landed on the sand in a flurry of feathers and announced himself with a loud caw. “Markov!”

“Oh my gosh!” Rose—easy to remember because of her pink scales—squealed and tossed herself forward on the sand, crouching right in front of Markov. “Little humans are so cute!”

“Rose…” Alya shook her head and groaned. “That is obviously a bird.”

“Specifically, he is an African Grey.” Max adjusted his glasses and leaned over Rose curiously. “But he does have the mental capacity of a five-year-old child.”

“Woah, bud.” Alya shifted her weight and moved her tail around to hover right in front of his face. “Stay about five fins that way.”

“It’s alright, Alya.” Tikki held up her hands and gently grasped her on the shoulder. “Chat Noir’s crew can be trusted.”

“Oooooh.” Alix shot a smirk over to Nino. “So this is Alya, huh?”

“Really!? That’s your focus?” Nino threw his arms in the air before flailing them in Marinette’s direction. “Were you not more curious about the fact that Marinette has a tail fin!?”

“Oh!” Kim jumped up and waved his hands over his head. “I actually have a few questions about that!”

“Guys…” Adrien stepped forward and spun around to face his crew. “Try to show a little poise for a good impression?” He bowed slightly at his waist, stepping back so that the group of mermaids were fully visible to his friends and motioning to each girl in turn. “This is Tikki, the matriarch of the pod.” She inclined her head. “These two are Alya and Rose.” Alya crossed her arms over her chest while Rose waved excitedly. “And of course…” He turned to Marinette with a smile. “Marinette. But I’m assuming you all know her.”

“So, you really don’t remember us?” Alix's voice was soft when she kneeled down in front of Marinette.

Marinette’s eyes wavered as they flicked over her for a moment before turning up to stare at the rest of his friends. Adrien could read the hopeful and expectant looks on their faces, probably mirroring his own from earlier.

"I'm sorry," Marinette eventually lowered her gaze, the frustration apparent in her expression. "We’ve never met. At least, I don’t remember if we ever have."

"It's alright," Adrien gently said as he lowered himself to the sand next to Alix. "We're not expecting you to force it or anything."

"Amnesia could take some time to recover from," Max offered helpfully. "Now that you're among friends again, sharing stories about people we know or experiences may help you recall memories from before."

"I dunno," Alix chimed in, glancing at Marinette. "I would have thought she'd recognize us or something at least." Alix quickly raised her hands up at Marinette's pout. "Not that I'm saying you need to remember just cause we're here! What you went through sounded pretty traumatic."

“It may not be a good idea to flood her with information,” Tikki warned. “Whatever spell affects her seems to be blocking her memories. She may not be able to recover them until she becomes human again.”

"At least I don't remember the bad parts," Marinette mumbled, shaking her head before turning her attention back on Adrien. "I don’t know how this happened, or who did this, and I certainly don't remember any of you at all, but..." He could see something behind those eyes of hers, as if she was struggling with her own thoughts. "I just have this feeling. It sounds weird, but... I know you, even though I also feel like I've never met any of you in my life."

"So you trust us? Even though we seem a bit fishy?" Adrien leaned forward with a wide grin and reached out to grasp her hand. "With that way of thinking, we'll get along just swimmingly, my lady." He pressed a brief kiss to her knuckles, which was easy since it seemed as if she had frozen, blinking at him with wide eyes and looking so much like the Marinette he remembered that he couldn't help but chuckle.

But then the spell crumbled, and she pushed him away with a disgusted groan, giving him a gentle flick to his forehead. "Oh, I see you're a jokester."

Adrien grinned, because he had seen the wisp of a smile tugging at her lips. So she didn't appear to have been completely repulsed by his puns. It felt like her, while at the same time, this forward, confident girl was a side of Marinette that he had only seen glimpses of, and it sent an excited shiver down his spine.

The Marinette he knew had been shy and clumsy, mixing up her sentences as she struggled to form words. She had more often been a bit of a mess around him, but there had been the occasional instance where that amazing, strong, and brilliant girl often shone through. He regretted not understanding why she had been so nervous around him for all that time.

“Not to sound impatient,” Alya asked slowly, eyeing Adrien with a sudden, calculating gaze as she raised a curious eyebrow. “But if we need to find this Plagg guy to help Marinette, shouldn’t we be leaving?”

"Another day would be optimal," Max answered. "The pirates that were chasing us will likely have moved on, but our captain should rest to properly heal his injury."

"You're hurt?" Marinette’s head whipped around to quickly face Adrien again, her wide eyes flicking over him.

"’Tis but a flesh wound, milady." Adrien grinned and gave her a small bow. "I'll be back in top shape by the time we leave to search for Plagg."

"Where is it?" Her gaze still searched him. "I can help."

"Oh, yes!" Rose clapped her hands together and gave them a wide smile. "Marinette's magic is simply the best!"

"Magic?" Adrien’s voice grew quiet as his brain had trouble processing this new information. "You can use magic?"

"A bit," Marinette pinched her fingers together and nodded. "And it's not 'the best,' but it's okay for mermaid magic."

Adrien hesitated only a moment, unable to tear his curious gaze away before leaning back with a jolt. “Oh, yes. Here.” He drew up his shirt, showing the bandages hidden beneath.

Marinette reached her hand forward, then paused over the cloth. "I'll need to touch it for this to work."

With Max's help, Adrien unwound the covering to reveal the gash in his side. Max had managed to stitch it back together with expert care, but still in the early stages of the healing process, it probably looked worse than it was. From Marinette's soft gasp, she must not have found it pretty.

But she quickly set her mouth in a determined frown, eyebrows drawn together as she shifted closer so that her fingers were barely touching the wound. Even at the gentle pressure though, Adrien tried to suppress his hiss as the pain flared up.

And then, the ache suddenly disappeared. There was a soft light in the corner of his vision, and he felt a warmth rush through him. He turned back to witness Marinette's glowing fingertips brush over the welt, his skin lighting up along with them, extending the length of the cut as it began to shrink. Adrien watched, his gaze transfixed while his injury all but disappeared before his eyes. When Marinette finally pulled her hand away, it was nothing more than a dark scar in his side.

"Astounding," Max whispered as he adjusted his glasses and leaned closer to inspect her work. "You can still see it, but the skin has completely scabbed over and the wound is closed!"

Adrien poked it curiously before wriggling around, elated that he no longer felt any discomfort from it, only a slight pull from the healed flesh. He stared back at Marinette with a warm, lopsided grin, fighting the urge to simply pick her up and hug her. "You're amazing, Marinette."

Her cheeks flushed a soft pink beneath his gaze, but she quickly turned her head away without saying a word.

“That... was super awesome,” Kim marveled as he leaned over Adrien’s shoulder. “Marinette’s more than a mermaid, she’s a wizard!”

"Pretty handy," Alix agreed and smiled eagerly. "Now that the Captain’s all good, we can leave and start looking for that guy."

"Agreed. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can help Marinette.” Max nodded before turning to Adrien. “But where do we start? Didn't the previous captain disappear once you took over as Chat Noir?"

"I don't know where Plagg is.” Adrien settled his shirt back in place and stood up, dusting the sand off his hands. “But he told me where I could find his ship’s old doctor, in case we ever needed him." Adrien stroked his chin. "He would be a good place to start in finding Plagg."

Chapter Text

"Straighten the main sail!"

"Aye, aye, captain!"

Kim raced to the mast and pulled at the rigging to follow Adrien's orders. With the ship repaired and seaworthy once again, he had suited up to parade about as a proper captain. Though the chances of his identity being discovered out on the seas were slim, it was important to always don the mask in case they ran into trouble.

Though, with the mermaids guiding them, Adrien noticed that they'd seen hide nor hair of pirates or any other vessel, for that matter. Tikki wasn’t kidding when she mentioned that they had a sixth sense for navigation. Nature itself seemed to favor their voyage, as the skies were clear and the waves calm while they made their way to the last known location of Master Fu.

"Max!" Adrien bellowed at his crew mate behind him. "Take the wheel for a bit!"

Max stepped in while Adrien vaulted over the banister to land lightly on the deck below. He nimbly hopped up and sprinted to the railing, grasping it as he leaned over to watch the waves rolling away from the ship. Water droplets sparkled in the brilliant sun like millions of tiny diamonds; a mesmerizing sight that he never grew tired of. As he watched, a lithe form jumped out from the water and waved up at him.

"Ahoy!" Nino called out from the crow's nest from above. "Looks like Tikki is flagging us, captain!"

Adrien gave the signal, and the boat eventually dropped to an easy coasting speed. Leaning over the railing, he quickly spotted the four small forms as they surfaced.

Tikki ducked beneath the water, so Adrien stepped away from the banister, and a short moment later, with a shower of droplets pelting the deck, she somehow landed easily on the rail in front of him. He marveled as she gripped it, twining her tail around the poles to hold her body up in order to speak with him.

"Is everything alright, Tikki?" Adrien asked, his eyes quickly darting to the side before returning to her. Though he couldn’t see her from his angle, his first thought was to worry about Marinette.

Tikki tilted her head, her eyes crinkling in something akin to amusement. "Marinette is fine. I just wanted to inform you that we are close to port. From this point on, we'll be hiding in order to avoid being seen."

“Oh, okay. Good.” Adrien nodded. "That would be best. I wouldn't want any of you to get caught by nefarious pirates." Strolling to the banister and leaning over next to Tikki, Adrien smiled when he caught sight of Marinette floating below. She wasn't paying him any attention, caught up in a conversation with the other two girls, but he could hear her bubbling laughter even over the distance.

"I'll make sure she stays out of trouble." Adrien turned to see Tikki watching him with a knowing smile. "Although I have a feeling she would be well protected in your care."

"I just don't want anything to happen to her... again." Adrien rubbed the back of his neck.

Tikki nodded before turning her head to call out, "Coming down!" She then unwound her tail and pushed off, diving gracefully into the water as the others moved aside to give her room.

When Adrien leaned over again, Tikki waved back up at him and dipped beneath the waves while Marinette lingered. Her gaze appeared curious as she watched him, but then she twitched her hand just above the water in a quick motion. Before she could disappear as well, Adrien returned her gesture, but added his own flair by putting his hand to his lips and blowing her a kiss.

Even over the distance, he could see her wrinkle her nose and stiffen. Then, in what he thought was a dramatically large splash of water, she dove beneath the surface after her matriarch.

"Hey, captain!" Nino's voice called to him, and Adrien turned to watch his friend repel down the mast. "Don't think this Marinette's that into you."

"What do you know?" Adrien asked. "If she's fallen for me once, then she'll fall for me again."

Adrien gave the signal to set off, and in no time, as Tikki had said, the port of the large island spilling out over the horizon soon came into view. Raie Cay was a colorful town that stretched over flowery hills and mossy cliffs, with wild scenery that ended right at the beach where ships of every make floated near bone-bleached, sandy shores.

"Looks like we'll have to anchor at sea." Adrien peered through the spyglass, failing to find an open place at the docks large enough for a ship of The Cataclysm’s caliber. "Those boats are packed like sardines."

"Pirate territory is always busy." Nino snorted while tying down the rigging. "I don't like it."

"They're lawless, but not without their codes," Adrien grumbled. "It's a safe-haven at least."

He stiffened when gunshots suddenly rang out in the distance.

"Err... Well, mostly safe." Adrien smiled nervously at Nino, who simply frowned back at him with a sour look. "Without any authority, there's bound to be a few bad eggs."

"It might not be good for Chat Noir to go in there." Nino gestured his head toward the town as he sidled up next to Adrien with his arms crossed. "Only other Frenchmen will welcome you."

"So I won't be going." Adrien shrugged easily and Nino gave him a surprised look. "Adrien Agreste will instead."

"Oh, yes!" Nino said, slapping his forehead. "That's a brilliant idea! Let the rich man's son walk into a town of cut-throat pirates!"

"That's a terrible idea!" Adrien turned as Alix shouted out, making her way over the deck toward them.

"Guys, c'mon, have a little faith in me." Adrien pouted. "I'll wear a disguise."

"Captain," Alix growled, stopping with her hands propped against her hips. "You watch the ship while the rest of us look for Fu. Someone has to stay behind, after all."

"But that's Kim's job," Adrien whined. "And I'm sneakier than him, so no one will see me."

Nino let out a scoff while he rolled his eyes. “I bet you get recognized the moment you set foot on that island.”

“Oh yea?” Adrien grinned mischievously as he eyed Nino’s hood. “Wanna make that official? Just watch me—or, don’t watch me.” He wriggled his fingers in the air to emphasize his point as he lowered his voice. “Because you’ll neeeever see me coming.”

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Once the sun had set, and stars spattered the night sky like splattered paint on a canvas, Adrien took the dinghy out alone, rowing toward a secluded beach further down the shore from the bustling town. It was out of the way, and a bit of a chore to get to, but that was the point. He had to separate himself from his crew for the moment, to keep out of sight of any prying eyes.

It was nice that his friends were concerned, but after running the plan by them, they all reluctantly agreed, especially once he reminded them that he was the captain and that they had to follow his orders anyway. Besides that, Adrien was the only one who had met Master Fu, so the old man might not even show himself if a group of strangers were suddenly asking for him.

The front of his boat eventually ground against the sand, and Adrien hopped up, intending to quickly push it further onto shore before it broke free. That was when a soft thump hit the wood, and the dinghy suddenly rocked forward. With a startled shout, he stumbled back against the seat, jarring the boat and his head when it cracked against the side.

"Oww..." Adrien groaned while rubbing at the sore spot.

"I'm so sorry!" a voice yelped behind him, and Adrien shot up to his hands and feet despite the pounding of his head. Peering over the edge of the boat, he was shocked to find Marinette floating in the water nearby.

"Marinette?" He tried to keep his voice low, but it came out as a strangled whisper, panic flooding him. "You're not supposed to be out here! What if you're seen?"

"It's alright, Tikki's keeping watch for me," Marinette assured him, motioning out into the bay. While he didn't spot anyone, he was certain she was simply hidden beneath the dark waves. "There's no one else on this beach anyway." She patted at her neck, where the water helped to hide the rest of her body. "And if someone does spot me, I'm just a girl swimming in the ocean."

“In a place like this, that might make you more of a target than simply being a mermaid," Adrien groaned, stepping out of the boat and wading closer to her. "Why did you come up here?"

"I wanted to fix your wound."

"My wound?" Adrien raised a single eyebrow before looking at his stomach. He lifted his shirt to reveal the large scab. It wasn’t pretty, but it didn’t hurt and had stopped bleeding completely thanks to her miraculous magic. "It looks fine though. You healed it already, remember?"

Marinette shook her head, and before he could stop her, she darted forward and used the momentum to pull herself to the shallow water beside him. "I can do more than that." Her hand reached out. "May I...?"

"Oh." Unable to help his curiosity, Adrien dropped against the shore and leaned back, allowing her access to the scar. Her fingers gently touched him, warm despite the droplets of cold salt water dripping from them. It pooled within the ridges of the scab while her fingertips started to glow.

After a moment of the pleasant sensation that her touch sent across his skin, the glowing dimmed, and Adrien looked down to see nothing there when Marinette pulled her hand away.

"Wow," he breathed out. "It's gone!" He rubbed the spot where the scar had been, but his skin was completely unmarred—pristine as if it had never existed to begin with.

"There." Marinette smiled with satisfaction.

She shifted to move her hand away, but Adrien quickly caught it and pulled it gently toward him. "You really are amazing, Marinette."

His eyes didn't leave hers, and even in the blue shadows cast by the glow of the moon, he could see her face turn a light shade of pink. "You keep saying that..."

"It's true." Adrien drew her hand to his lips, and when she didn't pull away, he gently kissed her knuckles. "You're more than that," he breathed against her fingers, then paused when her tail swished up behind her in the surf. A smirk lit his face, and he couldn't stop himself at the traitorous idea. "Because you're absolutely mer-mazing."

Her blush immediately disappeared as she groaned. "And you're absolutely terrible."

"You love me." Adrien wiggled his eyebrows and then laughed when she shook her head in answer, her hair wildly waving in her vehemence. "Meow-ch, milady. You don't have to protest so strongly."

"It's not as if I don't care about you..." She frowned and averted her gaze. "I can feel the familiarity, I just don't remember what I thought about you before I lost everything."

He rubbed her palm with his thumb. "Puns aside, I really do believe all of that." He placed his other hand over the top of hers. "Thank you."

She allowed him a brief moment before she finally pulled away, mumbling a soft, "You're welcome."

