Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I am desperately lonely.

I cling to the last thing I have left: Hope. The hope for a better world. The hope that people can evolve. Sometimes a single decision is enough to change the course of a lifetime.

—Gabriel Agreste, Miraculous World Paris.

“Nathalie, don’t be sad. You know well that I agreed, Gabriel never forced me to do anything. But don’t try to bring me back.”

The sound of a recording echoed through Hawkmoth’s lair.

“I don’t want someone to erase their life because of a mistake we made. You two must continue to be happy, even if I am not by your side.”

Gabriel was trying to hold back tears after hearing those words from his late wife’s mouth. Although the recording was directed specifically at Nathalie, he felt that Emilie was also speaking directly to him.

“As long as there is love, happiness is possible. Adrien will be very well taken care of. He has you, Nathalie and he also has his father.”

Could this be part of the message she left me? Gabriel thought.

“If Gabriel finally agrees to give up on his madness, and to give up on me” Gabriel felt as if a knife was buried in his chest when Emilie said those words “Adrien will have all the love he needs to be happy.”

“And that’s what happened” Bug Noire says when the recording ends. “Adrien learned to live his life and build his own happiness while he cherished the memory of his mother. She would be proud of him.”

Gabriel looked at the phone again.

“I can’t live without her. She is the love of my life.”

Gabriel closed his eyes remembering those beautiful memories he had of Emilie, all those years since Adrien came into the world.

“When she left, everything shut down around me.”

He began to remember with great nostalgia all those happy moments she had spent with Adrien and his wife. Unable to look at Ladybug in the eye, he directed his gaze to the ground.

“I still remember her smile the day Adrien was born, and when I hugged him with her. For a long time, we believed that we would never be able to have a child.”

Gabriel remembered when they celebrated one of Adrien’s birthdays, just the three of them.

“Adrien was our little miracle. Everything was so… perfect.”

Gabriel remembered the day Emilie started to get sick.

“Until Emilie became ill.”

Gabriel took a breath. He had realized something that had been eating away at him for months.

Emilie was right. Nathalie was right.

“She… she was right” Gabriel reasoned quickly “Adrien was not alone; he had Nathalie and me.”

He looked at the phone again.

“And I ruined everything.”

He stared at Emilie’s image in the phone.

“Nathalie is going to die,” he grimaced as a part of his finger fell away like crumbling stone. “And so am I.”

“Adrien won’t have anyone!” He said desperately.

Bug Noire knew she was right. She didn’t wish Adrien to be orphaned, and she also didn’t want Adrien to have to deal with the death of his own father since the cataclysm situation was an accident.

“I’m sure we can figure out a solution, if we work together.” Gabriel closed his eyes at Ladybug’s words “You and me.”

That raised a light of hope in Gabriel’s chest.

“Of course! You are going to make the wish!” Gabriel had never smiled so much in his life “You always find impossible solutions. You will know how to make the perfect wish! You will know how to repair everything!”

Bug Noire’s face changed to one of sadness.

“No, a perfect wish doesn’t exist. Every time power is used for personal reasons it causes disasters” Bug Noire continued “Whatever power is, it should be used only for the greater good.”

Bug Noire smiles at him to try to calm him down.

“But we can think about it and find a solution on a human scale” Marinette erased her smile “Even if, obviously, it will never be as perfect as we want it to be.

Gabriel nodded. Maybe listening to Ladybug this time would help.

Bug Noire gently removes her hand from Gabriel’s.

She was thinking of a solution. If she wanted to save Gabriel and Nathalie, she needed some kind of miracle.

Miracle.

That is.

“Let’s use the Miraculous.” Marinette decided.

“What are you talking about?” Gabriel asked sadly.

“Gabriel, have you tried using the Miraculous to heal yourself?”

“How do you know?” Gabriel asked surprised.

“You did?” Bug Noire asked him back, also surprised by his response.

“Yes.” Gabriel nodded “But it only caused the cataclysm to spread more through my body and much faster. I don’t see how that could be a solution.”

For Bug Noire at the same time that was a possible solution.

“What if we try it with the Ladybug’s and Chat Noir’s Miraculous?”

“Are you sure?” Gabriel asked, a little unsure of Bug Noire’s idea “When I tried it myself, the kwamis told me that I needed their permission to be able to carry it out. Not even Madame Tsurugi’s best technology could help me or Nathalie.”

“We should try, what else do we have to lose?” Bug Noire declared.

Gabriel knew that Bug Noire was right.

“Okay Ladybug, but please help me, help Nathalie. I know only you can help us both.”

Bug Noire was left wondering how he could make her idea work. She needed to go see Nathalie too. Therefore, he had to take Gabriel with her.

“Please, Ladybug,” she heard Gabriel say.

Bug Noire nodded. She collected the remaining Miraculous from the boomerang and stored them in her yo-yo. Bug Noire extended her hand, offering it to Mr. Agreste. Although hesitant, he took it. While he had thought about betraying Ladybug for a moment, perhaps it was time to listen to the advice she and Nathalie had for him.

Bug Noire helped him up, putting his arm around her shoulder. Gabriel was quite weak after the fight they just had so I would help him reach his destination. Bug Noire took a few steps slowly to see if Gabriel could keep up with her. She accelerated when she saw that Gabriel was more stable.

“Try to keep up the pace, Mr. Agreste.”

Bug Noire looked towards the hole they had created. She had to get them out of there first before using the Lucky Charm.

Bug Noire guided them until they were closer to the hole. Using her yo-yo, she threw it in the direction of one of the pillars of the mansion, one she could barely see from where they were.

“Hold on to me, Mr. Agreste,” Bug Noire held him firmly and Gabriel held on to her and pulled them both upstairs.

Once upstairs, Gabriel let go of her and went up the stairs to Nathalie’s room by himself.

Bug Noire stepped forward to open the door. Nathalie was still there where they had left her.

But she was completely still.

Arriving at Nathalie’s side, Gabriel collapsed next to Nathalie, kneeling before her bed. For the first time in days, he saw more clearly the terrible state she was in. Her red streak had turned white, her face was completely pale, her eyes were sunken as were her cheeks. Her lips were chapped, as if she hadn’t had any water in a long time.

It was the same image of his wife before she died.

Gabriel clung to the bed and moved closer to her.

“Nathalie...”

Gabriel put his head on Nathalie’s chest, listening to the beating of her heart.

It was weak, as if her heart would give out at any moment.

“Please, Ladybug. Save her. I beg you. Nathalie doesn’t deserve to end up like this. This is all my fault; Nathalie doesn’t have to... pay for my stupid decisions.” A couple of tears fell down his face, seeing the state Nathalie was in.

Bug Noire felt compassion.

Even though Gabriel had made her life miserable, as both Ladybug and Marinette.

Gabriel stood up from his position. The cataclysm grew a little more, feeling a pang in his chest, arm and neck, which caused him to fall back to the ground.

Bug Noire knelt in front of him. Gabriel was running out of time.

“We will do the following, Mr. Agreste. We are going to use the power of the Miraculous of Creation and destruction to heal you both.”

“Ladybug, wait” Gabriel grabbed her hand before she helped him up “I don’t think Adrien will be happy to see me again.”

“Why do you say that?” Bug Noire knew very well that Adrien loved his dad very much, even if he had behaved badly with him.

“Adrien must hate me for everything I did to him. Especially when I forced him to go to London against his will. And for not having heard what he actually wanted. For treating you like that, Marinette.

Bug Noire understood what he meant.

“But Adrien loves you too. You know?” she assured him.

Gabriel laughed sarcastically.

“Yes, I know he does. Only God knows why.” Not even he understood why Adrien continued to love him despite everything he did to him. Even though he was a sentimonster, he was still his son.

The miracle baby they had brought into the world thanks to the Miraculous.

Bug Noire took him by the arm so Gabriel would get up and sit on the bed.

“Tikki, Plagg! Reverse Morphosis.”

Marinette was now in Bug Noire's place.

“It is impossible!” Tikki flew towards her holder with concern.

“Marinette, don’t trust him,” Plagg exclaimed.

Gabriel raised his hands, indicating that he was not going to do anything.

“Marinette, are you sure we can trust him?” Tikki asked him.

“I want to help. Is there any way to fix it?” Marinette asked, looking first at the kwamis and then at Gabriel.

“We could try to use a little of our power on them” Tikki said with a sad face “But you have to keep in mind that this will not be a definitive solution.”

“The power of destruction is greatly underestimated, Marinette. Damage like this is not so easy to fix. Not even the guardians themselves managed to find a definitive solution to that problem” Plagg explained.

“Okay,” Marinette’s voice was shaking with what Plagg had just said. Still, there was the possibility of trying. She took a deep breath “We’ll figure out how to fix everything, but how can I use your power at the same time?”

“Merge the Miraculouses again. You will have to concentrate the power of both Miraculouses in both hands, like this.” Tikki made gestures with her tiny paws to indicate how to position her hands “And you will have to direct it towards Mr. Agreste.”

"And Nathalie," Marinette said, understanding what she had to do.

“Exactly, and remember to think positive things, it’s the only way” Tikki added.

Marinette took a macaron out of her bag. She needed as much energy as possible, for what she was about to do to be successful. The kwamis quickly ate a half of the macaron each.

When they finished, Marinette transformed again.

“Mr. Agreste, take Miss Sancoeur into your arms.”

Gabriel picked Nathalie up gently, placing her in his arms. Her head went limp to the side, so he gently grabbed her head and pulled her towards him. He could feel Nathalie’s weak breathing on his neck.

Bug Noire positioned herself in front of them. She took a deep breath and let it out, closing her eyes. He arranged her hands just as Tikki had shown her.

She focused on thinking happy things, remembering her childhood, the love of her parents, Adrien...

Adrien.

Bug Noire concentrated on directing the Miraculous energy into the palm of her hands. A wave of energy came out of Ladybug’s hands, surrounding them with that positive energy. The wave began to surround the bodies of both adults until it covered them completely.

Gabriel was beginning to feel much better, even though he only had a few hours to live.

Gabriel removed the collar of his shirt a little and watched as the cataclysm slowly receded from his body, exactly the same as when he tried to use the kwamis to heal himself. The skin on his neck and his chest returned to normal. The cataclysm returned to its origin in his arm, disappearing completely.

He no longer felt pain in his body. He was cured.

He directed his gaze to Nathalie’s face. Her appearance also improved quickly. The dark circles under her eyes had disappeared, her face regained a lot of life and she was no longer as pale as before. Her breathing was much calmer.

Gabriel let out the breath he held all that time, out of pure relief. He at least knew that Nathalie was okay.

Gabriel watched as Nathalie opened her eyes, trying to focus on him.

“What happened?” She saw Gabriel’s worried face looking at her. He adjusted her glasses, which were crooked. That's when Nathalie was able to focus her gaze on the person who was holding her.

Nathalie’s face changed into an expression of anger.

“Let go of me, Gabriel,” she said firmly.

“Sorry” Gabriel put her on the bed again on the left side. He sat at the foot of the bed, looking away.

Marinette undid her transformation right there. She felt her strength leaving her body and she fell to the ground.

“Miss, are you okay?” Gabriel looked in Marinette’s direction.

“Yes, I used great power on you, don’t worry. It’s normal”

Gabriel offered her his hand and she took it. He helped her up and Marinette slowly sat on Nathalie’s bed.

Nathalie was surprised. A few moments ago, she was dying.

But now she was alive, as if nothing had happened. She saw the two people next to her. She recognized Gabriel and then Marinette. That’s when her head started making the connections.

“Don’t tell me that... You’re Ladybug?” Nathalie was worried.

“Yes, I am.” Marinette took her hand “Thank you for the warning earlier, Nathalie.”

Nathalie looked at her sympathetically.

The three of them fell silent.

“And now what are we going to do?” Gabriel was a little worried about what the kwamis and Marinette had told him, the solution she had given him was not definitive or a perfect solution.

“I don’t know. Possibly the guardians have the answer to our dilemma, but I’ll see what I can do for you,” Marinette responded.

Nathalie examined Gabriel’s neck and noticed something was missing. Something that Gabriel guarded warily.

“Where is the butterfly Miraculous?”

Gabriel and Marinette looked at each other. They had completely forgotten about the Butterfly Miraculous that was still downstairs. For some reason, they had a bad feeling about it.

“We’ll be back.”

Marinette jumped out of bed and ran quickly to the other floor. The kwamis were after her. Gabriel left the room alarmed after her. At the mere mention of the Miraculous, his adrenaline surged.

Marinette transformed into Ladybug and went back down to the lower floor.

Gabriel ran down to the first floor. He crouched to lie down close to the hole trying to see if Nooroo had returned with the Miraculous like he asked him to do. He didn’t see him anywhere.

“Nooroo! Nooroo? Are you there!?” Gabriel shouted from where he was.

But there was no response.

Ladybug had seen that the butterfly Miraculous had fallen into the water, so she ran down the hallway and when she reached the end, she jumped into the water eating one of the macarons that she had prepared for an eventuality.

“Aqua Tikki spots on!”

AquaBug landed in the water trying to distinguish any sign that the Miraculous was there. She searched the bottom meticulously, checking from one side to the other.

But she found absolutely nothing. Not a single trace of the Miraculous.

That was a problem.

She rose to the surface again.

AquaBug jumped back to the platform. She undid her transformation again and looked around desperately, hoping that the Miraculous was still there.

“The Miraculous is not here, it can’t have disappeared again!”

“Don’t worry Marinette, let’s keep looking, it must be around here” Tikki tried to reassure her.

Marinette transformed back into Ladybug and searched around the platform where Emilie was, without finding anything. Both kwamis were helping her, examining places where the Miraculous could have fallen.

No, no, no, no…

“Ladybug!” Gabriel shouted from where he was “Did you find it?”

“No!” she responded sadly.

With her heart pounding, Marinette used her yo-yo to climb back to the upper floor.

The kwamis returned to her side, to no avail.

Ladybug knelt at the edge of the hole searching through the rubble to see if the Miraculous was there. She threw debris to the side, hoping it would be there.

“Ladybug, wait!” Gabriel tried to stop her.

“No, it has to be here, it can’t have disappeared.” Ladybug tossed some of the debris to the side, searching among them for the Butterfly Miraculous.

“Ladybug!” Ladybug stopped to listen to Gabriel’s voice.

“And the Miraculous?” Gabriel looked into her eyes.

“I didn’t find it; I couldn’t find it” Marinette moved frantically “It’s nowhere to be found.”

“Use your Lucky charm, Ladybug” Plagg reminded her.

Ladybug took the tube of glue, and throwed it to the air.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

The ladybugs went all over the place fixing everything in their path around the world. People stopped having nightmares and everything seemed to have returned to normal.

Everything except for the Butterfly Miraculous.

“Oh no!” Ladybug exclaimed desperately.

Gabriel grabbed Ladybug’s shoulders to calm her down.

“Ladybug we can still know where the Miraculous is. I have cameras installed at this direction. Nathalie can see those cameras.”

They both returned to Nathalie’s room. Gabriel helped her set up the computer that she used for her work. Nathalie logged into the system with her password.

Nathalie checked the security cameras. She selected the camera that was pointing towards the foyer, and speed up the recording until she reached that same date and time.

They watched in the recording how an unknow person entered the mansion, they could not distinguish much about that person, beyond the black hair.

Nathalie paused just when that person’s face became visible enough. Gabriel zoomed in on the image on the computer, but he couldn’t make out that person’s face.

Dammit…

They watched how that person went down to the lair with a device. Nathalie advanced the video to the moment in which this person went down the lair.

Nathalie advanced the recording a few minutes again. The person who had come down appeared on camera again and was carrying something in his hand. Gabriel zoomed out for that person's hand again.

An object shone in it.

Upon examining it carefully he recognized it.

It was the Butterfly Miraculous.

Someone was here and stole the Miraculous. That was the only thought in Marinette’s head.

Marinette’s heart sank. Her suspicions were confirmed.

And the worst thing is that it was almost impossible to find out who the person was who took the Miraculous with them.

“I failed, I failed again,” Marinette was breathing fast and grabbed her head in despair. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to get all the Miraculouses back.”

“Marinette, calm down,” Nathalie tried to calm her down, grabbing both of her hands. "We’ll see what we can do to get the Miraculous back from whoever took it."

“For now, there is someone we need to talk to,” Nathalie addressed Gabriel.

Gabriel knew what she was referring to.

“Adrien.”

Adrien looked at the white walls. He had lost track of time, not even knowing when he would get out of there. At least he knew the cat’s Miraculous was in good hands. Maybe when Plagg returned he would get out of there himself as Chat Noir. The only problem was how he would evade the security camera that was in the room.

He could ask Plagg to destroy it so he could leave safely.

He wondered how Ladybug was doing. Would she be, ok? He hadn’t seen anything or heard anything since Plagg left there with the Miraculous.

Would Plagg manage to find Ladybug? Did Ladybug need his help?

So many questions that he couldn’t find answers to. But he had to avoid using the Alliance at all costs.

If only he could get his phone back.

At least the nightmares had stopped now. He assumed that Ladybug had casted her Lucky Charm.

Adrien stopped being in fetal position. The white room he was in was driving him crazy. He felt like he was in a madhouse.

He still wondered what was going through his father’s head when he locked him there.

He slept for a while trying to clear his mind.

Gabriel was pacing in Nathalie’s room.

“The truth is I don’t know what to do anymore. Should I have Placide bring him back already?”

“You should, Gabriel. You took him away against his will, the least you can do is to bring him back,” Nathalie told Gabriel without looking directly at him. How restless Gabriel was behaving was making her nervous.

“But…” Before Gabriel could finish what, he was going to say, Nathalie interrupted him.

“Adrien deserves to know the truth, Gabriel," Nathalie stated, furiously, returning his gaze. Gabriel could see the fire in her eyes.

“And he deserves an apology too” Marinette joined Nathalie’s protests.

“I know, I know,” Gabriel walked around again before stopping. “Should I call Adrien?”

“I don't know what you’re waiting for Gabriel” Nathalie crossed her arms.

“Okay” Gabriel looked for Adrien’s number. He waited for the tone. One, two, three, four…

He didn’t answer.

“He doesn’t answer?” Marinette started to worry.

“He must be asleep” Nathalie argued.

“I’ll send him a message then” Gabriel began to write a message for Adrien on his phone “But, Adrien doesn't have his phone with him.”

Gabriel started thinking about a way to get him out of there. Tomoe wasn’t going to like it.

Plagg caught everyone’s attention.

“I could disable the room’s security systems while you get him out of there.”

“Good idea, Plagg. But it would be better to open a portal with the horse’s Miraculous far from here so you can get there faster” Marinette showed him the Miraculous in her hand.

“Then I’ll ask Adrien’s bodyguard to be ready.” Gabriel decided it was time to call the Gorilla. Using speed dial, he awaited until he finally got a response.

“Placide. Bring Adrien here immediately. It doesn’t matter if you have to destroy some robots, just bring him here. When I give you the order, come back as soon as possible. The airplane will be ready for your arrival.”

“And what are you going to do with Tomoe, Gabriel?” Gabriel felt the dagger of Nathalie’s voice behind him.

“She will know one of these days. Tomoe is not going to be happy, but... The gorilla will take care of getting him out of there, even if it’s by force.”

Now they had to think about how they were going to take care of Adrien.

“Who is going to tell Adrien the truth?” Marinette asked uncertainly.

Gabriel walked in circles around the room again until an idea came to his mind and then he looked at her.

“You could tell him, Marinette. Like Ladybug” Gabriel approached her a little neurotic “Adrien will listen to you and he won’t have to talk to me directly...”

“Gabriel, sir," Marinette called his attention, but Gabriel continued talking to himself.

“And then Nathalie can come in and give him all the explanations…”

“Sir!” Nathalie said firmly. She looked at him too, as if she was asking him to shut up.

“It’s not my job to tell Adrien the truth!” Marinette snapped, looking at Gabriel and then looking at Nathalie. “Adrien would like to hear the truth from you, right?”

Both adults looked at each other. They knew that telling Adrien the truth would be very hard for him.

“We’ll both tell him when he gets back. We can’t wait any longer” Nathalie told him “Adrien must be suspecting that something happened. That you suddenly decided to bring him back to Paris must be a very strange decision for him. He's not stupid.”

Gabriel knew that Nathalie was right.

Gabriel gestured with his eyes to Graham de Vanily’s rings. Something that Marinette and Nathalie picked up on right away.

“Don’t even think about doing that!” Marinette and Nathalie exclaimed. Gabriel played with the rings a little until he took one of them off. He watched him for a few seconds before addressing Nathalie. What he didn’t understand was why Marinette knew about Adrien’s origins. He would try to find out later.

“Nathalie, I want you to take care of one of the rings.” Gabriel took off one of the rings and offered it to her.

“Didn’t you say that wasn’t worthy of carrying the Agreste’s legacy?” she snapped furiously.

Marinette wasn’t understanding much of what happened between Gabriel and Nathalie, but apparently things weren't very good between them. The atmosphere was very tense.

What happened in this house?

“I’m afraid he’ll lose the rings once we give them to him.”

Nathalie softened her gaze after all that time.

“Oh, I understand. But Gabriel, Adrien needs to be free. You can’t keep him locked up like a bird in a golden cage, it’s still...”

“A cage, I know.” Gabriel sat in front of the chess table, rubbing his hands over his face.

“Gabriel, Adrien must know the truth, one day he will know it. We better soften the blow if we tell him at once,” Nathalie said.

Nathalie was waiting for Gabriel’s negative response. But what would come out of his mouth next surprised her greatly.

“Okay, we’ll tell him when he arrives.”

But Gabriel didn’t know where to start.

Plagg looked nervous. Tikki seemed like it too

“Is something wrong?” Marinette asked, seeing the worried expression of both kwamis.

Both kwamis looked at each other.

“I’ll take care of it, Tikki.” Plagg floated toward Marinette, close to her ear.

“Marinette, there is something very important that you need to know, but I would prefer that we talk in private,” Plagg whispered in her ear.

Marinette whispered back.

“Alright.”

“Tikki, are you staying with them?” Marinette addressed Tikki before leaving.

“I’m going to help Nathalie look presentable for Adrien,” Tikki floated up to the woman.

They both left the room.

Marinette and Plagg moved far enough away from Nathalie's room that she couldn't hear them.

“What do you have to tell me Plagg?” Marinette was very confused, why would the kwamis be so worried?

“I think you should talk to Chat Noir first. And a piece of advice, you should reveal your identities

“Reveal our identities!” Marinette couldn’t believe what Plagg had just told her.

“It’s just...” Plagg was speechless. “It’s very complicated Marinette. If I tell you, my holder is going to hate me for the rest of his life. I would like him to tell you himself.”

“O-Okay,” Marinette bit her lip. She wasn’t very happy about revealing her identity to Chat Noir, but if Plagg asked her to do that, it meant it was something very important thing.

“But, how do I do it? I’m afraid... that Chat Blanc’s story will repeat itself.”

“Chat Blanc?” Plagg had heard of Adrien having the same nightmares. “Chat Noir seems to be suffering from the same thing as your Marinette.”

“Oh really?” Marinette was surprised “But, how?”

“When Nightormentor, his father, appeared, he managed to cast a spell on him with the power of nightmares he got. That day he went looking for you.”

“For Ladybug?”

“No, he went looking for Marinette,” Plagg pointed at her. “He wanted to reveal his true identity to you.”

“What? Why?”

“He decided it himself. He did it because he loves you, Marinette” Plagg saw Marinette blush “I can’t go into details; I want to give my holder the opportunity to tell you in person. My point is that I am sure that if you talk about your fears, you both will be able to face it together.”

Marinette sighed.

“Alright. I just hope we’re not making a mistake” Marinette took Plagg in her hands and kissed him “Thank you, Plagg”

“Yuck! You are welcome. All those feelings make me feel weird” Plagg smiled “If something bad happens, me and Tikki will help you.”

Marinette and Plagg returned to Nathalie’s room.

Gabriel was dyeing Nathalie’s streak back to its red color. She knew she would return to normal eventually, but they didn’t have time to wait. Adrien couldn’t suspect what had happened to Nathalie when he left.

It was enough that he had seen his mother slowly getting sick.

Nathalie still didn’t look at him directly. She was only paying attention to the kwami who was combing her hair at that moment.

“I have to thank you, kwami of creation. You gave us your permission to use your power on us, even though we didn’t deserve it.”

“Just call me Tikki, I don’t mind,” Tikki said before adjusting one of Nathalie’s hairs in her place. “We did it for a greater good.”

“Thank you, Tikki” Nathalie let Tikki land in her hands.

Marinette now understood why Adrien loved Nathalie so much. She was very gentle with Tikki.

Marinette checked her phone and saw how late it was. And she still needed to contact Chat Noir.

“I need to leave.” Marinette told him.

“Right now?” Gabriel questioned. Marinette could see Gabriel’s worried expression.

“Yes, I have to speak with Chat Noir. He has to know what just happened. I need his support” Marinette hugged herself.

“I understand,” Gabriel looked at Ladybug a little nervous. The topic of the cataclysm was something delicate for him. He wasn’t ready for Chat Noir to come and expect him to help them.

“But first, I need you to hand me the remaining Miraculous.” The girl stretched out her hand.

Gabriel looked at both hands, remembering that he still had some Miraculouses with him. Nathalie stared at him suspiciously.

“Oh sure,” Gabriel removed the rings one by one, handing them into Marinette’s outstretched hands. She counted them all until she was sure Gabriel had returned them all over. Nathalie was surprised when he handed over each and every one of the rings.

“Thank you very much, Gabriel” Marinette kept all the rings inside her purse. “Can you give me your phone numbers?”

“I’ll give you mine, Marinette,” Nathalie said, grabbing her phone from the nightstand.

Marinette proceeded to save Nathalie’s number. Gabriel gave her his number to stay in touch as well.

“I’ll come back as soon as I can, to see how we're going to solve Adrien’s problem.”

“Then I’ll take you to the door.” Gabriel offered.

Marinette said goodbye to Nathalie and Gabriel took her to the exit of the mansion. He opened the door for her, standing at the entrance.

“Are you going to come back? Do you need a ride?” That was the most hospitable thing Gabriel had ever done for Marinette.

“No, no... don’t worry, I can go back to my house myself. I’ll be back here tomorrow, if that’s what’s worrying you. I think you should take this time to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.”

“Oh sure,” Gabriel said uncomfortably. “Good night, Marinette.”

Marinette walked out to the gate and it closed behind her. She let out the breath she had held all the time she was there and redirected her steps straight to her house.

Gabriel waited until she was gone to close the door.

He retraced his steps so he could get Adrien out of where he had him locked up.

Chapter Text

Marinette had returned home. With one jump, she reached her balcony. She entered through the door of her room, falling into bed.

She left all the rings on the bed and all the kwamis came out of them.

“Where we are?” The kwamis immediately recognized Marinette’s room. They saw her expectantly.

“We’re free!” The kwamis hugged her, happy to finally be free. They soon noticed that someone was missing at the reunion. After breaking the hug, they looked at each other before Sass asked what everyone was wondering.

“Where is Nooroo? And where is Duusu?” Sass looked at all the kwamis around her.

Marinette showed a sad face.

“The... the butterfly Miraculous disappeared, again.” Marinette answered.

“Poor Nooroo!”

The happiness in the room faded with the last bit.

“But what are you going to do now, Marinette?” Wayzz asked.

“I know that Duusu is with Felix. And I’m going to talk with him to make sure he takes good care of Duusu. And as for you, I would prefer that you stay here for the moment. The person who took Nooroo mustn’t have good intentions and besides, I have another problem.”

The kwamis began to ask questions without waiting for Marinette to answer them.

“Can we help?” Barkk asked.

“Please Ladybug, tell us what it is, we can help you.”

Plagg floated in front of them to stop them.

“It’s a problem between Marinette and my holder. They will deal with it themselves; you don’t have to intervene.”

“Thank you Plagg.” Marinette watched as Plagg sat on her shoulder.

“And what about Gabriel Agreste?” Sass said, noticing that he was able to say his name without bubbles coming out, indicating that Gabriel had given up on them “What do you plan to do with him?”

“I, I left him free for the moment,” Marinette didn’t know another way to answer to that question.

All the kwamis began to protest.

“Did you even give him a chance? Why?” Sass asked calmly as the other kwamis protested around her.

Marinette backed up on the bed as all the kwamis floated in front of her speaking all at the same time.

“Calm down guys, I did it because I saw him vulnerable and... Besides, I don’t have the heart to do it. I didn’t want Adrien to suffer. And even less for him to become an orphan.”

The kwamis looked nervous.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, Ladybug,” the dog’s kwami said. “It’s just that it surprises us all that you made a decision like that.”

But Marinette was suspecting that the kwamis knew something that she didn’t.

“I know, I know that what I did was very questionable. But I will take care of it so that Mr. Agreste pays for what he did.”

For now, Marinette had to stick with the plan.

“Plagg, I need you to go look for your holder now.”

Marinette took the ring containing the horse’s Miraculous and put it on.

“We’re going to use the horse Miraculous to send you there, so you can find your holder as quickly as possible, okay?” Marinette got up from her bed to look for a place to safely open the portal.

“Okay Ladybug.”

Plagg gave her coordinates for an area of Gales to avoid suspicions. He did not want his holder to be left without the opportunity to reveal his identity to his lady himself.

Marinette placed the ring on her hand and Kaalki stepped out of it.

“Kaalki, full gallop!”

Marinette immediately opened a portal where Plagg had indicated.

“I will go as quickly as possible to find my holder so you can talk. If you can, go rest for a while Marinette” Plagg took the cat’s Miraculous between his paws.

“I’ll do it Plagg. Good luck.”

Plagg left through the portal and quickly flew towards his destination.

Gabriel asked Nathalie to log into the system with her username and password. Upon entering, she found the interface and the cameras in his son’s room.

Adrien was on the floor completely asleep.

“Nathalie, I need you to call Adrien and make him wake up. We need to get him out of there and fast.”

“And Tomoe isn’t going to ask anything? Because the last time I heard, you and her were pretty involved in the plan,” she said acidly.

“I know Nathalie. I know I shouldn’t have allied myself with Tomoe. I’ll deal with her myself later.”

Gabriel was on the phone waiting to give instructions to the Gorilla. He had asked him to be ready for his call, to give him the signal so he could leave that place.

“Nathalie prepare to…”

Before finishing her sentence Nathalie interrupted him very abruptly, covering the speaker of her phone in case Adrien decided to answer. She made a missed call so that Adrien would hear the phone ring and finally decide to pick it up.

“I know Gabriel. I have to make sure Adrien takes his phone. You don’t have to tell me.”

They waited a few minutes until Nathalie saw Adrien get up and take the phone from the mini robot.

At one point, they both watched as the room’s cameras deactivated. Same with all the noise.

That meant Plagg was already there. That was their sign.

Gabriel immediately dialed the Gorilla’s phone.

“Placide, get Adrien out of there now.”

A few seconds later, Gabriel heard the Gorilla nod. They activated the robot’s camera once again, making sure Adrien was no longer there.

Gabriel sighed knowing that Adrien had already left there safely. Approaching Nathalie, it was time for them to prepare the plane for Adrien to return to Paris.

After a few hours of sleep, Adrien heard that the machine was insisting for him to take the Alliance. Her decided to try to sleep again. Maybe then the machine would ignore him.

He could hear a tone similar to the one he uses in his cell phone. He thought it was a dream.

“Adrien… Adrien.”

An insistent voice called him. In the middle of his sleep, he couldn’t recognize who the voice belonged to.

“Adrien!”

He stood up furious, about to hit the robot once and for all. But he found that he was no longer alone. Plagg was floating in front of him.

“Wait Adrien! I’m not going to hurt you,” Plagg shook his paws before he hit the robot.

“I’m sorry Plagg. I just wanted the robot to leave me alone.” Adrien rubbed his eyes, still getting used to the bright light in the room.

Again, he heard his cell phone ringing. He approached the sound slowly until the robot’s automatic door opened showing that it had his cell phone was inside it. Adrien took it quickly before the machine decided to change its mind. He checked the time on his phone. It was midnight back in Paris. There were some of Nathalie’s missed calls which were quite recent.

Adrien heard the notification sound from his cellphone. He checked who the sender was: A message from his father was on his phone.

Had his father sent him a message at this time?

Adrien looked through his most recent messages, finding the message that had arrived in the chat he had with his father just a few seconds ago.

Gabriel_ 00:01

Adrien, are you awake?

Gabriel_ 00:03

Adrien, you’re going back to Paris right away.

That was very strange, his father insisted for days that he was going to take him to England, but now he wanted him to return immediately?

Adrien heard how the door to the room he was in was forced open. Adrien stepped back, not understanding what was happening.

The Gorilla entered. He took the robot that had given him the phone and threw it to the other side. Adrien was surprised at how strong his bodyguard was. Without saying a word and before Adrien could ask, his bodyguard took him in his arms and ran outside the facility where his father had sent him. The gorilla ran with Adrien, destroying doors until they managed to leave the place.

Gorilla lowered him to the ground and motioned for him to follow him. Adrien followed him, until they reached the car and the Gorilla drove him to an unknown destination.

Adrien was wondering what just happened. He and the Gorilla headed to the airport and the plane was ready to take off. The Gorilla parked as close as possible and opened the door for Adrien to get on the plane. Adrien began to walk up the stairs to the plane, quickly sitting in his designated seat.

He still didn’t understand his father’s sudden change of attitude. Everything seemed very strange to him.

Another person he was worried about was Nathalie.

He hadn’t heard from her in a couple of hours. And the last time, he had seen her sick, but despite that, she took the time to say goodbye to him.

This time he wasn’t as excited to see his father.

The Gorilla was in charge of putting Adrien’s seat belt on. The plane took off immediately. Adrien felt a bit of turbulence so he gripped the seat as it passed. Once in the air he prepared to settle into his seat and put on his headphones.

He would have time to think about what he was going to do. For the moment he would listen to music and find a way to escape so he could see Marinette like he had promised her.

Adrien sat down in his seat and looked out the window. Adrien felt a little guilty for leaving Kagami on her own, but what other choice did he have?

Gabriel was asking Nathalie to cut the airplane’s communications so Tomoe couldn’t immediately find out what had happened. Nathalie was helping him from the computer she had given him.

Gabriel breathed easier when Nathalie cut off the last communication.

“You should rest,” he said to Nathalie once they finished their task. “Adrien will arrive at any moment.”

“I’m going to wait for Adrien, Gabriel.” Nathalie turned off the computer so Gabriel could remove it from his space.

“Nathalie, tomorrow we will have to explain everything to Adrien. Don’t you think that being well rested is something very important?”

“Welcoming Adrien is something very important too, Gabriel,” Nathalie repeated, crossing her arms and leaning on the pillow. “We already did things wrong with him for us to repeat the same pattern.”

“Alright. Then tomorrow morning I’ll give him a proper welcome.” Gabriel sighed. “I don’t think Adrien will be very happy to see me now.”

Nathalie couldn’t believe that Gabriel didn’t understand what she wanted him to do.

“No Gabriel, you are going to get him NOW. As much as Adrien may not be happy with you, I think you should at least show him that you care enough to welcome him when he gets here.”

Gabriel was going to protest, but thinking about it, he decided to keep his mouth shut and not continue arguing with Nathalie and do what she said.

“Then I’m going to go wait for him at the airport. Is the car ready?”

“Yes, the car has full tank” Nathalie told him before Gabriel left “Adrien will arrive shortly, I put the plane at maximum speed, so it shouldn’t take long. You should hurry up.”

“Thank you for informing me, Nathalie. I’ll go back to Adrien then. Get some rest if you can Nathalie, good night.”

Gabriel turned off the light and left the room. Nathalie was a little surprised that Gabriel was not very opposed to her idea. She settled back into the pillow, hoping to get some sleep while Adrien arrived back home.

Gabriel retired to his bedroom to fix himself a little. He didn’t want Adrien to ask him if something had happened to him while he was away. He went to his private bathroom, where he washed his face with cold water to remove the sleepiness off his face. He took out his comb, and fixed his hair which had become a little disheveled. Gabriel looked in the mirror after getting ready.

He knew that Adrien wouldn’t be very happy to see him. Despite that, he had to give his son a proper welcome as Nathalie asked him to.

So, he was going to wait for him at the airport.

Gabriel went down to the first floor to look for the car; and he drove directly to the airport.

In just a few hours, Adrien had returned to Paris. He hoped as soon as they were able to return, he would communicate to Marinette that he had returned.

He arrived at the airport early in the morning. When they landed, the black car used by the mansion members was already parked on the landing strip.

The front door of the car opened and he saw none other than his father.

“Good night, Adrien.” Gabriel stepped aside for Adrien to enter as he approached the car.

“Good night, father.” Adrien said back, monotonously.

“I hope you had a good flight.”

Adrien reluctantly handed his luggage to his father and took a step forward. He stepped inside the back of the car and closed the door.

Calm down Gabriel, he is angry with you and it is normal for him to act like that Gabriel took a deep breath. He had to start being a lot kinder to him if he wanted Adrien to trust him again.

The Gorilla would be in charge of driving. Gabriel, for his part, sat at Adrien’s side, in the seat that was free. Gorilla started the car to take them back to the mansion.

The atmosphere in the car was especially uncomfortable with Adrien and Gabriel in the car next to each other. No one was saying anything, and Adrien thought maybe it was for the best.

But Gabriel needed to take the opportunity to apologize to Adrien.

“Adrien, I… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent you to London against your will.”

But Adrien said absolutely nothing.

Arriving, Adrien dragged his feet from the car to the entrance. His father opened the door for him. He saw that Adrien was going to the second floor.

“Adrien, wait! I would like to talk to you.”

Adrien.

“I’m tired, we’ll talk tomorrow, father,” Adrien said dryly.

“It’s okay.” Gabriel stood at the entrance to the lobby when he saw that there was no case “Go rest Adrien.”

Adrien completely ignored what his father told him and headed up to the second floor.

The Gorilla went after him, but Adrien stopped him.

“You can go rest,” he said to his bodyguard. “Don’t worry about me.”

The bodyguard growled at him.

“Good night.” Adrien went directly to Nathalie’s room to see if she was still awake. He cracked the door open to check if his caregiver was awake.

“Nathalie?” He whispered to avoid waking Nathalie if she was asleep. She was sitting on the bed, awake.

“Come in Adrien,” Nathalie said gently. Adrien approached the bed. He noticed that Nathalie looked much better than she was when he left.

“Welcome Adrien, how was your trip?” Nathalie offered him her hand and Adrien took it without hesitation.

“There was no complications Nathalie, thanks for asking.”

Nathalie could tell how tired Adrien was.

“Why don’t you go to sleep? Tomorrow we will talk more and you will tell me how everything went” She took Adrien’s hand with both hands and massageD it lovingly “You look tired.”

“Of course, Nathalie. You rest too.” Adrien released Nathalie’s grip gently. He understood that Nathalie would be tired too.

Adrien headed towards his room. When he entered his room, he locked the door, so that none of those who lived in that house would realize what he was going to do. But first, he was going to call Marinette.

Plagg came out of his pocket once everything was clear.

“What are you doing?” Plagg asked curiously.

“Calling Marinette.”

“Well, Adrien, Marinette might have to wait. It’s time for us to go see Ladybug. She is getting ready, because she is going to look for you.”

“Did Ladybug mention a place where we should meet?” Adrien asked.

“I’ll go and let her know that you’re here, first. Wait here Adrien, it won’t be long.”

Plagg went out the window in an unknown direction. The only thing Adrien could do was wait.

Plagg went to Marinette’s house the same way he had taken last time. He went through the wall heading towards girl’s room.

Marinette was fast asleep. Plagg went to wake Marinette up from her bed.

“Marinette.” Plagg whispered. Marinette remained asleep.

Plagg leaned closer to her ear and cleared his throat.

“Marinette!”

Marinette screamed at how sudden it was and she almost fell off the bed.

“Plagg! Don’t scare her!” Tikki exclaimed, seeing her carrier on the ground.

“It’s time,” Plagg said, “My holder must be ready. I will tell him to wait for you where you are going to meet him.”

“Sure Plagg.” Marinette got out of bed “I’ll be on my way.”

Before going to her destination in a lonely area of the rooftops of Paris, she went to a restaurant that was still open to buy two cups of hot chocolate. She sat on the roof of the meeting point, waiting for Chat Noir to arrive. She was not prepared for a revelation of identities. But it would be a relief to finally know who has been behind the mask all along since she had Gabriel neutralized for the moment.

“Ladybug, can I know why you summoned me here?” Chat Noir took a sip of her drink, sitting on the roof. He still didn’t know why Ladybug had summoned him there.

Ladybug had to be direct with him.

“Yes, I managed to catch Monarch today.”

Chat Noir spat out what he was drinking.

“What?!”

“I found out who he was and we had a confrontation and, in the end, he asked me for his help,” she said in a quiet voice.

“And you decided to help him. Ladybug, why?” Chat Noir was not understanding anything of Ladybug’s actions.

“I know you have many questions Chat Noir and I plan to answer them in their own time. But the person behind the Monarch mask asked me for help and I saw him very… desperate. I couldn’t refuse. Plus, there’s an innocent person who’s going to be affected if I don’t do something.” Ladybug held her hands nervously.

“And, can you tell me what Monarch’s true identity is?” Chat Noir was wondering who was the individual who had been sending akumas all these months.

“I was planning for us to meet with him and we will start looking for a way to help him.”

“Do you trust him?” Chat Noir was not very convinced of the decision Ladybug had made.

“Not at all.” Ladybug hugged herself.

Chat Noir felt guilty for not being there to help Ladybug.

“I wish I had been there to help you,” Chat Noir hugged her, something that surprised Ladybug. “I’m so sorry. I just didn’t feel my mind was stable enough to help you with this whole nightmare problem.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It wasn’t your fault, Chat Noir” Ladybug hugged him too.

Chat Noir separated from her to continue drinking his hot chocolate.

“There’s something else I need to talk to you about.” Ladybug grabbed her cup harder. “Now that we have caught Monarch, we are going to reveal our identities.”

“What?” This time Chat Noir almost dropped his cup on the floor, if it weren’t for his reflexes with the Miraculous.

“Well Plagg told me that we could reveal our identities now that we stopped Monarch.”

“Are we going to reveal our identities?” Chat Noir asked unsure.

Chat Noir’s reaction was not what she expected.

“Yes. But you don’t look happy, Chat Noir.”

“Is it a bad thing I’m not happy?” Chat Noir asked, looking at her glass.

“No, not at all. Usually when you suggested it, you seemed very happy,” Ladybug reminded him.

“I am, I would be very happy, but I’ve been having some strange visions lately.” Chat Noir rubbed his shoulder as his tail fell limply on the ground.

“Strange, in what sense?” Ladybug felt the heat of the cup in her hands.

“In my visions I am in a completely destroyed world, and instead of my usual black Chat Noir suit, I find myself dressed completely in white. In that world, you are paralyzed like a statue and I hold you in my arms for a moment, until you slowly crumble like dust.”

Marinette would recognize that nightmare anywhere.

“Have you been having nightmares about Chat Blanc?” Ladybug mentioned.

“Chat Blanc?” Chat Noir realized that the name matched the description he gave her “Do you mean me in the white suit? How do you know?”

Marinette didn’t know whether to mention Chat Blanc’s existence to him now in a timeline that no longer existed, especially when she wasn’t sure why Chat Blanc existed in the first place.

“I’ve had nightmares about it for a while too” Ladybug confessed “Plagg told me.”

Chat Noir’s ears drooped.

“Oh, did he mention that?” Chat Noir looked sad.

“It was the reason I was afraid of revealing our identities,” Ladybug confessed.

“Was that the reason?” Chat Noir now understood why she was so evasive on the subject of their identities.

“Chat Noir, I’m also afraid of that nightmare becoming reality, but I think we can face it together, don’t you think?”

Chat Noir stirred his chocolate nervously. It would be nice if someone other than him knew about his nightmare.

“Well, that would be fine. Maybe things will be less complicated that way. Also, I would like to meet the person behind the mask, my Lady” Chat Noir smiled sweetly at her.

That look gave Ladybug a little more peace inside her mind. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Ladybug stood up from where she was sitting. She handed her cup to Chat Noir as she stood in front of him.

“Then I’ll do it first.” Ladybug nervously moved her hands. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Chat Noir stared at the face of the girl he once fell in love with. She was very curious about who was behind the mask.

“Are you ready?” She asked a little nervously.

“Yes! I’m ready, you already asked!” He laughed, his heart beating in anticipation. “Come on, do it!” He said playfully.

Ladybug let out all the air she had been holding the entire time she was talking to Chat Noir.

“Tikki, spots off.”

A pink light surrounded Ladybug as her transformation finished.

Chat Noir immediately recognized the face of the girl in front once she was without the mask.

Marinette was in Ladybug’s place.

Marinette is Ladybug.

Chat Noir stood up from his seat, dropping the two cups of shock.

Marinette opened one of her eyes.

“Is everything okay?”

“Marinette, is that you?” Chat Noir took her in his arms and spined around with her.

“Yes!” Marinette laughed.

“I can’t believe it, it’s you. It was you all this time.” Chat Noir didn’t care about anything else at that moment.

Marinette hugged him. She already had feelings for Chat Noir, but the fact that he was so happy it was her gave her relief.

Chat Noir stopped spinning and held her for several minutes until he finally separated from her.

“I’m so happy it’s you” Chat Noir couldn’t hold his happiness “I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.”

Marinette was also very happy that he was relieved. She was worried about getting a negative reaction from him.

“Now it’s my turn” Chat Noir took her face, looking at her intently, giving her a completely sincere smile “I hope you’re ready.”

He backed away from her slowly. Chat Noir counted in his mind before showing Marinette who he was.

3, 2, 1...

“Plagg, claws in!”

Chat Noir’s characteristic green light surrounded him, hiding for a moment who the person behind the mask was.

Marinette recognized the person in front of her instantly. Her heart sank when she saw who it was.

Adrien Agreste.

Chat Noir was Adrien Agreste.

Oh no.

That was why Plagg had insisted they had to reveal their identities.

“Marinette...Marinette!” Adrien was calling her.

Marinette wanted this to be a happy moment for them.

It wasn’t.

“Yes, Adrien?”

“You don’t seem very happy” Adrien’s expression turned serious when he saw Marinette’s reaction. Both kwamis looked at each other worried.

“Oh, I’m very happy, Adrien," Marinette assured him. “I just didn’t expect it, that’s all.”

“Oh, ok” Adrien was surprised by the dry response he received from Marinette. An internal feeling told him that something was wrong. But for now, he’ll let it pass.

“I can’t believe I fell in love with the same person twice. I feel so stupid.”

Marinette saw him so happy. It was a shame that his happiness would end tomorrow. For now, she would let him be.

Marinette let herself be hugged by Adrien. She could not hide was the expression of sadness which now adorned her face.

“Tomorrow we will talk, there is something very important that we have to discuss.”

“Where will we meet?” Adrien asked curiously.

“Let’s meet at your house,” Marinette said.

Adrien got very worried.

“Won’t my father be against it?” Adrien asked sadly.

“No, don’t worry about anything, I’ll convince him don’t worry.” Marinette looked very nervous. But he assumed it was because of his father’s attitude. He was so difficult to talk to or even confront him.

“Adrien, I just want you to go home and rest well, okay?” Marinette caressed his hair “Tomorrow we will talk, I promise.”

“Will do, Marinette.” Adrien wondered what was so important that he had summoned him to his own house. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

"See you tomorrow, Adrien.” Marinette kissed him on the cheek.

They both went straight to their house.

Ladybug was breathing fast as she ran. She was resisting the tears that began to form on her face when she separated from Chat Noir.

When Marinette got home, she collapsed right there in the center of her room. Her legs were shaking after knowing who was behind her mask.

Why did it have to be him, why?

Marinette cried right there on the floor. She covered her face, trying to hide the tears that fell down from it.

She couldn’t get out of her head how much Adrien was going to suffer tomorrow.

Adrien was going to finally know the truth, but at what cost?

The kwamis went to console her.

“You knew it, right?” Marinette asked, her voice breaking.

“Yes, we’re sorry. We couldn’t tell you anything, you had to find out for yourself” Wayzz said.

“I know, I know,” Marinette lamented. She didn’t know if it was good or bad. “Adrien is going to suffer a lot when he learns the truth.”

Marinette’s voice was shaking so much, it made all the kwamis hug her.

“Calm down Marinette.” Tikki approached her holder to comfort her.

“But what do I do now?” Marinette wiped her tears with the sleeve of her jacket.

Tikki felt bad for the holder.

“Everything will be okay, Marinette.” Tikki hugged her cheek. She knew that Marinette would have a hard time from now on. “I’ll be there for you.”

That night Marinette couldn’t sleep.

Chapter Text

Adrien woke up that morning very happy.

He hadn’t been able to sleep all night after learning the truth about Ladybug.

Marinette was Ladybug, Marinette was Ladybug all this time. Adrien noticed that Plagg was already awake on his pillow.

Adrien stretched on the bed and got up to pace around the room.

“Can you believe it, Plagg? I fell in love with the same person twice, isn’t it great?” Adrien went to the bathroom to get his toothbrush and get ready for the day.

“Yes, Adrien it is very cool.” And then Plagg whispered “Even though that is going to be our downfall.”

“Did you say something?” Adrien spoke with the toothbrush in his mouth. Adrien came out of the bathroom to find a crestfallen Plagg on his pillow.

“Is something wrong, Plagg?” Adrien noticed his kwami’s mood. Plagg didn’t make the usual sarcastic comments he made when he talked excessively about Marinette. “Plagg, you seem a little strange, are you okay?”

“Yes, yes I’m fine. Just be happy, Adrien.” Plagg settled back into the pillow, uncapable of seeing Adrien.

Adrien was beginning to feel like something was being hidden from him.

But he would later convince Plagg what it was.

First, he was going to prepare for the reunion that Marinette told him they would have. He knew it was still early and he was sure Marinette was still asleep at that hour. He would wait a while to send her a message and for not wake her up by accident.

For now, he would go down to breakfast. He was sure that his father would be waiting for him with breakfast to talk to him just as he asked him last night.

Although, Adrien didn’t really want to see him.

“Let’s go down to breakfast, Plagg.” Adrien opened his jacket so Plagg could hide.

Nathalie and Gabriel were mentally preparing for that day. The inevitable would come soon and it was going to explode in their faces.  

Nathalie woke up with the first light of day. The curtains were still drawn, but it was morning already. And It was exactly the time Adrien usually got up.

The first thing she did was get out of her bed. Very slowly she put her foot on the ground. She felt the cold of the floor and encouraged herself to place her other foot. She stood up and for the first time in months she didn’t feel dizzy when she did.

Nathalie took a deep breath and let out a lungful of air, expecting a strong coughing fit like the ones she used to have since she started using the Peacock Miraculous. Doing that kind of action would cost her air.

Nothing.

She had no symptoms.

She was cured. Or at least that’s what she believed.

She could stand on her own without help from Gabriel or the exoskeleton she wore to work.

She felt the same as when she was healthy.

When she had not yet made the stupid decision to use the Miraculous to help Gabriel.

She heard knocking on the door.

“Nathalie, can I come in?” Gabriel asked, somewhat unsure.

“One moment.”

Nathalie adjusted her pajamas which were a little wrinkled.

“Come in.”

Gabriel entered finding her standing by herself.

“Ah Nathalie, let me help you.”

Nathalie abruptly moved away from him when he tried to take her hand.

“I don’t need your help. As you can see, I’m no longer disabled.” Nathalie went to her drawer to look for her clean clothes.

“Yes, I see.” Gabriel just stared at her solemnly when he saw her abruptness.

“Shouldn’t you go to check on Adrien?” Nathalie questioned, when she saw him there.

“I’m going to go to the kitchen to serve him breakfast,” Gabriel adjusted the white gloves of his suit “Before the inevitable.”

“Don’t you need help?” Gabriel offered.

“No.” Nathalie responded mechanically.

Gabriel watched as he reached into his nightstand and pulled out a comb from inside.

“Are you sure?” Gabriel didn’t want to leave until he was sure that Nathalie wasn’t in any trouble.

“Yes, sir.” Nathalie emphasized the last word “I can take care of myself.”

Nathalie looked for her cleanest suit of her closet and locked herself in the bathroom. Gabriel realized that he was not welcome there, so he decided to leave once and for all.

Gabriel left the room straight to the kitchen. He started taking out pots and the frying pan to prepare Adrien’s breakfast. He would cook him something simple: Some scrambled eggs with a French toast.

Adrien was outside the kitchen wondering if he should come in now. He had heard his father cooking inside so it seemed like he was already there waiting for him. He was not on good terms with his father so he knew it would be a very uncomfortable environment for both of them.

“Aren’t you going in?” Plagg said from his pocket.

"I want to, but I don’t know if it’s a good idea." Adrien uncovered his jacket a little to answer Plagg.

“You don’t have to force yourself to do it Adrien. You can wait for Marinette to come and face your father with her,” Plagg mentioned understandingly.

But Adrien didn’t want to wait.

Adrien placed his hand on the door and took a deep breath before opening it.

He counted down before going into the kitchen.

3… 2… 1…

Adrien went into the kitchen. The first thing he received was the courteous greeting from his father.

“Good morning, Adrien, how are you?”

How strange, his father now seemed to care if he was okay.

“I’m fine, father,” answered the dry one.

At that moment, the doorbell echoed throughout the mansion.

“I’ll take care of it, Adrien.”

Gabriel lowered the flame of the stove and prepared to check who was the person ringing on the door, activating the exterior camera.

“Yes?”

When he saw the image on the screen, he immediately recognized who it was.

It was Marinette Dupain-Cheng back at the mansion just as she promised.

“Marinette. It’s you” There was a hint of relief in Gabriel’s voice.

Marinette waved nervously at the camera.

“I’ll let you in.”

Gabriel pressed the button that opened the main doors to the courtyard. He deactivated the camera and he went to the door to greet Marinette.

“Marinette, Adrien is already awake and is in the kitchen having breakfast.”

“Have you told anything to Adrien?” Marinette was worried that something had already been said without her being present.

“We haven’t told him anything yet,” Gabriel said quietly. “I was going to talk to him yesterday, but he told me he was tired, so I let him go rest. Furthermore, I would prefer that you were present, Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“Ok,” Marinette nodded. Apparently, they were waiting for her to arrive.

“Follow me,” Gabriel guided her to the kitchen.

Gabriel entered the kitchen first.

“Our guest has arrived.”

Adrien saw who came through the door.

He was none other than Marinette. Being received by his father.

“You can take a seat wherever you want, Marinette.” Gabriel pointed to the free seats in the kitchen.

“Thank you, Mr. Agreste.” Marinette pulled out the chair to sit at the front of the small dining room.

Adrien stared at the interactions between the two, somewhat surprised. A few days ago, they were at each other’s throat.

“Father? What does this mean?” It was so strange to see Gabriel and Marinette with such cordial treatment, as if something had happened between them those days when he was absent.

“Marinette came to talk to me yesterday and she wanted to fix things with me.”

“And you accepted it out of nowhere?” Adrien questioned.

Neither Gabriel nor Marinette expected that answer. They both looked at each other trying to find an answer.

“Yes, son, I agreed that she came in to talk.” Gabriel intervened before Marinette opened her mouth. “She gave me her opinion and, in the end, I ended up realizing that she was right.”

Adrien felt like they were hiding something from him.

There was no way his father and Marinette would have reconciled so quickly while he wasn’t around.

After Gabriel turned around to continue what he was doing. Adrien leaned towards Marinette who had sat next to him.

“Marinette, what does all this mean? Why are you and my father acting like this?”

“I came to talk to your dad, Adrien. I was the one who insisted that the three of us talk to resolve things, that’s all.”

But to Adrien that explanation didn’t seem enough. It seemed like there was something they weren’t telling him yet. But what was it? In the time he had known Marinette he knew that the way she moved her hands meant it wasn’t a good thing.

Adrien watched as Gabriel served him some of the orange juice he prepared previously.

“Would you like some breakfast Marinette?” Gabriel asked kindly.

“No thanks, I already had breakfast at my house,” Marinette said as kindly as possible. “Don’t worry.”

Adrien began to consume his breakfast while he watched those interactions. Very deep in his heart hope was born, that perhaps things would improve in his family environment.

After finishing Gabriel began to wash all the dishes, he had used that morning.

Adrien had stayed there checking his phone.

“Adrien, why don’t you go look for Nathalie while I finish here? I’m sure she’ll be very happy to see you.” Gabriel handed her a tray of food. “Bring her breakfast for me.”

Adrien took the tray in his hands.

“Are you coming with me, Marinette?” Adrien said, extending his hand. Marinette gently took it and closed it.

“I was thinking about helping your dad," Marinette mentioned to him. "You can go ahead, Adrien." I’ll catch up with you.

“Alright.”

Adrien left the room and walked forward so he could say good morning to Nathalie. At a quick pace he walked to where Nathalie’s room was and knocked on the door.

“Hello Nathalie, are you there?” Adrien waited a moment for me to answer.

“You can come in, Adrien” Adrien heard Nathalie’s voice, which sounded muffled through the door.

“Good morning, Nathalie.”

Nathalie invited him to sit next to her. Adrien placed the tray of food on the nightstand.

“We’re sorry for not welcoming you properly last night Adrien. We were very tired.” Nathalie grabbed Adrien’s face lovingly.

“Don’t worry, Nathalie,” Adrien gave Nathalie a gentle look and he hugged her “I’m glad to be back.”

Nathalie put her arms around him and stroked his hair. She wanted to enjoy those last few moments of calm before the storm.

Adrien separated from her and examined her much more carefully. She wasn’t in her pajamas, but instead she had on her usual work suit and it seemed like she had no trouble getting up on her own since she wasn’t wearing her exoskeleton.

“Nathalie, are you okay?” Adrien asked, noticing Nathalie’s state. She was no longer as pale as she had been in the past few days, in fact, she had regained color.

“Yes, Adrien Thank you for asking. I was worried about you too.”

Adrien offered her the breakfast he had brought to Nathalie. Nathalie took it with great pleasure and prepared to have breakfast while Adrien accompanied her.

Marinette took the plate that Gabriel had just cleaned to dry it. It was clear to her that he was stalling for time.

“Mr. Agreste, how do you plan to tell the truth to Adrien?” Marinette asked as she received a plate from Gabriel.

“Telling him directly isn’t the best thing?” Gabriel took the next plate and put it under the running water.

“I know that telling him directly is the best, but I think you should be a little tactful. Adrien is very sensitive. I wouldn’t want him to suffer too much.” Marinette cleaned one of the plates and left it on the pile that was already dry.

“This is going to destroy him, isn’t it?” Gabriel asked into the air.

“Possibly.” Marinette replied.

Gabriel was afraid. Would it be a good idea to tell him about Monarch?

“I don’t know if it’s appropriate to tell him the truth today.”

Marinette abruptly put down the second pile she had made.

“You have to do it. You can’t back out.” the girl insisted.

“I know.” Gabriel said dryly.

Gabriel took off his oven gloves and his kitchen robe, leaving them on the counter.

“Let’s go then.”

Nathalie had just finished her breakfast when Gabriel and Marinette headed towards Nathalie’s room, which they knew was where Adrien was at the moment.

Climbing the stairs was torture for both of them, because the time was approaching when Adrien would finally know the truth about everything. Marinette’s legs were shaking like jelly.

She felt guilty for having known Monarch’s true identity and what Gabriel had been doing all this time before Adrien did.

They entered the room, leaving the door half open.

“What’s this all about?” Adrien said.

Neither of the two adults nor Marinette said anything. Nathalie cleared her throat.

“Adrien, we need to talk to you,” Nathalie mentioned softly. He watched as his father adjusted one of the armchairs in Nathalie’s room. “If you want you can sit here.”

In his head, Adrien thought that maybe his father had changed his mind about everything and he was ready to finally admit that he and Nathalie had mutual feelings or a relationship. He took the seat his father was offering.

“And what do you have to tell me?”

Both women looked at Gabriel, as if asking him to speak.

“Well, Adrien. It’s just that me, it’s just that us...”

But Gabriel was speechless at that moment. The words he was going to say were stuck in his throat and refused to come out.

“Can you tell me now?” Adrien was getting impatient.

Gabriel wanted to tell him, but his heart said one thing and his brain said another.

“Gabriel, tell him; or I’m going to tell him myself.” Nathalie threatened. The tension between the two was quite felt in the atmosphere. Marinette looked at the floor and swallowed hard in anticipation of what Gabriel was about to say.

“What do you have to tell me?” Adrien asked, losing patience.

“Adrien, I am Monarch.”

Time stopped for Adrien.

“No.”

Adrien was denying it.

“No, it's not true.” Adrien refused to believe that what his father just said was true. He couldn’t be Monarch... it wasn't impossible. He looked back at his father in hopes it wasn’t true.

“I was always Hawkmoth, Adrien.”

Adrien could feel tears stinging his eyes. He began to hyperventilate.

At that very moment was when things started to make sense.

The sudden disappearance of his mother. Hawkmoth’s arrival shortly after. His father’s refusal to let his mother go. Nathalie’s illness. The fact that his father was not interested in worrying about him. Everything fit with a lot of the things that happened in the last few months.

That also meant… he had cataclysmed his own father.

His mind began to work. If his father was Hawkmoth, that meant Nathalie was most likely… Mayura.

“So,” Adrien’s gaze went directly to Nathalie “You were helping him all this time? Are you Mayura?”

Deep down Adrien was hoping that Nathalie would say no. That everything was a coincidence and that she didn’t know anything. But what Nathalie said next took away all of his doubts.

“Yes, Adrien. I knew it all along. And although I didn’t completely agree with everything your father did, I still decided to help him. That’s the truth.” Nathalie looked him in the eyes. She watched as Adrien’s gaze filled with fire and anger.

“Why?” Adrien said furiously in a tone that no one present had ever heard before. “Why!?”

“Adrien, me and Nathalie wanted to bring your mother back.” Gabriel said.

That answer left him even more confused.

“What happened to my mother?”

“She... she is in this house, Adrien. I kept her hidden all this time.” Gabriel uttered embarrassed.

“She’s here?” Adrien was confused.

“Yes, I put her in a glass coffin to preserve her body.” Gabriel explained.

“Is my mother dead?” he asked horrified. That statement fell like a bucket of cold water on Adrien.

“Yes, Adrien.”

Adrien couldn’t believe what he had just heard. Was his mother really dead?

“You told me that my mother disappeared. Not that she died.”

“We lied to you all this time Adrien; she didn’t disappear like we told you. She died, or at least, she fell into a magical coma from which she cannot wake up.” Gabriel tried to approach Adrien, but he stood up immediately from his seat and walked away, making Gabriel have to take a step back.

His mother was dead all along.

“Do you remember that your mother was sick for a while? Unfortunately, there was nothing we could do for her” Gabriel continued swallowing saliva “The illness that afflicted her ended up ending her life. When that happened, I decided that I was not going to let her go, so I had a special glass coffin made where I would protect her.”

Adrien as the tears that had gathered in his eyes began to fall freely from his eyes.

Adrien came to a different conclusion with what his father had told him.

“So that means you and Nathalie never had anything?”

Nathalie immediately understood what he was referring to.

Adrien thought they were both together.

“Oh Adrien.” Nathalie whispered.

Gabriel never expected that. ¿All this time his son thought that Nathalie and him had something between them? That explained the question he had asked him the day Felix came to visit them.

“No, Adrien. There was never anything between us if that’s what you thought. Our relationship was strictly professional.”

But Adrien knew that wasn’t entirely true.

“So, what was all that you did for her?” Adrien looked at him angrily “You took care of her just like you did with mom.”

At that moment, Gabriel didn’t know exactly what to respond.

“That’s what I would like to know.” Nathalie crossed her arms waiting for Gabriel’s response.

“I’ve known Nathalie for a long time, son,” Gabriel gave him a pitiful look. “It was the least I could do. She offered to help me without being asked. Nothing else.”

For Adrien that meant that his father never wanted to move on.

What no one in that room expected were the next words Adrien would say.

“I hate you.” Adrien uttered.

Gabriel’s expression changed quickly. His face contorted into an expression of sadness.

It never occurred to Gabriel that he would hear those words come out of Adrien’s mouth.

Adrien left the room.

“Adrien wait!” Gabriel shouted when he saw that Adrien turned around and started running.

Adrien headed for the door Marinette followed him.

“Adrien!”

Marinette ran after him. She saw him go to her own room and followed him. Running as fast as she could she saw that Adrien had transformed into Chat Noir and jumped out the window.

Marinette transformed to stop him. She jumped and went in the direction that Chat Noir had jumped.

“Chat Noir, wait!”

Ladybug jumped up the mansion to locate him. She saw where Chat Noir was going and swung towards him, to prevent her from leaving. Quickly, Ladybug used her yo-yo to catch Chat Noir. He fell to the ground, entangled by the yo-yo string.

Ladybug wrapped her arms around him on the ground until he was immobilized. The last thing she wanted was for Adrien to end up running away. She hugged him even though Chat Noir was trying so hard to free himself.

“Let me go!” Chat Noir “Let me go…”

Chat Noir broke down into a couple of sobs. Ladybug was also fighting back tears as she heard the pitiful way Chat Noir was crying. She just clung to him and hugged him. He clung to her, hiding his face from the world as he shed the tears, he had been holding back all this time.

She hugged him, seeking to give him the comfort he needed.

When he had calmed down, Marinette undid her transformation.

“Did you know?” he said hurt, undoing his transformation as well.

“I found out this weekend, Adrien.” she said sadly.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Adrien felt hurt that his Lady had hidden something so important from him. He wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

“Adrien, wait.” Marinette stopped him by the arm, but he pulled it back abruptly.

Adrien felt terrible when he saw Marinette’s scared expression when she pulled his arm away from her the way she did.

Marinette had never seen Adrien so aggressive in all the time they had known each other. The kwamis remained silent, taking Marinette’s side.

“Your father took me by surprise and he didn’t give me time to tell you. I had gone to talk to your father about your freedom, but I never expected that I would discover everything and that I would end up facing Monarch.”

Adrien saw Marinette’s sad expression.

“I’m sorry Adrien. I wanted them to be the ones to tell you the truth.”

“But what happened exactly?” Adrien needed explanations. Marinette had not yet explained to him all the details of how her fight against Monarch was.

“Yesterday I had a nightmare in which I was going to rescue you at the mansion, so that’s when I decided to go and defend you from your father.”

Adrien realized that he wasn’t the only one with nightmares.

“Since I couldn’t find him, I went to look for Nathalie first so I could talk to your father, but that’s when I discovered that he was Monarch. Nathalie then warned me about Gabriel. He planned to turn everyone into some kind of clones that were going to capture us and he didn’t give me time to contact you. I had no choice but to face him alone. Luckily, Plagg arrived just in time to help me.

“Did you know too?” Adrien asked the two kwamis floating in the air.

Both kwamis nodded.

Adrien felt bad for not being able to help Marinette when she needed help.

“I’m sorry things turned out like this, Adrien.” Marinette said sadly.

Adrien and Marinette remained silent for a moment.

“So, what do we do now?” Adrien said quietly.

“You have to tell them the truth, Adrien,” Marinette took her hand “It’s the best. The longer we let time pass, the more they will suspect about you. This way they will know the dimension of what they have done.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Adrien rubbed his arm shyly.

“I know it’s uncomfortable for you, Adrien,” Marinette added. "But I’ll come with you."

Adrien was still shedding tears. He ran his arm over his face to clean himself.

“Thank you, Marinette.” Adrien was grateful to have someone like Marinette by his side in those moments.

Marinette took a handkerchief out of her bag and offered it to Adrien.

“Here.”

Adrien took it and wiped away his tears. Adrien managed to smell the faint smell of baking cookies on the handkerchief.

“Are you ready to come back?”

Adrien nodded, sniffing a little.

They both transformed again to return to the mansion. Upon entering the main hall, they undid their transformation. They went up the stairs until they were back in Nathalie’s room. But Adrien stood there staring at the door he didn’t want to go through.

“Come on Adrien, you can do it.” Marinette encouraged him.

But Adrien just didn’t move from there, undecided.

Seeing his indecision Marinette decided that she would have to force him in.

She took his hand and made him enter.

Both adults watched the two teenagers return to where they were. Marinette was bringing him by the hand back into the room.

“Adrien has something to tell you.” Marinette gently put him in front of her to face Gabriel and Nathalie.

Adrien remained silent.

“Adrien, tell them.” Marinette insisted. She seemed quite nervous.

“Tell us what?” Gabriel asked worriedly “Is there something I have to worry about, Adrien?”

Adrien grimaced at the question. He didn’t say a word, avoiding his father’s cold and worried gaze.

“I’m not going to scold you, Adrien. Just tell me.” Gabriel insisted.

Adrien was fighting back tears again. He looked away so he didn’t have to look at Gabriel directly.

“I’m Chat Noir.” he blurted out.

Gabriel felt his heart stop. Nathalie’s face went from a healthy color to a paler one in a matter of seconds.

“What?” Gabriel whispered at the revelation.

“Plagg, claws out.”

A green light covered Adrien’s entire body.

Now Adrien was covered by a black suit and his hair was messy.

Gabriel looked into his eyes and instead of meeting the eyes of his innocent son, he found a pair of green eyes with slithered pupils and green sclera, very similar to cat eyes. A pair of eyes he had seen on more than one occasion as Hawkmoth.

Adrien had been Chat Noir this whole time.

Chapter Text

The tension could be felt in the atmosphere.

Adrien is Chat Noir.

His son is Chat Noir.

Gabriel and Nathalie remembered the countless times they faced Chat Noir in battle. Now, it was Adrien who was in the place of those memories, instead of Chat Noir.

Nathalie felt sick remembering all those events…

Nathalie’s throat began to itch. She felt a fire spread through her lungs quickly making her chest burn.

Nathalie was having a bad coughing fit, like the ones she usually had.

Adrien undid his transformation immediately and ran to her side immediately.

“No Nathalie! I’m sorry…” Adrien rubbed her back, hoping she would calm down.

“Nathalie!” Gabriel stretched to reach her, but at that moment a pain in his left arm completely immobilized him. It was so much that he gasped and knelt on the ground, unable to stand.

Gabriel felt extreme burning in his left arm. Which was just the same as…

No.

Gabriel quickly uncovered his arm.

A small black spot had appeared on his arm. Right where the cataclysm was.

“What’s going on?!” Marinette panicked when she saw what was happening.

“The cataclysm returned and it seems that Nathalie’s illness did too.” Gabriel said between clenched teeth.

Nathalie felt tears forming. Maybe it was because of the pain, because of Adrien, because of her fate, or maybe because of all three.

Adrien didn’t really understand what was happening.

“I don’t understand. What is happening?”

“I tried to help your father and Nathalie.” Marinette crouched down next to Gabriel “I used our Miraculous to try to heal them both, but it seems that it didn’t work at all.

Had Marinette tried to heal his father? Why would she do it?

“Mr. Agreste, let me see.” Marinette asked him. Gabriel uncovered his arm showing the recent mark of the cataclysm that had appeared on it.

A realization came to Adrien in that moment.

His father was going to die.

And he was going to be responsible for his death.

Adrien felt dizzy. He no longer wanted to be there. Or at least not for the moment.

He turned around and left the room without looking back.

“Adrien!” Nathalie screamed desperately.

“Adrien wait!”

Gabriel wanted to go after him, but Marinette went ahead of him.

“Leave him alone,” Marinette stood in Gabriel’s way. “I don’t think he’s looking forward to seeing you both right now.”

Marinette watched as Adrien went straight to his room and slammed the bathroom’s door shut.

“Adrien!” Marinette approached the bathroom and knocked on the door “Adrien, are you there?”

