Hi, everyone, SylveonKwami here!

Before we start, I have some news regarding this book.

If you have been on my profile recently, or read the last A/N, you'll know about my Christmas special book. It will be updated every other day for the month of December.

Don't worry, updates for this book shouldn't be affected too much!  I just wanted to let you all know so you can check it out, and if there are changes for this book's updates, you'll know the cause.  

This chapter will be really long!!!!

Just saying.

Here's Chapter 7 (part 1 lol)... don't forget to vote, and comment if you liked it!

Enjoy :3

Marinette

Marinette briskly walked to her bathroom, as quietly as she could muster.  The last thing she wanted was to wake up her parents, and have them see the situation she was in.

"Is there anything you want us to do, Marinette?" Tikki whispered to her once they had arrived and the door was locked.  She and Plagg were hovering in front of her, waiting for instructions.

Marinette shook her head.  "Not you, Tikki," she told her kwami.  "Plagg, did you see what injuries Adrien had when you took him home?"

Plagg shrugged.  "A few," he said.  "There were some cuts on his arms and legs, you know, from the thorns, but there's probably some more under his clothes too."

Marinette instantly blushed at the thought at Adrien without clothes.

"I meant on his BACK," Plagg grumbled, while Tikki giggled at her holder's reaction.

"Oh, oh yes, right," Marinette stuttered quickly, laying Adrien on the bathroom counter.  He did appear to have some cuts on him, but her normal sized bandages would be too big for him... hmm, what to do...

"What should I do, Tikki?" Marinette asked her kwami.  "The regular bandages are too big-"

"Why don't you take some gauze and cut it into smaller pieces?" Tikki suggested.  

"Good idea, Tikki," Marinette said, running to her room to retrieve her sewing scissors.  When she got back, she found that Plagg had fallen asleep (and she was only gone for less than a minute), and Tikki shaking her head at him.

"Honestly, all he does is sleep," Tikki said sighing, but Marinette knew that the two kwamis must have been very close friends.  After all, they were the kwamis of Creation and Destruction!  Wouldn't that mean that they would know each other?

"Here, I'll help you, Marinette," her kwami said.  "I can put the gauze strips in a pile if you want, or-"

"That's perfect," Marinette told her, smiling.  "Thanks, Tikki.  I don't know what I'd do without you tonight."

Tikki smiled fondly at her.  "I'm always here if you need me, Mari," she said, flying up to her cheek to give her a little cuddle.  As soon as she flew back down beside Plagg, Marinette got to work cutting up the gauze.  It was tedious work, mostly because of the fact she had to cut the strips down to what seemed to be microscopic size (the akuma did their work well), but Marinette was determined to help Adrien.  It was the least she could do for him.

Throughout the work, Marinette remained silent.  She didn't want to wake her parents, but it was mostly because of thought.  Tonight was such a rush for her... she didn't get any time to process any of it, and these were some of the biggest moments of her life.

For starters, the fact that Adrien was Chat Noir.

Second, how she crushed on Adrien every day in class and as Ladybug, but as soon as the pun-loving cat made an appearance, she pushed him away like he was vermin.

She would have face-palmed herself if it wasn't for the scissors she held in her hand.  Why am I such an idiot!?

She would definitely have to make things up to Adrien.  Even though she confessed to him, she had to let him know that she meant it, really meant it, that he was the only one for her.

"Finished, Tikki," she told her kwami, setting the scissors down on the counter.  "Do you mind getting the ointment from the drawer?  The black and gold one," Marinette explained, and Tikki nodded, finding it and setting it on the counter next to the pile of gauze clippings.

"I can wake up Plagg if you need me to tell you where his wounds are, if you want," Tikki told her.

Marinette shook her head.  "No, let him sleep, it's been a long day," she told her kwami.  Turning to Adrien, she added "Let's take care of Adrien first."

Tikki nodded, ready to assist if needed.

First, Marinette took care of the cuts on his arms, face, and any other already-exposed parts of his body.  She carefully rubbed ointment on all of the cuts and scrapes, and, with the help of Tikki, put the gauze on.  She was surprised by how many wounds he had earned; she didn't know that he fought the akuma that hard.  She began to feel slightly more guilty for putting him in that thorn bush.

"Next his back," Tikki suggested, but Marinette just blushed at the thought of taking of his shirt.  Tikki sighed.  "I guess I'll do it then," she said, flying towards their patient.

"J-Just undress him," Marinette stuttered, frustrated at herself for not being in control of herself right now.  She looked away, and after a few minutes, she heard Tikki call out "Ready."

She turned back, and almost gasped.  Adrien had this giant red scar on his back, and it looked fresh.  She quickly took some of the ointment and applied it to the wound; she winced when she heard Adrien whimper slightly in his sleep.  It must of stung.  She was grateful when Tikki applied the bandage; she didn't want to touch him again and cause him more pain.

After that, there wasn't any other major wounds, except for a few on his front, which Marinette and Tikki patched up quickly.  Every time she looked at him and saw a new injury, she felt her anger grow, not just at that akuma, but at herself, for amplifying those wounds.  She was lucky that HawkMoth could only control one akuma at a time, it meant they had less worrying to do.