He leaned back with a chuckle. "Your magic is miraculous, even if some men might like the story behind the scar." He brushed the spot lightly. "But it might have been difficult for me to explain if anyone ever saw it."

"Well... Good." She answered oddly, seeming hesitant as she drummed her fingers together. "I'm glad I could help."

"You should probably go," Adrien said softly. "I wouldn't want any pirates to notice you."

"Right!" Marinette jolted, and with a flip of her tail fin, she quickly dove back to the deeper water. "Umm... Good luck with finding Master Fu." And with that, she dipped beneath the surface, leaving him with the gentle sound of the waves on the shore.

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Adrien strolled easily into town, as no one paid any attention to him with the dark green hood covering his face. Nino had simply opted to wear a different hat while Adrien borrowed his hooded cloak.

He moved toward the center of a wide plaza ringed with taverns and trading businesses that catered toward the town's particular clientele. He found his crew there—minus Kim, who was guarding the boat—milling around a fountain that was devoid of any water, chatting among themselves at a volume where no one could easily eavesdrop without it being obvious.

"If the job was so profitable, why would the geezer retire in this place?" Nino whispered while Max and Alix practically huddled together.

"I dunno, I never met the guy." Alix shrugged. "You only recruited me once all of the old crew had left."

"Most of us joined like that." Nino's gaze lifted over Alix's shoulder to land on Adrien as he approached. "Puss-in-Boots over there is the only one who met the original crew."

"Hey!" Adrien pouted as he stepped up next to Nino. "What's with the cat jokes? Weren't you the one who said to keep a low profile?"

"Relax." Nino smiled mischievously. "If anyone hears, they won't think it's cat related."

Before Adrien could ask to clarify, Alix spoke up. "C'mon! Are we meeting this guy or what?" She glanced over her shoulder at a shady looking group loitering at the entrance to a nearby pub. "I always get a bad feeling about this place."

So they quickly moved on, headed deeper into a part of town that slowly took on a more Asian feel with its architecture and influence. Buildings rose above them, decorated with intricate symbols, while shop signs squeaked in the breeze, depicting elegant brush strokes for their lettering. They eventually walked under a red and gold painted arch that served as the entrance to a side street, and they moved along until they came to a small building with a sign out front painted with what looked like a bottle of medicine.

Adrien knocked on the door, and a few moments passed before a bald man answered wearing a light blue garment, the long sleeves folded at the end while a single flap draped over his pants, all the way down to his feet. "Welcome. Do you have an appointment?" he politely asked.

"Uh, sorry for the trouble." Adrien lifted his hood just enough to properly show his face, and the man's eyes widened in recognition. "We couldn't really schedule an appointment, Wayzz."

"Quickly! Quickly! Come in!" Wayzz stepped aside to allow them all inside, though in the cozy entrance parlor with its soft yellow walls, it felt crowded with all five of them. Adrien caught himself before nearly tripping over a low table with cushions settled around it.

Wayzz stuck his head out the door and peeked around before locking it behind them, shuffling past them all carefully and spreading his arms wide as he gave Adrien a warm grin. "It is good to see you again, Young Master. I hope this visit is a good one?"

"’Young Master?’" Alix raised a single brow as she looked at him.

Adrien rubbed the back of his neck while he felt his face warm. "Just ‘Adrien,’ is fine, Wayzz." He then dropped his arm. "But uh, the visit's not because we're in trouble. We're looking for Plagg, and we thought Master Fu might know where he went?"

"I am not sure where Plagg is." Wayzz folded his arms. "But Master Fu is available to speak, so we can quickly find out." He then moved through a sliding door into another room at the back. Wayzz must not have gone very far, because Adrien heard him calling the master's name shortly after.

It wasn't long before Wayzz returned with Master Fu in tow. The old man smiled and shuffled over to Adrien to give him a hug. "How good to see you again! I hope your need to see Plagg isn't for anything dangerous."

"It's a bit of a tale." Adrien glanced back at his friends while Master Fu ushered them all around the small table. It was a bit cramped, so Nino simply hung back by the doorway. "But, uh... The good news is, I found Marinette."

Master Fu's face brightened as he settled against a cushion. "That is good news! And you wanted to tell Plagg?"

"Well..." Adrien hesitated while Wayzz appeared with a tray and set tea out for each of them. "I wish that were the case, but it's more complicated than that. Marinette's been... well…” He fiddled with the porcelain cup in front of him before finally spouting, “She's been turned into a mermaid."

"Oh." Master Fu leaned back and stroked his beard with one hand. "I suppose that could be the bad that often accompanies the good."

"That's not the worst part," Adrien sighed, picking up the tea to take a sip. It had a floral scent to it, but wasn’t overpoweringly sweet and helped to ease his nerves. "There are earrings that could help to turn her back, but they've been stolen."

“Ah,” Master Fu hummed quietly with a frown before lifting his own cup to his mouth and taking a sip. "So you’ve finally met Tikki?”

"You know Tikki?" Adrien rasped out as he nearly choked on his tea, even though it shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise if he thought about it.

Master Fu nodded. "Tikki likes to meet with each Chat Noir herself to know that her magic is in good hands.” His eyes moved to each of his friends in turn. “She would reveal herself to the crew in good time. That you have met her already shows that she trusts you all well."

"There's another thing," Adrien added. "Tikki told us that there's a ring?"

Master Fu looked confused, his gaze flicking down to Adrien's hands. "You don't have it?"

"That's why we need to find Plagg," Nino explained. "Dude didn't pass it along for some reason."

"What!?" Master Fu's startled voice rang out around the small room. "How could he forget to deliver the ring?" The old man struggled to get up, his bones popping softly as he grumbled heatedly, "I thought Plagg had already passed it on."

"I don't remember seeing it happen," Wayzz offered as he leaned over to help Master Fu stand. "Plagg said he was going to see Adrien on his own one day, and I assumed he wanted to give it to him then."

"Why would Plagg not pass on the ring?" Master Fu continued to fume. "He knows how important it is for becoming the new Chat Noir! Pah!" He stormed over to a wardrobe and started pulling open drawers. "No need to wonder though, because he can explain himself when you meet him!"

"So you know where he is located?" Max asked.

"I do," Master Fu answered, digging out an ornate bag to fill it with clothes and other necessities. "In fact, I'll show you myself! Plagg can tell me directly why he has shirked his own duties."

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

"What if pirates caught him?"

"He'll be fine, Marinette." Tikki assured her with a smile. "I'm certain they know their way around a town."

Marinette flitted about the water, Tikki's confident words not getting through to her at all. She couldn't help but worry. They told her she had been human once, so maybe at some point she might have felt comfortable with the idea, but right now she knew nothing about humans other than Tikki's warnings to steer as far clear of them as possible.

"But what about your stories?" Marinette asked. "You always told us to stay away from humans because of how dangerous they are!"

Tikki swam closer and put her hands on Marinette's shoulders to still her. "I told you stories about how humans capture mermaids. While they are true, Adrien is one of them. They won't be looking to kidnap him to sell off for magical potions or trinkets."

Marinette finally relaxed a little at that, realizing that she was right. Humans wanted mermaids for their magic, not their own kind—who seemed to lack inherent abilities of any magical nature.

Out of the corner of her eye, Marinette spotted movement and caught the sound of splashing by the shore. It was soft, but enough in the quiet night to draw her attention, and she quickly darted to the surface to take a peek.

She hadn't left the bay where Adrien had stowed his boat, and back at the beach, she saw his dark figure hunched over while rummaging through a bag that he had left behind.

"He's back," Marinette sighed while Tikki surfaced beside her, squinting as she eyed the shoreline.

Marinette briefly turned to Tikki with a grin. It wasn't as if she was excited to see him... Or maybe she was? But he was the one that helped her discover, at least a little bit, what might have happened to her the night she lost her memories. It was the closest she had ever come to finding anything. And... he seemed to care for her. It felt wrong to just ignore him, even if he tended to act like a big goof when it came to talking with her.

Marinette didn't wait another second. She dove beneath the surface and practically raced back to the shore. With a flick of her powerful tail, she surged onto the sand with the next wave, sliding up far enough to land right behind him.

"Ad—" Marinette's words choked off when the man spun around, his hand shooting out to grab her shoulder. With unexpected strength, he slammed her back against the sand and pressed a knife to her throat.

Not Adrien! her mind screamed as she fearfully took in the unfamiliar human. His hair, a mixture of dark and blue like the depths of the ocean, hung about his face in messy strands as he stared down at her with wide eyes. His gaze flicked over her body, and the small motion helped to break her out of her shock.

She flung her tail around and knocked him upside his head, tossing him into the dinghy beside them. She heard him crash against the wood, a sharp curse escaping his lips as she spun and tried to crawl away to the safety of the water. Her fingers just barely reached the surf when strong arms roughly wrapped around her middle and lifted her away. Marinette shrieked and thrashed her tail wildly, using her free arm to beat against the monster of a human that held her.

"Bring her away from the water, Ivan!" a voice commanded as one of the man’s large hands covered Marinette’s mouth to stifle her shouting. "Those creatures ain't nothin' but slugs on land!"

The man holding her turned away from the waves, revealing to Marinette a group of several humans hidden back within the shadow of the trees. One in particular stood out as she sauntered forward, the make of their clothes and roguish appearance giving Marinette only one idea as to who they could possibly be.

Pirates... Marinette’s struggling faltered at her horrified realization.

"Release her!" At the sharp command from the water, Marinette tried to twist her neck around to see. Rocks pelted the sand where her captor stood, but he didn't seem to care, even when Marinette heard the soft thump of one hit his back.

"Boys!" The garishly dressed woman shouted and pointed her sword at the beach. "Catch the other one!"

No! Marinette renewed her struggle, but the man only lumbered closer to the one that commanded him.

"Well, well! I'm impressed!" The woman smirked confidently up at Marinette. "Caught myself a pair of bleedin' mermaids!"

Not yet! Marinette swung her tail, but the pirate woman danced back to step out of her range.

"Oh, feisty fish-girl! You're lucky yer worth more alive than dead."

A chill ran through Marinette at those words that momentarily stilled her struggling.

"Oy!" The woman turned to the group of men scrambling around the shore. Many of them were completely drenched from getting dunked in the surf. "What's the fucking trouble, boys!?"

"She's too fast!" one of them stopped to whine. He suddenly dropped to the sand as a rock collided with his head.

The woman sighed and pulled out a small contraption from her belt. "Well, we've already got a healthy one," she mumbled, raising it in her hand and leveling its barrel at the water. "Use a bit more force."

Something itched in the back of Marinette's mind. Though she couldn't remember what it was, the object somehow filled her with a cold fear. Marinette wrenched around in the man’s grasp and managed to pull her head free in time to scream, "SWIM AWAY!!!" before the device exploded with a flash.

The lumbering man turned to the side, possibly to watch the aftermath, and Marinette twisted to glimpse Tikki's tail fin disappearing beneath the waves. Her eyes scanned the surface, but her matriarch didn't come up again. Marinette shivered as dread sank into the pit of her stomach and she found herself fighting off tears. Nothing was confirmed, but she had no idea of knowing if Tikki was safe…

A little of her despair ebbed away when she heard the echoing call of Tikki's singing moving up through the waves, and Marinette let out the breath she’d been holding. At least Tikki was alive, using her song to warn Rose and Alya of the danger.

The man spun her around to face the woman again, and Marinette tried to shrink away, but claw-like nails dug into Marinette's skin to painfully grip her chin. "You ain't one 'a them singing sirens, are you?"

Marinette pulled in a sharp breath through her nose in surprise. Humans weren't supposed to be able to hear their songs—not when they weren’t directed at them. And how would she even know about that? Unless... unless they had run into mermaids before?

"I asked you a simple question, girl! Yes or no!" The woman yanked Marinette forward in her impatience. "Don't ignore me!"

Marinette answered by swinging her tail around and thwacking the woman right in the side of her head. The pirate tumbled backward, and immediately two of her men rushed forward to catch her, but the stubborn woman shoved them away as she stomped back to her feet, gathering herself up before Marinette with her lips pulled into an angry sneer.

"You've got a pretty face… for a fish," the woman growled. "That'll change if you try that again."

Marinette didn't respond, she simply glared at her and lashed her tail.

The woman snorted and then turned to snap sharply, “Luka!”

Marinette’s eyes narrowed when the man that had first ambushed her on the shore stumbled up, giving Marinette a wary glance before the woman’s words took his attention. "I want the rest of you louts patrolling here to keep an eye out for more mermaids and that mangy cat." Marinette tried to keep herself from reacting to that last order while the woman jabbed a finger at the man she had called Luka. "You and Ivan tie up our mermaid and bring her back to the fort."

Marinette exploded in a rage, "You can't just kidnap someone like this!" She started thrashing, but there was too much space between her and the woman in charge to hit her again.

The woman tossed back her head and barked out a laugh. "Kidnap? You’re talkin' hot air, lass! Not that pirates care about heeding any briny laws, but there ain’t none about pilfering mermaids! You’re nothin’ but the catch of the day!"

Their leader cackled, and a few of her men chortled along with her, but Marinette didn’t find any humor in her joke as her gaze only narrowed further.

“Well!?” the woman suddenly shrieked, and Luka jumped, but seemed hesitant as he stole another glance at Marinette. “Hop to it before I use you two for chum!”

At that, the large man’s grip around her loosened, but it was only so his friend could drag a rope around her. Marinette tried to resist, but she couldn’t fight their combined strength, and together they managed to wrench her arms behind her back.

While the men were busy forcing a putrid smelling cloth into her mouth, there was a bright flare of light from far off in the sky, and Marinette craned her neck around to watch as the woman froze with a growl. "Damn! That was a signal!" She pointed in Marinette's direction and barked out, "Change of plans, we leave for base now!"

Marinette squirmed when the burly man picked her up by her waist, and her view of the night quickly disappeared beneath a dark cover of burlap as he shoved her inside a bag.

Chapter Text

In a town full of cut-throat pirates, it was always wise to be cautious when every shadow might be hiding a potential enemy.

That was what Master Fu had said as he accompanied Adrien and his crew while Wayzz remained behind to watch over the house. They carefully shuffled along the dark roads at an agonizingly slow pace, not wanting to draw any attention from the wrong crowd.

Whether or not their slow caution had actually helped, they eventually drew closer to the docks without incident, where Adrien could see the dark shape of The Cataclysm floating in the distance. For a town filled with devious miscreants, the night was quiet and almost peaceful. The pitch black water fractured and reflected back the bright shape of the moon with its gentle waves.

Unexpectedly, the dark sky suddenly lit up across the bay with a flash of light and a brilliant explosion of red.

"Hey!" Alix jabbed her finger in the direction of the flare. "Isn't that our distress signal?"

Adrien stared for one hesitant second, long enough for a cold chill of dread to shiver through him before taking off down the street at a sprint, all caution thrown to the wind. He ignored the startled cries of his friends, his rational thoughts too lost in his panic.

The signal could have meant anything, but Adrien couldn’t help but worry about Marinette’s safety. Had other pirates discovered the mermaids in the bay? Or had they actually spotted Marinette in the surf when she was with him earlier?

His boots crunching heavily over the gravel streets gave way to hollow thuds when he reached the harbor, Adrien practically flying over the rickety dock in his rush. Luckily, there were few people to avoid in his mad dash. At such a late hour, only a handful of sailors milled about; the real crowds were most likely getting drunk at the bars or already passed out. Adrien didn’t stop until he skidded to a halt at the end of the pier.

Squinting into the darkness, he could just make out the dark silhouette of The Cataclysm floating in the distance, with their tell-tale signal lamp burning on the deck. He caught a hint of motion, eventually recognizing Kim flailing his arms in a panic once his eyes had properly adjusted.

"Adrien!"

A panicked voice called from below, and Adrien's gaze shot down to find Tikki floating in the water in front of him.

"What's happened?" Adrien dropped to his knees and leaned closer, his pulse pounding with fear and adrenaline. Something had to be seriously wrong if Tikki was taking such a risk to reveal herself so close to town. His eyes flicked around the dark waves, seeing no signs of the other mermaids. "Where's Marinette?" he immediately asked.

"She's..." Tikki's torn expression and wilting voice caused his heart to jolt, a cold sting of fear icing his veins. "She was taken by pirates."

"What!?" Adrien exclaimed as footsteps thundered over the dock after him, eventually coming to a stop nearby. It appeared that his friends had finally caught up, but Adrien’s attention was completely focused on Tikki. "How?" he demanded frantically.