Adrien locked himself in the bathroom. He leaned into the bathroom bowl and heaved up everything he had consumed for breakfast. He gripped the toilet, trembling.

Nathalie had gotten up and together with Gabriel they had gone to look for Adrien.

“Adrien, are you okay?” Nathalie leaned against the door to try to listen.

“No…”

The three opened the door only to see Adrien transform again and open the window. There they understood his intentions.

“Adrien, no! wait!” Marinette exclaimed.

“Adrien!” Nathalie and Gabriel came in trying to stop him.

But Adrien wasn’t listening.

Before they could reach him, Adrien quickly transformed into Chat Noir, jumping out of the window.

“Adrien!” Gabriel looked out the window, only to see Chat Noir running away from there.

Marinette adjusted her bag and called Tikki to come with her.

“I’m going to look for Adrien.” Marinette was going to leave until Gabriel gently stopped her by taking her arm.

“Wait Marinette! What about Nathalie? What about… me?” Gabriel said doubtfully.

“I’ll be back in a few days. I’ll figure out a way to help you. But for now, I’m going to go help Adrien. You take care of Miss Sancoeur and stay here in case Adrien comes back.

And with that Marinette ran to the exit to look for Adrien. Gabriel ran after her to ask her just one thing.

“Inform us of Adrien’s condition!” Gabriel begged “Please!”

“I will!” Marinette shouted in the distance. And with that Marinette closed the door behind her.

Gabriel felt like he should go find Adrien himself.

But he had to trust Ladybug. She would bring him back.

Or so he hoped.

Marinette ran out into the street to go find Chat Noir. She went to a hidden place to transform so she could search for him properly.

She went up to one of the roofs and took out her yo-yo to try to communicate with him.

She dialed Chat Noir with the use of her Miraculous to see if he would answer, but after a few moments the device sent it to the mailbox.

Did the cat bite your tongue? If you want, leave me your message after the tone.

“Chat Noir, where are you? I want to talk. Everything will be fine, I promise.” Ladybug finished recording the message and sent it to Chat Noir.

Ladybug was thinking about where to look for him, there were many places he could be. With her Miraculous she could go anywhere. She checked her yo-yo again, to see if Chat Noir had answered her messages.

Chat Noir did not answer his messages.

She went to look for him at her usual meeting places to see if he was there.

The search for Adrien took Marinette a few hours. She searched every place she could think of, but she couldn’t find it.

Marinette thought about the last place she hadn’t checked yet.

Her house.

Then Ladybug jumped from roof to roof, until she saw her balcony. Landing behind the wall next to her balcony, she undid her transformation.

When Marinette opened the trapdoor to her room, she found there were some things out of place. The quilt on her bed was messy. She went down to the first level of her room, noticing her chair was out of place and several papers that were on the desk were now on the floor.

Marinette followed the trail until she found the source of the disaster.

Cowering in a corner was a person in a black suit with a tail and cat ears.

It was Chat Noir.

Chat Noir was curled in on himself staring into nothingness. His face and especially his eyes seemed swollen. At that point Adrien had run out of tears to cry.

Marinette walked over and crouched next to him.

“Are you ok?”

“Don’t tell them.” Adrien’s voice was trembling.

“Do you want to stay here for tonight?” Marinette lovingly removed some of the hair from his face.

He nodded.

“Stay here as long as you want.” Marinette hugged him, feeling him tremble “Don’t worry. I’ll take care this.”

Marinette stood there hugging him, thinking that she might have to cover for Chat Noir this time.

Both adults were reflecting on what had happened that day.

For Gabriel now everything made sense. The countless times Adrien had run away from home, from his photo shoots, from his classes. Now everything had a logical explanation. Besides that…

All this time he had faced his own son.

All this time he had been beating his son for some magical jewels.

The same magical jewels that his wife had asked him not to look for.

Emilie wouldn’t be happy at all if she knew about all this. She would hate him it if she found out everything he had done to bring her back. Just when that was exactly what she didn’t want.

Not to mention what Nathalie would be thinking.

She seemed quite shocked to have known that Adrien was behind the mask all the time.

Of all the people she’d ever suspected, Nathalie never imagined Adrien would be involved with the Miraculouses. And even less so directly.

“Nathalie, are you okay?” Gabriel asked when he saw the expression on his face.

“When I was Mayura, I directly confronted Chat Noir and I, I hurt him a lot. I hit him thinking that he was just any kid and… not Adrien.” Nathalie looked at her hands, knowing what she had done with her own hands.

“You couldn’t have known Nathalie,” Gabriel tried to console her “Neither of us could have imagined it.”

The only thing he met was Nathalie’s furious look.

“If only I had known from the beginning, I wouldn’t have continued with this absurd plan to bring Emilie back. I should have stopped you much sooner.”

“I would have stopped if I had known, Nathalie.” Gabriel told her to at least try to reassure her.

But Nathalie didn’t believe anything Gabriel had said.

“How dare you say that, Gabriel? Many times, I thought he was going to stop and you didn’t. Remember Style Queen?”

Oh right, that time he almost gave up after akumatizing Audrey in Style Queen. It was a direct attack from Nathalie.

“Nathalie, I could have fixed everything in all those new opportunities” Gabriel wanted to justify himself, but what Nathalie would say would stop him from doing so.

“But there was nothing to fix. The only thing you had to fix was your relationship with Adrien that was slowly deteriorating. This is all his fault.” Nathalie pointed an accusing finger at him. For a moment, Gabriel saw Nathalie’s offended look and how she blinked quickly to remove the tears that had begun to form.

Gabriel knew she was absolutely right. This was all her fault.

“Nathalie, I’m sorry.” Gabriel tried to take her hand.

But she hit his hand so he would get away from her.

“I’m very angry with you,” Nathalie crossed her arms and looked away “Don’t touch me.”

Gabriel grabbed his hand. Nathalie had hit it so hard it had hurt.

“Nathalie…”

Nathalie took out her phone, ignoring Gabriel, and looked for Marinette’s number to send her a message asking about Adrien. A few hours had passed in which they had not heard anything from either of them and she was beginning to worry.

Nathalie immediately received a message on her phone.

“Adrien is at Marinette’s house.” Nathalie said relieved.

“How is he?” Gabriel asked.

Nathalie waited a few seconds until Marinette finished writing her response.

“Not so well.”

The only thing Gabriel could think about in those moments was how badly he had screwed up. He sat in one of the seats in front of the chess table, thoughtful.

Nathalie saw that Marinette was writing a new message.

“Adrien is asking permission to stay.”

“Let him stay as long as he wants. I don’t want to force him to come back.” Gabriel leaned forward, clasping his hands.

“But Marinette says that her parents might to want to speak with us,” Nathalie read the second message that Marinette sent her. “But she doesn’t know what to say to justify Adrien being there. He wants to avoid raising suspicions with her parents.”

Gabriel thought for a moment and then looked at her.

“She can tell them that you are sick and it is very contagious, so we can’t have Adrien here until you recover.”

Nathalie looked at him with a very serious look, as if to say, seriously?

“Unless you have another idea, Nathalie.” Gabriel grabbed the side of his head, clearly stressed.

“No,” Nathalie began to write the message to Marinette “But I don’t look very sick.”

“You can use your makeup to make it look credible.” Gabriel explained.

“Good idea.” Nathalie sent the message waiting for Marinette’s response to her proposal.

Marinette_ 15:01

It's a good idea Nathalie.

Marinette_ 15:01

My parents are available at night. They will call you once dinner is over.

Suddenly, Gabriel then heard the sound of a car approaching the mansion at high speed.

Gabriel crept towards the window and peeked through the closed curtain, careful not to be seen. He saw the car parking at the entrance of the mansion.

It was the Tsurugi’s car.

It was the sign that Tomoe had already realized what they had done.

He saw the person inside the car get out of the car, and from a distance it seemed like she was not in a good mood.

It was Tomoe.

And she brought her bokken with her.

Gabriel closed the curtain and prepared to leave the room.

“I’ll be right back.”

“What is going on?” Nathalie didn’t understand Gabriel’s sudden change in attitude.

“It’s Tomoe. She is outside. You stay here Nathalie.” Gabriel left the room and went downstairs to greet Tomoe.

He went down the stairs, until he reached the main staircase.

“Ah Tomoe, welcome.” Gabriel said in a condescending tone.

“Gabriel - San” Tomoe turned towards the place of the sound “You let me down.”

“I don’t know what you're talking about." Gabriel pretended not to understand.

“Our plan failed.” Tomoe pointed her bokken at him “You promised me that this time we would be successful.”

"Well, I think your plan wasn’t so perfect.” Gabriel replied mockingly.

That made Tomoe angry.

Taking her bokken with both hands, Tomoe charged towards Gabriel.

He was prepared and managed to dodge Tomoe’s first blow just in time.

“My plans are always perfect!” Tomoe exclaimed “We had everything to make our wish come true, but you decided to abandon everything.”

“I had no choice,” Gabriel narrowly avoided Tomoe again “Ladybug offered me another solution.”

That stopped Tomoe completely.

“Ladybug?” That was when Tomoe realized that Ladybug had influenced Gabriel “So, did you speak with Ladybug?”

“Yes. She gave me a second chance and I’m not going to waste it.”

“That means we are no longer on the same side. Gabriel – San.” Tomoe said that in a threatening manner. She repositioned her bokken.

Tomoe continued to attack more aggressively.

“The wish could have given us everything.” Tomoe finally managed to hit Gabriel on the back.

Gabriel fell to the ground sharply. The blow that Tomoe gave him left him immobilized for a moment.

Just enough for her to land another blow much further down his back. Gabriel grunted in pain from the second blow she gave him. It hit it so close to his spine that he saw stars when he felt the blow on his body.

He crawled as best he could, like a wounded animal until Tomoe used his weapon to place it on top of his hand with great force.

Gabriel couldn’t help but let out a moan of pain. He closed his eyes to suppress the pain.

“I can’t believe that you of all people would betray me, Gabriel.” Madame Tsurugi applied a little more force on the bokken towards Gabriel’s hand.

Gabriel was going to nip that problem in the bud.

“I’m not going to work with you anymore, Tsurugi - San.” he removed the bokken from his hand and stood up unsteadily “I already made many mistakes with Adrien and with Nathalie too. It’s time for me to do the right thing.”

“You can’t leave everything for them. We could fix everything; nothing would have happened and everything would be back to normal.”

But Gabriel knew that wasn’t what either Emilie or Nathalie wanted.

Nathalie…

Gabriel got up as he could.

“I wish to return to the relationship that Nathalie and I used to have before our alliance, Tomoe.” She was there before anyone else and did many things for me, even though she hadn’t asked her to. She was there when Emilie died and she was there protecting Adrien even from myself. And I’m going to raise my son just like my wife asked me to. Now I’m going to leave this room. Good afternoon.”

Gabriel turned around triumphantly.

Tomoe had caught the way she referred to Nathalie, her assistant.

“That woman made you weak Gabriel - San. The perfect universe was before us, but you ruined it all. Like all your plans.”

“Nathalie was with me long before you, Tsurugi - San.” Gabriel looked at her angrily even though he knew she couldn’t see his expression “I’m not going to let our relationship to keep deteriorating.”

Gabriel was going to leave the room, but Tomoe was faster.

“Wait a moment.” Madame Tsurugi took the contract out of her briefcase “We have a deal. I could easily expose you and ruin your life if I wanted to.”

Gabriel retraced his steps and suddenly grabbed the contract. As audibly as possible, he tore the contract into several pieces and threw them on the ground.

“That deal simply ceased to exist. And if you dare to betray me, you will fall with me. Think about what will happen to Miss Tsurugi when they find out what we were both doing.”

Gabriel continued walking to get away from there as quickly as possible and not have to listen to everything Tomoe told him to make him come back.

“This doesn’t end here Gabriel - San. You need me.”

Gabriel stopped.

“Our deal is over, Tomoe. There’s no point in arguing with you anymore. I ask you kindly to leave my house.” Gabriel signaled the gorilla who had just entered.

Tomoe was escorted outside.

“Don’t come looking for me when you need me, Gabriel.”

That was the last thing he heard before Tomoe left the room and Placide closed the door behind him.

Using her password to access the cameras, Nathalie had been watching everything unfolding from her phone.

She watched as Tomoe aggressively hit Gabriel using her bokken, leaving him on the ground. The two exchanged a few words before Tomoe left the mansion permanently.

She saw on the other camera pointing to the second floor how Gabriel went to his room and closed the door behind him.

What just happened?

Gabriel went straight to look in the mirror. He took off the jacket and the white shirt that he had been wearing for a few weeks. He checked himself right where Tomoe had hit him and found some pretty obvious bruises.

They were red, but he knew that with the days, they would turn purple. He put his hand on one of his wounds and as soon as he touched it, he felt a lot of pain.

That was definitely going to hurt tomorrow.

Gabriel searched in his drawers and put on some ointment. He needed to reduce the chances of Tomoe’s beating hurting him more than necessary.

Gabriel sighed as he tended to all of his wounds and put his white shirt and jacket back on. He returned to Nathalie to continue planning what they were going to do.

“Everything is solved now. Tomoe won’t be back.” Gabriel ran his hand through his hair, which was a little messy.

Nathalie examined him from top to bottom, knowing what had happened. But Gabriel didn’t have to know that.

“Are you alright?” he heard Nathalie’s voice say.

“Yes. Tomoe and I no longer work together, that deal is over. She was very… understanding.”

Liar.

Nathalie knew that Tomoe had beaten him a few minutes ago.

“Well, in that case, remember that in about two hours we are going to talk to Marinette’s parents so that Adrien can stay at her house, don’t forget.”

“I’ll try not to forget it, Nathalie. Now, what were we up to?” Gabriel put his hands together trying to remember what they had ended up with.

“We’re going to tell them that I'm sick, remember?” Nathalie mentioned pointing to her own phone.

“Ah, yes... Do you need help with your makeup?” Gabriel offered.

“No, I can do it alone.” Nathalie searched through her drawer for the makeup she used to wear. “You should get ready, it won’t be long before we have to deal with Marinette’s parents.”

“Ok” Gabriel was waiting for that answer.

Gabriel’s body felt sore.

He would certainly lie down for a while.

“If I forget that we have to talk to the girl’s parents, please remind me of it.”

Nathalie just nodded.

Gabriel retired so he could rest.

He went to his bed and gently laid down on it.

It could have ended up worse, he thought.

He turned to look at the picture he had of him, his wife and his son on the nightstand.

You would be so disappointed in, my Emilie.

Gabriel looked at the ceiling thinking about how he could get his family out of that situation.

After working for a while Nathalie checked the time on the computer. It was almost time to talk to Marinette’s parents.

But Gabriel had not yet shown any sign of appearing there.

Nathalie shook her head, thinking that he had forgotten about it.

She got out of bed to open the door and go look for Gabriel.

When she opened the door, she was surprised to find the person she was going to look for.

Gabriel was at the door waiting. Maybe it was her imagination, but for a moment she saw how Gabriel was surprised to see her, but he hid that expression pretty quickly.

“It’s time?” He asked without looking into her eyes.

“Yes, it’s time.” Nathalie responded.  

Gabriel couldn’t tell her that, upon seeing her face, he thought for a moment that the peacock effects had progressed faster and she had become seriously ill again.

Just like a few days ago.

He had to give Nathalie credit; her makeup was too convincing.

Gabriel sat on the bed so they could both answer the call.

Marinette sent a message to Nathalie that her parents were now available for her to talk to.

“Remember what we must say, Gabriel.”

“I know Nathalie,” Gabriel repeated the words “You’re sick and its very contagious, so we need someone to take care of Adrien while you recover.”

Nathalie made a gesture of dialing the phone number that Marinette had sent her.

Nathalie waited until Marinette’s mother answered.

“Hello Miss Sancoeur, how are you?” Greetings kindly Sabine.

“Good evening, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng” Nathalie looked askance at Gabriel. “I’m a little sick, sorry if you find me unwell.”

“Oh no, don’t worry. Is Mr. Agreste available?”

“I'm here.” Gabriel took the phone from Nathalie.

“Oh, good night, Mr. Agreste. Marinette didn’t explain much of the situation to us, so I would like you to clarify a few things for us.”

“I will clarify all the questions you have” Gabriel answered back.

“It was not very clear to us why Adrien cannot return to the mansion for the moment.”

Gabriel caught a glimpse of Nathalie.

“Nathalie has been sick for a few days, and it is very contagious. I don’t want Adrien to run the risk of getting infected too.”

Gabriel saw how Sabine’s face changed completely.

“Oh, that’s why. There is no problem that remains. We understand that this is something very important. We also wouldn’t want Adrien to get sick.”

“And he can stay as long as he wants” Tom was heard in the background “We have plenty of room for him. We can accommodate him.”

Gabriel could rest assured.

“Thank you. I... I’ll keep an eye on how Adrien is doing. I will be in contact with you. I will cover all the expenses that Adrien needs while he is with you.

Both parties agreed on a few things regarding Adrien’s care. Like meal times and how long Adrien would stay there.

Since that day they hadn’t heard much from Adrien other than what little Marinette told them.

Adrien’s absence was felt quite a bit. Adrien was the cheerful presence of the mansion. Even though the atmosphere in there had worsened since Emilie left.

But one day something had changed. They felt another presence in the mansion.

They heard the sound of footsteps in Adrien’s room.

Would there be a chance that Adrien has returned to the mansion?

Both adults looked at each other and went to check Adrien’s room, hoping that Adrien had finally decided to return home.

Chapter Text

Nathalie opened the door, meeting the person she had been waiting for.

Adrien.

Adrien had returned to the mansion.

Nathalie and Gabriel ran towards him to welcome him. When Nathalie crouched close to him, Adrien stepped back.

“Adrien. You’re back” Nathalie spoke softly “How are you?”

Adrien just raised his shoulders.

“I only came back because I don’t want to be a burden the Dupain-Cheng’s and because I want to see my mother.”

“You will see it. When you feel ready.” Gabriel answered him.

She couldn’t help but notice the look of hatred Adrien gave her.

“Adrien.” Nathalie interrupted, “I’m glad you’re back home. I was…we were very worried about you.”

“It doesn’t seem like it.” Adrien said.

Nathalie wiped the smile off her face when Adrien said that. She knew very well Adrien was still very angry with both of them.

“Since you’re here, do you want me to bring you something to eat or something to drink?” Nathalie offered.

"No, thank you," Adrien said dryly “I already ate something on the way home.”

Nathalie didn’t know what else to say to make Adrien trust them more. Gabriel decided it was time to intervene.

“If you want something, don’t hesitate to ask, Adrien.” Gabriel said.

“Yes, father.” Adrien still didn’t dare look at him.

Adrien directed his gaze towards the window through which he had entered. Adrien took his phone out of his pocket, while looking at a specific point.

“Is everything okay, Adrien?” They heard a voice coming from Adrien’s phone.

Gabriel and Nathalie directed their gaze to where Adrien was looking. In the distance they saw a red spot with black dots. Ladybug watched in the distance on top of one of the roofs in the buildings near the mansion. She wanted to accompany Adrien on this, so she offered to go with him to his home. But he asked her that he wanted to do it alone. So, for the moment she just stayed at a distant point to make sure Adrien didn’t need help.

“Yes” Adrien answered a little unsure. Ladybug noticed his tone and his body language from afar.

“Do you want me to stay, Adrien?” Ladybug’s voice was heard through Adrien’s phone.

“No, I’m okay. I can handle it on my own.” Adrien answered into the receiver.

“If you need me, Adrien, you know you can always count on me.” Ladybug said into her yo-yo, waving her hand goodbye to Adrien. Ladybug left the place, leaving Adrien to deal with her problem alone.

Adrien unloaded the suitcase that Nathalie had sent him a few days ago on the floor.

“Can I see my mother?” Adrien asked reluctantly “I already feel ready.”

“Yes, you can” Gabriel said “Do you want us to go now?”

“Yes, I’m not going to waste any more time.” Adrien was impatient to see his mother. After thinking about it a little those days, he thought it was best to face the problem directly.

“Then follow us, Adrien.” Gabriel motioned for him to follow them. Both adults went down to the first floor and led Adrien towards the atelier.

“Why are we going here?” Adrien was surprised to see the place they took him to. They entered the atelier, and Adrien looked around trying to discern the place where his father was hiding all this time.

“Because this is the way to the place where I have your mother. Just be careful when you go down.” Gabriel approached the painting he had of his mother in the office.

Down? What is he referring to? Adrien thought, confused.

His question was answered when Gabriel positioned himself in front of Emilie’s painting. With his fingers, he ran the painting in different directions until he positioned himself on some of the geometric shapes on the painting that went down when he pressed them, revealing them to be buttons.

A platform revealed itself beneath Gabriel’s feet, leading him downwards. The platform closed and the ground returned to normal.

So that’s how my father disappeared each time. Adrien now understood why he never found anything suspicious inside the mansion, other than the grimoire. The place was located in a very discreet way.

“It’s your turn, Adrien. Do the same thing your father did.” Nathalie instructed him.

Adrien positioned himself in the same way as his father showed him and looked for the buttons he should press. He positioned his hands so he could press the buttons. As he did, he felt the floor going down.

Adrien watched as the platform lowered. He shrugged his arms to avoid hitting himself as he went down. The platform led him to a larger elevator.

Adrien rested his hands on the glass seeing what was before his eyes.

Below his house there was a completely new area he had never seen. It was a very high room and at the bottom it was full of water. In the middle was a large platform with very large tubes that were attached to the wall. There was a dim light that illuminated the room which reached the other platform. Above him was a giant window in which the shape of a butterfly could be distinguished.

On the other platform there were a diverse number of different plants that decorated it, and they surrounded a kind of capsule in the center.

Once he got on the floor, his father was already waiting for him.

“It’s this way Adrien, walk straight until you reach the other platform.” Gabriel showed him the way.

Adrien walked forward where his father indicated. The path to the other platform was quite narrow, so only one person could walk along it. Little by little he approached the other platform and he could see more clearly what it was made of.

The capsule in the center was white and made of metal. It was decorated with golden details on its surface and several tubes coming out of it.

As he got closer, the capsule opened, revealing its contents.

Adrien immediately recognized who the person inside was.

It was his mother.

Adrien approached the capsule and placed his hand on top of the glass.

“She has been here the whole time?” Adrien felt his throat closing.

Both adults came to his side. Nathalie stood next to him, while Gabriel preferred to keep his distance.

Gabriel looked at the ground unable to face Adrien.

“Yes, Adrien. When your mother died, I preserved her body, because my idea was to bring her back. Just as I already explained to you.”

“At the price of the Miraculous? At the price of another life?”

Gabriel approached him. Gabriel put his hand on Adrien’s shoulder gently.

“It was going to do anything to bring your mother. Because I saw that you were very sad for having lost her and I thought that by bringing her back, you would be happy again.

Adrien frowned deeper upon hearing those words. Something in what his father said and, in his tone, ignited his anger again. He abruptly removed his father’s hand from his shoulder.

“No father, that’s what you wanted. I had already accepted my mother was not going to come back. Yes, I was sad. But when I saw how happy you were when you were next to Nathalie, my sadness went away, because I thought that you were finally happy again. I wanted to get over my mother and be happy.” Adrien looked at his father, disappointed in him “But it seems that wasn’t what you wanted.”

Adrien slowly removed his hand from the capsule, looking at his mother before walking away. He headed towards the elevator to go back up to the mansion.

“Adrien...” Gabriel said. Adrien wasn’t listening.

Adrien continued his way to the elevator. He climbed back up the Atelier and both adults followed him.

Upon reaching the elevator, Gabriel went ahead and went up as fast as he could to catch up with Adrien.

“Adrien!” Gabriel felt, for the first time in months, the need to comfort his son.

The gorilla stared at Adrien walking up the stairs. Adrien approached him and whispered to him.

“Don’t let them go in.”

The Gorilla nodded and let him go ahead. He knew that something bad had happened between Adrien and his father, so this time he would intervene and only listen to Adrien.

Adrien slammed the door that echoed throughout the mansion.

“Adrien…” Gabriel was going to knock on the door, but the Gorilla pushed him roughly. He had seen that Adrien talked to his bodyguard before locking himself in his room. That was probably the reason.

Adrien locked himself in his room. He covered himself with the pillow.

Nathalie moved close enough to the door so Adrien could hear her.

“Adrien, are you okay?”

“Leave me alone.” Adrien covered himself with the blanket, resisting the urge to cry, even though some tears had escaped from his eyes.

Plagg peeked out from behind the Gorilla through the door, and shook his head.

Nathalie and Gabriel decided to respect his wishes and leave him alone.

Nathalie turned around.

“Where are you going?” Gabriel asked, watching as Nathalie left.

“I’m going to my room.” Nathalie looked at him seriously “You should do the same.”

For Gabriel it didn’t make sense to keep insisting Adrien to talk when he wasn’t willing to do so. He retreated to his study to try to get some work done.

In the afternoon, Nathalie finished her work to see if she could talk to Adrien alone. She went straight to Adrien’s room, finding the Gorilla guarding the door again. She approached her coworker to try to convince him to let her in.

“Can I?” Nathalie looked at him as if asking for permission “I want to talk to Adrien, it’s important.”

The gorilla hesitated a little.

“Please, Placide.”

Placide thought about it. After knowing her for so many years she knew that Nathalie would do the right thing. He moved to one side, and grunted, letting her pass.

“Thank you.” she whispered.

Nathalie went to knock on the door. She wanted to talk to Adrien alone, even if it was just for a moment.

“I’m going in, Adrien.” she spoke loudly, so that Adrien could hear her behind the door.

Nathalie opened the door carefully.

“Adrien, are you okay?” Nathalie looked out to see that Adrien was lying on her bed covered by the covers. Plagg was at his side on the other pillow.

“No, I’m not fine.” Adrien said abruptly. Nathalie could notice that Adrien changed into her pajamas.

Nathalie sat on the bed next to Adrien.

“I’m so sorry for everything you went through, Adrien.” Nathalie said sadly.

“Why did you do it Nathalie? I thought you were good, I loved you. I trusted you.” Adrien said sadly.

“Adrien, I did it because your father was very desperate and I... I was just trying to please him.”

That for Adrien was a confirmation that Nathalie did have feelings for her father. It was a real shame that that confession happened at a time like this.

“Were you only helping him because of my mother?” Adrien was sure about Nathalie, he also did it for his mother. Since childhood he had always seen them as good friends.

“I did it for you too Adrien.” Nathalie assured him.

But there was an idea running through Adrien’s head.

“Tell me, the reason I went to school was so my father could send akumas freely without me noticing?”

Nathalie was surprised that Adrien came to that conclusion. Maybe Adrien wasn’t as innocent as she thought anymore.

“Yes, Adrien.”

“And you agreed?” Adrien sat on the bed.

“No Adrien, that’s not how everything happened.” Nathalie stopped him before he could accuse her of anything else “What your father wanted at first was to leave you locked up so that you wouldn’t be in danger, even if that meant that you couldn’t go out like a normal boy.”

“Why did you send me to school then?” Adrien questioned.

“Taking you to school was my idea, Adrien. Especially because I could see it was something you really wanted.” Nathalie remembered when she went to the atelier to talk to Gabriel about the possibility of sending Adrien to school “Although I knew that your father was going to be angry when I told him that you had escaped to go to school, I knew I was doing the right thing. So, I had a talk with your father for a long time and convinced him to let you go. I even offered to organize your schedule. He wasn’t very happy as you may have noticed that day. But I did it because it was something that made you happy.”

Nathalie reached for Adrien's hand, but he hid it between the covers.

“I was wrong, Adrien. I should have stopped your father when I had the chance” Nathalie was very sorry for having followed with Gabriel’s stupid plan “It would have saved you a lot of suffering. I’m so sorry. I failed you and I failed your mother.”

“My mother?”

“Your mother asked me to take care of you when she was no longer here, Adrien.” Nathalie remembered the recordings that Emilie left her before she died “I was blinded by the love I had for your father that… I thought maybe we could make everything go back to normal. And we would act as if nothing had happened. I’m so sorry.”

Nathalie got off of bed when she saw that Adrien lay back down on the bed, turning to look at the other side.

“I’ll leave you now.” Nathalie closed the door behind her only to find Gabriel waiting outside it.

“What you doing here?” Nathalie asked with an unfriendly face.

Gabriel decided to tell her the truth.

“I’m here to talk to Adrien alone.” he replied.

Nathalie wasn’t very convinced about that. She stayed in front of the door, blocking Gabriel’s path.

“Just let me talk to him just once. Then I will leave.”

“You told me that last time.” Nathalie crossed her arms “And I know it didn’t end well.”

Gabriel realized that going through Nathalie would be very difficult this time.

"Let’s make a deal,” Gabriel said. "If I take too long, get me out of the room."

Nathalie considered it for a moment before relenting.

“Alright. Five minutes. That’s what you have to speak with Adrien, not a minute more and not a minute less.”

Gabriel nodded.

Nathalie stepped aside.

Gabriel opened the door to Adrien’s room slowly and walked a few steps until he stood in a position where he could see Adrien’s bed. Adrien heard the creak of the door and cowered on himself.

“Adrien.” Gabriel approached the bed.

“What? Did you come to justify yourself to me again?” Adrien was very angry.

“No.” Gabriel responded immediately. He sat on the edge of the bed away from Adrien. “Adrien, I’m not here to justify myself to you again. I know what I did was wrong. I just want you to know that I’m so sorry. I thought what I did was a solution, but now I know I was wrong.

“And that’s why you had to terrorize Paris? Make our lives hell?”

“Adrien I… I’m sorry for not being there for you when your mother left” Adrien listened to everything from under the blanket.”

To Adrien those statements seemed like a joke.

“Now it’s too late for that. How many months I was waiting for you to deign to eat with me, to spend time with me. And you didn’t.” Adrien said indignantly.

“Adrien I…”

“And all because you were playing the villain, for wanting to bring my mother back.” Adrien wanted to tell his father a fact that he may have never wanted to accept “She wouldn’t have wanted this. I didn’t want that either.”

“What did you want then, Adrien?” Gabriel asked.

Adrien rolled his eyes as if that wasn’t obvious enough.

“I just wanted to have my dad back. At least one who cared about me. And that you were happy, instead of dragging us all into your misery.”

Gabriel started to walk away from Adrien. At that point he realized that Adrien didn’t want him there.

“Ok Adrien, I’m leaving.” Gabriel opened the door “I’m sorry.”

Nathalie was about to enter until the door opened wide and she showed Gabriel who was leaving with a look of unease.

“Time’s up; isn’t it, Nathalie?”

“Yes, it's time for you to leave.” Nathalie told him to leave Adrien’s room.

“As you say.” Gabriel went the way he came.

For Nathalie that’s very easy, maybe too easy.

They continued with the routine, while Adrien decided to get out of his room. They had only heard that Marinette came and went every day to see Adrien.

They both looked out one day to see what was happening. Adrien was in his bed again after a couple of days. He was curled up, staring at the wall. For now, they decided to let him rest and hoped that Adrien would finally decide to go out.

But neither Nathalie nor Gabriel had seen Adrien leave his room in the next two days.

“Adrien.” Nathalie said from the door “Do you want something to eat?”

But he still didn’t say anything. Nothing from a few words anyway.

“I’m not hungry.” Adrien said reluctantly.

Nathalie put the plate on the floor.

“I’ll leave this here Adrien, I’ll be back later.” Nathalie left and went back to what she was doing on that day.

But the next day Nathalie realized that Adrien hadn’t touched his plate at all.

Gabriel_8:00

Breakfast is ready Nathalie.

That was the message she received from Gabriel that same morning. It had been a long time since Nathalie had gone down to have breakfast with Gabriel in the kitchen.

But she didn’t know if going down to the kitchen with the situation between the two of them would be a good idea.

Nathalie went to the kitchen. Gabriel was serving the food he had just prepared on a plate. He had dressed again in his white suit and put on his apron.

“Do you want something specific Nathalie?” Gabriel asked in the kindest way possible.

“No.” she said coldly.

Gabriel just grunted in affirmation and decided to just prepare her something simple: One of her classic pancakes. As she placed her plate in front of her, Nathalie gave him an unfriendly face.

When she finished, Nathalie went to one of the large kitchen drawers and from there, she took out a jar full of cookies. Gabriel didn’t remember that being there.

“Where did you get that from?” Gabriel didn’t know where that came from.

“I’m in charge of the house supplies. But it seems that you were so distracted with your extracurricular activities that you already forgot about it.”

Nathalie looked for a glass and filled it with the milk she took from the refrigerator. She put one of the cookies on a plate and prepared to leave the kitchen with them.

Gabriel left his utensils on the kitchen counter to see where she was going.

Nathalie was going upstairs. With the plate of milk and a cookie.

“Wait Nathalie, where are you going?” Gabriel asked from the door.

“To give Adrien something to eat. He hasn’t touched his food in several days.”

Gabriel felt awful when Nathalie mentioned that. He quickly made another couple of pancakes and served them on a plate.

He went after Nathalie. She gave the door a couple of knocks. Gabriel walked up behind her.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow.

Gabriel shrugged his shoulders.

“I will not allow my own son to die of hunger.”

Nathalie and Gabriel waited outside the door for a few seconds before entering.

“Adrien, were going inside.”

Nathalie walked over to the bed to sit on it.

“I know, you wanted us to give you space, Adrien. But you haven’t eaten anything in three days.

“I’m not hungry.” Adrien replied weakly.

“Adrien, please eat something.”

Nathalie showed him what she had brought him. But Adrien wasn’t going to accept it.

“I don’t want anything from you!”

That hurt Nathalie. Adrien could tell that he had gone overboard with what he said. Adrien sat on the bed and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

“I’m sorry Nathalie. I didn’t mean to be rude to you.”

“I understand Adrien. But I care about you. And I wouldn’t want to leave the room until I’m sure you’ve eaten something.”

Adrien received the plate and ate what Nathalie brought him. She sat next to her and stayed there until Adrien finished. Adrien gave Nathalie the glass and the plate back.

“Don’t you want something else Adrien?” Gabriel showed him the pancakes he brought with him. He only saw Adrien’s disgusted face.

"No thanks," Adrien lay back down on his bed with his back to them.

Gabriel watched as Nathalie murmured “Let’s go.”

“Oh, it's fine. If you need anything Adrien, don't forget to tell us.” Gabriel left first, but not before reminding Adrien that he could look for them whenever he needed.

Nathalie closed the door behind her.

She leaned against the door thinking of something that could very possibly help Adrien from the emotional situation she was in.

“What are you thinking?” Gabriel could tell that something was worrying Nathalie.

“Adrien needs professional help Gabriel.” Nathalie explained.

“What are you referring to?” Gabriel did understand what she was referring to, he just refused to think about doing that.

“Adrien needs a therapist.” Nathalie replied.

“Are you crazy? We’re going to get caught.” Gabriel whispered. He was afraid that all his secrets would come to light. It was already enough so many people already knew who he really was.

She looked at him determinedly.

“We’ll set up a story. We will make up a lie as well elaborated as possible, so that the doctor doesn’t suspect. Adrien has been very sad for a long time, and I think it’s time for us to help him.”

Gabriel seemed a little skeptical about the idea.

"Do you really think that’s going to help Adrien?” Gabriel was being very honest with that question. He couldn’t think of what else they could do to make Adrien feel better.

"Yes, that would have helped you too if you weren’t so stubborn, Gabriel." Nathalie said aggressively.

Gabriel decided that he would listen to Nathalie’s advice once again. He was thinking of a specific person who could help them.

“Then I think I know who we should consult.”

Gabriel searched among his contacts for someone he knew could be of help. When he found the number, he showed it to Nathalie. Nathalie checked the name registered next to the number.

“Who is that person, Gabriel?” Nathalie didn’t understand who Gabriel was talking about.

“Dr. Gerald Simson. He is a therapist.”

“A therapist? Gabriel, since when did you have this contact?” Nathalie needed explanations. Where had he gotten this information from?

“Some time ago.” Gabriel looked at Nathalie “Long before Emilie left. She asked me to speak with a therapist and he was her choice, but I didn’t listen to her. I never contacted Gerald and, ...you know what happened next.

Nathalie remained silent. She didn’t understand why Gabriel refused to seek help when his own wife offered it to him.

“And do you know if he will be willing to listen? Have you ever talked to him?” Nathalie was also a little worried that some of the information about the Miraculouses and what they were doing would be revealed to someone else.

“No,” he replied. "As I told you, I didn’t dare contact him. I thought he could fix everything with the Miraculous and everything would go back to normal.”

How stubborn… Nathalie shook her head. All this time Gabriel could have gone to a therapist and they could have saved themselves a lot of suffering, especially Adrien.

“Then give me his number.” Nathalie told him.

Gabriel sent the doctor’s number to the chat he shared with Nathalie. Nathalie verified that the message had reached its destination. She saved the number in order to contact the therapist

“I’ll call the doctor and make an appointment for Adrien. If we don’t do something, Adrien will sink deeper and deeper into his misery.

“Alright Nathalie, so be it. Just keep me updated on the situation.”

Chapter Text

Marinette was making some notes from the copy of the translated grimoire master Fu had left her. She was investigating the possibilities that existed to save Nathalie and Gabriel from their fate. Marinette stretched out in her seat once again looking at her new notes. She remembered that time when Master Fu was still there to guide her in her task as Ladybug.

“Master, if you were here, what would you do? Am I doing the right thing?”

She was quite worried about Adrien. Although she had insisted that she could stay a little longer, Adrien preferred to return home.

And she respected his decision.

She wasn’t sure how Nathalie or Gabriel would handle the situation. She knew from Adrien and from what little she had seen that they really weren’t handling the situation very well at all.

Marinette paced nervously around the room. Would Adrien be okay? Does he need her help? Every time she had visited him, Adrien insisted that he was fine and that she should not worry about him.

Furthermore, she had to focus on finding a solution to help Nathalie and Gabriel, because otherwise what she did would be in vain.

And she didn’t even know where to start.

Marinette was reviewing the grimoire once again in search of clues or ideas that could lead her to a definitive solution. She looked at the page that talked about the Ladybug Miraculous first. There was mentioned what she already knew. Ladybug’s Miraculous was linked to life and creation.

“Tikki, do you have any ideas?”

“Not really Marinette. Curing a cataclysm is almost impossible. Do you remember the dinosaurs? Plagg caused the cataclysms by accident and did not realize the great disaster he created until it was too late. That’s why they became extinct.

Marinette swallowed hard at that information. Marinette flipped through the page that talked about the cataclysm.

“And what if we can contain it? I mean I don’t think it’s impossible” Marinette suggested

“We could try, but how do you plan to do it Marinette? The truth is I have never seen someone contain a cataclysm.”

Marinette was going to respond, but then she didn’t know what to say.

“I don’t know.”

Then she went to look at the page that was about the cat’s Miraculous, it was the Miraculous of destruction, undoubtedly a dangerous power. It could have various effects, but she had not seen the effect of the cataclysm on a person in the time she had been Ladybug.

He would probably have to ask Nathalie and Gabriel about the symptoms they were experiencing in order to create a medicine to relieve their symptoms, at least temporarily.

How do you cure a cataclysm inflicted on a person? How do you cure someone who is sick from the indiscriminate use of a damaged Miraculous? Would the guardians have the answer to that question? She had not yet been able to contact them. She assumed that they were still assessing the damage caused by Monarch and they would come looking for her soon.

She just hoped she could fix everything and prevent Adrien from ending up alone.

She only knew one thing. She couldn’t hand Gabriel over to the guardians. She was sure they wouldn’t be as understanding as she was. Su Han was the perfect example of that.

Marinette continued browsing the grimoire from her computer when she heard a notification on her cellphone.

Marinette checked it finding a new message.

It was a message from Kagami.

Kagami_ 2:30

Marinette, would you like to go out for ice cream with me? It will just be the two of us.

Was Kagami inviting her out to eat?

Apparently, Kagami had permission to go out that day.

Although Marinette found it a little strange that she had suddenly invited her. It was usually difficult for Kagami to ask her mother’s permission to go out as well, although not as hard as Adrien.

And she even more missed that she did it in those moments. When a few days ago, she had been forcibly sent to London by her mother. It seemed that Kagami had returned to Paris much sooner than she thought.

Why would she need her?

Marinette looked again at the large amount of notes she had on her desk. She needed to take advantage of all the time she had available to find a solution to the problem she had at hand.

No doubt this would have to wait.

Marinette decided that for the moment she would heed Kagami’s call. It would be nice to spend some time with her while she thought about what she should do.

She organized all of her papers meticulously and placed them in a folder where she kept all of her notes of the Miraculous. She opened the box where she hid the Miraculous box and placed them aside.

The kwamis watched as Marinette organized her things.

“You make sure nobody doesn’t go through my things. And I mean anyone. Not even my parents should know what I’m doing.”

“We will, Marinette.” Sass said.

“I’m going out for a while, please don’t do something that could get you in trouble.”

"Don’t worry, Marinette, I’ll keep an eye on them." Barkk turned to the other kwamis and made them enter the box again. Marinette headed out of her room and gave some last recommendations to the kwamis.

“I have food on the desk in case you are hungry. And don’t go down to the kitchen, understand? Bye.”

“We understand, Marinette.” all the kwamis responded in unison.

Marinette walked to the Paris lock bridge to meet Kagami; Andre was there again selling her ice cream.

Kagami was already waiting for her there. She was dressed differently. She wasn’t wearing her usual school uniform, she assumed that she had already gone on vacation so she was already allowed to dress in a more casual manner.

When Kagami saw her, she smiled and went to greet her.

“Hello Marinette” Kagami went to give her two kisses on her cheeks. “How are you?”

“I’m fine Kagami.” Marinette separated from her “Your mom gave you permission to go out, right?”

“Yes.” Kagami confirmed “Now let’s go, André is close, we must not lose sight of him.”

“Come on.” Marinette tried to say happily, although the situation she found herself in didn’t make her happy at all.

To Marinette’s surprise, Kagami took her by the hand and led her to the last place where André the ice cream man had been seen just a few moments ago.

Marinette finally got to see the ice cream man. André greeted them both, recognizing them.

“Ah, it’s you.” André opened his ice cream cart to give each one an ice cream.

While André served Kagami’s ice cream, Marinette couldn’t help but notice that her ice cream looked a lot like someone in particular.

Felix.

She wondered how the Peacock Miraculous and Duusu were doing. Although she had given Felix the benefit of the doubt, she couldn’t help but wonder if the Miraculous was okay in his hands.

After receiving their ice cream Marinette and Kagami sat down to chat. Kagami just let Marinette talk while she listened. After sitting for a while, they began to walk around the area, enjoying the calm atmosphere.

“Come on, there’s a place I want to show you.” Kagami took her hand again to make her follow her. Marinette let herself be guided by Kagami, innocently thinking that she was just going to take her to one of her favorite places. After passing a few blocks, Marinette began to worry.

“Where are we going Kagami?” Marinette looked around.

“It’s… a surprise.” Kagami continued walking as if she had no defined destination.

They turned down an alley that Marinette knew very well. It was one of the alleys that she used to detransform.

Marinette realized that Kagami was taking her somewhere further away from her.

“Kagami?” Marinette followed her to an empty, narrow alley.

Kagami turned around, looking very sure of herself.

“I know you’re Ladybug, Marinette.” Kagami said casually.

Marinette's expression changed from happy to completely horrified.

“That? “I don't know what you're talking about.” Marinette laughed nervously.

“It’s serious, Marinette," Kagami insisted, taking her by both hands. “I already know your secret...”

Kagami walked over to hug Marinette.

“Did you know? Did you know that I was Ladybug? But how? When?”

“Some time ago. Do you remember when I was akumatized? The day I went to look for you and you were talking to Alya, I managed to hear that you were Ladybug.”

Marinette bit her lip. She shouldn't have mentioned anything about Ladybug when she was at Luka’s house.

“And that’s when I understood many things about you, Marinette. It was then I went to Felix to tell him what I had heard and to warn you about Gabriel.”

“Warn me?”

Then Marinette remembered that day at the end of school year when Adrien had told her that his father was sending him to London.

When she was completely devastated that Adrien was no longer going to be in Paris, she went back to school so that no one would bother her. Then a series of events in which she had some visions in which she found out the history of Gabriel, rather the history of the Agreste family. Many of the things Gabriel had told him matched what Kagami and Felix had tried to tell. It was clear Gabriel didn’t lie to her about his story.

“So, the vision that time was not a nightmare. It was real?” Marinette hadn’t realized that all of that was 100% real. When she was told that Gabriel Agreste was Monarch, she was somewhat… skeptical.

Kagami nodded. Apparently, Marinette hadn’t gotten the idea until she checked it out herself.

“I think we should have been more direct with you," Kagami smiled at her. “You’re a little… dumb.

“Hey.” Marinette pushed Kagami’s shoulder gently and he laughed.

“I’m sorry, you’re my favorite fool and that’s why I love you as my friend,” Kagami returned to her serious gesture.  “But Marinette, Felix is not happy at all. He hoped you would stop Gabriel.”

“And I did Kagami,” Marinette’s voice was shaking “But now, I have a big problem.”

“There’s a lot more behind it, isn’t it, Marinette?”

“Yes, Kagami, it’s not that simple” Marinette swung what was left of her ice cream that was about to fall “But I can’t tell you more at the moment.”

“Don’t worry, Marinette.” Kagami helped her hold her ice cream “I’m sure you’ll explain it to me another time. But Felix is coming to get you. He wants to speak with you.”

“Why does he want to speak with me?” Marinette was confused.

“He wants to know what you did.”

“What did I do? What are you talking about?” Marinette was very confused

“About Monarch.” Kagami explained.

“Oh, that.” Marinette finally understood what she meant exactly. “But Kagami, did you tell him I am Ladybug?”

“Yes, Marinette. I’m very sorry, I understand that it is a very important secret, but the information that Felix had was extremely important and I couldn’t tell you personally because I knew you wouldn't listen to it.” Kagami took his hand.

Although Marinette was a little disappointed in her, she knew that at least she did it with the intention of helping.

“Have you told anyone else?” she asked.

“No Marinette, I haven’t told anyone else. “I would never think of doing something like that.” Kagami said.

Seeing Kagami’s serious expression, she realized that it was not a bad intention to reveal her secret. Although it was partly her fault for not having been more discreet that day on Luka's boat.

“Don’t blame yourself Kagami. I shouldn’t have been so careless when I left with Alya inside the ship. I didn’t think anyone else was listening to us.” Marinette smiled at her “But at least I know I can trust you; you kept the secret as much as you could, thank you Kagami.”

Kagami smiled back, relieved that Marinette wasn't mad at her for what she had done.

Marinette still had one last question.

“So, when does Felix want to see me?”

“Tonight. He asked me to take you near the meeting point.” That seemed reasonable to Marinette. Maybe she would bring Chat Noir with her…

“And he asked me to tell you something else. You have to come alone.” Kagami mentioned the condition that Felix gave her.

“What?! Why?!” Marinette had no desire to go alone. If things went wrong at least she would have someone else’s support.

“Felix didn’t tell me why, but she really needs to talk to you. It’s very important.”

Marinette sighed. She now didn’t need any more problems than she already had.

“But are you sure Felix isn’t up to something bad?”

“I’m sure,” Kagami tried to reassure Marinette. “If he’s up to something, I’ll take care of kicking his ass myself later.”

Kagami was a very trustworthy friend.

“Thank you, Kagami.” Marinette knew she could count on Kagami.

“In the meantime, Marinette, there is a place I would like to take you...”

They stayed for a while, chatting at Kagami’s favorite cafe. Kagami bought her a drink and they both chose a milkshake. They hung out before the time Felix called them arrived.

At dusk, Kagami took Marinette to the meeting point. It was night and she couldn’t waste much time. Marinette had to call her parents to let them know that she would be late.

“Remember Marinette, Felix is waiting for you up there. His personality is a little… explosive sometimes, are you sure you can handle it on your own? I don’t mind going you...”

“Don’t worry, Kagami. I can take care of it myself.” Marinette gave Kagami a sympathetic look.

“If you need help Marinette, just tell me and I’ll speak with Felix.”

Marinette said goodbye to Kagami and went into the alleyway to transform. She got out and jumped up, pushing herself off the walls. Ladybug somersaulted, landing on the nearest roof.

She saw a figure in the dead of night, dimly lit by the city lights. The figure was looking towards the city, specifically towards the Eiffel tower.

“I was waiting for you. You’re late.” Argos said upon sensing the heroine’s presence.

Ladybug walked closer to where Argos was waiting for her slowly.

“Argos.” Ladybug greeted seriously.

“Ladybug.” Argos responded coldly.

“Tell me Ladybug, why haven’t you done anything about Gabriel Agreste? We gave you clues about his true identity, but I haven’t seen you do anything about it.”

“And I did, although at first I thought it was all my imagination,” Ladybug confessed “But as Ladybug I have the duty to save everyone and that includes my enemies.”

“Save them?” Argos scoffed “Not everyone deserves to be saved.”

“I know.” Ladybug said “But, that would go against what I believe and what the Miraculous of creation represents.”

Ladybug had many doubts. How did Felix knew of Monarch’s true identity?

“Since when do you know that Gabriel Agreste is Monarch?” Ladybug questioned him.

“I suspected it since my visit to Adrien after my father died a few months ago. I took advantage of the occasion to recover the ring that was part of my family and that my aunt Emilie took with them with her when she escaped from her house and decided to go with my useless uncle.”

“So, you stole it,” Ladybug declared.

“Yes, but I did it for a good cause,” Argos approached her threateningly “I used that ring to try to free Adrien. At the time I took it I didn’t know that the ring was so important, sometime after I started to analyze the situation, I realized its importance.”

Ladybug understood Felix’s intentions. But the way he executed it not.

“Your good cause caused unnecessary suffering to Adrien, Argos. And if I decided to save Gabriel Agreste, that’s my problem.”

Argos realized that Ladybug was not planning to do anything concrete against Gabriel Agreste.

Therefore, there was only one solution…

“Then I’ll do it myself.”

Ladybug’s heart raced when she saw how Argos immediately turned around and ran in another direction.

It was the place where the Agreste mansion was located.

Oh no!

“Argos No!”

Ladybug ran after him. It was surprising how fast he was Argos despite not having been with the Miraculous for long. Ladybug ran without being able to catch up with him. If he got to the mansion there would be trouble.

Ladybug took out his yoyo to reach him before he did whatever he was thinking of doing.

“Argos!” Ladybug shouted.

They ran faster and faster, noticing that they were close to the Agreste mansion.

Ladybug held out her yoyo. She had to stop Felix no matter what.

She launched her yo-yo successfully entangling it in Argos body. She pulled quickly, causing Argos to fall and thus preventing him from reaching the mansion before her.

“I got you.”

Ladybug pulled until she lifted Argos to the roof of the Agreste mansion. She hoped the commotion hadn’t alerted Nathalie or Gabriel.

Ladybug kept him tied up.

“You promise me you’re not going to do anything to them,” Ladybug dragged him close to her “If you do, I’ll let you go.”

Felix shook to try to get out of the yo-yo’s grip. But the rope on this one was too hard. Felix stopped moving, seeing that there was no point.

“Alright.”

Ladybug released the yoyo string and untangled it from his body. Felix stood up.

“Why did you do it Ladybug? I believed that with the information I gave you, you would be in charge of stopping Monarch once and for all.”

“And I did it. I’m sorry it didn't go the way you expected, Felix.” Ladybug answered him.

“And why do you protect Gabriel Agreste?” Argos was feeling a little indignant about that.

“I did it for Adrien,” Ladybug placed a hand on her heart “I wasn’t going to allow him to become an orphan.”

“But condemn him to stay with the person who has been making his life impossible. I don’t see your logic here, Ladybug.”

“You don’t know the whole context, so you wouldn’t understand it.” Ladybug crossed her arms.

“Context? Is there anything else?” Argos questioned.

“I cannot say it. At least not yet. I made a promise to one person that I wouldn’t do it.”

Felix frowned.

“And who is that person? Is that person more important than Adrien?”

Ladybug preferred not to answer that question. If she did, she would be breaking the promise she made to Adrien.

“And since when did you know that Gabriel Agreste was Monarch, Felix?” Ladybug counterattacked with another question.

“I knew it for months. After my father passed away, my mother told me the story of the twin rings, how my Aunt Emilie took them and when she married Gabriel, she used them as wedding rings. And that’s when I started to deduce a lot of things. It wasn’t until he went to the mansion to visit that I found out it was true.”

“And if you knew for months, why didn’t you act sooner, Felix?” Ladybug was getting a little impatient with what Felix was telling her.

“I was waiting for the right moment.”

“And that’s why you had to trick me and give the Miraculouses to Shadow Moth’s hands?” Ladybug now understood that the source of her problems was Felix.

“It was the only way to recover the Peacock Miraculous.”

“But you put us in danger Argos.” Ladybug argued “The Miraculous gave Shadow Moth more power, and it’s what made him become Monarch.”

“If it was to save Adrien, of course it’s justifiable...”

“Felix? Is everything you said true?”

Felix turned around, immediately recognizing the voice of the person who had just addressed him.

“Adrien,” Felix did not expect Adrien’s presence here “What are you doing here?”

A shadow moved from a dark place next to him. Adrien left the place where he was hiding. He was waiting for the right moment to leave after listening to everything Felix had to say.

“Ladybug brought me.” Adrien said, coming out of the shadows. He was dressed in his pajamas.

For Adrien, everything he heard only meant one thing.

His father wasn’t the only one hiding things from him.

“Felix, you knew and still you didn’t tell me anything!?” Adrien demanded angrily, pointing an accusing finger at him.

“It wasn't my place to tell you, Adrien,” Argos responded, becoming defensive. His cousin was really scary when he got angry.

“But I could have helped Ladybug.” Adrien was angry. The fact that there were more people hiding things from him long before Ladybug did made his blood boil.

“You couldn’t have done anything for her. You don’t have a Miraculous.”

Oh, if only he knew. Adrien thought.

“You couldn’t defend yourself against your father, no one else would.” Argos mentioned.

“Marinette told me the truth, Nathalie too, even my father deigned to tell me the truth first. But it seems like you didn’t bother to tell me what you knew when you had the chance. Everyone thinks what is best for me. But nobody asks my opinion about the decisions they make for me.”

Adrien left, turning around very angry.

“Adrien…” Argos realized that he had once again earned the anger of his cousin.

“I don’t want to see you now, Felix!” Adrien gave him a look of fury before continuing on his way.

Felix looked angrily at Ladybug.

“Adrien didn’t have to know about this, Ladybug.”

Ladybug turned to Felix again.

“Adrien deserves to know the truth, that’s why I brought him. And I’m sorry Felix, but I will never forgive you for what you did to me the day I lost the Miraculous. That day was one of the worst in my life because I felt like I had completely failed at my task. Giving the Miraculouses directly to Shadow Moth was a very dangerous idea.

Argos squeezed his fan hard. Then he opened it to hide his Ladybug expression.

“Okay, I’m not going to do anything. But don't expect Ladybug to help you” Argos said behind the fan.

“I don’t expect it, Argos. I never thought about asking for your help, I already have someone else in mind to help me.” Ladybug told him firmly.

“I’m not going to intervene. But if Adrien gets hurt again. I won't hesitate to do it.” Argos extended the fan and pointed to its feathers. Ladybug understood what he meant.

“I understand. I’m not going to let Adrien get hurt anymore. You have my word.” Ladybug raised her hand, making a gesture to indicate her promise.

“Um.” Argos turned in another direction to leave.

Before Felix left, Ladybug addressed him once more.

“Wait Argos” Ladybug stopped him “I’m only going to ask you one thing. Please take good care of Duusu. Don’t let something bad happen to him or neglected him.”

“I will, Ladybug.” With that, Argos bowed and left the place, jumping across the roofs of Paris until he was lost in the distance.

Ladybug waited until he was gone to turn around and look for Adrien. She didn’t find him there so she assumed he went back to his room, so he went to check there first. She saw Adrien’s bedroom window open so she went down with the help of her yo-yo to get downstairs.

She looked around Adrien’s room until she found Adrien’s silhouette next to his bed chair, sitting on the floor. She approached only to find a downcast Adrien.

“Are you okay, Adrien?” Ladybug saw how tears gathered in Adrien’s eyes as he avoided looking into her eyes.

“Calm down, Adrien. Breathe.” Adrien knelt on the ground; Ladybug rested one of her hands on his back “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.”

“Why everyone hides things from me," Adrien’s voice sounded broken. "Don’t I have the right to know the truth?”

“Yes, Adrien, you have every right to know everything. I’m so sorry for hiding so many things from you.” Ladybug hugged him. “I’m going to fix everything, you’ll see. We will find a solution to our problems.”

Chapter Text

Nathalie headed to Adrien’s room to talk to him again. She had already thought that this was what they were going to tell the therapist, but the only thing missing was for Adrien to agree.

Nathalie entered finding Adrien playing or at least trying to play one of the games that his father had bought him many years ago.

Nathalie saw how she only moved her fingers on the control without her character passing the wall she had to jump over. Adrien only had a sad expression on his face. Plagg was sitting on his head lying in a little ball just like a cat would. Slowly, Nathalie walked over and sat on the couch right next to Adrien.

“Adrien.” he put the controller aside when he felt the seat next to him sink “How are you?”

“Good.”

But Nathalie knew that wasn’t true.

“Adrien, I was thinking about taking you to therapy. I know it’s something that would help you a lot. But I need to know if you would be willing to attend the sessions with Dr. Simson.”

“But, it wouldn’t put our identities at risk?” Adrien said unsurely.

“Yes, I know what you’re thinking” Nathalie adds “Still, I have the perfect story so that Dr. Simson does not suspect of us. He is a therapist. He can help you.”

“I don’t know, Nathalie.” Adrien put his feet up on the couch, hugging them.

“Adrien, I know you don’t like this, but we can’t let anyone know our secrets. That wouldn’t do us anything good,” said Nathalie.

“I know Nathalie. I’m just tired of lying, I just want to be able to tell the truth for once.”

Noticing the dilemma Adrien found himself in, Plagg decided it was time to intervene.

“Adrien, I think this time she wants to help you.” Plagg floated from the seat next to him “Maybe that man can be of support. If you don’t feel comfortable, you could leave.”

Adrien thought about it for a moment before nodding.

“I will go. But, Nathalie, is my father going to be present at that session?”

“You don’t want him to be there?” Nathalie noticed Adrien visibly uncomfortable with the idea of her father going with him.

“No, I don’t feel comfortable with him nearby. I don’t know if he is going to like the things I’m going to say in the session.” Adrien mentioned.

“I understand Adrien. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your dad stays this time, okay? We just want to help you. He will have to understand whether he likes it or not. I... I’ll make him reason.”

Adrien thought that maybe he could try it just this once.

“What do I have to say?”

Nathalie then proceeded to tell him what she had planned.

Nathalie was talking on the phone. On her tablet she was taking notes of what the therapist Gabriel mentioned to her was recommending for the appointment.

“I understand.” Nathalie took note of what the doctor was telling her. They had called the doctor asking for a reservation and offered him a fairly large sum of money for his services and for his silence.

“We will be there” Nathalie wrote down a few more things. “Thank you very much sir.”

Nathalie hung up the call and turned to Gabriel.

“It is done. Dr. Gerald has already checked his schedule and has time this Monday. He will see Adrien.”

“Alright” Gabriel got up from his seat “Can you check my schedule and make sure I can accompany Adrien to his appointment?”

Nathalie still hadn’t mentioned to Gabriel what Adrien asked of her when she went to talk to him.

“Adrien only asked me one thing” Nathalie said forcefully “You can’t go.”

“What? Why?” Gabriel was surprised that Adrien didn’t like him being present in the session with the therapist.

“He said he doesn’t feel comfortable telling those things with you around.” Nathalie raised an eyebrow, as if Gabriel didn’t understand the indirect message Adrien wanted to give him.

Oh, it was that... he had to respect Adrien’s wishes no matter what.

“I understand. Then I’ll stay here and wait, I guess.” Gabriel sat on the couch in his room. “Have you already prepared what you’re going to say?”

“Almost. I still have to check with Adrien about the alibi we’re going to use. I’ll talk to him right now.” Nathalie headed to Adrien’s room.

Nathalie was explaining to Adrien what they would say during the session with the psychologist. Sitting in the living room of the mansion, he listened again to the story that Nathalie made up for their visit with the therapist.

“Do you remember what we are going to say Adrien?” Nathalie crouched down next to him.

“Yeah. My dad and I fought months ago; which caused our relationship to crumble and no longer be the same.”

“Very well, Adrien.” Nathalie took him by the hands “Remember that that is what we are both going to tell the therapist and we are not going to mention anything about the Miraculous.”

“It’s not like that’s a lie.” Adrien whispered quietly, but loud enough for Gabriel to hear. Gabriel knew very well what he was referring to, so he preferred not to say anything.

Adrien got up from his seat and followed Nathalie to the car.

“We will return immediately after the session.” Nathalie went ahead to go to their destination.

She motioned for Adrien to get out to get into the car. Gabriel stood at the entrance giving instructions to the bouncer to take them to where the doctor’s office was located. He watched as the Gorilla got into the car.

“See you later, have a nice trip.” Gabriel said before Nathalie got in and closed the car door.

Neither Nathalie nor Adrien said goodbye to him. The only thing Gabriel could do was wait.

---

Gorilla was driving through one of the best parts of the city. Gerald gave them the address of the building where the therapy company he worked for was located.

Nathalie was in the back with Adrien in the car. They both didn’t say anything and the Gorilla, silent as always, drove directly to the destination that Gabriel indicated to him.

Nathalie was very serious.

Adrien thought she was upset with him.

“Nathalie, does my father agreed with this?” Adrien asked as he watched the buildings go by from the car.

“Of course, Adrien. I suggested it to your father myself and he accepted.”

Nathalie could notice how uncomfortable Adrien seemed with her presence. Adrien saw her out of the corner of his eye, but for a moment he could see Mayura in Nathalie’s place. Adrien looked away.

“Don’t worry about anything Adrien. Just try not to be nervous, I’m sure that the doctor will be there to listen to what you have to say.”

Nathalie hesitantly placed her hand on top of Adrien’s. Adrien looked at her.

“You won’t be upset?” Adrien said timidly.

“Not at all Adrien. This is to help you.” Nathalie replied softly and Adrien didn’t take her back.

Adrien and Nathalie arrived at the place where they were summoned. They entered the building and headed to the doctor’s office. They arrived at the entrance, noticing that on the door there was a sign indicating the doctor’s full name.

Dr. Gerald Simson.

“Are you ready Adrien?”

Adrien nodded.

Nathalie knocked on the door of the doctor’s office. They waited a few moments until the door opened. A tall, middle-aged man with somewhat messy hair stood at the door.

Dr. Gerald.

“Hello young man, lovely to have you in today.” Gerald demonstrated with joy “Welcome to my office.”

To Adrien Gerald sounded quite friendly.

“Good morning, Mr. Simmons.” Adrien said politely.

“Oh, you can call me Gerald if you want, there’s no need for formalities.”

Gerald then turned to Nathalie.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Miss Sancoeur.” Gerald extended his hand and Nathalie took it. “And where is Mr. Agreste?”

“He decided not to attend. I am Adrien’s responsible adult who will be in charge of bringing Adrien here. These are Mr. Agreste’s orders.”

Well, that for Gerald was too unfortunate.

Gerald put his hands together, deciding that then he would begin the session.

“If you allow me, I’m going to start the session with Adrien.” Gerald stepped aside and gestured for Adrien to enter “Come in, Adrien, let’s get started.”

Nathalie addressed him.

“Adrien, I’ll stay in the waiting room.” Nathalie took a seat on the armchair that was outside. “I’ll be here if you need me.”

Adrien nodded and entered Gerald’s office. He pointed out some of the chairs he had in the office.

“You can sit in any of the places where you feel comfortable, take your time to settle in.”

Gerald took a seat in another of the armchairs. He examined Adrien for a moment. He noticed that Adrien seemed a little tired.

Gerald sat down and took his notes to start taking notes. Preparing his pen, he prepared to start recording the session in order to listen to it again later.

“Adrien Agreste, right?”

Adrien nodded.

“How would you like me to refer to you?” Gerald took a small sip from the cup of coffee he brought with him just before the session.

“Adrien.” the boy said timidly.

Gerald read Adrien’s body language; he seemed a little nervous.

“I understand that you are nervous, Adrien. There’s no need to feel like so,” Gerald said gently. “You can trust me. You can tell me what is happening to you, if there is something that is very private, I will not say anything to anyone.”

“You promise." Adrien wasn’t quite sure whether to trust him.

“I promise.” Gerald raised a hand to take his oath.

Adrien decided that this time he would trust Gerald.

“I know you’re here because you haven’t been feeling very well and you’re experiencing a low mood, Adrien.”

“I’ve been feeling bad for a few months now," Adrien explained, a little nervous about forgetting what Nathalie told him to say. "I’ve been able to get back to normal before, but now I feel like I can’t do it." I feel like it’s a very difficult thing to do.

“It sounds like you’re having a hard time moving on again.” Gerald identified something that he had seen in many of his patients. Difficulty moving forward.

“Yes, I was able to move forward with the help of my friends and Nathalie before.” Adrien was feeling less nervous.

“You’ve done it in the past, but recently you think you can’t do it anymore, Adrien?”

“No. My mother disappeared a long time ago, and that affected me and my father. Much more to my father. Since my mother left, he was never the same” Adrien remembered the day his mother disappeared. That’s when his father changed completely.

“And how did that affect your relationship with your father, Adrien?” Gerald knew a little about the Agreste family. It had been almost a year since Adrien’s mother, Emilie Agreste, had disappeared.

“My dad and I lost the relationship we had for a few months. He’s gotten colder since my mother left.”

Oh, that was it. Gerald had already heard about what happened to Gabriel Agreste’s wife. He saw it on the news. It was a big scandal. After that Gabriel Agreste hardly appeared in public. Only Adrien and Gabriel’s assistant, Nathalie, appeared in person. He had heard many rumors about what happened to Mrs. Agreste, but he always associated it with gossip. He never thought he would have any of the family member as his patient.

“Okay, it’s something you weren’t expecting and that affected you a lot.” Gerald deduced. "And then you’ve been on your own and apparently Miss Sancoeur noticed that there was a change in you. How do you feel coming here, Adrien?” Gerald asked.

“I feel a little disappointed in myself, because someone like me shouldn’t have those kinds of feelings.”

“It’s okay, it’s normal for you to feel that way.” Gerald readjusted himself in his seat “So, from what you’re telling me Adrien, I feel like it was a little difficult for you to come here. And, do you know why your caregiver, Nathalie, brought you here?

“I think Nathalie was trying to make me feel better, she noticed that I was sad the other day. I feel like I’m not good at anything, and that Nathalie feels sorry for me. I just hope it can help. Nathalie is not happy with how I’m behaving” Adrien was trying to remember word for word what Nathalie said.

“So, she suggested you take therapy to help you get better?” Gerald was being as friendly as possible with Adrien.

Adrien nodded once more.

“Well, Adrien, it seems like Nathalie cares a lot about you. Now, let’s start with your father, can you tell me more about him?” Gerald was very curious about Gabriel Agreste.

“My father distanced himself from me a long time ago, he no longer eats with me, nor does he spend time with me. He and my mother wanted me to have a good future so I did everything they asked of me. Especially my father.”

“Is that why you were a model Adrien?” Gerald remembered that Adrien had retired from his modeling career. Or at least that's what he read.

“Yes, that was the reason.” Adrien was surprised that Gerald knew those things, although he was a public figure it was to be expected.

“And you were comfortable doing those things, Adrien?”

“Well… Not really. I only did things because my father asked me to, not because I really wanted to do them. I wanted to please him.”

“I understand, your dad wanted you to do things, even if you weren’t so comfortable doing them.”

Adrien nodded.

“Well Adrien, about how you’ve been feeling, have you had any kind of negative thoughts?”

“Yes, sometimes I do.” Adrien answered.

“When you have those types of negative thoughts, how do you feel?”

“I feel empty.” Adrien didn’t really know what to say. “I don’t know how to describe it.”

Gerald decided to help him.

“Well Adrien, how do you feel when you’re sad, do you feel more energetic or more tired?”

“When I am sad?

Gerald nodded.

“I feel like I don’t have the energy to get up in the mornings sometimes” Adrien remembered the feeling that invaded his body every time he tried to do something in the last few days.

“So, you have trouble getting up?” Gerald asked again, to see if he could come up with the answer he was looking for “It sounds like you're so tired that it’s hard for you to get up, you feel heavy and that it’s no longer worth it. How do you respond to that?”

“As if I had no choice, I live with Nathalie, my father and I take time to get up. I’ve gotten sluggish these past few weeks.”

Gerald could see that Adrien was having a hard time doing everyday tasks.

“Then you make the effort to get up, do you think about the problem often?”

“Yes, I don’t want to feel like that.” Adrien responded.

“You tried to tell yourself that you shouldn’t feel that way, but you still couldn’t get rid of the feeling, right” Gerald readjusted himself in his seat.

“Yes.” Adrien hugged himself in the seat.

“And when you started telling yourself that, you felt good or you felt worse.” Gerald asked.

“I felt worse.”

Gerald was beginning to understand what was happening.

“Very well Adrien, how about we move on to another topic. I know from Nathalie that you are going to start a new course in a few months but you still don’t know what you are going to do when you grow up at this point.”

“I know I’m probably not the only one, but I still don’t know what I would like to do for the rest of my life as a career. I only know that my father must have already chosen for me.”

“I see. But you would like to choose something that you like, right?” Gerald realized that Gabriel had some control over Adrien’s future. That was a problem.

“Yeah. And even if I had the freedom to do so, I still don’t really know what to do with my future yet.” Adrien said.

Gerald wrote some things down in his notes. A boy who still didn’t have the slightest idea what to do when he became an adult, who had a rather complicated relationship with his father and an absent mother.

“Tell me Adrien, do you have anyone outside your family circle that you like to be with?”

“I like to be with Marinette” Adrien saw that Gerald was waiting for an explanation of who she was. She’s my girlfriend.”

“It seems like you enjoy going with your girlfriend Adrien, that’s good. Does she know how you feel?”

“I only have one person I count on other than Nathalie and that is Marinette. I have friends, but I don’t feel comfortable talking with them about it.”

Gerald could see that Adrien had more trust in his girlfriend and Nathalie who was his guardian.

Gerald wrote some last notes. An alarm activated on Gerald’s cellphone. The session time had ended very quickly.

“Well, unfortunately it’s the end of our session. That would be all for today, Adrien. Let’s talk to Nathalie, shall we?”

Adrien felt calmer. The doctor’s first impression was pretty good. Gerald told him to leave the room. Nathalie was sitting waiting for Adrien.

“Stay outside for a moment, Adrien. I’m going to talk to Nathalie so we can arrange the next sessions with you.

Gerald opened the office door

“I can talk to you for a moment, miss Sancoeur, it’s important. Gerald motioned for him to enter the office.

“Adrien, wait for me here.” Nathalie entered the office with Gerald. “Tell me, Mr. Simson, how is Adrien?”

“Well miss, according to my diagnosis, in simple words, Adrien seems to be in the early stages of depression.”

Nathalie’s eyes widened.

“Does Adrien have depression?”

Why hadn’t she noticed it before.

Nathalie felt very guilty.

“Yes, it seems to be the case. It’s still too early to tell for sure, I need more sessions with him.” Gerald assured her. There was another very important thing that Gerald noticed and needed to mention: the way Adrien mentioned his father, Gabriel Agreste, during the session.

“His father was mentioned by Adrien several times. Is there something that Mr. Agreste has done in particular which made Adrien behave like this?”

Nathalie expected a question like that. But for obvious reasons she couldn’t tell him the truth. She would tell him the disguised truth that she devised if the opportunity presented itself.