"D-Done," Marinette said, high-fiving her kwami.  She yawned.  "Wow, I'm getting no sleep tonight," she joked, but Tikki wasn't having it.

"Marinette, go to bed.  I'll get Adrien and Plagg a place to sleep, and I'll clean this all up," Tikki said.

Marinette started to protest.  "No no, Tikki, you've had a long day too-"

"No buts!" Tikki shouted, practically shoving her out of the bathroom.  "You get a good night sleep, you have school tomorrow."

Marinette smiled drowsily at her.  "Thanks Tikki," she said, walking to her room.  She climbed into her bed, not even bothering to change her clothes, and fell fast asleep within a couple minutes.  It was sweet and dreamless, which was all she asked for at that moment.

"MARINETTE!"

Marinette woke with a start, her heart nearly flying out of her skin.  She looked up at her kwami, feeling her heart pumping loudly.

"Y-Yes, Tikki?" Marinette said, yawning.  She checked the time.  She gasped when she read it.  "SCHOOL STARTS IN HALF AN HOUR!"

She practically ripped herself from bed and ran to the bathroom to brush her teeth.  She returned to her room to get her backpack and purse, when another thought overtook her.  

"Where are Adrien and Plagg?" Marinette asked Tikki quickly, knowing she'd most likely be late.

"Over there." Tikki pointed to a spot on her chaise.  Plagg was awake, but Adrien was still asleep.  Understandable.

"Jeez, I wish Adrien could be late like you," Plagg said as soon as she came near.

Marinette glared at him, sighing under her breath.  "Do you think all of you could fit inside my purse?" she asked, hoping so.

Tikki shrugged.  "Let's see," she said.  "Plagg, bring Adrien," she instructed, flying into her holder's cozy bag.  Plagg followed a few seconds later with Adrien in his arms.  Marinette was still surprised that he could sleep during all of this.  I guess he's really tired... plus, his dad must not let him sleep in, she thought to herself.

"We're good, Mari!" Tikki piped up, and Marinette looked inside to see that while things were more cramped, they could still stay there.

"Good," Marinette said, closing the bag.  "Hope you guys don't mind me running!"

Without waiting for an answer, Marinette rushed downstairs, and said a quick greeting to her parents.  She grabbed two fresh-baked croissants from the counter, where they were cooling.  One for me, one for the kwamis and Adrien, when he wakes up.

"Hurry off to school now, Darling," Sabine called from the living room, where she and her husband were enjoying breakfast.  "Have a good day!"

Marinette smiled at her parents.  "I will Maman!  You too!"  She rushed out of the door, sneaking a quick look at her phone.  She did some quick calculations in her head, and realized she had only 15 minutes to get herself to school, and get herself (and all her guests!) settled.  She practically ran the whole way there, panting heavily when she reached her destination.  Walking into the main courtyard, she spotted Alya and Nino, who quickly ran over to her.

"Marinette, did you hear!?" Alya said worryingly, not bothering with a greeting.

"Uh... what is it?" Marinette asked, confused by her friend's actions.

"Adrien went missing!" Nino said, tear stains evident on his face.  "It happened last night- we don't know what happened..." his voice died down and Alya comforted him.

"O-Oh, yes," Marinette stuttered, trying to pretend that Adrien wasn't sleeping in her bag at that very moment.  "I... I was trying to hold myself together, b-but..."

"You should have seen Chloe," Alya added.  "She was pretty messed up this morning."

Normally Marinette would have said something snarky about the blonde girl, but now Marinette was just sad.  She was just missing her friend, just like Nino and Alya and all the others.  She felt really bad for keeping Adrien a secret from them, but it had to be done... they couldn't risk their identities being given out to HawkMoth!  Especially Alya with her LadyBlog.

"Let's... let's just get to class," Marinette said, faking sadness again.  Alya and Nino simultaneously nodded, and Marinette followed them up the stairs to their first class with Miss Bustier.  Class started soon after they arrived, and the classroom seemed empty without Adrien sitting in the front row next to Nino, who looked particularly lonely without his best friend.  Miss Bustier started class on a spiel about Adrien's status, and the entire class was somber for the entire period.  They were instructed to do a partner project, but Alya asked if they could be a group of three to include Nino.  Of course, with the situation, their teacher instantly accepted.  

Nino took his things and moved up to Marinette and Alya's seat, sitting next to Alya.  Alya took out her tablet and pulled out the internet to begin research, but no one, none of the groups, was really into anything.  And what was weirder was that instead of talking, everyone just sat there, distressed about Adrien.  Even Chloe was still wiping her eyes, not even looking at Sabrina or yelling at anyone.  Marinette felt some shuffles in her purse, but she just took it as the kwamis just trying to get comfortable.

And then the scream sounded.  Since it was so quiet, everyone heard.

Marinette gulped as everyone turned to her, the source of the scream.

Or rather, her bag.

...Shoot.

Hi again, everyone!  Hope you all enjoyed that chapter!  I made it a bit longer, as an apology for the super late update... again, sorry... I'll try to stick better to the schedule!

Anyways, that's really all for now.  What'd you all think of Chameleon (S3 Ep1)?  All I can say is LILA WHY DO YOU EXIST!?!?!?

Okay, okay, I'm going now.  Have an awesome day/night, everyone!

Stay tuned ;)