"We were watching the dinghy and she saw a man approach," Tikki quickly explained. "Marinette must have thought it was you, because she swam for shore before I could warn her."

"So he took her?" Adrien’s knuckles turned white as his grip tightened around the edge of the pier.

“If it were just the one man,” Tikki muttered with a shake of her head. “I’m sorry, Adrien, but... It was Captain Hardrock. Her crew came out of the woods while Marinette was beached…” She squeezed her eyes shut, expression contorting with anger. “I tried to stop them, but they carried her further inland. If I still had use of my magic..."

"This is not your fault, Tikki." Her gaze jolted up in surprise at Master Fu’s unwavering tone, the old man wearing a solemn frown as he knelt beside Adrien.

"Master Fu?" Tikki's voice cracked slightly, and her expression appeared to falter as her searching gaze flicked over their shoulders. "Is Plagg...?"

Master Fu gave a forlorn shake of his head. "He’s not here, but I do know where to find him," he explained gently. He then leaned a little more precariously out over the water, a frown deepening the wrinkles of his face. "I believe we should concentrate our efforts on rescuing your charge, but first I think it’s best for me to see to your injury."

“Injury?” Adrien asked, his attention returning to Tikki in surprise.

Tikki’s brow furrowed in her hesitation before she eventually leaned back carefully and lifted her tail out of the water. With the red color of her scales, he nearly missed the dark wound until fresh blood welled up near the end of her fin.

“Alix. Max.” Adrien pointed to each of his friends in turn. “You two help Master Fu get Tikki onto the boat where he can treat her. Nino and I will go after Marinette.”

“Wait!” Tikki splashed up to grab his sleeve before he could stand. “Do you know how to find her?”

Adrien paused, gritting his teeth as he looked over his shoulder and exchanged a fearful glance with Nino. “They might have taken her somewhere on the island...” Adrien started hesitantly.

Master Fu tugged at his beard and scrunched his face. “I have heard Captain Hardrock holds one of the old forts as a base, but it is well hidden and would take some time to find—if we are able to locate it at all. But if she brought Marinette to her ship—”

“Then we might not get to her in time,” Adrien finished with a growl.

Tikki reached up to clasp Adrien’s hands in her own. “We... have a way to find her, but you must promise to be careful.” She hesitated before letting out a trembling sigh.

Adrien squeezed Tikki’s hands, his expression set in a determined frown. “I promise, whatever we can do…”

Tikki’s gaze wavered for a split second before she nodded. “Rose!” she called out.

“I’m here!” As if she had been waiting for her cue, Rose splashed up out of the dark water.

Tikki swam back so that Rose could move closer to the dock. “You will have to hide her somehow, but Rose’s magic can lead you straight to Marinette.”

Surprised by that revelation, Adrien didn’t ask any stalling questions. He trusted Rose to be able to work her magic, and didn’t want to waste any more time that they could be using to get a plan set into motion. Every second counted if they wanted to get Marinette back safely.

Alix and Max helped Master Fu carry Tikki onto the ship to patch up her wound, while Kim followed Adrien and Nino back over the docks. Their burly friend was easily able to lift the petite pink mermaid, making sure to cover her tail with a sheet and wrapping her in the cloth like a cloak so that she couldn’t be seen on their way through town.

As they ran, Rose gave them a brief run-down of her ability, explaining that it worked like a form of tracking, and described it as following a ‘fragrance.’ Adrien wasn’t certain how fragrances worked underwater, but he didn’t question it.

It didn’t take them long to return to the shore where Marinette had been abducted, but every minute felt like an agonizing eternity to Adrien’s anxious thoughts.

The impatience broiled within him, tapping his boot against the sand while Rose tilted her head this way and that, directing Kim to turn several times before she eventually jolted, pointing off into the ominous woods and shouting, “That way!”

Following Rose’s directions like a hound on the scent, she led them deep into the close-knit trees, away from any roads or proper trails. Adrien began to think they might have gotten lost until they finally came out on a large hill overlooking a secluded beach.

It didn’t seem out of the ordinary to the rest of the shoreline, but if he squinted over the sandy dunes beyond the large formation of rocks across the water, Adrien could just make out the signs of a hidden cove. It was something he wouldn’t have known to look for if Rose’s ability hadn’t told her that Marinette was somewhere past that point.

Creeping along the stone formations arching over the waves, Adrien managed to spot Hardrock’s ship docked in a cavernous area with several smaller boats. Torches burned like fireflies in the dark hill, and lined a stairway dug out in the surrounding cliffs that led up to the crumbling stone walls of the hidden fort.

“It’s no wonder anyone messes with Hardrock… You can’t even see this place from the water!” Nino hissed as they ducked behind a large patch of bushes back in the woods. The ocean entrance would have been impossible to sneak into, but the fort-side showed some promise where it connected to the forest. “Not that anyone would willingly mess with her,” Nino added. “How in the world are we going to get Marinette out of that?”

“Have a little faith in Marinette,” Rose said, peeking from beneath her cloak with a confident smile. “We’ve gotten out of some tricky situations thanks to her!”

“I don’t doubt that,” Adrien whispered, pushing aside one of the branches in his way to watch a small gathering of men ambling drunkenly in the shadows of the crumbling building. “But I don’t think they’ll be keeping her someplace that she can escape easily.”

“So, guns blazing or sneak-attack?” Kim asked as he patted the weapon at his belt.

“Stealth,” Adrien answered sternly, then pointed at Kim. “But you’re bringing Rose back to The Cataclysm . I need Nino to stay here and create a distraction.”

“Why do I have to be the distraction?” Nino complained. “Kim’s the annoying one. He does a much better job of that.”

“Yeah.” Kim grinned before it faltered and he shot a frown at Nino. “Hey!”

“Sorry, Kim, but it’s true.” Adrien smirked back at his two friends. “But Kim’s also the strongest out of all of us, so he can carry Rose out of here without much effort. We’re not giving those pirates any more mermaids.”

∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙

Through the layer of rough burlap that scratched against her skin, Marinette couldn't tell exactly where the pirates were taking her; the only thing she was certain of was that she was in deep, deep trouble.

She couldn’t navigate the seas like other mermaids, often getting lost without Alya or the others to guide her, but the least she could tell was that the pirates hadn’t traveled very far from the ocean. Marinette could still sense it, albeit faintly… and that gave her more fear than the idea of being taken to their ship.

Wherever they were headed was far enough from the water that it could pose a serious flaw for any escape plan. Even if the ocean was a short distance from where they were dragging her, it would still be advantageous for the pirates. If she somehow managed to escape, they would just grab her like they had before, stopping her from reaching the water or relying on any help from her friends.

Well... not her usual friends.

It was an immense relief that Tikki had been able to escape. Not only was she safe, but it gave Marinette a small glimmer of hope. If Tikki trusted Adrien as much as she appeared to, then she would likely alert him to Marinette’s predicament and he might… what? Fight off a horde of pirates just to rescue her?

There was that slim bit of doubt in her mind that dragged down any confidence. While Adrien appeared to care a great deal about her, she honestly knew nothing about him—aside from the fact that he knew who she was in her forgotten past.

And frankly, even if he would risk his own safety to help her, Marinette didn't like the idea of him leaping into danger just to try and save her.

A squeal of rusted hinges pierced the muffled quiet of the sack, and Marinette could have sworn that the darkness pressing around her grew deeper as a door slammed noisily behind her. She focused her attention on the rough murmur of the pirates’ voices, the sounds of their heavy, plodding footsteps stomping against a solid surface and echoing along an enclosed space.

Eventually, the heavy clang of a metal latch split through the quiet. "Throw her in here!" the leader's voice rang out.

The bag shifted, and Marinette yelped when her world suddenly tumbled. It was a short drop, followed by a painful landing when she hit a stone floor. Unable to react in time, Marinette’s vision exploded in a white burst of stars when her head snapped back to smash against it.

"Not literally!" the woman screamed, shouting out profanities that Marinette couldn't quite catch through the shrill ringing in ears. "One scale of that girl's tail is worth more than your weight in gold, you gigantic oaf!"

The material around her rustled, and a hand eventually reached inside to roughly grab a hold of her tail. Still dazed from the impact, Marinette didn’t have the sense to resist as the man dragged her out into a dingy room that was dark and pungent with the smell of mold. The only light came from the flame of a single torch that one of the other men carried.

At the stomp of a boot against the floor near her head, Marinette jolted and lifted her gaze to pick out the pirate leader looming above her.

"I been wondering." The woman kneeled closer, scrutinizing Marinette with a narrow gaze. "Your kind don't exactly make friendly with ours. So what was a pair of you doing so close to shore? Hmm?" she drawled softly, her voice feigning a sick sweetness.

The woman obviously didn’t expect a coherent answer. Marinette simply glared as fiercely as she could and let out a heated huff through her nose.

“How ‘bout we make a trade?” the woman actually smiled. “Providin’ you’re not one of them singing sirens that drive men to their deaths, I’ll take that off—” she picked at the rag tied around Marinette’s head “—and you can tell us what you and yer friend were up to.”

Whether or not she was looking for a response, Marinette didn’t get any chance to try when the woman suddenly grabbed Marinette’s neck and squeezed, her face darkening into a sneer. “And maybe we won’t cut out yer tongue.”

Marinette’s heart pounded with the adrenaline of her terror as the woman’s fingernails dug into the soft flesh of her neck. As far as she knew, this pirate’s threat was not an idle one, even if she had warned one of her own men to be careful not to damage her.

At the same time, the hard set of the woman’s smirk boasted of a confidence that made it seem like she thought she had won, and Marinette’s insides seethed at that smugness.

Before the captain could think to expect it, Marinette flung her tail around and managed to hit her right smack in the face. The woman shrieked as the force sent her tumbling backwards, her head nearly slamming into the nearby wall of the cramped chamber. A pair of her men rushed forward with swords drawn, but Marinette lashed out again, managing to knock the sword away from one man while the other scrambled backwards to escape her range.

"Still got fight in ya, eh?" The woman pushed aside one of the pirates that offered his hand to help her up, popping her jaw as she massaged it gently. "That won't stick after you've starved a few days in the brigg."

She bounced back up on her own feet, and with a flick of her hand, the few men ambling along the edges of the cell quickly followed their leader. They shuffled out, and with an eerie squeal, the door slammed shut behind them, leaving Marinette alone in the dark, dingy room with no light to see by.

Minutes crawled by in the quiet of her prison, and Marinette eventually relaxed her tail against the dusty floor. Her chest heaved with quick, uneasy breaths, and her heart pounded from unspent adrenaline. With the threat of the pirates no longer hovering over her, the panic took some time to finally ebb away, leaving her with a hollow feeling of despair.

They had nothing to fear from her. Marinette couldn’t work the magic of a siren... But realizing what that woman had somehow learned unnerved her. She knew enough about mermaids to be a threat to her friends. And she was looking for Chat Noir, she thought to herself, recalling what that woman had screamed at her men back on the beach.

She’s looking for Adrien...

Marinette had to get back to the ocean, not simply for her sake.

She had to warn everyone.

There was nothing for her to see past the pitch black darkness, but Marinette still twisted her body to feel her way around. She could sense the space of the prison around her and recalled what little of it she’d noticed in the flicker of the torch from earlier. The walls had seemed old and worn, and the pungent smell of mold only supported that. Maybe she could find a loose brick?

Shifting her hands awkwardly behind her back, Marinette managed to reach out to the wall, brushing her fingers over the icy, cold surface of rough stone.

Come on, she pleaded to herself. Even a small rock will be enough to fray the ropes…

As she tested each brick, her fingers eventually settled over something new. A sort of pliable, slick surface. A lever of some kind? She curiously closed her hand around the object.

Spindly legs squirmed against her grip, and Marinette shrieked as she flung herself away from whatever it was, scraping her shoulder against the hard floor. While the insect skittered away, Marinette jittered in repulsion, cursing the pirates for throwing her into such a place.

If I ever get out of here, I’m telling Alya to sink their ship! she silently fumed, laying her head cautiously against the floor and letting out an aggravated sigh.

Once she’d worked up the nerve again, Marinette slowly shifted her hands along the wall, this time moving a bit more precariously in fear of what else may be sharing the cell with her. To her delight, her fingers eventually tapped over a slim crack, and when she poked at the brick, it shifted slightly.

I guess that bug wasn’t all bad, Marinette relented as she dug around the stone, eventually dislodging a generous shard from the wall. Clutching the rock carefully, she shifted her arms until the makeshift knife in her hands reached the rope around her wrists.

Her joints were sore and stiff by the time she’d made any progress, but the threads eventually wore down to the point that Marinette simply pulled them away with a snap. With her hands free, she tore the cloth away from her mouth and raised her arm, prepared to toss it into the darkness as far as she could.

But then she paused, lowering her arm as her fingers curled around the fabric, an idea forming in her mind. Picking up the shard of rock from before, she clutched the two objects to her chest, realizing the combination would make a decent weapon if any of the pirates decided to return.

“Okay...” Marinette huffed, exhaustion making her voice sound raspy and faint to her own ears. “Now what?” she grumbled.

At least she had managed to free herself from the ropes, but just what was she supposed to do to escape her cell? Fins didn’t work for walking on land, regardless of how close the ocean was. Even if she managed to break open the door through some miracle, she had no way of getting out apart from dragging herself back the way they’d brought her—which would not only be painful, but the pirates would likely stop her before she got very far.

Fidgeting nervously with the rag, she briefly wondered if a song might be able to make it to her friends. Of course, there was no question that a real mermaid’s song would have any trouble traveling however far was needed. But according to Adrien and his crew, she had originally been human.

With that in mind, it made sense that Marinette had never been able to sing with the magic of a mermaid, then. But in her predicament? It was worth a shot.

Marinette folded her tail comfortably beneath her, trying to settle as best as she could against the hard, cold floor and remembering Tikki’s words telling her to relax. Shivers ran through her from the damp as goosebumps spread across her skin.

Despite the doubt creeping through her thoughts, Marinette started with a gentle hum that she eventually wove into a wordless tune.

Mermaids didn’t need words to communicate through their songs. Messages and intentions traveled through every note, conveying their emotions and feelings. If her friends could hear it, then they would understand the solitude and fear that gripped her, and despite the distance, would know her location.

But after a time, Marinette’s voice faded, uncertain as to whether or not it was even doing any good.

Marinette leaned back against the wall and breathed out a defeated sigh. She shouldn’t have expected anything from it, since her singing had never traveled through the ocean’s depths. How could she think her song would break through the rotten dungeon that the pirates had tossed her in?

In the silence of her cell, Marinette startled when the soft tap of footsteps reached her ears.

She sat up straight, hands shaking nervously as she grabbed the rock and fixed it into the middle of her makeshift sling. Whoever was approaching was still far off, his boots echoing distantly down the chamber. But the sound continued to move steadily in her direction, each footstep growing louder by the second.

Marinette raised her sling and spun it in a slow circle above her head as the steps reached her cell. A dim light flickered through the seam at the bottom of the door, and the heavy latch on the other side rattled. Then it began to open.

She waited, frozen, holding her breath as the rusted hinges squealed loudly in protest. The light through the doorway brightened, and Marinette had to squint against the glow after sitting for so long in darkness.

Despite her hazy vision, she tensed when a man’s figure appeared in the doorway.

Marinette flung her arm out, letting one end of the sling go and causing the rock to fly toward the opening. It hit the man square in his forehead, and he doubled over with a surprised shout, the candle in his hand dropping with a clang as something else crashed along with it.

“Holy Hell!” the man yelped, ducking back behind the door. “Shit, that hurt...”

“Don’t come any closer!” Marinette shouted in warning, brandishing her sling threateningly, even though she didn’t have anymore ammo—but she wasn’t going to let him know that. “Or I’ll do that again!”

“Hold on!” he exclaimed quickly, flailing a hand past the open doorway. “ I came to help!”

Marinette squinted suspiciously at him through the dim light. It was difficult for her eyes to focus, considering that the candle had fallen to the floor even though it had miraculously remained lit. She somehow managed to catch the little white handkerchief he waved in surrender.

“You can’t be serious…” Marinette muttered, lowering her weapon just an inch.

“I really am.” One of his fingers pointed down, and Marinette followed with her gaze to see a mess of something spilled over the stones. An empty bowl had flipped over a nasty mess of some kind of thick liquid splattered over a thin tray. “I thought you might be hungry?”