“He’s made some pretty questionable decisions while raising Adrien," Nathalie explained, hoping he wouldn’t ask for explanations. “I myself tried to alleviate the impact that some of his decisions had on Adrien. But I couldn’t do anything else.”

Gerald needed Gabriel there. Without him, he wouldn’t be able to do much to help Adrien.

“Miss Sancoeur I probably also need Mr. Agreste to come here. He is part of the problem; he probably needs counseling too. Maybe he contributed to Adrien feeling, well, like that...”

“I know, I tried for a long time to convince him to do it, but he just wouldn’t listen to me.”

Gerald thought about what he could do to help them.

“I’ll talk to him personally,” Gerald said. "Can you give me his number, Miss Sancoeur? I may arrange family therapy in this particular case.”

“I’ll give it to you.” Nathalie started looking for Gabriel’s number and sent it to the doctor.

“Adrien will have to go a long way,” Gerald had already seen several cases like that in his 31-year long career. “But as long as he attends the sessions, I will do everything in my power to help him.”

The doctor opened the office door finding Adrien waiting.

“Oh Adrien, before you go.” Gerald took out a bowl that was full of candies “You can take one of these. Choose the one you want.”

Adrien looked at the contents of the bowl. It was full of candies of different types. Looking carefully at which one to choose, he took a chocolate and put it in his pocket.

“I’ll see you in the next session. See you soon Adrien, Nathalie. Have a nice day.”

“Goodbye, Mr. Gerald.” Adrien waved.

Gerald closed the door to his office once Adrien and Nathalie left. He organized his notes and saved a new folder that he had created specifically for Adrien. He put it inside one of the drawers of his desk neatly and closed it. He had managed to gain Adrien’s trust pretty quickly.

But there was something strange about the session he just had with Adrien.

They are hiding something.

In all his years as a therapist, Gerald had learned to read people, but in this case, he could see that they were not telling him the whole truth. Adrien’s body language was quite evident. Miss Sancoeur managed to hide her feelings from him very well. She seemed like she was used to doing it, he had already seen it on TV a couple of times.

Maybe with Mr. Agreste he could get the truth out of him about the whole matter, if he really decided to attend the sessions.

---

Gabriel was waiting for Nathalie and Adrien’s return. Looking at the time on the clock, he assumed that they were already on their way, since the appointment had already ended. He was a little worried about how everything would have turned out with the first meeting with the therapist.

Gabriel heard the car parking at the entrance of the mansion.

It’s them he thought.

They both entered. Nathalie guided Adrien gently hugging his shoulder.

The entire atmosphere of the mansion changed in an instant, even without the Miraculous, Gabriel could sense that something had not gone right in that session.

Nathalie had a sad expression.

“Welcome.” Gabriel tried to sound as friendly as possible “How did it go?”

Nathalie crouched down next to Adrien; her gaze soft.

“You can retire to your room Adrien; I need to talk to your father for a moment.” Nathalie squeezed Adrien’s shoulders in a gesture to assure him that everything was fine.

“Okay, Nathalie.”

When Adrien left, Nathalie walked forward and motioned for Gabriel to follow her.

“Let’s talk privately.”

They both went in the living room and Gabriel urged her to sit down.

Nathalie sat down gently in one of the armchairs in front of the fireplace.

“And what did the doctor say? It’s bad?” Gabriel put his hands together from where he was sitting, watching Nathalie’s actions.

“It’s worse than we thought, Gabriel.” Nathalie looked at the paper the doctor gave her.

“Is Adrien unwell?” Gabriel was worried about the way Nathalie reacted when they got home.

“After all that time we were in Mr. Simon’s office on...”

Nathalie started having a coughing fit that Gabriel had to stand next to her and pat her on the back until she calmed down.

Nathalie took several deep breaths and released them as she regulated her breathing. With some force she removed Gabriel’s hand.

“Tell me Nathalie, what diagnosis did Dr. Gerald gave to my son?” Gabriel was impatient to know the diagnosis.

“Adrien has symptoms of depression, Gabriel.” Nathalie said, sadly.

Gabriel felt like his heart sank.

“What?” For Gabriel, it wasn’t something he expected to hear.

“Adrien confessed that he has been feeling very bad for months.”

He had been so... selfish.

“Gerald said he’s not 100% sure. According to his diagnosis, it seems to be the case.”

Nathalie felt guilty. If only she had stopped Gabriel earlier, things would be different. Maybe if she had paid more attention to Adrien in the beginning, things wouldn’t be so bad right now.

Gabriel was starting to feel guilty too. Months…that meant Adrien was suffering alone since his mother left.

And he was to blame for leaving him alone when he needed him most.

Gabriel hid his face in his hands.

It can’t be.

Emilie was going to kill him, but Nathalie didn’t do it first.

Chapter Text

A girl was pacing around her room, messing it up, while she thought about what to do. After having solved Felix’s problem, Marinette was looking for a possible solution to the problem at hand. But no matter how hard she searched, she always came to a dead end.

What do I do now?

Marinette knew she needed help. The situation she found herself in now was something she couldn’t solve alone, even though she herself had told Gabriel that she and him were going to work together.

But who could help her?

The first-person Marinette thought of was Alya. But after what happened the whole time they faced Shadow Moth maybe it wasn’t a good idea to tell her something so big and delicate with the situation she found herself in with the Agrestes. Besides, she didn’t know how Alya could be useful in this very specific situation. Neither of them knew much about the Miraculous or the guardians to look for a solution.

She then thought of the person who was as her second choice.

Luka.

Luka was her other option. He had proven to be trustworthy by keeping the secret of their true identities. And he proved to be useful in situations of vital importance and especially when they were in serious trouble.

That’s it!

He was training with the guardians. If Luka was gaining knowledge from the people who guarded the Miraculouses for hundreds of centuries, it might be possible they had the answer to the dilemma she was now trapped in. Luka also had access to Guardian material that she didn’t have.

It is perfect!

Now she just had to wait if Luka would be willing to help her.

Oh.

Marinette was a little nervous about that question. She definitely wasn’t sure if Luka would agree to save the person who was the cause of him having to flee Paris.

But she had no options at the time. And she was completely sure that the guardians would refuse to help her if she asked them directly. She didn’t think they would be willing to help whoever was misusing the Butterfly Miraculous.

For now, she would only call Luka to speak with him. Marinette asked the kwamis to please be quiet so she could concentrate. I dial the number a little nervous.

When he was about to reach the tone, Luka answered his call.

“Hello Marinette, how are you?” Luka sounded a little worried. He had been worried about her and Chat Noir since the worldwide attack that Monarch orchestrated because he hadn’t heard from them in all that time.

“Hello, Luka, I’m fine.” Marinette answered “Luka, would it be okay if I came to your house to spend some time?”

“Yes Marinette. You know you’re always welcome in my house.” Luka rearranged his guitar on his lap to talk more comfortably.

“But I need to talk to you about something that’s quite serious.” Marinette sat in her swivel chair.

“It’s about that, isn’t it, Marinette?” Luka was referring to Ladybug.

“Yes Luka, I can’t talk about it on the phone, it would be better if we met to talk about it, without putting ourselves in danger.” Marinette was very afraid that someone else might hear about the secrets she was keeping like last time.

“My mother is going out sometime in the next few days, and I think it would be the right time for you to come. I’m going to confirm the day so you can come without worries, are you okay with that Marinette?”

“Yes Luka. It would be fine for me.”

Marinette left on her scooter towards Luka’s house. Although using her scooter it shouldn’t have taken long, without a doubt the trip felt an eternity.

Marinette arrived at Luka’s house.

Marinette knew that Anarka would be out that same day accompanying Rose and Juleka as they would go shopping. That was the perfect opportunity to talk to Luka. She couldn’t risk other people overhearing like last time. Luka confirmed with his mother that day that she and his sister would not be home and he would be in charge of taking care of the boat while they were gone.

Luka was already waiting for her.

Marinette parked her scooter on the side of the boat, leaving her helmet on top of the seat. She went up the small bridge that led to Luka’s home. She made a misstep when she attempted to go down to the deck of the ship.

Luka reacted quickly and cushioned her fall. Marinette was surprised by how good Luka’s reflexes were.

It must be from the training with the guardians.

“Welcome Marinette, make yourself comfortable.”

Luka told Marinette to enter the ship so she could explain the reason why she summoned him.

Marinette sat in one of the seats while Luka tuned his guitar.

“Thank you for having me in, Luka.” Marinette put her hands together nervously.

"Why did you need to talk to me?” Luka adjusted one of the strings on his guitar.

Marinette decided to get to the point.

“Luka, please, I need your help,” the girl moved her foot nervously in her seat “It’s a serious issue and I honestly don’t know what to do anymore, and I know that you could help me.”

Luka put her guitar aside before answering.

“It has to do with your task as Ladybug, right?”

Marinette nodded.

“Then let’s go to a quieter place.” Luka took her hand. He led her to where the boat’s engine was so that no one could hear them.

“Marinette, what’s the problem?” Luka asked calmly so as not to make Marinette nervous.

“It has to do with Monarch,” Marinette’s heart was going to jump out of her chest “You see, I had to face him alone recently.”

Luka’s expression changed to one of surprise.

“Did you face him alone? In person? And how did it go?” Luka looked genuinely worried. Monarch had proven to be a real threat that day

Marinette felt a little overwhelmed with Luka’s questions.

“You can answer the questions in your time, Marinette, don’t worry.”

“I wasn’t planning on facing him so soon, but everything was so unexpected. I went to look for Adrien’s father, Gabriel Agreste, so I could defend Adrien against his decisions. I don’t know if you know, Luka, but Mr. Agreste took Adrien to London on the night of our school final course party.”

“I did find out, Marinette.” Luka remembered hearing Adrien mention it on the news, but he never knew much about it because they were trying to keep a low profile.

“That night I found out some things and one thing led to another and well with everything I ended up facing Monarch alone.”

“But where was Chat Noir? Couldn’t he assist you in those moments?” Luka asked, although he was sure of the answer with the information he knew about Adrien, but he wanted to hear the answer from Marinette.

“No, he, he was...”

“He wasn’t available because he had gone somewhere else, right?” Luka deduced, knowing Chat Noir’s true identity.

“Yes, Luka. You knew all this time that Adrien was Chat Noir, right?” Marinette was deducing the answer Luka would give her.

“Yes, I knew it. When we faced Wishmaker I discovered his identity accidentally and you know that the snake Miraculous doesn’t fix the user’s memory.” Luka changed his look to a more serious one. “Even knowing that, I didn’t think Adrien’s father would take him away.”

Luka was surprised at how much had happened while he was gone.

“Me neither. Plagg told me that he couldn’t come help me because he was afraid that he would end up turning into the akumatized version of himself caused by the nightmares.”

That explained why he wasn’t present.

Luka was doubtful whether he would help Marinette or not. The guardians would not be happy about this.

Marinette could see Luka’s indecision in her eyes.

“What do you think Luka?” Marinette hoped that she would help her because she didn’t feel like she could do it herself.

“I don’t know Marinette, it’s very risky.” Luka was thinking about everything that involved helping Marinette. If the guardians discovered them, they would not hesitate to punish them. He had already seen what Su Han was like to know that they were not entirely understanding and not very patient with those who joined their ranks.

Marinette bit her lip.

“Then, if not for me, for Adrien.”

“For Adrien? What happened to Adrien?” Luka already suspected that someone in Adrien’s life was causing his negativity to be transferred to him. And he was very sure that it was his father, Gabriel Agreste.

“When there was Hawkmoth’s global attack and I faced him, discovering his true identity and it turns out that, that...”

Marinette wasn’t sure if this was a good idea.

“Don’t worry, Marinette, you can tell me.”

Marinette took his hands.

“Just don’t let the guardians or tell him about it to anyone else, Luka, I beg you. It’s something very, very important and the truth is I’m a bit tied with this.”

“Marinette calm down, you can tell me. Trust me.”

Marinette took a deep breath at the revelation she was about to reveal to Luka.

“Monarch is Gabriel Agreste, Luka.”

Luka was very surprised. That explained a lot of what Adrien was going through. That his melody sounded like someone else was playing a sad melody for him and overshadowed his happy melody.

When I was a kid, I always wanted to be what my parents wanted me to be.

“Luka, please don’t tell anyone, not even the guardians. Chat Noir cataclysmed him a few months ago by accident; and Gabriel asked me to help him and Nathalie when I found out who he was, and now I don’t know what to do... I...”

Luka felt bad seeing Marinette so desperate.

He slowly hugged her to calm her down.

“I’ll help you, Marinette. I know it won’t be easy, but I can help you find a solution for Adrien. We are not going to leave him alone in this.”

Marinette clung to him.

“Thank you, Luka.”

They both separated.

“I’ll go to the mansion tomorrow. Does Mr. Agreste know about this?” Luka needed to ask that important question. He needed to prevent how Mr. Agreste was going to react to his presence once he was there.

“Not yet. I told him I needed to talk to him about something important, but I didn’t mention you Luka.” Marinette hugged herself.

“OK. I’ll be there when I finish my training tomorrow. We’ll both go together.”

“Okay, we’ll meet tomorrow at Trocadero and we’ll leave from there for the Agreste mansion. Don’t be late.” Marinette picked up her things to leave.

Luka laughed.

“I could say the same to you, Marinette.” Luka smiled, knowing well, being punctual wasn’t one of Marinette’s characteristics.

Oh right, of course Marinette remembered that she was the one who was always late everywhere she went.

Luka realized what a bad situation his two friends were in, especially Adrien.

He didn’t hear Chat Noir cataclysmed Monarch.

He heard: Adrien cataclysm to his own father.

Luka couldn’t imagine how bad Adrien must be feeling right now.

I just couldn’t turn my back on him now that I knew all that. And for Marinette for having to be the person who has to deal with the main problem.

This was a real emergency.

Luka was sitting meditating next to Su Han near his school. Han summoned him very early to tell him something very important about his duties as a guardian.

“You better be prepared Luka; the other guardians will soon call us all to a meeting and report the situation after all that fuss that was created a few days ago.”

Luka wanted to take the opportunity to try to find out some clues on how to help Marinette find a solution.

“Master, can I ask you a question?” Luka asked.

Su Han stopped his meditation once Luka asked that question.

“Yes, Luka?”

“When can I study the tasks of the guardian more thoroughly?”

“In a few days I will be able to speak with the guardians. We are still planning what we are going to do. This way we can have access to the guardian’s files and some books that we use for the new members. And we’ll probably have to talk to the new keeper of the main box. You already know who it is, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Luka nodded. He knew from Su Han that Marinette had become a guardian on the orders of the previous guardian.

“Then I’ll tell you her address tomorrow. I need you to go before me and tell the guardian that we are going to need the horse Miraculous to travel to the Miraculous temple. Now you can go.”

“Would that be all, master?” Luka didn’t expect the meeting to end so soon.

“Yes, that would be all for today. Today I decided that there will be no training so you can rest. You can go now Luka, see you later.”

“See you tomorrow, master.” Luka jumped from the ceiling to the ground and went directly to his house to change into his daily clothes and wait for Marinette at the place where they had agreed to meet.

Marinette was running breathless straight to Trocadero. She left her scooter at her house since Luka told her that she would take her bike to take them both to the Agreste mansion. But like always, she was already late.

As she approached the Trocadero’s exit, she realized that Luka was already there waiting for her.

Luka was dressed in his usual clothes. And he was waiting for her on his bicycle. The one he always used to make deliveries on his work. When he saw her approaching, Luka smiled at him.

“Hello Marinette.”

“I’m late?” Marinette stopped to catch her breath.

“No, you’re just in time.” Luka looked at the time on her cell phone. Marinette had arrived five minutes late, but it wasn't anything serious.

“Are you ready?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Then put the helmet on.” Luka offered Marinette the extra helmet he always brought with his bike.

Marinette adjusted her helmet before getting on the bike with Luka. Luka left on his way to the Agreste mansion.

The truth is that Marinette wasn’t ready. Her heart was pounding in her chest in anticipation.

She was very nervous about how Mr. Agreste was going to react once he knew that someone else knew about her secret.

Marinette held on to Luka as she led them to the Agreste mansion.

In a few minutes, Luka arrived at her destination, the Agreste mansion.

Marinette rang the bell to let them in.

The camera came out of the wall to verify who it was.

“Marinette!” It was Adrien’s voice “And… Luka?”

Luka waved at the camera.

“I’ll open it for you.” Adrien ran to the place where Nathalie had shown him the button to open the door.

The door opened and Luka entered with his bike and Marinette went ahead of him. Adrien opened the door for them both to enter.

“Hello, Adrien, are you okay?” Marinette knew what Adrien was going through because Nathalie told her on the phone when she contacted Gabriel to talk.

“I think so," Adrien said timidly. Then he looked at Luka.

“Luka, it's nice to see you, but what are you doing here?” Adrien was very confused.

“I’m here to talk to your father and Nathalie.”

“He came to help, Adrien,” Marinette explained, “Do you know if your father is available?”

“Yes, he is in the atelier.” Adrien pointed in the direction his father was.

“Then let’s go Luka.” Marinette and Luka headed there, to tell Gabriel what they had planned.

Gabriel was trying to finish one of the designs he left pending the previous week, but a stabbing pain in his arm stopped him.

He heard the knock on the door. Gabriel tried to regain his composure.

“Who is it?” Gabriel thought it was still too early for visitors.

“Mr. Agreste? I’m Marinette.” Gabriel recognized Marinette’s voice behind the door.

“Come in, Marinette.”

Gabriel saw Marinette entering the atelier.

“Mr. Agreste. I brought someone with me. He is someone who I think would be a great help.”

Gabriel was already getting worried.

Could it be one of the guardians?

“Who is it?” Gabriel asked wanting to get to the point.

“Luka, you can you come in.” Marinette turned to look at the door.

Luka entered the room. Gabriel recognized him instantly. He was the boy who knew of Ladybug and Chat Noir’s identities.

“What is he doing here?” Gabriel pointed it out. Luka did not seem at all intimidated by his action, but on the contrary, he took a step forward.

Marinette stepped between them.

“Mr. Agreste. Before you unleash your fury, let me explain. Luka was recruited by the Miraculous guardians a while ago. The guardians, they are training him and teaching him some things. But I think he can be a great help to our cause.”

“I thought that no one else should know about this, that you were not going to tell anyone.” Gabriel highlighted that last part.

“Luka is not anyone, he is our connection to the other guardians. Besides, he has agreed to help us.” Marinette replied angrily.

Gabriel wasn’t so convinced.

“An extra help would be very helpful, Mr. Agreste.”

“Do you trust him? “Gabriel asked due to the uncertainty of whether that boy was trustworthy.

She looked at Luka with confidence.

“A lot. I would even trust him with my own life.”

“I trust him too, father.”

Adrien entered the room to intervene. He heard the entire conversation from the door. Gabriel looked from him to Adrien.

“He gave me good advice and I… he is my friend. Please trust him father” Adrien pleaded.

Gabriel then looked at Luka. Even though Gabriel was intimidating in that position, Luka seemed not to be intimidated at all.

In fact, it was strange how calm he was.

Gabriel turned his gaze from him to Adrien who was waiting for a response. If he wanted Adrien back, he would have to listen. Gabriel sighed in defeat.

“Alright. If Mr. Couffaine keeps this a secret I will.

“You have my word, Mr. Agreste, I will not say a word to the guardians. But please I need everyone’s cooperation. I’ll probably need some materials or ingredients while I figure out a cure for you and Nathalie. Marinette, do you have a copy of the grimoire, right? I don’t have direct access to it.”

“Yes Luka.” She gave him a USB in which she stored a copy of the grimoire the day before. “This way they won’t be able to follow our trail.”

“Excellent. Now can you take me to where Nathalie is?”

The four of them went up to Nathalie’s room. She was going through one of the books in her collection again. She heard footsteps and she saw the three teenagers enter with Gabriel in front of them.

“What’s going on?” Nathalie put the book aside.

“I brought him to help us, Nathalie.” Marinette explained.

“What do you need me to do?” Nathalie wasn’t expecting something like that.

“Just stay there, miss Sancoeur. For now, I’ll do an aura reading to see what I can find.” Luka approached the bed and positioned himself so that he could do what Su Han had taught him recently.

Luka positioned his hands, placing his palms facing Nathalie. Gabriel crossed his arms and leaned against the door frame while he waited.

After a few minutes Adrien became a little impatient.

“What do you see, Luka?”

“It’s as if the Miraculous was absorbing energy from her instead of giving it to her.” Luka left the position he was in.

“It’s just like the grimoire said,” Gabriel said. "That was something I never had a doubt about while we tried to find a solution. “The wounds from the Miraculous were becoming her wounds every time she used it”.

Luka then approached Gabriel.

“Can you show me the mark of the cataclysm, please?” Luka held out his hand, waiting for Gabriel to trust him.

Gabriel held his arm, as if he were protecting it.

“Gabriel, show him the wound.” Nathalie insisted.

Gabriel glanced at Nathalie out of the corner of his eye. He let go of his arm and unbuttoned the sleeve of his left arm, showing Luka where the cataclysm mark was.

Luka made out the mark on Chat Noir’s hand. He assumed it was expanding because the shape of the hand was barely distinguishable.

“Are you experiencing any kind of pain?” Luka examined the black mark of the cataclysm on Gabriel’s arm.

“Sometimes, they are very painful stabs.” Gabriel mentioned while Luka finished checking his arm.

“And how long did it take for the cataclysm to cover your body?” Luka was very curious about the effects of cataclysm on a person.

“A few months. But I accelerated the result by the excessive use of the Miraculous, especially the snake Miraculous.” Gabriel assumed that the effects of the snake Miraculous would return eventually.

“His heart is touched, Mr. Couffaine,” Nathalie mentioned. “He used the power of the second chance of the snake Miraculous many times, which made his wound grow much faster than normal. And as for me, I used the Peacock Miraculous since Heroes Day about four or five times when it was damaged. This causes me to lose my breath from time to time and give me a very dry cough.”

“I understand.” Luka took out a notebook where he made some notes. “I think that with that information I can now make some estimates.” With some notes that he had in the back of his notebook Luka made some calculations.

“Well, Luka, how much time do we have?” Marinette stood next to him.

“I’m not an expert, but I would say between 4 and 5 months before the effect of using the Creation and Destruction Miraculouses wears off.” Luka said with a look of surprise.

That was a problem.

Marinette didn’t know what to do. They were clearly against the clock. And they didn’t just have to save Nathalie. Gabriel was also at risk. But with Luka’s calculations, they would probably only have time to save one of them.

She needed to talk to Luka alone.

“Luka, can I talk to you for a moment, please?”

Luka and Marinette went to a more secluded place,

“Luka What do we do now? For the moment. We can only save one.” Marinette whispered.

Luka knew that was a difficult choice.

They wanted to help them both, but what decision to make?

Gabriel had managed to hear what they were referring to. If there wasn’t enough time to save them both, there was one person who could be saved. One person who loved Adrien more than him, and that was Nathalie. So, Adrien wouldn’t be left alone.

“Help her first, please.”

Gabriel said sadly.

“But what about you, father. Don’t you want to get saved?” Adrien asked. From his tone, it sounded to Gabriel that he was truly worried.

“I can wait. I have more time than her.”

Nathalie couldn’t believe Gabriel was making that decision, he perfectly could have asked to be saved first. Maybe he wasn’t as selfish as she thought.

Adrien looked worried. Even though he was still very angry with his father, he definitely didn't want him to die.

Luka noticed Adrien’s worried expression immediately.

“We will try to find a solution to delay your father’s problem” Luka said to reassure Adrien. “I have been asking Su Han and I know that there are the many books and grimoires that the order has to investigate and we could work on something. But for now, our priority will be to relieve Nathalie.

Luka was making some extra notes in his old notebook that he brought about the symptoms that each of them presented. He made a small outline to summarize his notes.

“I think I already have all the notes I needed.” Luka closed his notebook and put it in his suitcase. “I think that with the information they provided us we can find a solution for both of you. But I still can’t assure you when I can have it.”

“As soon as we have it, I’ll let you know myself.” Marinette intervened.

Luka checked the time on his phone, it was time for him to get back to the ship or his mother would start asking questions.

“I have to go. I have to get back to my house before my mother wonders where I am.”

“Come on Luka, I’ll walk you back.” Marinette offered. She also had to go to get some rest.

Luka prepared to leave. Marinette followed him along with Gabriel. He led both teens towards the exit.

“I will be investigating in all the free time I can get. I’ll figure it out.”

“I will help Luka in whatever way I can.” Marinette said. “I know it won't be easy, but we will try.”

“Is there anything I can do for you?” Gabriel remembered the equipment he had specifically for making potions. “I have some equipment for making potions stored here in the mansion, it could be useful.”

Both teenagers looked at each other.

“We will borrow it from you in the next few days. The only thing you can do at the moment is monitor yours and Miss Sancoeur’s symptoms to see if there are any obvious changes. Remember to contact us in case of any problem or emergency.”

“I will.” Gabriel nodded.

Gabriel was not at all happy with the uncertainty that arose from seeing that someone close to the guardians was now involved in this situation.

Chapter Text

Marinette thought she would finally have a peaceful day after everything she had experienced these last few days.

How wrong she was.

She heard knocking on the lower door of her room. He quickly climbed down from her bed to open it to the person who was waiting.

Marinette crouched down opening the door, meeting Luka.

“Luka, when did you come in?” She let him in.

Luka needed to get to the point.

“Su Han is coming to talk to you, Marinette.” Luka said, closing the door behind him. He was carrying a bag with him.

“And what does he need this time?” Marinette put aside the notes she took a few moments ago.

“He needs you to lend him the horse’s Miraculous so get ready,” Luka fixed his jacket “And something else, do you have any way to explain what happened with Monarch?”

Marinette realized at that point that she had definitely forgotten something very important that she had to explain to the guardians.

“Not yet.” It was a topic that worried her a lot, she didn’t know if they would believe her. It was true that she had not yet prepared a lie to tell Su Han what exactly had happened between her and Monarch.

Surely, they were going to ask!

“Oh no, Luka, what do I tell them now?” Marinette had completely forgotten to create a story to explain Monarch’s fate. Tikki came out of her hiding place when she saw that there was no danger of being seen.

“Marinette, if you need advice, the guardians are strict, but I think they will be willing to listen to what you have to say, even if it turns out to be a lie. But be very careful, they are not... very patient to say the least.” Tikki held her paws, remembering the attitude of many of the guardians who were in charge of the temple.

“Do you have any ideas to explain it, Luka?”

Luka was thinking about what excuse they could use on this occasion.

“You can tell him that Monarch disappeared. That you tried to give you the Miraculous, but someone else took it before you could get it back.” Luka shared his thoughts with Marinette.

“But won’t they will wonder who the person behind the mask was?” Marinette panicked “How can I respond to that?”

“You can say that he died.” Luka said relaxed “After all, Mr. Agreste received a direct cataclysm.”

Marinette was surprised at how calm Luka was when he said that.

“Will they believe that?” Marinette sat in her swivel chair “How can I prove it?”

“Maybe some object can serve as bait. You can say that it was what you recovered and that the family asked you not to say anything.”

“…To avoid retaliation because they didn’t know anything about it until he died. That’s a good lie Luka.” Marinette complement “But now, what kind of object can I use to prove it?”

“Maybe Adrien knows,” Luka thought “I guess they’re also going to request his presence here.”

“I’ll call him then.” Marinette got up from her swivel chair and started to dial Adrien’s number. I wait a few moments before receiving a response from Adrien.

“Adrien, hello, I need you to come, it’s something very urgent.” Marinette moved her leg nervously.

“Hello Marinette, what’s going on?” Adrien got out of bed. That day he hadn’t felt the desire to get up early and he stayed there staring at the ceiling.

“The guardians are going to request our presence today. I need you to come. They may ask about your father, well about Monarch.”

Adrien got up from his bed quickly.

“Are they going to ask about that? Now?” Neither Adrien nor Marinette had prepared what they were going to say.

“Yes, Luka came to tell me” Marinette showed Luka who greeted Adrien from a distance “I need you to bring something that can prove that your father is no longer with us.”

“That my father died?” Adrien made air quotes imitating Marinette “What do you mean?”

“It’s part of the lie we are going to tell to the guardians. When you arrive, we will explain everything to you. But we need some kind of proof to give so they have no doubt that our lie is true.”

“And can’t you come?” Adrien was very worried about having to talk to his father alone.

“No, Su Han is coming in a few moments and I have to be here to receive him, I’m so sorry, Adrien.” Marinette wanted to help him ask Gabriel to give them something to mislead the guardians, but she couldn’t let Su Han see she wasn’t at her house without anyone taking care of the Miraculous.

“Then when I have it, I’ll go looking for you, don’t worry Marinette.” Adrien said. He couldn’t let Marinette down.

“I’ll be waiting for you, Adrien.”

Marinette ended the call. Luka approached her.

“Marinette, I need to change into my guardian uniform, do you have a place I can change?”

“Sure Luka, you can use the screen I have here.” Marinette pointed in the direction of the folding screen she used for her friends to try on her designs.

Once Luka finished getting ready, they both heard knocking on the upstairs door.

“It’s him” Luka said “Let him in.”

Su Han jumped to where the two teenagers were.

“Oh Su Han, welcome.” Marinette stood up straight and adopted a respectful pose in the presence of the guardian.

“I came to look for the horse’s Miraculous. Today there is a very important meeting with all the guardians and it is extremely important to make myself present there.”

“Oh sure,” Marinette opened the place where she was hiding “Don’t you require me to hand over the others?”

“Not yet. That is something we will decide today. How we proceed will be decided between us at the meeting. I would prefer that you stay here for the moment.

Marinette went to look in her drawer.

Su Han received the box. When he opened it, he couldn’t explain himself how the Miraculous changed so much.

“What happened to the Miraculous?” Su Han examined one of the rings.

“It is a long story.”

“What about Hawkmoth?” Su Han realized that the butterfly Miraculous was not in its place “What happened to the butterfly Miraculous?”

“Well... it’s kind of hard to explain.” Marinette felt her breath left her when she saw Su Han’s doubtful expression.

“I need you to explain in detail,” Su Han put on the ring “But for now, I don’t have time to listen to it. The guardians requested my presence at the temple and I need to arrive quickly.”

The guardian put on the ring and opened a portal.

“We’ll come back for you soon,” Su Han crossed the portal “You better be ready. Let’s go Luka.”

“See you later, Marinette.” Luka walked through the portal, saying goodbye to Marinette.

Immediately after finishing the call Adrien set out to look for his father. He would have preferred if Marinette had been there to accompany him, but she needed him, so there was no other choice.

He mustered up the courage to ask him for what Marinette needed. Since he didn’t have time, he half-opened the door finding his father there, working.

“Father.” Adrien saw how his father lost focus of what he was doing and directed his gaze to the door.

“Yes, Adrien?”

“Marinette needs you to give her something of yours.” Adrien said.

“Something of mine?” Gabriel wasn’t understanding what was happening.

“The guardians want to speak with her, it’s important or at least that’s what it seemed like.”

“The Guardians?” Gabriel put aside what he was doing and approached where Adrien was.

“They think they are going to ask them about you, but so that they don’t discover us, they want to present proof to prove that you are Dead.”

Adrien stared at the ground.

Gabriel was thoughtful. What kind of object could they use to mislead the guardians? He could probably find something he could get rid of in his room.

“Come Adrien, let’s go find what Miss Marinette needs us to give to her.”

Gabriel led Adrien to his room. Gabriel looked around trying to think of what he could give Marinette without compromising his identity. Then he remembered the perfect object that would be useful for Marinette to present to the guardians.

He searched deep in the drawer where he kept his shirts. In the in the corner was a colorful tie with Punk designs that he once wore in his youth before becoming Gabriel Agreste. Chills ran down Gabriel’s spine as he remembered his past. Gabriel gave it to Adrien.

“Aren’t you upset that you have to get rid of this, Father?” Adrien showed her back the object he had given him.

“No, don’t worry, Adrien, it’s good that you came to find me for this, but why doesn’t Marinette come herself?”

“Because Su Han went to look for her right now. She can’t risk raising suspicions and they’ll probably summon me too soon” Adrien told him.

“Then get on your way, son. I’ll wait here.” Gabriel guided Adrien to his room and helped him open the window with the control. Adrien transformed and put the tie in the pocket of his suit. Adrien gave his father one last look before leaving. Gabriel stood watching until Chat Noir disappeared from his sight.

“Good luck, Adrien.”

Once the portal closed, Su Han turned to Luka.

“Walk straight Luka,” Su Han approached him “The other guardians are watching.”

A group of monks approached Su Han.

“It’s time, we are going to meet in the east wing, we need your presence, Su Han.” said one of them.

“You stay here Luka,” Su Han told him “I’ll come look for you once we finish this brief meeting.”

“Won’t I going to participate in the meeting?” Luka thought that this time the he would participate in the meeting.

“Guardian apprentices are not allowed to participate in official Guardian meetings, Luka. It’s part of the regulations. I’ll come back to you once we're done.”

Luka watched as they went to a room on the other side of the temple and locked the door. Luka was very curious about what they were going to talk about at the meeting. A few days ago, he had spotted a small hole in that same building that led directly to the room where all the guardians would be gathered when he first arrived at the temple. Maybe then he could find out what they were talking about.

He saw a couple of boxes he could use to climb.

He carefully climbed up trying not to make noise and with a jump he grabbed the border of the ceiling. He used his feet to propel himself up, finally going up.

Luka slowly crawled across the ceiling and carefully leaned on it. He managed to hear the murmur coming from the meeting the guardians were holding.

He carefully leaned against the ceiling trying to discern what the guardians were talking about.

“Su Han, please give us a report on what is happening.” a voice said.

“The guardian managed to recover the remaining Miraculous.”

Luka managed to spot another of the guardians.

“Guardian? What happened to Wang Fu?” said another voice.

“He decided to hand over his guardian duties to the current ladybug Miraculous wielder.”

“May we know why?”

“Those are questions that she will have to answer. The sooner we go looking for her the sooner we will have answers from her. We will do an interrogatory and we will see what we will do with it. Although most likely we will have to relegate her from her duties as her guardian.

Interrogatory? To Luka it didn’t sound good at all. That meant Marinette was in serious trouble.

He listened a little more to see what more information he could get. There were many things that he did not understand or that he could not hear well. Once the meeting was over, Luka was sure of one thing: he had to find a way to warn Marinette before the order came looking for her so she would be prepared.

Luka carefully climbed down from the roof. He needed to get the Miraculous from the horse to leave, but he didn’t know how.

“Luka.”

The boy heard his name. Luka followed the source of the sound. Su Han was calling out to him from a hidden door he had never seen.

“Here.”

Luka went with Su Han to a more secluded area. He opened a portal.

“Luka, I’m going to let you go first this time. Tell Marinette what we’re going to do. But hurry up, they won’t take long to leave. You have one hour.”

Luka went through the portal with the horse Miraculous, and left the Miraculous on the other side.

“Thank you.”

Luka watched as the portal closed and an alarmed Marinette stood up from her seat in a panic. She fell with a crash to the floor, chair included. Some papers flew into the air as Marinette landed on the ground. Adrien, who had just entered, approached Marinette to help her up.

“Marinette!” Both boys exclaimed when they saw Marinette on the ground. Luka and Adrien offered her hand and she took both to stand up.

“Marinette, the guardians are coming to talk to you,” Luka said, watching as Marinette brushed off her clothes.

“The Guardians? Luka…” Marinette didn’t expect them to talk to her so quickly.

“I didn’t think they would come so soon, but they want to recover the Miraculous.” Luka pointed to the place where she hid the Miraculous.

“They want them back? Now?” Marinette mentioned nervously.

“That's what I heard at their meeting,” Luka took a deep breath “I had to do it in secret because they didn’t allow me to participate in the meeting. But they will come without a doubt.”

“And when they are going come?” Marinette asked nervously.

“In an hour. But there is something even more important that you have to know and that is that in addition to that they want to relegate you from your duties as a guardian.”

Marinette felt her soul sink.

That meant that she would lose her memory and she would not be able to help the Agreste family.

Adrien would be left alone. And she would forget about him and all of her adventures the past year with the Miraculous. Still, she had no time to waste.

“Then help me organize all this,” Marinette pointed to the mess she had all over her room. The file containing the grimoire on her computer was open and several notebooks were on the table where she was working. “They can’t figure out what we're doing here.”

Luka organized several of Marinette’s notes into one package. She opened a drawer in her desk and put them all in there. Even so, there were still things to hide.

“We’ll have to put them under my bed.”

Marinette grabbed several things in her hands and ran up the stairs to her bed.

Adrien cleaned most of Marinette’s room quickly and closed the grimoire window on Marinette’s computer.

“That’s it” Marinette turned to Adrien “Did you bring what I asked for?”

“Here it is.” Adrien took the garment out of his pocket “My father gave it to me himself.”

Marinette took it in her hands. She examined the garment that Adrien had given her. She carefully put it in her bag.

“Now we have to prepare what we are going to say. How much time do we have Luka?” Marinette asked.

“45 minutes.” Luka said looking at the time on his phone.

The three began to put together the lie they would tell the guards. They practiced it to make sure that all three would say the same thing and not cause inconsistencies in the story.

Five minutes before the guards arrived, Luka stopped them.

“Both transform now. You better introduce yourself as Ladybug and Chat Noir. If they ask you to show them your true identity, just do it without protesting, the less you can make them angry the better for you.”

At that moment a portal opened again in Marinette’s room. Su Han walked in through this, looking quite serious.

“Marinette, I’ve come back to look for you, she was summoned to interrogatory by the guardians” Su Han saw Chat Noir next to her “And I see Chat Noir is also here.”

“I came because Ladybug asked me to.” Chat Noir kept his distance. He didn’t want to make a wrong step and ruin everything.

“Do you have the Miraculous box on hand? I need it back.” Su Han extended his hand waiting for the box to be given to him. “You don’t have to give up the box, just hand it over and we will protect it.”

Marinette opened the place where she hid the box.

“Are we leaving now?” The kwamis came out of the box.

“No, we don’t want to leave you.” Ziggy said.

“I’m sorry. I don’t want to leave you either, but I think you will be safer with them. Don’t worry, I’ll come visit you when I can.”

The kwamis hugged Marinette before she returned the box. Su Han received the box from Marinette.

“Come on, the interrogatory is about to begin.” Su Han stepped aside to let them pass. Ladybug and Chat Noir passed through the portal, amazed to see the temple. They had already seen it on the news, but seeing it in person was a slightly different experience.

“This way Ladybug,” Su Han pointed out the place where she should go “You will have to sit in the middle of the room in the chair we arranged for you.”

“What about me?” Chat Noir leaned on his staff waiting for a response.

“You can see from the podium along with the other guardians. You will be given the opportunity to participate from there.”

Chat Noir then approached Ladybug.

“Good luck, Ladybug.” Chat Noir hugged her. She hugged him back, nervous about what might happen from now on. They both separated and prepared to go to their respective places.

Luka was going to enter after Ladybug and Chat Noir when someone stood in front of him, blocking his path. Su Han was in front of him.

“Oh no, Luka. Guardians in training cannot participate in the interrogatory.”

“I also wish to participate, master. Wouldn’t that be good for my training as a guardian?” Luka used his best card to get Su Han to let him in.

Su Han thought about it for a moment before sighing and denying. He had already been getting fond of Luka at this point.

“Alright. Just don’t cause any trouble Luka.” Su Han stepped aside and allowed Luka to enter.

Luka took a place to the side where the other guardians were, next to Chat Noir. They didn’t say anything. Su Han entered, closing the door behind him and jumping to the podium, another of the guardianss cleared his throat.

“The extraordinary meeting of the guardians goes into session. This meeting will be preceded by the celestial guardian of the mother box.”

Ladybug sat on the chair in the middle of the room and looked around to see the guardians’ faces. Su Han was in the middle and Luka was at one end next to Chat Noir.

Marinette couldn’t make out many of the faces in the temple, but she assumed they were all part of the order of guardians which was thought to have been lost over a century ago. Feast probably stopped time for them like it had for Su Han. She gulped as she heard the gong behind her.

“Ladybug we need to know who you are, so please undo your transformation. Chat Noir must do it too.”

Ladybug nodded from her seat.

“Tikki, spots off.” Marinette was now in Ladybug's place. Adrien also undid his transformation.

“Marinette has been summoned because we need to know what happened to the Miraculouses of the mother box.”

The guardians examined the Miraculous in the box and noticed that the Miraculous no longer looked like before.

“The person behind Monarch modified them. I don’t know how he did it, but the first time he tried to get them back, they were already like this. However, they are still fully functional.”

“Since you recovered the Miraculous, how did it happen?”

“I faced Monarch myself and after a really hard battle I managed to recover them.” Marinette explained.

“And what about the butterfly Miraculous. Is not here?” The guardians examined the box, finding the empty space in the box. “And what exactly happened to the Miraculous?”

“The butterfly Miraculous was lost,” Marinette continued “Someone else took it when Monarch was defeated. But I still don’t know who it is.”

“And what about the wearer of the butterfly?” Su Han had doubts about what happened to the previous wearer of the butterfly.”

“He died... He received a direct cataclysm from Chat Noir by accident. I informed the family myself and they took care of his body.” Marinette repeated the lie they created.

“Can you tell us who it was?” Su Han asked.

Marinette gulped before continuing with the lie.

“No. I didn’t know him.” Marinette looked each of the guardians in the eyes.

Marinette took out of her bag the evidence that Luka and she would show.

“That was the only thing left of him. After that, the family asked me to leave them out of this. They didn’t dare give me his name, so I really don’t know anything about him.”

Marinette stood up from her seat showing him them the object and one of the guardians examined it.

Marinette’s heart was beating very fast, she wasn’t very sure if they would believe this lie.

“Then, there’s no point looking for him if he’s already dead.” Su Han said.

Marinette can breathe a little easier hearing that. It meant that they believed her lie.

“Unfortunately, someone else took the butterfly Miraculous. Since I was dealing with Monarch it was not possible for me to recover it. We still haven’t been able to find out who is the person who has it.”

The guardians discussed among themselves what Marinette just mentioned.

“And about Mayura? What about Peacock Miraculous?” Su Han asked.

“Well... the Miraculous is in other hands, as for Mayura, I don’t know what happened to her.” Marinette lied again.

“Who has the Peacock Miraculous?”

“Felix Fathom.” Marinette pronounced, “He has the Miraculous in his possession. But I have seen that he has taken good care of him. So, I haven’t recovered it for the moment.”

The guardians whispered once more before reaching a verdict. Su Han jumped close to her.

“Well with all the precepts she broke, Marinette should be forced to stop being the guardian.”

Both Marinette and Adrien gasped.

“But what will happen to Marinette when she gives up being a guardian?” Luka asked into the air.

“Master Fu lost his memory when he handed over the guardian’s responsibilities to me. Am I going to lose my memory too?” Marinette was very worried about the answer they would give her.

“Yes, unfortunately that is the measure that was implemented in the order several centuries ago for the safety of the Miraculous.

Su Han continued.

“It is something that was designed to change the box from generation to generation and avoid the risk of the information stored in the temple being leaked, as happened with the student Wang Fu.” Su Han referred to the last student he had before the order disappeared for more than a century.

Marinette didn’t want to think about that possibility. That would mean that she would forget everything she experienced with Adrien and Chat Noir. Adrien had met her when he received his Miraculous from Master Fu.

She didn’t want to lose her memory.

“So, will I finally lose my memory?” Marinette asked.

“There is no other choice, miss.” Su Han said.

“That’s not fair.” Marinette protested in her seat.

“She’s right.” Adrien was not very happy to know that his beloved Ladybug, his Marinette was going to forget him “It’s not fair.”

“I only agreed to be the guardian because there was no other choice. If we didn’t, Hawkmoth would take over the Miraculouses and there would be nothing we could do to stop him.”

“Then why do I agree to be the guardian in the first place?” Su Han still hadn’t heard all the details of how Marinette ended up becoming a guardian.

“It was master Fu decision to train me with the little knowledge he had, not mine. He was the guardian for 184 years, so I don’t see the problem. I myself agreed to take on the role of guardian when Master Fu asked me to.”

“Despite the great responsibility that it represented?”

“Yes,” Marinette admitted quietly. “Even if it cut short all my dreams and all the future I already had planned.”

Everyone present in that room remained silent.

“Can I say something?” Luka took a step forward.

Su Han nodded.

“You can do it, Luka. Go ahead.”

“I’ve known Marinette for a long time and I know she suffered a lot. But she did everything she could to keep the Miraculouses from falling into the wrong hands. You made mistakes too, didn’t you?

The guardians looked at each other, knowing that Luka was right.

“And how do you know her identity, Mr. Couffaine?” One of the guards asked.

“It was a series of circumstances,” Luka prepared to tell the story “I used the snake Miraculous to assist Ladybug and Chat Noir in a rather complicated situation in which everyone was at risk, including Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous. Because the akumatized revealed the childhood dreams of whoever was in contact with his powers, they recruited me as I was the wearer of the snake Miraculous.”

“And who chose you to be the wearer of the snake, Mr. Couffaine?”

“It was Ladybug, sir.” Luka responded.

“Master Fu allowed me to choose wearers according to the needs of the moment. He gave me his trust.” Marinette answered before any of the guardians could ask.

“Can I say something too?” Adrien raised his hand to get the attention of the guardians.

“Go ahead”

“I’ve been with Ladybug since the beginning. I know she has made mistakes, I have too. But she has always done her best to protect Paris and recover the butterfly Miraculous. Her solutions may have been strange and sometimes made no sense, but she managed to find the solution to each of our problems and did her best to defeat Monarch. She always knows what to do.” Adrien gave Marinette a reassuring smile.

The other guardians spoke among themselves in low voices. They argued for a moment before giving their answer.

“Alright. We will take care of recovering the butterfly Miraculous for the moment. We will give you one last chance and let you be,” Su Han declared “But be careful, if you get into trouble, we will not hesitate to recover the Miraculous and make Marinette give up being the guardian. Even if it puts Paris at risk.”

Marinette stood up from her seat.

“It’s the end of the interrogation. You can now go home.”

Adrien went to Marinette’s side.

“Are you ok?” Adrien was very worried about her.

“I think so.”

“Let’s go. I’ll accompany you.” Adrien took her hand.

“I’m going with you. Su Han asked me to take you home.” Luka approached with the horse Miraculous in his hand. The three went outside and Luka opened the portal to lead them back to Marinette’s room.

Marinette’s legs felt like jelly, she looked blindly for her chair until she could sit down. That meeting had left her quite overwhelmed. So much information to process.

“If they discover our lie, we’re doomed. I didn’t think I had to lie again, especially not to the guardians themselves...”

“You did it for a good cause. But I don’t think that’s going to help us much once they find out.” Luka was very sure that when the guardians discovered the truth it wouldn’t be very pleasant.

“Mr. Agreste must not know about this.”

“I know Marinette, I won’t say a single word about it.” Luka thought it wasn’t a good idea to say much about what happened to Mr. Agreste.

“If we alarm him, he won’t trust us anymore.” Marinette saw that it was time for her visit to the mansion.

“I’m not going to say anything either, Marinette.” Adrien crouched down next to her and hugged her “Thank you for protecting my father from the guardians even though he didn’t deserve it.”

“You’re welcome, Adrien. I did it for you.”

Marinette looked at the time on her phone. She should already be on her way to the mansion again to inform Gabriel of what happened.

“I’m sorry Luka, but I have to go, Mr. Agreste summoned me again for something important and I can’t miss it.”

“See Marinette, I have to go back to my house now. In the meantime, I will try to convince Su Han to give me access to the archives of the guardians. We’ll be in touch if I find anything useful.”

Chapter Text

Marinette returned to the mansion again that same morning. She was making some more notes of possible solutions for Nathalie and a possible solution for Gabriel, but she would need Luka’s help to review them and see if her theories could become a reality. She even needed to know something very important that they hadn’t asked before and it was vital information and she would take this opportunity to ask. She brought her notes into her sketchbook for that purpose.

This time the one who would receive it was none other than Gabriel. Gabriel was waiting for Marinette and Adrien to arrive from their meeting with the guardians. He could see how they both arrived at the entrance. Without saying a word, Gabriel opened the door and ran to ask how everything went with the guardians.

“How did it go?” That was the first thing Gabriel asked.

“Everything is solved, at least for the moment. They believed the lie we told them.” Marinette said. It seemed to Gabriel that that was not all, he noticed that the mood of the two was not the best.

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, it’s just that the guardians did a bit of a heavy interrogation, that’s all.”

Marinette seemed a little dazed, but Gabriel didn’t want to dig deeper into that just yet. He remembered that Adrien hadn’t had his breakfast yet. Plus, he needed to talk to Marinette.

“Well, since you’re here, Miss Dupain Cheng.” Gabriel opened the door for her “I’m making breakfast, come here. You too Adrien, you haven't had breakfast yet.

Marinette entered the kitchen, along with Gabriel who took the spatula from her again. Adrien took a seat in the dining room.

“Would you like me to get you something to drink, Marinette? I have coffee.” Gabriel offered.

“A little coffee with milk would be nice.” Marinette took a seat in front of the dining room. She left her sketchbook in front of her.

Gabriel proceeded to take the carafe out of the coffee maker to pour coffee into a cup and add milk.

“Marinette would like something to eat, I can give you a plate too if you want.”

“No thanks, Mr. Agreste, I had my breakfast a while ago.”

Marinette decided that she would get to the point.

“Mr. Agreste, there is something I must ask before proceeding with our investigation.” Marinette took out some of the notes she made.

“Investigation?” Gabriel continued filling the cup until there was a good amount of liquid in it.

“I was thinking about what we could use to make medicine, but we never thought about whether any of you are allergic to something.”

“I´m not allergic to anything.” Gabriel turned the pancake he left in the pan.

“And what about Miss Sancoeur?”

“The only one who has allergies here is Adrien. I know Nathalie doesn’t have allergies, but I think it would be better if you check with her beforehand.” Gabriel served her coffee. “She’s in her room.”

Adrien entered the kitchen.

“Adrien, breakfast is ready.” Gabriel served him a pancake on his plate.

Adrien looked at the pancakes Gabriel had just served him. They were exactly the same horrible pancakes he had been giving since he took on the role of being the family cook.

“But of course, how can I forget my father’s pancakes.” Adrien took the plate. Gabriel watched as he approached the trash can and opened it, throwing out all the contents of the plate.

“Those go in the trash; I don’t know how someone could give you something so tasteless.” Adrien left the plate on the counter.

Gabriel didn’t expect that reaction.

“But Adrien, I thought you liked them.” Gabriel knew he told him before that his pancakes stunk, but he thought he said it again because he was still angry with him.

Adrien looked him, angry.

“Well, there are many things you think about me that are wrong.”

Adrien left the kitchen, slamming the door.

Marinette was shocked to see what just happened. Very rarely could you see Adrien be so angry.

“I’m sorry, miss Marinette, for the scene you just witnessed. I know Adrien is still very angry with me.”

Marinette started to think. Apparently, Gabriel’s food wasn’t that good. Maybe she could help him a little.

“And how about I teach you how to make some good pancakes?”

“Some good pancakes?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“Maybe that will help you break the ice with Adrien.” Marinette stood up from her seat.

Gabriel thought about it for a moment. Maybe getting Marinette’s help wouldn’t be a bad thing. He also wanted to treat Adrien better than she had in recent months.

“Alright. Teach me.”

“Can you show me the recipe you have been using to cook, sir?” Marinette approached the kitchen waitress.

Gabriel used her cell phone to show her

“Gabriel, sir,” Marinette saw the recipe “The first thing we should do is change the recipe. This recipe is quite dry.”

“So, what should I do to change it?”

“First you must be open to change,” Marinette saved some of the ingredients “For example, we can replace some of these ingredients with new ones.”

Marinette searched through the kitchen drawers. It seemed that in the last few days all the Agreste’s drawers were filled with food. She found a block of butter and baking powder.

“You should add more water and butter. And also, a little baking powder,” Marinette poured a little more water from the jug into the bowl Gabriel was using to cook. “This way, they’ll be fluffy. You have to mix everything very well, until it is creamy.”

Gabriel did as she told him. He proceeded to mix until he achieved the texture that Marinette indicated.

“The fire shouldn’t be too high.” Marinette lowered the flame a little “And then we should wait a few minutes. You shouldn’t leave them too long, because they will get burnt.”

Gabriel listened attentively to Marinette’s instructions. Gabriel had a batch of pancakes ready using the mix Marinette taught him.

Gabriel took a clean fork and tasted one of the pancakes. As soon as the piece he had cut touched his tongue, he could taste the pleasant taste of the pancake. The texture was easy to swallow and was quite smooth.

Those pancakes tasted better than his own.

He felt that his pride had been hurt in those very moments.

But this time he would swallow his pride. Maybe Adrien would like these new pancakes he made.

Marinette listened to her cell phone, she put the stove aside.

“Sorry, Mr. Agreste, it’s my mother, I’ll be right back.”

Marinette left the room to answer the call, leaving her sketchbook behind.

“Yes mom, I’m sorry something came up...”

Gabriel turned down the heat on the stove while he was waiting for Marinette to come back. He saw in the dining room and Marinette had forgotten her sketchbook. The last time Gabriel had it in his hands he didn’t take the time to examine the designs contained within it in detail.

He just focused on trying to destroy Marinette’s dreams.

Just as they did with him when he wanted to start his career.

Curiosity gnawed at him. Maybe Marinette would take longer than she thought. It was her only opportunity to review her designs in detail. After the way he treated her, he didn’t think she would be willing to let him see her sketchbook again.

Looking towards the door she walked to the table and took the sketchbook in his hands. He opened it carefully. Gabriel examined each of the pages carefully, some pieces were more elaborate than others. This one was more complete than the last time. He found some designs that he hadn’t seen before, so he assumed that Marinette drew them recently. But apparently it was not as detailed as the first ones. It was as if she had made them carelessly and hastily.

Marinette’s style was quite similar to his when he was young, but Gabriel noted that she also had her own personal touch when drawing, which set them both apart.

He had always thought that Marinette was a very talented designer.

She reminded him of himself when he was young. Everything Marinette represented reminded him of his past.

When she returned, Marinette found Gabriel reviewing her sketchbook. Gabriel turned the pages scrutinizing each of the designs she had on it.

“Mr. Agreste" Gabriel jumped a little when he heard Marinette’s voice.

“You’re back.” Gabriel closed the sketchbook and put it aside.

She sat next to him a little uncomfortable that Gabriel, her former favorite designer, was reviewing her sketchbook again. Gabriel cleared his throat before saying anything. Marinette had been the person who gave him a second chance even though he was rude to her.

“I… I owe you an apology, Marinette. I shouldn’t have been so harsh and rude to you. Your designs remind me... of the ones I used to make when I was young. The style you see and the one I use now is not the one you know.”

Gabriel then remembered one time when he went to look for something in Nathalie’s desk drawer, he found something very similar to one of the sketchbooks he burned, but he wasn’t 100% sure it was that one because he didn’t look closely.

Gabriel stood up abruptly and quickly left the kitchen. Marinette was very surprised by his behavior. Gabriel headed to the second floor.

“Nathalie,” Gabriel entered Nathalie’s room unexpectedly “Do you still have the sketchbook that you saved when I decided to throw away the others?”

Nathalie didn’t know how he knew that. 

“Yes, it's on my desk.” Nathalie responded monotonously.

“Thank you.” Gabriel was going to leave, but he had a question that he wanted to clarify with her.

“Why did you decide to keep it, Nathalie?”

For Nathalie that was something very personal. But since Gabriel was left waiting for an answer, she had no choice but to tell her the truth.

“It was my favorite,” Nathalie remembered wistfully “I didn’t want that sketchbook to be lost forever.”

“Thank you, Nathalie. Can you tell me where it is?”

“In the bottom drawer, the largest. It’s in the bottom.”

Gabriel went to the atelier and started rummaging through Nathalie’s desk trying to find what he was looking for.

Underneath other notebooks and files he found what he was looking for.

A much older notebook, with pages that were already turning yellow. The cover was very simple, brown. If Nathalie had told him a few years ago that she had kept one of the items he was trying to get rid of forever, he would have been furious with her. But this was the first time he was relieved that Nathalie hadn’t gotten rid of it.

He closed Nathalie’s desk drawer again and returned the way he had come.

Gabriel left the old sketchbook on the dining table in the kitchen in front of where Marinette was.

“What is this?” Marinette was very curious about what Gabriel just put in front of her.

“It’s one of my old notebooks. At least the only one I didn’t throw away, from my old sketches before I became famous.” Gabriel didn’t know that was Nathalie’s favorite.

Marinette took it in her hands and began to look through it. It’s not every day a renowned designer shows you his sketchbook. He saw all kinds of colorful and creative outfits, different from the ones Gabriel used to design for his brand.

“They’re beautiful.” Marinette had always dreamed of seeing Gabriel Agreste’s work up close, but she never imagined that she would see some of his old work.

Marinette turned the page and found a drawing that clashed quite a bit with the others in the sketchbook.

“Adrien did that.” Gabriel looked with nostalgia at that drawing that Adrien made when he was barely 5 years old “He asked me to borrow the sketchbook to see it and when he returned it to me, he showed me his work of art.”

“And you scolded him?” Marinette wondered how Gabriel would have reacted back then knowing of his character.

“No, quite the opposite, I let the drawing stay in the notebook.” Gabriel ran his hand over the drawing that his son had made him a long time ago.

Marinette noticed how much Gabriel’s style had changed over the years. From colorful and vibrant outfits, he had moved on to more opaque and boring ones. Marinette wondered what had happened in Gabriel’s life to make such a radical change in his art.

As if he had read her mind, Gabriel gave her the answer she was looking for.

“When my fame grew, I was forced to change my design style. I was no longer able to make the colorful dresses I used to make. Audrey showed me that by making more boring designs, I could sell more and my status would grow. I thought that if I could get more status, Emilie would love me more and we could have the child we always wanted to have, but we couldn’t.”

Gabriel’s expression turned gray.

“But then I got carried away by the power and I just wanted more and more. Until I no longer felt satisfied. Power became an addiction. What ended up leading me to this situation. And it ended up affecting Nathalie and Adrien.”

Gabriel looked at the drawing Adrien made a long time ago with sadness.

“And now Adrien doesn’t trust me, and he's scared of me talking to him… Just like Nathalie.”

Gabriel realized that he had really screwed up. Through it was his own fault Adrien was now afraid of him.

Gabriel smiled sadly.

“I was like you, Marinette; I came from the lowest and my Emilie came from a different world than mine.” Gabriel remembered his youth with great sadness.” His parents were against our relationship, for that same reason.

“Were you both from different worlds?” Marinette rested her elbows on the table “What do you really mean?”

“Emilie was part of royalty. She was a real princess.” Gabriel smiled as he remembered Emilie when he met her “But she was never comfortable with the life she had. She felt chained.”

“Does Adrien know about this?” Marinette was worried that Gabriel was hiding things from Adrien again.

“Oh, he knows,” Gabriel assured her. “His mother told him the details about how we met. She left out some things of course. She didn’t want him to hear about the horrible life that her parents had prepared for her and about some situations that are not very pleasant to talk about or listen to. I took her out of the life she was in, despite her parent’s refusal, I wanted to make her as happy as I could considering the life she was having.”

“But then, I got carried away by status, and that’s why I ended up like this.” Gabriel remembered everything that led him to be in that situation “And Emilie's death only made things worse. Although she asked me to let her go. I didn’t want to do it.”

Gabriel looked at the photograph of Emilie that was in the kitchen.

“If she saw what I did, she would be very disappointed in me.”

Marinette at that point realized that Gabriel was being honest with her and that there was much more behind him than the little she knew about the family.

"I’m so sorry, Miss Dupain-Cheng...Marinette. I was mean to you without justification. I shouldn’t have separated you from Adrien, especially since you’ve taken good care of him. I understand if you don’t want to accept my apologies, but this time I’m telling the truth.”

Marinette gave him a sympathetic look.

“I think it’s a good start to change, sir. Thanks for being honest with me.

Marinette stood up from the table.

“I’m going to see Nathalie. I need to collect her information for her medicine.”

“She’s in her room, upstairs on the second floor. Please tell him to come down to breakfast.”

Marinette set out to find Nathalie.

“And Marinette, before you leave,” Gabriel looked into her eyes “Thank you for listening to me."

Marinette headed in the direction of Nathalie’s room. Seeing the door open, she stuck her head out the door.

“Good morning, Miss Sancoeur.” Marinette entered through the open door “Can I come in?”

Nathalie nodded.

“How are you?” Marinette stood next to her bed “Did you had any symptoms that we should worry about yet?”

“Not at the moment, apart from the occasional cough,” Nathalie watched as Marinette took out some notes.

“But before we start our investigation, miss, do you have any allergies?

“No, I don’t have allergies, the only one with allergies in this house is…”

“Is Adrien?” Complete Marinette “Gabriel already told me.”

Nathalie had to at least give Gabriel credit this time. He always remembered how allergic Adrien is to feathers.

“Is there anything else you’ve noticed in the last few days? Any other symptoms, or something similar?”

“No, Marinette, so far the symptoms have not advanced any further,” Nathalie denied “If the symptoms appear, I will let you know myself.”

Gabriel told Nathalie about the guardian’s interrogation, so she was being a little tactful with Marinette. He didn't know how things had gone, but he felt some empathy for her.

“How did her meeting with the guardians go, Miss Dupain Cheng?”

Marinette wasn’t expecting that question from Nathalie. Maybe Gabriel told him why Adrien had to leave from one moment to the next.

“I managed to mislead the guardians, they asked about you, about Mayura, but I told them that I didn’t know anything.”

Nathalie appreciated that Marinette lied to save her and Gabriel, even though they didn’t deserve it.

Marinette prepared to leave the room to go to Adrien’s room and organize her notes before going back down.

“Mr. Agreste already made breakfast. He may want you to come down.”

Nathalie prepared to go downstairs so as not to leave Adrien alone at breakfast.

Adrien returned to the kitchen again. He couldn’t stand his hunger anymore, so he would have to swallow his father’s horrible pancakes.

For Gabriel it was the perfect opportunity to try the new pancake recipe.

“Look Adrien, this one is for you.” Gabriel served him the pancake just as Nathalie mentioned that Adrien liked them: Simple.

Adrien rolled his eyes. He couldn’t see how he could make a good food if his father didn’t know how to cook very well.

Adrien took a bite and a very different flavor hit his taste buds; it was much better than what his father usually cooked. He took another bite and noticed how soft the pancakes were and how good they tasted. Adrien proceeded to devour the entire pancake in just a few seconds.

“There’s no more?” Gabriel was surprised. He turned around seeing that Adrien’s plate was almost completely clean. Adrien had never eaten so fast.

“You want to repeat?” Adrien waited expectantly “I’ll make you another one.”

Gabriel repeated the recipe Marinette had given him. He made another pancake and served it on her plate.

“Here Adrien. If you want more just tell me.”

Adrien’s happy face took away Gabriel's sadness for a moment.

“Thank you, father.”

Father and son ate together, Nathalie entered and was surprised by the familiar scene she was witnessing.

“What’s going on here?”

“Oh Nathalie, I’ll serve you your plate.” Gabriel got up and left the plate in the dishwasher.

Nathalie thought it was very suspicious.

What are you trying Gabriel?

“Do you want something specific, Nathalie? I can serve you whatever you want, just ask me.

“No thanks,” Nathalie sat at the table “I’m not in the mood for your horrible food.”

Gabriel thought about answering her back, but he stopped himself knowing that this would not improve things between them. He took a deep breath.

Don’t worry, Gabriel, you’re doing it for her and Adrien.

Even in the face of Nathalie’s refusal, Gabriel proceeded to make a batch of pancakes for her and put some blueberries next to it. He set the plate in front of her, hoping Nathalie would at least try them.

Gabriel just set out to clean up the mess in the kitchen.

Marinette came back down to the kitchen having fixed her notes.

“Next time I come back, I’ll bring medicine. We're going to do everything we can to give them something to give them some relief.”

“Please let me know when you have it, Marinette.” Gabriel said, finished cleaning.

Nathalie meanwhile looked at Adrien. His plate was empty and only crumbs of pancakes remained.

That was very strange.

She reluctantly took the fork and tasted his plate, immediately noticing how different it tasted from Gabriel’s usual pancakes.

These tastes good.

“Thank you, Gabriel.”

That thank you alone was enough for Gabriel.

Before Marinette left, there was something very important that she had to talk to them about.

It was time to make a difficult decision.

Decide Adrien’s future.

“Nathalie, Adrien, I reflected on what you Nathalie told me the other day. We need a plan B for Adrien in case things don’t turn out the way we want.”

“You mean...” Nathalie knew what she was referring to, but she didn’t believe he would go back to what she had explicitly asked him to do before he went completely mad.

“We have to find someone to take care of Adrien. We still don’t know what will happen to us and if Marinette here present, will be able to find a solution to our problem. I want to make sure Adrien is well taken care of.”

Adrien seemed visibly uncomfortable that this topic was brought up.

Gabriel sat next to the two in the dining room.

“I need to talk to you Marinette, this is a serious issue and I need your support. Please. Adrien you too, this especially concerns you.”

Marinette took a seat in the dining room. Adrien didn’t want to talk about that.

“Adrien, we need to do this.” Nathalie took his hand. When everyone was seated, Gabriel was the last to sit down. He wasn’t very comfortable playing this topic either, but it was something completely necessary.

“Well, Adrien. There is something very important that we must do. Is there anyone you like to be with besides Nathalie and me?

“Marinette.” Adrien looked at her and she took his hand under the table.

It was the same answer Adrien had given him the first time he asked the same question.

“Miss, if Adrien becomes homeless, and we are no longer here to take care of him, would his parents be willing to take care of him for us until he comes of age?”

"Oh, I don’t know," Marinette said nervously. "I know we have an extra room for guests, but I don’t know what my parents are going to say about that."

“When will your parents be available?” Nathalie asked, preparing her tablet to leave a reminder.

“At night is when they have less work. But I have to ask first, that decision is somewhat… difficult.”

Marinette was sure her parents would start asking questions.

“We need to choose a second person to take care of Adrien, Gabriel,” Nathalie was thinking about all the possible solutions “If Marinette’s parents are not willing to house Adrien, we have to make sure that there is someone who is there for him…”

All of this was too overwhelming for Adrien. The idea that Nathalie and her father were going to die and he was going to be left alone made his sadness increase. He shed the tears that had accumulated in his eyes.

Adrien hid his face in his arms, and felt Nathalie’s hand on his back.

“Adrien, calm down.”

“I don’t want to leave,” Adrien said, “I don’t want to leave Nathalie. I don’t want to leave my life here.”

Gabriel felt guilty. It was time to try to give Adrien comfort.

“Adrien listen...” Gabriel stroked his head.

Adrien raised his head to pay attention to what they were going to tell him.

“We’re doing this Adrien because we want you to choose the place you want to stay in case we’re no longer here.” Nathalie told him gently.

“Your Aunt Amelie will possibly take you with her if you haven’t made a decision,” Gabriel said “It‘s not what you want, isn’t it?”

Adrien shook his head.

“We want to prevent someone else from making the decision for you, Adrien. We’re not sure if Marinette can find a definitive solution.”

Marinette saw Adrien’s sad face and squeezed his hand to calm him down.

“I’m not going to allow it, Adrien. I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it doesn’t happen.”

Chapter Text

Luka was with the guardians doing his daily exercises. Jagged and Penny had returned to the temple after taking a little vacation and the other guardians were talking to them.

Su Han called Luka to proceed with the next part of his training.

“Good Luka. I have thought about it and; Just as you asked me, the guardians and I talked and we are going to allow you and only you the access to the guardians' archive room. But first, I need to give something to you.”

Suhan presented him with a fairly old book.

“This is a guide to learning the Guardians coding language. We use it to keep the secrets of the Miraculous and the temple. In addition, it is a way for all members of the guardians to be able to read all the material we have stored. Now, I’ll show you the place.”

Luka followed Su Han to the place where the guardians' files are stored. Everything had returned to its place once the Miraculous including all the files contained in the temple.

Su Han opened the doors.

Upon entering, Luka saw a pile of scrolls stored on various shelves. They were quite old shelves and some rolls were more yellowed than others. A light shined in the center, illuminating the entrance in conjunction with the candles that were on the wall.

He admired the entire room, seeing the large amount of material that was there. Luka took a few steps forward of the large room. He spotted a door in the background, somewhat worn by time and closed by a very large padlock.

“And what is that room here?” Luka said, noticing the padlock that guarded the place at the back of the room.

“That’s the section of banned books Luka. No one has access to that room but me.” Su Han explained.

Luka thought that maybe he could find something useful in the forbidden zone. But it would be somewhat complicated to get in. For now, they would have to settle for what he could get.

“Can I check what is stored here, master?”

“Yes, Luka. But at noon we will start training again. Don’t be late.”

Su Han retreated, leaving Luka alone. He checked the names on the shelves inside the temple. All the scrolls were kept in his own section.

With the help of the book, he found a section that was simply called Medicine.

Luka then prepared to take the book that contained the codified language used to read some of the scrolls in the medicine section. With what he found in the decoding book he managed to discern some of the titles of the guardians.

He found a couple of scrolls with some titles that caught his attention.

Medicine for training

Using ingredients to heal Miraculous wounds.

Pain medication.

He took the three rolls and carefully hid them in his suit. That material could be useful to you. He hoped that at least the guardians wouldn’t miss them until he could return them to their place.

He could work with that.

The light in Marinette’s room was still on. Two people were there working.

Luka took a tree leaf from a bag and threw it into the cauldron, causing it to smoke a little. Both teenagers coughed at the strong smell of the potion. Marinette ran to open her bedroom window, feeling suffocated.

Luka and Marinette reviewed their notes on the mix they were working on. The next ingredient they had to add to the potion was Sulfur.

“Is it necessary to use sulfur? Its’s too strong. Are you sure it won’t hurt Mr. Agreste?”

“That’s what the scroll says.” Luka was part of the scroll he was consulting “It’s a very strong cure, but there is also no way to reduce the burning effects on the skin. It’s definitely going to be very painful.”

Marinette thought.

“Isn’t there some way to reduce those effects?” Marinette took some of the notes that Luka had made previously in her hands and began to review them along with her own notes.

“I’ve been researching as much as I can Marinette, but I can’t find a concrete answer for that. I’m still learning how to decipher the Guardian code language, especially for the more advanced scrolls I’ve seen in the Guardian archive.”

“Have you found out anything that could be useful for Nathalie?” Marinette asked “Remember that she is our number 1 priority.”

“There are some things we could try, but they require materials that I’m still trying to decipher and search for.” Luka said seriously and his tone had a bit of seriousness.

“I know Luka, I’m sorry. The thing is that time is against us and we cannot lose more time than we have already lost.”

“I understand you Marinette. I’m sorry to sound like that. Things are not being easy. The guardians denied me access to the forbidden area, and I had to bring the rest without them knowing.”

Luka and Marinette had stayed up very late working on the potion that would help Gabriel make the cataclysm recede and they could see if it would cure him completely. In the meantime, they put Nathalie’s medicine vial aside.

“Do you think we can use the same formula we used for Nathalie’s medicine?”

“Possibly,” Luka reviewed the formula he obtained from one of the grimoires in the east wing of the temple “I’m still trying to find out how viable it may be. With a few modifications it would be possible.”

“Could we use this Luka?” Marinette handed him a sheet with some of the notes of things that she had thought about using in a potion that could lessen the effects of the peacock on Nathalie.

Luka carefully read the ingredients.

“It could be useful. But I’ll check it myself and I’ll tell you my results when I have them.”

