Percy Jackson knelt on the carpeted ground of the hotel hallway, running his fingers across the dark scorch marks that stretched from wall to wall. The scent of exactly that, burnt carpet, wafted up into his face, his nose twisting up in disgust. Another scent lingered in the hallway, musk, a thick drape that made it hard for the demigods in the hallway to simply breathe. Above him, Annabeth nervously tapped her foot, staring down at Percy expectantly. "So? Percy, what are you thinking?" The three unfamiliar demigods in the hallway also watched him with desperate eyes, searching for answers he himself couldn't know for sure, but he had theories, none of them good. Percy looked back down at the ground, imagining Marinette, who he considered a dear friend, for in some way she was his cousin. Marinette was a fighter, fearless in many ways, when it came to monsters and things she could control. Her emotions though, Percy knew, were what terrified her. She couldn't save Marcus, which Percy knew destroyed her, and was something Marinette wouldn't have let happen again. Looking back up at the demigods before him, though, Percy had an inkling that Marinette had done exactly what she had hoped never again to do. She had cared. Percy ran a hand through his dark hair, sighing.

These friends of Marinette's, who he had never met, had only heard of and seen from a distance, had snuck their way back into her heart in such a short amount of time. Knowing Marinette, she had protected them with her life. Percy could only hope that it hadn't cost her it. Percy stood, facing the rest of the group. "I could be wrong, but it seems like Marinette had to face a monster, a large one by the looks of it." Percy took another sniff of the air, his face screwing up further. "By the smell...I'd say a Yale." Annabeth's breath caught in her throat, remembering Marinette's first encounter with the wretched creature, and the long mark across her face. "Oh, Marinette." Percy nodded, while Adrien, Alya, and Nino looked on in confusion and fright. "She called upon her powers, by these scorch marks, probably burnt the thing to a crisp. It must've been a sight, something powerful." Percy gulped. "There's no telling where she is." At that, Alya seemed to blow up, her hands shaking as she grabbed at Percy. "What do you mean? Where is my friend?" Alya shook Percy, anger blooming in her eyes. Annabeth growled, grabbing her sister by the arm and pulling her back harshly. "Watch yourself Cesaire! You need to calm down, anger isn't gonna get us any closer to finding Marinette." Annabeth shook her head then, a sad look on her face as she let go of Alya. "I should've been there, had enough sense to keep an eye on Marinette! She's the daughter of Zeus! How could I be so stupid!" Annabeth held her face in her hands, and Percy shook his head, moving to hug her. "It's no one's fault, well no one's fault here." Annabeth looked up from Percy's shoulder, her eyebrows furrowing at his words. "What do you mean Percy?"

As Annabeth spoke, Adrien doubled over into the wall, grabbing at his abdomen. Nino caught the arm of his friend, heaving him up. "Adrien, are you okay dude?" Adrien's head, which had lolled forward to face the ground, shot up, looking Percy in the eyes. Percy gasped, his eyes widening at Adrien's face. The boy's eyes, which had only moments ago been a vibrant green were now a slate of absent white. Adrien spoke, but his voice was distorted, and seemingly not his own. "The wind whispered, where is your friend, would you like to know? She sits in the bed, snakes as your foes. Then the thunder cracks, as the saying still goes." Adrien gasped as he came out of his stupor, his eyes filling back will color as he blinked, and his friends watching on with awe. "I saw Marinette, I saw Marinette." The blonde gasped, catching himself on the wall as he tried to catch his breath. "Marcus, Marcus was there, he has Marinette. A city, I think." As Adrien slid down the wall, Percy knelt next to him, watching the boy closely. Percy shook his head in disbelief. "Apollo. Huh, that's certainly not what I was expecting." Adrien's eyes shot open, a confused look coming onto his face. "Apollo, that's my parent?" Annabeth nodded then, stepping forward. "Apollo, the god of the sun and light, and prophecy for that matter." Alya laughed lightly, a distressed look still stretching across her face. "I guess you really are a sunshine boy then Adrien." Adrien gave his own laugh then, along with Nino. "Honestly," Percy started, grabbing Adrien's hand and pulling the boy up, "You certainly struck me as more of an Aphrodite." Adrien shrugged, his smile brightening. "I'll take that as a compliment."

"So you saw Marinette? A city?" Annabeth interrupted, eager to find her friend. Adrien nodded, remembering back on his vision. "They were on a tall building." Percy and Annabeth froze, both muttering the same words. "The Empire State Building." The three friends looked at each other in realization. "Why would Marcus be taking her there?" Adrien asked, but Percy only shook his head. "There's no telling." Percy looked up then, a determined look on his face. "But it looks like we're taking a detour."

Hi! So, if anyone out there is gonna see this, or read this old story, I wanted to explain a few things. So I originally published this little story in 2016, when I was barely a teenager and eager to write something, and I've sporadically updated it ever since, with no consistency what-so-ever, and for that I'm sorry. I know a lot of people liked this story and wanted to see it through. In all honesty, I haven't stayed up with Miraculous Ladybug or been involved with Percy Jackson anything for that matter in the past couple of years. But I know that with everything going on in the world right now, we're all finding ourselves with a lot of time on our hands because of this quarantine business. So, with my senior year down the drain, I decided to pick this back up and maybe write a few chapters and finish the story, but I can't make any promises. I hope that you're all staying safe, healthy, and inside, and that maybe this can make you smile just a little bit.

:)