Marinette narrowed her gaze. “Is this a trick?”

“How could I trick you?” He poked his head around the door, and Marinette’s eyes widened when she recognized the man from the boat back on the beach. Hadn’t he been digging through Adrien’s stuff?

“You could,” Marinette growled. “I don’t trust you.”

“I can’t blame you,” he answered, sliding cautiously past the door as he carefully picked up the candle. The light softened around the room, and in the gentle light, her eyes finally managed to adjust. “I honestly wouldn’t trust someone like me either, in this situation.”

When she made no move to attack—only because she didn’t have any more ammo—he seemed to gain a bit of confidence and picked the bowl up off the floor, frowning at the spilled contents. The movement must have sent the smell of the contents her way, because Marinette’s stomach growled as she picked up the scent.

In the quiet of the room, the man most likely heard, because he glanced up at her with a gentle smile. “I’ve got some water if you're thirsty, but it might be awhile before I can get a hold of any food again.”

“I don’t need it,” she quickly answered, eyes flicking down to the mess on the floor.

“Your stomach says otherwise,” he chuckled, leaning over to place the bowl back on the righted tray. Once that was done, he pulled an odd looking pouch from his waist and set it on the floor, as far out as he could in front of him before taking a step back.

Marinette glanced at the pouch curiously. “What is that?”

“It’s water,” he answered simply.

“Oh.” A silence settled between them. He didn’t make any move to leave, and Marinette didn’t attempt to reach for the water.

"Were you... singing?" His voice broke the deafening quiet, and Marinette's eyes flicked back to his face. His smile was soft, inviting, and it only made Marinette’s irritation grow.

She didn’t answer. Instead, she whipped her gaze away and ignored his question.

"It's alright," he sighed. "I just thought... It sounded nice."

"Are you trying to get my guard down?" Marinette spat, agitation dripping in each syllable and bristling along every nerve.

"I'm sorry," he quickly muttered, his hand scratching at the back of his head as his gaze fell to the floor. "I know that I'm technically your enemy. More so since it's my fault you're in this situation to begin with..."

"You're the man from the boat," Marinette snorted. "What were you doing on the beach?"

"Captain Hardrock ordered me to look for signs of Chat Noir," he replied, running a hand through his hair and letting out a tired sounding sigh. "We heard some rumors that he was in town, and that it was Chat Noir's boat on that shore." He then paused and looked at her with an apologetic gaze. "Although you probably don't know who that is."

Marinette narrowed her eyes and left it at that, the silence settling between them once again.

"I know the feeling," he eventually mumbled. "Hardrock brought you here against your will. Not all pirates live the life they do by choice."

Her eyes flicked over him warily, but he didn’t add anything to that. The quiet drew out between them again until her curiosity got the better of her.

"Why don’t you have a choice?"

"I was born into this.” He shrugged listlessly and waved his hands, casting his gaze down at the floor. "I’ve never had a choice with anything in my life, not with Hardrock as my mother."

Marinette made a disgusted face and took in a sharp breath that came out sounding like a hiss.

"The feeling's mutual," he chuckled, his eyes softening with a look of understanding. "You'd think she might have some love for her children, but with everyone it’s all the same. I received an ultimatum when I was just a kid: follow her orders or be killed." He looked up at her again and tilted his head. "Are you sure you don't want anything?"

Marinette stared at him silently, countless thoughts whirling in her head. It's a trap—even if he doesn't seem like the others. He's just faking it.

But he brought food and water? Even if it spilled… Maybe he isn't bad.

"Did Hardrock order you to do this?" she finally asked.

His mouth turned up in a sad smirk and he answered, "She doesn't even know that I'm here." His smile faltered as he shifted uneasily. “Which is a good thing, since she’d probably have me flayed alive if she found out.”

Marinette considered that for a moment before she carefully reached forward. He’d laid the container just within her reach, and she grabbed the straps to drag it closer.

He watched her as she quickly figured out how to unscrew the top and tilted it toward her mouth. The water inside was cool and refreshing, quenching her parched throat and filling her stomach a little. It wasn’t food, but it would at least hold her over until she got something solid in her.

Marinette lowered the pouch and wiped a stray trail of water from her chin. "It’s… Luka, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "How about you? Do mermaids have names?"

It wasn’t like a name could be of any harm, right? But she still gave him a narrow look when she answered cautiously, "Marinette."

“Marinette…” He seemed to test her name on his tongue, then he beamed at her with a wide smile. “Of the sea.”

At her blank look, he quickly explained, “It’s... what your name means?”

“I didn’t know it had a meaning,” Marinette muttered, fidgeting uneasily with the water pouch, wishing for those memories that she couldn’t recall. She ran a calculating gaze over Luka. “You never wanted to be a pirate, right?”

“It wasn’t the occupation I would have willingly gone with, no,” he scoffed.

She considered that before taking a chance. “Then… would you help me escape?”

His frown deepened, but he didn’t appear angry or shocked—just sad. “I want to help you, but...” His voice trailed off.

“Hardrock?” she finished for him and leaned forward on her arms, arching a single eyebrow. She only hesitated before whispering her next words. “Would it help if I told you that I know Chat Noir? And that he’ll come here to help me?”

Okay, she wasn’t completely certain of that, because honestly? She hardly knew the guy thanks to her amnesia.

But even though their interactions had been brief, his presence to her had felt warm and sincere and just… Like the eye of a storm, Adrien was that calming center, giving her a moment of peace in the midst of her turbulent thoughts.

Plus, Tikki trusted him and called him a hero. It would only make sense that he might try to rescue her, right?

“Chat Noir?” Luka’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “Then… That really was his boat?”

Marinette nodded. “He’s... a good friend. And he probably knows by now what happened on the beach.”

Luka grew silent for a moment, his eyes turned away as he appeared to be weighing something in his mind. Her heart thumped heavily, doubt beginning to creep through her. Did she make a mistake in trusting him with that information?

But then his voice broke the tense quiet. “Okay. I won’t say a word to any one.” He stood up and dusted off his pants, then he suddenly froze. “Except for my sister... And Ivan.” He shot an apologetic look her way. “I know he handled you a little roughly, but he’s got a good heart, and he wants to stay here about as much as I do.”

“Then you’ll help?” Marinette asked, brightening up at the idea of escape.

Luka took a hesitant step forward, then held out his hand. Marinette glanced at it warily before slowly lifting her arm and sliding her fingers against his palm. With a gentle grip, he closed his fist around her own and shook it carefully. "I'll help you however I can, Marinette."

Chapter Text

Despite the countless groups of pirates ambling about, Adrien found it fairly simple to sneak through the shadows of the dark fort, taking advantage of his mask’s night vision to navigate areas that normal men couldn’t see into. Flickering torches dotted the crude dirt paths here and there, but most of the natural cliffside leading down to the concealed cove remained hidden to normal human eyes. With the stealth of his alter-ego, despite the occasionally inebriated pirate stumbling past his carefully chosen hiding spots, he easily navigated the uneven terrain, confident he could discern Marinette’s location before Nino had the chance to initiate a distraction.

Unfortunately, he’d wasted some time climbing down to the docks early on, where a small armada of rowboats and large dinghies bobbed and swayed in the gentle tide. He’d been searching for a submerged net or anything that hinted at holding a captured mermaid. When he found no sign of her or any guards, he realized with a shock that they were most likely keeping her inside the fort, a place that wasn’t ideal for a lady with scales and fins. He could only imagine the misery Marinette was suffering at their hands.

If they’ve hurt her in any way… Adrien fumed to himself as he slunk past a pair of drunken men rambling by a campfire.

“Oy, Ivan!” Adrien quickly ducked further into the shadow of a stack of crates containing some very strong smelling spices, freezing in place before carefully peeking around the edge.  “Whatcha doing with that fish?” one of the pirates asked with a mocking tone to his voice.

Adrien watched as a large man lumbered closer to the orange light of the fire, holding the aforementioned bass skewered on a stick. The other men found it hilarious, for some reason, when he lifted it for all of them to see.

“Gonna feed it to the monster?” another pirate taunted.

Adrien bristled at the poor choice of words obviously directed at Marinette, but he remained silent. No need to give himself away and ruin the entire rescue just to defend his lady’s beauty and grace, not to mention her—

Stop that, he inwardly chided himself. Now was not the time to get distracted when Marinette was still in danger.

Maybe it had been the longing, or his growing feelings at her disappearance. Did absence really make the heart grow fonder? In his case, one thousand times yes. And then to have her ripped away right after he’d found her? Adrien wouldn’t hesitate to slice up a few pirates if he could get his claws on them.

“What’re you louts on about?” A bearded thug lounging on a grungy old pile of netting swung an empty beer mug at them. “I’ve seen her with me own eyes, and that mermaid ain’t monstrous.” The man took a swig of his drink, holding it over his head to lick up a single remaining drop. “She’s actually a pretty little thing,” he lightly added.

“Oh? What’s she look like then?” One of the other men leaned forward eagerly. Maybe it was a trick of the fire light, but there was an uncomfortable gleam in the ruffian’s eye that caused Adrien to grit his teeth, sharp glare boring a hole into the man so keen on discussing Marinette’s looks. “They really got two tails on ‘em like the stories say?” the slimy brute asked with a smirk.

“Eh… She got scales from the waist down, but it’s just one long tail of ‘em.” The man shrugged at his own description before his brow furrowed and his expression took on a distant gaze. “But she is an easy sight on the eyes. Dark, wavy hair, eyes as deep as the sea...” He then slid his hands through the air in a parallel wave motion. “And she’s got some curves on her, even if the bottom half is wrong.” The man winked with a dirty, rotten-toothed grin.

“And the captain’s got her locked in the underground cells,” the youngest man whined before giving a sudden look to the others, and Adrien’s grip on the boxes he hid behind tightened at the disgusting exchange, his claw-tipped gloves gouging a small groove in the wood. “Buuut, no one be guarding her or nothing,” the man added.

“Oy, oy... Whatever ideas you got, best forget them,” the older man warned with a narrow look. “Captain don’t want none of us goin’ near her. You either, Ivan, just keep that meal for yerself.” He tossed a thumb over his shoulder, and Adrien’s gaze followed. A set of carved steps led up to the stone walls of the fort’s entrance, while another path veered off toward a small hill where he could see a door set inside a stone archway surrounded by dirt and gravel. “Anyone found in there will get skewered by the captain herself.”

Underground, Adrien repeated to himself as he prowled off in the direction of the doorway and slipped up to it easily enough. It was partially buried beneath the ground, cool and damp even through his gloves as he managed to pry open the unlocked door and slide inside without any trouble. As the men had said, there was not a soul guarding in the chamber beyond, and his senses couldn’t pick up any signs further down.

So he made his way deeper into the tunnels, the cool chill in the air piercing through his dark suit. The tunnels were pitch black and almost felt abandoned with its dusty layer of grime, only disturbed by recent footprints in the muck. Despite the lack of light, he had no trouble finding his way as he came to a room with several doorways spaced along an open chamber.

He quickly swept his gaze along the ground, following a trail marring the dust that led toward the last door on the left. He crept closer and gently tapped against the wood, then pressed his ear against it to listen. There was a soft shift of movement from the other side, so Adrien chanced it by calling out softly. “Marinette?”

“Luka?” It was undoubtedly a beautiful sound, hearing Marinette’s voice whisper back in response, but he balked in confusion at the unfamiliar name she had spoken in his stead.

“What?” Adrien wrinkled his nose before grasping the heavy lock in his hands. Simple bearings and weights. It would be child’s play to pick it. “I don’t know of any ‘Luka,’” he grumbled quietly as he slipped the lockpicking tools out of his coat and set them into the keyhole.

“Adrien?” Her voice came out a little more surprised as he fiddled with the clasp’s mechanisms.

“Actually, it’s Chat Noir. At your service, milady,” he sang as the latch in his hands clicked, and he placed it carefully on the ground before pushing the door open. When he entered, his sharp vision picked up Marinette’s form huddled in a dreary corner, a thin blanket draped over her shoulders as she shivered from either cold, anxiety, fear… Or all of the above. He crossed the dark room in two quick strides and knelt down in front of her. “And I’m going to get you out of here,” he added, an edge to his tone reserved for the monsters that dared to throw her in here.

“You came for me?” Marinette breathed softly, lifting a hand to his mask and reverently touching his face.

“Always, Marinette.” He cupped her hand against his cheek and turned his head to lay a gentle kiss on her wrist. “We may have to wait a bit for our distraction though…” He pulled out the pocket watch in his dark coat and checked the time. About ten minutes before Nino would initiate their plan.

Adrien’s heart jolted when he caught the sound of footsteps treading in the corridor, the flickering light of a candle shifting through the crack beneath the door. “Shit.” He turned and crouched protectively in front of Marinette, pulling out a knife from his belt and brandishing it in front of him. “I thought they weren’t allowed to come down here?”

“Wait, Chat—” Marinette hissed as she grabbed his coat, but the door swung open in that same instant. Without hesitating, Adrien pounced, knocking the candle to the ground as he swung his leg out. The man somehow avoided his kick, but quickly doubled over from Adrien’s sudden fist to his gut, as he likely couldn’t see it coming in the complete darkness. While he was stunned, Adrien whipped around and caught the man’s neck in a head-hold, only vaguely aware of a strained string of notes popping out from the lute hanging from his back.

“Yield!” The man choked out a gasp, holding his arms up. “I yield!”

“Chat Noir, stop!” Marinette called out to him, making him pause. “Luka’s been helping me!”

“Luka?” Adrien tasted the name as if it were something sour, giving a scrutinizing glare to the man in his grip. Luka simply stared out into the darkness, the candle he had brought snuffed out from its fall. “Marinette, he’s a member of Hardrock’s crew!”

“He’s not like the others,” Marinette explained, and Adrien turned to see her fearful gaze directed at him. He relaxed his hold, but only a little. The man named Luka choked out a few ragged breaths, but didn’t make any further moves to fight back, keeping his hands in the air. Despite this obvious sign of surrender, Adrien felt his agitation growing. ‘Luka,’ had been the name Marinette called out when Adrien arrived. 

“Chat Noir?” Marinette’s voice seemed to tremble, and Adrien felt his heart stutter at the guilt of most likely being the reason for her fear. “Can you let him go? Please?” she pleaded.

With an aggravated sigh, Adrien finally released his grip, and Luka collapsed to the floor in a fit of coughing and slight twinge of sour notes when the instrument he carried banged against the stones. “Don’t try anything.” Adrien tapped the edge of his knife against Luka’s jacket. “I’ll stop you before you can pull a weapon,” he threatened.

“Not that I can see anything anyway, but I don’t even have a weapon,” Luka’s voice rasped out as he rubbed at his neck. Adrien prowled back to Marinette’s side, watching the man fumble along the floor for the dropped candle.

“And how exactly is he helping you?” Adrien asked Marinette, turning back to her. He lifted one of her hands in his, feeling the chill about her despite his gloves. With his night vision, he could see the grime and dust caking the chamber, and dark splotches of dirt marred Marinette’s pale skin from her time locked inside. “I wouldn’t call these appropriate accommodations,” he muttered.

“I brought her food and drink,” Luka answered, finally grasping the candle on the floor, bringing it up and striking a new match. The flare of light cast an eerie, flickering glow along the stone walls. “The captain planned on starving her for information.”

“So some food and drink earns your trust?” Adrien arched a curious eyebrow, irritation growing within him at the way Captain Hardrock had been treating the girl he loved. Marinette anxiously fluttered her hands in front of her.

“No! He’s—” She rubbed her forehead and groaned. “Look, he’s as much a prisoner here as I am.”

Adrien tilted his head as he glanced at Luka. The man smartly stayed where he’d originally been ambushed by the door. “That so?”

Luka held up his hands. “I’ve got no qualms against you, Chat Noir. I don’t even want to be a pirate.”

“So why join her crew?” he growled, suspicion thick in his words.

“Some men don’t choose their job,” Luka muttered as he stood up and dusted his pants off. “Hardrock earns loyalty through fear, and some of her men are simply recruited when they pillage innocent traders. You either join her, or you’re cut down right then and there.”

Adrien’s mouth formed a straight line, still annoyed, but knowing this to be true. Some pirates were known for their cruel and extreme ways of recruiting new men. They didn’t take prisoners, they took crew members or tossed the useless ones into the sea as dead weight.

He looked back to Marinette. “What information did she want from you?” Adrien asked.