Marinette yawned looking at the time on the clock. It was already three in the morning.

“I think we should go rest.” Marinette rubbed her eyes “In the morning, we will finish what we were doing.”

“It’s okay Marinette.” Luka got up from his seat and stretched, feeling tired.

Luka took his sleeping bag out of his bag.

“You are ok like that? You can sleep on the Chaise Longue if you want, Luka.” Marinette pointed out where she had the object located.

“It’s okay, I brought the sleeping bag for a reason.”

Marinette turned off the light on her desk and headed to her bed so she could rest.

“Good night, Luka.”

“Good night, Marinette.”

Gabriel was sitting on his bed trying to design something to take his mind off things. But he really couldn’t think of anything to draw at all. He once again started a new blank document without being able to get out of his mind that Marinette had promised him that they would bring him something that day to relieve him a little.

Gabriel checked the time on the clock he had on his nightstand.

She was late.

Gabriel put the tablet aside and began to walk around the room. He walked around not knowing what to do to distract himself.

Will she come? Will she keep her word?”

Gabriel was very worried, the last time Marinette came back, but he was afraid that this time the opposite would happen and she would not return with the medicine as she had promised.

Gabriel, lost in his thoughts, tripped over the large vase that was at one end of the room, causing it to wobble. He quickly crouched down to cushion the fall of the object. He grabbed it tightly before the vase hit the ground, and with effort put it in its place. He put his hand on his cataclysmic arm, feeling pain from the effort he had to make.

Adrien, who was heading back to the second floor, heard a noise coming from the father’s room, as if something was falling. Similar to how the other day while he was cooking that he lost his balance due to the pain caused by the cataclysm. He ran to where his father was, finding the door open.

“Father, is something wrong?” Adrien timidly approached the entrance of the room “I heard your footsteps.”

“No,” Gabriel answered automatically, but as he saw that Adrien was going to leave, “Actually, Adrien. Do you know if Marinette is on her way?”

Adrien checked his phone for a moment.

“No, she hasn't responded to my messages yet.” Adrien went through his contacts, but at the moment he had no new messages.

Gabriel was a little worried about that.

Adrien could see his father’s concern.

“Father, Marinette is always late for all of her compromises. She may have something coming up, like Ladybug, it could be why she hasn’t arrived yet.” Adrien said to try to reassure him.

Gabriel thought maybe it was his paranoia speaking again.

“Oh, thank you son. I don’t know her very well yet, I thought she maybe...”

“You thought Marinette would break her word. Father, I’ve known her for a long time and I know firsthand that Marinette isn’t like that. She will not fail her promise.”

Adrien left the room to return to what he was doing. Gabriel went to look out the window when Marinette would arrive.

Nathalie entered as soon as Adrien left the place. She stood next to Gabriel at the bedroom window.

“She still hasn’t arrived yet?” Gabriel hoped that at least Marinette had left some message about her delay to Nathalie.

“No.” Nathalie saw the sun setting through the window. “And it’s already getting late.”

Gabriel stared at the entrance door hoping to see Marinette arriving at the place.

“I need someone to guard the door, Nathalie.” Gabriel mentioned with concern.

“I’ll go wait for her then.”

Nathalie left to go wait for Marinette to arrive as she had promised a few days ago.

Marinette opened her eyes tiredly. Getting up she looked around her.

“Luka?”

But he didn’t respond. It seemed to her that Luka was no longer there.

Marinette was surprised, until she saw that the sun was lower than usual.

Marinette quickly looked at the time on her phone.

3:30 pm

It was late. It was already getting late. She was supposed to be on her way to the Agreste mansion by now.

She forgot to set the alarm.

Marinette immediately stood up stumbling and falling on the floor next to her bed.

“Tikki, why didn’t you wake me up?” Marinette grabbed her head.

“I’m sorry, Marinette” Tikki put her paws together “I just saw that you were very tired and I wanted to let you rest.”

Marinette took a quick bath and dressed like lightning.

She went to her table and found a post-it note with Luka’s handwriting.

I left because I have training today. I didn’t want to wake you up because you were very tired. I finished both potions. They are now ready to use. I labeled each one so you don’t confuse them.

Marinette smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

She took the medicine from the table and carefully packed it into his school bag. She checked that she carried Luka's instructions in the front pocket of her backpack to give them to Nathalie. Marinette grabbed all the utensils she would probably need for the occasion alongside a vial that was part of the medicine she prepared for Nathalie the day before and packed it in the front pocket of her backpack.

Marinette checked the contents one more time to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.

Marinette ran out to the bakery exit. Before Sabine, who was at the cashier, came out, she stopped her.

“Are you leaving now, Marinette?”

“Yes, I’m going to go see Adrien. I promised him that today I would go to the mansion and well I should already be there.”

Sabine smiled and took a bag with some of the Bakery products.

“Okay Marinette, you can take this from us to the family.”

“Thank you, mom.” Marinette kissed him on the cheek and took the bag from her mother before leaving.

Marinette was running in the direction of the Agreste mansion. She turned the corner to get to the door. Marinette rang the doorbell and waited for the door to be opened.

The mansion camera came out to see who it was.

“Miss Dupain Cheng,” Marinette heard on the answering machine “Get in.”

Nathalie pressed the button for the doors to open and Marinette could enter.

Marinette ran through the patio until she reached the front door.

Adrien opened the door for her to enter.

“I brought the medicine, I hope I’m not late.” Marinette was trying to catch her breath.

“You’re on time Marinette. Come on.”

Adrien took her hand and led her to her father’s room. Adrien knocked on the door to get the attention of his father who was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“Father, Marinette is here.” Marinette went ahead to enter the room.

Nathalie arrived behind both of them.

“Mr. Agreste.”

Gabriel got up from his bed.

“Welcome back, Marinette.”

Marinette showed him the bottle of medicine.

“I brought you your medicine just as I told you. But first I need to explain how it works.”

Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed. Nathalie stood at the door and Adrien stood next to her to listen to Marinette’s explanation.

“Me and Luka already have a medicine that can relieve your symptoms, but not cure them. We’re still working on that. But I have something for you that could help the cataclysm not spread so quickly.”

“And how do I take this medication?” Gabriel asked, seeing the shape of the bottle.

“That’s the hard part... It has to be applied directly to the skin. We use this bottle with a dropper so we can administer the correct doses.”

“What about Nathalie?” Gabriel looked at her out of the corner of his eye for a moment before returning his gaze to Marinette.

“I brought something for Nathalie too, but I’ll show it to her later, that one is easier to supply. I will show you myself how both are supplied.”

“Then I think I would prefer it if you started with me.”

Gabriel took off his jacket, along with his vest and dress shirt, tossing them to the floor and lay back on the bed staring at the ceiling.

“Someone will have to do it. Who will do it?” Marinette asked into the air.

Nathalie and Adrien stood still, not knowing what decision to make. Seeing their indecision, Marinette decided to take the initiative.

“I will do it. I guess.”

Marinette took a step forward.

“We have to apply everything where the cataclysm was before. This has to be once a week. But I need nothing to interfere with this, and I mean don’t let Mr. Agreste move.”

Nathalie approached the bed and took his hand. Adrien took the other one from the other end of the bed.

“I warn you, Mr. Agreste, that this... It will hurt a lot.”

It was time to get your hands dirty.

“I’ll do it as quickly as possible.”

Marinette opened the bottle, detecting a slight smell of ammonia, sulfur, and some alcohol. Marinette shook her head as she got a little dizzy from the smell.

Taking some as she planned with Luka, she spread it across Gabriel’s upper back.

As soon as a couple of drops touched her skin, Gabriel let out a cry of pain that shook everyone in the room. Even the kwamis were scared when they saw Gabriel’s reaction.

Adrien closed his eyes and looked away. Nathalie watched in horror as the medicine burned Gabriel’s skin.

Marinette’s hands were shaking.

“I’m Sorry, I’m Sorry...”

He took a few drops again and spread them over the next area. Gabriel bit the pillow to avoid attracting the attention of the Parisians. His back was aflame with flames that he definitely couldn’t extinguish.

But the worst pain of his life was felt as soon as one of the drops of liquid touched the point where the black stain produced by the cataclysm was.

It was such an unbearable pain. Everything turned black. Gabriel rolled his eyes and lay still on the bed.

Everyone gave a surprised sigh. Marinette put her hand over her mouth.

“Did I kill him?”

This time it was Nathalie who approached. She left Gabriel’s hand on the bed. She checked Gabriel’s neck finding his pulse.

“No, he’s alive. It seems that he fainted from the pain.”

Marinette took the lid of the bottle again which she threw to the ground.

“Come, I’ll show you how to perform the healing.” Marinette pointed to Gabriel again.

She would take advantage of the fact that Gabriel was not conscious so she could teach Adrien and Nathalie the procedure.

When it was Adrien’s turn, he couldn’t stop shaking.

“Adrien, are you sure you want to do it?” Nathalie asked “You’re not obligated to...”

“I want to do it; I am partly the cause of this.”

Marinette took Adrien’s hand and showed him how to open and close the bottle.

“Adrien, you have to do it like this.”

Then Adrien extended his hand to put a few drops of the medicine on the areas where the medicine had not been applied.

“I… I’m sorry, sorry.”

Marinette stopped when she saw that Adrien didn’t seem very comfortable with what he was doing. She saw him a little stiff when he had to apply the drops himself.

“This is all my fault...”

“Adrien.” Nathalie was going to console him.

“I know my father was Hawkmoth, but I would never wish that on him, especially on my own father.”

Marinette set the bottle aside on Gabriel’s nightstand.

“Adrien. I know this must be very difficult for you, but I think it would be important if you could help him too, Adrien. I think he would appreciate it, don’t you?

Adrien nodded sheepishly.

“I guess you’re right. But, what if I hurt him again?”

“You’re not going to do it, Adrien.” Marinette assured him.

Nathalie watched as Marinette comforted Adrien. Marinette then remembered the other bottle she brought with her.

“I brought something to relieve the peacock’s symptoms a little.”

“It will work?” Nathalie had her doubts about whether what Ladybug tried would be useful.

“We’re not sure yet,” Marinette said, "But we can’t lose anything by trying.”

Marinette looked in her small bag and from there she took out a small glass vial filled with a liquid of a rather striking color. The girl offered it to Nathalie.

“Drink this.”

Nathalie took the small bottle in her hands. The violet color of her position shined a little between her hands. She wasn’t sure if it was safe.

It was worth trying. She had nothing to lose.

Nathalie opened the bottle to drink the contents

She felt a taste similar to ginger, quite mild.

She felt some relief in her throat with what she had just drank. Nathalie handed the bottle back to Marinette.

“I’ll stay a little to verify that there are no side effects.”

Nathalie could already tell that Marinette was someone she could trust.

“I understand now why Adrien chose you, Marinette. Despite everything, you are gentle, you have a good heart and you helped us.”

Nathalie hugged her.

“Thank you, Marinette.”

Marinette smiled and accepted the hug. She knew that gesture meant a lot coming from Nathalie because Adrien had told her that she wasn’t very expressive with people.

Marinette would stay there that night. Nathalie helped her create a alibi with her parents. Although they weren’t very happy about it, they gave Marinette permission to spend the night there, for now.

It was relatively simple.

Adrien offered her to stay with him in the same room.

But Nathalie quickly intervened.

“Marinette is going to sleep in the guest room.”

“But Nathalie.” Adrien protested.

“Can I stay here tonight please.” Marinette pleaded.

Nathalie looked at Adrien, Adrien gave her that puppy eyes when he wanted something.

Nathalie sighed defeated.

“Alright. But please, next time Marinette will go to the guest room.”

Nathalie would stay lying on the armchair in the room while they would sit on the couch. Marinette sat next to Adrien to watch over Gabriel.

It was already dawn. It was 5 in the morning. Gabriel opened his eyes, a little dizzy. He smelled burning sulfur. He rose slightly from the position he was in to examine his arm. He seemed a little better than last time. That medicine was effective.

I saw that Nathalie was fast asleep on the couch. His son and Marinette were on the couch. They had both fallen asleep next to each other.

They stayed there all night, watching him.

Nathalie opened her eyes noticing that Gabriel’s silhouette was moving. She took her glasses that were hanging on her clothes and put them on. Leaning on the couch, she got up and went to check on Gabriel.

“How do you feel?”

“I must look pathetic.” Gabriel lifted his head a little from the pillow and rearranged it to see Nathalie.

Nathalie sat next to her, in the empty space of her bed.

“I know I don’t deserve all this you’re are doing for me. I misbehaved with you.”

“I would never wish for this to happen to you. No matter how angry I am with you.” Nathalie stretched, nodding as her muscles protested the position in which she had been asleep all night.

Gabriel placed his hand on top of Nathalie’s.

“Forgive me Nathalie. I treated you badly; I had the chance to correct everything. But I didn’t. And only made things worse.”

Gabriel watched as Nathalie winced in pain as she coughed. He wished he could run his hand down her back, but he knew Nathalie wouldn’t be comfortable with that.

“I deserve this, I caused all this, I left you in that state.”

Gabriel saw that Marinette and Adrien had already opened their eyes.

“If only I could go back in time...” Gabriel looked at Marinette, as if trying to make her understand if she could lend her the rabbit Miraculous.

Marinette denied and stood up, stretching on the spot.

“We can’t do that, altering time is dangerous. We don’t know what could cause that. I already learned my lesson.”

Nathalie shook her head at the idea that Gabriel had proposed a few moments ago.

Marinette checked the time.

“I think I should go now.” Marinette received messages from her parents on her phone “Mom must be worried about me.”

“I’ll take you outside Marinette.”

“I’m going with you Nathalie." Adrien got up from his seat to go with them.

Marinette said goodbye to Gabriel.

Adrien and Nathalie went to the first floor with Marinette. She gave them the instructions for each of the medicines as a reminder of how and how many quantities to use.

“Thank you very much Marinette. We are sorry to cause you inconvenience.”

“You were the ones who came to look for help. That is the most important thing. I will be alert of what happens. If there are any side effects do not hesitate to contact me or Luka directly.”

“We will do, Ladybug.”

Marinette transformed right there to return to her house.

“Bug out.” Ladybug jumped.

They both went back inside.

“Adrien, your father must be hungry. Do you want to help me prepare breakfast?”

Nathalie knew that Gabriel would be hungry when he woke up again, so she decided that she would at least prepare something for him so that he wouldn’t have to wake up to an empty stomach.

Nathalie came in with the tray of food for Gabriel. He was trying to draw on his drawing tablet, but his strokes were very unstable. He threw his stylus next to his bed in frustration.

He heard the door open and Nathalie entered through it. She carried a tray in her hands,

Nathalie put the tray on the nightstand and picked up the small bowl of rice.

“I brought you something to eat. And some pain pills.”

“Have you already taken your medicine?” Gabriel needed to know if Marinette gave the medicine to Nathalie.

“Marinette gave it to me last night.” Nathalie took the bowl of rice and offered it to Gabriel along with her spoon.

Gabriel tried to grab the spoon, but his hand was so numb that it was not possible for him to grab the spoon. Nathalie saw the problem Gabriel was having and she took the spoon from his hand in a somewhat abrupt manner.

“Let me help you Gabriel or are you going to die of hunger after everything we went through?”

Gabriel lay back on the bed a little intimidated by the way Nathalie spoke to him.

“Please, let me help you.” Nathalie softened her voice more, making Gabriel relax a little with her. Nathalie took some rice with her spoon, offering it to him.

She reluctantly received the spoon that Nathalie was offering him with food.

She ate slowly and watched as Nathalie stirred the rice and then offered it to her.

Gabriel couldn’t stop thinking about Nathalie’s selfless gesture.

There he realized something. Something Adrien had asked him a long time ago and he completely denied it.

That maybe he was falling in love with her.

Chapter Text

The sessions with Gerald were helping Adrien a lot. Talking to the therapist was a relief for him. Gerald had not judged him for any of the things he had mentioned nor had he mentioned anything to Nathalie about some of the things he had done, like leaving the mansion or school without her or his father’s permission. He was beginning to open up more to Gerald as he progressed through the sessions.

In one of the sessions with Adrien, Gerald had discovered something important.

Adrien felt that he didn’t have a vocation when he was an adult. So, he would have to guide him so that he himself could find one.

At first, he asked him to explain what was happening. Although it wasn’t necessarily his job, Gerald could guide Adrien towards the right path. And the right way was for Adrien and his father to talk about the matter.

“Speak with your dad Adrien,” Gerald told Adrien “Just let him know what you want.”

“I’ve tried, but my father refuses to listen to me," Adrien said from his seat.

“I see. Adrien, I recommend you try again, young man. But tell the truth to your father directly. Don’t beat around the bush,” Gerald heard the warning sound from his cell phone “That would be all for today, Adrien. In the next session you will tell me how it went, okay? For the moment I want you to fill out this form and bring it to me when you have it. Take your time, no rushes.”

Gerald gave a vocational format to Adrien, similar to the one they used at school. Adrien got up from his seat, taking the paper and folding it and then putting it in his pocket. Gerald accompanied him to the exit where Nathalie was waiting.

Gerald approached Nathalie to ask her about Gabriel.

“Have you already mentioned Mr. Agreste about my offer for therapy?”

“I haven’t spoken with him yet.” Nathalie had not yet had the opportunity to talk to Gabriel about that topic “Our communication is a little… complicated.”

Gerald leaned close to her ear to whisper.

“Why do you and Mr. Agreste have a complicated communication?”

“I just haven’t had the time to talk to him personally. A few things came up and it kept us busy” Nathalie didn’t want to go into the details of that.

“Please, Nathalie, don’t forget to talk to Gabriel. It is extremely important that you talk to him.” Gerald insisted.

“I will do. I’ll insist until he comes.”

Nathalie and Adrien went back to the mansion to have lunch. Gabriel must have been waiting for them now.

Adrien returned to his room and took one of the books that Nathalie had gave him to read in his free time under his arm. He would go to the garden to read as Gerald recommended him after lunch. He put Gerald’s sheet into the book to read it later and fill it when he had an idea.

Adrien left the book next to his plate, without realizing that the sheet he kept in the book flew out of it until it landed on the floor.

Gabriel turned to serve the meat he was preparing and saw the paper that had fallen to the floor. He picked it up and examined the contents quickly, realizing the contents of it. It was a vocational format.

It was completely empty. The only information filled out was Adrien’s name.

“Why haven’t you shown me this Adrien?” He asked gently, showing him the sheet of paper.

“Because I thought you had already chosen something for me” Adrien played a little with the food "on his plate...

“And do you know what you want to do?” Gabriel asked as he read the test questions.

“No. I have no idea. I don’t even know where to start.”

“Adrien, why didn’t you tell me?” Nathalie remembered the list of careers that she had once prepared in case Adrien began to be interested in choosing his own future “I could have helped you.”

“I didn’t know what to do. When the school asked us to fill out the form, I had no idea what to choose. The only thing I did was write a letter saying that it didn’t matter if I still didn't know what I wanted to do in my life, but the only thing I knew was that I love Marinette.”

Nathalie was moved. Memories came to Gabriel of when he met Emilie and all he wanted was to spend the rest of his days with her. As a family

“Do you have at least a small idea of what you would like?” Gabriel asked him.

“Don’t know. I feel like I’m completely blank.”

“Adrien, you don’t need to decide now, it’s okay if you take your time. Just because you haven’t defined it now doesn’t mean you don't have enough time to do it, you’re still very young.” Nathalie put her hand on top of Adrien’s to reassure him.

Gabriel began to play with the ring, thinking very carefully on what he was going to say.

“I already canceled all my plans with you, Adrien. I no longer want you to obey everything I ask of you to do. Now you are free to choose what you want to do with your life.”

Nathalie saw what he was doing.

“Adrien, could you bring me my jacket? I left it on my bed.” Nathalie wanted to get Adrien out of there before reproaching Gabriel for what she had just done.

“Sure, Nathalie, I’ll be right back.” Adrien left his seat towards the kitchen door.

Nathalie and Gabriel waited until Adrien had left the room.

“Gabriel, I thought you would stop doing that.” Nathalie said angrily.

“I know, but if I don’t, he will continue to follow my orders indirectly.”

“Then maybe you should give him the rings.” Nathalie motioned to him with the ring she was wearing.

“What? Now?” Gabriel grabbed the hand that was wearing the ring.

“It doesn’t necessarily have to be right now.” Nathalie said annoyed “But the sooner you release him, the better it will be for him.”

Gabriel made coffee, contemplating how he should give the rings to Adrien without causing him more suffering than necessary. It was obvious that at some point he had to tell him about his origins, but… not yet.

He sat in front of the cup of coffee he had just poured and kept turning the spoon inside his coffee until it gradually cooled down.

Adrien returned with the jacket in his hands, only to find a very strange atmosphere between both adults.

Marinette went to see them as she had become accustomed to. She was going to wait for Luka to bring the new doses of medicine with him to give them to Gabriel and Nathalie.

Adrien met her at the entrance.

“Marinette, you’ve come.” Adrien let her pass “Nathalie and my father will be available in a few moments, let’s go to my room to wait in the meantime.”

Adrien and Marinette went to Adrien’s room. Adrien invited Marinette to take a place on the couch with him.

“How did your appointment with the therapist go, Adrien?” Marinette sat next to him on the couch.

“Today I mentioned to Gerald that I didn’t know what to do with my life and he asked me to fill this out.” Adrien handed her the paper he had in his hand. Marinette recognized the sheet. It was quite similar to the ones they had been given at school some time ago.

“Are you still having trouble choosing a career, Adrien?” Marinette sat next to him.

“I would like to be like you Marinette. You already have an idea of what you're going to do, but I... I still don’t have the slightest idea of what I want to do with my life.”

“Don’t feel bad, Adrien,” Marinette gave him a reassuring smile “It’s normal. I’m not sure what I’m going to choose either. There are so many things I like about the design that I'm having trouble choosing just one branch.”

Marinette started to think. There had to be some way she could help Adrien this time. Suddenly an idea crossed her mind.

“What if you experienced someone else’s careers to find out what you like?”

“But how can I do that, Marinette?” Adrien didn’t have the slightest idea where to start.

Marinette thought about the private classes she used to take.

“Adrien, do you want to go to particular classes with me?” Marinette asked.

“Do you take particular classes on holidays, Marinette?”

“Sometimes, especially when I have time.” Marinette forgot that she no longer had time to do those things “When I had time, I usually did it. There are many classes you could sign up for, the classes are free and you can choose the project you want. You could try if you like something. My mom also teaches classes as a volunteer, she could help you too. You should speak with your father to get permission.”

“I don’t know if he is going to give me permission for that, Marinette.” Adrien rubbed his arm nervously.

“Then I’ll with you to speak with them, Adrien.”

Marinette took Adrien by the hand. Adrien took them both to where Nathalie and Gabriel were waiting for them.

Nathalie was sitting on the bed, while Gabriel helped her clean the mess she had on it. It seemed like they were still looking for how to solve Nathalie’s problem.

Both adults were in Nathalie’s room. She was checking some things on her tablet while Gabriel went around the room with a brush, cleaning off the dust that had accumulated over the past few days and rearranging things out of place.

“Before we start, Adrien wants to ask you something.” Marinette motioned for Adrien to ask.

Adrien played with his ring, nervous.

“I am thinking about going to particular classes.”

“These are the particular classes I go to on holidays.” Marinette intervened “I always choose the art related one, but there are many other options that Adrien can choose from, it could help him find something he likes for his future.”

“Is this something you want? Tell me the truth, Adrien.” Nathalie wanted to make sure Adrien really wanted it and wasn’t influenced by anyone else.

“Yes, Nathalie. I would be very happy if with that I could find my purpose in life.”

Both adults remained silent at Adrien’s request.

“Then I agree.” Nathalie said from her seat.

“Nathalie?” Gabriel didn’t expect Nathalie to say yes to Adrien before asking him.

“It’s for Adrien to distract himself for a while. Don’t you agree?”

Gabriel also believed that it was time to give Adrien a little more freedom.

“You have my permission,” Gabriel sighed “But when you leave, I want you to let me know, do you understand Adrien?”

"It’s okay, father, thank you." Adrien bowed his head a little in gratitude.

“Then I’ll show you what options there are, Adrien,” Marinette looked for the school’s website where all the activities were listed “I have the complete list for you to review.”

For the moment Marinette would touch on a topic that was of vital importance

“Now I have to tell you about what Luka and I have been doing. We were thinking of a theory, something that perhaps could help buy you more time while we look for a cure for you. But we won't know until we try.”

“What are you referring to?” Gabriel asked without understanding anything of what she was saying.

“We were thinking that maybe if you distract yourselves from your negative thoughts, both the cataclysm and Nathalie’s illness would progress more slowly. That would give us time.”

To Gabriel that seemed silly.

“Look, Marinette, I’m grateful for what you're doing for us, but you can’t ask us to do something so absurd.”

Nathalie, on the other hand, thought they could try.

“And what did you have in mind to achieve it?”

“Well, we were thinking about them doing things on the side, like… hobbies.” Marinette said, nervous about the reaction they would have to her idea.

Hobbies. That idea seemed a bit ridiculous to Gabriel.

“Doesn’t Nathalie have any hobbies?” Marinette asked curiously.

“Sometimes I read. I also used to play chess, but,” Nathalie looked at Gabriel with a sullen expression “My chess partner decided… to dedicate himself to other, more productive things.”

“Nathalie…” Gabriel knew what he was referring to.

“And you couldn’t retake it?” Marinette asked. “That could help to control the pain.”

“I could play with you Nathalie.” Adrien wanted to spend more time with Nathalie since he had free time now.

“But Adrien, you don’t know how to play chess...” Nathalie smiled at him.

“I don’t know, you could teach me how to play Chess. I wouldn’t mind.” Adrien looked expectant at Nathalie’s response.

She could try.

“I’ll do it for you Adrien.” Nathalie gave Adrien a loving look.

Marinette received the message she was waiting for at that moment. Luka had arrived.

“Sir, Luka has arrived with this week’s medicine. He’s waiting at the door right now.”

“Then I’m going to let him in.” Gabriel headed downstairs to let Luka enter. He prepared to open the gate and then went to open the main door of the mansion.

Only to find a crocodile behind the door.

Gabriel jumped back and closed the door quickly.

Adrien went down to guide Luka to the second floor, only to find his father with an expression of… Fear?

“What’s wrong Father?”

“There…there is an animal behind the door.” Gabriel walked away from the door scared.

An animal? Adrien was very surprised. What does he mean?

When Adrien opened the door, he found Luka giving him a wave and Fang behind him wagging his tail.

“Hello Luka, come in.”

Luka walked in with Fang following behind him.

“I’m sorry for bringing Fang here, but I couldn’t escape from my dad because he kept insisting that I take care of him. So, I had no choice but to bring him with me.”

Fang wagged his tail excitedly, as if he were a dog.

Gabriel walked away a little watching Fang approach him. He grimaced and took a step back when the crocodile came up to greet him and hit him on the feet with his tail, playfully.

“Don’t worry, Fang is well behaved. As long as you don’t provoke him, everything will be fine.”

Luka went to the second floor accompanied by Fang and Adrien. Gabriel followed behind, keeping his distance. Before entering Luka stopped Adrien in his tracks.

“Adrien, could you do me a favor and watch Fang for me this time? I just wouldn’t want to infortune Miss Sancoeur and Mr. Agreste while we talk.” Luka saw Adrien’s expression and Gabriel behind him frowning at the idea of his son being alone with the crocodile. “Don’t worry, he’s very friendly.”

“It’s not that, I would like to listen and see what you are going to do.” Adrien received Fang’s leash from Luka.

“I can leave the door open so you can listen to us.”

Adrien thought about it for a moment.

“Okay, Luka.” Adrien pulled Fang over and he went to a corner near the door to listen to what Luka was going to say to Nathalie and his father.

Luka came in to deliver the new dose of medicine he had created for that week.

“Good morning, Miss Sancoeur. Since the medicine we gave you had a good effect on you, we brought you more.” Luka showed her the new vial with the liquid “You have to drink a little every day.”

“Haven’t you figured out a way to cure Nathalie yet?” Gabriel felt a little anxious about that topic.

“We’re still working on it. This is a second version of the medicine we have been giving you the last few weeks. It’s to give Nathalie more time while we find a solution. We also brought something for you Mr. Agreste.”

Luka took out a completely different vial than Nathalie. The liquid that was in it was completely black.

“What’s that?”

“It is for pain and to reduce the effects of the cataclysm. It’s the only thing we can do at the moment.”

The liquid was strange. It didn’t look good.

“We know that… it doesn’t look very good. But it might be useful to you.” Luka offered the bottle to Gabriel.

“Are you sure this will work?” Gabriel pointed to the bottle.

“Yes. It’s a very old medicine.” Luka shook the bottle a little “I found it in a guardians’ guide, perfect for the pain. It’s the strongest they have. It is the only one that does not have any side effects, but at the same time that causes it to lose properties. This was what guardians used in the toughest training in ancient times. Like the other medicine we gave you, you will have to take it once a week.”

Gabriel took the medicine and put it in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Adrien was listening to everything next to the entrance. He didn’t feel useful in the situation. With everything Luka and Marinette had done these last few weeks he felt like he didn't really do anything to help Nathalie and his father.

After finishing delivering everything that Luka had brought with him, he left the room, closing his backpack.

Adrien was sitting alone outside the room leaning against the wall. Fang was next to him and Adrien was caressing his scales. The crocodile grunted contently, resting its snout on Adrien’s leg.

Luka noticed Adrien, Fang wagging his tail at him. Luka could tell that Adrien was very sad.

He approached him slowly so as not to distract Adrien.

“Is something wrong Adrien?” Luka sat next to him.

“I feel like I can’t do anything to help like you are doing. I feel useless in this situation.”

Luka realized that Adrien wanted to feel useful so he could help Nathalie.

“You know, I think you could help us with a couple of things,” Luka said, “We’ll need an extra hand from time to time.”

Adrien looked at him.

“Also, I think we’re going to need you to give moral support to Nathalie and your dad.”

Adrien felt a little better with what Luka told him.

“Thank you, Luka.” Adrien gave him a small smile.

Luka then proceeded to explain what he could do to help.

“I’ll tell you what we need you to do for us. You’ll see…”

After Marinette and Luka left, Gabriel went to the bathroom to open the bottle and drink the contents of the potion they both brought him. The potion was surprisingly odorless.

He took everything in one gulp as they had indicated.

But he managed to taste the horrible liquid.

He gagged before swallowing it all. He held onto the sink as he breathed rapidly.

That thing tasted horrible. It was the bitterest thing he had ever tasted in his life.

But he immediately felt that the cataclysm stopped hurting. He no longer felt the usual stinging of the skin and the usual burning sensation. That showed him that he could trust them to find a solution to his problem.

Gabriel returned to the office to continue working. While he was working, he heard the sound of knocking on the door.

“Go in.”

Gabriel saw the gorilla entering his office, a little scared.

“What’s going on?” Gabriel found it very strange that the Gorilla was behaving like that.

The gorilla showed him a large number of cards. Gabriel was surprised by the large number of letters he had in his hands.

“What’s that?”

The gorilla handed him all the cards he had in his hands. Gabriel took one and checked the sender.

There was none. But what was there was a recipient.

Those were for him.

He opened it finding something that worried him a lot.

I hope you are ready for my revenge.

Revenge?

He took another one to examine it.

DIE.

Since he became famous, Gabriel had always received hate mail. But there was something very particular about these letters. They were all written with magazine clippings.

“Is there a sender for these letters?”

The gorilla denied. Gabriel checked some and none of them had a return address.

He needed a second opinion about all of this.

Gabriel put each of the cards on the kitchen table. Marinette, Adrien and Nathalie were observing each of them and discovered a very important detail.

They were all possibly from the same sender even though he didn’t have one. The way all the letters were written was quite similar. Clippings from magazines and newspapers were used to create the messages in them. All the letters had some type of threat.

“Mr. Agreste, do you know if anyone is angry with you?” Marinette asked.

“Many people.”

“Oh.” Marinette didn’t think discarding people would be so difficult.

Now they had a problem and that was to find out who was sending them those threatening notes.

“Father, do you have any idea who could be behind all this?” Adrien was impressed by the large amount of hate mail his father got.

“André, possibly Audrey, Tomoe,” Gabriel added “And maybe many more people.”

“That’s a problem,” Nathalie said, examining one of the letters that Gabriel had left on the table. “Gabriel, this could be related to the person who stole the butterfly Miraculous.”

“Could someone be seeking revenge on you, Mr. Agreste?” Marinette was actually quite impressed with the large number of death threat letters that were sent to Gabriel in a single day.

“Possibly.” Gabriel examined the papers he had. It was obvious that the person who sent him those letters was trying to intimidate him. He had made a lot of enemies these last few months, it could be anyone.

Perhaps if he had some of the letters examined by an expert, he could discover who had been the sender of those threatening letters.

“I’m thinking about sending this to a forensic expert. This is not the first time I have received this type of letters in my entire career. It would be better to rule out whether these letters come from someone who hates me as Gabriel Agreste.”

“Do you need me to put you in contact with the forensics, Gabriel?” Nathalie prepared to look up the number.

“Yes, please Nathalie. Do it as soon as you can.”

After the affirmative response from the forensics, and the sending of the evidence to be examined. Gabriel began to analyze the evidence he had so far. He reviewed the recordings again frame by frame to see if he could gather any relevant information.

Gabriel paused the recording. The glasses that girl was wearing made her unrecognizable in front of the cameras. He was completely sure that the person in the recordings was a female. He could not distinguish anything about her face no matter how much he applied filters that could clarify her face. Another detail he could recognize about that person was her short black hair.

He didn’t recognize her at all.

But who could she be?

He examined the other cameras around the mansion. He saw that the person had found a way to breach his security system or perhaps his security system was already damaged enough in the battle he had with Bug Noire to detect the intruder. Apparently, this person owned a computer with the Tsurugi logo that he could distinguish by cleaning the image with the zoom. It was something very strange, not to mention suspicious.

Could Tomoe have something to do with it?

No, Madame Tsurugi is no fool. Gabriel was sure that she would take the threats he made seriously. He had the power to take her down with him if things went wrong. Examining the laptop closely, it looked very similar to a computer that Madame Tsurugi had and that she lost the day they tried to put Chloe as mayor of Paris.

Could this person be working for someone else? Could she be working alone?

That was the real mystery, there was no way that person could have done it alone. Unless she was a fairly skilled and intelligent person.

Where did she got that laptop?

That was a vital clue that he would have to take into account later.

Gabriel was going to take the initiative and start investigating on his own who could be the person who was threatening them.

Chapter Text

Nathalie had to talk to Gabriel. What she had told Gerald was of utmost importance. When Emilie died, she genuinely thought that Gabriel would listen to the advice she gave him before she left them.

Nathalie went to look for Gabriel. He was free at this time of the morning, so she would have to take the opportunity.

“Gabriel, there is something very important that you should know.”

“And what is so important, Nathalie?” Gabriel put on his tie while he listened to Nathalie’s request. It was very important for Gabriel to listen to her.

“Gabriel, I need you to go to therapy.” Nathalie stood in his way as he was about to leave for the kitchen.

Gabriel didn’t expect that.

“No Nathalie, I don’t need it. Adrien does, but not me.” Gabriel was trying to avoid the topic. He was afraid that the therapist would bring all his secrets to light. It was enough that four people already knew his biggest secret.

“You need it.” Nathalie insisted. “The other day Gerald asked me to take you there and that’s what I’m going to do.”

“No, Nathalie.” Gabriel said. “It’s my final decision. I do not wish to go and I will not go.”

That made Nathalie’s blood boil.

“You’re no use , Gabriel! You are very stubborn!” Nathalie yelled at him frustrated.

They heard a squeaking noise from the door which made them stop instantly. Both adults turned to look at the source of the sound, to see Adrien.

Adrien looked at them scared from the door.

“Nathalie is something wrong?”

Adrien had seen them.

Nathalie walked towards him and crouched down to his level.

“I’m sorry if you saw us like that, Adrien.” Nathalie looked furious at Gabriel “Your father refuses to go to therapy.”

“Oh.” Adrien already understood the reason for the fight.

Gabriel’s gaze softened as he saw Adrien’s reaction to the whole situation.

“But we’ll deal with the situation later.” Nathalie looked back at Gabriel. She would continue to insist, even if it was something Gabriel didn’t like at all.

“Nathalie…” Gabriel tried to stop her, but she completely ignored him as they left.

“I’m going to take Adrien to his appointment. We will return later. Let’s go Adrien.”

Adrien left after Nathalie. Gabriel decided not to stop her.

Adrien looked askance at Nathalie in the car. He had only heard the last part of the conversation between his father and her, so he wasn’t 100% sure what happened between the two of them.

“Nathalie, are you and my father fighting?”

“Oh well sometimes we argue, but don’t worry about us Adrien, focus on yourself first and on improving. Leave the adult problems to us. Your father must be able to make his own decisions.”

Nathalie was very upset. No matter what she did with Gabriel, he simply refused to listen to her.

A black butterfly with purple lines was flying near the car in which Nathalie and Adrien were.

The butterfly went through the car. The Akuma introduced itself into Nathalie’s tablet.

“Good morning, Safari.”

Nathalie heard the voice of a rather young woman in her head.

That is similar to…

That was similar to when Gabriel akumatized her.

She was the person who stole the butterfly Miraculous.

“From what I see, you have trouble.”

“I don’t need anything from you.” Nathalie was trying to break the connection that was created with the butterfly. If she managed to break the tablet or break the connection with the wearer of the butterfly Miraculous they would be saved.

“I just came to tell you that you are right, Miss Sancoeur.” It seemed that the person behind her voice seemed to know her “Don’t you want people to listen to you and follow her advice? Let me help you.”

Nathalie knew this form of manipulation very well. But her anger at Gabriel was making it difficult for him to resist her offer.

NO.

Nathalie reached behind Adrien and as best she could, she unlocked the car and opened the door.

“Adrien, go get help.” Nathalie grabbed her head while she resisted the akumatization.

“I’m not leaving you here.” Adrien said.

Nathalie grabbed him by the shoulders.

“I’m sorry Adrien.”

Adrien was pushed by Nathalie out of the car. He rolled for a few seconds until he stopped. He suffered some scrapes, but they were minor. He didn’t stop to think, transforming immediately when he found an alley to hide in. Adrien went straight to seek help, because he knew that he wouldn’t be able to face Nathalie alone.

Nathalie was still fighting to get out of the Akuma’s control.

“Safari. If you let me help you, I can fix everything and you won’t have any worries anymore.” said her voice in her head.

“No!” Nathalie was still trying to resist. If she lost control, they were lost. Safari was one of the strongest akumatizations that Gabriel created at the time, it gave Ladybug and Chat Noir enough trouble to the point of having to exchange Miraculous.

But Nathalie felt how she lost control of her body and her mind and a black cloud surrounded her.

Marinette was frustrated.

In all the time they had been investigating they had only been able to make a little progress in their investigation.

Marinette stood up frustrated that she hadn’t found anything useful all day.

“What’s going on?” Tikki watched as Marinette placed her face against the table.

“I haven’t been able to find anything useful, Tikki.” Marinette pulled her pigtails. “I don’t know if she can help Gabriel and Nathalie at the pace we’re going.”

“Maybe you should get some fresh air, Marinette.” Tikki floated towards the exasperated wearer of her.

“But we don’t have time, Tikki. At this rate we won’t be able to save either of them.” Marinette didn't want to think about that possibility.

“But Ladybug also needs a break from time-to-time Marinette. You can go for a breather for a moment and come back later to continue the investigation.”

At Tikki’s words, she then decided to listen to him. Marinette went out to get some fresh air after hours of reading texts that she didn’t fully understand. She finished drinking the juice that her mother brought her previously.

Finding a solution was proving more difficult than she thought. And they still didn’t know where the butterfly Miraculous was.

“It can’t get worse, right, Tikki?”

Someone landed next to her. Marinette looked up, meeting Chat Noir.

“Marinette, I need your help!” Chat Noir was standing on the railing of his balcony.

“What’s wrong, A… Chat Noir?” Marinette was about to say his real name.

“Nathalie just got akumatized!” Chat Noir exclaimed worriedly.

“What!?” Marinette exclaimed in surprise. Her heart raced when she knew that there was a new threat in Paris. The glass of juice that was in her hand fell to her feet and shattered. “When?”

Me and my big mouth.

“A few minutes ago.” Chat Noir came down from the pole “I know she was angry today about my father, and when we were going to my appointment with the therapist a butterfly got into her tablet.”

“Then let’s go look for her. Tikki spots on!” Ladybug was now in Marinette’s place

“Please take me with her, Chat Noir.” Ladybug was ready to follow Chat Noir wherever he went.

“Follow me.” he used his staff to go in the direction of the mansion. Ladybug followed him.

Gabriel stayed at his house again, wondering if what he did was the right thing. He feared that his secrets would be revealed to more people and that was what he wanted to avoid.

Although, he couldn’t help but feel that what he did wasn’t the right thing.

Gabriel felt a shiver run down his spine when he heard someone was behind him.

“Gabriel.”

The person behind him pointed a gun at him.

Gabriel raised his hands. He turned around finding an akumatized person that he knew very well.

“Nathalie... Don’t do this.”

“I’m not Nathalie.” Safari said in a threatening tone.

Gabriel backed away a little which made Safari change her aiming position.

“If this is the way I’ll attract Ladybug and Chat Noir, then I’ll do it. But before that…”

“Nathalie please, don’t do this.”

Safari reloaded the gun with one of her bullets.

“If you don’t want to go to therapy the easy way, then we’ll do it the hard way.”

Before she could do anything, Safari’s gun flew out of her hands. Chat Noir’s staff caused Safari’s gun to fall far and drag on the ground. The shot went to the ceiling, and Gabriel crouched on the floor.

“Cataclysm!” Gabriel listened next to him. The power of the cataclysm opened a crack to the ceiling that caused a pile of rubble to fall on Safari, covering her in the process. Chat Noir jumped where the gun was, applying another Cataclysm to destroy it.

“Run Mr. Agreste!” Ladybug was preparing her yo-yo to hold Safari once she freed herself from the debris that had fallen on her.

Gabriel ran straight to the first place he could think. He went to the first floor towards the kitchen to hide.

“If he thinks I’m not going to find him, he’s very wrong.”

Safari with brute force broke the string of Ladybug’s yoyo with her bare hands and ran in the direction where Gabriel went. Gabriel hid in the kitchen, looking for something he could use to defend himself with.

Chat Noir ran towards the kitchen, to entertain Safari as much as he could. Before Safari could even touch the door, Chat Noir used his staff to block her path, breaking a part of the wall next to the door.

“Does the kitten want to play?” Safari smiled, malicious “Then let’s play.”

Safari quickly unsheathed her whip to catch Chat Noir and obtain the Miraculous from him.

Chat Noir jumped every time Safari tried to hit him with her whip.

Ladybug came down at those moments to intervene. In a carelessness, Safari caused Ladybug to fall.

Safari approached her. She was about to take her Miraculous from her when Chat Noir’s staff pulled her away from her.

I’m sorry, Nathalie.

Safari stood up and stared at him for a moment until she went to attack him.

Gabriel got in Safari’s way before she could hit Chat Noir.

“Safari No!”

Gabriel received a whiplash directly on his cataclysmed arm. He clutched his arm, hissing at the burning of the wound. He was dragged into Safari’s position until he was next to her.

Chat Noir extended her staff once more, launching Safari away from his father.

“Fa... sir,” Chat Noir bit his tongue before completing the word. Chat Nori jumped in front of him in order to give him time to run “Can you run away by yourself?”

Gabriel could notice the worried look Chat Noir gave him.

“It’s okay, Chat Noir,” Gabriel closed his eyes due to the intense pain “You take care of Safari.”

Chat Noir kept his defensive position against Safari. He didn’t want to hurt her, or at least not right now. Using his staff, he dodged Safari’s attacks as much as he could.

Chat Noir was a little tired. Safari seemed to have endless energy. He saw Safari stop for a moment. She was apparently communicating with the new wielder of the Butterfly Miraculous.

“I’ll take care of them. Patience.”

Safari was about to hit Chat Noir. Ladybug intervened, receiving the blow from Safari.

Ladybug ended up crushed against the wall. Safari was going to hit her again, but Gabriel decided to intervene.

“No!” Gabriel, who was looking through her kitchen door, grabbed her arm to pull her toward him. Reacting quickly, Gabriel pushed Safari directly to the ground to prevent Ladybug from being hit by her.

“Come on!” Ladybug was abruptly picked up by Gabriel to buy time and prevent Safari from taking advantage of any of her moments of weakness.

They both got up and went to find a hiding place in the kitchen while they both thought about what they could do.

“What happened to make Miss Sancoeur get like this?” Ladybug questioned.

Gabriel shrugged.

“It was my fault.” Gabriel looked down, embarrassed by his behavior. “She suggested me to go to therapy, but I didn’t want to because I was afraid that our secrets would come to light.”

Marinette now understood well what happened.

“Mr. Agreste, can you explain to me what your idea was when you created Safari. Maybe with that information we can stop her easier.” Ladybug didn’t want to risk having to interchange Miraculous again.

“Safari is less powerful than she was before. When I akumatized her I gave her the goat Miraculous so she could generate her own weapon. Although that doesn’t make her any less lethal. That’s probably why she couldn’t use tracking on you with her gun. Without the power of the goat, it is not possible for her to have the same type of weapon that she had back then. You already destroyed it anyway.”

Ladybug wasn’t sure what to do. She used her yoyo to get the Lucky Charm. An arrow fell to the ground pointing at Gabriel.

Ladybug then thought that he would be of great use.

“I need your help, Mr. Agreste. You are the only one who can make Nathalie reason. You know her better than me. And I wouldn’t want to hurt her.”

Gabriel didn’t want to do that either.

“Then I’ll distract her.” Gabriel stood up to get in his way.

Ladybug didn’t want Gabriel to get involved in this fight. It was a risk that civilians would meddle in the battle. But what other option did they have? He was the cause of this.

“Okay,” Ladybug said, “But please, be careful.”

Gabriel was going to try to convince Safari to stop. But he knew it wouldn’t be easy.

“Safari.” Gabriel left the kitchen and closed the door behind him.

The Akuma turned her gaze to where she was called. Gabriel was at her disposal. Gabriel gestured Chat Noir to not intervene.

Safari started walking towards him.

“Safari, please listen. Don’t do something you’ll regret later. I’m sure there is a solution to all this. Don’t let yourself be convinced of the person who akumatized you.”

“You don’t want to listen to me like Nathalie. You are a stubborn man who only thinks about himself. The only way is to force you.”

And with that, Safari took the whip from her and wrapped it around her hand. In one fell swoop, Gabriel was on the ground.

Chat Noir saw his chance. I use his staff again to disarm Safari by hitting him squarely on the wrist. Ladybug used her yoyo to quickly attract Gabriel and make him run in her direction. They ran outside and hid him in the garden.

Gabriel checked where Safari used his whip. She had left a pretty obvious mark on his wrist. It seemed like the words weren’t what Safari wanted to hear.

“It seems that she is very angry with you. Maybe we can use that to our advantage.”

Chat Noir was in charge of keeping Safari busy while Ladybug and his father thought about what to do. Chat Noir fell to the ground. Safari kicked the staff out of his reach.

Safari stepped on his chest to immobilize him on the ground. Chat Noir wasn’t making the usual jokes, due to the situation. Safari was able to notice that.

“What’s wrong, kitten? Did the cat bite your tongue?”

Gabriel saw everything from where he was hiding. He couldn’t let him get the black cat Miraculous.

“Nathalie I’m so sorry. Please get out of the Akuma’s control. You don’t want to do this.” Gabriel prepared to say what he planned with Ladybug “I... I was thinking of following your advice.”

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” Safari wasn’t sure if she believed him.

Gabriel thought carefully about his words to avoid revealing more information to whoever was behind the ‘new’ Hawkmoth.

“Then I’ll do it for Adrien, Nathalie. Specially for him”

Something resonated in Nathalie’s mind with his words.

Suddenly Safari sees Chat Noir again. But the Nathalie inside didn’t see Chat Noir. She was stepping on Adrien. But the wearer of the butterfly didn’t have to know that.

Safari decided to break the connection with the Akuma.

Safari grabbed her head, letting Chat Noir free and backing away.

It seemed like Nathalie was trying to fight the Akuma

“Safari, what are you waiting for?” the girl behind the Akuma was losing control of the situation.

“I’m not going to obey anymore.” Safari grabbed her head. She stepped back, leaving Chat Noir free. He watched her get up immediately in case he could attack him again.

She finally felt the connection break, undoing the transformation and returning to normal. Safari was surrounded by a black cloud, leaving Nathalie in her place.

Gabriel ran in her direction to help her up.

Ladybug quickly caught the butterfly on her yo-yo before it left.

“Time to de-evilize!” Ladybug released the purified butterfly into the air. She threw the object into the sky to clean up the mess Safari caused.

And she took the Lucky Charm on her hands, throwing it into the air.

“Miraculous Ladybug!”

All the damage inside the mansion was fixed.

The butterfly wearer felt a shock, similar to electricity in her head that undid the Akuma’s connection. She fell to the ground clutching her head. A sharp sting caused her an intense headache.

All those strong emotions… she had never felt them. He used an Akuma she saw on the news as a test to see her ability to create akumas. One she used as the perfect target for the Agreste family to suffer.

“So that’s what the Miraculouses can do...” she said out loud in her hiding place.

Nooroo was looking at a distance, behind some books on the desk.

“Miss, are you okay?” Even though Nooroo was stolen a second time, he had some empathy for his new wearer. He was the kwami of transmission after all.

However, what his wearer would say next would change his mind.

“This was just a test Nooroo.”

The kwami backed away when he saw her evil smile creping on her face.

“This is bad.” Nooroo realized that Lila was much worse than Gabriel when she met him. Most likely, she would have no mercy. He had already seen her in action and the only thing that was expected of that girl was trouble. He hoped Ladybug would save him once and for all, one day or another.

Nathalie coughed as she felt the air in her lungs completely gone, causing her to lose her breath.

She felt someone lift her into her arms.

“Nathalie!” Gabriel placed her in his arms and took her to her room.

He laid Nathalie down carefully.

“Nathalie, are you okay?” Adrien leaned on the bed to look at her more closely, very worried.

Nathalie caressed his cheek to reassure him.

“Yes, I’m fine Adrien. Do not worry about me.”

“Nathalie, I’m very sorry. I shouldn't have reacted like that. I’m afraid that if I go to talk to the therapist, more people will find out who I was and...

“And that nobody is no longer see you in the same way?” Nathalie completed his sentence.

Gabriel nodded.

“Gabriel, I’m sure going to therapy is a good option. I can take care of what you’re going to say myself. We’ll create a facade to make sure the doctor doesn’t find out the whole truth.”

That seemed like a good plan.

"Think about it," Nathalie grabbed his hand gently.

“I’ll think about it.” Gabriel just shook his hand “Just give me a moment. Adrien, stay here with her. Take care of her.”

Adrien stayed by Nathalie’s side while Gabriel went to reconsider her decision. Nathalie didn’t want to think that Gabriel was avoiding the problem again, but there was still that feeling of distrust towards him.

Gabriel went to her room thinking that he could have prevented Nathalie’s akumatization if he had said yes to her request.

This was his fault.

“I should have listened to her, I should go to therapy, but would that be enough?”

Gabriel fell into the chair and grabbed the septum of his nose, clearly stressed.

Gabriel wanted to fix things, but he didn’t know how. How do you fix a relationship so broken by his own decisions?

He stayed in the same place thoughtfully for a few minutes.

He detected a strange noise that he couldn’t identify behind him. A portal opened behind him and a piece of paper floated to the ground.

A letter fell at his feet.

The sound of the object falling alerted him. He looked around trying to discern where that had come from. He didn’t have any papers on the nightstand this time, so that was very strange.

But that wasn’t the strangest thing for Gabriel.

He opened the paper and found a handwriting that he knew very well.

It was his own handwriting. He looked around once more. It was not explained where the letter came from, but he felt a certain familiarity with it.

It was then that he proceeded to read the contents of the letter.

Gabriel,

I know this will seem very strange and I know you won’t believe it at first, but I assure you that you need to hear these words.

I’m not part of your world, but I still can't help but see that we both have many things in common, even though our lives have been completely different.

I also made a lot of mistakes using Miraculous for my own benefit and ended up hurting the people I loved so much. Despite that, I reflected and the only conclusion I came to was that I myself was the one who had to change.

I don’t fully know what happened for you to end up in that situation other than what Ladybug told me, but I know that you are in a difficult situation. I can’t do much since I’m still dealing with the problems of my own dimension, but I hope my words help you a little.

I think maybe there’s still a chance for you, Gabriel. For us.

I hope you make the most of the new opportunity Ladybug gave you.

Gabriel Agreste.

Gabriel reread the letter a couple of times, unable to ignore his handwriting.

It had to be his other self from the other dimension. The one who came on the night of the day he received the cataclysm in his arm.

And he was right.

If Ladybug had given him a chance, he had to make the most of it to fix what he did wrong.

Gabriel took a deep breath and let it out. He would have to swallow his pride and his fears once and for all. Even if it put his true identity at risk.

He would listen to Nathalie just as she should have done from the beginning.

He went to look for her, finding her at her desk in her atelier doing a file transfer.

"Nathalie, I made an appointment with the therapist." Gabriel asked Nathalie.

Nathalie raised an eyebrow.

“Are you sure?...”

“Nathalie, I’m serious.” Gabriel interrupted her “I decided that I will go talk to Mr. Gerald just as you asked me. Just tell me what I’m going to say.”

Nathalie got out of her seat.

“I’ll explain it to you.”

"Very good, Nathalie.” he said, turning his back to her. He didn’t dare look at her directly.

“But I’ll go with you anyway.” Nathalie looked up Gerald’s number to let him know that Gabriel would attend the session.

“Nathalie is not necessary.” Gabriel did not want Nathalie to waste her energy after her akumatization.

“It’s necessary. I’m not going to risk you coming up with a new excuse not to attend. I still don’t trust you enough.” Nathalie began to review Gabriel’s agenda and cancel everything that interfered with the appointment and that he had no excuse not to attend.

The day of the appointment arrived; they left Adrien in charge of the mansion. Since the new butterfly bearer was now active, they couldn’t leave the mansion unsupervised.

Adrien left to find Nathalie who was ready to leave.

“Adrien take good care of the house and don’t let anyone besides Marinette or Luka enter. The gorilla will accompany you while we return. We’re sorry to have to leave you here alone.”

“It’s okay, Nathalie. I can take care of myself.”

Nathalie checked the time.

“Adrien, can you go look for your father? He’s getting late.”

“There’s no need for you to do it.” Gabriel was coming down the stairs after adjusting his suit so that the cataclysm was not visible “I’m ready Nathalie, let’s go.”

Adrien was waiting for them at the entrance.

“Are you going out now?” Adrien asked.

“Yes, Adrien.”

Nathalie took a copy of the keys and handed them into Adrien’s hands.

“Are you sure Nathalie?” Adrien received the keys in his hands. There was also a button to activate the security system of the mansion.

“We want you to stay here and watch the house while we are not here,” Gabriel answered for her. “If you still have a problem, don’t hesitate to let us know, Adrien. And if you have to escape, do it immediately.”

“I will do.”

Adrien stood at the entrance waiting for them to leave.

They said goodbye to Adrien. Gabriel and Nathalie went to the car; and they headed to Gerald’s office.

Nathalie was trying to ignore Gabriel as much as possible. She was still angry with him, but that didn’t stop her from go with him to his appointment.

When they arrived at their destination, Gabriel stayed at the door.

"What are you waiting for? Gabriel, you have to go in." Nathalie crossed her arms, waiting for Gabriel to stop being so undecided whether he should come in or not.

Nathalie stood in his way so that he wouldn’t regret it later.

“Sorry Nathalie.” Gabriel then proceeded to open the door to enter.

They both entered the building and headed to the therapist’s office to see Gabriel.

Gabriel and Nathalie arrived at the door of the doctor’s office. Gabriel took a deep breath before entering.

Chapter Text

The wait stretches like bubblegum. Gabriel drums his fingers against his knee. His eyes, with his eyebrows weighing heavily above them, wandered between a clock in front of him that was hung on the neat, white wall; Nathalie, from the corner of his eye, obviously, and his hand. He starts to hesitate about the appointment, and the corners of his mouth swing left and right.

From the stolen glances at Nathalie, he thinks she transformed into a statue: her fixed expression lost in the closed door of the room, lack of blinks, and the always present immeasurable hate in her eyes. Interrupting his train of thought, a little girl, maybe six or seven years old, skips out of the room, her pigtails jiggling along her body. Gerald pats her back. A middle-aged man picks up the kid and gives a thankful nod to the therapist.

Gabriel stands up, a bit too fast for Nathalie not to shoot a confused look at him. Gerald smiles, bowing slightly, his arm extended towards the door. He directs one last look at Nathalie and enters the room. She’d wait outside.

“Oh, Mr. Agreste, welcome. Come in.”

Gerald noticed that it was eight o’clock. Something he expected from a businessman like Gabriel. Nathalie would wait outside while they finished.

Gabriel scanned the office. Gerald’s desk was at the other end of the room and in the center was a coffee table with a small couch on either side.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Gerald took his usual seat. Gabriel sat in the chair that Gerald pointed out to him. Gerald needed to gain Gabriel’s trust so he would not hesitate to reveal things to him that could lead to a good diagnosis.

“And tell me Gabriel. Has there been any problem in your life that has led you to this situation?

“I...” Gabriel didn’t know where to start “It’s a long story.”

At least Gerald could see that Gabriel wanted to open up. Some patients did not want to tell much or simply did not tell anything at all in the first sessions. When he saw Nathalie’s message confirming that Gabriel Agreste was coming to see him, he couldn’t believe it at all. Until he saw a large sum of money flowing into his bank account directly from Gabriel's company, Nathalie assured him that his services would be well paid.

“We have time.” Gerald checked his planner. Luckily, this time he set aside enough time for Gabriel “The results should be influenced by the time in which a person can show progress. Not all of us evolve in the same way. So, we could talk about his relationship with Adrien first. I would like to know what your relationship with your son is like.”

Gabriel took a deep breath.

“My wife died a couple of months ago. It’s been difficult for me to let her go. And that’s why... I hurt my son and Nathalie too.”

“Can you explain it better?” Gerald thought it was interesting that Gabriel had named Nathalie. Nathalie was more important to the story than he thought.

“I abandoned my son, even when my wife asked me before she died to take care of him when she was no longer here. Nathalie tried to help me do the right thing. Letting my wife go and taking care of Adrien as she asked me,” Gabriel continued with the story “My wife left some recordings, but I asked Nathalie to destroy them and I never got to see them. Then I saw the ones she had left for Nathalie and it... made me doubt many things.”

“And how did all that affect your relationship with Adrien, Gabriel?”

“It’s very difficult to deal with him after what happened. Several weeks ago, he barely spoke to me. After putting him aside, he no longer sees me the same way as before.” Gabriel said clearly, hiding the real reason.

“So that’s why you finally decided to come?” Gerald took a sip of his coffee.

“After a while of continuing to make mistakes, I realized that Nathalie was right and decided to follow her advice. And that's why I came here. Now I feel like my own son hates me and Nathalie, I think she hates me too because I didn't want to let Emilie, my wife, go.

Gerald realized Gabriel’s main problem

Gabriel was not able to let go.

“And tell me how exactly did you leave Adrien abandoned?”

“I got immersed in my work as a designer after Emilie left us. I thought that if I gave Adrien everything he wanted he would be happy in my absence, but...”

“But Adrien didn't care about that.” Gerald completely understood what he was referring to “It’s very common with patients, they believe they can fill a void with materialistic things. That never solves the lack of love and affection of a son, Gabriel.”

Gabriel didn’t answer anything. Gerald was probably right.

Gerald noticed that Gabriel seemed uncomfortable. He wanted Gabriel to feel comfortable with him. And he was curious about what Gabriel and his wife's relationship was like before she disappeared. He would have to change the subject.

“Gabriel, I need you to tell me about your wife.” Gerald made a posture “What was your relationship with her like?”

“She was the love of my life... I always wanted her to have what she never had when she lived with her parents. She was royalty, you know, and that caused a lot of pressure from her parents.” For the moment Gabriel would only tell him the basics of her relationship. He didn’t feel comfortable speaking about it just yet.

Gerald knew it very well. Emilie left all her fortune and power to marry Gabriel. It was a scandal.

“Our relationship ended badly at the end of her days. She urged me to let her go, but... I didn’t want to.”

“I understand Gabriel, letting go of a loved one is something very difficult.”

Gerald did not expect that this case would be so special.

“And what about your assistant Nathalie?” Gerald needed to investigate the relationship between Gabriel and Nathalie “I have noticed that she plays a very important role in Adrien's life and yours too from what you said. What is your relationship with her like?”

Gabriel didn’t expect him to ask about her, Nathalie didn’t prepare an answer for that. He would have to tell him all the basics for now.

“Nathalie has served as my assistant for years. She’s been there for me...I’ve been mean to her these past few weeks. And that’s why now we are fighting over certain decisions I ghave made. And I don’t blame her.”

Gerald could detect that the relationship between Gabriel and Nathalie was very tense. It was something he would have to work on as well.

Gerald could tell that Gabriel was very broken.

This case was going to be difficult.

For the moment he would only focus on Gabriel.

“Gabriel it is clear that your wife wanted the best for you and that you were not going to cling to the past. And that’s a good thing. It sounds like you’re still in denial about your wife’s death.”

“It's very difficult for me to stop thinking about her. I feel that if I leave her aside in my life, I will be betraying everything I promised her when I married her.” Gabriel placed his hands together while he waited for what Gerald was going to tell him.

“No, Gabriel, letting go doesn’t mean you’re going to betray your wife. If she asked you to let her go, it was because she wanted you to be happy. Your marriage was something very special and it will continue to be so if you honor her word and keep the promise, she wanted you to keep.” Gerald replied.

Gabriel remained silent.

“It is clear that you want to change if you came here, but to do so the first thing you have to do is let go the past and look toward the future. If you don’t do it, you will be left in the same situation. You must let your wife go.”

“I don’t know how I should do that.”

Gerald wanted to try to get Gabriel to let out his feelings. Being such a reserved man, he might try to do it the roundabout way.

“Maybe you should write some letters” Gerald recommended “You could write down all of your thoughts to your wife, if you have a hard time showing your feelings to people.”

“Are you sure that would work?” Gabriel didn’t understand how something like that could help him.

“Well, we could try,” Gerald said cheerfully. “If you can keep going, we’ll be able to deal with Adrien’s problem easily.”

The alarm on Gerald’s phone rang, warning him that time was up.

“Well, I think that would be all for the moment. We have limited time today, although I think that with what you told me we can begin to make progress. We’ll see you at the next session if you decide to attend, I guess.”

Gerald extended his hand to say goodbye. Gabriel squeezed it and opened the door to leave.

Gerald hoped that Gabriel would have the courage to come back and do what he asked to see if there was any result. Before they left, he needed to talk to Nathalie, again.

"I need to talk to Miss Sancoeur for a moment, if you don't mind."

Nathalie saw how Gerald got close to her.

“So, I probably have to talk to you too, Miss Sancoeur.” The expression on Nathalie’s face went from serious to worried.

“Me?” Nathalie was a little surprised.

“Yes, you are part of the family circle and you are quite close to it. So, I also need to talk to you in more depth about... certain things that I have noticed.”

Has Gerald realized that we have been lying to him? Nathalie thought.

“Next meeting I need to talk to you three. You and Mr. Agreste are a vital part of that problem.

“I’ll attend too." Nathalie didn’t want to raise Gerald's suspicions. The best thing was to accept.

Gabriel encountered something he did not expect at all.

After his appointment with Gerald, he dedicated himself to thinking about what he was going to do. He clearly would have to write the letters, although he still didn't know where to start writing them.

Someone had been spreading rumors about them again. When he woke up, he found his phone full of notifications from his personal email and also from his private messages. Everything called his attention to a piece of news that everyone sent him.

When Adrien was little, some television station made up a rumor that he and Nathalie had something.

But this time it was different.

Gabriel Agreste’s new love?

Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

Now what is this about?

He opened the news page, finding the big headline.

GABRIEL AND HIS NEW LOVE

That seemed very strange to Gabriel. It had been years since there was speculation that he had a new relationship, and he always denied it every time it happened along with Emilie and with the help of Nathalie herself.

And the first thing that appeared on the page were the photos of him and Nathalie when they went to Dr. Gerald’s office.

They must have taken it when we left Gerald’s office. he thought.

Someone had been following them. The real question was to know who. Surely with a lawsuit they would desist from following him again.

That was quite common for him.

But he didn’t want to have Nathalie involved, not this time when his feelings were real now. They wouldn't leave poor Nathalie alone if he didn’t intervene.

Marinette left to see Nathalie again. She had brought a new version of the potion she created with Luka to give it to her.

This time the one who opened the door was the Gorilla. He growled at her in approval and she went up to Nathalie’s room. Marinette would have to finish the potion right there since she was asleep again and she couldn’t finish it. Her guardians were not making her life any easier. They were forcing her to go to their lessons so that the situations she got into wouldn’t happen again.

She was very tired.

“Marinette, Marinette…” Nathalie’s voice brought her out of her thoughts.

Marinette stood waiting for Nathalie to let her in and she hadn’t realized she was talking to her.

“I’m sorry.” Marinette came in and she started to take some things out of her backpack. “We didn’t have time to get the potion ready so I’ll have to finish it here.”

“Don’t worry Marinette, take your time.”

Marinette quickly mixed the components she prepared to relieve Nathalie’s symptoms. Nathalie saw that Marinette had dark circles on her face and she looked quite tired. She had to remember that Marinette was still a child.

And yet she had to carry the weight of the great responsibility of being Ladybug.

“And tell me Marinette, how are you?” Nathalie asked, frank.

“I… well I’m dealing with the guardians. They are not at all happy with what happened with the Miraculous in the last few months.” Marinette shook the bottle until the mixture inside it changed color. She then proceeded to add the other ingredients.

Nathalie could tell that the guardians were being very hard on Marinette.

“Do you need help? I mean of what you’re going through with the guardians.”

“Oh no, no. I lied to the guardians so that you wouldn’t get involved. I didn’t want to risk them finding out what we were doing.” Marinette quickly mixed the ingredients she had thrown into the small bowl.

“Marinette, there must be something we can do for you,” Nathalie took both her hands while she mixed. “A girl your age shouldn’t have to deal with a great responsibility alone.”

“At the moment there is nothing you can do; Luka is helping me anyway and so is Adrien.” Marinette checked the potion one last time to make sure everything went well when making it.

“If there is anything we can do for you, please tell us.” Nathalie insisted.

Nathalie watched Marinette as she arranged the bottle so she could take it. Marinette wanted to ask her how things had been between her and Gabriel, but she wasn’t sure if it would be appropriate.

“And how have you and Mr. Agreste been?”

“We haven’t been able to talk like two normal adults “Nathalie was very disappointed that in all that time she and Gabriel haven’t had a frank talk “Every time we try, a new conflict arises between us.”

Adrien once told Marinette that they had both become closer and that suddenly something happened between them that caused a break.

“Could I know what happened between you? “For a moment Marinette regretted asking that question.”

“When Gabriel got the Miraculous from you Marinette, he went to look for me on the train where I was traveling with Adrien to London. Gabriel planned to send us away to Protect us. He went to the train and talked to me about feeding the kwamis while we figured out what to do at that point. I had a plan for him, I gave him a USB with information to repair the damaged Peacock Miraculous.”

“And what were you planning to do with that?” Marinette was curious what Nathalie’s plan was.

“I told Gabriel to travel back in time with the rabbit Miraculous and go to the specific moment in time to save Emilie from using the damaged Miraculous. It was then that Gabriel decided that it was more important to defeat you than to save his wife and me. Of course I got furious with him.”

Marinette started to feel a little guilty.

“I think I know what happened.” Marinette remembered what she did with her Lucky Charm on that occasion “My Lucky Charm. When I used it, it gave me a box just like the ones Master Fu used to store the Miraculouses and I left it in the middle of the Bunnix Burrow to mislead Monarch and he followed us.”

Marinette couldn’t help but wonder if what she did was the right thing.

“Marinette, don’t blame yourself, it was Gabriel’s decision to go after you, instead of doing what I told him.” Nathalie didn’t want Marinette to think that what she did was something bad “You only did what you thought was the right thing at that moment. Gabriel’s decisions are not your responsibility.”

Marinette could tell that Nathalie was very loyal to Gabriel.

“That’s when you started having problems between you, right?”

“Yes, that was when our relationship deteriorated.” Nathalie seemed a little sad.

Marinette was quiet for a moment. Finally, he came to a conclusion of something quite obvious with the little he knew about them.

“You love him, don’t you, Nathalie?” Marinette realized Nathalie’s feelings for Gabriel Agreste.

Nathalie didn’t think she would ever be asked that kind of question.

“I…” an almost imperceptible blush “If I used to love him, before he lost his mind. I would like to say that my feelings for him are completely dead, but...”

“Do you still love him?” Marinette asked, with a sympathetic look.

“Yes.” Nathalie admitted, embarrassed, “I still love him.”

“I think we have more in common than you think.” Marinette realized that loving an Agreste was quite... complicated.

Nathalie couldn’t understand it.

“More in common, what does you mean?”

“Being in love with an Agreste.” Marinette thought very carefully about her next question “It hurts, doesn’t it?”

“Yes.” Nathalie now understood what she was referring to: “It hurts.”

“Me too, he made me suffer a little. But now things are going well for us.” Marinette hoped to give Nathalie hope that things would be okay.

Nathalie heard a notification on her phone. When she opened it, she found a link that directed her to a news site. Upon reading her headline her smile disappeared.

Oh no.

Marinette received a message from Adrien.

It was the same link that directed her to the news that Nathalie received. When she read the title, she understood what it was about.

“Where did those photos come from?” Marinette dared to ask.

“It was when I went with Gabriel to his appointment with the therapist. They must have taken them from afar so we wouldn’t notice. Gabriel always dealt with this kind of thing ever since he became famous, but it hadn’t come up again in years, especially with the death of Adrien’s mother.”

Nathalie watched as her email filled up with messages asking about what was on the news.

This is the last thing we need.

Marinette also looked at Nathalie’s email.

“I have contact of someone who could help us.”

Marinette had an expert she could ask.

Marinette left to visit Alya. She explained the situation and Alya took her to her room to talk about it.

“Let’s go to my room. It will be safer to talk there.”

Alya closed the door to her room to talk to Marinette alone.

“Alya, how do you deal with the press?” Marinette got to the point.

“How do you deal with the press? What kind of question is that? You didn’t get into trouble with them, did you?

“No, no, I didn’t get in trouble with them,” Marinette waved her hands at what Alya was implying “But there are other people who did get in trouble with them and they need assistance.”

Alya suspected that wasn’t the truth of the whole story.

“Is all good?” Alya hadn’t heard much from Marinette in the last few days. Although they were on holidays, they hadn’t had much time to tag along.

Marinette sat next to Alya on her bed.

“More or less. I’m in a pretty serious situation.”

“Do you need help Marinette?” Alya was worried about her friend.

“No Alya. I wouldn't want to involve you. It’s very dangerous. You’ve done enough for me already.”

“Is it something serious?” Alya was very worried about Marinette. You could tell she was onto something very serious.

“I can’t tell you much. It’s a very dangerous situation and I already have too many people involved to involve you too, Alya.”

Alya understood that he didn't fully trust her. And apparently that was something so serious that she didn't want to involve her directly.