“She was looking for you, and wanted to know what I was doing on the shore,” Marinette responded. “But I didn’t tell her anything.” She grasped nervously at his coat, and Adrien cradled an arm around her shoulders when he felt her shaking. “Chat, she knows about mermaids, we need to warn Tikki!”

“I think Tikki knows.” Adrien gently slipped his other arm beneath her tail. “I’m going to lift you, alright?” he announced before carefully picking her up at her affirming nod. “Captain Hardrock has been chasing after Chat Noir for years. I’m not surprised Tikki appears to know her.”

“Do you have a plan to escape?” Luka asked.

Adrien eyed him suspiciously. “I don’t know if I can trust you with that information.”

“Well, you can trust that I didn’t tell anyone about your crewmate out there.”

“What?” Adrien straightened up with a jolt.

Adrien tensed once again while Luka dug around in a pocket before brandishing a small slip of paper. “My sister spotted your crewmate in the woods, but she wants to help, so she didn’t raise the alarm. There’s another friend of ours, Ivan. He’s a good guy, and none of us want to stay.”

“Well, that’s a decent start.” Adrien rolled his shoulders as he relaxed a hair, shifting Marinette’s weight more comfortably against him as he recalled hearing someone call to an ‘Ivan’ before. Wasn’t that the man who’d tried bringing a fish to Marinette? Maybe they really weren’t as bad as the others. “I can’t say no to a good mutiny, especially if it riles up old Rock-face.”

In the muted silence of the chamber, a muffled racket penetrated the soil, vibrations rolling through the stones and causing pebbles and dust to sprinkle down from the ceiling as an alarm set the men above rushing about.

“Sounds like Nino’s set off the distraction. Hold tight, my lady.” At his words, Marinette hesitantly moved her arms up, eventually draping them over his shoulders to clasp behind his neck. He couldn’t help his grin at picking out the light splash of color tinting her cheeks from the close contact they were sharing. “Time for us to make our getaway,” he added once she was secure.

“Wait!” Luka held out a hand to stop him when he’d only taken a single step. “There’s a staircase down the cliff that leads to the docks,” Luka quickly explained. “With the alarm raised, everyone will mostly be on the fort-side.” He motioned toward Marinette. “If you can make it to the water fast enough, she can swim away.”

“Leaving me to flounder in the ocean?” Adrien added dryly, a hint of renewed suspicion narrowing his gaze. It wasn’t as if he couldn’t swim, but he doubted he could out-maneuver a boat in the water.

“I can pull you,” Marinette supplied, her grip tightening against him with her determination. “I’m strong enough to swim against currents, pulling you with me will be nothing.”

“I never doubted you for a second, Marinette.” Adrien fought off the urge to kiss her forehead, as her blush from earlier suggested she might not have been comfortable enough to accept his more personal flirtations. He simply nodded as he made to move through the doorway and back down the tunnel. “What about you and your companions?” he asked Luka.

“We’ll help with the distraction.” Luka smiled, following after him down the dreary tunnel. “If we can’t convince your crewmate that we’re helping, swing around to port and we’ll meet you where The Cataclysm is docked.”

“Will we need to worry about being surrounded?” Adrien asked as they quickly reached the entrance. Outside the door, men shouted urgently, and he could hear the thundering of many heavy boots stomping about.

“Captain Hardrock may not suspect that you’re here for Marinette,” Luka answered. “So my mother won’t see any reason to check on her during the commotion.”

“Right.” Adrien nodded before skidding to a sudden halt and spinning to face him, only careful not to jostle Marinette too roughly in his shock. “Wait… Your Mother!?” he yelped.

“Err… Did I not mention that?” Luka smiled sheepishly, as if he’d simply forgotten to mention that he’d misplaced some change in his pocket.

Before Adrien could tackle that particular reveal, the heavy door flew open, and a burly pirate brandishing a wicked cutlass stomped inside. Adrien only had time to dance out of the way while Luka darted forward and swung his instrument, knocking the man square in the head and slamming him into the nearby stone wall. The giant instantly slumped to the floor and didn’t move.

“I’ll deal with you later,” Adrien growled at Luka before sprinting out the doorway, only pausing for a beat as he surveyed his surroundings. He could hear shouts in the distance, and the high-pitched clang of a bell, but most of the noise was faint, indicating just as Luka had mentioned that most of Hardrock’s crew would be headed toward Nino’s distraction fort-side. He simply made sure his path was clear before peeling off down the walkway toward the cliffs. The stairs carved directly into the stone of the mountain, dipping over the edge of land that led to a sandy cove below.

“Did you know he was Hardrock’s son?” Adrien grumbled out to Marinette while he jogged carefully down the steep steps.

“He was honest about it when he told me,” Marinette answered, a concerned look on her face that Adrien couldn’t quite interpret. “He didn’t try to hide it.”

“Yeah, well, I can’t help but notice he didn’t offer it up sooner,” Adrien growled.

“And would that have changed anything?” Marinette stared defiantly back at him. “He helped me against her wishes, and only wants to be free. Doesn’t he deserve that chance?”

Not if he turns and gets us killed , Adrien kept to himself. Out loud, he didn’t respond, as he had spotted the dark silhouettes of men gathered on the sand ahead of them. A wooden dock stretched out along the calm water, covered by a circle of pock-marked cliffs of grit and stone. He could see a glimmer of moonlight shining on the ocean beyond breaks in the natural rock formations.

Ducking behind a pile of tightly packed barrels before they were spotted, he felt Marinette’s grip tighten nervously.

“I may need to put you down for a minute,” he warned her as he carefully set her against the sandy ground. Cautiously peeking from around their hiding place, he took note of the three men milling about near the docks despite the alarm that had sent most of the others into a flurry of action. This group must have been tasked with standing guard at the water regardless of what was happening fort-side.

If he wanted to get Marinette close to the ocean, he’d have to sneak her past them, which didn’t seem feasible with all three men keeping a constant eye out.

He turned back to Marinette and fished a small knife from his belt before holding it out to her. “Have you ever held one of these before?” he asked.

“What?” Marinette’s alarm was apparent, her eyes nervously shooting down before returning to his face.

He tapped a claw against the blade, unable to help the smirk that pulled at his lips. “If anyone comes near you, just stick them with the pointy end,” he teased.

“I know what a knife is,” Marinette quietly snapped, though when she took it from him, her gaze nervously flitted to the weapon again.

“Hopefully you won’t have to use it,” he said gently before slinking off to creep around the barrels, careful not to catch his claws on the rope that bound them to the pallet.

“Wait! Chat Noir!” Marinette’s voice hissed softly after him, but he ignored her and focused on his task.

The three men stood on the docks close to the water, but unfortunately, not close enough to knock them in. Two of the rough looking thugs faced the fort, while a third, stumpy brute, kept glancing out toward the ocean. Adrien kept to the shadows, having plenty of cargo to shift between, taking note of the guards’ occasional fidgeting. Regardless of their loyalty to their captain, staring out at a point in the darkness with only sparse torches dotting the landscape couldn’t have been easy on the eyes—especially without an enchanted night-vision mask. He patiently waited, like a cat pausing to strike, for the perfect opportunity.

His patience was rewarded when one of the thugs stretched his arms over his head in a dramatic yawn. With the man’s eyes closed in that split second, Adrien darted out from behind a crate and struck, slamming his fist right into the guy’s stomach. The startled pirate collapsed with a pained grunt, the other two instantly alert and spinning to face him.

Unsheathing the slim, intricate rapier from his belt, Adrien blocked a swing from the stumpy man, attempting a parry to push the guy closer to the nearby waters, but as he shifted his weight, his thuggish friend came up on Adrien’s side brandishing a curved blade.

“Woah! Not very honorable, are you?” He grinned cheekily as he managed to step aside, dancing out of both of their ranges. While he was dealing with the two still conscious, all too quickly, he heard the first one groan and began to stir. Adrien shifted his attention with irritation, keeping his sword up in defense while he tried to determine the best course of action. All the while he could hear distant shouting up the cliff, certain it was drawing nearer due to the commotion.

Both men now had their swords drawn, the metal sparking and ringing sharply when he caught one of their forward slashes with his hilt. The second thug charged forward with a shout, and Adrien had to fling the first pirate’s sword to throw him off balance in order to dodge out of the way. The charging scum fell on top of his downed companion when he tripped over Adrien’s boot.

Unfortunately, that only seemed to wake the stunned man, as he shoved his friend off of him and growled, “Get off me, you oaf!”

The two on the ground eventually regained their footing and carefully stood to face him. All the while, the third pirate drew a second sword and shot Adrien a toothy grin as he demonstrated his swordsmanship in a flurry of whirling blades before stopping to pose with both swords pointed his way.

“Well,” Adrien huffed irritably, pointing his rapier between the three men. “Three on one doesn’t really seem fair does it?” With a flourish, Adrien tossed his sword over from his right hand to catch it in his left. “There, now I’m using my non-dominant hand, so this is more of an equal fight!”

“Pompous little wretch!” the stumpy pirate in the middle spat before charging at him carelessly, just as Adrien had counted on. He effortlessly side-stepped the man, spinning around to slash at his backside. He howled with pain, definitely drawing attention from above. Without giving the man a second to recover, Adrien then stomped on his back, kicking him and slamming his face into the sandy ground.

One down, Adrien counted to himself, turning back to face the remaining pair. Two to go.

The other two pirates obviously had a bit more patience and skill with the blade, charging him together and managing to parry a few of his strikes when he attempted to slash at them. Amidst the sharp clang of metal and lighting fast sweeps, Adrien took note of the growing shouts of alarm coming from the top of the cliff.

Adrien clenched his sword tighter in frustration. Maybe if he were on his own, he wouldn’t care much for the encroaching pirates, but at the moment, he was hyper aware of the fact that Marinette was hidden away nearby. He wouldn’t be able to fight off an entire hoard while keeping her safe!

Just as he was trying to come up with a strategy, Adrien’s heart froze when he heard Marinette shout, “Chat Noir!” He jabbed at the men, getting them to back off for a split second when her voice rose again. “There are more pirates coming!”

What the hell, Marinette!? Adrien’s attention instantly focused on the man with two swords as he sneered and made a mad dash around his left. Releasing an animalistic sounding growl from his throat, Adrien shot out in a desperate move to foil him, but his second opponent lunged, suddenly grabbing a hold of his shirt and using the force of their spin to toss Adrien back toward the docks. “Marinette!” Adrien fearfully yelled as he stumbled to his feet, only to stop in his tracks when he had to parry another attack.

The man wielding dual blades crept up beside the precariously stacked pile of barrels, letting out a haughty sounding laugh while Adrien could only glare. But before the pirate could move any closer, a rope holding the drums in place suddenly snapped, and the heap began to collapse, bouncing and rolling right for the pirate. He had no time to react before he disappeared beneath a massive wave of containers most likely filled with extremely heavy rum.

Adrien’s opponent snapped his gaze toward the cacophony, and with that distraction, he took the opportunity to shove him right into the path of a rolling barrel. It slammed against the back of his knees, Adrien simultaneously stabbing him in his chest and causing the man to topple, easily cracking his head against another cask before laying still in the sand.

Adrien let out a heavy breath, then sprinted over to where Marinette sat, her hiding space exposed without the stack of barrels to hide behind. She held the frayed end of a rope in one hand, along with the knife he’d left with her in the other. “Told you I knew what a knife is,” she laughed at him.

“You’re absolutely crazy!” Adrien yelped as he stowed his sword, then quickly and unceremoniously scooped her up in his arms, turning on a dime and rushing toward the dock. The clamor of men thundering down the cliffside after them continued to grow louder.

Then a gunshot echoed like thunder along the cliff faces, and the sand near his boots exploded in a rain of dust.

“Chat Noir!” Captain Hardrock’s voice furiously screeched over the distance.

“Shit!” He sprinted faster despite the slippery sand shifting beneath each pounding step. He hugged Marinette closer and tucked her head protectively against his chest. “I won’t let her take you again!” he growled out through grit teeth.

The water was so, so close. If he could just make it over the docks, where the beginnings of the deep ocean taunted him with freedom, then at least Marinette could jump in and swim away. After that, nothing else mattered, because she would be safe at last.

His boots stomped heavily over the solid, wooden boards, finally making it to the beginning of the docks. Right as he passed the threshold, a plank beside him burst in a rain of splinters as another shot hit only centimeters away. Adrien didn’t bother checking over his shoulder. He spotted a space between a pair of rowboats and leapt into the water with Marinette still in his arms, the explosion of gunfire and shouts of men suddenly muffled beneath a cascade of bubbles and roiling water surrounding him.

Adrien panicked for a second, with his eyes closed against the sting of salt, when he felt Marinette’s form slip from his grasp, until he realized that she was moving of her own accord. Her tail slid carefully alongside his chest, and his eyes blinked open to peer through the deep shadows. Thanks to his mask, he could clearly see Marinette maneuvering in the water in front of him, her lithe form elegant and beautiful as she turned and reached out for him, taking his hand in hers.

He felt, more than heard, the dull thump of whizzing bullets hitting the water’s surface uselessly above them, unable to penetrate deep enough beneath the tide. With the danger above, muted beneath a thick layer of ocean, Marinette carefully began to tug him forward, her powerful tail swishing through the water beside him and eventually pulling him out into the open sea beyond the docks.

Adrien chanced a glance back, as Marinette seemed more than capable of propelling them both. Not that he hadn’t already tried to help, but his floundering kicks didn’t appear to add anything to his lady’s speed and grace beneath the waves. The shadow of smaller boats sped after them up top, and he could see the ripples and foaming bubbles from the musket fire still peppering the surface. Deep beneath the surf, the quiet and calm pressure of the water was a safe haven from the horrors above.

He felt a growing sense of victory, up until his lungs started to burn with the need for air. But above, danger and gunfire chased them, while below safety and tranquility protected them. Despite how agile Marinette was in the water, they still weren’t out of the bay or far enough from Hardrock’s men. If he surfaced then, they would surely shoot him dead.

Adrien tried to hold on just a bit more, but he unintentionally tightened his grip as he raised his other hand to pinch his nose, a flurry of air bubbles escaping in the process. Obviously feeling something was off, Marinette turned her head to face him and paused before her expression suddenly widened. He could see her lips moving, the unintelligible sound of her voice completely muffled by the water as his vision began to cloud.

Her gaze moved up to the surface before returning to him, her mouth set into a stern frown. Marinette’s fingers delicately grazed his cheek as she lifted her hands to cup his face and pulled him gently toward her. The hazy fog that had been descending over his mind instantly lifted, and Adrien’s heart skipped a beat when her delicate lips pressed against his, her soft contact burning in contrast to the cold of their surroundings. He stilled, not really knowing why she was… Was this appropriate? But as a warm tingling sensation flooded in through his nerves, he eventually closed his eyes and leaned into her, lifting his hands to caress the back of her head. Gently, minding the claws of his gloves, his fingers wove into the soft strands of her loose hair.

Unexpectedly, Adrien felt Marinette stiffen beneath his touch, but before he could pull away and think that he’d done something wrong, she’d already slid her hands down to his shoulders, her tight grip telling him to stay.

A sudden, slightly painful pinch of what felt like electricity sparked between them, and Marinette jerked away, her eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. “C-Chat Noir?”

“Oh,” he gasped softly, taking in a deep, grateful breath somehow. It was an odd sensation, to have the water pressing around him yet also not feel as if he were suffocating. And their voices? He grinned in delight when he heard the wonderful sound of her voice despite being fully submerged. “I can breathe?”

“I… It's the magic…” Her voice sounded flustered, and her face appeared flushed as she lowered her hands to his wrist and tugged him gently through the water. “Tikki once mentioned that mermaids often save drowning sailors...”

“Oh…” he softly responded, disappointment lowering over him like a fog. “So that wasn’t…?”

“Wasn’t… What?” Marinette tilted her head innocently.

“Nevermind…” he muttered, quickly falling silent as he allowed her to pull him along. Though she’d paused to save his life, the boats carrying Hardrock’s men eventually lost them over the distance, and she led him further and further into the endless abyss. The deep blues extended out into blackness in all directions, a quiet following alongside them in the serenity of the sea.

“Marinette!” Adrien heard the cry clearly through the darkness before three shapes formed out of the shadows far ahead of them. When Tikki swam close enough, Marinette released his hand as the older mermaid swept her up in a spinning embrace, bubbles foaming around them at their spritely greeting. “I was so worried about you! I can’t even—” Tikki held her out at arm’s length, gaze darting over her. “Are you hurt?” she urgently demanded.