“I understand that you don’t want to tell me, Marinette. Just whatever you’re doing, be very careful Marinette.”

“I’ll do.” Marinette hugged Alya.

“Now, to deal with the press I can talk to some people to help us from the Ladyblog…”

Alya explained what they could do in that case. Marinette went with the idea to Gabriel who was a little skeptical of the idea.

—

Marinette returned as soon as she could to the mansion with the idea. She gathered Nathalie, Gabriel and Adrien in the kitchen to explain what Alya advised her. Gabriel was a little skeptical of the idea.

“You can record a video explaining that you are both only in a professional relationship. Like you’ve done before.” Marinette finished explaining what Alya had explained to her.

“Will it be effective to do something like that?” Gabriel’s public relations team told him the same thing. Gabriel wasn’t so sure that was a good idea.

“That was the advice Alya gave me. She knows a lot about social media. You can record a video clarifying the relationship between you and Nathalie; and she will be in charge of spreading it over the internet.”

"And does she know anything about us, Miss Marinette?” Gabriel still didn’t completely trust Marinette. “You haven’t told Miss Césaire anything?”

“I have avoided telling more people because I am afraid that one of them will find out and we will get in trouble. The guardians gave me an ultimatum. If they find out that I lied to them and that you are involved, I will stop being the guardian and… I will lose my memory when that happens.”

Gabriel realized at that moment that Marinette took a big risk by making the decision to give him a second chance. And she could lose everything. She looked at Nathalie who was sitting drinking her coffee in the kitchen.

“Then we must prevent that from happening at all costs” Gabriel said.

“Luka is doing everything possible so that they don't notice what we're doing. It's been difficult, but we're doing it, for now” Marinette sat in the dining room “Though for the moment, let's focus on solving this little problem.”

Adrien was thoughtful. Suddenly an idea came to him.

“What if we publish the video on my public account?” Adrien suggested.

“Your account?” Gabriel remembered asking Nathalie to create a brand account for Adrien because of her modeling work, although she was left behind when Adrien decided to stop modeling months ago.

“I think it would be more credible, father. I could use account reach to help spread the message as well. I know my account has been inactive for a long time, and it may not have the same reach as before, but we could try.”

"Then let’s do it, Adrien," Gabriel agreed.

“Nathalie, you have the password to my account?” Adrien ran to look for Nathalie to help him with his idea.

“Yes, I have it, Adrien.” Nathalie proceeded to access the account that Adrien used for his modeling work “I’m ready when you are.”

They proceeded to record the video and edit out the parts that probably wouldn't help their case. After Adrien published the video that Gabriel recorded with the intention of calming the waters, they disconnected from their networks for a few hours and waited for the result to be positive.

Gabriel was on edge. He just cleaned up in the kitchen while they waited. Nathalie, Adrien and Marinette sat in the dining room to see the public's reaction.

Within hours the video went absolutely viral. Everyone was sharing the video.

“What are they saying about us, Adrien?” Gabriel decided that it was time to face the public’s opinion.

Adrien logged into his account after hours and began to read comments.

“Some ask who Nathalie is, others are not very convinced. There is even a hashtag called Gabenath.”

Gabriel didn’t expect that there were so many people who thought they were a couple.

That was something unexpected.

“Are you sure it's a positive reception, Adrien?” Gabriel wanted to make sure they would be left alone after doing this.

“Sure.” Adrien scrolled down his page “There are more good comments than bad ones.”

Adrien continued reading comments. Apparently, that would be enough to calm people down a bit.

“I’m sorry for getting you into this, Nathalie. It wasn’t my intention.” Gabriel thought that maybe he should have insisted to Nathalie that he was going to therapy alone.

“It’s okay, Gabriel. It’s not the first time, and I don’t think it will be the last.” Nathalie was very sure how desperate the media could be to get a juicy story for her audience. All these years working for the Agreste’s taught him that.

Marinette went to see Alya again to thank her for her help and ask her for something of utmost importance.

“Thank you very much Alya,” Marinette sat on Alya’s bed. “I didn’t know who else to turn to for this.”

“I know, it’s the least I can do,” Alya sat in the swivel chair at her desk “But what do you need?”

"Alya, can you do me another favor?" Marinette moved her fingers nervously.

“Tell me.” Alya approached with her chair to where Marinette was.

“I need to find who stole the butterfly Miraculous. And I think you would be the perfect person to help me.”

“I need you to tell me the whole story then…”

Alya made herself comfortable.

Marinette then proceeded to tell her what had happened in her confrontation with Monarch. She just omitted to say who Monarch really was.

Alya listened in amazement to the fight Marinette had with Monarch. Once the story ended, Alya had certain suspicions.

“He didn’t die, right Marinette?” Alya was guessing some things from what Marinette told her.

“Yes, Alya, I’m covering him up along with the person who was Mayura. I can’t tell you who they are. I’m afraid that the guardians will interrogate you.” Marinette finishes Alya talking too much like last time “They were already hard enough on me.”

“So that’s how that person got the Miraculous?” Alya was thoughtful.

“Yes, when I fought with Monarch, he lost the Miraculous at one point in the fight and someone else took it without me realizing it and when I went to look for it, it was too late.”

“Then I’ll be in charge of investigating,” with the information she had, Alya could start investigating “I have one last question, do you have any clues about who it could be?”

“I’m not sure. I know that he is a person apparently of a similar age to us. We don't know any further than that. We couldn't see that person's face in the few recordings in which he appears.

“So, this is going to be more difficult than I thought.” Alya finished writing down the last details that Marinette gave her in a notebook. “Don’t worry Marinette, I’ll help you investigate.”

“Thank you Alya. I owe you one.” Marinette and Alya hugged each other.

Chapter Text

After the incident with the press, and taking charge of placating the worst of the blow, Gabriel dedicated himself to meditating all day about the decision that sooner or later he would have to make.

It was time to let Emilie go once and for all.

Even if it ended up breaking him.

But he didn’t know exactly how. Gabriel needed some time alone to do it. If he was to follow Gerald’s advice, perhaps he should start now.

At the end of the day, Gabriel went to his bedroom, the one he used to share with Emilie. The one who was now cold and completely alone.

Gabriel opened the door, finding the room almost completely dark. Without turning on the light, he groped for his desk and sat down in front of it.

Gabriel looked for a sheet of paper that he stored in one of the drawers of his desk in his room. He prepared one of his favorite pens and grabbed one of the drawing sheets he kept on his desk.

He found himself with a blank page without knowing what to say or what to do.

Gabriel was left wondering what he could write for Emilie.

He rested his elbows on the table, wondering where to start. The dim light in the room barely lit his desk. Gabriel clasped his hands as he thought about how he could begin a letter, at least one under these circumstances.

One that perhaps Emilie would never read.

He saw the candle that was in the corner of the desk. He recognized it instantly: It was part of the candles that Emilie used to buy. These were candles which gave off vanilla essence that Emilie used to light every night to try to relax him after a stressful day at work.

Since she left, Gabriel didn’t dare touch any of the things that belonged to Emilie. And that included the last candle left. It was barely used, but it was the specific candle Emilie lit the last night she was alive.

But maybe the smell of the candle would help him clarify his thoughts and finally make the decision. Gabriel sat down in his seat. He put the candle aside and lit it with a match that he jealously guard in the corner of one of his drawers.

The vanilla scent from the candle filled the room. With the help of the candlelight and in the darkness, Gabriel looked at the empty page. Maybe he would start by talking to Emilie just like he used to do when he came down to the den to check on her.

Dear Emilie…

The pen stopped at that exact phrase. This time the words weren’t flowing. Every time Gabriel came down to the lair, he always had something to say, but this time was different.

He went completely blank for a moment. Gabriel couldn’t think of how he could begin.

But he had to try.

Dear Emilie,

The first in this series of letters is for you. They were recommended to me by the therapist you told me about before you went into that deep sleep you never woke up from.

Nathalie also urged me to do it.

Maybe if I had listened, I wouldn’t have found myself in the situation I’m in now.

But this time I’ll do things right. Once I finish writing these letters, I’m going to do something you made me promise that I never wanted to do.

I’m going to let you go.

You will go as you asked me long ago, before you left us. I should have done it sooner, I know, but better late than never.

I’m so sorry Emilie. I would have saved Adrien a lot of suffering if I had just let you go in the first place.

When I write the last letter, it will mean that it is time to say goodbye.

But I do it for my own good, for Adrien’s good, and for Nathalie’s good.

They already let you go, but I didn’t want to.

And thanks to that I ended up hurting them.

I’m so sorry Emilie. I know you would be very disappointed in me if you ever found out what I have been up to these last few months.

But don’t worry, this won’t ever happen again.

Sincerely

Your dear Gabriel.

Gabriel leaned back in his chair, having finished writing the letter. He had to admit that he felt better having gotten out all those feelings that he had bottled up for a long time.

Gabriel reread it over and over again in case he had forgotten something and he would need to rewrite it. If he was going to write letters, he was going to make it count.

It was his official farewell to Emilie after all. Gabriel took the letters and carefully put them in the drawer on top of the paper sheets that were inside it. He locked the drawer in case Nathalie or Adrien accidentally found those letters. He didn’t feel comfortable having anyone other than himself read what he was writing to his wife.

Nathalie had decided to show Adrien her job. Although she was pretty sure Adrien knew a lot about it, she wanted to take this opportunity to see if Adrien would be interested in anything she did.

Nathalie was looking for a way to help Adrien find what he really liked.

“Adrien come here.”

Adrien sat next to her on the bed.

“Adrien, I was thinking about how to help you find something you like. So I thought I’d show you some things I do at my job. Would you like it?”

“We could try.” Adrien settled down next to Nathalie while she showed him her usual work. She tried to make it interesting for Adrien, so he wouldn’t get bored.

Once she finished showing him the basics, Nathalie wanted to know what Adrien thought about it.

“Is there anything that interests you about what I do, Adrien?” Nathalie turned off the computer, having finished her usual day.

“No Nathalie, nothing you showed me caught my attention.”

Gabriel had been listening to everything from behind the door. He went to check on Adrien as he used to do for a few weeks now, but he didn’t find him in his room.

Nathalie was really trying to help Adrien find what he was good at in life.

“Don’t worry Adrien, you still have plenty of time to find out. I’m going to see what else I can do for you,” Gabriel heard Nathalie say.

Should I help him? Should I show him what I do at work? That was the only thing Gabriel could think of at that moment.

He would discuss that with Nathalie later.

For now, it was time for Gabriel to write the second letter to Emilie. He has been procrastinating the task for a few days, and he knew he couldn’t keep doing it forever. Gabriel went to the kitchen to get a glass of water to start writing the letter. He closed the curtains in the room to go to sleep once he finished.

He sat down again in front of the desk to write.

He was tired.

So, so tired.

But he had to do it, he couldn’t delay it any longer. Gabriel had to comply with Emilie’s wishes no matter what.

Beloved Emilie.

This will be my second letter to you.

I think you should know how things are at the mansion.

Nathalie and I are in a complicated situation.

In the time you had been gone, the relationship between me and Nathalie changed. It was no longer the professional relationship that we almost always had, but she began to notice how sad I was and tried to help me even though you told her not to.

She even went so far as to use the Peacock Miraculous even though I forbade it.

You don’t know how I regret not having stopped her even knowing the consequences that would entail.

If only I had stopped her, Nathalie wouldn’t be sick and she wouldn’t be on her way to suffer the same fate as you, Emile.

And I don’t want her to die, I don’t want her to pay the same cost that I paid with you Emilie.

I was a fool.

I feel like I’m betraying you for that Emilie. Nathalie was there for me when you were gone and she was a great support to me even when I didn’t treat her in the best way.

I’m starting to think that maybe I do have feelings for her. Just as Adrien once told me

I hope you don’t mind, Emilie. I still love you, but...

Nathalie is creeping into my heart more and more, so it’s hard to deny it at this point.

And I think it’s time to admit what I’ve been avoiding for many months.

As for Adrien, I think you’d kill me if you knew what I did to him. I hurt him without knowing it and when I realized what I did, it was too late.

I broke him. I am an irresponsible father.

I’m so sorry, Emilie. I’m doing what I can to remedy it.

Sincerely,

Gabriel Agreste, your beloved husband.

Gabriel leaned back in his chair. He looked back at the source of the light, noticing that the candle had changed. The wax ran down the sides of the candle, its size reduced considerably.

Just enough for one more session.

The smell of vanilla filled the room once again. He would take advantage of his more relaxed state to rest.

Gabriel blew lightly to blow out the candle once more.

Gabriel was thinking about what he could do to help Adrien find his true calling. He supposed that since he was a sentimonster, he really wouldn’t know where to start or what to really do without him giving him a direct order. But that wasn’t something he wanted to do...

Gabriel consulted with Nathalie about what decision to make.

“Do you think I should teach him something about my job? Gabriel was looking through his old designs, thinking what he should do with Adrien, while he walked around Nathalie’s room.

“I don’t know if Adrien would be interested in learning about your job, but you could try. Do you remember that as a child he liked to draw you things?

“Yes, I still have the drawing he gave me years ago.” Gabriel remembered the drawing of Adrien that he had framed a long time ago.

"Maybe you could show him what your drawings looked like before you turned so boring."

Gabriel frowned at the last thing Nathalie said.

Would Adrien like to be a designer? Or work on something related?

"Just show him how you work, it’s not that difficult," Nathalie told him.

He would have to try.

“Nathalie, Is Adrien available right now?”

“Yes, he is in his room.” Nathalie answered automatically.

“By any chance, where did you put the things, I asked you to keep a long time ago?” Gabriel remembered very well that Nathalie was the only one who knew where the most recent finished sketchbooks he finished were kept.

“It’s in one of the wardrobes. I left them in a box. It is marked with your name; it won’t be difficult for you to find it.

Gabriel went to look for what he needed: his most recent design sketchbooks. Gabriel looked for the box deep in one of the wardrobes, until he found a box marked with his name as Nathalie mentioned to him. He opened it to check on the contents and took it towards the atelier in order to show it to Adrien.

Gabriel stood in front of Adrien who was sitting on his couch trying to play one of his video games, but he was moving the controller looking at nothing.

“Adrien, I need to talk to you.” Gabriel called Adrien’s attention, who left the controller next to Plagg, who was also on the couch. “I was thinking that since Nathalie showed you what she does at work, maybe I could show you what I do. Would you agree?”

“If you say so, father.” Adrien stood up.

“Then come with me to the atelier, I’ll show you what my daily life is like in my office.”

Adrien didn’t understand the point of doing all that. His father had been designing long before he was born, and he knew quite a bit about his profession.

Gabriel asked Adrien to make himself comfortable. Adrien sat on the seats in the modeling area of the atelier and Gabriel sat next to him. He brought the box he brought with him closer to take out one of the sketchbooks and show him.

“Adrien, Nathalie asked me to show you something about my job.”

Adrien didn’t seem too happy with the idea.

“Of being a designer? But Father, I’ve seen you work before, you’re in front of the screen all day.” Adrien then remembered what he was really doing during his Design time “Or at least, that’s what you do when you weren’t there terrorizing Paris.”

Gabriel took the hint immediately.

“Adrien. I’m sorry. You deserved better than the treatment I gave you.” Gabriel said regretfully. He decided to continue with what he was going to do.

“Well, how about we continue?” Gabriel turned the pages.

“Drawing is not the only thing I do, Adrien. I’m also the CEO of the company and that influences the design decisions I make. The industry requires more than talent. You must adapt.”

“Is that why you make boring designs now?” Adrien questioned.

That hurt him a little. Adrien didn’t like his new designs. And apparently neither does Nathalie.

“Oh, that. I didn’t have a choice, Adrien. The public was no longer liking my designs and Audrey advised me that I should change my designing style so that my fortune would grow.” Gabriel looked for another one from his sketchbook to give to Adrien.

So that’s why you changed so much. Adrien thought.

Maybe Gabriel should take a different perspective from that.

“Adrien, maybe you remember this.” Gabriel showed him the worn sketchbook that Nathalie kept on her desk. Adrien took the sketchbook. As he did so many memories came back to him.

Adrien returned to his childhood with that sketchbook. He remembered that it was one of the sketchbooks Gabriel used to lend him to see what was in it.

“I loved this one, I really liked how you used to draw, Father.” Adrien hugged the sketchbook to him, feeling nostalgic for better times.

Gabriel took his hand as he placed the sketchbook on the table.

“But I wouldn’t want this for you either. The life of a designer is very hard, it is full of vultures that would like to see you fall if you are very talented. That they are going to want to destroy you.”

Adrien was feeling very discouraged.

“I don’t feel very interested in this anyway, father. I feel like I don’t have any interest in anything in particular." Adrien played with the pencil Gabriel had given him.

Gabriel leaned in a little to be closer to Adrien.

“Adrien, I know I haven’t been very good to you these last few months and I don’t know if you’re going to believe what I’m going to tell you” Gabriel took Adrien’s hand “But don’t worry, one day you’ll find something you like and I will accept wharever you choose.”

“Aren’t you going to decide for me anymore?” Adrien continued playing with the pencil.

“No Adrien. A while ago I decided that I will no longer intervene in your decisions and that includes the career you are going to choose.” Gabriel reminded him “But, I want you to take your time before deciding something, do not feel pressured to make a decision if you are not sure.”

“Thank you, father.” Adrien felt a weight lift from his shoulders.

“Look, I’m going to show you what I do on the canvas.” Gabriel went up to the podium where he opened his canvas.

“Father, there’s no need for you to show me, I’ve seen you work before.” Adrien climbed up behind him.

“It doesn’t hurt to show it to you again, come with me.” Gabriel told him to stand next to him.

Adrien could notice that his father had the canvas open and that some drawings were on it. But only one person in particular was represented in the drawings. And that person looked a lot like someone…

“Who is the woman in your drawings?” Adrien pointed to one of the drawings Gabriel made. Adrien couldn’t help but think that the model looked a lot like… Nathalie?

"It’s no one in particular, Adrien.” Gabriel wanted to avoid the topic.

“But she looks like Nathalie.” Adrien was sure her father was in denial. The woman on the canvas had black hair and a red streak of hair.

Could his father have feelings for Nathalie despite what happened?

Gabriel quickly opened a new canvas to get out of the awkward moment he found himself in.

“How about we continue with what we were doing Adrien.” Gabriel looked quite nervous from what Adrien had told him.

Adrien looked at him strangely but didn’t comment further on it.

Adrien watched as his father designed. In the time it was there he realized design wasn’t something he saw himself doing for the rest of his life.  

“Father, I think don’t really have any interest in this. This is something Marinette is interested in. But not me.” Adrien said.

“And I don’t expect you to like it Adrien. But I did it to help you find your purpose in life. You can keep trying other things.”

Adrien was disappointed. It seems that finding his true calling was going to be more difficult than he thought.

The time between the first two letters and the last was quite evident, more than a week had passed, and Gabriel still did not muster up the courage to write the last one. Maybe his brain and his heart refused to accept what was coming after he finished writing that last letter. Despite the feeling of emptiness that writing the fatal final letter generated in him, Despite the feeling of emptiness that writing the fatal final letter generated in him, at the same time it gave him a feeling of relief.

Gabriel opened the drawing again and examined it more closely.

His son was right. The woman in the drawing was very similar. Was I drawing her unconsciously?

He saved the drawing again and turned off the screen before anyone else could notice.

It was already time. The last day Emilie would be with them. He hadn’t dared to tell Adrien and Nathalie yet.

He didn’t want Adrien to have to see that. He had already suffered enough.

He went to his room to write the third and final letter he would address to Emilie.

He hesitantly lit the candle for the last time. He got comfortable in his seat and wrote on the paper the last thing he would dedicate to his beloved Emilie. Gabriel read over and over again what he had written, wondering if he should change anything in that letter.

The light of the candle died the instant it touched the melted wax at the bottom. Only the remains of the wax that remained had not completely melted and it was beginning to dry at the bottom of the metal which contained the candle.

Writing that letter was truly painful for him.

He stuffed the letter along with the other three into the inside pocket of his jacket.

It was his own catharsis after a long time avoiding the subject.

Gabriel had made sure to hide the tears he had shed on the way to Nathalie’s room. He didn’t want Adrien worry about what he was about to announce to them.

“I have to speak with you two,” Gabriel closed the door behind him so that the gorilla wouldn’t hear anything. “It’s important.”

Adrien and Nathalie stopped what they were doing.

“Adrien, Nathalie, I decided that we will say goodbye to your mother officially.” He said while looking at Adrien.

“Are you sure about this?” Nathalie refused to believe that Gabriel had finally made the decision to let her go, not after the incident with

“It’s time to leave the past behind.” Gabriel sighed “And that’s what Emilie would have wanted, isn’t it?”

Nathalie doubted if it would be true this time. The last time when it happened, she firmly hoped that Gabriel had finally learned to let go of Emilie once and for all, only to be disappointed.

Gabriel continued.

“And that’s why I would like to give you the opportunity to say goodbye to her.

Gabriel took Adrien with him to stay with his mother for a moment before letting her go for good. He didn’t want to deprive Adrien of that opportunity.

Adrien stayed for a while with his mother’s body. Gabriel gave him space while Adrien was with his mother one last time. Gabriel made preparations to deactivate the machine containing Emilie. He wanted to avoid regretting it and doing something stupid.

Adrien was sitting in front of the capsule.

“It’s time?” Adrien looked in the direction of the footsteps approaching him.

“Yes, Adrien.” Gabriel standing next to him.

Adrien stood up and looked at his mother one last time.

“Goodbye, Mom.”

Adrien returned back to the atelier.

Nathalie also came down to say goodbye to Emilie. She also had her time alone. Emilie was her friend after all, and she knew her for years. She stood in front of the capsule solemnly for a few minutes before turning around and heading back the way she came.

Gabriel went down alone to the lair. He needed to read the three letters before Emilie, especially the last one, which would be his official farewell. And he felt it was too personal to do it with someone else at his side.

He went to Emilie’s side, on one side of the pod.

Gabriel looked at her carefully one last time. Her blonde hair, her pale skin, the result of her death, her impassive face. Soon she would leave them, far away, without him.

Gabriel opened the capsule. He hugged her knowing it would be the last time he would be able to do so. He stroked her hair, just like he used to do when she was alive. He returned her to her capsule and closed the glass door.

Gabriel took out the letters he previously wrote from his pocket. He read each of the letters until he reached the last one.

Once he turned off the machine there would be no turning back.

Dear Emilie,

This will be our farewell. I know you would never forgive me for what I did with Adrien, and that’s why the time has come to let you go. But rest assured that I will take care of him as I should have from the beginning.

I don’t want to think that maybe I’m wrong about making this decision.

But Nathalie and Adrien need me. I know that you will be happier that I am finally going to move on and stop chasing an impossible dream, to bring you back even when that is not what you want.

I want you to know that you will always be in my heart. Even though Nathalie now occupies part of it. I hope you don’t mind.

These will be the last words I will dedicate to you. Even if you never read them, I will be very pleased that you know that at least I did the right thing this time.

If one day I meet with you again, I hope you don’t hate me for everything I caused.

Farewell, my Emilie.

Your beloved forever,

Gabriel Agreste.

Gabriel felt a strong pain in his left arm at that moment. He uncovered the sleeve of his white suit. It was the cataclysm. He was moving further into his arm, reaching up to the elbow.

Gabriel knelt on the ground as the pain passed. The cataclysm was acting at the worst possible moment.

But that wasn’t going to stop him.

Gabriel proceeded to turn off the machine that kept his wife’s body intact.

Gabriel stayed there kneeling there in front of her, releasing the tears he had been holding back all those months.

“I’m sorry Emilie.”

The machine shut down completely, leaving only the backup battery on. Pressing the other button on the control, Gabriel deactivated the backup power, thus shutting down the machine completely.

After a few seconds, Emilie’s vital signs were no longer detectable.

But Gabriel knew it was the right thing to do, no matter how much it hurt him.

Gabriel went back up to the upper floor. He went up the elevator and headed to the room to talk to Nathalie. It was almost getting close to her bedtime, so he wanted to talk to her as soon as possible.

Gabriel closed the door behind him. Nathalie was waiting for him to return, to see if he was going to keep his word this time.

“It is done.”

Nathalie couldn’t get over her astonishment.

“You let her go?” Nathalie put her book aside.

Gabriel nodded, looking at the floor, leaning against the door.

“You’re serious?” Nathalie wanted to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming, that Gabriel had finally let Emilie go for real.

“Very serious.” Gabriel was being honest with her “It was time to let her go. And for me to move on with my life. Just like I told you before”

So, it was true that Emilie’s path was over. Nathalie thought about how difficult it must have been for Gabriel to make that decision.

“I understand Gabriel. You did the right thing.” Nathalie congratulated him “Is there anything else?”

“I just wanted to inform you that I am organizing a funeral for Emilie and I would like to organize it as soon as possible.”

“Do you need help?” Nathalie put aside what she was doing and took the phone from her.

“Yes, Nathalie, please. Put me in contact with funeral services.”

Chapter Text

Gabriel straightened his tie in front of the dresser. The day was turning gray outside.

It was Emilie's funeral.

He looked at his cataclysmed hand after putting on his shirt.

He would have to hide it well if they were going to go outside at the end of the private funeral, they were having in just a few moments.

Gabriel went to look for the first aid kit in the bathroom and from there he took out some bandages. He proceeded to bandage the areas where the cataclysm was located. He couldn't allow that secret to be revealed by accident when they left the mansion. Furthermore, his black suit definitely wouldn't be able to completely cover the wound.

Once he finished, Gabriel looked for a pair of gloves to cover the bandage. Once they finished the small ceremony that they had prepared, they would go to take Emilie's body to the cemetery, where it would finally be deposited and she would finally rest in peace just as she wanted.

Once he had adjusted the gloves, Gabriel looked for his suit jacket, which he left hanging on the desk chair in his room. After settling it in, he looked around. Almost all of Emilie's things were still there. But not by much. The day he let her go, Gabriel decided that he would donate her barely used clothes to charity.

He would only keep some of the jewelry she wore and the family photos she kept with her.

But even though he still hadn't gotten rid of all the things Emilie left behind, the room felt so… empty.

Finally, Gabriel finished getting ready and left to find Adrien. The sooner the ceremony began, the less suspicion it would raise from the public. If the truth came out, he wouldn't be able to fix it this time. Nobody would.

Gabriel walked slowly to his son's room and opened the door. Adrien was barely visible from where he was standing, but he could see that he was in front of the window looking outside.

“Adrien, can I come in?” Gabriel stuck his head out the door. Adrien snapped out of his thoughts and nodded, sitting down on the couch. Adrien was already wearing his attire.

Gabriel approached him, noticing that Adrien had an obvious sad expression.

“Are you ready Adrien?” Gabriel asked gently. He knew Adrien was very sad and he didn't want Adrien to feel intimidated by him.

"I think so," Adrien said timidly.

Gabriel sat next to Adrien on the couch.

“Adrien I'm sorry for having to put you through this, I'm trying to do the right thing now... that Ladybug gave me a new chance.”

“I know.”

Gabriel stood up to head out of the room. He stood at the entrance to wait for Adrien and take him downstairs.

“Let’s go down. The ceremony is about to begin.”

Upon leaving, they met Nathalie leaving the room with the phone in her hand. She wore a simple black neckless and sleeveless dress that reached her knees. But before she could speak to them, an incoming call interrupted her.

“Give me a moment” Nathalie said to retrace her steps. She required some documents to make Emilie's death official and she left them in her room.

“Come on Adrien. Nathalie will catch up with us later.”

Gabriel went with Adrien to the dining room where they placed Emilie's coffin. They both stood near the coffin to look at Emilie one last time. This time, Emilie was wearing an all-white dress instead of the white suit she wore before.

There would only be the three of them. They couldn't invite more people because that would mean it would leak to the other attendees.

And they couldn't risk that.

They forbade Adrien to mention anything about all of this. Adrien wasn't very happy with the idea. He only mentioned it to Marinette because he knew she would understand.

But his father didn't have to know.

They were there for a moment until they heard the doorbell ring. Gabriel worried again.

What a bad time to receive visitors.

Gabriel's paranoia took over him again.

Could it be Amelie, or Felix? It was agreed between the three of them and the funeral services that no words would come out of the Agreste mansion. Amelie didn't need to know about this. If that happened, Gabriel could say goodbye to everything he knew. Amelie hated him and she wouldn't hesitate to destroy his reputation if she found out what had happened to her twin sister.

And he didn't blame her. And even though Amelie didn't like him very much, he had to admit that he was really mean to her in the past.

And he was also sure that Emilie wouldn't be too happy that Gabriel was hiding something so important from her sister, but he had no choice. Plus, he didn't want to risk losing any of the twin rings again.

After all, to them Emilie was dead.

Nathalie, who was closest to the door, headed to open it only to find Marinette and Luka at the door.

Nathalie stared at them confused.

“What are you doing here?” Nathalie found it very strange. She made sure no one found out. How did Luka and Marinette know?

Marinette shrugged.

“I invited myself. Well, we invited ourselves” Marinette pointed to Luka.

Luka had his hair tied in the back in a small ponytail, pulling most of his hair back, adding to that, he was wearing a black suit just for the occasion. He also had his guitar kept in his case. Marinette wore a simple dress of the same color, with her hair in a bun.

“We came here to be here with Adrien. He told me what you were going to do today and we didn't want to leave him alone,” Marinette said solemnly.

That answered Nathalie's doubt.

Adrien had very good friends.

Although she didn't know what Gabriel would say about this. He was very insistent that they would not say anything to anyone except for themselves and the funeral services. But she couldn't pass up Marinette's goodwill gesture.

“Then come in” Nathalie moved to the side of the door, opening it completely “They are in the room to the right of the hall. Come with me.”

Nathalie guided both kids to the room where they placed the coffin.

As they approached the entrance to the room, Nathalie stopped them with a gesture and entered first.

“Who was it, Nathalie?” Gabriel questioned when he saw her approach her.

“Our guests.”

“Our guests?” Gabriel didn't understand what she meant.

Nathalie motioned for Marinette and Luka to enter.

“Nathalie, I told you not to allow anyone else here.” Gabriel said, remembering the explicit order he gave her.

“Please don't be angry with her. It was our own choice to come.” Marinette intervened for Nathalie.

Adrien was surprised to see them there. He approached them to receive them. Marinette hugged Adrien just as he was next to her.

Adrien felt comforted in those moments. Not only were Nathalie and Gabriel there for him, but Luka and Marinette had come to accompany him in such a difficult time.

Marinette pulled away from him.

“You came.” Adrien took her hands.

“Of course I came, Adrien. We aren’t going to leave you alone in this.” Marinette gave him a sympathetic look. Adrien released Marinette's hands and turned to Luka.

“Luka.” Adrien came up to greet him.

Adrien was sure that Luka came a little hesitant even though his father tried to use him to find out his true identity.

“Thanks for coming.”

Luka gave him a hug too. He couldn't imagine what Adrien was going through now that he knew the truth of everything.

“I'm so sorry Adrien. I wish I could offer you more, but…”

“Your presence alone is enough for me, Luka.” Adrien interrupted him.

Gabriel couldn't explain what they were doing there. He didn't know how they found out.

Adrien probably couldn't resist telling them.

That wasn't in their plans, but this time he wouldn't do anything. Adrien needed all the support he could get. All he did was watch as Adrien's friends tried to comfort him.

The five gathered in front of the coffin. They remained silent, watching over Emilie's body, while it was time to leave.

Adrien stood very close to his mother's coffin. He was memorizing her face before the casket closed. Plagg was comforting him, noticing how sad Adrien looked. Adrien handed him a small piece of cheese in gratitude for what he was doing.

The kwamis came out seeing that there was no issue in doing so. Tikki and Plagg stayed next to their bearers, hidden from the others' sight, it didn't feel appropriate for them to be out there.

After a few moments of silence, each one moved on to offer their respects to Mrs. Agreste. Marinette and Luka brought some flowers that they left on top of the coffin.

Nathalie accompanied Adrien to see her one last time.

Nathalie grabbed Adrien's shoulder and pulled him towards her, squeezing her shoulder in support.

“Thank you, Nathalie.” Adrien whispered.

Gabriel stood next to them not knowing what to say. He was never good at comforting Adrien; Emilie was always the one to take care of that.

And now she is gone.

Gabriel looked at his watch. Time passed so quickly that he hadn't realized that it was time to leave.

Adrien watched as his father closed the coffin.

“It’s time to go.”

Everyone came out to the main entrance. The gorilla already had the car ready and the employees of the funeral service that Gabriel hired were placing the coffin in the car to take it to its destination.

The sky was turning even more gray, indicating that it would rain soon.

Luka and Marinette were getting ready to get on Luka's bike, but Adrien stopped them before they did.

“Wait, I think it's going to rain, shouldn't you use a better method of transportation?”

Both Luka and Marinette looked at the sky watching the gray clouds accumulate more and more in the sky.

“We can make room in the car.” Adrien pointed to where Nathalie and Gabriel were waiting for them.

The funeral services were responsible for taking the coffin to its destination. On their side, Marinette and Luka found a spot in the car. Somehow, they managed to get Nathalie, Luka, Marinette and Adrien to go in the back while the Gorilla and Gabriel went in front.

The sky was getting darker as the minutes passed.

The five went to the cemetery where the family crypt that Gabriel and Emilie prepared a few years ago for the family. They stayed to wait for everything to end. Cemetery workers prepared to store the casket in place as quickly as possible.

“Goodbye, mom.” Adrien placed his hand on top of the coffin one last time.

“Goodbye Emilie.” Gabriel said.

Emilie was placed on the tomb that Gabriel arranged for her. A beautiful tombstone with golden details, a figure of an angel on it and Emilie's face carved on the side along with an inscription, which was positioned on one side of the tombstone.

Emilie Agreste

Beloved wife, mother and friend.

19XX – 20XX

Gabriel felt a sharp pain in his arm. He discreetly brought his hand to his left arm. He was sure that the cataclysm had grown once again.

The sky darkened as gray clouds covered it, hiding the sun.

Small drops began to fall on his heads. Gabriel was ignoring the rain that was falling regardless of whether it wet his suit.

Little or nothing could matter to him in the slightest at those moments.

At one point he felt the rain suddenly stop. He looked out of the corner of his eye, finding the person who covered him from the rain.

It was Nathalie. She was covering him with a black umbrella. She gave him a kind look and stood very close to him, looking at Emilie's grave which was being closed.

Gabriel looked at her with a gesture of gratitude.

Thank you, Nathalie.

Nathalie seemed to understand and they both stayed silent.

Adrien stayed behind them along with Marinette who covered him with her own umbrella and with Luka who covered himself with another umbrella waiting for everything to be over, so they could go back home.

They were there for a while until the rain intensified. Everyone got into the car to return home.

Gorilla led them all back to the mansion. Gabriel sat in the front again looking at Adrien specifically in the rear-view mirror.

He didn't look fine.

Marinette and Luka went back with them to the mansion and would stay with Adrien a little longer. From there they would both leave for their respective homes.

Nathalie stepped forward to open the door. She allowed Adrien and Gabriel to go in, followed by Marinette and Luka. Adrien entered the house, still looking gloomy. He didn't know it was so hard to have to say goodbye to his mother when he had already let her go.

But he also felt bad for his father. Although he partly hated him for what he did, that didn't mean he didn't think about how sad his father must have been after letting his mother go.

Gabriel went directly to Emilie's painting. He opened it only to store Emilie's defunction documents. They would be safe there.

Nathalie went after Gabriel, only to see him contemplate the painting of his wife like he used to do before entering the lair. Nathalie wanted to have that moment to comfort him, but she didn't know if it was a good idea to do it at that exact moment.

She would give him a moment to assimilate it.

Although Gabriel had another idea. He was not in the capacity to store those documents himself. His hand refused to do so.

“Nathalie.” Gabriel called her.

“Yes sir?”

Gabriel pointed to the documents.

“Please, when I leave the atelier, store these documents very well inside the portrait, do you understand?”

“Yes, Gabriel.”

Gabriel stared at the painting for a moment longer before turning away from it.

The next day he would remove it from the place.

He couldn't stand Emilie still looking at him from the painting. Maybe he would just leave the door to keep other things there. He would store the painting in the most remote room of the Agreste mansion.

He handed Nathalie the documents so she could store them in an organized manner in the portrait. Gabriel needed to check on Adrien again to see how he was doing.

Adrien sighed. He promised himself not to cry for his mother because he had already cried enough for her when she disappeared.

And he was sure that his mother would be very sad to see him like this.

Even so, his heart felt crushed.

Gabriel saw that Adrien's sad expression had not changed at all. He felt guilty again. Adrien's grieving process could have been better if it weren't for him.

Gabriel felt a sting in his arm again. In reflex he brought his hand towards it, taking care to not touch the wound directly.

Gabriel's glove came undone a little as did his bandage when Gabriel grabbed his arm. Parts of his wound were exposed when the bandage loosened, but he quickly pulled on his sleeve to hide it. Luckily no one would have noticed, or at least he hoped so.

Despite the distance between them, Marinette immediately noticed that part of his hand was already blackened by the cataclysm.

“Mr. Agreste, let me see.”

Before Gabriel allowed her to see his arm, Marinette took his hand, noticing that Gabriel's cataclysm had advanced much further than the last time.

Not only that. Marinette noticed that the cataclysm on Gabriel's arm had gotten bigger when they were at the cemetery. Being behind Gabriel she noticed how he touched the area where the cataclysm originated.

Gabriel's time was running out.

And for her it meant that they had less and less time.

Maybe her and Luka's hypothesis were right. Negative situations were the cause of their illnesses appearing again and much faster.

“Mr. Agreste, don't you think that perhaps negative feelings are causing your cataclysm to advance even faster?”

Gabriel began to think. All the times when the cataclysm spread through his body were quite negative situations. Unlike last time, this time he hadn't done anything that would make the cataclysm worse like when he tried to use the kwamis to try to cure himself. Although it was quite gradual compared to the previous situation.

“Perhaps I underestimated what you told me before Miss Dupain-Cheng” Gabriel put his hand to his chin thoughtfully.

“Did you not notice that his illness was progressing faster because they were in a negative situation? When they learned of Adrien's true identities, the cataclysm returned again and Nathalie's illness returned fairly quickly as well even though the effects of the Creation and Destruction Miraculous were recent.”

"And when I finally let my wife go, the cataclysm spread through my arm again," Gabriel reasoned.

Maybe Marinette's idea wasn't so far-fetched after all.

With this new information, Gabriel then decided that maybe he would turn this into a slightly more positive memory for him and Adrien. Gabriel noticed a while back when they arrived that Adrien seemed to be holding back tears.

He crouched down to Adrien's level to talk to him.

“I know you're trying to be strong, Adrien. But there is no need for you to do it anymore. You have the right to cry for your mother.

Tears were beginning to gather in Adrien's eyes. But he still refused to let them out.

“Let me hug you.”

Gabriel hugged him. He had distanced himself from Adrien because he wanted to keep him away from the spiral of destruction he caused when Emilie left.

But he realized that it had the opposite effect.

If only he had been by his side from the beginning...

But there was no time to regret the mistakes he made in recent months. The only thing he could do was repair what he had ruined.

“Just let it out, son. I'm not going to judge you”

Adrien let out the first tears that he had been holding back throughout the entire funeral. It had been a long time since his father hugged him like that. Adrien managed to wet his father's shirt with the abundant tears that fell from his face. He had to hide his feelings so much without his father comforting him.

None of the three noticed in time that a black butterfly entered through the open window heading towards Adrien.

The butterfly entered Adrien's Miraculous.

Marinette and Luka managed to see the butterfly getting into Adrien's ring, but it was too late to catch it.

“An Akuma!” Marinette exclaimed.

Gabriel felt Adrien suddenly getting stiff. She looked from him to Adrien only to find Adrien with a lost look, but at the same time scared.

Adrien was in the process of being akumatized.

Gabriel had to stop him at all costs. He didn't feel capable of having to face Adrien himself.

“Adrien!” Gabriel tried to get Adrien's attention without success.

Gabriel was afraid that the Akuma would put his son's safety at risk.

Adrien heard a voice in his mind.

Adrien. the honeyed voice called him by his name.

That person knew him.

“Don't, leave me alone.” Adrien was trying to get the person out of his mind without success. Plagg came out of his pocket worried about his wearer.

“Adrien!” Plagg floated in front of him. Adrien made an effort to look at him. “Don't let her brainwash you.”

Adrien, let me help you... the voice said. You could have what you want, like having your mother back, your father and Nathalie could be cured. Let me help you in exchange for Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous. With them everything will be possible.

The voice in his head seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't identify where he had heard it before.

Gabriel backed away from him, afraid that Adrien would transform and attack them. Now he wasn't the one in control. The one behind the butterfly mask was the person in control.

That person was taking advantage of Adrien's sadness.

Adrien was having a hard time getting out of Akuma's control. At that moment Marinette and Luka went to his side to try to help him get out of the Akuma's control being in such a vulnerable position.

Come on Adrien, do it for yourself, do it for your mother. the female voice sounded quite convincing, maybe he could give in this time.

Maybe then his suffering would end.

Gabriel had to do something to help Adrien get out of the butterfly wielders control.

“Adrien, don't listen to what she's telling you, it's not true.”

Luka stepped back giving them space. He knew from the guardians that the only person who could refuse the akumatization would be the affected person in question. He would have to trust that Gabriel could clear Adrien's mind.

Marinette stood to the side to see what Gabriel was planning to do. Standing in front of him, Gabriel knelt in front of him and grabbed his shoulders.

“Adrien, listen to me. I know I was a bad father, but I love you very much.” Gabriel took his face. “And I am very sorry for hurting you.”

Adrien was still resisting the Akuma.

Gabriel hugged him there.

“Son, please, you can do it. Everything will be fine I promise you.”

Gabriel separated from him and examined him to see that he was okay.

Adrien was resisting as much as he could.

“Leave me alone Chrysalis! I'm not going to help you in the slightest!”

Adrien felt his mind release. Finally, he had managed to break the connection with Chrysalis. The butterfly came out of Adrien's ring flying away from him.

It floated for a moment before flying aimlessly and heading towards Luka. It seemed that the butterfly’s miraculous holder wanted to make use of any trace of strong emotions she could find.

It was time for Luka to put into practice what he had learned with the guardians. Positioning his hands just as Su Han had taught him, he began to perform the ritual to repel the Akuma.

“The anger is mine, but I am not my anger. The anger is mine, but I am not my anger.” Luka repelled the Akuma successfully. That gave Marinette time to quickly transform behind a wall.

Ladybug took her yo-yo and before the butterfly could escape, she caught it and purified it. The purified butterfly left the mansion through the window that Luka opened.

Everyone released their breath.

“Everyone is alright?” Ladybug asked.

Adrien separated from his father realizing that he managed to repel the Akuma effectively.

“I was about to be akumatized.” Adrien was taking things in, recovering from his almost akumatization.

“Are you ok, Adrien?” Gabriel was a little worried that Adrien's almost akumatization would have some adverse effect on him. Gabriel examined his face; it was adorned with a worried expression.

Adrien shook his head. His father was always somewhat paranoid, but he had never seen him react that way.

“Yes, I'm fine. Don’t worry about me, father.”

Nathalie entered the foyer unexpectedly. She heard commotion as she finished organizing the things that were stored inside Emilie's box and ran to see what was happening.

When she came out, everything had returned to normal.

Nathalie wasn't quite sure what had happened. She left for a moment, just a moment, and when she returned everyone was upset and Adrien was even worse than before.

“What happened?”

Nathalie needed a lot of explanations. Why was Marinette transformed?

“Adrien was almost akumatized” Ladybug replied.

Nathalie was horrified. Who would be so vile as to akumatize Adrien at a time like this?

But for Nathalie there was only one culprit. There was just one person

Gabriel.

She gave Gabriel a furious look before leaving. She ran up the stairs quickly so Gabriel couldn't catch up with her.

“Nathalie, wait!”

Nathalie closed the door to her room angrily. Gabriel leaned against the door frustrated, Nathalie misinterpreted the whole situation and now he had to explain to her what really happened down there with Adrien.

Gabriel then decided that he couldn't wait. If he didn't it might be too late for them.

And he didn't want to make any more mistakes with Nathalie.

Gabriel forced his way into the room to explain what really happened.

Chapter Text

Gabriel forced the door until he could open it in no time. He got into Nathalie's room, finding her sitting on her bed.

"Get out of here.” Nathalie, an unfriendly expression.

“Nathalie, please let me explain.” Gabriel approached her, only to meet the hostile look that Nathalie gave him.

“I know what I saw, Gabriel. I know that you were the reason why Adrien was about to be akumatized. It's always you.” Nathalie genuinely thought that Gabriel was to blame for the situation.

“No Nathalie, I was comforting him. That's not how it happened, you have to believe me.” Gabriel was very desperate for Nathalie to believe him. He wanted her to trust him.

“I don't believe in you anymore Gabriel, I know what you´re like and what you became.” Nathalie wiped away the tears that were beginning to form on her face in a hidden way.

Gabriel seemed a little hurt by what she told him.

“If you hadn't ruined my plan everything would have been fixed and none of this would be happening. Everything would have gone back to normal and none of us would have our lives hanging by a thread” Nathalie continued “If you had handed over the USB with the information to fix the broken Peacock Miraculous, you would have saved Emilie and me.”

“Ladybug could have set a trap for me, Nathalie, I couldn't risk it.” Gabriel tried to justify himself.

Nathalie crossed her arms.

“The only know that you chose to beat a couple of teenagers instead of saving us.”

A butterfly entered the room, attracted by the fight that was taking place in the room. Neither of the two adults had noticed. It hovered above their heads, waiting for the right moment.

"This is all your fault, Gabriel," Nathalie snapped. "If you had been nicer to Adrien and had listened to him from the beginning, none of this would be happening."

Gabriel no longer knew what to say to show Nathalie that he had changed.

“I already apologized to him.” Gabriel continued.

“You can't fix everything with apologies, Gabriel!”

Gabriel received her words like a knife in the back. He was doing everything he could to fix things with Adrien, although Nathalie apparently didn't seem to be taking into account his efforts to do so.

Gabriel went to take Nathalie's hand to beg her to please listen to him, she immediately blocked him with one of the books that were on the bed. Gabriel took the book lightly.

The black butterfly entered the book that Nathalie and Gabriel were holding.

Their mind clouded for a moment before they felt the connection, a connection they knew very well.

They both realized immediately what was happening.

They were about to be akumatized.

Nathalie and Gabriel began to strain his mind to get out of it.

Gabriel could feel a voice coming closer and closer to him.

Mr. Agreste.

“Don't… get away from us, get out of our minds”. Gabriel needed to break the control as soon as possible. If they lost control they would be in serious trouble.

Besides, Adrien was in no condition to face them at this time.

“Why are you scared? I only came to help you.” the voice said innocently. That voice he recognized from somewhere, however, he couldn't recognize where exactly.

"Gabriel, we can't allow... her to akumatize us," Nathalie said with effort. Breaking the connection was proving harder than she thought.

"I don't need your help, poisonous snake," Gabriel pronounced.

And with that Gabriel managed to break the connection. Nathalie was still fighting the connection, to no avail.

Nathalie…

“Nathalie.” Gabriel grabbed her face, trying to get her out of her trance. “Don't listen to her, the last time she manipulated you and deceived you, don't do it. Do it for Adrien. He wouldn't want to have to face you again.”

Gabriel's last words echoed in Nathalie's mind. Quickly, she cut the connection with the Akuma. It got out of the book and before it left, Gabriel quickly took out an empty jar from Nathalie's drawer and caught it. He closed the jar making sure the butterfly would not escape.

"I've got you.” Gabriel moved from his position, moving away from Nathalie and holding in his hands the jar in which they kept the Akuma.

Nathalie's heart was beating rapidly. She was grabbing her head, feeling a slight headache.  

They were very close to losing control.

“I'm sorry Gabriel, I got carried away by my emotions, I shouldn't have done that, especially under these circumstances.”

“It's okay, Nathalie. It's not your fault.”

Gabriel owed Nathalie a sincere apology.

“Nathalie. Forgive me, I was a fool.” Gabriel knelt before her on the bed “I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. I should never have involved you in my plan to bring Emilie back. I shouldn't have been rude to you.”

Nathalie felt bad for not knowing how to control herself.

Gabriel helped her out of her bed.

“Let's go downstairs, Adrien must be worried about us.

They both went down to where Adrien was waiting for them. Marinette and Luka were still there to take care of Adrien.

An Akuma? Adrien thought.

“What happened?” Adrien approached them, pointing to the bottle that his father was carrying in her hand.

“We almost got akumatized, son.” Gabriel showed him the butterfly inside the jar.

Adrien got worried. The second Akuma had entered rather quickly. Only fifteen minutes passed since his father left to look for Nathalie.

“Where did that Akuma come from?” Luka asked. That was very strange.

Marinette understood immediately.

"That means…" Marinette looked at Adrien and he looked at her. They were both thinking the same thing.

“It means there was another Akuma waiting to attack.” Adrien completed, understanding what Chrysalis planned to do with them.

It seemed like they were a target for Chrysalis.

The real question about that was to know, Why?

Gabriel couldn't believe it. The only time he tried something similar, he needed the assistance of an akumatized Nathalie and a fairly well-developed plan with her help.

“But? Why? Why were you upset, Nathalie?” Adrien saw the butterfly flutter in the jar. He had seen how Nathalie had left the entrance.

Nathalie crouched down to Adrien's level to talk to him.

“Because your father was making you suffer again.”

Adrien looked very confused.

“No Nathalie, he was comforting me.” Adrien looked at his father with understanding after many months. “I just couldn't control myself better, that's all.”

Nathalie realized that she misinterpreted the situation.

“I shouldn't have assumed things.” Nathalie felt terrible for her mistake.

“Don't worry, Nathalie, I understand that you don't trust my father, but this time he didn't do anything wrong.” Adrien gave Gabriel a look that he could only decipher as trustworthy.

Gabriel gave the butterfly to Marinette so he could purify it.

She transformed again and with the help of her yo-yo purified the new butterfly that Gabriel had captured.

Once the matter with the Akuma was resolved, it was necessary to speak with Nathalie to clarify their problems once and for all.

“Nathalie, can I speak with you in private?” Gabriel then addressed the children, “You wait here, we'll be back in a moment.”

Nathalie followed him back to the atelier. She left the door ajar while they talked in case the kids needed help again.

“I honestly don't know where to start Nathalie, it's clear that our conflicts are going to bring us more harm than good and that's going to make us a target for Chrysalis.”

“I agree with you.” For the first time in months, they could both agree on something.

“I don't know about you, Nathalie, I think we should make a… truce.”

“A truce? I don't know, Gabriel.” Nathalie didn't think it was an idea that she could fulfill.

Adrien, Marinette and Luka were listening behind the door.

Luka began to have a hunch. This time it was necessary for him to intervene. He was sure that maybe if he intervened, he could push them onto the right path.

Luka could feel a strange vibe in the air. He pulled the guitar out of it to try to discern what it was. He played a couple of notes, listening to the melodies of Gabriel and Nathalie's hearts. It was interesting how different their melodies were, and at the same time, how similar and close they were in tone.

Luka could notice a very strange feeling between the two. He took his guitar and began to tune it while he tried to hear the melody between the two of them.

“What are you doing Luka?” Adrien saw Luka adjusting his guitar.

“I'm reading your father and Nathalie's feelings.” Luka played some test notes. He knocked on the door before entering. Both adults stopped their discussion.

“Mr. Agreste, I'm sorry for the interruption. I could hear that you are in a bit of a dilemma with Miss Sancoeur here. I can feel that you are not telling the whole truth.” Luka positioned himself with his guitar “You know, your heart sounds something like this.”

Luka played a tune.

“A melody that shows a lot of suffering, and despite that, it has the opportunity to love again.”

Then, Luka played a different tune.

“And you, Miss Sancoeur, you have a melody of unrequited love, and even despise that you are also loyal to those you love.”

Nathalie gave Luka a strange look.

“Is this a trick, Mr. Couffaine?” Gabriel was very skeptical of what Luka said. This seemed dumb to him.

“It's not a trick. I have an ability for hearing the melody of people's hearts and what they feel.

Luka played to continue analyzing.

If they had learned anything from Luka in the short time they had known him, it was that Luka is a very honest boy.

“And I know that maybe if you spoke the truth among yourselves, it would help you a lot with your dilemma. And I'm not only referring to the problem you have on your hands.”

Neither of them had admitted the issues they had with each other. They were so focused on Adrien that they forgot that they had to solve their own. 

Nathalie reconsidered for a moment. Maybe she should stop avoiding Gabriel and actually face the problem. For Adrien's sake

“Then I agree.” She offered her hand to Gabriel. He took it immediately. 

“It's a deal. No more fighting between us.”

Lila was clutching her head caused by the abrupt connection cut. Sending two akumas at the same time was her idea. With them she created a distraction so that she could akumatize her second victim if the first attempt failed.

She used all of her power without detransforming. Nooroo had wanted to tell her something, although she didn't have time to listen. Her revenge came first.

Destransforming, she fell to the floor. Some faint vein marks appeared on her face. Looking at the mirror, she noticed they were barely visible on her skin. For now… 

“Miss Rossi, you must be careful with the Miraculous. If used improperly, it can cause a lot of harm to others and especially to you.” Nooroo informed her in his sweet voice.

“I already know that, little Nooroo.”

Something in Lila's voice gave Nooroo chills. Lila seemed very determined to continue with her plan to take revenge on the Agrestes, Ladybug and especially Marinette. He witnessed her planning everything down to the smallest detail. Lila was a really dangerous person.

Nooroo was very scared.

Lila remained transformed until after the security system the Miraculous for protection ended. She looked in the mirror. Noticing some light black marks on her face. She searched through her bag for the makeup kit that she used to carry every time she changed her identity.

“A small setback.” Lila began to apply her makeup in front of the mirror “There is nothing that a little makeup won't solve.”

Gerald was thinking about the progress Gabriel had made in his last session. Gabriel seemed a little less rigid than the first time and Gerald seemed to have made good progress with him.

He still needed to confirm what they were hiding. And for Gerald there was only one way to find out.

Gabriel, Nathalie and Adrien arrived just as they had agreed some time ago. It was difficult to find time to have all three at the same time, although he finally made an appointment for that day.

It was the perfect opportunity.

He was happy when he saw Nathalie, Gabriel and Adrien coming through the door.

“Welcome, you came! I hope you didn´t run into any issues.” Gerald signaled them to sit down.

“We did our best to attend,” Nathalie mentioned, taking a seat between Gabriel and Adrien on the couch.

“Well, that´s very good.”

Gerald would get to the point.

“You know, lately, I've noticed something in our sessions. You guys are hiding something right?” Gerald readjusted himself in his seat, looking each one in the eyes.

Nathalie wasn't expecting that. Her lie was almost perfect.

Maybe she underestimated Gerald.

“Not really.” Nathalie gave him her professional look, trying to divert the conversation.

Gerald looked at the three. Gerald's original plan was to try to talk to only Nathalie, however, he preferred Gabriel and Adrien to be present.

“It's okay if you've been hiding things from me. It is very common among patients. It is more common than you think. Now the problem is that I won't be able to help you if you don't tell me the truth.”

Nathalie put her hands together when she found herself exposed. If they really wanted to help Adrien they should tell Gerald the truth. She looked at Gabriel waiting for his approval.

Gabriel was not very comfortable with the idea. He looked at Adrien, to remember who he was doing all this for.

There was no turning back.

Gabriel returned his gaze to Nathalie and nodded silently.

“Can we trust you?” Even without showing it, Gabriel was very nervous. He wasn't prepared for all the truth to come to light.

Gerald gave them a kind smile to reassure them a little.

“Of course. It is part of the professional secret. And I always keep my word.”

“This will take a while,” Gabriel mentioned.

Gerald settled in his seat, ready to listen to everything the Agreste family had to tell him.

“There´s No problem. I'm free for the next few hours, just do what makes you feel comfortable.” Gerald sat on the couch in front of them and put his hands together.

It was there when Nathalie started telling the story of what took them to where they were now.

Gerald drank the fourth cup of coffee he had taken that day as he listened to more of the story. In his 30-year career, he never imagined that he would end up with a case of this type.

Adrien, Nathalie and Gabriel were none other than Chat Noir, Mayura and Hawkmoth.

He had spoken to Hawkmoth in person.

Now he was feeling at the top of his professional career.

And that whole story was worthy of a soap opera. It was incredible how many things happened in one year. And also, the consequences that the family was suffering due to Gabriel's bad decisions specifically. 

“With everything you have told me, it seems incredible to me, you as a family have suffered enough.”

Gerald rose from his seat to pace around the room and organize his own thoughts.

“Then let me recap, you looked for a magical artifact, found it and by using it you caused the death of Emilie Agreste.”

“That's right,” Gabriel admitted. He omitted some details about the real cause of Emilie´s death since Adrien was there “We used those Miraculouses irresponsibly, and that brought even more misfortunes to our family. The Miraculous made her sick and we couldn't do anything for her.”

“It's understandable you feel this way. With what you told me, there was definitely no turning back for you. And that's why you became Hawkmoth, and Nathalie was helping you the whole time.

“Yes” Gabriel recapitulated in his head what happened next “And then it was when Chat Noir and Ladybug appeared.”

“And it was when everything got out of control, isn't it?” Gerald guessed that was when everything went downhill.

“Yes.” Gabriel repeated “And it's what took us to where we are, that's why we are here.”

Gerald realized something very important with everything he was told. Gabriel and Adrien were quite connected to a specific person.

Nathalie Sancoeur.

He needed to talk to her. Gerald walked closer to where Nathalie was sitting.

“I can speak with you in private, Miss Sancoeur? It will only be a moment.”

They both left, leaving Adrien and Gabriel inside the office.

“What do you need to speak about, Mr. Simson.” Nathalie wasn’t so sure why Gerald wanted to speak with her specifically. 

“Although you are not so directly related to the family, I would believe that you are a very important and influential part of the family. How many years do you say you have been working for the Agreste family?”

“Approximately 15 years.”

That was a long time.

“Well, I think you are part of the family at this point. Nathalie, now I understand what happened between you.” Gerald commented “I can see that things between you and Gabriel are not very good at all.

“He did things that are difficult for me to forgive.” Nathalie remembered the last weeks when she fell terribly ill. That was not the Gabriel she knew.

“I understand, Miss Sancoeur.” Gerald felt empathy for Nathalie “Everything you told me is quite serious, I see that your relationship with Gabriel greatly influences the decisions made regarding Adrien. I think it's important for you two to talk and work things out.”

“I don't know if I should trust him,” Nathalie was very unsure of what to think now. Gabriel was very difficult for her to read now. It seemed like he wanted to change, at times, however, he fell back into the same behaviors that led to his downfall.”

“You know, Mr. Agreste has had great progress. Simply letting his wife go was a big decision on his part.”

Nathalie didn't know what to think. It was true that Gabriel had made the difficult decision to let Emilie go.

“I know I shouldn't tell you this, professional secret you know. But I think this might help you though. Gabriel not only did it for Adrien, he did it for you too, Miss Sancoeur.”

“For me?” Nathalie inquired.

“Gabriel needed a good reason to do what he did, so he came to the conclusion that you and Adrien would be his reason for making such an important decision in his life.”

Had Gabriel done it for her? And for Adrien?

That moved something inside Nathalie. A new feeling of love surfaced in her again.

Maybe she should give it a try.

“I'll let you think about it, Nathalie. Now I must talk to Gabriel.”

They both entered the room again so Gerald could give them his verdict.

“Before you leave, I would like to talk to you for a moment, Gabriel, if it's not too much trouble.” “Nathalie and Adrien, you can leave now. We will see you next session, I will be happy to assist you again.”

Gerald offered them his hand before Nathalie and Adrien left. After they were both a safe distance from the door, Gerald asked a question that arose when he heard the way Gabriel spoke about Nathalie.

“Gabriel, do you have feelings for Miss Sancoeur?”

"How do you know?"

“From what I was told and from what I could see, you seem...quite interested in her. Are you in love with Miss Sancoeur, Mr. Agreste?”

Gabriel couldn't deny it. He really is in love with her.

“Yes, it's true. I'm starting to have feelings for Nathalie. I still don't know how to approach her without making her feel uncomfortable after what happened.”

“Gabriel, it is clear that your relationship with Nathalie is quite complicated, so I suggest seeing that you find a way to make amends with her, not only for yourself but for Adrien as well.”

“Make amends?” Gabriel wasn't sure how he could make peace with Nathalie.

“I don't know, you know her better, maybe you can use something to make Nathalie let her guard down and you can talk frankly with her, like adults.”

Maybe Gerald was right.

“Well, if there's nothing else to mention, I think that would be it. What you decide to do, Gabriel, is up to you.” Gerald proceeded to open the door.

“Thank you, Gerald.” Gabriel offered him his hand to say goodbye. Gerald took it and gave it a squeeze.

“See you soon, Gabriel.”

Gabriel prepared to do what Gerald recommended.

And he would do it with food.

Gabriel asked Adrien if he had any idea that Nathalie might like. He wasn't too sure if Nathalie had a favorite dish. Adrien gave him, a couple of ideas. He could work with it.

Gabriel entered with a tray of breakfast. This was completely different from the one he usually brought her in the mornings. On the tray there was a white rose next to the food.

“It's my peace offering, I hope that with this you know that my intentions with you and Adrien now are different than those I had before I lost my mind.”

The tray that Gabriel brought her left her intrigued. Gabriel had never been a person of words, but of actions.

“Bon Appetit, Nathalie” Gabriel removed the lid of the tray to show her the dish he had made himself.

Nathalie examined what was on the plate. It was a simple crepe with vegetables. She even brought her tea to accompany the meal. She took the fork before Gabriel, who was waiting to know Nathalie's opinion of his new dish. 

Nathalie took a small bite. It needed a little bit of salt. Despite that, it was delicious.

“Nathalie, I know you are thinking badly of me, but this time I was trying to help Adrien.”

“I'm sorry for doubting you, Gabriel.” Nathalie was honest.

"I understand." Gabriel didn't want Nathalie to feel guilty. He understood why she distrusted him so much. "I understand that you don´t trust me. Don´t worry about that.”

Nathalie felt bad about that whole situation. Because of her they almost got akumatized.

“We must prevent a situation like this from happening again.” Gabriel continued “We cannot allow him to akumatize us.”

“Consider it done, Gabriel.” Nathalie nodded. They couldn't let the new wielder of the butterfly Miraculous take advantage of them.

He just wanted to do the right thing and make Nathalie trust him more.

“There is something else that I wanted to tell you, Nathalie. I was thinking about what you recommended a while ago. I was thinking of giving the rings to Adrien.” Gabriel played a little with the ring in his hand.

Nathalie didn't see him so sure about that.

“I thought you said he wasn't ready.” Nathalie drank some of her tea.

“I know what I said, I think you´re right. Adrien deserves his freedom.” Gabriel moved nervously around the room. Doing this was proving to be harder than you thought. And doing it alone made it much worse.

“Gabriel, I can help you.” Nathalie wasn't going to leave Adrien alone.

Gabriel felt somewhat relieved. He did not feel capable of giving the rings alone.

“And when do you plan to do it?” Nathalie put the cup on the plate.

“I do not know yet.”

Nathalie stirred what little of her tea was left, it was already cold after talking about how to help Gabriel with his predicament.

“I think it's better that you do it soon” Nathalie advised him “The sooner you set him free, the better it will be for him.”

Soon an announcement alarmed Gabriel to the point of doubting his decision.

Adrien ran into Nathalie's room, still transformed into Chat Noir.

“Look for the news Nathalie.”

Nathalie looked for the news page and opened the live feed to see what was happening.

The cameras were pointed at some televisions that were broadcasting some kind of message. A series of butterflies appeared in the sky with the face of a person in a butterfly mask. Gabriel, Nathalie and Adrien fell silent to listen.

Hello fellow citizens. 

You may be wondering why Hawkmoth suddenly disappeared and there was calm for a while. Well, now I am the threat.

All I want is for Ladybug and Chat Noir to hand over their Miraculous.

Don't take this as a direct threat to you. Take it as a warning. I won't stop until I have Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous in my hands. So it's better for them to do it the easy way than the hard way.

That message left all three of them cold.

Gabriel was no longer sure whether to give the rings to Adrien. Now that Chrysalis was officially active, he feared for the safety of Adrien and the rings.

What would happen if Chrysalis managed to get her hands on the rings? Or what if something went wrong with the rings?

It was something that is making him reconsider that decision.

But Nathalie tried to reassure him once they were alone once again. 

“Gabriel, I know you're scared. I am too, but I'm sure Adrien is very responsible and wouldn't think of losing any. Especially if they once belonged to his mother.”

Gabriel really wanted to free Adrien once and for all. He feared for his future, whether he would be able to make his own decisions.

“Gabriel, Adrien has shown that he is capable of taking his own decisions, you should trust him.”

Nathalie was right. The fact that he was chosen as the wielder of the Miraculous of Destruction showed that Adrien was ready to be freed.

Gabriel expected Adrien to be very responsible with the rings.

“Very good. So let it be. Adrien deserves to be free.”

Nathalie caught his attention, noticing the worried expression that adorned his face.

“Gabriel, you´re doing the right thing. I'm sure Adrien will be fine.” Nathalie added in a sympathetic voice “He will be very happy to be able to make his own decisions.”

“And what if he makes a mistake, Nathalie?” Gabriel mentioned.

“It's part of life, Gabriel. He will be able to learn from his mistakes and he will have you, Gabriel, to teach him the right path.”

“He will have us, Nathalie.” Gabriel considered Nathalie an integral and very important part in Adrien's life. And Emilie thought so too.

That is if they survived, of course.

Gabriel didn't want to think about that.

“Then this afternoon, we will give him the rings.” Gabriel played with the ring for a moment. “I don't want to wait any longer.”

“So be it, Gabriel.”  Nathalie said. They would wait for Adrien to return from his daily patrol, to once and for all give him both rings. There was still something Nathalie was wondering about and wanted Gabriel to do. “I also hope you are planning to tell Adrien that he is a sentimonster.” 

“All in its due time, Nathalie.” Gabriel wasn’t ready to reveal that to Adrien yet. For the moment, he would just give him the rings. Nathalie wasn’t at all surprised. However, she was willing to wait for the right moment for Gabriel to reveal his origins to Adrien.

Adrien entered the mansion, back after finishing his patrol with Ladybug.

“Adrien, is everything okay out there?”

“Yes, there is no sign of Chrysalis today. Marinette thinks it looks like she's planning something.

Gabriel was thinking the same thing. Chrysalis had been very quiet since her announcement. She assumed that she was giving them time to see if Ladybug and Chat Noir would give up.

That just wasn't going to happen.

It seemed very strange to Adrien. His father seemed worried.

"There is something I need you, me and Nathalie to do." For Gabriel, it was very important to give him the rings at that moment. If he didn't do it now, he would regret doing it later.

“Now?” Adrien was wondering what it was about.

“We were just waiting for you for that.” Gabriel stepped forward. “It's very important.”

Adrien just followed Gabriel to Nathalie's room.

“Adrien, we have something to give you “Gabriel entered Nathalie's room. She was sitting on her bed, under the covers. She was feeling a little sick that day, so Gabriel forbade her to get out of bed.

“Adrien, come here” Nathalie patted the bed. Curious and intrigued, he approached Nathalie's bed, she motioned for him to sit down. Adrien sat between his father and Nathalie on the edge of the bed to listen to what they had to tell him.

“What did you have to talk to me about?”

Nathalie took the ring off her finger and took Adrien's hand in a motherly way. She put the ring on his ring finger.

“These are your mother's rings, Adrien.” Gabriel explained “The rings of the Grahams of Vanily. She would have wanted you to have them... And finally, I have decided to give them to you.”

Gabriel hesitantly took the ring off his finger and slipped it onto the same finger that Nathalie had put the first one on. Before releasing both rings, he would give him one last order.

“I only ask that you take good care of them, Adrien.” Gabriel looked him in the eyes “They are very special; they are the inheritance that your mother left you. And don't forget that she always wanted you to be free. Just be yourself Adrien. You should be able to make your own decisions, ok?

"Yes, father, thank you.” Adrien said, admiring the rings on his finger, not completely understanding why his father had just told him that.

Chapter Text

Alya was in front of the computer ruling out people she had already researched on priority. She already crossed out several of the list of people she thought were suspicious with the evidence she collected and it all seemed to lead to one person.

Lila Rossi.

Alya had no doubt about it, much of this person’s behavior pattern was very similar to the one Lila used to have when she attended Françoise Dupont. But the strange thing was, since Lila was expelled from school, they never heard from her again.

Alya clearly still felt guilty for not believing Marinette the entire time she was questioning Lila. And she believed that helping her investigate was a good way to make up for all the trouble she caused her.

Alya went to one of the places Lila used to frequent. It was a park away from the school. When she was still in the old Françoise Dupont, she once went with her to that place, although Lila never explained to her what the purpose of getting there was.

Before arriving, Alya could notice a shadow of a person in the distance. Sneaking up and hiding behind a trash can, she was able to notice that some facial features of this person were similar to those of Lila Rossi, however, she was not completely sure if it was her. She couldn’t get any closer because she would be discovered in the act. She took some pictures to use as evidence.

She saw with surprise that that person entered through one of the place’s sewers.

Without hesitation, she ran to follow that person. She opened the sewage cover and looked around before going down. Touching the floor of the sewer, she saw the path of tunnels forming around it. In one specific area, the road stretched until it was completely dark.

Alya recognized where that place was going.

The catacombs.

She has heard for many years how dangerous it is to venture into the catacombs. A place full of dangers and which is also completely prohibited. Alya wanted to go after Lila and see what she was up to. But she was afraid of getting lost. If she had the fox Miraculous it would be much easier.

Marinette had to know about this.

Alya came back out of the sewer, and she ran back to her house to contact Marinette immediately. She didn’t want to cause trouble to Marinette if she got lost and she believed it was better for them to go with reinforcements.

Gabriel had already taken care of recovering all the rings from Paris and the rest of the world, with the excuse that all the rings were defective. He returned the Alliance money to all the people who bought it and kept all the rings in a box that he took to Nathalie’s room, to see how to dispose of them later.

Nathalie seemed very pleased with what he did.

One very important thing was still missing.

Gabriel was waiting for the moment when he would have to deal with Tomoe once again.

And he didn’t like that.

But it was very important for Adrien to be comfortable again with using his image in public.

Gabriel was telling Nathalie about his plan. She just crossed her arms.

“Now I’m going to try to contact Tomoe to delete all of Adrien’s data from her artificial intelligence.”

“Gabriel, how are you supposed to do that? Remember that your relationship with Tomoe is almost nonexistent now,” Nathalie was worried about everything that implied. She also wanted to remove Adrien from the Alliance’s artificial intelligence, but she wasn’t sure if Tomoe would agree now that they had cut ties with her.

“Regardless of how I do it, I want Adrien’s data out of Tomoe´s database. I know it won’t be easy, but I’m willing to do everything I can to make a deal with her.” Gabriel was determined to remove Adrien from the Alliance database. When Adrien told him, he knew it was the right thing to do and something he was obligated to do.

Gabriel sat at the table with Adrien. He promised himself that he wouldn’t leave Adrien at the table alone ever again. And Nathalie couldn’t go down because she was a little tired.

Gabriel could notice during dinner that Adrien seemed upset.

Had he done something that bothered Adrien and he didn’t realize it?

“Is something wrong Adrien?” Gabriel sat in front of him, but not before offering him his plate for dinner.

“I... when I left the house today with Marinette, someone unexpectedly approached us to talk to me and... They were also rude to Marinette. I saw that they recognized my image with the image model in the Alliance. And I realized that...”

Adrien didn’t know whether to continue. The last time his father convinced him that it was fine.

“Son, please continue.” Gabriel offered Adrien a piece of toast, waiting for him to tell him what was bothering him.

Adrien swallowed and received the toast from his father.

“The truth is that it makes me very uncomfortable that my image is on the Alliance.”

Gabriel had completely forgotten about it. He himself persuaded Adrien to believe that it wasn’t a big deal, but now he realized that it was a very big issue and he hadn’t bothered to deal with it yet.

“If this is the case Adrien, then I’m going to get you out of that database,” Gabriel said.

Adrien was surprised by his response.

“Aren’t you going to refuse later? Are you sure you can do it?” Those were two questions that were going through Adrien’s head. He wasn’t sure if his father could get him out of the database.

“I was wrong, Adrien. Your comfort is the most important thing, and if that makes you feel uncomfortable… well, I think it’s time to fix it.” Gabriel had only one goal in mind: Get Adrien out of the Alliance database.

And that was why it was so important to insist.

Gabriel made a call to Tomoe. He was going to call until she answered. He hoped that he could solve that problem without a hitch.

He soon heard Tomoe’s voice on the speaker.

“I find it incredible that you have the audacity to call me after your betrayal. Have you changed your mind?”

“No Tomoe.” Gabriel raised his voice for a moment “The only thing I want is for you to remove Adrien’s image from all the Alliance and the database system.”

It was not going to be an easy task.

“You are too bold to make a request like that now.” Tomoe was in no mood to deal with Gabriel now.

Gabriel would continue to insist

“Tomoe, I am willing to do whatever it takes to get Adrien out of the Alliance.”

“Until we get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous?” Tomoe inquired.

“Anything but that.” Gabriel said firmly and proceeded to remind Tomoe of something “You know very well that I am willing to expose you.”

Gabriel heard a sigh behind the line.

“I can remove Adrien from the database and withdraw the rest of Alliance. But I won’t do it for free.” Tomoe pronounced from the car. Kagami only listened to what her mother had to say as they headed home. That meant she was going to be removed from the database too.

“I assure you that I will pay you everything you ask for as long as you remove my son from that database, Tomoe. I have every right to demand it. You don’t want us to go to court, do you?”

There was silence behind the line.

“This will be very expensive for you, Gabriel.” Tomoe just wanted to get away from this problem and not have to see Gabriel again “Alright, I will accept your request, today I will clean the database. But never contact me again.”

The call ended there.

Well, that was... easy. Maybe too much.

Gabriel would not be surprised by the large sum of money he would have to pay. But now there was something much more important he had to do.

He was thinking about talking to Nathalie on how they were going to tell Adrien that he is a sentimonster.

But all that changed when he opened the mail that arrived that morning.

Two letters arrived at his house.

The first one, was the forensic results that Gabriel sent from the threatening letters he received some time ago. He opened it immediately, only to be met with a result that he didn’t like one bit.

NO RESULT.

That person who sent him the letters was very careful with what they did.

He checked the wrapping of the other letter he received. This one had no sender, so he suspected that she was the same person who sent the previous ones. But this one was different from the other threat letters.

Gabriel opened it immediately, not knowing what he would find.

The first thing he found were some quite compromising photos. Photos of things he tried to get rid of a long time ago: The friterrie where he worked in the past, his passport from when he was still called Gabi Grassette, of his journey with Nathalie and Emilie in their search for the Peacock Miraculous, as well as photos of Emilie in the capsule, even photos of the contract he signed with Madame Tsurugi.

But, who took the photos?

The only other person from him than who knew where his lair was and how to get in was Nathalie.

Nathalie.

He couldn’t help but think that maybe Nathalie had betrayed him.

He wasn’t liking this.

Gabriel went straight to Nathalie’s room, slamming the door.

“Can you explain to me where this came from?” Gabriel demanded. Nathalie noticed that he was quite upset. Gabriel threw the photographs on her bed.

Nathalie saw the photographs. She was scared because those photos almost completely revealed all of Gabriel’s secrets.

“Where did you get this?” Nathalie couldn’t explain where those pictures came from. Only she and Gabriel knew how to get into the lair. Adrien could be another option, but she doubted it.

“I’d like to know that too.” Gabriel snapped at her.

The photos that were there showed the place where the friterrie that belonged to Gabriel’s family was located along with his passport, the contract with the deal they made with Tomoe, and Emilie’s body, as well as other things.

All of Gabriel’s secrets were in those photos.

“Nathalie, why?”

“Gabriel, I didn’t do it!” Nathalie exclaimed. Although she was sure there was another explanation for what Gabriel was showing her, she was sure she didn’t do it.

“Yeah, right.” Gabriel rolled his eyes.

Everything changed when he heard someone ringing the doorbell insistently.

“We’ll discuss this later, Nathalie, I’m going to see who it is.” Gabriel went downstairs. The Gorilla was already checking the camera.

He saw Marinette through the camera and she looked somewhat anxious.

He opened it immediately.

Marinette ran inside somewhat agitated. She had arrived with very important information.

“I found out something that could help us.”

Before Gabriel could ask, Marinette got ahead with the explanations.

“It’s about the butterfly´s miraculous wearer. I already have a clue that could be useful for us to find her.”

Gabriel then called Adrien and Nathalie downstairs to see what could be done with the information Marinette brought.

Marinette sat at the dining table and left on the table the map that Alya drew for her so she would know where to look for the suspect.

“I enlisted Alya’s help to try to find the person who stole the butterfly Miraculous and her whereabouts.”

“And did you tell her anything about us?” Gabriel was worried by what she told him.

“Oh no, no. I didn’t tell Alya anything about you. She doesn’t know what I know,” Marinette waved her hands in the air. “But I knew she was the right person to help us investigate. Alya learned a lot after the truth of what happened at school was revealed, and I know she can gather information better than I can. And I came because she found something.”

Marinette handed them some pictures that Alya managed to take during her investigation. They tried not to send that material by electronic media for the safety of both of them.

“Alya told me that she followed a person who apparently has ties to the Miraculous. This person fits the descriptions I gave her about the person who was in the recordings.”

Marinette handed her the printed photos that Alya had passed her. They were a little blurry because of how fast this person was moving, but the person who was there matched the description. However, the person’s face was clear. This time she didn’t have her glasses on and her wig was a little messy, allowing the real color of her hair to be seen.

Gabriel recognized the look of this person. She looked like…

She looked a lot like Lila Rossi.

“Lila Rossi.” Gabriel said.

“Lila?” Marinette questioned.

“She looks too much like her. And she’s another one of the people who might have something against me,” Gabriel remembered “I didn’t allow her to go to the diamonds party. I immediately noticed Lila’s intentions and that she wanted to control me, but I stopped her; and I took this opportunity to get rid of her by cutting ties with her and the Agreste brand immediately.”

“Alya and I suspected her too. But we couldn’t be sure if it’s really her.” For Marinette it also made sense. If it was Lila, that meant that maybe she was seeking revenge on her too.

“Lila also has something against me just because I didn’t believe her lies and exposed her in front of everyone at school.” Marinette said “Maybe she’s also looking for revenge on Ladybug and maybe Marinette... I mean me. I... I exposed her on one occasion because she was claiming that she and Ladybug were friends; and I didn’t know her at all.”

“Wait, Marinette.” Adrien interrupted her “Wasn’t it when I took the grimoire to school?”

“Yes, Adrien. That day you left the grimoire abandoned for a moment and Lila took it without your permission. I suppose that’s how she found out about the existence of the Miraculous.” Marinette answered.

Gabriel listened attentively to what Marinette was saying. They both now had a common enemy: Lila Rossi. And it was vitally important to stop her before she did something to them.

Adrien interrupted the moment.

“Can I ask you something else, Marinette?” Adrien wanted to understand something very important with what Marinette had just mentioned “When I took the grimoire to school, and I was in the library, you know that I lost the grimoire there. Who returned the grimoire?”

Neither of the two adults said anything. They had agreed that Adrien should not find out who returned the grimoire to his father. "It was me, Adrien," Marinette replied before any of the adult’s present could respond.

“You Marinette? You returned it?” Adrien asked surprised.

“Tikki recognized it when you took it to school. And she asked me to get it back from Lila’s clutches to take it to Master Fu. She threw the book in the trash and I got it back. And in the process, I took it to Master Fu to check it.”

Adrien couldn’t believe it. The person who had returned the grimoire to his father was none other than Marinette.

“But then, why did you return it?” Adrien needed to know the reason.

“Because if I didn’t return it, you wouldn’t get your freedom. So, I explained the situation to the Master and he gave me permission to return it to your father, so you could go back to school.”

Marinette was the reason he got his freedom back. Marinette was the one who covered his back that time.

“Why you never told me anything, Marinette?” Adrien couldn’t explain why Marinette never wanted to tell him about it.

“I didn’t want to get you into more trouble, so I lied and said that I was the one who had lost the grimoire. That´s why I didn’t tell you” Marinette explained.

Adrien never thought that the person who had helped him was Marinette. Neither his father nor Nathalie told him how they recovered the grimoire.

Speaking of revealing truths…

Gabriel turned to Nathalie. She still owed him some explanations about the photos she received in the mail that day.

“Nathalie, please I need you to be honest with me and tell me the truth. Were you the one who revealed those things to Lila?”

Adrien and Marinette paid attention to what Nathalie and Gabriel had to say.

“No Gabriel.” Nathalie said immediately. She understood that Gabriel was upset that such private information about him was now in the hands of his enemy, but what she didn’t understand was why Gabriel was so distrustful of her.

Gabriel refused to believe her.

“Then Nathalie, why did give you all that information about me?” Gabriel looked at her a little hurt. He couldn’t understand who else could give that information about him to Lila “You know that information was sacred to me, Nathalie.”

Nathalie leaned over, covering her face. She was telling the truth; she didn’t know where those photos came from.

“I swear Gabriel. I didn’t do it. I don’t remember anything about it.”

Gabriel seemed surprised by that answer.

“You don’t remember doing it? Then...” Gabriel started to have a hunch. There was only one akumatized person with the power to control people. Gabriel had a flash of who was the real culprit in this situation.

“Lila Rossi.”

“Lila?” Marinette said surprised.

“Nathalie, were you using the Alliance when I akumatized Lila Rossi?” Gabriel asked gently.

Nathalie thought back and remembered that at that moment she was using the Alliance.

“Yes, at that moment I was working in my bed, but I never got up from my place. I don’t understand where those photos came from either.” Nathalie knew something strange happened, like an empty moment in her memory that she couldn’t remember no matter how hard she tried.

Marinette looked at everything without understanding.

“What is this all this about?”

“When I akumatized Lila, I gave her the power to create lies that people would believe no matter how absurd they were. She probably used it to get private information about me. It seems she did it behind my back.” Gabriel clenched his fist in fury.

He had made a mistake and he had been a jerk to Nathalie.

He should have listened to her from the beginning.

“I’m so sorry Nathalie. I truly thought you had betrayed me by revealing all that information about me.”

“I would never do something like that Gabriel. Less with such sensitive information. Even though I didn’t know, I understand that you distrusted me.” Nathalie said.

Gabriel held both of Nathalie’s hands in his.

“Forgive me, Nathalie. For not trusting you, for treating you like a liar, for letting Lila blackmail us.” Gabriel looked at her directly with a pained expression.

Gabriel felt very guilty. He was the reason they were involved in this. He had the idea of ​​creating those rings.

Those rings had been their downfall.

Gabriel stood up in the middle of one of his fits of rage.

“Gabriel, what are you going to do?” Nathalie asked when she saw Gabriel taking the box where all the rings were.

Gabriel looked at the box with all the Alliance rings that he had managed to recover from Tomoe.

“Do you know what I’m going to do with these rings? This is what I’m going to do.”

Gabriel turned the box over, throwing all the rings to the ground, and raising his foot, he slammed it hard against the ground, breaking into pieces several of the rings that his partner Mrs. Tsurugi had ordered to be made specifically for him.

“I don’t want anything to do with those rings anymore! They are our downfall, if I hadn’t given the Alliance to Nathalie, my secrets wouldn’t have come to light so easily.” Gabriel stomped on a few more, shattering them.

The three of them looked on in amazement. But Marinette thought that those rings could be useful.

“Gabriel, wait.” Marinette stopped him by grabbing his arm before he continued destroying the rest of the rings. “Couldn't we use some of those rings to our advantage?”

“What do you mean?” Gabriel raised an eyebrow.

“Well, I don’t have much of an idea of ​​how the rings work, but couldn't we use them to lure Chrysalis to us?”

Gabriel’s mind started working. If they were setting a trap for Lila, they could perfectly use some of the rings.

“Son, would you mind if I use your image one more time?” Gabriel asked Adrien for permission. Adrien saw a determined expression on his father’s face.

“What do you have planned, Father?” Adrien had a slight feeling that it wasn’t good.

“I think you’re not going to like Adrien.”

Gabriel´s plan was simple: They were going to use Adrien’s voice and image from the Alliance to lure Lila, if their assumptions were correct. Lila was interested in Adrien and his influence over her father. And they could catch her on her own game.

Of course, he knew that Tomoe wouldn’t be happy with what he was about to do, but what did it matter. They still had a few hours before Adrien’s image would be deleted from Tomoe's database.

Gabriel offered to help them and Nathalie would stay at the mansion to wait for them.

The three of them entered the area that Alya had indicated. Ladybug and Chat Noir went down first and Gabriel went down after them.

Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm to help them. A rope fell into her hands. Gabriel and Adrien examined the Lucky Charm in their hands.

“I guess we’ll use it to catch Lila.” Ladybug wrapped the rope around her shoulder.

Gabriel turned on the flashlight to see where they were going better. Ladybug and Chat Noir stared into the darkness of the path that Alya had shown them. Since they were little, they had always heard how dangerous the catacombs were.

“Mr. Agreste, are you sure you want to come with us? You don’t have a Miraculous and I couldn’t give you one. It could be dangerous.”

“I’m going to help you with this. Even if I don’t have a Miraculous to defend myself.” Gabriel took out the flashlight he carried with him and turned it on to light the way.

“But Lila does have one, father, and not just any Miraculous, she has the butterfly Miraculous.” Chat Noir reminded Gabriel that he is the most vulnerable of the three. He felt that his father was taking the situation too lightly.

But Gabriel was determined to help them. Not for himself, but for Nathalie and Adrien. He had to assume the consequences of his actions.

“I caused this and I have to fix it.” Gabriel stepped forward with the flashlight “Let´s go, we have no time to waste.”

The three of them went into the caves, the path seemed cleaner than the others, they could be heading to the right path. Chat Noir left a trail behind them so they could easily get out of the catacombs. The place was a huge labyrinth. After a few turns, they began to see signs that they were getting closer.

“Look.” Ladybug noticed a strange mark. Gabriel illuminated it with the flashlight.

“Someone made that mark.” Gabriel noticed that those marks were made by someone.

“I see more over there.” Chat Noir saw many more of those marks on the wall with the help of his night vision.

“We must be getting closer.” Ladybug advanced in the direction Chat Noir was pointing. They followed the marks until they reached an area with a door.

“It must be here.” Ladybug pointed to the door “Chat Noir, can you do the honors?”

Chat Noir used his cane to open the door. Inside it was occupied by a lot of objects. As if someone was coming there.

The three of them entered the new location. The walls were painted with different landscapes. There was a desk in the middle of that place with some objects. There were also some wigs that Lila probably used to change her identity.

That explained why they couldn’t find her.

But there was something which caught their attention.

A board full of photos and maps was in front of the table. A lot of photos, of Ladybug, of Chat Noir, of Nathalie, and of Gabriel himself were pinned on the board. These were related to photos of Hawkmoth and Mayura.

Lila had been researching them all this time. And now she knew a lot of things about them.

Ladybug approached Chat Noir and Gabriel.

“Lila will be back any minute.” Ladybug began to take the rings out of the box.

“We better get started.” Gabriel nodded and they started to organize their whole plan as they had agreed.

Lila had just returned from outside. She had gone to see one of her mothers so they wouldn’t suspect her. She would go to her hideout to pick up her other disguise to go sleep at one of her other mothers’ house.

She entered her hideout, taking off the wig she used for that day. She left the wig on the table, not realizing something had changed in her hideout.

“Lila...” A voice pronounced her old name, making chills run down her spine.

She recognized that voice.

It was the voice of Adrien Agreste.

“Lila, Lila, Lila or whatever your name is.” Lila heard Adrien’s voice say “Don’t you get tired of lying to people?”

Lila turned to look around, but she didn’t find anyone.

“What are you doing here Adrien? Where are you?” Lila was trying to figure out where that voice came from.

“Lila… if that is your real name, I’d like you to know I don’t like you messing with my family.” Adrien said in a not very nice way.

Lila looked around desperately, she couldn’t find where Adrien’s voice came from.

Where could that sound come from?

Suddenly Adrien’s image appeared all over the room. All those images were looking at her.

Lila stepped back, knowing that she had been found.

“We don’t know why you do it Lila, but listen to us carefully, we know your secret. You will never hurt anyone again.” Adrien was everywhere.

Lila took a step back. But this time they wouldn’t give her a chance. If she ran, she could escape through the catacombs…

Chat Noir blocked Lila’s way, trapping her. He stood in front of the exit, to prevent her from escaping.

Gabriel also stood in her way along with Ladybug. They surrounded her and quickly Ladybug used the rope that her Lucky Charm gave her to prevent Lila from leaving. The rope wrapped around her body, leaving her defenseless.

Gabriel helped hold the rope to prevent her from leaving.

The three of them approached to try to retrieve the butterfly Miraculous. Ladybug and Chat Noir didn’t want to make the same mistake as the last time.

Chat Noir positioned himself and quickly activated his cataclysm, aiming it at Lila.

“Give up Chrysalis, don’t make this any harder.” Ladybug tightened the rope even more. She examined Lila’s clothes quickly, finding no traces of the butterfly Miraculous “Where’s the butterfly Miraculous?”

But what she didn’t expect was that she would laugh maniacally.

“That’s none of your business, Ladybug” Then Lila looks at Gabriel “And I see that you brought a guest.”

“I came to retrieve what’s mine, Miss Rossi.” Gabriel said, clenching his teeth.

Lila sketched a smile that Gabriel didn’t like at all.

“Mr. Agreste. Don’t you think it would be a shame if Adrien found out... about the things I know about you? I think you understood it with the letter I sent you.” Lila said innocently.

“What do you mean?” Chat Noir frowned. Was there more information that he didn’t know than Lila did?

“I’m afraid there’s no time for explanations.” Lila said. Lila’s figure began to glow and started to disappear. “Did you really think you could catch me that easily?"

Lila smiled. She immediately began to turn into dust, breaking free from the hold the three of them had on her. The dust came out through the small exits in the sewer. The three of them lost their grip on Lila as she escaped.

Lila Rossi knew they were going to go look for her. A butterfly came out of the dust. It floated until it purified itself, coming out through one of the cracks in the sewer.

An Akuma.

Lila had escaped.

Nathalie was quite worried. She hadn’t heard from Adrien, Gabriel, and much less from Marinette for hours. She sent messages to all three of them on their phones not long ago, but none of them had responded back.

And it was already taking too long. Dusk was falling in Paris, and she was starting to think something bad had happened to them.

Soon she saw some figures in the distance coming towards the mansion. She got closer to the window trying to discern who they were. She finally recognized them by their clothes.

It was them.

Nathalie went down to open the door for them. As they entered, she saw the expression on the faces of the three of them. They didn’t seem very happy.

“Did you make it?” Nathalie asked as she saw them enter through the door. All this time she was very worried about them. Lila Rossi had shown that she was a real threat.

“No, Lila escaped before we could catch her. It seems that she was one step ahead of us. We also believe that she didn’t have the butterfly Miraculous with her.” Gabriel answered him.

“Even if we had really caught her, she would have escaped. The Lila who was there was nothing more than an illusion. She wasn’t the real Lila.” Marinette explained to Nathalie.

“That means that Lila knew that we were going to look for her.” Adrien sat next to his dad.

For Nathalie that was quite disappointing.

“And now we don’t know if she will continue hiding in the catacombs.” Marinette was hesitating “The catacombs are so large that she could easily go back there to hide in another area down there.”

“I don’t think Miss Rossi is going to use the same place to hide.” Nathalie guessed “She’s not dumb. Is there any clue you found that would be useful?”

“We found that Lila had been spying on us all this time. Not only she have information about me, Nathalie. She has information about you and Adrien too.”

That was truly worrying for Nathalie. What other information could Lila Rossi use against them?

Adrien was quite doubtful about some things. What Lila told him was going around in his head. Are his father and Nathalie telling him the whole truth?

“You’re not hiding anything from me, are you?” Adrien asked doubtfully.

Nathalie and Gabriel looked at each other in a worried manner. Nathalie didn’t understand why Adrien asked that question.

“I’ll explain it to you later.” Gabriel whispered in her ear.

The lack of response from both adults didn’t help to calm Adrien’s worries. At that exact moment, Gabriel received a message on his phone.

Saved by the bell. Gabriel immediately checked his phone. It was Tomoe informing him that his son’s data had finally been deleted from their systems.

“I think your image has already been completely deleted from the Alliance database, Adrien.” Gabriel showed him the message he received from Tomoe.

Adrien checked the last Alliance he saved. He turned it on and found an empty main menu. His data had been deleted from the system.

What a relief, Adrien thought. Maybe this way the public would leave him alone, or at least, they would do it most of the time whenever he went out.

Gabriel had lost a fortune recovering most of the Alliance to get rid of them.

But it was worth it. All for Adrien’s comfort.

Nathalie noticed it was getting dark already.

“Marinette better get back home now. It’s getting dark.”

“Oh, you’re right I’m leaving then.” Marinette gathered her things and went back through the door. Before leaving she wanted to raise everyone’s morale “Don’t think that what we did was in vain. Now we know who the person behind the butterfly Miraculous is. Not everything is lost.”

The three of them nodded.

“Thank you for your words, Marinette.” Gabriel was grateful that at least Marinette didn’t see this mission as a complete failure.

After Marinette left, it was time for the adults to talk.

“Adrien, go rest. Your father and I have to talk.” Nathalie motioned for Gabriel to follow her.

That didn’t make Adrien feel better. Maybe it was true that they were hiding something from him, but they didn’t want to say what it was.

Both adults went to Nathalie’s room to talk.

Nathalie and Gabriel knew the inevitable was coming. They would have to tell Adrien the whole truth and none of the three of them would like that. It was definitive that they couldn’t keep waiting for Adrien to know the truth. They couldn’t let Lila put wrong ideas in his head with everything she knew now.

“Now what do we do Nathalie?” Gabriel was very worried about what Lila said. “Lila hinted that she could tell Adrien the whole truth if we decided to go looking for her again.”

Nathalie knew what the most obvious answer was, but Gabriel probably wouldn’t like it at all.

“I think it’s time to tell Adrien the truth, Gabriel.” Nathalie said, knowing what that implied.

Chapter Text

“What do you mean?” Gabriel knew perfectly well what she meant. But he refused to believe that it was time to reveal it.

“To tell him everything, how his mother died, his origins, how you became Hawkmoth, that he is… a sentimonster.”

Gabriel didn’t feel ready to tell him the whole truth, much less that Adrien had not been conceived under normal circumstances.

“Not only that Gabriel, you have to tell him about your true identity” Nathalie mentioned.

Gabriel didn’t think she was referring to that, right?

“You have to tell him about Gabi.”

Gabriel crossed his arms and sat abruptly on the edge of Nathalie’s bed.

“No, no way, Nathalie. I’m going to make a fool of myself if I reveal that to Adrien!” he sat on the edge of the bed, without looking at her.

Nathalie knew very well that Gabriel didn’t like it. In fact, he was embarrassed by it. Emilie never found out that Gabriel used to be so… different.

“Gabriel, if we want to be transparent with Adrien we have to do it, it’s our responsibility.” Nathalie sat gently on the bed next to him. “Adrien has the right to know the whole truth. Do you remember that as a child he asked about his grandparents and received no apparent answer? I think it’s time for him to know why.”

Gabriel felt a lump in his throat. He didn’t expect that day to come so quickly, but it seemed like it was time for him to finally reveal his deepest secrets to Adrien.

But he expected Emilie would have to do that. She was better with words and explanations than him.

But there was no other choice.

“Do you have any idea how I should start, Nathalie?” Gabriel didn’t have the slightest idea of ​​what to say.

“You should start by telling him about your true identity, Gabriel.”

Nathalie got up from her bed and went to open her safe. From there she took out some documents that Gabriel recognized immediately as soon as he saw them.

“Why do you still have that?” Gabriel asked, recognizing a couple of documents that Nathalie must have destroyed and that Lila also had in her possession now. “Nathalie, I told you to get rid of them.”

“I didn’t feel capable of doing it.” she confessed “It was the only thing that tied you to the past, the Gabriel that I admired, the Gabriel that you used to be before Emilie left.”

Gabriel didn’t expect those last words to come out of Nathalie’s mouth.

Almost a year ago…

Gabriel stood before the fire. He combed his hair back, hoping to fix himself. After Emilie finally closed her eyes, he went completely crazy. He was about to destroy the room if Nathalie hadn’t stopped him from doing so.

It was time to start with his plan. There was still a chance to bring Emilie back and that chance was to get Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous. He had already discussed it with Nathalie. She seemed quite surprised that he had made such a drastic decision. Using the Miraculous for evil was not the right thing to do.

This would be an exception.

And the first step to becoming that villain was to leave behind the very thing that had been tormenting him for years.

His old identity.

“Sir, are you sure about this?” Nathalie was behind Gabriel, watching as he leaned in front of the fireplace watching the fire burn inside it.

Gabriel looked at the photograph on his hand. It was the picture he took with his wife and Nathalie in Tibet. He proceeded to tear up the photo and throw it into the fire along with the other things that attested to the existence of his true identity and his past.

“Make sure this material is destroyed, Nathalie.” Gabriel left the place.

Nathalie waited a few seconds to rush towards the fireplace, to rescue the material that Gabriel had just thrown into the fire. Luckily, they fell quite far from the fire, so she managed to grab them before they burned.

When she took the last one, the fire burned her and she stifled a cry of pain. She grabbed her hand and ran to the kitchen to wet her hand.

When Nathalie returned, she examined one of the photos she managed to rescue. It was the photo they took when they finally found the Peacock Miraculous after the arduous search that Gabriel himself had entrusted on her. Nathalie searched through the pieces she had rescued; and taking the photos to her room, she looked for adhesive tape to be able to fix them.

Before starting to fix them, he put some ointment on her burned fingers and bandaged the injury with a bandage she had in her first aid kit.

Nathalie placed the photos on the nightstand and very carefully put the tape on the loose pieces to put them back in place. She put the adhesive tape on the material she managed to rescue.

Nathalie opened her safe to store them so that Gabriel would never find them. Nathalie gave them one last look and she rearranged all her things, making room for all the things she saved.

Gabriel didn’t have know about this.

“So, you saved all that material and kept it?” Gabriel was not entirely convinced by the first answer Nathalie gave him.

She did not answer that question, she just limited herself to not saying anything else on the subject.

“Nathalie…” Gabriel wanted to know the real answer to that mystery.

“That is not important now.” Nathalie gave him the most serious look he had ever seen “Now what matters is that we must tell the truth to Adrien before Lila Rossi does.”

“Then let’s do it.” Gabriel concluded “But I think I’m going to let Adrien rest. It was a long day for everyone.”

Nathalie thought Gabriel was avoiding the topic again.

“Gabriel, please. We have to do it as soon as possible. We can’t allow Lila Rossi to go one step ahead of us.”

“And we will. We will tell him tomorrow. I hope you’re ready.” Gabriel finally decided that he was not going to wait.

“I say the same about you Gabriel.” Nathalie went to get her pajamas to go to sleep. Tomorrow, they had a long day ahead of them.

Gabriel had a restless sleep all night. Thousands of hypothetical situations crossed his head while he tried to sleep. Having to tell Adrien the truth worried him too much. What would Adrien think of him when he revealed the whole truth about his past, his origin, that... he is a sentimonster?

Would Adrien hate him even more for that?

He didn’t know.

Although Gabriel already knew that Adrien already hated him for the fact of having been Hawkmoth. And he understood that.

Early in the morning he reunited with Nathalie to see how they were going to proceed.

“Nathalie, I’m not sure about this.” Gabriel was beginning to doubt whether to tell Adrien the truth. He was afraid of his reaction.

“Gabriel.” Nathalie said firmly, but at the same time she softened her voice so that Gabriel listened to her “You are underestimating Adrien. I am sure that he is mature enough to assimilate what you are going to tell him. Just... do it with great care. Remember that Adrien is very sensitive, we don’t want to hurt his feelings.”

“I know, Nathalie.” Gabriel said still not very convinced.

Nathalie tried to reassure him.

“Gabriel, I am sure that Adrien will trust us more if we tell him the truth now. Yesterday he was distrusting us. It is better that we make things clear with him.” Nathalie said softly.

Gabriel was not sure where to start. How to lessen the impact of the things he was going to tell him?

“Should I start by telling him that he is a sentimonster?” Gabriel was very unsure.

“Maybe you should leave the most shocking things for later.” Nathalie suggested “Finding out that you’re a sentimonster isn’t to be something easy to digest.”

“So, it’s already decided, we’ll tell him about my past and then... we’ll just tell him that he’s a sentimonster.” Gabriel had been meditating on how he would tell him. He didn’t want to beat around the bush with this.

“Then, I think we’re ready.” Nathalie fixed her sweater “Let’s go find Adrien.”

Nathalie went with Gabriel to find Adrien.

Nathalie went ahead to knock on the door.

“Adrien, are you awake?” Nathalie got closer to the door to listen.

“Yes Nathalie, come in.” Adrien’s voice was heard answering from the other side.

Adrien was finished getting ready. He threw the towel on the couch to look for his white jacket.

Nathalie entered the room.

“Good morning, Adrien. How was your night?” Nathalie greeted Adrien.

“I had a good night, Nathalie.” Adrien replied putting on his jacket “Did you have a good night?”

“Yes Adrien.” The truth was that Nathalie didn’t have such a good night. The worries of what would happen that day kept going around her head.

But it was time to accept it.

“Good morning, Adrien.” Gabriel entered the room; he would just get to the point “There is something we need to talk to you about.”

“Is something bad?”

“No, Adrien. But it’s very important that you listen to us.” Gabriel crouched down to his level.

What do they have to tell me? Adrien thought. Plagg hid in his pocket to go with him. He also wanted to listen.

Nathalie led Adrien to her room. Gabriel stepped forward and took one of the armchairs in Nathalie´s room, bringing it closer to Adrien.

“This is going to... be very long.” Gabriel put the armchair next to the bed “So make yourself comfortable.”

Adrien sat down on the armchair.

Nathalie opened the safe and Adrien saw that she took out a bunch of documents from there. She sat back on the bed and Gabriel sat next to her.

They would start with the less impactful information.

“Adrien, there are some things you should know; and Nathalie and I think it’s time for you to finally tell you.”

Adrien became worried again. Were his father and Nathalie really hiding things from him?

“Do you remember that your mother once told you that she and I came from different worlds?

“Yes, I remember and that it didn’t stop you from being together. Why do you say that?” His mother had never gone into detail about how her and his father’s world were different.

“Well, our worlds were very different, too different. And I think you have to see for yourself.”

Nathalie handed him Gabriel’s passport. Adrien took it carefully and examined it. He realized that this passport was quite old. He read the information on it.

“Gabi... Grassette?” Adrien looked at the photo strangely “And who is he?”

“That’s me, Adrien.” Gabriel didn’t dare look at his son.

“You?!” Adrien was surprised, the young man who appeared on the passport did not look anything like his father.

He really knew almost nothing about his father.

“But then, your real name is not Gabriel Agreste?”

“Legally yes, but I changed my identity many years ago. Your mother never knew. Or at least that’s what I want to believe.” Gabriel was not sure if Emilie had ever have suspected him. He was always quite secretive about some things, even during their marriage. “When I met her, I had already changed my identity, I never intended for her to find out all the details.”

“And why did you dress like that, father?” Adrien examined his father’s clothes. It was a big contrast to how he dressed now.

“When I was young, I was... A punk. It was the trend back then. And I was going through my rebellious teenage phase.” Gabriel said embarrassed.

Gabriel noticed that Adrien looked quite confused.

“Adrien, you have to keep in mind that it was a difficult time for all of us and the only way to let off steam was… that. Plus, I came from a family that barely reached middle class status. We never had much money, but it was enough to support ourselves.”

Nathalie handed him the photo that seemed to be from the same era considering the color of the paper and the quality of the photo. There was the same young man with the mohawk and he was showing off someone dressed as a French fry.

“Who is the person in the costume, father?” Adrien was curious to know who was the person accompanying his father in that photo.

“It’s Harry Clown, son. I think you should know him already.” Gabriel remembered the last time.

“Did you know Harry Clown before, father?” Adrien asked curiously.

“Yes, he was my friend, he is my friend.” Even though Gabriel was annoyed that Harry came to visit him and show him his silly ideas, Gabriel admitted that he still considered Harry his friend.

Adrien examined the photo further, focusing on the mascot that was in it.

“And why was he wearing a costume, father? Didn’t he have a movie planned related to this?” Adrien remembered the reason why Harry Clown was akumatized.

Gabriel remembered the specific situation of that photo.

“Yes. I used to design costumes. It was something I really liked, Adrien. That time, Harry asked me to design some costumes for something he had in mind. That clown wanted to be a comedian and he wanted me to be a part of that.” Gabriel remembered the time when his true dream was to design crazy costumes, but the industry at that time was not designed for that.

“And why did you stop designing costumes, father?”

“I wanted to get into the world of fashion, be a designer. But unfortunately, it was not very profitable to dedicate myself to making costumes at that time. For that I had to change. That’s how I managed to impress your mother too.”

Nathalie rolled her eyes.

“But, didn’t mom like your previous designs?” Adrien found it hard to believe that his mother didn’t like his father’s designs. She loved everything his father designed.

“Your mother did like your father’s costumes, Adrien. It’s just that your father was too dumb to understand it.” Nathalie told him.

Did Nathalie just call me dumb? Gabriel thought

Nathalie handed the other photograph to Adrien.

It was a photo of a friterrie.

“And this photo, where is it from?” Adrien pointed to the place that appeared in the photo.

“That’s the place where I worked. And it was also my parents’ business.”

“My grandparents?” Adrien raised his head leaving the photo in his lap.

“Your grandparents, Johnny and Gabrielle. Many generations ago, our great-grandparents became experts in the preparation of french fries, opening a friterrie and I had to help with the business.” Gabriel handed him the pamphlet with the friterrie menu.

“And did you like it?” Adrien hoped that at least his father liked something about his previous life.

“No son. I really didn’t like it. Actually, I hated it.”

“Oh.” Adrien was a little disappointed “And do you know what happened to my grandfather? Do you know if he’s still alive?”

“I… I never wanted you to meet your paternal grandparents, Adrien. They are still alive, but I haven't seen them for 16 years. I did it, because it was the only way so me and your mother could be together. Your maternal grandfather Emil, never agreed with our marriage as I was from a inferior class to them.” Gabriel says.

“Would I ever meet them?, I mean my paternal grandparents?” Adrien always wanted to meet his grandparents, but due to circumstances it never happened.

“Yes Adrien, someday you will. I promise.” For Gabriel, it was enough with a phone call. They would be happy to meet their only grandchild.

Gabriel continued.

“You maternal grandparents, Millie and Emil are still alive as you already know. But your mother couldn’t stand them. They decided on a life for her she didn't want and that's why you never meet them.

“Is that why she changed her surname?” Adrien said. In France it wasn’t common to change your last name when you got married. But his parents were the exception.

“Yes son, your mother wanted to get away from that world as much as possible, because it was the same reason she didn’t have freedom. And for that she gave up her royalty status and decided to go with me.”

Adrien now had many more questions. He hadn’t been told many details about his mother’s previous life or much less about his father since neither of them liked to talk about it.

“Father, when did you meet mom, how did you feel?” Adrien wondered about that father; it wasn’t talked about much in the house since Gabriel didn’t like to touch the topic since Emilie left.

Gabriel was surprised by that question.

“Well, your mother was royalty. She was literally a princess. Of the kingdom of England. Never in my life do I think I would meet someone of such status. I have to admit that it made me feel… inferior as that made me a commoner. But there was something special about her. She was different. She didn’t really like that royal life. She wanted to be free. Free from the ties she was born with. Your mother was the heir to the royal position her parents had assigned her, but she wasn’t happy with that.

“I never thought that mom was from a world so different from yours.” Adrien now understood what his mother meant when she mentioned that they came from different worlds when she told him the story of how she met his father.

Another big doubt arose in Adrien’s mind.

“And what about Nathalie? How did you meet her?” Adrien looked at Nathalie. He had never been told how Nathalie met the Agrestes.

“Son, when your mother and I decided to look for the Miraculous, we decided to hire Nathalie to help us.” Gabriel remembered.

“So, you traveled to Tibet?” Adrien assumed that was where they found the lost Miraculous.

“To Tibet and many more places, Adrien. We lived many adventures together. Me, Nathalie and your mother went to different places in the world looking for treasures of all kinds in addition to the Miraculous.

“Could you tell me the story?” Adrien was very excited to be told all the stories of Nathalie’s travels, since Nathalie revealed to him that when she was young, she was a treasure hunter.

“Someday we will tell you.” Nathalie assured him, placing her hand in Adrien’s hair, ruffling it a little “Let your father continue.”

Gabriel cleared his throat.

“After a few months of searching, we found the Miraculous of the butterfly and the peacock. All thanks to Nathalie” Gabriel looked at Nathalie “Nathalie is the most remarkable adventurer I have ever met. Without her, you would not exist.”

Adrien looked at him confused with what he had just said.

Now the difficult part had come.

“What do you mean, father?” Adrien did not understand why his father had said the last thing.

“Do you remember the two rings we gave you a while ago? Your mother’s twin rings?” Gabriel felt his heart beating strongly in his chest. It was time to tell Adrien the truth.

“Yes, I still have them, father, look.” Adrien showed him the two rings on his ring finger.

Gabriel took the hand that had the two rings, without touching either of the rings.

“Well, me; your mother and I… I…” Gabriel was speechless. He wasn´t ready to tell something so big to his son.

Nathalie took his hand in a gesture of support for him to continue. Gabriel gulped, wishing he didn’t have to say the words he was about to say.

“Adrien, your mother and I used the Peacock Miraculous to create you.”

Adrien felt his world stop.

“What did you say?” Adrien was very confused. Had he heard wrong?

“You’re a sentimonster, Adrien.”

His father’s words echoed in his mind.

“This is a joke, right?” Adrien refused to believe that it was true. It couldn’t be true…

Gabriel’s expression changed to a sad one. His son was in denial.

“No, son.” he said dryly.

His father never joked.

Adrien’s breathing quickened, assimilating what his father had just told him.

“When were you planning to tell me?” Adrien wanted answers.

He felt so mad.

“Adrien…” Gabriel felt that Adrien was getting upset too quickly.

“Adrien, please calm down.” Nathalie decided to intervene as well. She was going to take Adrien’s hand so that he would listen to her, but Adrien abruptly moved away from both of them, standing up from his seat.

“Were you planning to hide it from me for the rest of my life?”

“No, Adrien. Our idea was to tell you at the right time.” Gabriel explained.

For Adrien that wasn’t enough.

“And when was the right time?” Adrien said upset “Why didn’t you tell me when I came back from London and told me about Monarch?”

“We were waiting for you to have a cool head Adrien, so many revelations in one day were going to destroy you...” Gabriel got up from his seat to go after Adrien.

“You were hiding this from me the whole time.” Adrien grabbed his hair tightly.

Adrien’s eyes reflected... fear. He had started to hyperventilate. He started to get closer to the door…

“Adrien no!” Nathalie stood up, realizing what Adrien was going to do only to feel a dizzy spell that sent her straight to the ground.

“!Nathalie!” Gabriel immediately bent down to help her up.

That gave Adrien the opportunity to escape.

“Adrien wait!” Gabriel went after him, leaving Nathalie on the ground. But Adrien was too fast. He ran towards his room, where the window was open.

Plagg was floating next to him trying to convince him not to leave. Although he understood Adrien and also understood that using the Miraculous the way Gabriel did was completely forbidden, he didn’t want Adrien to leave just like that.

But Adrien wasn’t listening to anyone anymore.

“Plagg, claws out!” And with a jump with the help of his staff Chat Noir propelled himself to get out of the mansion.

Adrien escaped.

“Adrien!” Gabriel shouted through the window. He wanted to finish telling him the whole story, but now that Adrien fled, he didn’t know where he had gone. He hit the wall, frustrated. He felt a painful sting on his cataclysmed arm making him grimace. The cataclysm stain had grown larger, to the point that his arm was almost completely covered.

This was his fault.

Gabriel returned to Nathalie. Gabriel helped her to sit down on the bed.

“And Adrien?” Nathalie was still recovering from the momentary dizziness.

“He ran away,” Gabriel said quietly, “And now I don’t know where he is.”

Maybe Nathalie underestimated Adrien’s maturity.

But she also had to understand that finding out about something like that wasn’t easy.

Gabriel hoped Adrien was okay. He wanted to go find him on his own, but looking for a Miraculous wearer without his own was quite difficult. He hoped Plagg could give him some comfort.

“We have to go find him,” Nathalie was very worried about Adrien. She also wanted Adrien to know the whole story.

“And we will.” Gabriel stood up offering his hand to Nathalie to get up. Without hesitation Nathalie took it and they began to prepare to go look for Adrien.

Chat Noir ran as far away from the mansion as he could.

He had been wondering for a long time why he sometimes felt like he was losing control of himself. As if someone was controlling him from the shadows.

He thought that maybe his father’s negative influence had taken its toll on him. But lately he hadn’t felt that way again.

After running a couple of blocks, Chat Noir slowed down his pace and jumped off roofs less and less, until he found a hiding spot behind some buildings.

“Plagg, claws in” Chat Noir whispered.

He detransformed, and let the tears flow freely down his face.

He looked at the rings his father had recently given him. He had been explicitly asked to take good care of them. He couldn’t imagine if he lost them. His father had trusted one of his mother’s most valuable possessions.

What he never imagined was that those rings were basically his life support.

Chat Noir cowered right there. He buried his face in his knees to hide his face. His life now had no meaning, his existence was the product of a damaged Miraculous. He was the puppet his parents had created, or at least that’s what he thought.

He had been the one to blame for his mother's death.

He had hurt so many Sentimonsters, Sentimonsters like him. He felt terrible.

The truth hurt, a lot.

“Adrien, please don’t cry.” Plagg knew that this was not the right time for Adrien to be sad. Chrysalis could be lurking and an Akuma could appear at any moment.

“I’m sorry, Plagg." Adrien passed the back of his hand over his eyes to clear the tears. "I can’t."

Panic didn’t settle in both until a black butterfly approached Adrien and entered one of Graham de Vanily’s rings.

Chapter Text

Once again Chrysalis' voice filled Adrien's head.

“Someone has hurt you very badly Adrien. How about I help you?” It was the same voice in Adrien's head again. Lila was being quite insistent with the idea of ​​akumatizing him or one of his family members.

Adrien grabbed his head, as he tried to break the connection, but this time it seemed quite difficult with his recent emotional state.

Adrien was resisting.

“Don't you think they should have told you the truth? Don't you want things to be different?” Lila mentioned.

“No, I don't want to help you, I don't wish to do it.” Adrien fumbled with his right hand with the other to take off his Miraculous. Plagg flew in front of him and was saying something to him, but Adrien couldn't hear. His mind was too clouded to understand what he was saying.

With great effort, he managed to remove the Miraculous from the destruction on his finger and threw it to the ground away from him.

Adrien made a sign towards the kwami. He tried to get Plagg to read his lips.

“Get help.” Adrien said quietly and slowly so that Plagg could understand

Plagg immediately understood what he meant. He took the Miraculous in his little paws and flew away from there. He needed to go and find Marinette immediately.

Adrien was resisting. He didn't want his nightmare to come true. The visions of Chat Blanc that he had when his father became Nightormentor showed horrible things. He didn't want to become that.

He didn't want to hurt Nathalie or his father, or even less Marinette.

“Come on Adrien, I know you want to teach that person a lesson.” Chrysalis said.

“No!” Adrien was having a hard time getting out of Chrysalis' control this time.

“Adrien!” Chrysalis was getting impatient “I think it's time for you to see your father's true face!”

Adrien didn't think he could resist any longer. He hoped Ladybug could find a solution to help him.

Adrien suddenly stopped resisting, unable to get Chrysalis out of his mind.

Chrysalis smiled, having control of Adrien.

She could finally get revenge on Gabriel Agreste and Marinette Dupain - Cheng. And what better way to do it than in the Chat Noir form, or rather the opposite version of Chat Noir: Chat Blanc.

Using Gabriel Agreste's son was the cherry on the cake.

“Excellent.” Chrysalis leaned on her cane “You can go and get revenge on your father, Chat Blanc. And for that I will give you a power much more destructive than Chat Noir’s. Don't forget to bring me Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous when you have the chance.”

“Yes Chrysalis.” Adrien stood up while a black cloud surrounded him.

Chat Blanc now took Adrien’s place.

It was time to go find his father.

Gabriel and Nathalie were getting ready to leave. They were both thinking about places they could look for Adrien.

Nathalie felt a little sick, but she was more worried about Adrien than her own health.

“Nathalie, are you sure you can go?” Gabriel watched Nathalie talking to the gorilla. He wasn't sure if taking Nathalie with him would be a good idea.

“I’m sure, Gabriel.” Nathalie's voice was a bit raspy, but she really wanted to make sure Adrien was okay.

“Then let’s go." Gabriel addressed the gorilla. "You stay here in case Adrien comes back. If he does, please let us know immediately.”

The gorilla nodded.

Nathalie and Gabriel prepared to go down the stairs to go outside to find Adrien.

Suddenly, they heard a knock on the door. But the way this person was knocking on the door felt somewhat... aggressive.

"Who is it?" Gabriel asked.

The voice that answered made shivers run down his spine.

"Cataclysm!"

The door shattered.

A figure entered, with a sour face. The cold, unnatural eyes that looked at Gabriel made a chill run down his spine.

Gabriel recognized the suit. It was exactly the same as Chat Noir’s suit, but this suit was completely white. The eyes that watched him were light blue instead of green, cold like his gaze.

It was none other than Chat Blanc.

The gorilla, seeing how suspicious Chat Noir looked, ran to Adrien’s room to hide.

“Chat Noir?” Gabriel couldn’t believe it. It was Chat Noir, but he looked different. His suit was now white instead of black.

“Chat Blanc.” Chat said coldly “That’s my name.”

This only meant one thing: His son had just been akumatized.

Gabriel saw how in a couple of seconds Chat Blanc stretched out his hand and created a sphere of blue energy with a finger that he threw in his direction.

Gabriel reacted quickly, covering Nathalie.

The shot destroyed part of the staircase, causing them both to fall quite close to the entrance floor.

Gabriel got up quickly, despite the slight ringing he now had in his right ear.

“Run Nathalie, run!” Gabriel helped her up and pushed her forward to run.

Gabriel ran after Nathalie as far as they could. They needed Ladybug now.

He sent a quick message to Marinette immediately hoping she would answer quickly and come help them.

Marinette was organizing all the material she now had after the research session she had just done. Luka had brought her some pretty useful material and she was getting as much information out of it as possible with Tikki’s help.

“Marinette!” Plagg came running into the room, going through Marinette’s window.

Marinette saw that he had Adrien’s Miraculous in his little paws. Marinette freaked out when she saw what Plagg was carrying.

“What happened? Where’s Adrien?”

“Marinette! Adrien just got akumatized!” Plagg looked desperate carrying the Miraculous of destruction in his little paws “He managed to give me the Miraculous before Chrysalis took control over him.”

“Adrien was akumatized!?” Marinette got out of bed, throwing all the papers she had on it.

A message arrived in her inbox. Marinette unlocked her phone to find a message from Gabriel.

Gabriel_15:00

Marinette, help!

Gabriel and Nathalie were in serious trouble.

“Marinette, you have to go to help them.” Tikki floated over to her, eating a macaron to recharge.

Marinette was now very worried. She wondered if Adrien was okay. But she would have to find out on her own. She had to get going now.

“Tikki, spots on!”

Once her transformation was complete, Ladybug opened the entrance to her yo-yo.

“Give me the ring, Plagg.” Ladybug offered her hand. Plagg put the ring in Ladybug’s palm. She opened her yo-yo and put it inside. Plagg hid in Ladybug’s hair.

“Let’s go there.”

Ladybug ran to the address Gabriel had given her in his message. She quickly ran through the buildings. But when she was getting close to her destination, there was an explosion nearby.

There was a lot of commotion.

She saw as a ball of energy destroyed an empty street. Ladybug screamed, narrowly dodging the ball of energy. She rolled across the ground of the other street until she stopped.

Then she fixed her gaze on the figure that had just landed in front of her. Someone she had met before.

“Chat Blanc?” Ladybug froze. Her heart sank as she recognized the person in front of her.

It was Adrien, who had become Chat Blanc.

“No…”

“Ah Ladybug, what a coincidence of life, I was just looking for you.” Chat Noir slowly approached her. With a somersault, Ladybug stood up again.

“What do you want from me?” Ladybug felt somewhat intimidated.

“Where is Chat Noir? Did he chicken out?” he said mockingly.

“He… is out of town.” Ladybug hoped that, with that lie, Chrysalis would not suspect them.” But Adrien, listen to me, this is not you.”

“Don’t call me Adrien, I’m Chat Blanc and it’s time to accept it. Tell me Ladybug, how do you know I’m Adrien?”

“Gabriel Agreste asked for my help to save his son, that’s how I know.” Ladybug said. That was the only answer she could think of.

Chrysalis also wanted to know if Adrien knew anything about Ladybug that he could use against her.

“Chat Blanc, I demand to know if you know Ladybug’s true identity.”

Chat Blanc just rolled his eyes. Right now, he only cared about one thing: Get revenge on his father.

“That information has a price, Chrysalis.” Chat Blanc said “That will have to wait.”

Ladybug could tell that Chat Blanc was speaking to Chrysalis, it seemed like she was trying to find out something, but Chat Blanc didn’t want to tell her.

He turned his gaze back to Ladybug once he finished talking to the Butterfly Miraculous wearer.

“That doesn’t matter now.” Chat Blanc jumped towards Ladybug to catch her. Ladybug jumped avoiding the blow he wanted to give her by kicking him away from her.

Chat Blanc quickly got up from the ground.

“Once I get your Miraculous, I’ll take care of finding Chat Noir’s myself and make my wish, so that everything goes back to normal.”

“Adrien, you’re being unreasonable.” Ladybug cautiously approached him “The wish is not the solution and you know it very well.”

Could Chrysalis know that Adrien is Chat Noir? Or that she is Ladybug?

No. Marinette thought. If that was the case, Chrysalis would already have the cat Miraculous and would have used her true identity as Marinette against her. It seemed that Adrien did everything possible so that they wouldn’t discover their true identity.

Chat Blanc’s expression changed at that moment from a deranged smile to a serious look.

“So, you’re not going to help me?” Chat Blanc lowered his ears.

“Not like that.” Ladybug was firm “You’re hurting the people you love, Adrien.”

“Then you leave me no choice but to get your Miraculous by force.”

Chat Blanc brought his hands together to create an energy sphere.

Ladybug quickly used her yoyo to get out of there. Chat Blanc quickly tried hit her with one of his spheres, causing some buildings to explode.

Ladybug ran as fast as she could. If she was defeated by Chat Blanc and he got Ladybug’s Miraculous they were doomed.

She landed on another lonely street. She looked around to see that there was no danger.

“Ladybug!”

Suddenly Ladybug felt herself being pulled into a narrow entrance of a building. She was forced to enter and, in reflex; she grabbed the arm of the person who pulled her and applied a chokehold to immobilize them.

“Ladybug, calm down, it’s us.” said the voice.

Ladybug immediately undo the chokehold when she recognized the two people who were with her.

Nathalie and Gabriel. And she had Gabriel immobilized on the floor.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Agreste.” Ladybug helped Gabriel up.

“I suppose you’ve seen...”

“Chat Blanc?” Marinette finished Gabriel’s sentence. “I found him on the way, I recognized him immediately.”

“Did you already know about Chat Blanc’s existence, Ladybug?” Ladybug’s tone indicated to Gabriel that maybe it wasn’t the first time she faced this Akuma.

Ladybug sighed. This time she would have to tell them about what happened months ago.

“Bunnix once came looking for me because I left a gift signed with my real name as Ladybug in Adrien’s room. That caused the timeline to change and... That’s when he appeared.”

“And do you have any idea why Chat Noir... Adrien became Chat Blanc on that occasion?” Gabriel thought that maybe with the information Marinette knew about Chat Blanc they could defeat him.

“That’s the problem. I don’t really know the exact details of what led Chat Noir to be akumatized in that timeline. After I delivered the gift, I don’t know what happened next. When Bunnix took me to face Chat Blanc he was already... like that. Since I found out about his existence, I couldn’t get him out of my head.

Gabriel had a slight feeling that it was his fault this time, but he wasn’t sure.

Ladybug needed to get to the bottom of the reason that would cause Adrien to end up akumatized this time.

“But what I want to know, what was it that made Adrien upset or sad enough to end up akumatized? Do you know?”

Both adults looked at each other.

“It was our fault Ladybug.” Gabriel admitted “Mine, especially.”

“But, what did you told him?” Marinette didn’t understand why Adrien would have gotten so upset to the point of ending up akumatized.

Gabriel stepped forward.

“I told him the truth about his origin, Ladybug, and Adrien took it very badly.”

“His origin? You mean you told him…” Ladybug wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to say it “That he’s a sentimonster?”

“Yes, Ladybug. Adrien got very angry for having hidden this from him for so long. And I don’t blame him for that.” Gabriel lowered his head.

Nathalie lowered her head, feeling guilty too.

“But, where is his Akuma?” Ladybug hoped that at least Nathalie or Gabriel knew where the Akuma got into. That would make things easier for her.

“We don’t know. Adrien ran away from home as soon as we told him the truth and when he came back, he was already akumatized.” Nathalie explained while readjusting her glasses.

“I think I can answer that question, Ladybug.” Plagg came out of the girl’s hair. “I saw that the Akuma got into one of the rings that his father gave to Adrien a not so long time ago. The one above.”

Gabriel and Nathalie were quite worried, if the Akuma got into one of the twin rings, that meant that Adrien’s life was in danger.

That was a problem.

“I’m going to ask for reinforcements.” Ladybug used her yoyo to call Luka.

She dialed Luka directly from her yoyo. But Luka didn’t answer immediately.

“Please answer, please…” Ladybug was getting desperate. It was urgent that Luka answered. He was the only reinforcement she could use against Chat Blanc. Without the other Miraculous, there wasn’t much she could do.

“Hello Marinette.” Luka’s voice was heard through the earpiece.

Ladybug breathed a sigh of relief.

“Luka. I’m glad you answered. Where are you? I need your help urgently.” Ladybug spoke to the speaker on her yoyo.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t answer you sooner Ladybug, the guardians met today and I had to attend.”

“It’s an emergency Luka.” Ladybug would get to the point “Adrien has been akumatized.”

Luka remained silent behind the line before answering.

“Marinette, this is very serious. The guardians will not be happy with this.” Luka warned her.

“I know Luka and I will take responsibility for giving them explanations. For now, I need your help Luka. Now that I don’t have the Miraculous in my possession I can’t have more reinforcements.”

She peeked through the door and saw that Chat Blanc was approaching her position. He was looking for her. “Please, Luka, come quickly, I need you.”

“I’m coming, Ladybug. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.” And with that, Luka hung up.

Ladybug went back to where Gabriel and Nathalie were waiting.

“Help is on the way,” Ladybug indicated to both adults.

“What are you going to do now, Ladybug?”

“I’m going to wait for Luka to arrive. I don’t want to risk facing Adrien alone. I already tried, but it didn’t work. Chat Blanc doesn’t want to listen to me.”

“Maybe he’ll listen to me, Ladybug,” Gabriel took a step forward. “I’m the one who caused his akumatization.”

“I don’t know, Mr. Agreste. Chat Blanc is quite destructive and I wouldn’t want him to hurt you.”

“Your Miraculous Ladybug could bring me back.” Gabriel said determinedly, knowing well the implications of facing an Akuma like this. This was his responsibility and he had to fix it.

Ladybug thought she might as well try.

“Lucky Charm!” Ladybug shouted, hoping to get something that would be useful for the problem at hand.

A framed picture fell into Ladybug’s hands.

“A picture?” Ladybug didn’t understand why her Lucky Charm would give her something so simple. She examined the picture more closely. It was a framed picture, and not just any picture, it was a picture of Nathalie and Gabriel together, in their explorer outfits.

Both adults recognized the picture in Ladybug’s hands. They took it during their search for the Miraculous. Emilie was the one who took it back then.

That meant that Gabriel and Nathalie were the key to fixing this whole problem.

“I think I’ll need you to help me,” she showed them the picture.

“And we will, Ladybug,” Nathalie assured her.

Just then, someone stood next to her and Ladybug jumped, scared.

“Ladybug.” She recognized him instantly.

“Luka!” Ladybug brought her hand to her chest. Her heart was pounding rapidly.

Luka had finally arrived to help.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I was waiting for permission to bring the snake Miraculous.” Luka showed her his wrist, where he was wearing the Miraculous.

“Perfect Luka, because we’re going to need it.” It was then that Ladybug was hit by the implication of what Viperion said “Luka, do the guardians already know that Adrien was akumatized?”

“Yes Ladybug, I had no choice but to tell them what was happening. If I didn’t, they wouldn’t have allowed me to bring the snake Miraculous.”

Ladybug sighed.

“Well, we’ll take care of explaining things. But now our priority is Adrien.”

Ladybug motioned for them to come closer. She already had an idea of ​​what the plan would be.

“This is the plan. Nathalie, Gabriel, you will talk to Adrien to see if we can get him out of Chrysalis control. He’ll probably listen to you and I’ll take care of deakumatizing him without hurting him.” Ladybug said “Meanwhile, Luka, will be supporting us using the second chance in case things end badly.”

“How do you plan to return Adrien to normal, Ladybug? The rings are Adrien’s life support.” That was one of Nathalie’s concerns.

Ladybug hadn’t thought it through yet. She only had a vague idea of ​​what she was going to do. What Nathalie and Gabriel said depended entirely on them. And she hoped that with that she could calm Adrien’s anger.

“I’ll find out, you just worry about talking to him.” Ladybug didn’t know yet how to fix that problem without having to hurt Adrien, but she would come up with something eventually.

“I was thinking of trying to get Adrien to come back to his senses. That way he’ll be able to break the connection with the Akuma on his own and I’ll be able to purify him without having to hurt him.

Luka didn’t think he could do all this in the time he gave him the Snake Miraculous.

“Ladybug remember that we only have five minutes to go back.” Luka reminded Ladybug.

“Then we’ll start a little later. I’ll give you the signal, Luka. It’s important that Chat Blanc doesn’t see you.” Ladybug told him.

Ladybug was already sure where to look for Chat Blanc.

Chat Blanc sat on top of the Eiffel Tower. He knew that this was one of Ladybug’s meeting points.

He was humming a song that his mother had taught him when he was little. It gave him comfort in a way.

A small cat, on the roof… alone without his Lady.

Ladybug landed behind where Chat Blanc was sitting.

Ladybug had a feeling of Deja vu. Like the first time she met Chat Blanc.

“And where are your friends, Ladybug?” said Chat Blanc looking at her with those clear blue eyes that Ladybug feared so much.

Ladybug was surprised that Adrien had not revealed who she was yet.

“They are in a safe place.” Ladybug said.

Chat Blanc jumped from the place where he was sitting and began to walk towards her.

“Oh, sorry maybe I shouldn’t have been so rude earlier, could you give me your Miraculous, please?” Chat Blanc offered his hand.

“No.” Ladybug said “No, even if you ask me nicely, I’m not going to give it to you.”

“Then you leave me no other choice.” Chat Blanc got into an attack position. Ladybug took out her yoyo and spun it to prepare for Chat Blanc’s attack.

“Give me your Miraculous!” Chat Blanc lunged at Ladybug to try to take the earrings from her ears. She did several somersaults to get as far away from Chat Blanc as possible. Ladybug dodged Chat Blanc’s attacks while looking at his suit, searching for the twin rings. They were where Adrien had them last time.

Chat lashed out wildly again. Ladybug had never seen such skill from Adrien. He looked like he was getting desperate.

With that small distraction of a strong kick, Chat Blanc sent Ladybug into the metal bars of the Eiffel tower.

“My Lady, what’s wrong? You can’t keep up with me?” Chat Blanc said mockingly. He slowly approached her in order to take the Miraculous of Creation.

Ladybug got up from the floor.

“This is not the solution.” Ladybug wasn’t going to give up so easily, “Adrien please.”

Chat Blanc could hear strange noises near him, but he couldn’t pinpoint where they were exactly. Using his ears he tried to find the source of the sound, but to no avail.

“There must still be a solution, Adrien. I’m sure of that.” Ladybug wanted Adrien to trust her, she was working very hard to find a cure for Nathalie and Gabriel.

“No, you’re lying. Nathalie has gotten worse, my father has gotten worse. If we use both Miraculous, we can fix everything.”

“But there is a price Adrien, remember that.” Ladybug was getting desperate for Adrien to understand. If they did that, the universe would have to balance somehow.

Ladybug dodged all of Chat Blanc’s attacks.

“Someone will have to take the place of both. It’s cruel. Even if that saves them.” Ladybug dodged another attack from Chat Blanc. “We are looking for another solution. You have to trust me, Adrien! Trust me!”

But Chat Blanc refused to stop.

“Adrien, please,” Ladybug begged. She didn’t want to face Adrien. He wasn’t to blame for what was happening.

“I already told you that I’m not Adrien anymore, I’m Chat Blanc now!” Chat Blanc pointed at Ladybug with her fingers. “I suggest you get out of my way if you don’t want to get hurt.”

“No, Adrien.” Ladybug took a few steps back when Chat Blanc rolled on the ground when he tried to jump on her. “I know that the situation between you and your father isn’t the best, but I think you two should talk. You two could fix things between you.”

“He never listens to anybody. Why should I try again?”

Suddenly Chat Blanc heard a light sound of footsteps near him, different from Ladybug’s. Moving his ears, he found the source of the sound.

Chat Blanc already knew where they were hiding. The noises were coming from below him. “Whoever is there, if you don’t get out of there, I’ll blow this whole place up!” Chat Blanc pointed and began to generate a ball of energy which he aimed at the hiding place where his father and Nathalie had inadvertently hidden while facing Ladybug.

“One, two...” Chat Blanc hesitated a little.

Gabriel came out of his hiding place, running up the stairs to confront Chat Blanc.

“Wait, Adrien.” Gabriel walked towards him “Don’t do it.”

“You...!” Chat Blanc said with hatred.

Chat Blanc deflected the energy ball towards Ladybug, making her fly to the other side of the Eiffel Tower.  He used his staff to make his father fall to the ground. The blow stunned Gabriel, who remained there, unable to get up. Chat Blanc got closer to him and put his staff on top of his cataclysmed arm, making him cry out in pain and immobilizing him.

“Adrien...” Gabriel stayed there without moving from his spot “Please listen to us, we haven’t finished explaining everything. There’s something you still need to know.”

However, Gabriel’s words didn’t matter to Chat Blanc at all.

“This is all your fault! We wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for you wanting to bring my mother back!”

“I’m sorry Adrien.” Gabriel said despite the pain “You’re right. I’m sorry for hiding so many things from you for so long.”

Nathalie also came out of her hiding place to try to reason with Adrien. She had her guard up for any eventuality.

“Adrien, listen to us. Everything will be fine.” Nathalie kept a safe distance. One wrong step and Chat Blanc could explode. “Please. It wasn’t our intention to hurt you, I know you want to know the truth, but this isn’t the way.”

“And why didn’t you tell me the truth before? Why wait?” Chat Blanc’s mind was blinded by anger.

“You’re not thinking clearly Adrien.” Nathalie told him “We love you, and we wanted you to know the truth so you could trust us. We’ve been looking for the right moment to tell you Adrien.”

“Don’t listen to her, she’s lying to you.” Chat Blanc heard Chrysalis voice in his head.

But Nathalie wouldn’t lie to me about this, not now.

Adrien at that moment regained some consciousness that lay deep within him. He tried to break the connection with Chrysalis. But she was clinging to him.

“No Chat Blanc, stop! It’s a trap!” Chrysalis was doing everything she could to keep control over Adrien.

Nathalie noticed that Adrien was trying to get out of Chrysalis’s control, but he couldn’t. She ran to where Ladybug was, who was already getting ready for the next step of her plan.

“Ladybug, Adrien is trying to regain control.”

“Then, let’s help him.” Ladybug lunged at Chat Blanc to try to catch him with her yo-yo.

But her yo-yo got tangled in Chat Blanc’s staff. Chat Blanc swung his staff hard, to get Ladybug off of him.

Ladybug flew away from the place.

Adrien went to back what he was doing. He was trying to get up after the blow he gave him.

“You will finally pay for what you did to me, father.” Chat Blanc began to create a ball of energy with one of his hands.

Nathalie ran to Gabriel, and threw herself to the ground next to him.

“No, stop Adrien!” Nathalie covered Gabriel with her own body. “Don’t do it, Adrien. This is not the solution. You are not a murderer.”

That echoed in Chat Blanc’s mind.

Ladybug landed back on the spot. Before falling she managed to get her yoyo wrapped around the Eiffel tower and avoid falling. She saw what Adrien was thinking of doing, she had to act immediately.

“Lucky Charm.” she whispered again. A flashlight with a very strong light fell into her hands.

She could work with that. She activated her communicator to talk to Luka.

“Luka, it’s time.”

Ladybug signaled Luka to get ready. Luka activated the second chance power from where he was hiding, he prepared the binoculars Ladybug gave him to watch when he had to go back. They had five minutes.

With that Ladybug acted. She quickly climbed to the top, to find Chat Blanc aiming at Nathalie and Gabriel. She lunged at Chat Blanc, with the bad luck that he turned around and created another sphere of energy that made her disappear.

Luka acted immediately

“Second chance!”

They were at the same point again. Ladybug was about to jump.

“Ladybug be careful when you jump, Chat Noir will attack you with an energy ball if you do.”

“Understood Luka.” It was then that Ladybug was going to rescue Nathalie and Gabriel first. If she did, there were fewer things she had to take care of.

Ladybug used her yoyo to rescue Gabriel and Nathalie. She managed to drag them to a lower floor where they were safe.

“Thanks Ladybug.” Gabriel wanted to help, but didn’t know how. “Do you need more help?”

“I can do it alone, but thanks for the offer. I don’t want you to risk yourselves unnecessarily.” Ladybug quickly went out to stop Chat Blanc. Only for Chat Blanc to capture her and go after the earrings. Luka didn’t wait another second.

“Second chance.”

Luka activated the second chance a couple of times until he finally understood what they needed to do. Although he didn’t like it at all.

They needed to break the ring where the Akuma was and Nathalie and Gabriel’s help was perfect.

“I’m sorry to tell you Ladybug, but I think there’s no other way. We have to damage Adrien’s ring.”

“Luka ¡No!” Ladybug didn’t want to do that. That meant hurting Adrien too.

“I’m sorry Ladybug, we tried everything, but nothing you thought of seemed to work.” Luka wasn’t very happy with the idea either, but what else could they do?

She and Luka had run out of options.

“Trust me, Ladybug. This is the only way” Luka told her through the earpiece.

“I trust you, Luka.” Ladybug stood up to do what Luka told her.

There was no other choice. She would have to break the ring where the Akuma was.

After rescuing Nathalie and Gabriel again, Ladybug told them what she wanted to do.

“Gabriel, Nathalie.” Ladybug hugged herself “Viperion and I already tried everything, but… we’ll have to break the rings.”

Gabriel and Nathalie’s expression changed completely. A worried expression now adorned their faces.

“Anything but that, Ladybug.” Gabriel didn’t want to think about it. Adrien had already suffered too much and that only put his life at risk.

“I don’t want to do it either. But I’m sure we can find a solution out of this.”

Plagg peeked out from between Ladybug’s hair.

“Ladybug, are you sure what you’re going to do?” Plagg came out, worried about what could happen to Adrien.

Ladybug released the air she had been holding.

“There’s no other way.”

Gabriel wasn’t all that happy with this.

“Understood, Ladybug.” Gabriel said. “The reason we used two rings was because we were worried that the object we used for its creation would be damaged. If only one of the rings is damaged, then that could protect him.”

Ladybug was somewhat relieved by that.

“Nathalie, Gabriel I need your help.” Ladybug brought her hands together “Please retrieve the rings from Adrien’s hand. When I make him fall, I will immobilize him to give you a chance.”

“The akumatized ring is the superior one, Ladybug.” Plagg indicated, so that they would take the correct ring.

Both adults focused on what they had to do.

Ladybug peeked out from her hiding place in the Eiffel Tower. Chat Blanc was distracted, looking at the horizon. Maybe he had already gotten tired.

Or maybe he was waiting for her to come out.

Ladybug approached slowly from behind. Luka had hidden somewhere else where he could see and act when necessary.

“I’m sorry Adrien.” Ladybug quickly threw herself on top of Chat Blanc, pinning him to the floor, applying a chokehold on him so he couldn’t move.

“Take off his rings!” Ladybug screamed.

Gabriel ran towards him and Nathalie went to help him. He held Adrien’s hand while Nathalie took the rings off Adrien’s hands.

“Let me go.” Chat Blanc couldn’t move with the strong hold Ladybug was applying on him.

Ladybug was putting as much force as she could on Chat Blanc to prevent him from escaping again. Viperion watched from a distance to turn back time again if things ended badly.

“Adrien, this is for your own good.” Ladybug applied more force, especially on his other hand, to prevent him from activating his cataclysm.

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Nathalie managed to extract the rings. She threw the akumatized ring on the ground, keeping it away from Chat Blanc.

Ladybug got up, freeing Chat Blanc, and ran to where Nathalie threw the ring that Plagg indicated to them.

Forgive me, Adrien.

She closed her eyes and forcefully broke the ring that contained the Akuma with a stomp.

That made Chat Blanc moan in quite intense pain. He felt like his insides were burning before losing consciousness.

The black butterfly came out of the rings. Ladybug purified it and it flew until it was lost in the distance

“Miraculous Ladybug!” Ladybug threw the Lucky Charm into the air. The whole city returned to normal.

Ladybug saw that Adrien returned to normal. But when he did, he was still unconscious.

“Adrien!” Ladybug ran to the side “Are you okay?”

But Adrien didn’t respond.

“Why isn’t he answering?” Ladybug was nervous. She was afraid that her Lucky Charm hadn’t fixed the ring.

“Wait.” Nathalie examined Adrien’s face. He looked a little pale “Let’s take Adrien back home. We don’t want people to get suspicious.”

Ladybug nodded and helped Gabriel carry Adrien back to the mansion with Viperion. Gabriel placed him on his bed, resting his head on the pillow.

Ladybug touched Adrien’s ring.

“Why isn’t he waking up?”

That was the moment when Gabriel saw the small crack on one side of the ring. Gabriel was instantly worried, the ring had not been completely repaired by the Miraculous Ladybug.

“I’ll be right back.”

Gabriel took the ring off Adrien’s finger. He walked away with it and went down to the lair where he had the machine he used when making the Miraculous rings. He carefully placed the damaged ring in the center.

He turned on the machine to fix the damaged ring. He was relieved that he and Emilie had used two rings. That was what saved Adrien’s life.