While Tikki was busy appraising Marinette’s condition, with Marinette reassuring her matriarch that she was fine, Adrien suddenly found himself surrounded by an extremely curious Alya and Rose. The pair of mermaids darted and wove energetic circles around him, their faces dominated by inquisitive and calculating gazes.

“I thought humans drowned?” Alya eventually came to a stop with her hands on her hips, her narrowed gaze analyzing what she was looking at. Before Adrien could get a chance to explain, Alya suddenly gasped, spinning to Marinette with her hands clasped together, her expression a mix of shock and delight. “You. Did. Not!” she shouted.

“I—I…” Marinette’s face turned a distinct shade of red that almost matched her scales. “He can’t breathe underwater, Alya! I was saving him!” she tried protesting.

“By kissing him!” Rose squealed with delight while Alya crossed her arms and smirked almost triumphantly.

“That’s how the magic works!” Marinette’s voice pitched up in tone before hiding her face beneath her hands and curling her tail in front of her, though Adrien could still see the embarrassment burning on her exposed skin.

“Uhm…  We should probably be getting back to the ship,” Adrien hesitantly began. He glanced over his shoulder, back in the direction of the cove. Or so he thought. With water surrounding them on all sides, everything looked the same to him. He wasn’t quite certain where they were, or where they had come from. “Captain Hardrock will be gunning to beat us to it,” he finished.

“He’s right.” Tikki pointed to Alya and Rose. “You two make sure Hardrock and her crew don’t make it out of the port. Marinette and I will take Adrien back to The Cataclysm.”

Rose saluted before swimming off after Alya, the pair not hesitating to do as they were told despite the chaos of only a moment ago. Marinette, however, received a few gentle, hushed words of encouragement from Tikki before she was willing to move. Her face still appeared flushed when she reached out for Adrien’s hand, but Tikki swam between them and took his arm instead, shaking her head. “You’ve been through enough, Marinette. I’ll take him the rest of the way.”

Marinette didn’t argue, she simply nodded wearily and followed after Tikki as she swam out into the endless abyss, guiding Adrien along beside her. He was impressed, to say the least, about mermaids’ ability to navigate the seas, because apart from knowing where the surface was, he had no idea which direction was where.

Along the way, Adrien continued to steal small glances at Marinette the whole time. As Tikki had observed, she’d had a rough time dealing with Hardrock. Her eyelids drooped, and she didn’t seem to be fully paying attention, seemingly following Tikki through the water on instinct alone.

Soon enough, Adrien spotted the dark shape of The Cataclysm’s bow floating in the water and couldn’t help his wide grin. While Tikki pulled him ahead, he noticed when Marinette suddenly fell behind.

“Marinette?” Adrien called back to her, and Tikki paused to turn as well. Marinette had stopped, her eyes closed and hands pressed against her forehead.

“I just… feel dizzy…” Marinette managed to mumble before her head lolled to the side and her body went limp right there in the water.

Tikki instantly released him and darted to Marinette’s side, catching her by the shoulders and shaking her gently. “Marinette? Marinette! What’s wrong?” Tikki cried out in a panic.

Adrien’s heart jolted with worry as he paddled up next to her. “Is this happening because she saved me?” he asked.

“No… “ Tikki’s voice trembled slightly as she shook her head. “No. Sharing her magic with you shouldn’t have done this,” she explained before her determined gaze shot up to meet his. “Master Fu… Get her on board to Master Fu!”

Adrien nodded, carefully grabbing Marinette’s other arm to try and help as Tikki pulled her to the surface. As soon as he hit the air, Adrien waved his arm above his head and shouted, “Oy!” They must have been waiting for him, because Nino and Max immediately appeared over the railing like prairie dogs popping out from their holes. “Quick! Throw down a line!” Adien yelled up to them. “Something’s wrong with Marinette!”

They wasted no time getting a rope tossed over the rail, and Adrien hurriedly stuck his boot in the loop they’d tied at the end. With Tikki’s help, he got Marinette safely situated, holding tightly around her waist while wrapping the rope around his other arm and giving the signal for his friends to pull them up. Once they were close enough to the railing he immediately shouted, “Where’s Master Fu!?”

“Here!” Someone must have run to tell the master, because the old man was already shuffling toward them while his friends helped Adrien lift Marinette onto the deck. “What has happened?” Fu hurriedly asked.

“It’s Marinette!” Adrien gently picked her up again, gaze nervously darting over her. Nothing seemed physically wrong but… Her eyes were still closed, and her breathing sounded irregular. “She fainted in the water—”

Adrien’s words cut out in a cold fear when Marinette suddenly screamed, her body convulsing and hands swiping up to claw at his drenched coat.

“Get her to a bed!” Master Fu shouted over her cry before spinning around and sprinting toward the cabins faster than he’d ever seen the man go. “Quickly!” he urged, not needing to tell Adrien twice as he jumped up, clutching Marinette to his chest while she squirmed and fought him. Her eyes were still shut tight, seemingly unaware of the world around her.

As he jogged through the hallway toward the cabins, Marinette’s nails painfully dug into his chest, but he refused to release her, determined to get her to a safe spot where Master Fu could help her. It was a bit difficult, however, as her tail jerked about and flailed in sudden spasms, as if she were in immense pain.

Adrien managed to get her into one of the vacant rooms, laying her as gently as he could on top of the pale sheets. “What’s happening to her?” Adrien breathed fearfully.

“I’m not sure.” Master Fu pulled at his beard, concern etched in his furrowed brow. “If you could explain what brought this about—” The old man suddenly froze, then jumped up without explanation and grabbed the bed sheets in a motion that was shockingly agile for his age. Before Adrien could comprehend what was going on, Master Fu had ripped the sheets away and tossed them back over Marinette.

Letting out a sharp, gasping cry, Marinette curled up onto her side, knuckles white as she tightly gripped the cover Master Fu had thrown over her. Adrien watched in horror… then in wonder… as her exposed tail fin pulsed with a soft red glow. Her pained spasms turned to shivering, and her breathing hitched as the fin began to morph and shrink into a smaller shape.

“She’s changing back…” Adrien breathed in awe. While he was concerned about the pain she was clearly suffering, he couldn’t help but feel relief at what he was witnessing.

Master Fu clapped his hands together before moving them slowly over her, a deep, wordless chant rumbling in his throat. Whether from the sound or the motion, Marinette eventually quieted down, the glow of magic beneath the sheets fading, and her expression relaxing into one of peace. “Strange,” Master Fu observed quietly as he moved to the foot of the bed and tugged at a corner of the blankets. He pulled it away only enough to reveal Marinette’s fully-formed, very much human legs beneath the covers. “She has somehow lost her fins.”

“She’s human again…” Adrien marveled, stepping closer and holding his hand protectively over Marinette’s head without touching her. A mix of sweat and lingering saltwater beaded her skin, and her quiet breathing sounded ragged to Adrien's ears. “Marinette?” he softly whispered to her, but she didn’t show any signs of response.

“Do we know how she came to be like this?” Master Fu calmly turned to him.

Adrien knelt down by the bedside and gently brushed aside Marinette’s wet bangs, jerking his hand back when she physically flinched away from his touch, though she still did not wake. “Tikki… Tikki said that someone might have used the earrings to do this to her.” Adrien clenched his fist against the pillow, but did not move to touch her again. “But we don’t know who or why.”

“Hmmm…” Master Fu moved over to the small dresser in the room and grabbed a bowl of water that Adrien hadn’t noticed before. The older man dunked a square of cloth into the bowl before wringing it out. “Anything is plausible when magic is involved.” He moved to stand next to Adrien and offered him the rag. Adrien didn’t take it until Master Fu shook it more urgently at him, his eyes darting to the cloth, then back up. “The pain she is experiencing will fade with care. The worst of it may remain in her legs, where she once had a fin.”

Adrien hesitated only a moment more before accepting the damp cloth, Master Fu giving him an encouraging smile as Adrien tried once more, carefully dabbing at the sweat on Marinette’s brow. She shifted in whatever sleep she was stuck in, but did not pull away from him again.

“How long has she been like this?” Master Fu quietly asked in the solemn peace that settled over them after Marinette’s harrowing distress.

“Eight months?” Adrien answered. “If it happened around the time she went missing…”

“That is quite a while. Why has she only turned back now?” Master Fu mused, carefully fixing the sheets over Marinette’s legs and straightening the covers. “Did you find a way to break the magic affecting her?”

“Not on purpose…” Adrien mumbled absentmindedly, folding the cloth and laying it gently over Marinette’s forehead. Her face looked more serene, as if in sleep, and as she mumbled unintelligible words, his eyes trailed down to her lips… Adrien’s cheeks flushed at the memory. “We… kissed.” He lifted his gaze to Master Fu. “Could that have done it?”

Master Fu let out a quiet chuckle. “Like a fairy tale?” He patted Adrien’s arm. “You have a romantic imagination, but if the spell cast on Marinette is due to Tikki’s earrings, then I think your mask has more to do with this.” He then poked the Chat Noir mask still over Adrien’s eyes. “It is an item brought to life by Chat Noir’s ring. More likely, the inherent magic disrupted her curse,” he explained.

“So she’s human again?” Adrien excitedly asked, hopeful that it could be true.

Master Fu shook his head, and Adrien’s shoulders slumped. “I’m not sure. It might only be temporary. We won’t know unless we watch her to make certain.” He then tugged at Adrien’s sleeve to pull him from his seat, leading him over to the door. “Now shoo! She needs rest. I will see to it that she recovers.” With that, Master Fu pushed him into the hall with a sudden, unexpected strength and quietly closed the door behind him. Dumbfounded at how quickly he’d been thrown out, Adrien turned to the hallway, startled to find Alix and Max standing in front of him.

“Well?” Alix asked expectantly. “Is Marinette alright?”

Adrien patted the air with his hands. “She’s okay.” His friends visibly relaxed, both of them releasing matching sighs of obvious relief. “Master Fu thinks the spell turning her into a mermaid was… disrupted.”

“Disrupted how?” Max asked.

“I don’t know! Magical mumbo-jumbo?” Adrien waved his hands in exasperation, not in the mood to go into detail. He could feel the heat rising to his face at the memory of their kiss. “Where’s Nino and Kim?” he quickly asked, eager to change the subject.

“Guarding the boat from some potential turncoats,” Alix answered with a wave of her hand. “You know anyone from Hardrock’s crew?”

Adrien followed them out to the deck, where they found Nino and Kim leaning over the port side. He stepped up beside his friends, following their watchful gazes to discover Luka floating on a dinghy in the waters with two other people. A young woman with long, dark hair partially covering her face sat close to him, while a vaguely familiar, large, burly man had a hold of the oars. His eyes darted over the water warily as the obscured forms of Tikki, Rose and Alya circled their boat just below the surface, the waves seeming to magically swirl around them and prevent them from moving.

“Know these folks, captain?” Nino waved his arm out at the waters below as he leaned over the railing. “That musician looking one claims he helped you rescue your lady love.” Nino’s gaze was sharp, but his expression gave way to a playful smirk at his choice of words.

“Oh, I know him. ” Adrien nodded as he joined Nino at the railing and called down, “Tikki! It’s alright, you can let them go. I’ve got a bit of a story, but Marinette’s sleeping now. Master Fu is taking care of her.”

“Oh, thank goodness!” Rose was the first to veer away and break the surface of the water, surprising Luka’s two companions as the trio of mermaids splashed up beside their boat.

“Thank you, Chat Noir.” Tikki’s warm expression was filled with genuine gratitude. “I knew she would be well protected in your care.”

“Yes… well…” Adrien scratched at his nose absentmindedly, his gaze awkwardly veering away from what he felt was undeserved praise. “I’d have more confidence in that if I had actually done my job to prevent all this.”

Tikki chuckled at that. “Marinette would be in far worse circumstances if you hadn’t been here at all.” She then turned, affectionately patting her two charges on their shoulders. “We will return once you sail further out to sea.” She paused before a very uncharacteristic smirk pulled at her expression. “And don’t worry about Hardrock catching up, Alya made sure you would have a generous head-start.”

“Can’t sail a ship with a shark-sized hole in it! HAH!” Alya crowed with triumph before diving beneath the waves.

“I feel a little sorry for the shark though…” Rose pouted, shortly before following after her friend and matriarch.

“Uh…” Luka raised both his hands into the air above his head, eyes warily glancing between The Cataclysm and the spot where the mermaids had disappeared. “Permission to come aboard, captain?”

“Got a reason you wanna join our crew?” Alix leaned over the rail, singling them out with a suspicious narrowing of her gaze.

“We really just don’t want to be murdered by Captain Hardrock,” Ivan grunted, his expression emotionless.

“Ivan…” Luka sighed and slapped his own forehead.

“It’s true…” the woman beside Luka muttered, almost inaudibly, though Adrien had no trouble picking it up.

“It appears we have a common goal,” Adrien confidently announced with a wide grin.

“If it helps any,” Nino interjected. “The big guy there took out a good amount of Hardrock’s men as they were chasing me. So they’ve got a few fifty points in their favor.”

Adrien nodded. “Well then, my first-mate has spoken.” He grabbed a hold of the coil of rope Kim handed to him and tossed it over the side. “Welcome aboard, friends.”

Chapter Text

The first sensation Marinette became aware of was the pain. Every limb, every muscle, every fiber of her being ached and stung all the way from skin to bones. It took her an agonizing amount of time to focus and pull herself together, the fog of confusion weighing heavily on her mind. At least the sheets beneath her were soft, a silky fabric brushing gently against tender flesh that prickled as if she were being stuck by hundreds of sharp needles. She didn’t know how she managed to fall asleep despite such torment. Had she fallen asleep? Her memory was too clouded to recall.

Her eyes eventually fluttered open to the soft sunlight spilling in through a porthole off to the side, and Marinette became vaguely aware of a gentle rocking motion.

“Urgh…” She dragged her arms beneath her and used them to push herself up slowly, working her way through the haze of pain as it slowly subsided—the ache in her head at least. The rest of her body trembled with the effort to move, limbs heavy and unresponsive. She felt as if she had swum across the ocean on her own! Which… Wait… Why did she actually remember swimming…?

“Adrien…” his name rose to her lips without thinking, not clearly seeing him, but feeling the need to call him. The last thing she remembered was… His voice calling to her… Pirates? There were gunshots, and boats, and… And… And she had… s-she—with Adrien…!?

Marinette covered her face with her hands when the memory bubbled to the surface of her mind, as if through a fog that was slowly clearing. She… She kissed him. She kissed Adrien!?

Her head shot up as her heart jolted in her chest, pounding furiously from the adrenaline that suddenly rushed through her. Like a torrent of water breaking loose, several memories surged forward, pushing to the forefront of her mind too quickly for her to grasp. Tears welled in her eyes and spilled down her face at the onslaught of emotion pouring into her. It was fragmented at best, but she could recall a few important remnants from her life before that she had somehow forgotten. Parents that she hadn’t remembered to miss, friends that had been looking for her. A boy whom she deeply loved…

“Adrien…” she once again whispered to herself, her vision blurry through the tears but still searching around the small cabin as if his name might summon him. Ignoring the screaming pain in her body, Marinette straightened up on the bed and turned to look toward the door. “Adrien!” she at last managed to shout.

A dull thud vibrated elsewhere through the ship’s wooden hull, the din immediately followed by a beat of heavy footfalls, growing louder and louder as they thumped closer, matching in time with the frantic pounding of her heart. The door of the small cabin eventually burst open, and Adrien stood there in the doorway, his chest heaving beneath a white dress shirt and sweat beading his brow. His eyes immediately lighted upon her face, widening when he took her in.

“Marinette? You’re—” He then seemed to freeze in place, his expression falling slack in an odd way as his eyes trailed down before quickly jumping up. He spun around and turned his back to her, only glancing to the side but not actually looking in her direction, his skin flushed as he ran a hand over his face. “You… umm… clothes...”

Marinette blinked at him, then glanced down, realizing all too late that, aside from the blanket sliding down her back and crumpled in front of her atop the bed sheets, she was without a single piece of clothing; the only items on her being the two charm bracelets circling her wrist.

“Ah…” Marinette gasped, before a shrill shriek ripped from her throat. “OH GOD WHYYYY!?” She tried to hide, to cover herself as her face set itself aflame with the deepest blush from her embarrassment. But her legs floundered awkwardly, and tugging at the sheets only managed to drag her own body over the edge of the bed where she plummeted and thudded painfully against the floor.