The laser turned on and he waited until the ring was fixed. That time seemed like an eternity.

He ran back, suddenly entering the room. Adrien did not respond. Nathalie looked very worried about Adrien and Marinette was already crying.

“Adrien.” Marinette held Adrien’s hand, she had tears in her eyes.

Gabriel placed the missing ring in Adrien’s hand.

Slowly Adrien opened his eyes. He fixed his gaze on the two people who were by his side.

“Father, Marinette.” Nathalie approached him and leaned down to see his face.

“Adrien, how are you feeling?” Nathalie ran her hand over his forehead to quickly measure his temperature. It seemed to have stabilized.

“A little weak.” Adrien’s voice was raspy. Adrien sat on his bed and Nathalie handed him the glass of water she had brought. “What happened to me?”

“We told you, Adrien, that you are… a sentimonster.” Gabriel said, taking Adrien’s hand that had the rings on it. “And you got akumatized, leading to your ring being damaged”

“You’re a sentibeing, Adrien.” Marinette interrupted, remembering what Felix had told her about how he preferred to be referred to. “Not a sentimonster.”

Gabriel immediately understood that the term was not very pleasant.

Adrien did not feel the strength to get up just yet. He did not remember much apart from being akumatized, but he did remember at some point a very intense pain that led him to unconsciousness. What he did remember was what his father confessed to him.

He slowly got out of bed, standing in front of the large window of his room, turning his back to his father.

“Father. Sentimonsters are created to serve and obey as puppets. So that was the reason I exist? To keep me under control?” Adrien didn’t want to believe that was the reason for his existence “To follow orders?”

Marinette and Luka didn’t know what to say, but Gabriel beat them to it.

“No Adrien, that wasn’t the reason.” Gabriel walked over to him and crouched down to his level. He took him by the shoulders to get his attention. “You still haven’t finished hearing the whole story.”

Gabriel had realized that Adrien had been making assumptions about his existence all this time.

“Your mother and I, especially your mother, wanted to have a child of our own.”

“Really?” Adrien thought that his father didn’t want him.

“Adrien, your mother and I always wanted to have children. But after a while of trying, we couldn’t.”

“But, then what was it that stopped you?” Adrien asked without understanding anything.

Gabriel thought about how to explain it so that his innocent son would understand.

“We went to the doctor to see what was happening. At first, I thought it was my fault…”

“Father…” said Adrien.

“After some tests that he did to me and your mother, the doctor informed us that your mother was sterile. That day our dream was destroyed.”

Adrien couldn’t imagine the pain that his mother felt when she was told those news.

Poor mom.

“We tried many methods to have a child, Adrien.” Gabriel remembered all that period where he could only see Emilie suffer for not having what she and he longed for so much. “We even went so far as to consult with your maternal grandparents, Emilie’s parents to see if they could find a solution to the problem. Even when we had a bad relationship with them because we were getting desperate. But we couldn’t get anywhere.”

“How long were you trying?” Adrien wanted to know how long you were looking for a solution to their dilemma.

“For a long time. Years actually. Nothing we tried worked. Not even what your aunt Amelie tried had any results. But not everything was lost. I heard of some magical artifacts that could be the solution to our problem.”

“The Miraculous.” Adrien understood what she meant.

“That’s right. There was a special Miraculous that had the ability to create beings with life and decisions of their own. The Peacock Miraculous was our salvation. After doing some research we knew that the Miraculous was capable of creating life. And that was just what we needed. So, to find it, we looked for someone who could help us in our feat. And we contacted Nathalie.”

Adrien looked at Nathalie

“You Nathalie?” Adrien was beginning to understand that his existence was thanks to none other than Nathalie, just as his father had told him before.

“I used to be a hunter of magical artifacts in my youth. Your parents, well your father, called me and I agreed to work with the sum they offered me.”

“So, is that how you two met?”

“Yes, son. Me, your mother and Nathalie set out on a quest all over the world looking for the Peacock Miraculous and the Butterfly Miraculous as I told you before.” Gabriel explained “Over time, that created a great friendship between us.”

“Is that why you stayed with us, Nathalie?” Adrien said.

“Yes, I had grown so fond of your parents, that now it was difficult for me to separate from them just like that. And when you arrived, I also grew fond of you, Adrien. I didn’t feel capable of leaving, because I know I would miss you a lot.”

Adrien appreciated Nathalie even more.

Nathalie got closer to Adrien and bended down next to him.

“You were born as a human just as your mother wanted.” Nathalie assured him “And even if your origin is different others, there are people who love you just the way you are, Adrien.”

“Adrien, you were always wanted. Your mother’s greatest wish was to have you.” Gabriel grabbed his chin to make him look at him.

Adrien never thought he was so special.

“Your mother loved you very much, Adrien. You were her dream come true. Even though the Miraculous ended with her life.” Gabriel said sadly.

Adrien felt very sad. Was he the reason his mother got sick?

“Adrien. We don’t want you to feel guilty about what happened to your mother. It was our decision to use the Peacock Miraculous to create you when we were already without any chance of having our own child.” Gabriel wanted Adrien to not think that he was to blame for his mother’s death. "Your mother always wanted you to be happy, even if she wasn’t here. But I... I screwed up. I was blinded by my desire to have a perfect life and I thought I could bring her back."

Gabriel looked Adrien in the eyes.

“Forgive me Adrien. For the abandonment you went through, for the way I treated you when you started your relationship with Marinette, for controlling you, for having sent you away because I was worried that you would go through the same as me... My bad decisions ended up affecting you more than I thought. I’m so sorry.”

Adrien hugged himself.

“And I know that my words can’t change anything that happened Adrien; but I’m trying to change now that Ladybug gave me a second chance.” Hesitantly, Gabriel leaned in to give Adrien a hug. At first, he thought that maybe Adrien would reject the show of affection.

Adrien relaxed and accepted. Nathalie joined the hug.

Once they separated, Gabriel decided that it was time for Adrien to see the recordings that his mother left him.

“Now you should know that your mother left a couple of recordings for us.” Gabriel got up from the floor “And I think it’s best you see them.”

Gabriel picked up Adrien and sat them on his bed. Nathalie went to her room to look for the phone where the recordings were.

Nathalie turned on the phone to show him the recordings that Emilie had left.

Adrien watched each one of them, listening to what his mother had to say. After listening to the last one, Adrien understood many of the things that had happened over the years and in these last few months.

What hurt him the most was when his mother admitted that she wanted them to let her go.

Adrien hugged himself upon hearing those words. His eyes burned. His mother had accepted her death.

“So, what my mother said is true? Did she agree that you two would take care of me?”

“Yes, Adrien.” Nathalie took Adrien’s free hand. “She wanted the best for you, and she trusted us both to protect you and make you happy.”

“Mom wanted you to move on, Nathalie did too, so did I, why didn’t you, father?”

Gabriel was silent at this.

“I didn’t want to move on. Without your mother, I was nothing.” Gabriel was completely honest.

Adrien was completely disappointed in his father.

“Before we finish, this is the last recording you’ll have to see.” Nathalie handed him her tablet.

Adrien watched in horror at the bad state Nathalie was in in that recording. Nathalie was pale, part of her hair was white.

Adrien saw how Nathalie had a hard time speaking. Her voice was choppy and she looked quite sick, much more so than when he left Paris. Her streak of hair had changed from crimson red to white.

Adrien stopped the recording because he didn’t feel capable of watching any more.

“Is this what’s going to happen to you if we don’t find a solution?” Adrien said with a broken voice.

“Oh, Adrien. Don’t worry, we still have time.” Nathalie tried to calm him down. “I’m sure Marinette will find a solution.”

“But that was the same thing you said about my mother and she... she...” Adrien didn’t dare finish that sentence.

“Adrien, now that Ladybug offered us her help and is very close to the guardians, there is still a chance.” Gabriel was not sure if they could be saved. But Gerald had advised him in one of their sessions not to give more negativity to Adrien.

Gabriel looked at the time on the clock. It was almost midnight.

“I have to go home now; my parents must be very worried about me.” Marinette looked out the window. Her parents were waiting for her. “They already know I’m here.”

“You can go, Marinette, Luka.” Gabriel indicated “Thank you very much for being there, when we needed help.”

“You’re welcome. It’s my duty to protect everyone.”

With that Marinette and Luka could leave.

“Goodbye Adrien. If you need someone to talk to, I’m always at your disposal.” Luka offered him a handshake.

“I will Luka, thank you.” Adrien squeezed back.

“Goodbye, Adrien. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Marinette gave Adrien a kiss on the cheek. In the process she put the charm she created on his hand for his protection and said goodbye to the three of them and went to the exit with Luka. The gorilla opened the door for them to leave.

Once Marinette and Luka left, Gabriel had something else to do.

“I’m going to give you something to eat before we go to rest.” Gabriel prepared to go in the direction of the kitchen “Do you want something in particular Adrien?”

Adrien looked away and rubbed his shoulder nervously.

“Couldn’t you give me some French fries?, like the ones you used to make before?” Adrien wasn’t sure if his father would give in to his request.

“Yes son.” Gabriel wasn’t going to say no “It doesn’t bother me at all.”

Gabriel then remembered his job at his father’s friterrie, until he had enough money to run away from home.

Gabriel was also remembering things from his youth when he still worked at his father’s friterie. The last day he saw him was the day he decided to leave his old life behind. That was when he cut ties with him.

Cutting the potatoes, he remembered the bittersweet taste of his adolescence and his transition into adulthood. He mechanically cooked his potatoes. Just like he did when he worked at the friterie.

Once he was done, Gabriel served Adrien’s plate. Gabriel sat next to him while he finished. Nathalie was preparing Adrien’s room for him to rest.

Adrien didn’t say anything, he proceeded to take a potato and eat it.

At least the fries taste good. Adrien ate in silence while his father accompanied him while he finished. Adrien gave him shy glances and then looked back at his plate.

After finishing, Gabriel put the plates aside.

“Let’s go to sleep, son. You had a long day.” Gabriel had noticed the tiredness in Adrien’s eyes.

For that night Nathalie and Gabriel would stay with Adrien. To watch that no Akuma would come to terrorize them again. They both prepared for the night, changing into their pajamas just like Adrien did.

Nathalie lay down next to Adrien.

“You are not going to leave, are you?” Adrien said. The room was dimly lit, giving Adrien a feeling of security. But being alone after what happened made him a little nervous.

“We’ll stay here with you.” Nathalie took his hand and drew circles on his palm.

Gabriel also lay down on the other side with Adrien.

Adrien looked at his father expectantly.

“Yes Adrien, I promise.” Gabriel squeezed his hand lovingly “I’m going to stay here all night.”

That calmed Adrien.

Little by little, Adrien fell asleep. They both noticed it because Adrien’s grip loosened.

Gabriel couldn’t sleep all night. The threat of some Akuma coming back for them kept him from sleeping.

But at no time, he didn’t let go Adrien’s hand.

At some point in the night Adrien snuggled up to Nathalie. She hadn’t let go of his hand either. Adrien’s calm breathing calmed Gabriel enough to get a few hours of sleep

Chapter Text

Luka reported to the guardians after the incident with Adrien’s akumatization. For days, the guardians had been arguing about whether Adrien would lose his Miraculous permanently after this incident. While Marinette took care of Adrien and his mental health, Luka would plead with the guardians on behalf of Adrien. He didn’t want Adrien to be affected by this.

This wasn’t his fault.

And there he was, listening once again to the guardians arguing among themselves.

“We can’t allow a wearer who has been akumatized to continue carrying the Miraculous of Destruction.

“We could get new wearers. Ones who don’t know each other, as it should have been.” another guardian reasoned.

“But leaving Paris unprotected when the Butterfly Miraculous wearer is still on the loose?” Su Han questioned. Not having an experienced wearer in these times when they didn’t have time to train anyone else wasn’t good. And apparently Marinette already tried, and that didn’t turn out to be a very good idea.

Luka raised his hand once the guardians started arguing again. Everyone fell silent when Luka did that. No one expected him to intervene.

“May I speak too, please?” Luka said as calmly as possible.

“You may have a word, Luka.” Su Han indicated.

Luka finally had his space to speak. While the guardians argued among themselves, they forgot about his presence.

“I understand the point you’ve been trying to make about wearers who have been akumatized. Are you really going to blame someone for being manipulated by their feelings?" Luka said calmly, convinced that what he said was correct. "Not even you can say you don’t experience emotions which could make you end up akumatized. There’s a reason there’s a technique to prevent akumatization, no?”

Luka had a point.

“Give us a moment, Luka.”

The other guardians gathered to talk, excluding Luka from the conversation. Luka could hear them whispering among themselves.

“I suppose you have a point, Luka,” Su Han said after speaking quietly to the other teachers. “We’ll just call him out this once. But to prevent this from happening again, we’ve made a new decision.”

One of the guardians presented him with a Miraculous.

The Snake Miraculous, which was already restored to its original form, a bracelet.

“Are you entrusting me with a Miraculous?” Luka didn’t expect them to entrust him with the snake Miraculous so quickly.

“We’re doing this so I can keep a close eye on them, Luka. If they are in trouble, it’ll be time for you to intervene. We can’t forbid them from having emotions, but we can give them the support they need in these difficult times.”

Luka breathed a sigh of relief. That was good. At least this time Su Han was being more understanding.

Especially with Adrien.

“Master, why don’t you trust Adrien and Marinette? They’ve proven they can fix the problem themselves.” Luka wanted to defend his friends.

“Actually, I do trust them, Luka. But the other guardians might not. You’d better be careful. They’ll be watching your actions more closely from now on.”

“And we will, Master." Luka replied, clasping his hands in a sign of respect.

“Well, if there’s nothing else to discuss here, Luka, you can leave now.”

“Can I stop by the library for a moment? I need some material for tomorrow’s test.”

“Sure, Luka. Take whatever material you need.” Su Han retreated to the other side of the temple.

Luka returned to the restricted area of ​​the library he’d been exploring earlier. There was still a lot of material to look for, and there was one specific area he hadn’t checked yet. An area where the temple’s oldest scrolls were kept.

Looking at one of the shelves, he found something that caught his attention. It was a scroll he hadn’t seen before, hidden among the other scrolls stored there. Luka took it in his hands and quickly skimmed through it. With what he’d learned from the guardians these past few weeks and his own research, he could distinguish two keywords for what they were supposedly looking for.

“Cure, damaged Miraculous.”

Weeks of searching finally paid out. He wiped the dust off the scroll and tucked it away in his suit.

He quickly checked to see if there was any more material related to it. But apparently, that was the only material available. A real shame.

He’d continue searching for more material about the cataclysm later. He had to inform Marinette about the discovery.

Luka rode fast on his bike toward Marinette’s house. What he had just found was what they had been searching for weeks, and they had no time to waste. Nathalie’s life depended on it.

“Hello, Mrs. Sabine. Is Marinette home?” Luka asked from the doorway, leaving his bike at the entrance.

“Hi, Luka, you’re just in time. She’s upstairs; she just arrived.” Sabine let Luka in.

“Thank you.” Luka stepped in and ran up the stairs to the entrance to Marinette’s room.

Luka knocked insistently on the door that led to Marinette’s room. She opened the door quickly when she heard the knocking sounds.

“What’s wrong, Luka? Why the rush?” Marinette invited him in.

“Marinette, it seems I found something while I was exploring the library that could be useful for us to help Nathalie.” Luka was catching his breath.

Marinette’s expression changed to hope.

“Really, Luka? Can you show me?”

Luka showed her the old scroll he took from the temple.

“I found this scroll that possibly talks about a damaged Miraculous. It was in the medical section behind the bookstore.”

Luka passed the scroll to Marinette, who carefully took it and unrolled it. It seemed like a fairly old scroll like the others, although there was something unusual about it: This one had rather sloppy and somewhat rough handwriting. Tikki and Sass floated beside her to examine the scroll.

“It’s... a little hard to read,” Marinette said sadly, noticing that most of the notes had faded over time. "But it’s still our best chance of finding something. Haven’t you found anything to cure Mr. Agreste’s cataclysm?”

“No, Marinette. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find anything we can help Mr. Agreste with," Luka explained. “It’s a shame.”

“It’s a real shame.” Marinette needed to find a solution for Gabriel. “Even so, let’s keep looking, we might find something useful. For now, we have to translate the scroll.”

“We’ll help you.” Tikki and Sass knew something about the guardians, and perhaps with her knowledge, she could help them translate.

Marinette, Luka and the kwamis took the whole afternoon to translate the recipe correctly, following the guidance the guardians had given them some time ago, after Marinette’s interrogation. After drawing a chart with the ingredients they needed, Marinette put her pencil down on the desk.

“This is the solution, Luka." Marinette took the translation they made from the scroll in her hands. “This recipe could be the key to curing Nathalie.”

“But we’re not sure if it is going to work,” Luka had his doubts about whether this recipe would be effective. "You know anything could go wrong, Marinette.”

“Yes, you’re right. But what do we have to lose if we try it?” Marinette wasn’t quite sure what to do, but they had no other choice.

Luka nodded.

“Then let’s show this to Nathalie and Mr. Agreste.” Luka picked up the scroll and put it away again. There was so much to plan already.

“I think we’ve found a solution for Nathalie!” Was the first thing Marinette said as soon as Gabriel opened the door. She was standing next to Luka, who was carrying the notebook they were working in.

Gabriel couldn’t believe it.

“Did you?” Gabriel said, stepping aside to let her in. “Please, Marinette, show us.”

Gabriel, Nathalie, and Adrien sat in the mansion’s living room.

“And what did you find?” Gabriel sat between Nathalie and Adrien in the kitchen.

“Luka found a recipe about healing Miraculous damage.” Marinette pointed to the notebook.

“The recipe seems quite old. We did our best to translate it.” Luka explained.

For Gabriel, that was a light of hope. If this cure worked, Nathalie could return to normal.

Adrien was relieved that they had finally found a cure for Nathalie’s illness. Since the incident with Chat Blanc, Nathalie’s symptoms had been appearing more frequently, and that worried him.

But his father...

“And what about... my father?” Adrien couldn’t help thinking that Marinette hadn’t mentioned his father at all.

Marinette and Luka had to be honest with Adrien. Although they searched extensively, they didn’t find anything to help Gabriel.

“Well, we’re still... we’re still at it.” Marinette’s expression changed to a somber one. “For now, we have a possible solution for Nathalie. But it won’t be an easy task.”

Marinette pulled a folded piece of paper from her notebook.

“This is the list of ingredients we need.”

Gabriel took the paper with the translated recipe from Marinette. He read the contents aloud.

“To repair the damage inflicted on a damaged Miraculous holder, the following ingredients are needed:”

List of ingredients:

Frozen Stone Dust

Golden Desert Dust

Water of Life

Stone Vine

Gabriel read other ingredients on the list that he didn’t quite understand.

“The other ingredients are in the guardians’ storage area. But I couldn’t find the ones listed anywhere.” Luka mentioned.

Gabriel wondered what these ingredients were referring to.

Nathalie stood up from her seat.

“Give me a moment. I’ll be right back.” Nathalie left the room to look for something they could use. When she returned, she was carrying a diary with yellow pages.

“What’s that, Nathalie?” Adrien was very curious about what Nathalie was holding. Nathalie coughed a little.

“Many years ago, I documented some of the things mentioned on this list. I know they exist because I once saw an explorer who showed me some of them. Finding them won’t be an easy task.” Nathalie began making notes next to each ingredient. Once she finished, she showed the list to everyone again.

List of ingredients:

Frozen Stone Dust = Tibet

Desert Gold Dust = Egypt

Water of Life = Peru

Stone Vine = France

Gabriel took the list in his hands. If that was what he had to get for Nathalie to live, then he was willing to go to all those places himself.

“Would that be all, Nathalie?” Gabriel wanted to make sure they didn’t miss a single ingredient.

“Those are all the locations, Gabriel.” Nathalie could see Gabriel’s intentions for going. “They’re dangerous locations, Gabriel. Maybe I should go alone.”

“No, Nathalie. I’m not going to allow you to go on your own. We’re in this problem together, and together we’ll solve it.” Gabriel wasn’t going to allow Nathalie to travel alone, especially in her condition.

“Us too.” Adrien wanted to go help, too. If Nathalie’s life depended on it, then he was more than willing to participate in the search.

“No, it’s dangerous for you.” Gabriel flatly refused to let them accompany them, especially Adrien. He had gone on adventures before and he knew it was dangerous.

“Please, Father. We’re Chat Noir and Ladybug. We’ve faced many dangers. Why would this time be any different?”

“Because we didn’t know it was you.” Gabriel crouched down to Adrien’s level.

Nathalie decided to intervene.

“Gabriel, I understand your concern. But I feel like you should give them a chance. They could come with us, and they could stay in safe places while we explore.”

Gabriel wasn’t too happy about children, especially Adrien, going with them on such a dangerous adventure. But what else could be done? It was clear Adrien wasn’t going to take no for an answer this time.

“Fine. You can come with us. But you’ll follow our instructions.” Gabriel wouldn’t risk Marinette or Adrien getting into trouble.

“Understood.” Adrien and Marinette said in unison.

“And what about protecting the city? Doesn’t Paris need you right now?” Gabriel hoped Marinette had some idea what she was going to do this time.

“Luka could be in charge. He has access to the other Miraculous, so he can cover for us while we’re gone. And if things get worse, he can open a portal and bring us back. There are also the guardians. I already told them I won’t be available for a while. They didn’t take it very well. Although at least they didn’t suspect anything. I told them I was leaving Luka in charge asked to keep an eye out for anything bad while I’m gone. Our kwamis are also happy to come with us.”

“I’m willing to take charge of the city so you can leave. I hope this won’t be a problem for you, Mr. Agreste.” Luka said calmly.

“Marinette can get everything ready for us to go with you.” Tikki said from Marinette’s bag.

Gabriel could tell Marinette had thought about everything.

“So, what transportation will we use to get to all the places we need to go?” Adrien had no idea how they were going to go around without the Horse Miraculous.

“We’ll use my private plane. I can arrange the quick flight permits to land.” Gabriel already had a solution for that problem.

There was something very important they needed to do. If they wanted Marinette to come with them, they would have to find a way to get her out of the country.

“Now we need a cover that will allow us to get Marinette out of Paris for a while.” Nathalie mentioned. They had already solved it with Adrien, but with Marinette it was much more difficult since she would be without parental supervision.

“Is there any law that can prevent us from doing this, Nathalie?” Gabriel wanted to make sure they wouldn’t run into legal trouble as soon as they set foot outside of France.

“Not as far as I remember. We are the adults responsible for her on that trip, Gabriel. It will be our responsibility to arrange all the documentation she needs to leave France.” Nathalie was reading the laws to make sure they needed them. “We need a good excuse to justify her departure.”

“What if the cover was to do an internship?” Marinette suggested. A while back, Marinette had been wanting to work with Gabriels, and she’d been preparing her portfolio for a while to make it a reality. "I’ve been wanting to apply for one for a while."

“Nathalie, is that possible?” Gabriel turned to Nathalie.

“Yes. Marinette is almost old enough to be on one of them.” Nathalie looked for the template she used for hiring interns. "We could create a contract for her parents to sign and use it as a cover."

Gabriel turned to look at Marinette. She looked a little sad.

He assumed it was because she was using such a valuable opportunity to save them.

“I’ll make it up to you, miss Dupain Cheng. When we’ve resolved all this, you can work alongside me on one of my projects.”

“Gabriel, sir, I think the most important thing now is that both of you survive.” Marinette reminded Gabriel that her life still depended on them finding a solution. At that moment, she didn’t care about anything related to fashion, even though she would be losing the opportunity of a lifetime.

Nathalie set about drafting the contract. Meanwhile, she asked Marinette for her personal information to fill out the contract. Once she finished, she showed Marinette the draft.

“I need your parents to sign this document, Marinette.” Nathalie showed her the contract on her tablet. “It’s a permit we use for interns here at Gabriels. Since you’re a minor, we need your parents’ permission to make this legal.”

“I think my parents are going to want to talk to you. Again.” Marinette was absolutely certain her parents would have many doubts about this internship. Even when she worked at the bakery with her parents, she had certain hours when she worked and when she didn’t.

“We’ll talk to them. We just need you to tell us when they’re available.” Nathalie assured Marinette.

Gabriel took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This discussion would be very long.

After discussing a few more things and thinking about preparations, Gabriel and Nathalie urged Luka and Marinette to return to their homes while they took care of planning their trip.

Adrien stayed in Nathalie’s room, sitting in the chair he had brought with him when Nathalie returned to her room, forced by Gabriel to rest. Meanwhile, Gabriel was arranging the necessary permits for their trip.

Adrien wanted to stay with Nathalie to keep her company, given that her health was noticeably declining now. He didn’t want Nathalie to suffer the same fate as his mother.

Nathalie let him keep her company while she worked. Adrien sat down on one of the armchairs Gabriel brought into the room.

The gorilla had passed by the room and, seeing Adrien curled up on the armchair, brought a blanket to cover him. After a while, Adrien went to change into his pajamas and sat back down on the armchair.

Adrien was falling asleep. He was struggling not to close his eyes. Plagg came out of his pocket and lay on Adrien’s head to keep him company.

Nathalie looked at the clock. It was still early for Adrien’s bedtime. Nathalie looked toward the door. She could see the gorilla on the hall and Gabriel peering through door.

She looked back at Adrien, seeing how heavy his eyelids seemed. Adrien needed to rest.

“Do you want to sit here next to me, Adrien?” Nathalie asked, patting the open side of her bed.

Adrien nodded. He slowly got up and sat next to Nathalie. Adrien’s nodding off became more and more noticeable. There were the dark circles under his eyes from not being able to sleep well.

Nathalie surreptitiously put on some calming, relaxing music on her tablet to see if Adrien could sleep. Ever since the incident with Chat Blanc, she’d been trying to get Adrien to rest properly. It was very difficult.

But Adrien couldn’t close his eyes without being attacked again by those images of his akumatization.

The music and the calm atmosphere of Nathalie’s room relaxed him completely. Nathalie adjusted the pillow so Adrien could lean against it, watching him nod off. Adrien struggled for a few minutes to stay awake, but the tiredness was stronger. Plagg purred a little, hoping to help Adrien fall asleep.

Little by little, Adrien’s eyes drifted closed as he entered the world of dreams.

Gabriel watched from the half-open door of Nathalie’s room. He waited a bit because he didn’t want to wake Adrien. He went in to help get Adrien settled under the covers. Plagg stared at him before shaking his head and floating off to let them settle Adrien into the bed.

Gabriel picked him up in his arms. Nathalie pulled back the covers and let Gabriel put Adrien back into the bed. Nathalie tucked the covers over Adrien and rearranged his pillow so he was comfortable.

Nathalie turned off the computer and settled back down, looking at Adrien. Plagg settled back down on Adrien’s head without saying anything.

“We can’t go on like this, Gabriel. Look at Adrien. He’s lethargic all the time, he is barely eating.” Nathalie whispered so she wouldn’t accidentally wake Adrien.  

Gabriel was clearly worried about him too. He wasn’t sure what to do. He forbade Adrien from checking his social media because he himself had seen the comments made about Adrien, and while there were some supportive comments, many of them weren’t very nice. Not to mention how the press began to harass them, forcing Gabriel to take legal action. But he knew Gerald might know how to help Adrien get out of this situation he had gotten him into.

“I already spoke with Gerald. He’ll have a session with him as soon as possible.” Gabriel said quietly as well. “I was talking to him. He’s aware of the situation and was waiting for us to formally contact him so we could take Adrien.”

“I was thinking the same thing. The sooner we take him, Gabriel, the better for him.” Nathalie brushed some hair out of Adrien’s face as he drifted off into dreamland.

Gabriel prepared to let them both rest. Although there was still something else that worried him.

“Nathalie, one more thing. Has the council contacted us yet?” Gabriel assumed it was because of Tomoe’s silence, but it was only a matter of time before they would come looking for them.

“Not yet.” Nathalie checked every day to see if they were contacted, but so far, the council hadn’t contacted them yet.

Maybe it was better this way.

“Alright, Nathalie. Keep me posted if they contact us.” Gabriel clapped his hands to turn off the lights. "Good night, Nathalie."

“Good night, Gabriel.”

Gerald sat across from Adrien, who was telling him what had happened. He was already aware of everything that had happened before, during, and after Adrien’s akumatization. It had been all over the news, even international news.

He couldn’t imagine how the boy was feeling after that.

He had to ask Adrien to go into more detail about what had caused his akumatization to try to help him, much to his dismay.

“I couldn’t control what I was doing, and I...” Adrien shed a few tears and hid his face in his hands. “I didn’t mean to do it. I never meant to hurt anyone...”

Nathalie drew circles on his back, trying to comfort him. Gabriel placed a hand on Adrien’s shoulder to try to reassure him.

“Just let it out, Adrien. It’s okay.” Gerald took the box of tissues from the table and offered it to Adrien. Adrien took it in his hands, using it to wipe the tears running down his face.

“I’m sorry.” Adrien said, his voice breaking.

“It’s okay, Adrien.” Gabriel tried to reassure him.

“It’s just that I feel like this is a setback, and...” Before Adrien could finish, Gerald interrupted him.

“Oh, Adrien, don’t worry. Relapses are normal. It’s not the end of the world, young man. We all have a relapse at some point in our lives. Besides, you always have the opportunity to pick yourself up. Clearly, Chrysalis was taking advantage of you and your feelings. It’s not bad to have feelings.”

Gabriel thought about it. How many people had she put in the same situation? How many people had been in Gerald’s office, just like Adrien was now?

Adrien looked down.

“Adrien, you’re not the only one who’s been through this kind of situation. You’re not alone. Many of the akumatized people who have passed through my office have been in your situation. That doesn’t mean you did it on purpose. It’s not your fault.” Gerald tried to encourage Adrien. “Besides, you have two adults you can trust.”

“You know you can trust me, Adrien.” Nathalie gently squeezed his shoulder. “If there’s anything bothering you, you can tell me.”

“Thank you, Nathalie.” Adrien said softly.

Gabriel was thinking about how he could help Adrien, what to say to him. All he had done was keep the press at bay so they wouldn’t bother him. Maybe a few words of comfort might help. But, what to say? Gabriel searched inside his heart for the words that might reassure Adrien.

“I know this can’t be easy for you, Adrien. I’m doing my best to make sure the press leaves you alone. I don’t want you to listen to what they tell you. What happened isn’t your fault.”

It’s my fault. Gabriel thought. If he had told Adrien the truth about his origins from the beginning, he never would have been akumatized.

“Thank you, Father.” For the first time in days, Adrien smiled; relieving Gabriel, even if only a little.

Gerald believed this was good progress between the three of them.

Looking at the time, Nathalie noticed their appointment time was up.

“Unfortunately, I think we should go now.” Nathalie stood up from her seat with Gabriel.

“Is something wrong?” Gerald was surprised by how quickly they stood up. He was thinking of finishing talking to Adrien for one more minute before formally ending the session.

“It’ll be a while before we have our next appointment, Gerald,” Gabriel said at the door. “We’re going on a trip for a while for something extremely important. And Adrien is coming with us.”

“And could I know what it is, if you don’t mind?” Gerald didn’t understand the Agreste’s haste. What could be so important that they wanted to leave so quickly?

“I can’t go into too many details.” Gabriel didn’t have much time for explanations. “But it has to do with the Miraculous. This could save Nathalie’s life, and we can’t wait any longer.”

There Gerald understood everything.

“I understand,” Gerald turned to Adrien, who was still sitting on the couch. “Adrien, please remember that it’s okay to feel bad about what happened, but it’s not your fault at all. You had no control over what you did, but that doesn’t make you a bad person. We’ll pick up where we left off last time. If you need anything, you can also call me; I’m always willing to listen.”

Gerald handed Adrien a card, which contained Gerald’s number.

“Thank you, Gerald. I will.” Adrien put Gerald’s number in his jacket pocket.

Nathalie and Adrien went ahead to leave Gerald’s office. Nathalie and Adrien said their goodbyes; Gabriel stayed behind to say his goodbyes as well.

“I wish you a safe trip, and good luck!” Gerald said.

“Thank you, Gerald. And see you soon.” Gabriel said as he left.

In the following days, Nathalie dusted off her entire arsenal of tools from her days as a magical artifact hunter to take with her on their journey. She also spoke with Gabriel and Marinette’s parents. After answering all their questions, they managed to convince them to allow Marinette to travel with them. They didn’t tell them the truth about this trip, but assured them that they would keep Marinette safe.

Nathalie had a map spread out on the chess table. On this map, several markings were drawn in different parts of the world. She was making some notes in her travel notebook. It was extremely important to get this information straight for the exploration and not end up in the wrong place. With the help of her tablet, she planned the itineraries, the exact places they would visit, and everything related to the trip.

Gabriel looked for his explorer’s outfit to pack it in his suitcase. He made sure he had everything on the list Nathalie sent him on his tablet. He closed his suitcase once he had the utensils Nathalie asked him to pack. Once he had everything in his suitcase, he closed it and left it next to his bedroom door. Gabriel went to see Nathalie to tell her he was done packing.

He found Nathalie packing her things for the trip. This time she was packing in her old suitcase, the one she had been carrying when Gabriel met her.

Nathalie walked over to the mannequin she kept in her room and opened the glass case where she stored it. She stroked the fabric of her jacket, remembering all the adventures she had when she was young.

Gabriel watched her from the doorway.

“Is everything okay, Nathalie?” Gabriel came in and stood next to her, also looking at the mannequin.

Nathalie stopped looking at the mannequin, proceeding to take out the outfit.

“It’s nostalgia, that’s all.” Nathalie took all the clothes off the mannequin, spreading them out on her bed, and began folding them to put them in her suitcase.

“Um.” Gabriel pronounced. He looked at the mess in Nathalie’s room. Clearly, she still had a lot of things to pack.

“Nathalie, do you need help?” Gabriel didn’t want Nathalie to do everything alone. He wanted to help her.

"No... I don’t need your help," she said dryly as she packed her things. She took out another suitcase where she began to store some of her travel gear. She unhooked one of her crossbows from the wall, storing it in another special case specifically for the weapon. "But I do need you to help Adrien. This is his first exploration trip, and I need him to pack everything he needs."

“I’m on it, Nathalie.” Gabriel left the room to help Adrien pack his things.

“Father.” Adrien saw his father entering his room.

“Nathalie asked me to help you pack.” Gabriel walked in, seeing that Adrien had already packed some things in his suitcase.

Gabriel quickly scanned the contents. Adrien needed an exploration suit. But he had too little time to create one. Maybe they’d have to improvise.

“Is there anything else I should pack, Father?” Adrien wasn’t sure if he packed the right things.

“There are still a few things missing, but I’ll take care of that.” Gabriel searched Adrien’s closet to see what clothes would be useful for the trip.

Nathalie checked the to-do list to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything. Once she was sure everything was packed, it was time to check that Adrien had everything he needed for the trip.

Nathalie pulled a gray package from under her bed. Gabriel returned after helping Adrien pack.

“Can you call Adrien, please?” I need to give him something important for our trip.

“Yes, Nathalie." Gabriel went to find Adrien at Nathalie’s request.

“Adrien, Nathalie needs to talk to you.” Gabriel peeked through the door. Adrien stopped what he was doing to attend to Nathalie’s request.

“I’m coming.”

Adrien went to Nathalie’s room, finding Nathalie waiting for him.

“Did you need me, Nathalie?” Adrien walked toward her.

“I have a surprise for you.” Nathalie took out the gray package she hid behind her back.

“What is this?” Adrien took the box in his hands.

“Open it and find out.” Nathalie encouraged Adrien.

Adrien tore open the packaging of what Nathalie had just given him. He found an outfit very similar to Nathalie’s, the one on the mannequin. But this one was smaller.

An explorer suit similar to Nathalie’s and her father’s.

“It was for your next birthday, since I’ve never given you anything.” Nathalie said. “But I think you’re going to need it now.”

Adrien examined it more closely. The suit was his exact size and had a matching hat.

“Thank you, Nathalie.” Adrien hugged the gift. “You didn’t have to.”

“You’re welcome, Adrien. I hope you use it properly.” Nathalie was happy that Adrien liked her gift.

“And I will.” Adrien went to pack Nathalie’s gift into his suitcase.

Gabriel thought that was... very sweet of Nathalie.

“Thank you for giving Adrien his own explorer suit, Nathalie. I don’t think I could have designed and created Adrien’s own suit with the time we have.”

“I had to; you were so busy planning the trip that I didn’t think you’d have enough time to make one from scratch.” Nathalie explained.

“Who was in charge of creating the suit, Nathalie?” Gabriel couldn’t understand where Nathalie had gotten an explorer suit so quickly.

“Marinette did it. I asked her if she had enough time to do it, and she agreed. I paid her according to the work.” Marinette already had hers, so it wasn’t that difficult for her to create another similar one.

Gabriel thought the girl was very fast. And the workmanship he saw on the suit was very detailed.

He was impressed.

Nathalie started to close her luggage. When she tried to close the last suitcase, she found it difficult to do so.

Gabriel saw her struggling to close it.

“Let me help you, Nathalie.” Gabriel approached Nathalie to offer assistance. He accidentally touched Nathalie’s hand as he tried to close the suitcase, and she quickly pulled it away.

“I’m sorry.” Gabriel said nervously.

“Calm down, Gabriel. I’m not the damsel in distress you think I am.”

Had he done something wrong? Or was Nathalie still angry with him for what happened with Adrien?

Or maybe she was bothered by the fact that she couldn’t do normal things without help because of her health.

What’s happening to me? he thought.

Gabriel slammed the suitcase shut.

“That’s it.” Gabriel grabbed both suitcases, and Nathalie took the smaller one.

“It’s time to go.” Nathalie ordered, leading the way out of the mansion with her luggage.

The Gorilla helped them carry their luggage into the car to the airport, where they would board Gabriel’s private plane to take them to their destination. When everything was in the car, they picked up Marinette, who was also ready and already saying goodbye to her parents.

The plane was waiting for them.

Nathalie stood for a moment, preparing to speak with Adrien and Marinette to give them some instructions for boarding. Gabriel stayed behind to watch the airport staff load all the luggage onto the plane.

Once all the luggage was inside and the airport team left to prepare for takeoff, the four of them would proceed to board the plane.

“Adrien, let’s go. We don’t have time to waste.” Gabriel called.

“I’m coming, father. Come on, Marinette.” Adrien took Marinette’s hand and asked her to follow him up the stairs.

Adrien boarded the plane followed by Marinette, looking for the seat Nathalie asked him to take. He took his place in the back next to Marinette. The seats were a little further away from the adult seats, which allowed them to talk more calmly.

Gabriel and Nathalie boarded after them. Gabriel left his jacket on the seat he would be occupying and headed toward the control panel to begin takeoff and enter the coordinates Nathalie had given him. Both teenagers noticed that Nathalie sat on the other side of the plane, away from Gabriel.

“Adrien, do you know what happened between them? I’ve noticed they have a rather... tense relationship.” In all the time she had spent with the Agreste family, Marinette realized that the relationship between Gabriel and Nathalie was a bit strained.

“I honestly don’t know. They’re both very stubborn. I don’t know what exactly happened between them. They used to be closer, but now...”

Gabriel glanced at Nathalie, and she avoided him completely.

“Our breakfasts were pleasant for a while. At least until my father started to become unfriendly and lose his mind.” Adrien hoped that Nathalie and Gabriel would get along during these crucial moments, just like before, when he thought they had something going on between them.

“I don’t know if this will complicate the search.” Marinette whispered to him. "Do you think it could be a problem for our trip?"

Adrien was very worried about that. He knew the relationship between his father and Nathalie was very complicated. And he realized this when he learned that they were Hawkmoth and Mayura, respectively.

“I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve traveled somewhere other than work, and I’ve never seen Nathalie doing her other job.” Adrien made air quotes with his fingers. This wasn’t a vacation at all.

Marinette was a little worried about that. Ever since the day she stood up to Gabriel and saved him and Nathalie, Marinette had noticed that Nathalie and Gabriel’s relationship was quite complicated.

Gabriel returned from the control booth, having programmed the itinerary for their first destination.

“Take a seat and fasten your seatbelts. We’ll be taking off in a few minutes.” Gabriel proceeded to take his seat.

Marinette and Adrien fastened their seatbelts. Nathalie and Gabriel did the same, just before the plane began to taxiing. They felt the pit in their stomachs until the plane gained enough altitude to change course for their destination.

Marinette and Adrien sat there, staring out the window and talking in low voices. Gabriel got up from his seat once the flight stabilized to speak to Nathalie.

“Nathalie, where’s the first place we’re going to?” Gabriel looked over Nathalie’s shoulder at the map she was reviewing.

“The first location is somewhere in Tibet, but I’m not entirely sure of the exact coordinates. I have two locations that are within the same cave system, though the information on this one is very ambiguous. I’m not sure where we should look.” She used the red pencil in her hand to make some notes on the map she was using for the trip.

“Then let’s check both places, Nathalie.” Gabriel urged. He wouldn’t rest until he had the ingredients they needed to cure Nathalie in his hands.

Nathalie nodded.

“We’ll go to both then. I hope the first location I found is the right one.” Nathalie circled the first part of the cave they would check.

Gabriel hoped so too.

Chapter Text

Gabriel went to the plane’s control cabin. It had been a couple of hours since takeoff and a few stops they made during the flight to rest and refuel. He checked the plane’s status and how much time they had before reaching their destination. They tried to get a few hours of sleep in order to begin the search once they were in Tibet.

Seeing they were very close to their destination; Gabriel decided to announce it to his companions.

“We’ll arrive in twenty minutes.” Gabriel returned to the plane’s cockpit to inform them that they should get ready to reach their destination.

“Get your jackets ready. The area we’re going to is really cold. If you don’t, you’ll freeze." Nathalie went to get Adrien’s jacket and handed Marinette’s jacket to her.

Gabriel went to get the snow gear he’d prepared for the occasion. Everything was packed in a large suitcase.

Marinette adjusted her earmuffs to keep herself warm. Adrien put on the scarf Marinette had given him and the jacket Nathalie offered him. Gabriel made sure they were heading in the right direction to land. Once he did, he put on his gear and prepared for landing. He sat down in his seat as he felt the plane slowly descend.

“Prepare for landing. Take your seats.”

The plane landed in a remote area of ​​a village in Tibet they were supposed to be headed to. The four of them got off with Nathalie leading the way. The kwamis hid in their wearer’s pockets, feeling the icy cold of the wind. The place they were in was far from civilization. In the distance, a small village could be seen amidst the snow and ice.

Nathalie went ahead.

“Let’s go to the town’s square. I need to gather some information before we go to the indicated location.”

They walked through the ice and snow to approach the small town, braving the cold mountain wind. They arrived at the town square of the small village indicated on the map. From there, they would head to their next destination.

“Nathalie, what do we do now?” Gabriel saw how empty the village was. "There’s no one here.”

“I have my contacts.”

Once they reached the market entrance, Adrien and Marinette stared in fascination. This market was different from any they’d seen before.

“We’ll go to the market for some information. You can go look around, while I ask around.”

Adrien’s eyes lit up. It would be interesting to see what the market had to offer.

Gabriel was going to accompany Nathalie, but she stopped him.

“No, Gabriel, you’ll stay with them.” Nathalie looked at Gabriel. “I don’t want Adrien nor Marinette to be left unsupervised in this place.”

Gabriel thought he was going to accompany her.

“What are you going to do?” Gabriel hadn’t heard from Nathalie what was her plan.

“I’m going to talk to an informant. I’ll be back with you shortly. I expect good behavior from you and your Kwamis." Nathalie looked at Plagg in Adrien pocket, knowing he was quite the troublemaker.

“I understand. I’ll behave myself. I’m not going to stray far from Adrien.” Plagg shifted into Adrien’s jacket pocket so they wouldn’t see him.

Nathalie went in another direction, to find her contact, who was probably already waiting for her.

Gabriel stayed with Adrien and Marinette while Nathalie walked away. She went towards a house that looked quite old. Nathalie knocked on the door in a different way, as if it were a code.

The man who came out was covered in coats. Nathalie began speaking to the man in the Tibetan language.

Adrien entered the market with his father and Marinette. They browsed the stalls of in search of something interesting. Adrien saw a small figurine that looked like an animal in one of the stalls.

"Father, can I buy this?" Adrien pointed to the object on the vendor’s table.

Gabriel looked at the object and saw no problem with him doing so.

“Of course you can, Adrien.” Gabriel said.

Adrien began conversing in Chinese with the vendor. Despite the Tibetan dialect, Adrien managed to buy the figurine without any problem. He also bought a small stone for Marinette, which had the peculiar shape of a heart.

While Adrien continued to browse the market, Marinette looked around to see if there were more interesting things.

A person standing out in the crowd caught Marinette’s eye. Her heart leaped when she recognized the red suit, along with the sneakers she had gifted to that person not long ago.

Su Han.

“Adrien.” Marinette surreptitiously pointed in the direction where Su Han was standing.

Adrien was surprised to see him.

“It’s him.” Adrien whispered. Adrien went to where Nathalie was to tell her.

Nathalie saw Adrien coming toward her just as she finished talking to the informant. Adrien’s urgent expression made her think something had happened.

“Nathalie! It’s one of the guardians, he’s here!” Adrien quickly told her what was happening.

She returned to where they were and quickly grabbed Gabriel by his jacket to get as far away from the Miraculous guardian as they could.

“What’s going on?” Gabriel didn’t understand why they didn’t explain why they had taken him away from the place so suddenly. They hid in one of the town’s streets.

Marinette pointed in the direction they came from.

Gabriel looked in the direction Marinette was pointing.

Gabriel recognized him immediately. It was the Miraculous guardian he had once tried to akumatize, but had repelled his Akuma.

He definitely wouldn’t be happy to see him.

“It’s Su Han! The guardian who came to my house to take the box from me!” Marinette whispered desperately.

That was a problem.

“Do you know why he’s here, Marinette?” Gabriel leaned out, careful not to be seen by the guardian by accident.

“I don’t know, he shouldn’t be here.” Luka had once assured her that Su Han rarely left the temple unless it was a real emergency.

Marinette took out her phone to quickly dial Luka. She hoped Luka had a signal there.

The tone sounded through the phone receiver. However, Luka didn’t answer, and the signal there wasn’t exactly the best.

Quick, quick.

Marinette finally heard Luka’s voice after the tone.

“Hello.”

“Luka...”

“Marinette, sorry I didn’t call you back. The signal isn’t very good here. I don’t know when Su Han left. When I got here, he wasn’t here anymore.” Luka was hiding in the guardians’ library.

“And do you know why he’s here?” Marinette moved a little deeper into her hiding place.

“I think he went to get supplies for the guardians. I don’t know how long it takes, but you shouldn’t let him see you. He doesn’t know you’re here.” Luka warned her.

“I know!” Marinette shifted her legs nervously and lowered her voice a little as she saw Su Han approaching her location.

“Marinette, I have to go, but let me know what’s going on. I’ll try to keep an eye on you.” Luka hung up before Marinette could answer.

Oh no.

“Luka told me he was coming to supply the Guardians’ temple.” Marinette whispered, hoping Su Han wouldn’t notice they were there.

“The Guardians go out to stock up every now and then.” Tikki said from Marinette’s jacket pocket.

“Yes,” Plagg said. “It’s not common for them to do that, but it seems like this is the day. They must have run out of supplies to come down here.”

“So, what do we do now?” Adrien asked the air.

“I know another way. But we’ll have to turn around.” Nathalie turned to walk in the opposite direction of the market.

“Let’s go!” Adrien wanted to leave as soon as possible. The last thing he wanted was for the celestial guardian to discover that Nathalie and his father were there with him and Marinette; and for him to start suspecting that Ladybug was covering for them.

Nathalie peeked across the street to check that the coast was clear.

“This way." Nathalie went ahead, followed by Adrien, who took Marinette’s hand to make her walk quickly. Gabriel was the last to leave, making sure Su Han hadn’t noticed their presence.

Nathalie led them down a cobblestone path. As they walked, the path narrowed, and sometimes the stones disappeared from the road. After a couple of turns, they got back on the path they were supposed to take, thanks to Nathalie. They walked for a long time as they moved away from the town and closer to the mountains.

Before going deeper into the mountains, Marinette called her parents with the little signal they had, to reassure them a little and let them know she was okay. After ending the call, they resumed their journey toward the cave they would explore.

“I’ll lead the way. You’ll walk behind and won’t stray far from me, understood? Especially you, Adrien, Marinette. Gabriel, you’ll stay last, to keep an eye on you and make sure nothing happens to you.” Nathalie looked at both of them to make sure her message had been clear.

“Understood, Nathalie.” Marinette and Adrien said simultaneously.

They walked toward the mountains; in the direction Nathalie was going. According to what the informant had told her, there was an abandoned temple in the snow and ice that might possibly contain what they were looking for: the Ice Stone.

The closer they got to the mountain, the colder it got. Much colder than it had been in the village. As they tried to advance, the snow was making it difficult for them to cross the mountain. Every time they took a step, they sank deeper and deeper into the snow.

However, they were able to advance until they reached the entrance of the cave. This entrance was very old, reflecting the architectural style of the area. Many centuries ago, it had been abandoned, and they wondered if they could find enough of the ingredient they were looking for.

With the temple close, Gabriel went ahead and reached the entrance to the temple they were about to enter first, while Marinette and Adrien advanced along the path Nathalie had created through the snow. With his strength, Gabriel stood up on the stone at the temple entrance, emerging from the snow. He shook himself, shaking off the snow that had stuck to his body.

Gabriel offered Nathalie his hand to help her up and did the same with Adrien and Marinette once they were close enough to the edge. They walked inside the temple until they found a space that wasn’t as covered in snow.

“We’ll camp here.” Nathalie left her things lying in the middle of the place. She set about taking out the tent to set it up quickly and have somewhere to shelter while they prepared for the second part of the journey.

Nathalie and Gabriel were setting up the tent. They took out some things to prepare the place where they would sleep.

Adrien and Marinette wanted to help too.

“Can I help you?” Adrien used one of the slim metal poles to support the tent Nathalie was setting up.

Nathalie just smiled and showed Adrien how to set up the tent correctly.

Marinette helped take the rest of the things out of one of Nathalie’s luggage’s. Unfortunately, some of them spilled on the floor.

“Oops, sorry.” Marinette got up to pick up everything that had fallen and put it on the table Gabriel had just set up.

Gabriel took charge of securing the tent ropes. Once finished, he started lighting the campfire while Nathalie checked the map again on the table. Adrien and Marinette stood next to her, looking at the markings on the map.

“So, where are we going now?” Marinette shivered a little from the cold. The sun was beginning to set, and that was making the area even colder.

“We’ll rest here tonight and resume our journey early in the morning. It’s already late, and I don’t want the nighttime chill to make you sick.” Nathalie stopped checking the map to roll it up.

Gabriel took charge of preparing dinner with Nathalie, while Adrien and Marinette got everything ready for bed. After dinner, they made the two teens go to bed early.

Nathalie spread her sleeping bag on the ground. She sat at the entrance of the tent, holding her crossbow. Gabriel watched her from the other side of the tent, also ready to sleep. He glanced at the crossbow, remembering something he wanted to talk to Nathalie about, something he hadn’t dared to mention since Ladybug saved them.

“Nathalie, can I sit here?” Gabriel pointed to a spot next to Nathalie. She eyed him with a bit of suspicion, but this time she’d let it go.

“I don’t mind.” Nathalie hugged the crossbow closer to her.

Gabriel slowly sat down next to Nathalie. He cleared his throat a little to try catch Nathalie’s attention.

“Nathalie, I’m going to be frank with you. All this time I’ve been thinking why you decided that using the crossbow against me was a good idea.” Gabriel still had the image of Nathalie pointing the crossbow at him in his head, clearly intending to kill him.

“I was trying to stop you, Gabriel.” Nathalie said seriously.

“Like that?” Gabriel eyed the crossbow, a little angry.

“I wish I hadn’t had to resort to that. You were out of control, you betrayed what Emilie wanted, you betrayed me, Gabriel.”

Gabriel closed his eyes. He could feel the pain in Nathalie’s voice.

“I wished with all my heart that you wouldn’t make the wish. That’s my worst nightmare. Are you happy?” Nathalie remembered perfectly the nightmare that haunted her when Gabriel decided to carry out the final phase of his plan.

Gabriel felt quite bad after Nathalie mentioned that. He assumed that was what Nathalie saw in her nightmare the day he used Nightormentor to spread nightmares.

“Nathalie, I...” Gabriel tried to say something else, but Nathalie wasn’t willing to listen this time.

“It’s time to rest. Tomorrow will be a long day.” Nathalie decided to settle into the sleeping bag next to the entrance of the tent, turning her back on Gabriel.

For Gabriel, it was pointless; he shouldn’t have mentioned it.

“I... I’m sorry. Good night, Nathalie.” But he didn’t receive a response from her. Gabriel settled into his sleeping bag, preparing for the next day.

Gabriel woke up at the first rays of dawn. He noticed Nathalie was already awake, along with Adrien and Marinette. He made them a hot drink to resist the cold. All three were already dressed in their coats and hats.

All except him. That made him get up quickly.

“I see you’re already awake.” Nathalie walked toward him, offering him the drink.

“Good morning, Nathalie.”

Gabriel got up from his sleeping bag to receive the warm cup in his hands. After being hit by the morning chill, the cup of what he identified as tea helped him warm up.

“You’d better hurry and get ready. We’ll head to our destination once you’re ready to go.” Nathalie said.

He was the reason for their delay. He assumed it was the tiredness of the past few months finally catching up with him.

“Yes, Nathalie. Sorry for the inconvenience.” Gabriel paced back and forth in the tent looking for his equipment and winter exploration clothes to set off. In record time, he was ready to go.

He approached Nathalie, loading her backpack with the utensils they would need during the trek.

“I’m ready to go," Gabriel approached Nathalie, who was giving directions to Marinette and Adrien.

“Very well. Then we’ll leave right away.”

Everyone gathered their backpacks with the things they would need. The kwamis huddled in their hats to see where they were going. They left the tent, and Nathalie pointed out the path they would take.

“We’ll go deep into this temple. This site was built in cave system, where we’ll likely find the ice stone.” Nathalie showed them her travel notebook, which included a drawing of what the stone might look like, based on the information she’d received.

“Are we going to go by the first location you mentioned, Nathalie?” Gabriel got closer to her.

“Yes, this path will lead us to the first location.” Nathalie pointed straight ahead. "If we walk straight down the path here, it will lead us to where the stone is."

“And is this path safe, Nathalie?” Gabriel feared for Adrien and Marinette’s safety; one wrong step could end it all for them.

“It should be.” Nathalie looked up from the map. "The only thing we’d have to worry about is the ice and the overhangs. There are no wild animals in this area."

Nathalie folded the map.

“Anyway, we should start our hike. There’s a long way to go.” Nathalie went ahead to begin guiding them around.

“Behind you, Nathalie.” Gabriel gestured for Adrien and Marinette to follow.

The first part of the trail was fairly easy; the path was flat and smooth, with only a few stones in the way. There was nothing to hinder their progress except the snow and ice, which made their progress a little slow. But they could move forward without too much trouble.

The problems started once they were fully inside the temple.

“We’ll go this way.” Nathalie pointed to a path that led up to an ice cave above.

Nathalie showed them one of the maps she had reviewed a few days ago.

"Is that path safe, Nathalie?" Marinette asked. “It looks a bit dangerous.”

“It’s the only viable path. A few years ago, I heard there was another one, but it was sealed off by rockfall. We have no other choice.”

They reached a section where they had to climb upward. Part of the rock was covered in ice, which was perfect for climbing.

Nathalie prepared her pickaxe and other climbing tools. But Adrien had another idea.

“What if I use my staff to get us up?” Adrien thought that would be much easier.

“Adrien wouldn’t want you to have to use your powers here.” Nathalie didn’t want either Adrien or Marinette to have to resort to using their powers in these circumstances.

“But Nathalie, wouldn’t it be easier to get up there that way?” Adrien wanted to prevent Nathalie from having to overexert herself.

That was a good point. And Adrien’s puppy dog ​​eyes weren’t helping either.

Gabriel intervened.

“From now on, you can use your powers to help us, but use them sparingly.” Gabriel wasn’t too happy about them using the Miraculous. He’d already done it, and it didn’t end well. Although this time he would let it pass, he preferred that Nathalie to reserve her energy.

“I’m going to get you up.”

Chat Noir would be in charge of bringing Nathalie up first. He held her with one arm while he climbed up with his cane. He bent down slightly to place Nathalie on the snowy ground.

Then he took charge of bringing Marinette up, and finally his father. In one leap, Chat Noir reached the top again, shrinking his staff. Adrien undid the transformation.

The four of them watched the next part of the path. The ground was completely frozen, forming a layer of ice over it.

The ground seemed completely smooth.

“Oh no...” Marinette thought. No doubt, due to her clumsiness, she would slip the first time she set foot on the ice.

Marinette put a foot down and felt it slip. She expected the hard impact of the ice, but she felt someone grab her arm. Adrien and Gabriel held her, preventing her from falling.

“Sorry, wrong step.” Marinette stepped back into the snow, stepping onto solid ground.

“This must have been some kind of lake or water source.” Nathalie observed the color of some parts of the ice. There was clearly frozen water beneath it.

Nathalie stepped a little on the frozen ground, finding it quite firm but smooth.

“Marinette, what if we transform instead?” Adrien remembered the ice transformation they used a long time ago. “We could use the skates from our ice transformation to get around.”

“Good idea, Adrien!” Marinette reached for the box where she kept the macaroni with her Power Ups and took the macaroni to activate the ice transformation. “Here, Tikki.”

“Plagg!” Adrien offered her the cheese, which Plagg devoured instantly. Once they were transformed, Ladybug put a foot on the ice to see how thick it was. The ice remained unchanged.

“It seems the ice is thick enough, Nathalie.”

Nathalie proceeded to put on the ice boots she brought for the trip. As the ice was strong enough for them, she could walk in them without the risk of the ice cracking.

Gabriel searched through his things, but couldn’t find the special shoes. Now he didn’t know how he was going to move forward.

“Nathalie, it seems I forgot the ice shoes.” Gabriel was sure he would if he packed them.

Nathalie searched her bag, taking out an extra pair of ice shoes from her bag.

“I packed them in my bag for you, Gabriel.” Nathalie took a pair of shoes Gabriel’s size with the same ice spikes from her bag.

Gabriel took them from Nathalie’s hands to put them on.

“Thank you, Nathalie.” Gabriel sat down in the snow to change into the ice-walking shoes.

“We’re going to walk this way.” Nathalie looked ahead. “Please stay close to me and walk alongside me.”

Nathalie led the way, checking the map to make sure they were going in the right direction. After turning left at a fork in the path, they reached an area that had no roof but was shaped like a circular cave.

In the middle of that exposed cave, there was a stone pillar, its base completely covered in frozen ice, possibly because there was water underneath.

A transparent stone, illuminated by the dim sunlight, sat on top of the pillar, held in place by a piece of metal.

“That must be the stone.” Nathalie recognized. The description was very similar. That meant the first spot was correct.

There was only one problem: The stone was in the middle of the ice. Ice that seemed somewhat fragile.

Nathalie knew what she had to do.

She would have to cross the ice to retrieve the stone.

Gabriel was quite worried for Nathalie’s safety. It was already difficult enough to cross despite the ice on the path, but this part seemed more fragile.

“You stay here.” Nathalie left her backpack on the ice floor and took out a couple of utensils she would use to remove the stone from the pillar.

But both Chat Noir and Ladybug noticed how thin the ice seemed near the pillar where the stone was located. They both approached Nathalie before she could take a step forward.

“We could go for the stone.” Ladybug offered.

“Yes, Nathalie, please let us help you.” Chat Noir said, worried about Nathalie.

Gabriel didn’t want to let them go there either. Even though they were transformed, and with the protection of the suit, he was afraid Adrien would fall through the ice.

“Please let the adults take care of this.” Nathalie stopped them both from doing anything else. "You stay here while I explore."

“Okay.” Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged glances, but they were going to listen to Nathalie’s suggestion. She was the expert on this, right?

Nathalie readied her pickaxe and prepared to approach the pillar.

Nathalie took the first step. The ice held firm, so she continued to advance slowly. Each time she ventured deeper, the ice became thinner, forcing Nathalie to take lighter, more careful steps on the ice.

As she advanced, she began to be more careful where she stepped. She heard the ice as if it would break at any moment every time she took a step forward. She looked back, noticing the concern on Ladybug and Chat Noir’s faces; and especially on Gabriel’s.

She continued forward, feeling the thinness of the ice beneath her feet. The ice seemed more brittle as she got closer to the pillar. The ice began to crack as Nathalie moved forward.

Gabriel reacted reflexively, taking a few steps toward Nathalie. He didn’t want to imagine what would happen if the ice gave way.

“Nathalie!”

Nathalie noticed Gabriel moving toward her position. The last thing she wanted at that moment was for him to fall into the ice with her.

“Stay right there!” Nathalie shouted, trying to stop Gabriel from moving any further. She moved closer to the pillar, holding onto it.

Gabriel started moving forward again, trying to help Nathalie. The ice would give way at any moment, and he couldn’t allow Nathalie to fall into the icy water beneath it.

Nathalie looked at the pillar. She noticed the stone was stuck firmly to the pillar. She tried to use the pick she had brought to free the stone. Although she realized that the stone was stuck firmly to the metal, none of her tools worked to break the metal.

Pushing a little harder to try to get the stone, the ice began to crack. Nathalie felt the ground give way beneath her.

“Nathalie, no!” Gabriel watched as the fragile ice slowly broke. The ice opened under Nathalie’s feet. She fell into the water, disappearing instantly, along with the pillar and the stone.

Gabriel slid as fast as he could across the ice until he reached the hole Nathalie had fallen through.

“Mr. Agreste, wait!” Ladybug shouted, understanding what Gabriel was going to do.

But Gabriel wasn’t listening. He scrambled to his feet and took a deep breath before diving into the water where Nathalie had fallen.

“Father!” Chat Noir skated with Ladybug to the gap in the ice.

Gabriel saw that Nathalie was struggling to rise to the surface with the stone, but it was apparently too heavy.

Gabriel picked her up and carried her to the surface, even though she protested when he did so. The moment they broke the surface, they both took a breath and Gabriel placed Nathalie on the ice. Ladybug helped them up.

Both heroes had their ice transformations active.

"Nathalie, are you okay?!" Chat Noir asked, worried.

Nathalie coughed hard until the water came out of her mouth and nose. Gabriel took her in his arms. He could feel the cold breeze, combined with the cold water he had just emerged from, chilling his bones.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Nathalie told Chat Noir reassuringly.

“Is the stone still at the bottom?” Chat Noir questioned.

Gabriel nodded. Chat Noir took out the cheese for the aquatic transformation. He swallowed it, changing his transformation from ice to aquatic.

Gabriel, understanding his intentions, wanted to stop him.

“No, son, wait.” Gabriel took his arm. “You’ll freeze.”

“Let me do this.” Chat Noir slightly broke free from his father’s grip and jumped straight into the water.

Ladybug knelt beside them.

“Are you all right?” Marinette checked to make sure they were both okay.

Gabriel stayed there over the ice, hugging Nathalie, who was shivering from the cold water. Ladybug threw her Lucky Charm into the air, getting a very large towel to cover them.

Chat Noir swam to the bottom where the pillar holding the stone had sunk.

“Cataclysm!” Chat Noir touched the pillar, shattering it and freeing the stone. He took the stone in his hands and swam to the surface.

A few seconds later, Chat Noir emerged from the water with the stone in his hands. He placed it on the ice and climbed to the surface with Ladybug’s help.

“Let’s go to camp, quick.”

Ladybug put the rock in the bag Nathalie had prepared for it. Then, Ladybug helped Mr. Agreste while Chat Noir took Nathalie in his arms. The two superheroes carried the two back to the camp they had set up earlier with the help of their powers.

Once they were back at camp, Ladybug placed Gabriel on the ground, and Chat Noir did the same with Nathalie, gently placing her on one of the blankets.

Chat Noir used Nathalie’s lighter, as she instructed him, to light a small branch and place it between the others to carefully light the fire. Ladybug covered them both with the extra blankets they had brought, to help both adults regain body heat.

Nathalie approached the fire to try to warm herself. Gabriel did the same, sitting closer next to her. He could tell she was shivering. A fine, icy wind blew through the tent entrance, making them both tremble. They changed their clothes to some dry ones, and put the blankets back up setting in front of the fire again.

The blankets covering her didn’t seem enough to withstand the cold outside.

“How about we share blankets, Nathalie? I could help you to watch.” Gabriel suggested.

“That... wouldn’t be appropriate.” Nathalie didn’t think being in such a compromising situation with Gabriel so close to her would be a good idea.

“Would you rather freeze to death?” Gabriel wanted to persuade Nathalie not to refuse. The last thing Gabriel wanted was for Nathalie to be cold.

Nathalie couldn’t refute that.

“Okay, but just this once. And I swear, Gabriel Agreste, that if you do anything strange or suspicious, I won’t hesitate to hit you.” Nathalie showed him her hand, balled into a fist.

“I’m not going to do it, Nathalie. Now come here.” Gabriel opened his legs to make room for Nathalie. She crawled toward him and settled next to him. She turned so she could stretch her legs and lie in the middle of Gabriel’s chest. Sharing body heat between them would be helpful.

Gabriel accommodated her in his arms. Marinette covered them with the other blanket they had available.

“Do you need anything else?” Marinette was worried that they both looked like they were still freezing.

“We need you to go rest. We can take care of ourselves from now on.” Nathalie wanted them both to rest. She gave them both a small smile. “You both were a great help.”

Marinette and Adrien lay down near the fire to get some warmth. They both got close together, trying to share the heat.

Nathalie took the crossbow in her hands. She was afraid that if she wasn’t careful, a wild animal or an intruder might attack them.

But staying awake through the night was proving harder than she thought. She was very tired, and the warmth she shared with Gabriel wasn’t helping much. She squinted as she watched the campfire burn…

Nathalie fell asleep on Gabriel’s shoulder sometime during the night. The crossbow lay on the ground beside her.

Gabriel had completely forgotten about the crossbow. The most important thing for him was that Nathalie wasn’t cold anymore. He stared at the tent exit, watching the blizzard move the door of his tent. He would stay and watch over her. One more sleepless night wouldn’t hurt.

Chapter Text

Nathalie was the first to wake up. The first rays of sunlight illuminated the tent. Nathalie saw that she was still in the same position she had stayed in with Gabriel the night before.

Seeing the clarity of the day, and the shiny stone on the table where she had her maps; she realized it was time to leave for the next destination.

“Gabriel.” she shook him slightly. “Wake up, we have to pack.”

Gabriel woke up when he felt someone shaking him.

“Oh, of course, sorry, Nathalie.” Gabriel shifted back to give Nathalie room to get up.

Once Nathalie got up, she noticed that her bun was loose. Nathalie undid her bun to redo it and adjust it to what seemed most comfortable. She wrapped her hair, leaving it neatly arranged with her hair rolled back in place.

Gabriel got up from the floor to start getting ready. He stretched, feeling the same pain in his muscles he’d felt when he’d jumped into the water to save Nathalie. The cold of the ice numbed his damaged arm. Normally, he wouldn’t have been very happy about that. But in this situation, he was grateful for it.

Who knew how long that effect would last?

“Are you okay, Nathalie?” Gabriel was a little worried about Nathalie’s fall the day before. He hoped the cold hadn’t affected Nathalie too much.

“I think so.” Nathalie hadn’t felt any symptoms other than what she already felt. “Just a little bit of the flu.”

“Now, what are we going to do now that we got what we were looking for here, Nathalie?” Gabriel was sure where they were going, but he didn’t think they would find the stone so quickly.

“That was a good sign.”

“Let’s go to our next destination.” Nathalie was reviewing their itinerary. She didn’t want to waste too much time on their journey. “We’d better start packing.

“I’ll start then, Nathalie.” Gabriel started moving things. He took the stone and carefully placed it in a small wooden box they had brought with them.

Nathalie took charge of rolling up all the maps for storage, along with her archaeology tools. She also packed her and Gabriel’s other things into their backpacks, while he secured the box where they stored the stone.

Marinette and Adrien woke up almost at the same time, due to the noise Nathalie and Gabriel were making while packing. Marinette accidentally reached out and hit Adrien on the nose. Once Marinette realized what she had done, she seated looking at Adrien, a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry, Adrien.” Marinette covered her mouth, embarrassed by what had happened.

“Don’t worry, Marinette,” Adrien rubbed his nose lightly. “I know it was an accident.”

Nathalie offered them both some of the hot chocolate she made. They both drank it and ate a piece of bread.

Gabriel joined them as well. The four of them ate in silence, thinking about what was next on their trip.

“Once you finish getting ready, we’ll leave for our next destination. Please, don’t take too long.” Gabriel informed them.

“Yes, Mr. Agreste.” Marinette said, almost spilling the last of her hot chocolate as she decided to get down to business.

“Yes, Father.” Adrien finished his hot chocolate in one sip and started packing his things.

Snow had covered much of the cleared way they had made in the previous days. This made their journey more difficult. It took them a couple of hours until they managed to get back to the town. From there, they located the plane.

“Nathalie, what will our next destination be?” Gabriel wanted to make sure the next destination they were going to was the right one.

“We’re going to Egypt.” Nathalie was already pretty sure where to go. It was a small tomb located in the middle of the Egyptian desert.

Of course, Egypt. That place wasn’t unfamiliar to Gabriel either. They were there countless times, trying to find a cure for Emilie.

“Then let me check the coordinates.” Gabriel wanted to make sure the place they were going to land was safe and wouldn’t cause them any trouble.

After a few hours of flight and a stop to refuel again, they landed in the desert sands of Egypt. The sand cushioned their landing, moving a couple of meters before coming to a complete stop.

The first to get off was Nathalie. She admired the landscape, feeling the light desert wind moving the sand around her. Nathalie could see the village they were heading to in the distance, much larger than the previous one.

Walking through the sand would not be an easy task.

But Adrien was fascinated by the new environment he found himself in. He had only seen deserts in movies and documentaries, but he had never visited one in person. He looked around, seeing the town they were heading to in the distance.

Marinette wasn’t so happy. The sand was somewhat slippery, causing her to stumble every now and then, slowing their pace a bit. It wasn’t until Marinette fell face first into the sand that Adrien decided that maybe she needed help.

"Marinette, let me help you." Adrien offered his hand to help her up.

“Oh, of course, I’m so clumsy, he he.” Adrien took her hand to prevent Marinette from falling the rest of the way.

Once they managed to leave the desert sand dunes, they went to the nearest town to take a bath. The heat was quite intense, and a cold shower might help them endure enough before heading to their destination.

Upon arriving at the town, Nathalie guided them to a house where they would take a bath and change, and finally have lunch so they could head straight to the tomb they were looking for.

“We’d better get ready. Once we finish lunch, we’ll hit the road again. You’re also allowed to take a bath before leaving. The desert road is quite long.” Nathalie pointed to the building that housed the bathroom and showers.

“We’ll do it, Nathalie.” Adrien went ahead to get ready.

“Thanks, Nathalie. It won’t be long.” Marinette also ran to be ready as soon as possible.

Nathalie set out to talk with the locals about the situation at the site and ordered food for the four of them. Marinette and Adrien would take turns taking a bath, and then it would be the adults’ turn.

Gabriel took charge of serving the dishes on the table while Adrien and Marinette returned. Once he finished setting everything up, Adrien came back to the table already wearing his exploration suit.

“That bath was very refreshing.” Adrien finished drying his hair and sitting at the table to eat. Marinette returned to the table as well and sat down with Adrien.