“What the hell is going on in here!?” Alix shoved past Adrien, who seemed to be torn between helping and avoiding looking at her. Alix took one look at Marinette and spun around to start shoving Adrien out of the room. “Alright, you! OUT!”

“W-wait—but—!” Adrien tried protesting, but Alix was relentless.

“NOPE. Girl time! Now!” Alix shouted as she gave him one final push to slam the door behind him before rushing to Marinette and kneeling beside her. “You alright, Marinette?” Alix gently asked.

“Alix…” Marinette cried, her entire face still burning as she tried to bury herself beneath the blanket she’d inadvertently pulled with her. She was certain her ears might have even been steaming with how hot they felt. “How can I be!? I was—In front of Adrien—”

“Woah…” Alix blinked, the confusion apparent in her expression. “Did you remember something? Cause it almost sounds like—”

A soft knock rapped against the door, making Marinette jump right before an elderly voice floated from the other side. “Is Marinette decent?”

“Oh! Hold on.” Alix turned and helped guide Marinette’s arm carefully over her shoulders, letting Marinette use her as a means of balance as she struggled with the simple task of climbing back onto the bed. Eventually they succeeded, and Alix handed her the blanket, which Marinette quickly used to cover herself. “Okay. We don’t have any clothes for her right now, but she’s good,” Alix announced.

The door quietly creaked open, and a short, older man strolled in, his wrinkled face scrunched up with a gentle smile.

“Can I come in too?” Marinette heard Adrien’s voice pitch in a pitiful sounding whine, which didn’t do anything to improve her deepening blush.

“NO!!!” Marinette immediately yelped.

“Why not?” She saw Adrien’s pout as he stuck his head around the door and added, “I’m only worried about you.”

“B-because…” Marinette hid her face beneath the blanket as she turned her gaze away. “I… I’m not wearing anything…”

“None of the mermaids wear clothes.” A mischievous smile grew over Adrien’s face. “So I’ve already seen you naked anyway.”

“ADRIEN AGRESTE!!!” Marinette's jaw dropped open, astonished at the audacity of his remark and feeling as if she were going to melt on the spot. For the first time in her life, Marinette was horrified by the idea of being in the same room with him. “GET OUT!!!” she furiously screamed.

“W-wait…” Adrien’s eyes blew wide as he stared at her, rather than actually listen to her. “You remember my name?”

Alix jumped up and tried closing the door, nearly slamming it on Adrien in the process. “You’ve got a thick head, lover boy! Be of some use and find Marinette clothes that she can wear!”

“But—her memories—!” Adrien tried to argue, but Alix, despite her small size, managed to close the door on him.

“Like I said, girl time!” Alix shouted. “Give her a chance to recover first!”

Adrien grumbled something unintelligible before his footsteps eventually faded down the hall.

“Good morning, Marinette,” the frail-looking old man greeted her, dragging a stool over to the bedside and settling down on it. “Are you feeling any better?”

“Umm…” Though things had calmed down, her heart still thundered in her chest as if it were trying to beat some kind of record. “I-I’m sorry, have we met?”

The old man chuckled. “Forgive me, we weren’t properly introduced.” He gave her a slight bow with his head. “I am Master Fu, a healer. I just want to help and make sure you are alright,” he explained, pointing toward her legs hidden beneath the blanket. “After your transformation, you might still be experiencing some pain, so just let me know where it hurts.”

“Oh… Okay,” Marinette softly responded while he patted the edge of the bed. She tried to move to where he’d indicated, but her legs, past the sore, sharp ache that radiated through them, felt like lead and didn’t properly respond. Thankfully, Alix was there to help her slide over the mattress without the bed sheet slipping up and revealing anything private. “I-it’s mostly my legs, I don’t think I can walk…”

“As I expected. Do not worry, I have knowledge of an easy remedy,” Master Fu said as he drew closer and gently lifted one of her eyelids. “And from the sound of things, it appears that you have recovered some of your lost memories. I don’t want you to strain yourself, but can you tell me how much you remember?”

“Umm… It’s hard to tell.” She winced when he leaned down and pushed the bed sheet up just enough to extend and inspect one of her legs. Despite his gentle hands, her stinging muscles cried out from the slight movement. “It’s like I have flashes and pieces. I… I remember that I have parents… my friends… A-and Adrien…”

“Do you remember who turned you into a mermaid?” Alix asked before flinching and quieting beneath a stern glance from Master Fu.

Marinette rubbed her forehead, trying to remember anything before she’d met Alya, Tikki and Rose. She recalled traveling on a ship, a dark, raging storm building off in the distance over the sea. The captain of the vessel had told her to head below deck for safety, but after that… She winced at a flare of pain in her head. “I don’t,” Marinette gasped quietly. “I remember the storm, and the waves… A-and after that it’s just… nothing.” She shivered suddenly, a strange sense of dread rising from the abyss that billowed through a memory she couldn't even recall. “I-I’m sorry.”

“No need to apologize, just breathe in slowly through your nose,” Master Fu instructed, pressing two fingers to her forehead and tilting her head back slowly. “Close your eyes and relax your body. Yes, just like that.”

Master Fu was much older and seemed frail, but his hand against her back was a solid support as he helped lower her onto the bed. The tension in her head eased up, and Marinette eventually melted into the soft sheets, the shadows of Master Fu’s arm waving beyond her closed eyelids. His gentle hands pressed somewhere against her stomach through the blanket, and rather than pain, some of the sharp stinging in her legs miraculously subsided.

There was a knock at the door, but Marinette paid it no mind as her body drifted into an almost calming trance, the plush mattress pillowing comfortably around her stiff limbs.

“Took you long enough,” she heard Alix snap as the door creaked open, followed by the delicate sound of rustling fabrics.

“I wasn’t certain if you required any specific clothing, but these might be sufficient enough.” Marinette recognized Max’s voice while something noisily fluttered into the room. A gentle gust blew over her, followed by a soft tapping against the bed frame above her. Curious, she cracked a single eyelid open to find a beady little gaze staring down at her.

With a start, Marinette bolted upright, blinking back as a parrot fluffed up his feathers and danced from one talon to the other. “Mermaid,” the grey parrot sang happily.

“Geeze, Max,” Alix sighed. “Control your bird.”

“Markov is his own person,” Max sniffed, still hidden behind the door. “But I do apologize for his intrusion, Marinette.”

“Oh, umm… It’s fine,” Marinette assured him, making sure the blanket wouldn’t slip from her shoulders this time while not taking her eyes off the bird. She briefly remembered their first meeting, though she hadn’t paid him much mind considering everything else going on at the time. It was an odd feeling, even if she couldn’t recall the exact memories, but she just knew that Max didn’t have a pet bird before.

While she was busy sorting through her thoughts, Markov stood patiently before her, balancing on one claw and holding the other up as if offering it to her. Giving him a hesitant smile, Marinette lifted her hand. To her delight, Markov grasped her finger gently and wiggled his talon, as if he was shaking hands. 

“Markov, mademoiselle,” the little parrot politely introduced himself.

Marinette giggled and returned his greeting. “Marinette. A pleasure to meet you, monsieur.”

“Mermaid Marinette,” Markov cheerily responded, bouncing his head up and down excitedly.

“He’s adorable, Max.” Marinette turned toward the doorway where her friend was still hidden. “When did you meet him?” she asked.

“Shortly after I began sailing with—” Max started, but immediately faltered. “Hmm? I wasn’t sure if I believed the Captain, but it does indeed sound like some of your memory has returned.”

‘The Captain.’ That, for some reason, triggered something in her mind. Flashes of memories played in her head, of Adrien carrying her through the pirates' fort, his playful smile as he took her hand, laying a chaste kiss against her fingers… Her face began to burn again. “I-I do seem to be remembering a lot of things…” she mumbled.

“Alright, let her rest.” Alix held open the door, cradling a pile of shimmering clothing draped over her arms as she motioned toward the hallway. “All boys except Master Fu, out! We’re not trying to overwhelm her, geeze!”

Alix must have been indicating Markov, because the bird fluttered his wings, but instead of leaving the room, he remained seated on the headboard and made a noise that sounded like a raspberry in retort.

“Excuse you, bird brain!?” Alix snapped, stomping closer and reaching out as if to grab at him.

Markov let out a shrill screech and suddenly took off from the bed frame before Alix could move any further, his feathery form veering around her and quickly swooping out through the open doorway.

“Alix!” Max yelped. “Careful!”

Master Fu closed his eyes with a sigh, shaking his head as he turned back to face Marinette while Alix shut the door. “How are you feeling now, Marinette?” he gently asked.

“Better,” Marinette simply answered. While the stiffness in her legs wasn’t completely gone, it wasn’t the intense pain that it had been before. “Thank you.”

“No thanks necessary.” He nodded with a smile. “Now, Alix, could you help her dress? I’d like to see how well she can walk.”

Marinette didn’t want to trouble Alix with such a rudimentary task as getting dressed, but she quickly found her limbs didn’t want to cooperate. Each movement was stiff and awkward, and she didn’t actually have the strength to stand without her legs immediately buckling beneath her.

So while Master Fu waited outside, Alix helped her sort through the small offering of clothes that Max had brought, a trio of dresses that Marinette felt were much too luxurious to be wearing on a ship, let alone by someone like her. The first gown was made from a light blue silk, with white, fancy trim and too many layers. The second, in her favorite color pink, had an extremely low neckline that she didn’t feel comfortable with at all.

The third choice seemed best; a double-layer, red gown with short sleeves that led into a comfortable sash and would be easier for her to move around in. Black lace decorated the front in an elegant fading pattern that trailed down into a dark mesh all the way to the hem.

“Looks like he raided our trade supplies,” Alix snickered with a strange grin, helping Marinette with a hand on her back as she slipped her arms through the delicate sleeves. “Adrien’s old man will be pissed.”

Marinette stiffened at the mention of Adrien’s father, an ominous, unpleasant feeling growing in the back of her mind. Another memory fizzled beneath the fog, an unsettling one that she mentally fled from when it sent a shock of cold through her and hitched her breath. “He… he won’t get in trouble, will he?” Marinette stammered.

“Ha!” Alix clapped a hand against her back before darting forward when Marinette lost her balance from the impact. As her friend helped her back to her feet, Alix replied, “I’m sure Adrien did it on purpose. He’d love to piss him off.”

Alix’s words caught Marinette off guard as she paused. Her memories were still a jumbled mess at best, but what she could remember of Adrien… Her gentle friend who always worried about obeying his father? “Are you sure we’re talking about the same Adrien?”

“Our golden boy has grown a backbone since you’ve been gone.” Alix smirked. “Now, let’s take a look at that dress.” Alix left Marinette sitting on the bed for support while she scrambled back and tilted her head in appraisal. “Well, great. You look like one of those hoity-toity ladies of society, but at least it’s something to wear.” A wide smile grew on Alix’s face as she arched a single eyebrow suspiciously. “I bet our captain can’t keep his eyes off you.”

Marinette’s cheeks flushed warmly while her heart beat out a heavy rhythm. “I d-don’t think he’d care, Alix,” she stammered nervously, toying with the loose strands of her hair. She tried pulling it back into a bun, but forgetting she had nothing to pin it up with, Marinette simply let it fall back over her shoulders. “Isn’t this a bit too… elegant?”

“Are you kidding!?” Alix frowned while stepping forward to help slip a pair of red-silk slippers onto Marinette's feet. “He’d be blind not to care! Now, c’mon, time to show off.” Alix reached out once she was finished, and with Master Fu returning to assist, managed to guide Marinette in taking her first wobbly step. Unfortunately, that was all she could manage on her own. On her second attempt, her legs buckled, and she would have collapsed if Alix hadn’t quickly grabbed her.

“I’m sorry, I’m so clumsy,” Marinette sighed.

Master Fu shook his head. “This isn’t your fault. You’ve had fins for the past eight months, so you haven’t properly used your legs in all that time.” He patted her arm while she leaned against Alix. “It will just take some time for you to get used to them again and build up your strength."

“Just take it all one step at a time,” Alix said, beaming at her. “Ready to meet the crew again?”

Marinette gulped, but nodded as her friend led her out into the hallway. After an agonizing length of time stumbling down the hall, even with someone to lean on, Marinette eventually made it out onto the deck, almost losing her footing again when a powerful gust nearly knocked her over. Squinting her eyes against the brilliant sunlight, she was met with a pale sky of wispy clouds stretched out on all sides over an endless horizon of blue-green waves splashing against the hull of the ship. The crisp air tasted of salt, and every so often a light mist of sea water tickled her exposed skin.

And there at the railing Alix led her toward, Marinette spotted two figures turned to one another in discussion: one man with a forest green hood whose face she couldn't see, and the other with perfect blonde hair despite the sea breeze blowing it out of place. Her heart fluttered with recognition. Over the light sound of the splashing waves far below, she could just make out the conversation between them.

“You’ve been flirting with her this whole time, what’s to stop you now?” the man to Adrien’s left asked, and Marinette immediately recognized Nino’s voice.

“I don’t know…” Adrien responded quietly, an almost sad expression pulling that brilliant smile of his into a frown. The sun glinted off his hair just enough to give him a glowing halo of highlights as he pushed it out of his face with a sigh. “It’s just… She didn’t remember me then, but if her memories are back—”

Alix took that moment to finally clear her throat, causing the two men to jump.

As Nino spun around, he caught sight of her and let out a low whistle. “Our little mermaid is finally awake.”

While Nino smiled at her, Marinette couldn’t help the pounding of her heart as she focused on Adrien beside him. Out of everything in her mess of a brain, the memories including him were the most prominent. The man before her looked nothing like the prim and proper boy from her past, reserved to suits and ties, afraid of making a mess lest he anger his father. He'd changed his outfit, replacing his white shirt with a black one and matching pants, the dark clothes giving him the look of a dashing corsair with an elegant rapier hanging at his hip. No one might have recognized this debonair swashbuckler as Adrien Agreste, but even with the mask concealing a small part of his face, Marinette's heart still pounded in recognition at those green eyes shining from the darkness like emeralds.

A sharp pinch at her back caused her to yelp, and that seemed to jar Adrien into motion out of whatever daze he’d been trapped in as he suddenly took a step toward her. Marinette's face grew warm when his gaze slid over her.

“Marinette…?” He approached more cautiously before his eyes moved down to notice how she was leaning against Alix for support. “Are you alright?”

“Y-you're fine–PERFECTLY FINE! I mean–ME–not you–not that… Umm… Y-yes." Marinette groaned, feeling more tongue-tied around him than she had ever been before. The embarrassment burned across her face again as she couldn’t help but remember that he had–however briefly–seen her naked just earlier. And the rugged pirate look he had going on wasn’t helping her heart with its nervous little dance.

“What she’s probably trying to say is that she’s good.” Alix shifted her weight and adjusted Marinette’s arm around her shoulder. “Just has to get used to having legs again.”

Adrien stepped closer until he was standing right in front of her, a soft expression on his face that almost looked hopeful. “So... You remember me?”

Marinette nodded, a blush spreading over her cheeks. “N-not everything, but… I-I do remember you, Adrien.”

“Unfortunately, she cannot recall how all of this happened,” Master Fu said as he stepped up beside them. “There may be another underlying factor blocking those memories." He then turned to Marinette with a gentle expression. “I wouldn’t try to push anything, but it would be good if you walked around to regain your physical strength.” He nodded at Alix. “Someone may need to assist you, seeing as how a rocking ship is not the best place to learn how to walk again.”

“How ‘bout it, captain?” Alix suddenly grinned, slipping out from under Marinette’s arm and nudging her in the back. “I’ve got other duties! Why don’t you show her the ropes instead?”

“Wait, A-Alix!” Marinette yelped in protest, but without Alix even trying, her friend’s gentle shove instantly threw her off-balance. Marinette took one bumbling step forward, and would have face planted right to the deck if Adrien hadn’t darted out and caught her.

“Woah,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her waist as she clung to his shoulders. Her fingers dug into the dark fabric of his shirt while her heartbeat pounded out a frantic drum beat in her ears. “Did you lose your sea legs?” Adrien laughed softly.

“Uh-u-umm…” Marinette's voice caught in her throat, unable to think of a response. Adrien was holding her! He was so close that she could feel his own heartbeat, and the realization of that caused her brain to malfunction. She was lucky she could remember how to breathe, let alone walk!

“Technically, she lost her fins,” Nino said as he mischievously eyed the two of them.

"Here," Adrien chuckled, taking a hold of her wrist. As he did so, his hand wrapped around the charms that she still wore there. In all the confusion after their reunion, she had forgotten to return his to him, simply tying it together next to her own lucky charm. Adrien’s gaze moved over the two bracelets, a warm smile lighting his face. “You kept it safe for me, my lady.”

“Of course,” Marinette finally managed to steady her voice, even if she was having trouble concentrating on her words with Adrien smack up against her. And… What was it he’d called her? ‘My lady.’ It was the same way he’d addressed her when he met her as a mermaid. At the time, Marinette had thought nothing of it. The mermaid part of her hadn’t remembered him at all, simply assuming the flirtatious Chat Noir spoke to every woman the same way.

But Marinette knew better. In all her memories of Adrien, not once had he ever called to a woman with such a term of endearment. Could she dare to hope that this unusual attention was reserved for her? Or was this simply a new charm that came about from taking on the title of a famed pirate?

Pushing aside her jumbled thoughts, Marinette gently tugged her arm toward her, intending to untie the cord in order to return his lucky charm. “I can give it back now if—”

Her hand didn’t move, Adrien's strong grip keeping it in place, and Marinette’s breath caught in her throat when he lowered his head and laid a chaste kiss against her palm. “Keep it for now,” he simply told her.

While Marinette’s brain was busy processing what he’d just done, Adrien moved her hand and guided it across his chest, leading her fingers up to clasp at his shoulder. "Just hold on to me like this," he casually said while resting his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against his side.

“Y-you don’t… Have t-to…” Marinette mumbled in embarrassment, fighting the need to hide her face, considering the only option would have been to bury it in his shirt.

But Adrien only flashed her a brilliant grin, threatening to melt her with his radiance right there on the spot. “It’s fine, Marinette. It’s an honor to be your escort around my ship.”

If it were possible, Marinette felt her face burn more, her heart practically dancing a fiesta in her chest.

"Think I see your point from earlier." Nino suddenly stepped up from behind Adrien and leaned an arm atop his shoulder. “Seems captain cat has caught her tongue.”

"Don't you have a crow's nest to get to?" Adrien leveled a narrow gaze at Nino while Marinette tried to calm her racing pulse.

"I'm on break," Nino responded before slipping away and strolling toward the entrance to the lower decks. "But I'll be in the galley if you need me, Captain."

Captain. There it was again. Marinette could remember her time spent as a mermaid more clearly than any memories of her life before, so she had already learned of Adrien somehow taking up the mantle of the famed captain during the time she was lost at sea. The part of her that had known Adrien since childhood found it hard to put the two images of him together in her head. It made things a little easier to focus at least, helping her to relax when she imagined that this man giving her such flirtatious consideration was famed captain Chat Noir, rather than the aristocratic boy she had hopelessly fallen in love with.

"S-so," Marinette started when her heartbeat finally calmed a bit. “You, Nino… Alix, Kim and Max… You all somehow became pirates while I was missing?”

"Only to the Spaniards," Adrien answered with a grin, nodding to Master Fu as the older man excused himself back to the cabins. “To France, we are famed privateers, doing good for the service of her people.”

“H-how does something like that even happen?” Marinette blinked back at him incredulously. “And why in the world would you do something so dangerous!?”

“I was trying to find a way to look for you, Marinette.” Adrien chuckled warmly, smirking at her wide expression while he explained, “I stowed away on a boat that, unknown to me, belonged to Chat Noir himself. Turns out the previous captain wanted to retire, and I just so happened to need a ship outside of my father’s control.”

“I… can’t believe you did that,” Marinette marveled softly, thinking back to Alix’s words from before. “Your father doesn’t know, does he?” she asked quietly, though from what she could recall of Gabriel Agreste, she had a feeling she already knew the answer. Even without proper memories of him, just his name gave her an ominous sense of dread.

Adrien’s mouth pulled into a grimace, his eyes narrowing angrily. “My father forbade me from anything involved with the search for you. He said it would be a waste of time and resources.” While Adrien spoke, he began to walk slowly over the deck, leading her carefully up the stairs toward the stern. Despite her trembling steps, he never failed to be patient, taking his time to ensure she wouldn’t trip or fall with his strong grip still encompassing her. “So of course he doesn’t know about any of this. As far as he’s concerned, we’re an uninteresting merchant ship running boring trade routes.”

Marinette’s heart skipped a tentative beat, because the Adrien she was familiar with was a boy trapped beneath his father’s rules. This free-spirited captain was more than willing to break them, all for just the chance to find her…?

She wouldn’t voice her thoughts aloud to Adrien, but his father was the image of a villain in her memory. Once his wife passed, he’d become stricter, more focused on their appearance in high-society and going to great lengths to ensure that Adrien did not besmirch the family name by associating with what he considered ‘street urchins’ and ‘riff raff.’

Everything had been so much better when his mother was still alive. Emilie Graham de Vanily, a lady of royal blood, had broken boundaries and became an Agreste by marrying someone beneath her class. It was she who had encouraged his friendships and was the very reason Marinette had even been able to become friends with him in the first place.

In the warmth stemming from resurfacing memories of Adrien’s mother, Marinette suddenly stiffened as her mind also recalled a chilling fragment. She had met Adrien’s father, but she couldn’t remember why. The memory was dark, foreboding, faceless... Even if she couldn’t see it in her mind, she was certain something troubling had happened between herself and Gabriel Agreste.

“What’s wrong?” Adrien’s concerned voice pulled her out of the frightening haze. Without her realizing, Adrien had led her to the aft of the ship, close to the railing. Max stood off a ways at the boat’s wheel as he navigated the briny waters. Marinette turned her gaze up to find Adrien’s face not far from hers, his brow knit with worry.

“It… It’s nothing. I just… I remembered something… unpleasant,” Marinette stammered quietly, reaching back with her free hand to grasp the banister. With her mind so distracted, she hadn’t noticed the uncomfortable ache starting up in her legs. “I think I need to sit down.”

“Was it my father?” Adrien’s irate frown seemed to deepen as he lowered her to the deck. Marinette leaned back against the balustrade and gently pulled her legs up, wrapping her arms around her dress to prevent it from blowing in the wind. Without giving her time to answer, Adrien suddenly let out a heated scoff, flopping down beside her. “Not surprised. I’m sure whatever memories you have of him are the worst of any nightmares.”

Marinette stared blankly back at him for a brief moment before she suddenly snorted, unable to contain her laughter. Something about Adrien calling his own father a nightmare was like a breath of fresh air, and her fear brought about by the ominous discomfort faded. When she quieted, she looked back to Adrien to find him gazing at her, a soft smile pulling at his lips that sent her heart back into a frenzied dance.

“I hate everything that you had to suffer through, Marinette,” Adrien’s gentle voice breathed against her cheeks as he leaned closer. “But after you disappeared, it helped me to realize something important that I should have understood a long time ago,” he explained slowly.

“Realize something?” Her words trailed off airily, pulse pounding with hopeful anticipation as she hugged her legs tighter, bringing her knees up to her chin. “Something like…?”

“Oh, uh—well,” Adrien uncharacteristically stammered as his eyes flicked down at the movement of her dress, and his gaze suddenly widened before he pulled away rather reluctantly. “For the moment, I realize I should be listening to Master Fu and not put so much strain on your memories.” He coughed into his hand and turned to stare out over the water. “You probably still have a lot to recover, but you remember Tikki and your time as a mermaid, right?”

Her excitement quickly ebbed into disappointment, but she didn’t dwell on it. “I didn’t forget any of my memories as a mermaid, and they’re also the clearest ones, although I am starting to remember a lot more about my life from before.” She nervously picked at the hem of her dress with her nails. “It’s hazy, but with what I can recall, I feel more like myself again.”

“And what a purr -leasure you are as yourself, milady,” Adrien purred out as he got to his feet and winked at her. “Now that you’re awake, we plan on stopping soon so you can reconvene with your mermaid friends. I have a strong feeling they’ll want to see how you’re doing.”

Adrien stayed nearby even while shouting orders at his crew to steer closer to the shoreline. A small strip of land she could see off in the distance over the port-side railing began to grow in size after they changed course. As shady palms and rocky bluffs rose into view, Marinette realized there was no established port or town that she could see. From the shore that stretched out ahead of them, untamed meadows waved in the wind over pale, craggy cliffs dotted with patches of wild grass. The white sandy beaches curved into several quiet bays along the water’s edge.

Kim helped Alix to lower the sails, and as The Cataclysm pulled into one of the deeper coves, the anchor splashed into the water, the ship groaning as gentle waves caused it to strain against its chained tether.

“Max,” Adrien called out to their friend still standing at the wheel. “Keep watch of the ship with Kim while we’re ashore. I don’t want to leave our guests on their own just yet.”

“Aye, Captain!” Max responded with a salute before jogging off down the stairs.

Marinette watched him leave, curiously wondering who Adrien could have meant. She hadn’t met anyone else aboard other than her friends and Master Fu. Unless…

Oh. She’d been so preoccupied with her scattered memories and transformation back to normal that she had forgotten all about Luka, the man who helped her while trapped in Hardrock’s clutches.

Before she could ask Adrien about it though, Nino hopped up from the lower deck. “Chariot’s ready for you, o’capitaine,” he announced with a playful flourish and an exaggerated bow.

Adrien turned to Marinette and, rather than help her to stand, kneeled down beside her. “I’m going to carry you to shore, if that’s alright.” He smiled apologetically. “The dinghy isn’t as forgiving as the ship is over the water.”

“Oh, r-right, that makes sense.” Marinette nodded, feeling her face warm as he slid his arms beneath her, careful to ensure that her dress didn’t lift up. Just as she’d done when he’d carried her from Hardrock’s fortress, she lifted her arms to his neck to help secure herself.

Despite her embarrassment, Marinette was shortly very thankful that Adrien was willing to carry her, rather than simply try and help her step into the dinghy. Everything about the small boat bobbed and rocked at any miniscule movement from either the waves below or the passengers above. She clung tight to Adrien as it dipped from a particularly large swell while Alix and Master Fu settled in behind them, with Nino taking hold of the oars.

As they began to ferry toward shore, Marinette heard the unmistakable voice of Alya call out to her. She craned her neck to peer over the water, easily spotting her friend's lithe form once she surfaced beside the boat. “Thank the depths you’re okay!” Alya laughed, and before Marinette could even respond, her friend was already splashing off into the surf. “Hold on, we’ll meet you at the beach!”

“Woah, what—hey!” Nino shouted in alarm when the dinghy suddenly jerked forward, Marinette feeling Adrien’s grip tighten around her. The rocking waves surrounding them immediately calmed, and they began to coast leisurely toward the shore without Nino needing to row. “Oh, okaaay, a little warning next time, but hey, I’m not complaining,” he chuckled.

Their boat soon ground up against the pale sand, Adrien balancing carefully as he hopped up. His boots splashed into the surf, and he trudged up onto dry land at last.

Farther inland than Marinette would have thought, Alya and Rose lounged together on the beach, with Tikki only a short distance away where she sunned herself atop a large, flat rock. The three of them looked comfortable, soaking up warmth near a shallow tide pool, where the still waters surrounded by a low wall of dark stones sparkled crystal clear in the sun. As Adrien carried her closer, Rose gasped and covered her mouth. “What happened to your tail fin!?” she fearfully shrieked.

“Wait, you don’t…” Alya stared wide-eyed at Marinette’s slippers peeking out from beneath her dress. “Girl, what are those!?”

“Girls, please,” Tikki sighed while removing her hands from over her ears once the other two had quieted down. “This is something I thought we already established.”

“They’re my legs,” Marinette explained as she smiled awkwardly, Adrien gently setting her down on the dry sand in front of her friends before settling himself beside her. “I’m not actually a mermaid, remember?” Marinette mumbled quietly, a somber mood falling over her at having to say it out loud. It seemed like such a silly thing to be upset about, but a disquieted writhing in the back of her mind told her that the mermaid part of her memories appeared to disagree.

“Alright, even if that is true,” Alya began, using her tail fin to push over the sand and grasp Marinette by the shoulders. “Don’t think for a second that this means you’re not one of our sisters, right?” She shot a narrow look back at Tikki, as if daring their matriarch to say otherwise.

Tikki’s gaze softened with silent laughter and a gentle smile, the possibility of that thought seemingly far from her mind. “Regardless of the means that brought us together, Marinette is still an integral part of our pod,” she agreed.

‘Of course!” Rose assured her with a cheerful chirp, scooting closer over the sand and wrapping Marinette in a warm embrace. “This changes nothing!”

Marinette tried to hold back the sudden tears that welled up in her eyes when Alya joined in on the hug. “Girls…” she murmured softly, choking back a quiet sob. “Thank you.”

Adrien’s presence beside her faded into the background as he watched quietly, giving them some time to themselves. After a moment, her two friends eventually pulled away, with Alya holding Marinette out at arm’s length. “I know your memory might still be fuzzy, but I just have to ask, Marinette. Do you really not remember how all of this happened?”

“Her memories have only just begun to return.” Their attention turned to Master Fu as he shuffled over the sand to join them. Nino and Alix followed behind him, having finished pulling the dinghy further onto the shore. “But she does not know who is responsible, and it would be best not to strain it. As far as we know, the magic from Tikki’s stolen earrings are most likely what turned her into a mermaid.” Master Fu then shot a sly smile over to Marinette as he ran a hand over his beard. “We believe this to be true since Chat Noir’s magic appears to have disrupted the spell affecting her,” he finished.

Marinette’s face flushed with warmth, realization dawning on her that by ‘Chat Noir’s magic,’ he meant the kiss her mermaid-self had given Adrien in order to save him from drowning.

Rose let out an unexpected, delighted squeal, and before Marinette could think to stop her, she cried out excitedly, “Was it because they kissed?”

“Kiss?” Alix asked, her surprised gaze switching between Marinette and Adrien. “You guys kissed?”

“Rose!” Marinette squeaked out, clenching her fingers against her cheeks as her face burned hotter. “I-I didn’t kiss him! Not like that!”

“Ho, oh,” Nino hummed, a smirk in his delighted expression. “What’s this story behind that?”

“It-it really wasn’t what you think, Nino,” Adrien tried, lifting his hands in front of him. “I was drowning, and Marinette—”

“Just like a fairy tale!” Rose squealed before he could explain. “The spell was broken by a kiss!”

Marinette blocked out everything else after that, no longer listening as she tried to escape her own embarrassment. Hiding her face beneath her hands, she flopped over onto the sand and groaned, wishing she could just bury herself right then and there. In all the raucous, her legs had begun to ache again, but she didn’t feel it was important enough to voice when she couldn’t even bring herself to look at anyone.

“Alright, settle down,” Tikki called out amidst the chaos of voices. “Mermaids have the power to share their magic to breathe underwater, and Marinette knew this from the stories I’ve told her.” Marinette peeked out between her fingers to find Tikki shooting everyone a stern frown. “During their escape from Hardrock, Chat Noir almost drowned, and she simply saved him.”

Marinette mumbled out a soft, ‘thank you,’ that was probably too quiet for anyone to pick up before simply covering her face again. Thank the seven seas for Tikki’s level-headed reasoning. Not… Not that she wouldn’t mind actually kissing Adrien, but her mermaid-self definitely wasn’t thinking about it in any special way when she’d done it.

“The important point to take away is that Marinette’s transformation and my stolen earrings are linked,” Tikki continued once everyone had quieted. “It is most likely due to Chat Noir’s magic interrupting the spell placed on her, but I don’t believe it would be enough to completely break it.”

“I also suspected as much,” Master Fu agreed with a nod. “Since the spell was not undone by the earrings themselves, I fear that her current state may not be permanent. If so, then we should tread lightly, lest she turn back at an inopportune moment.”

“You okay there, Marinette?”

Marinette peeked out from behind her fingers again to find Alya smirking at her, a hand on her hip and a single eyebrow cocked.

“Fine,” Marinette grunted, finally pulling her hands away from her face and lifting her upper body away from the sand, brushing off some of the grit that stuck to her skin. “Not turning into a mermaid, if that’s what you mean.”

“Is there any way of telling when that might happen?” Adrien asked, turning his inquiring look in Tikki’s direction.

Tikki drummed her fingers against the rock she stretched out on before shaking her head. “There could be some sort of trigger, or it may simply be a matter of time. Regardless, it just means we need to find Plagg as soon as possible.” Tikki’s gaze hardened into a furious scowl. “That idiot owes us answers.”