Nathalie also returned to eat and would take a quick bath once she finished eating so they could leave as soon as possible. Gabriel took that opportunity to take a bath as well.

“I’ll be back.” Gabriel quickly left to take a bath as well. Once he returned, he put on his hat and adjusted the boots he was wearing.

Gabriel set out to check the local news. He found one that worried him a little: There was a sandstorm heading toward their position. He got up from the wooden chair to show it to Nathalie.

“There’s a sandstorm to the north, heading our way.” Gabriel checked the news and the weather tool he had installed on his phone.

“We’ll take shelter tonight at the entrance to the pyramid.” Nathalie pointed out the entrance to the pyramid on the map. She had seen photos of the entrance to this specific temple. It would be safe enough for them to be safe while they rested. “I don’t know how long it will take us to reach the golden chamber of this pyramid, but I’d like us to rest before we begin our journey.”

Nathalie waited for them to finish preparing the vehicle they would use to approach the pyramid, as it was located a couple of kilometers from that point. After resting from their meal, Nathalie decided it was time to leave the village.

“It’s time to go. Make sure you have all your things.” Nathalie headed to the table where they were sitting.

They headed to the area where the vehicles were parked. A worker from the area handed Nathalie the keys to the vehicle they rented.

“I’ll drive.” Gabriel took the vehicle keys from Nathalie and sat in front of the handlebars to start the engine.

“Please take the back seat, Adrien and Marinette,” Nathalie told them. “I’ll go up front.”

The two teenagers sat in the back as Nathalie instructed.

“Fasten your seatbelts, we’re about to leave.” Gabriel started the engine while everyone else fastened their seatbelts. He pressed the accelerator slowly, heading toward their destination.

Nathalie checked her map, along with the GPS, and began giving directions to Gabriel.

“We need to go around the sandstorm, Gabriel.” Nathalie could see a cloudy area in the distance, right where the storm was.

“I’m working on it, Nathalie.” Gabriel turned the wheel to get as far away from the storm as possible. Once they were close to their destination, they turned left, as indicated by the GPS.

Gabriel drove them around the sandstorm. Once they were far enough away, they spotted the pyramid.

“It’s there, Gabriel, around the corner.” Nathalie pointed out the specific pyramid they were heading to, it was somewhat small and the top was partially destroyed.

After a while, they finally saw the pyramid they were heading for. At the foot of the pyramid, a small space could be seen where the entrance to the site was located. This space was supported by two pillars, and the entrance door was probably at the back, hidden in the wall.

Gabriel parked as close as he could.

“We’re here.” Gabriel turned off the engine and put the keys in one of the pockets of his explorer suit.

Nathalie got out and looked at the pyramid entrance. Adrien and Marinette joined her once they got out of the vehicle.

“Where’s the entrance, Nathalie?” Adrien asked curiously, seeing that there was no visible entrance.

“The entrance to this tomb is hidden, Adrien. We’ll have to find a way to open it.” Nathalie commented.

“And isn’t it dangerous, Nathalie?” Marinette had seen adventure movies and she knew it was most likely it was going to have traps.

“The entrance isn’t, according to what an informant told me years ago. But what we should worry about is what’s inside.”

Marinette gulped, nervous about what they might find inside the pyramid.

They walked to the entrance and descended to a small, flat space where they could set up their tent. The space was hidden from the outside, so they wouldn’t risk a sandstorm burying their tent.

Nathalie took out her travel journal to review her notes about the place. A piece of paper flew out of the journal and landed on the ground near one of the chests.

Gabriel bent down to examine what it was.

Gabriel picked up the paper. It was a photo. From the time when they were searching for the butterfly and the Peacock Miraculous. That photo was taken the first time they came to Egypt, looking for clues as to where the Miraculous might be. There were him, Emilie, and Nathalie posing for a photo in front of the main pyramids of Egypt.

Gabriel extended one of the chairs and sat down with Nathalie. He looked at the photo; it was from the time when they were happiest, when Emilie wasn’t sick.

“I remember that,” Gabriel remembered how on that occasion, “Emilie wanted to treasure all the photos she could of our travels, and that’s why she asked us to pose for the photo.”

“Do you miss her, Gabriel?” Nathalie stared at the photo.

“Not as much as before.” After letting Emilie go, Gabriel couldn’t stop thinking about her for a few days. But little by little, Emilie was letting go of his thoughts and focusing on trying to move on.

“I miss her too.” Nathalie felt a certain tinge of nostalgia when she saw the photo. “She was my friend, Gabriel; and sometimes I wonder how happy she would have been if she could have traveled more often with us. Along with Adrien.”

Gabriel always felt guilty about that. He firmly believed that if he could cure Emilie, everything could go back to normal. Now that he thought about it, he could have stayed home, not let his madness take over, and spent all the time he had left with Emilie.

And with Adrien, especially with Adrien.

He still had to fix that. At least for the time he had left.

“Yes, sometimes I wish I had done things differently, not left Emilie or Adrien alone for so long.” Gabriel sighed, thinking about how different things would have been if he hadn’t tried to change things and let them flow naturally.

Perhaps even his love for Nathalie could have been a possibility earlier if he hadn’t been blinded by his insane desire to bring Emilie back.

At the same time, Nathalie’s mind was filled with memories. She remembered how much Emilie had helped her when they first went to Egypt.

Before she made that decision that would change her life forever.

16 years ago.

Emilie accidentally stepped on a loose tile, triggering one of the deadly traps.

Gabriel heard a hissing sound and a rope being cut. He looked back, right where his wife was.

“Emilie!”

Nathalie reacted in time and managed to push Emilie to the ground. A pair of blades fell, and Nathalie managed to duck in time, rolling on the ground to reach Emilie and Gabriel. Gabriel had already lifted Emilie off the ground.

He quickly examined her for any injuries.

“Are you okay, Emilie?” Gabriel wasn’t at all happy that Emilie had almost died.

“Yes, Gabriel. Nathalie saved me.” Emilie showed Gabriel she was unharmed.

Nathalie caught up with them. A few drops of blood fell on the ground. Nathalie had a nasty cut on her palm. At first, she didn’t notice it, but then she felt a liquid running down her hand.

The first to notice was Gabriel.

“Nathalie, you’re bleeding.” Gabriel gently took her hand. He examined it, finding the cut right in the middle of her palm.

“Come on, let’s get you treated.” Emilie led her to an open space. She made her sit on the floor.

Now Nathalie sat there, while Emilie rummaged through the first aid kit to treat the wound on her hand. She cleaned her hands to begin cleaning the wound.

With the help of a cotton ball and some alcohol, Emilie cleaned the blood from Nathalie’s wound. Examining her hand, Emilie realized that Nathalie had been very lucky. The glove she was wearing took a large part of the cut.

“I’m so sorry, Nathalie. I didn’t mean this to happen. I tried to step where you indicated, but I don’t think I made it.” Emilie washed her hands again after cleaning Nathalie’s wound.

Gabriel took a gauze in his hands.

“I’ll continue, my dear.”

Gabriel carefully took Nathalie’s hand and placed the gauze over the wound. Nathalie was puzzled by all this behavior.

She was the guide, and therefore, her protector.

“I should be taking care of you.” Nathalie withdrew her hand. “I can heal myself, don’t worry.”

But Gabriel took her hand again.

“It’s no problem, Nathalie. I... we insist on doing it.” Gabriel carefully placed the gauze on Nathalie’s hand. He pressed a little before Gabriel drew circles on the sole of Nathalie’s hand, making sure the gauze was placed correctly.

No one had ever worried like this about her.

“There.” Gabriel released her hand, already disinfected and bandaged.

Emilie found the bottle of water Nathalie had brought with her in her kit for her to drink.

“You know, we wouldn’t have gotten this far without you. Thank you, Nathalie.” Emilie squeezed her hand giving her the water bottle, freeing it and helping Nathalie get up.

“Yes, of course.” Nathalie gathered her things to continue her search, followed by the two Agrestes she was guiding.

Nathalie returned the photo to its place in her travel notebook. Marinette and Adrien had already gone to bed; she and Gabriel had stayed behind, reminiscing about old times. Seeing how late it was, Nathalie decided not to continue.

“We should go rest.” Nathalie placed the notebook on the folding table. She laid down inside her sleeping bag. Gabriel took his and laid down next to Nathalie.

“Good night, Nathalie. Rest well.”

In the morning, Nathalie woke up first.

Gabriel fell asleep sometime during the night and somehow managed to rest his head on her shoulder.

“Gabriel...” Nathalie gently shook him awake.

Gabriel woke up, noticing the position he was in.

“Sorry.” Gabriel said, embarrassed. He hadn’t exactly meant to fall asleep on her shoulder.

Nathalie got up from her sleeping bag.

“We’d better get ready to go.” Nathalie began gathering the things they would take on this expedition. A flashlight, a map, a small first aid kit, and some water, as well as other things like her travel journal and archaeology tools. Gabriel got up too, getting ready.

They both set about waking Adrien up. He had no trouble waking up, feeling fresh as a cucumber after sleeping.

For Marinette, it was different; she got up only to fall on the floor, disoriented.

“Are you okay?” Adrien crouched down beside her to help her up.

“Yes.” she said sleepily. She shook her head, trying to get rid of the traces of sleep, and got up with Adrien’s help to start getting ready.

“Sorry for waking you up so early. This time, we’ll start exploring as soon as possible.” Nathalie told the teens while they ate breakfast. Nathalie handed Adrien a few things when he finished eating.

Gabriel wasn’t entirely sure Adrien and Marinette had to accompany them. Gabriel wanted to leave Adrien there. He’d been to Egypt before, and the traps there were much more dangerous than those in Tibet.

“Adrien, you’ll stay here with Marinette.” Gabriel decided, taking Adrien and Marinette’s things in his hands, including a flashlight Nathalie gave to Adrien.

“Father!” Adrien protested angrily, trying to grab their things, but to no avail. “Why won’t you let me come with you?”

“Why can’t we go with you? We can be of help.” Marinette tried to calm things down.

“Because I want to keep you both safe.” Gabriel crouched down to their level, seriously concerned for their safety.

Nathalie shook her head and decided to intervene. He took the lantern from Gabriel’s hands and handed it to Adrien.

“Nathalie, what does this mean?” Adrien looked at the lantern and then back at Gabriel.

“You’ll be accompanying us, as my assistants. But stay close, these places are full of danger.” Nathalie wanted to make sure neither Marinette nor Adrien got into trouble.

“Nathalie,” Gabriel stood up. He wanted to try to reason with Nathalie about it. He didn’t want either Adrien or Marinette to have to use their powers again. “You know it’s dangerous...”

“I know, Gabriel. But I think I’d like to keep an eye on them. Besides, they might be useful on our journey.” Nathalie didn’t want to leave them alone at the entrance of the pyramid. She’d had an incident with other treasure hunters years ago, who came to search in the same place the pyramid she went to search. And she had to defend herself. She didn’t want the kids in that kind of situation.

Nathalie made sure both teenagers had the supplies they needed. Taking the map, she took the lead.

“We’ll go in that direction,” Nathalie showed them the map of the interior once her three companions approached. “There’s a fork where we must decide which way to walk.”

“And what about this red circle, Nathalie?” Marinette pointed to a spot on the map that represented a large chamber and had a circle drawn on it.

“There we’ll get the sands we need.” Nathalie searched through her notes for what she had recorded about that place. “I’m sure there’s a hidden chamber in this place. But I understand that a riddle must be solved to enter.”

“Do you know how we’re going to solve that riddle, Nathalie?” Gabriel wondered how they were going to get past the chamber if they had no idea what the riddle was about.

“I don’t know yet.” Nathalie had no more information about that place. “We’ll find out once we get there.”

Nathalie led them inside the pyramid. The first part of the path was dark, so Adrien turned on the flashlight to illuminate the way. The walls were covered in hieroglyphics, telling the stories of the inhabitants of that place centuries ago.

The two teenagers admired the paintings on the walls; Marinette was fascinated by the art on the pyramid. She took her sketchbook out of her bag and began to draw some of the pyramid’s symbols, with some difficulty given the poor visibility. Adrien approached her, watching Marinette’s drawings.

After a short walk, they reached the end of the first part of the path. It was illuminated by the light of two torches. The path forked into two sides, two dark tunnels they could go through, but only one had what they were looking for.

“So which way do we go now, Nathalie?” Adrien asked, looking into the darkness of both tunnels. The light from the flashlight didn’t reach very far into the tunnel.

“Let me think.”

Nathalie looked at the walls, searching for an answer. They were adorned with symbols and the Egyptian alphabet, which Nathalie knew very well. Nathalie stared at the symbols on the wall next to the tunnels. It seemed to be telling a story, but at the same time between the story lay the answer to where they should go.

She saw that the symbols had a much more saturated color, along with a golden color pointing south. While those leading north became opaquer, lacking the characteristic golden color.

One had a bottomless pit, the other was filled with poisonous snakes, specifically cobras. But the right path was definitely the one on the left, the one with the snakes.

“That way. On the left.” Nathalie pointed to the tunnel they would go through.

Upon entering the path, they found it was pitch dark.

Nathalie used one of her glows sticks to help illuminate the path with ultraviolet light. Meanwhile, Gabriel decided to take one of the torches to light the rest of the way.

After walking a bit, snakes began to crawl into the ground. These snakes were small, but poisonous.

“Stay close to us.” Nathalie indicated them.

Both teens nervous, huddled closer with the two adults, as Nathalie had asked.

Gabriel used fire to scare away the snakes that were in the path. Gabriel grabbed Adrien’s arm, trying to force him to stand behind him.

“Behind me, Adrien.” Gabriel also pulled Marinette closer a little roughly when he saw one of the snakes getting too close.

That feeling of déjà vu didn’t leave him all the way. Sixteen years ago, they were in the same situation.

Gabriel pressed his back against Nathalie’s to continue dealing with the snakes. Marinette and Adrien walked beside him, making sure none of the snakes accidentally bit them. Little by little, the number of snakes decreased until they reached the next door. Nathalie pressed one of the rocks on the floor, which opened the door.

“Come in, quick!” Nathalie stepped aside to let the others through. Gabriel pressed the button on the other side to let Nathalie in. She ran before any of the remaining snakes in the way could get into the next chamber.

Nathalie quickly entered, and the door closed behind them. Nathalie opened the map.

“I think we’re close.”

The four walked through the narrow passage for a while until they began to see light again at the other end.

They reached the area Nathalie had described; it was a room filled with treasures and shining artifacts.

What stood out was the large statue attached to one of the walls of the burial chamber. This wall was different from the others, as it seemed it wasn’t a fixed wall. A sphinx statue stood in their way. The shining golden statue turned its ruby-like eyes to look at them.

“Welcome, mortals. Behind me is the room you’re likely looking for. But to go through, you must answer my riddles.” The sphinx’s voice echoed through the chamber, making her look helpless.

“How many riddles must we answer?” Gabriel asked.

“You must answer three of my riddles. If the answers are correct, then I’ll let you pass to what I guard here inside.”

“And what if we don’t answer them correctly?” Adrien asked, curious if what he’d heard from the myths Nathalie used to tell him were true.

“You will find death.” The sphinx’s voice echoed through the chamber as she spoke those words.

None of them thought of dying there.

But Nathalie was willing to take the risk.

“We accept to answer the riddles.” Nathalie said respectfully to the sphinx.

“Very well. You can listen to the riddle as many times as you want, but you only have one chance to give me the correct answer.” The sphinx’s eyes glittered, ready to tell her series of riddles.

The four of them listened attentively to what the sphinx had to say. The kwamis paid attention to help in any way they could.

“What being, equipped with a single voice, walks first on all fours in the morning, then on two legs at noon, and finally on three legs at dusk?” the sphinx’s voice spoke.

Adrien gave his answer to Plagg, who nodded quickly.

“The human.” Adrien replied confidently.

The sphinx’s eyes glittered.

“That’s correct.”

Nathalie was surprised that Adrien had answered so quickly.

“That was very good, Adrien, but how did you know the answer?" Nathalie squeezed his shoulder.

“That was one of the riddles you once taught me, Nathalie.” Adrien recalled the private lessons Nathalie gave him. “That’s why I remember it.”

“Here’s my second riddle: I’m a kind of fabric that is very natural and fine; I’m often used in clothes that look divine. What am I?”

Nathalie didn’t know much about that. But luckily, she had two experts with her on the subject.

“Any idea what it could be, Gabriel, Marinette?” Nathalie looked at the two of them, hoping one of them had an answer to the riddle.

“Um,” Gabriel thought, grabbing his chin. He had an idea of ​​the correct answer to that riddle, but he needed a second opinion. “Marinette, you’re experienced in handling fabrics of different textures, aren’t you?”

“Yes, sir.” Marinette nodded, also thinking about the answer to that riddle.

“Let’s solve the riddle together.” Gabriel began to think about what kind of fabric could be.

“A fabric that’s very fine, looks divine and natural.” Marinette repeated. Both designers’ minds were working. There were many fabrics that could fit the description, but that would look divine, perhaps very few.

“Satin could be an option.” Marinette commented.

“I don’t think it’s fine enough. Besides, it’s not naturally made.” Gabriel explained, hoping that with that they could find the solution to the riddle.

“Natural...” Marinette only knew of one fabric that looked elegant, fine, and natural. And in Gabriel’s mind, it seemed to click.

“Silk?” Gabriel and Marinette said at the same time.

“Are you sure?” Marinette was afraid of screwing up. One wrong answer and all four of them would end up dead.

“I have no other answer in mind, and it's the only one that makes sense. Trust in me.” Gabriel said.

Marinette decided to trust him.

“The correct answer is silk.” Marinette said confidently.

A tense moment passed, until the sphinx’s eyes glittered.

“Correct. Here is the third riddle: I glow brighter in the dark, I’m there but you can’t see me, having me costs you nothing, losing me would cost you everything.”

That was a difficult one.

Nathalie began to think. If there was something that, if lost, would cost her everything, what would it be?

The four of them gathered to discuss the answer to the third and final riddle.

“Do you have any idea what it could be?” Marinette had many doubts about this riddle. It wasn’t as intuitive as the other two.

“Could it be something related to an object?” Adrien suggested.

“Not necessarily,” Tikki mentioned getting out of their hiding place alongside Plagg. “It could be something emotional.”

Everyone looked at Plagg to see if he had any ideas.

“Don’t look at me, Tikki’s the one with the ideas here.” Plagg hovered there, not knowing what else to say about it.

“I don’t know.” Nathalie had no idea what it could be. Nathalie thought about all the suffering they’d gone through to get there. Their search for the Miraculous, the search for a cure. In the search for a cure, they’d lost everything, except the chance to find a solution.

That she always had hope of making things better for Emilie, Gabriel, and especially Adrien...

The last thing she had to lose was... hope.

“I think I know. It’s hope.” Nathalie said.

“Are you sure?” Gabriel was afraid they didn’t have the right answer. They hadn’t come all this way to die there.

“Very sure.” Nathalie remembered Emilie, who hadn’t lost hope that she would convince Gabriel to do the right thing: They would both take care of Adrien the way she wanted.

Nathalie walked toward the sphinx to answer the riddle.

“I know the answer, it’s hope.” Nathalie addressed the sphinx, giving it her answer.

The sphinx’s eyes shone again.

“Very well, you have answered my three riddles correctly, now you shall pass.” the sphinx said. The wall behind the sphinx began to move to the side, opening the door to the tomb’s entrance. The sphinx stepped aside, allowing them to pass.

The four approached the passageway that would lead them to their final destination.

“Thank you very much.” Adrien said as he went though.

In the distance, a golden light could be seen.

They walked for a bit until they reached their destination.

They came across a very bright room. The golden walls shone in the light; it was quite a beautiful room. The patterns on the golden walls were intricate and very detailed. These were stories of many of the Egyptian gods carved into them.

From the small skylights in the ceiling in the center of the room, a thin line of sand fell directly into holes in the floor, where it disappeared. This sand was a different color. It was as shiny as gold, falling slowly into a pile of more sand of the same characteristics. There was another, larger fountain where most of the sand fell.

The holes looked like bottomless, pitch-black pits. It was a mystery where this most of the sand went, but there was also enough sand around the edges of the hole to take.

“Let’s collect the sand.” Gabriel took out the small chest he’d been carrying for a long time and began collecting the sand inside.

Marinette and Adrien took the other chest Adrien had carried in his backpack. They both took charge of filling the second chest. Once both chests were full, they set about locking them with the code, to ensure nothing was accidentally spilled and that no one but them could access the chest.

They packed the chests and gathered near the center of the room to find the exit.

“Now, how do we get out of here, Nathalie?” Gabriel looked around, trying to find a way out.

Nathalie checked her map. She was sure there was an opening that would take them more directly and safely outside.

On one side, there was a large enough opening that led to another hallway.

“The exit is this way. We’ll walk a few steps to get out of here.” Nathalie indicated, prompting Gabriel, Adrien, and Marinette to follow. The stone door closed behind them.

Slowly, they walked through the tunnel until they reached the other pyramid entrance through another wall that opened.

“Let’s pack our things.” Nathalie went to store her archaeology tools.

They packed everything, carrying the chests in their hands. They went to the vehicle they had parked. It was a little covered in sand, but the pyramid entrance managed to protect the vehicle very well.

“Do we have everything?” Nathalie was making sure they hadn’t forgotten anything along the way.

“All the luggage is here, Nathalie. And the chests are in the trunk, too.” Gabriel slammed the trunk shut after packing most of their things inside.

Gabriel would drive again.

“Get on the car and fasten your seatbelts. We’re going back to the town we were before, and we’ll walk from there back to the plane.”

As he drove them back to the town they came from, Gabriel wondered about the condition of his private plane.

“Nathalie, do you think the plane is okay?” Gabriel asked as he drove back.

“We’ll have to find out once we get there, Gabriel.” Nathalie was paying attention to the road as they arrived, also worried that the plane might have suffered some damage.

Once they were back in town, they grabbed their things and returned the car to its owner. From there, they went back to the plane’s location using their GPS Inside. The plane had moved a few meters, and its landing gear was completely covered in sand. Gabriel was the first to run to the plane to check its condition.

“The sandstorm could have affected it.” Gabriel was worried that their means of transportation had been severely damaged by the storm.

“I’m going to check inside.” Nathalie opened the door with a button on the extra remote they had brought and prepared to enter to perform a routine check.

Gabriel stared at the wheels. They would have to be very lucky getting the sand out of the way if they wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. But there were two teenagers willing to help them.

“We’re offering to clean up, Father.” Adrien was holding Marinette’s hand.

“And how do you plan to clean up this mess?” Gabriel didn’t think they could dig up an entire plane.

“I was wondering if my Lucky Charm could give us something to dig with, and if we could use our powers, we’ll do it faster.” Marinette explained.

“Again?” Gabriel wasn’t too happy about Adrien or Marinette using their powers for that purpose. He’d already made the same mistake.

Nathalie poked her head into the plane’s entrance.

“Gabriel, they could help. We should also check the plane’s systems in the meantime. If they help us, we’ll get out of here faster,” Nathalie chimed in. “Perhaps we should let them help us while we check the plane’s condition.”

“You can proceed. We’ll be inside the plane if you need us.”

Both teens transformed. Ladybug summoned her Lucky Charm, giving her a pair of shovels. They both began digging around the wheels. Meanwhile, Gabriel and Nathalie checked that the plane’s systems were working properly.

Gabriel and Nathalie sat in front of the plane’s control panel to perform the usual check-up.

“The wings are fine… Nathalie, we also need to refuel for the next location.”

“We’ll use the solar panel and make a short stop at the airport to fill up the tank.” Madame Tsurugi’s planes were designed for long journeys. However, Gabriel was sure they needed to refuel this time.

Nathalie ran a few more tests on the engine with the help of the plane’s automatic assistant. It seemed the plane’s automatic flight system was intact, along with the hardware. It was only a little covered in sand, but it wasn’t something they needed to worry about since Ladybug and Chat Noir were taking care of it.

“The airplane is fine.” Gabriel checked the screen that displayed the plane’s system. “It’s in perfect condition for us to go to our next destination.”

When Gabriel came out, Ladybug and Chat Noir had already finished freeing the plane from the sand. The wheels were also in good condition, and the hole they had dug was large enough for the plane to get out of once they began the takeoff process.

“The plane is free now, Father.” Chat Noir walked toward the plane’s entrance. “We dug enough so the plane can get out of the sand.”

Ladybug shook the sand from her hair.

“We hope it’s enough for us to leave.”

“Thank you both.” Gabriel saw that the wheels were free “Now we can begin the takeoff process to leave this place.”

Both teenagers quickly boarded the plane. They sat in their respective seats, and Gabriel, along with Nathalie, began the plane’s takeoff process.

Gabriel programmed the plane to taxi a bit to see if it could clear the sand. Little by little, the plane taxied forward until it had enough speed to take off and head for its next destination.

Chapter Text

“What’s the next stop, Nathalie?” Gabriel returned from the control room to find Nathalie making some notes on the map on her tablet.

“Our next stop is somewhere in South America, between Peru and Brazil” Nathalie was tracing the possible route they could use to reach their destination.

“And what about the abyss in the way?” Gabriel pointed to the spot on the map where there was a clear divide from where they were supposed to be heading next.

“We’ll have to climb to the top to cross the cliff, and we’ll use a rope to go to the area where the temple is located.” Nathalie circled the spot they were headed to on the map. “It’s the safest route for us.”

Gabriel noticed that they were almost at their destination.

“I’ll prepare for landing. Please take a seat while we go down.” Gabriel quickly went to the control panel. They were a few minutes away from reaching the landing zone to continue their journey on foot. Gabriel noticed on the map a large area of ​​the river suitable for landing. He entered the coordinates so the plane could prepare for the landing.

Once they reached their destination, Gabriel guided the plane safely in the nearest river, the only place with enough room.

Once the plane came to a complete stop, he led them as close to the shore as possible, so it wouldn’t be a problem to carry their things.

Gabriel was the first to exit. The water reached his heels.

“Be careful when you get off.” Gabriel offered his hand to Nathalie, who went ahead to get out. She took Gabriel’s offered hand and jumped off the plane. Adrien approached the plane’s exit, followed by Marinette.

“You next, Adrien.” Gabriel carried Adrien so he wouldn’t have to jump and placed him on the ground. He would proceed to help Marinette get off as well. “Now you, miss.”

Then he proceeded to do the same with Marinette. Both teenagers left their bags at the entrance of the aircraft to carry everything to the shore.

Nathalie walked to the shore where there was no more water. She saw the mountain they had to climb and checked her compass. Gabriel left his backpack and Nathalie’s on the ground once he reached Nathalie, along with Adrien and Marinette.

“This is the place.” Nathalie took her backpack, carrying it. “Please make sure you have all your things. We’ll leave the plane here and walk until we find the place where we will camp.”

“Yes, Nathalie.” Adrien and Marinette stood behind her, holding their things and ready to leave.

“Understood, Nathalie.” Gabriel said, finishing adjusting his hat and loading his backpack onto his back.

The four of them headed into the dense jungle, with Nathalie leading the way, guiding them as she had done before on previous locations.

Both adults and teenagers walked through the jungle. Nathalie and Gabriel were more accustomed to the humidity of the area, but Marinette and Adrien weren’t as accustomed to that type of climate. They took sporadic breaks to reach the first base camp they would set up.

After a long walk and stumbling, they managed to reach a somewhat cleared part of the jungle. They walked a short distance until they came across the abyss they had to cross.

Nathalie took her crossbow and tied a rope to the end of the arrow. She aimed at the largest tree on the other side and fired. The arrow stuck firmly into the tree. Nathalie tied the other end firmly to the tree next to her. "We’ll cross to the other side of the cliff to set up camp on the other side." Nathalie prepared the hook and connected it to the rope for the crossing.

Marinette approached Nathalie, thinking maybe she could help her.

“Couldn’t we use my yo-yo to cross, Nathalie?” Marinette thought maybe the power of her Miraculous could be useful this time.

“I don’t think it’s necessary, Marinette.” Nathalie smiled at Marinette’s offer. “But thank you for the suggestion.”

Father and son caught up with them, to decide what they would do next.

“Who will go first?” Nathalie asked the three people present.

“Me, Nathalie!” Adrien volunteered, somewhat excited to try using the zip line. His father had never allowed it.

“Wait, I’ll go first.” Gabriel offered as well.

Nathalie clicked her tongue, however, she preferred to have one of them, the adults, to be on the other side to get the children.

“Your father will go first, Adrien. I want him there to catch you. I’ll be last.” Nathalie instructed, while she helped Gabriel put on the hook.

“Okay, Nathalie.” Adrien said nervously.

Nathalie helped Gabriel hook himself the zip line with the help of the harness she brought for these situations.

Gabriel crossed without problems to the other side. He freed himself from the hook and proceeded to secure the zip line on the other side. He returned the hook to the other side with Nathalie’s help.

“It’s secured!” Gabriel shouted from the other side. “You can cross now!”

“You can go now, Adrien.” Nathalie showed him the hook, and Adrien approached to use the harness. Nathalie hooked it and double-checked to make sure everything was in place. "You’re secured, Adrien. Just take a little momentum, and the hook will carry you."

“Okay, then here I go.” Adrien excitedly gathered momentum as he was told and threw himself forward, feeling the wind in his hair and across his face. Adrenaline surged through his body in that brief moment. He reached the other side quickly, and Gabriel helped him stop. Adrien unfastened the hook.

“Is everything okay, Adrien?” Gabriel wanted to make sure Adrien was okay after that.

“That was... fun!” Adrien said excitedly.

Nathalie brought the hook back with the other end of the rope.

“Now you go, Marinette.” Nathalie adjusted the hook to adjust it to Marinette’s harness.

Marinette was nervous; it was her first time doing this, and without transforming, she would definitely feel the feeling of emptiness. Nathalie checked that she was secured.

“There, Marinette. You can go now. You can grab the hook here. If you’re feeling nervous, you can close your eyes and try not to make any sudden movements as you reach the other side.” Nathalie checked again that Marinette was securely hooked and pointed out the part of the rope she could grab.

“Thanks, Nathalie.” Marinette was grateful that Nathalie at least understood her nervousness.

Marinette walked to the edge to jump. She closed her eyes so she wouldn’t look down. The abyss was quite deep, and even though she wasn’t transformed, she could feel the emptiness in her stomach as she crossed.

Once she was on the other side, Adrien helped her stop.

“Got you.” Adrien held Marinette’s harness. He also helped her unhook, since Marinette was having a hard time getting it off herself.

“Thanks, Adrien.”

Nathalie returned the hook to its position to cross. She hooked and secured the rope and jumped off, reaching the other side to join the others.

“Let me help you.” Gabriel gently stopped her so she could put her feet back on the ground. He helped Nathalie remove the hook and put it back in her suitcase along with the harnesses.

“Now, where are we going, Nathalie?” Gabriel checked the map.

“Let’s look for a place to set up the campsite. Once we’re done, we’ll continue the trail again. I hope we can return before nightfall.” Nathalie pointed to a spot on the map that would surely be useful. It was clear and it would be easier for them to foresee the possible dangers they would encounter in the middle of the jungle.

“Nathalie, do you think it will take us long to find the water we’re looking for inside the temple?” Gabriel was concerned that they would arrive before nightfall.

“The temple we’re going to is small. I don’t think it would take us that long to explore it. That’s why I need to have the camp ready for our return.”

They walked for about 15 minutes to the area Nathalie wanted to reach. It was a small space clear of trees. In the center there was a small freshwater lagoon where they could supply themselves.

“This is the place. We’ll camp here. Once we finish setting up camp, we’ll head to the temple.” Nathalie dropped her backpack on the ground to take the tent out.

“I’ll help you, Nathalie.” Adrien offered, crouching down next to Nathalie.

Gabriel took charge of placing the metal poles that would hold up the tent.

While they set up camp, Adrien thought about how great Nathalie’s job was, traveling often and exploring places no one knew about and finding treasures in the process, not to mention the possible acrobatics they’d have to perform to get there, the adrenaline rush it represented. That was possibly something he could think about doing in the future.

He approached Nathalie, who was taking some things out of her suitcase.

“Nathalie, how about I become a magical artifact hunter like you?”

Nathalie’s serious expression changed to a more cheerful and nervous one. The reason she was a treasure hunter was because of her own father and the organization.

“Oh no, no, Adrien. I wouldn’t want this kind of life for you.” Nathalie took him by both shoulders and gently rubbed them. “Being a treasure hunter involves a lot of risk, that’s why I became your father’s assistant. I wanted a quieter life.”

“But Nathalie, I’m already Chat Noir. Isn’t that dangerous?” Adrien wanted to understand why Nathalie wanted to prevent him from following in her footsteps as a magical treasure hunter.

“Exactly, Adrien. Your other job is already dangerous enough; I wouldn’t want you to take any more risks. How about a job as an archaeologist?”

“I don’t know. I like archaeology, but I feel like it’s not my thing.”

Gabriel set up camp just like Nathalie had taught him years ago, when they went looking for the Miraculous. While he did, he listened to the conversation between the two.

“But no matter what you choose, you know you always have my support, Adrien.” Nathalie didn’t want Adrien to get disappointed so soon. “I know maybe I shouldn’t stop you from doing something you love, but I care about you.”

Gabriel could see how much Nathalie cared for his son, even enough to guide him through a decision as important as his future.

“Now Adrien, I want you to find some dry sticks for our campfire. We’ll need them tonight. Bring small branches. There’s no need to bring large logs; they should be like this one I have here.” Nathalie showed him a small twig.

“I’ll get to it, Nathalie.” Adrien ran out of the tent.

“Don’t stray too far, stay where we can see you.” Gabriel told Adrien as he ran off to get what Nathalie asked him for.

“Don’t worry about me!” Adrien set out to search around the camp for the things Nathalie asked him for.

Gabriel watched as Adrien crouched on the ground near the lake, picking up twigs he found along the way.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Gabriel was a little worried that Adrien would wander far from the camp. He didn’t want Adrien to get lost by accident.

“I want to make Adrien feel useful, that’s all. Besides, he doesn’t have to go far; there’s plenty of wood around here.” Nathalie watched as Adrien gathered a lot of twigs in his hands.

Adrien returned to where Nathalie was arranging some rocks for the campfire about fifteen minutes later with a bunch of twigs in his arms. The tent was already up, and they were going to prepare a meal for the day.

“Here are all the twigs I found, Nathalie.” Adrien showed her the wood.

“Alright, Adrien. Leave them in that corner. When it gets dark and we get back, we’ll make the campfire.” Nathalie ordered. She was preparing everything they would need for their trip.

Adrien did as she asked. Meanwhile, Marinette had been trying unsuccessfully to contact Luka the whole time. She hadn’t heard anything in a while and feared something bad had happened in Paris. She climbed a tree to talk to Luka with the help of her Miraculous.

She somehow managed to finally call Luka.

“So, everything’s okay there?” Ladybug shifted her feet, which were in the air as she sat on the branch.

“Yes, Marinette. Don’t worry, everything is under control. Pretty peaceful, if you ask me.” Luka was once again trying to reassure Marinette.

“Thanks, Luka.” Marinette signed. She didn’t want what happened in New York to happen again.

She climbed down from the tree once she finished the call and undid her transformation. She fed Tikki and went back to help prepare her next move. Gabriel and Nathalie were talking, and Adrien was also paying attention.

“I’m sorry I’m late. I was asking about the situation back in Paris. But everything’s fine. Could you explain to me again what we’re going to do?”

Nathalie was going to fill her in.

“The temple we’re going to isn’t very big. It shouldn’t take us long to explore. We’re just going to take the water. The path inside the temple will guide us there; it’s full of signs.” Nathalie looked at the small map of the place that one of her fellow explorers had shared with her many years ago.

“And will there be traps there?” Marinette feared that they would once again find themselves in a place full of traps, like in Egypt.

“Most likely,” Nathalie was 100% sure there were traps at the Peruvian temple they were heading to. “For now, we’ll focus on reaching our destination.”

Once they had gathered some of their things, they resumed their walk. The sun was at its highest point, indicating that it was already noon.

As they walked, Nathalie began to feel ill. Her head was spinning, and she broke out in a cold sweat. Nathalie was starting to feel weak. Her steps began to slow down, and she felt weakness in her legs. Her pace slowed, as she began to feel dizzy. The humidity of the place wasn’t helping. Just as she was about to take the next step, Nathalie fell to the ground, kneeling down and holding herself with her hands to avoid hurting herself.

“Nathalie!” Gabriel was the first to reach her side, dropping his things and kneeling next to Nathalie, holding her shoulders. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. I can keep going.” Nathalie tried to get up, but she was still so dizzy that she couldn’t. She had to sit back down on the ground and clutched her head.

“No, you’re not okay. Let’s get some rest." Gabriel dropped his things on the ground and forced Nathalie to sit on the tree trunk that was in the way. She did, and Marinette offered her some of her medicine.

“I think you should take some more, Nathalie. This might help you.”

“Thank you, Marinette.” Nathalie took all the medicine at once. She needed to feel better, or she wouldn’t be able to save herself.

Gabriel sat down next to her on the trunk. He wanted to make sure Nathalie was okay. For him, that fall on the ice could have been the reason Nathalie felt sick. The four of them sat for a few minutes while the medicine took effect. Gabriel noticed that Nathalie’s face had regained some color. She took a sip of water that Adrien offered her.

“How are you feeling, Nathalie?” Gabriel knelt in front of her before she could even decide to stand.

“I think I feel better now.” Nathalie stood up from the log she’d been sitting on. She no longer felt the dizziness she’d felt a while ago. She started to gather her things, but Gabriel got there first, grabbing her backpack.

“Nathalie, from now on, we’ll be carrying your equipment on this trail.” Gabriel put Nathalie’s backpack on his back along with his own. It was a double burden, but he was willing to take it on.

“It’s not necessary.” Nathalie didn’t want to become the burden on this journey. She was their guide.

“No, Nathalie, let us help you.” Adrien took some of Nathalie’s things from his backpack and put them in the pockets of his suitcase. Marinette gathered some things herself to carry and help Nathalie.

Gabriel was thinking about how he could keep an eye on Nathalie while he was leading, when Adrien got there first.

“I’ll go with you, Nathalie.” Adrien returned to where Nathalie was and took her hand.

“We’ll stay with her.” Marinette took Nathalie’s hand so she could also keep an eye on her as they walked toward their destination. Nathalie hadn’t expected this, but she allowed Marinette and Adrien to take her hand and walk beside her.

Gabriel went ahead. Using the map and the compass, he directed them toward their destination, just as Nathalie had taught him years ago. He walked at a slower pace so Nathalie could keep up without getting tired.

After another hour-long walk, they reached an area where some red flowers were growing. Finally, when Nathalie felt much better, she let them know.

“Thank you for joining me, Adrien, Marinette.” Nathalie gently let go of both of their hands. "I think I can continue from here." Nathalie acknowledged the flowers surrounding her. “We’re almost there. Keep your pace and don’t stray too far.”

Nathalie turned and headed straight. Gabriel watched her closely like a hawk, making sure she wasn’t getting sick again.

“Father, are you sure Nathalie is going in the right direction?” Adrien was a little worried about the direction they were going.

“Don’t you trust Nathalie?”

“Of course I trust her.” Adrien felt a little offended by that question. Of course, he trusted Nathalie. “It’s just that with what happened, she wasn’t feeling very well. Well, she seemed a little disoriented.”

“Trust her, son.” A smile spread across Gabriel’s face. “She always knows what to do.”

Finally, they reached the top. The temple loomed before them. What Nathalie had told them about it was true.

Nathalie stopped in front of what appeared to be a dead end. A huge stone wall blocked the path.

“What now?” Gabriel asked, seeing the huge wall blocking the way.

Nathalie pulled out her knife and fumbled the wall with her free hand until she found a hole the same size as the knife’s blade.

“Help me open it.” Nathalie handed him her spare knife “Stand on the other side and insert the blade on the other side of the wall, just like I do.”

They both pushed the loose brick out of the wall with the help of the knife. The wall moved aside, revealing a secret passageway before them.

Adrien saw that it was somewhat dark. But it wasn’t something his night vision, provided by the Miraculous of destruction, couldn’t fix.

“Plagg, claws out!” Chat Noir was about to enter when Nathalie stopped him by grabbing his arm.

“Chat Noir...” Marinette hadn’t planned for them to transform this time. She wanted to save it until it was truly necessary or when Nathalie asked them to.

“No, Adrien, you stay here.” Nathalie got there first and pushed him aside.

“No, Nathalie, let me do it.” Chat Noir couldn’t understand why Nathalie wanted to continue risking herself there with the Miraculouses available to help them.

“No, Adrien. I don’t want you to get into trouble. This temple is the most dangerous of all the locations. Please stay here and let the adults take care of this.”

Gabriel prepared some things they would use on the way before entering the temple.

Chat Noir was very worried about Nathalie; she was taking a big risk. That incident in Tibet made him think something like that could happen again.

“You two stay here. The temple isn’t very big, so it shouldn’t take long. We’ll be back as soon as we can.” Nathalie pointed to Adrien and Marinette. She prepared to take out her flashlight and shine it into the temple.

“But, Nathalie...” Chat Noir stood in her way so she could listen to him. Nathalie, trying to calm him down, bent down and gave him a reassuring look.

“Don’t worry about me, Adrien.” Nathalie placed her hand on his cheek and handed Chat Noir a radio. “Everything will be okay. I’ll leave you a radio to contact us with so you can feel safer.”

“O-okay,” Chat Noir gripped the radio with both hands, intending to protect it.

“You two take care of yourselves.” Gabriel pulled out his flashlight as well. “If there’s any trouble, don’t hesitate to transform to deal with it.”

“If you need help, please let us know.” Marinette stood next to Chat Noir, somewhat worried about what might happen.”

Nathalie walked deeper into the temple. She shone the flashlight around, checking for any signs of a trap. But there was nothing. At least not yet. Gabriel also lit the path, checking. In his years of exploring with Nathalie, he’d learned a thing or two from her.

“It’s safe.” Gabriel didn’t detect any traps.

“Let’s move forward, then.” Nathalie led the way.

“I’m following you.” Gabriel followed closely behind her to keep her from getting hurt. He wouldn’t make the same mistake he’d made in Tibet.

They both advanced a couple of meters, while Gabriel examined the walls. At least until Gabriel bumped into Nathalie, who had stopped.

“What’s going on?”

Nathalie bent down and used her knife to cut a thin rope lying on the ground. A pair of spikes jumped out from above a few steps in front of them.

“Let’s move forward.” Nathalie continued to light the way, passing under the spikes. Gabriel also bent down and continued walking beside her. Until they reached a part of the path where the roof had a skylight.

That was very strange.

They both stopped to see what they were going to do.

“Do you think there could be a trap here, Nathalie?”

“It’s very likely.” Nathalie thought the light indicated that something was there.

Gabriel approached the light and picked up a small stone, throwing it at it, causing some arrows to emerge from the wall and stick into the other side. He then threw another stone out of the light. When it hit the ground, nothing emerged from the wall.

“We’d better avoid stepping over the light.” Gabriel said, understanding how the mechanism worked.

Nathalie and Gabriel walked carefully around the light to avoid triggering the trap. They took slow steps to avoid getting too close to it.

Once they crossed the trap, Gabriel looked back; they had already moved quite far from the exit. They turned a corner and continued forward. Nathalie felt she was getting closer and closer to finding the water.

As they walked, Gabriel suddenly heard the sound of rocks moving.

The floor beneath their feet immediately gave way. Nathalie closed her eyes, thinking this was the end. Gabriel reacted immediately and grabbed Nathalie’s wrist to prevent her from falling straight into the void, and he grabbed a large branch buried in the ground, breaking her fall. Nathalie saw the edge of Gabriel’s glove. The blackened skin on it was visible.

It was his cataclysmed arm.

“I’ve got you, Nathalie! Hold on!” Gabriel shouted. Gabriel’s glasses fell into the void.

Nathalie looked down at where the glasses fell, finding darkness. It was so dark that she couldn’t see the bottom. She gasped, knowing how close they were to falling.

Gabriel tried to pull himself and Nathalie up from where they were holding on, but he didn’t have enough strength in his arm to pull them both up.

Their only hope was for his son and Marinette would come to their rescue. Calling for help would be the best thing to do. Nathalie did what she could to open the radio channel. Gabriel took a deep breath and prepared to scream as loudly as he could.

“Help!”

“Do you think they’re okay?” Chat Noir was very worried about his father and Nathalie. That incident in Tibet showed him that; even if Nathalie was an expert he couldn’t guarantee they were 100% okay. Due to that, he was uncapable to undo the transformation, in case something bad happened.

“I don’t know, I would hope Nathalie could keep herself and Gabriel safe.” Marinette tried to reassure Chat Noir without success. She understood; she was very worried too.

The radio began to play intermittently. Chat Noir couldn’t make out much of what it was saying.

“Are they trying to contact us?” Marinette didn’t think the way the radio was sounding was normal. Chat Noir tried to fix it when he noticed the sound was a little different in the distance.

“Help!” Chat Noir heard the faint cry for help.

“Did you hear that?” Chat Noir twitched his ears.

“No, what is it?” Marinette didn’t hear anything strange.

“Help!” Chat Noir listened again. He recognized that voice as his father’s.

His father and Nathalie were in trouble.

“It’s my father’s voice! They need help!” Chat Noir’s heart began to beat rapidly.

Marinette quickly transformed and took his hand, starting to run into the temple.

“Then let’s run!” Ladybug took out her yo-yo, in case she needed to block any of the traps.

They both ran into the temple. Ladybug grabbed Chat Noir and swung him around to avoid the traps on the floor. He smashed the spikes above with his staff, shattering them into tiny pieces. With her yo-yo, Ladybug blocked the arrows that came their way, and Chat Noir did the same with his staff. They quickly turned around to reach their destination.

They hoped they’d make it in time.

Gabriel used all his strength again to pull himself and Nathalie up again. But it wasn’t enough, because he barely managed to lift them a few inches before he began to lose his grip on the edge. He didn’t have enough strength in his arm to do it.

He felt Nathalie slipping away. She would fall to her death if she lost her grip.

“Nathalie, don’t let go!”

Nathalie tightened her grip on Gabriel’s hand. She could see Gabriel close his eyes, probably from the pain her grip caused. She looked down again, seeing the void into which they would fall.

Gabriel couldn’t hold her any longer; the pain in his hand from the cataclysm was causing him to also lose his grip on the branch he was holding onto.

They were going to die.

“Nathalie!” Gabriel felt himself slowly losing his grip on Nathalie. Everything began to happen in slow motion.

They heard a hissing sound. Nathalie didn’t feel the fall. Instead, she felt someone take her in their arms.

Ladybug was holding Nathalie.

“I’ve got you!”

Ladybug had swung from a branch on the roof and had caught Nathalie just in time. She slowly pulled them both up.

Gabriel had never in his life felt so relieved to see Ladybug in those moments. Chat Noir held out his staff and let Gabriel use it to pull him up. Gabriel collapsed to the ground, catching his breath. Ladybug placed Nathalie next to him and gave her room to breathe.

Nathalie let out her shaky breath. Gabriel approached Nathalie, also catching his breath.

Gabriel looked at his son.

“Thank you,” Gabriel then looked at Ladybug. “Both of you.”

Maybe letting Adrien and Marinette go to their side wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“We had to do it. We weren’t going to let you get hurt anymore on this trip.” Chat Noir offered his hand to the two of them to get up.

“Can we come with you?” Ladybug asked, not wanting to let them out of her sight after what happened.

“Of course.” Nathalie was going to allow the two of them to accompany them the rest of the way. “But stay close to us.”

Nathalie saw Gabriel’s face, remembering that he lost his glasses. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the pair of glasses, the ones he used to wear before his makeover when he created the Alliances.

“You need them.” Nathalie carefully placed the glasses on Gabriel's face. Gabriel held Nathalie’s hand for a moment after she put the glasses on its place before letting go.

They advanced slowly, still recovering from the shock of that incident.

Nathalie worried about the state of the temple. That place was falling apart. In the area they reached, the roof was quite unstable. One false step and it could be their downfall. When they were young, they could have easily dodged it, but now it was no longer possible, especially in their condition.

The sound of moving stones was heard again. A couple of them fell from the roof. Gabriel watched everything in slow motion.

The rocks were going to fall on top of Nathalie.

Gabriel acted quickly, sending Nathalie aside. Nathalie fell to the ground with a crash. Someone had pushed her. But the only person behind her was Gabriel. The dust cleared, and she couldn’t find Gabriel.

She only found a pile of rocks in his place.

“NO!” Nathalie threw herself at the pile of rocks that fell on Gabriel.

Both superheroes ran and quickly turned the corner, encountering the horrific scene. Chat Noir saw Nathalie desperately removing that pile of rocks.

It was then that he understood what had happened.

His father was under the rocks.

He ran to help Nathalie.

“Cataclysm!” He placed his hand on the rocks, causing them to turn to dust in a few seconds.

The rocks turned to dust, freeing Gabriel. They noticed that Gabriel was right under a slab that created a triangle that protected him from most of the blow. Except for that blow to his head, which was bleeding.

He was breathing. Gabriel had a nasty head wound. It was a miracle he’d survived that. The Triangle of Life had saved him.

“Father!” Chat Noir brushed away the dust left behind after he used Cataclysm on the pile.

Nathalie approached him. Nathalie checked Gabriel’s pulse. He was unconscious, but still alive.

“He’s fine, but he’s hurt.”

“Can your Lucky Charm give us something we can use?” Chat Noir thought maybe Ladybug’s Lucky Charm could help them.

“I’ll try,” Ladybug prepared to throw her yo-yo into the air. “Lucky Charm!”

A stretcher fell from the sky to the ground.

“We can work with this.” Ladybug brought the stretcher closer to Gabriel’s body.

Chat Noir carefully took his father by the shoulders, and Ladybug took care of his feet, lifting him onto the stretcher.

Nathalie wanted to get out of that hallway as soon as possible. She checked the map, noticing that they were close to a safe area.

“Let’s go there.” Nathalie pointed further down the path. As they got closer, they came to a small room lit by a skylight. A small waterfall cascaded into a natural pond on one side of the room.

It was certainly fascinating. Although the color of the water didn’t match the description of the water of life.

There was a small space near the water that could be useful.

“Put him down here.” Nathalie pointed to a free space in the area they entered.

Both teens carefully placed Gabriel on the ground.

Nathalie searched her first-aid kit for bandages to treat Gabriel’s wound as quickly as possible. Her hands trembled slightly as she applied the disinfectant to the wound.

Calm down, Nathalie, calm down.

Nathalie took a deep breath and focused on treating Gabriel’s injuries. She finished placing the gauze on Gabriel’s head after disinfecting the wound. She put his head back on the ground.

Nathalie could see that Adrien was very worried about his father.

“Adrien, don’t worry. This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that your father has been injured.”

“Has father been injured before?” Chat Noir watched as Nathalie used the gauze to bandage Gabriel’s head.

Nathalie nodded as she bandaged Gabriel’s head.

“Your father got injured quite often during our expeditions, but nothing as serious as this.” Nathalie adjusted the bandage.

Nathalie looked around the area. She noticed that, in the most worn part of the place, there was a passageway large enough for a person to fit through.

That was probably where she should look. The map didn’t show any further than what they had already crossed, and that worried her greatly.

“You watch Gabriel. I’m going to find the Water of Life.” Nathalie quickly stood up to explore that passage at the other end.

Chat Noir caught up with her before she took the next step.

“No, Nathalie. The last time you went alone, you got hurt.” Chat Noir gave her a worried look. Nathalie bent down to look into his eyes and try to reassure him, even a little.

“Calm down, Adrien. I can take care of myself. Just make sure your father doesn’t do something stupid again.” Nathalie wanted to reassure Adrien that everything would be okay this time. Nathalie crouched down to his level, cupped his face, and caressed him. “If I need help, I’ll scream, understood.”

Chat Noir nodded, still very worried about Nathalie.

“Please be very careful, Nathalie.”

“We’ll be here if you need us, Nathalie.” Ladybug would stay with Chat Noir.

“Wait here. If I need help, I’ll radio you.” Nathalie pointed to the radio she’d given Chat Noir earlier.

Nathalie grabbed some of her tools, including a flashlight, a pickaxe, a bristle, her night-vision goggles, and her crossbow. She entered the passageway on one side. Because it was so narrow, she had a few problems getting in. She looked back down the passageway to give Chat Noir a reassuring look. He grabbed the radio and stared down the passageway.

Nathalie entered the passageway. The area she reached was somewhat dark, so she used her flashlight to illuminate everything. Some stairs led past a small opening in the ground filled with water. She quickly examined it with her flashlight, finding it empty. She jumped in. The water was freezing, but that didn’t matter much to her. She walked slowly through the water until she reached the other side, where the stairs were.

Nathalie went up to the second floor looking for the object they had come for: The waters.

Upon reaching the top, she found an inscription on the wall.

Pure water you will find

If you can see clearly,

You must be careful

As the path is not easy.

And there will be only one.

Nathalie looked at the map and reread the riddle.

It’s not an easy way.

For Nathalie, that meant there were traps in the middle of the way. She shone her flashlight down the path she was following. It looked normal, or so she thought. She picked up a small stone and threw it.

It landed on a specific slab, which sank into the floor. A trap in the floor was triggered, causing a pile of stakes to appear from the left wall and bury themselves in the other wall. Nathalie ducked and crawled under the stakes.

Upon reaching the other side, Nathalie put on her night-vision goggles to detect any other traps she hadn’t seen yet. On the floor, a rope lay taut in the air next to the hallway. Crouching down, she pulled out her knife and cut the rope. An aerial trap with a large, spiked ball unfurled, hanging in the air.

Nathalie scanned the surroundings again to make sure there were no more traps. She looked at the ground in front of her, finding a third trap. This time, it was a hole filled with what looked like poisonous gas produced by some plants at the bottom.

If she fell in, it was her end.

Nathalie took the rope she hooked to her belt. She unwound it and tied it to one of her arrows. She aimed the crossbow at the ceiling, firing to secure it so she could cross safely. The arrow buried itself in the ceiling, and Nathalie pulled it with a little force, to make sure it was secure.

She gained momentum and swung to the other side. Nathalie let go of the rope once she was on the other side, took a step forward, and prepared to advance to where the Water of Life was supposed to be. After a thorough check for any other traps, the path was clear.

Nathalie walked until she reached a more open space. There were many water fountains on the walls. It was the chamber she was looking for.

For now, she had a new problem: figuring out which water was the right one.

Nathalie recited the riddle again in her head. All the water in the room seemed to be exactly the same.

If you can see clearly

That was the other part of the riddle.

She turned on her flashlight and took light steps around the room in front of her, approaching one of the fountains.

Nathalie illuminated the entire room with the ultraviolet light she brought with her.

A multitude of symbols and writing appeared before her. The walls were covered in these markings. Nathalie admired and analyzed them as she tried to decipher what they meant. Some were written in a very ancient indigenous language.

You must be more careful.

Nathalie assumed that this meant that most of these waters were poisonous. Now she would have to figure out which one was the right one. Looking carefully at the inscriptions, she found a fountain that was different from the others and had a simpler inscription.

Is this the water? she thought.

Nathalie took out a device to test the water. After a few minutes, the device indicated that it was drinkable water, quite clean. That was curious.

Although there was only one way to verify it 100 percent.

Nathalie took a little water in her hands and took a small sip. She waited a moment and felt the small headache she’d been feeling for a while disappear completely. She coughed a little as she felt the usual shortness of breath caused by using the Peacock Miraculous.

Clearly, water alone wouldn’t be enough to completely cure her.

Nathalie poured some water in the canteens she brought with her. Once she was sure there were no leaks in their canteens that could allow water to escape, she set out to return the way she came. She re-evaded the traps she’d already deactivated and ran to where Marinette and Adrien were watching over Gabriel.

They were both bent over on the ground, staring at Gabriel, who was already regaining consciousness when she arrived.

“Father!” Adrien called, hoping he’d hear him. “Are you okay?”

Nathalie crouched down beside them, not caring that she’d left several things on the ground.

“Gabriel!” Nathalie examined him very carefully, so he wouldn’t panic while he was waking up.

Gabriel felt a pang in his head. He weakly brought his hand to his head. He weakly ran his hand over his head until he found the gauze in it.

His head was spinning, and he couldn’t recognize where he was. His vision was slowly clearing. She saw the face of the person in front of her.

“Gabriel, how are you feeling?” Nathalie shook his hand, so he wouldn’t remove the gauze.

“Are you hurt?” Gabriel examined her from top to bottom, looking for possible injuries. He tried to reach for her hand.

“You’re crazy!” Nathalie reproached him, and she grabbed his hand before he could touch her. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I didn’t want you to get hurt.” Gabriel felt the sting of the wound on his head.

“I can take care of myself now; you don’t have to intervene. Am I an expert adventurer, remember?”

“Yes, I know, but you haven’t said the same thing years ago. When you had your right leg injury.” Gabriel pointed to the spot on Nathalie’s right leg where there was a slight, barely visible scar.

Oh, Gabriel was talking about that incident.

That time she was leading them through a temple in their search for Miraculous and accidentally fell into a trap, injuring her right leg in the process. Gabriel had to help her, dragging her with him all the way to get her out of the place they were trapped in.

“I already have what we need.” Nathalie showed him the canteen and the container she used to carry the water.

“You don’t know how happy I am, Nathalie.” Gabriel was relieved that Nathalie had achieved her goal. They were one step closer to completing their journey, and that meant Nathalie was even closer to being healed.

Nathalie decided to use some of the water to try to heal Gabriel’s wound. She removed the bandage and soaked a cotton ball in some of the water. She brought the cotton ball closer and placed it on Gabriel’s forehead to clean the wound. She watched in amazement as the bruise on Gabriel’s head faded slightly. Then she placed the first-aid kit next to him and began to carefully bandage his head again.

“Can you get up?” Nathalie stood up and offered Gabriel her hand as they continued on their way. They had to go back now.

“I think so.” Gabriel sat down to get up.

Adrien and Marinette transformed again.

“Let’s help him.” Chat Noir crouched down next to his father, offering a hand. Ladybug also bent down to support Gabriel so he could stand.

Both Miraculous wearers helped Gabriel to his feet. They would walk beside him to prevent further injury as they left the temple.

“We’ll go to the back of this place; there’s an exit we can use.” Nathalie pointed to her map. They walked slowly toward the back exit. When they arrived, they found a wall blocking their way.

“What now?” Gabriel saw that there was no way out.

Chat Noir noticed that the bricks in the middle of the wall seemed a little loose.

“I’ll take care of it.” Chat Noir kicked the wall, opening a hole for the exit.

They returned to base camp just before nightfall.

Nathalie looked for the chest where they were storing all the ingredients. She organized all of her ingredients to make room for the waters. She checked Marinette’s list, which was lying on the table they had set up earlier. She sighed and put the list back in Marinette’s suitcase. Now, they only needed one ingredient.

Fireflies lit up the tent. The light was minimal, but it was perfect for sleeping.

Adrien was fast asleep. As soon as his head touched the ground, he closed his eyes and drifted off into dreamland. Marinette settled in next to him and fell asleep as well. They both seemed quite exhausted from their journey, and they deserved it.

The only ones awake at the moment were her and Gabriel. He was cleaning his wounds himself by the light. He grimaced as he lightly touched the bruise he had received.

“I can help you.” Nathalie took out her first aid kit.

“Oh, sure, no problem.” Gabriel handed her the alcohol and the other things he was using for his treatment.

She took out the gauze, bandages, and everything else she needed for the cleaning. It had been a couple of hours since she last checked Gabriel’s wounds. Nathalie would use the Water of Life to completely heal the wound.

Nathalie helped Gabriel lie down, settling him on top of his sleeping bag. She removed the bandage to clean his wound. She soaked the cotton with ethyl alcohol before applying a little of the Water of Life to a rag.

This situation was very familiar. But once again, Gabriel was feeling like a burden, like he had several years ago. He also didn’t understand why Nathalie was worrying so much about him after everything he had done to her.

After feeling the familiar burn of the alcohol and Nathalie putting the bandage back on, Gabriel sat down so he could talk to Nathalie.

“Why did you stay, Nathalie? If this wasn’t what you wanted, why did you do it?” That was the question that had been lingering in his head since Ladybug saved them.

Nathalie put the first-aid kit aside. She didn’t know whether to tell him the truth.

“I did it because I love you, Gabriel,” Nathalie admitted. “Or used to love you. I don’t know now.”

For Gabriel, this was the first time in months that Nathalie had been honest about her feelings.

Nathalie loved him. Or had ever loved him. She seemed just as confused as he was.

“After all this time?” Gabriel couldn’t believe Nathalie had had those kinds of feelings for years.

Nathalie looked away.

“Yes, after all this time.” Nathalie admitted.

“Even when you knew I was already married?” Gabriel didn’t want to imagine how difficult it must have been for Nathalie to live with him for years, harboring those hidden feelings.

“Yes, that’s why I never wanted to say it. I didn’t want to come between you and Emilie. You’re my friends; I had no business being there. I tried to make those feelings die once I finished my work for you, but I couldn’t. That’s why I agreed to continue working with you.” she confessed.

Gabriel had never realized how much Nathalie sacrificed for him.

“Nathalie, I...” Gabriel was speechless in so many years. He didn’t know what to say. Nathalie was so devoted, so helpful. He never imagined the true reason behind all those selfless actions on Nathalie’s part. “Nathalie, I never imagined that’s why you did it. I’m sorry. Maybe if you hadn’t met me, you wouldn’t be in this. You’d be free, you wouldn’t be sick, and maybe you wouldn’t have had to suffer in silence.”

Nathalie knew that wasn't true. If she hadn't met the Agrestes, she might not have had as much freedom as she did now.

“But Gabriel, maybe if I hadn’t met you, maybe things wouldn’t have ended well either. Adrien would never have existed in the first place, and I don’t want to imagine that maybe I would have died a long time ago if I hadn’t retired from being a treasure hunter.” Although Nathalie sometimes regretted having met the Agrestes, she worried that if that were the case, maybe Adrien wouldn’t be in her life.

Maybe Gabriel, nor Emilie, would be in her life.

“Nathalie, I’m glad you’re in my life. I don’t want to imagine what would have happened if you weren’t here, with us, with me. I would have gone crazy long before now, and I don’t know what would have become of Adrien. Thank you, Nathalie.”

“I don’t know how much I appreciate you, how much I... love you.” Gabriel hesitated slightly over the last words.

“Are... are you serious?” Nathalie hadn’t expected those words to come out of Gabriel’s mouth; she knew his love was platonic, impossible.

“I love you. The love I have for you is deep in my heart, Nathalie.” Gabriel was being sincere. His heart no longer held the same love he once felt for Emilie. He still loved Emilie, but his heart told him that Nathalie Sancoeur now held that place. “I love you, Nathalie.”

Nathalie’s face was covered with a slight tinge of color. She was about to say something else, but Gabriel lightly placed his finger on her lips.

“You don’t have to say anything.” Gabriel already knew what she was going to say. “I know.”

They both lay down next to each other with their respective sleeping bags. Gabriel timidly reached out to Nathalie’s hand and tentatively took it in his own. Nathalie entwined her hand with his before closing her eyes to sleep.

Chapter Text

Nathalie was the first to wake up. She looked beside her, finding Gabriel asleep and still holding her hand. She wanted to stay that way a little longer, but it was time to leave. They didn’t have time to waste. She gently released his hold and stood up.

Gabriel woke up as soon as he noticed something was missing. His hand, the one that had held Nathalie’s hand the night before, no longer held anything. He got up quickly, thinking something bad had happened to Nathalie.

All he found was Nathalie staring at the horizon.

“Good morning, Nathalie.” Gabriel got out of his sleeping bag, noticing that Nathalie was drinking some tea.

He stood next to her. Gabriel stared at Nathalie, whose face was slowly brightening in the growing light. Gabriel stood next to Nathalie, watching the sun rise.

“I think it’s time to go.” Nathalie said.

“Let me help you pack.” Gabriel got up from the floor to start grabbing things from the table and packing them into his suitcase.

With a somewhat energetic Adrien and a couple of protests from a sleepy Marinette, they managed to pack all their things in a short time.

After packing and making sure they had everything they needed, the four of them boarded the plane to head to their final destination.

Nathalie took out her map to check the coordinates.

“What’s the last stop, Nathalie?” Gabriel approached her as she made more markings on the map.

“It’s back in France. It’s in a remote area.” Nathalie made a small circle in the area of ​​France they were supposed to go to. She checked her GPS and marked the exact spot to send the coordinates to Gabriel.

“Then I’ll adjust the coordinates.” Gabriel went to the control room to adjust the destination.

Adrien approached Nathalie.

“Nathalie, now, where are we going?” Adrien understood they were going to another part of France, but he wasn’t quite sure where.

“It’s next to a Gallic burial mound.” Nathalie explained, pointing to the map.

“What’s that?” Marinette asked. Nathalie searched for a photo similar to the place they were going on her tablet. Nathalie chose the first result, which showed a photo of large stones in the middle of a field, forming a circle, to show Marinette.

“They’re tombs from the Roman era, aren’t they, Nathalie?” Adrien recognized the stones from the photo books Nathalie used to show him while he was homeschooled.

“You paid attention to your classes, Adrien," Nathalie smiled at him. “Yes, they are. It’s a well-known tomb, but no matter how many explorers have searched for the entrance, they’ve never been able to find it.

“And do you have any idea how we’re going to find it, Nathalie?” Adrien had no idea where they might find the plants they needed on the site.

Gabriel left the cockpit after giving the plane the coordinates and programming takeoff. He saw Nathalie, Marinette, and Adrien talking about what they were going to do at their final destination.

“Kind of.” Nathalie took out her exploration notebook. She searched through the pages until she found the passage she was looking for.

“Long before I met your parents, I was investigating that particular tomb for my own interests. It was rumored to hold a very valuable treasure inside that tomb, but it was all based-on rumors and nothing more. Then I met your father, and the rest is history.”

Nathalie showed him the page where she drew a map. The map had a few markings and notes on the sides.

“This was the map I made based on the information I had at the time. My suspicions are that the entrance should be on one side of the small slope where the stones are located.” Nathalie showed him the spot where she had drawn a circle in red pencil. “In the years I received that information, it was said that the main entrance would be covered with a large stone that solidified into the ground, making it quite difficult to find.”

“Does that mean it’s underground?” Gabriel returned to Nathalie’s side.

“Possibly.” Nathalie made a small sketch of where they should start looking.

Gabriel stood behind her as she explained what they were going to do.

Gabriel wondered if Nathalie was still interested in the treasure she mentioned. The fact that she had abandoned her entire life as an explorer for him made him feel like he owed her.

Nathalie drew another circle on what appeared to be a mound.

“The plant we’re looking for grows in covered, cold places here in France, where it’s native. There’s a possible entrance in this mound. We might find the ingredient we need here. The conditions there makes it the perfect place to find it.” Nathalie gasped, coughing to regain her composure.

Gabriel rubbed her back, trying to provide some relief.

“I’m fine.” Nathalie tried to reassure him. It wasn’t that serious yet.

After a few hours of traveling, they reached their destination. The plane landed in a wooded area near the forest.

“Why are we landing here? Isn’t it too far from where we’re going?” Adrien checked the map while Nathalie finished getting off the plane.

“This whole place is full of trees. This is the closest place we could have safely landed.” Gabriel explained.

“We’ll walk from here. I’ll mark our location so we don’t get lost.” Nathalie made a mark on the ground and planted a branch with one of her GPS devices.

They entered the forest. Luckily, it wasn’t very wooded, so they kept an eye on Nathalie at all times during the journey. The three of them followed Nathalie through the woods until they reached their destination. They found themselves in a small clearing where there was a sunlit mound. A variety of stones of varying sizes lay on the mound.

“It’s here.” Nathalie moved forward. She stood in a specific spot, took a knife out of her pocket, and made a mark in the ground. It was a bit difficult because the earth on the ground was quite hard.

“Here’s the entrance. But I don’t know how we’re going to clear it.” Nathalie asked into the air.

A green light came from behind her. Chat Noir approached where Nathalie drew the X with her knife.

“I’ll help you, Nathalie. Cataclysm!” Chat Noir placed his hand where Nathalie indicated. The ground gave way; the stone beneath it cracked in half and fell to the side, revealing the entrance to the tomb. It had stairs leading down.

Chat Noir kicked the stone debris out of the way so everyone could pass. The removal of the stone revealed a path with stairs leading to another location.

“You go ahead, Nathalie. I’ll go last.” Gabriel waited for the others to move forward, to watch their back.

Nathalie nodded and started down the stairs. Marinette and Adrien followed behind her, followed by Gabriel. The four of them descended into a room underground. At first, there wasn’t much to see.

“And that’s it? Nothing?” Adrien examined a shattered vase on the floor.

Nathalie examined the wall, finding a bit of light streaming through a tiny space.

“I think there’s a door here.” Nathalie examined the wall with her hands thoroughly, until she found a loose brick, which she pressed.

Nathalie took a few steps back. The wall turned 80 degrees, revealing a secret passageway leading to another room.

“Let’s continue.” Nathalie led the way.

They walked until they reached an area where the plants they needed were growing. There were quite a few plants in that area, covering the entire wall. They grew on the walls, just like the vines, and a small white flower grew on them. At the other end of the room, there was a labyrinth made of bushes. Nathalie looked at it for a moment, but then remembered why they were here. She couldn’t get distracted from their goal.

“We’ve reached our destination.” Nathalie approached the wall and with her knife, pulled off a part of the plant.

She approached both teens and Gabriel with a bag.

“Can you help me collect more? We’ll finish faster if we do it together.” Nathalie said.

Marinette took the bag from Nathalie and put some of the plants she could reach inside it. Carefully, she began to pull out the vine with her hands.

“Of course, we’ll help you, Nathalie. I’m going to put this in the bag. Adrien, can you help me? I don’t think I can reach the top.” Marinette pointed to the top of the wall, which had the freshest plants.

“Sure.” Adrien began pulling the plants off the wall that Marinette couldn’t reach and put them in another bag so they could carry them with them.

Nathalie also began to collect the plants, using her knife to cut them from the roots. She turned to look at the other side of the room. Nathalie stared at the opening of the labyrinth, somewhat curious to know what was there. But considering the urgency with which they had to return, she didn’t think it was worth exploring. This was more important.

Gabriel stared at Nathalie, who once again decided to stop looking at the labyrinth and focus on collecting more of the greenish plant that grew on the walls of that sanctuary.

He could see how interested Nathalie was in exploring the labyrinth. Gabriel knew how passionate Nathalie had once been as a magical treasure hunter.

If they were going to die, at least he could fulfill some of her whims.

“You stay here.” Gabriel took Nathalie’s hand and led her to the entrance of the small labyrinth. She dropped her bag on the floor when she stood up.

“Gabriel, what are you doing?” Nathalie watched as Gabriel took a rope from his backpack.

“I’ll take you to your treasure.” Gabriel tied a rope around his waist and handed the other end to Adrien. He took her hand and began to guide her down the path to the treasure.

“Gabriel, we don’t have time for this.” Nathalie didn’t think this was a good time to go and retrieve treasures.

“We have time.” Gabriel ventured deeper into the labyrinth. He took a few steps until he found a dead end. He retraced his steps with Nathalie to try to find the right path.

“Gabriel, this is a waste of time. We don’t even know if there’s anything here.” Nathalie had had failed searches before, and they were in a race against time to find a cure for herself and, above all, for Gabriel, something they had no idea about yet.

“It isn’t.” Gabriel continued walking through the labyrinth, trying to find the way to the treasure. He raised his head, barely seeing where the labyrinth ended. He continued searching for the exit to reach their destination.

Nathalie walked by his side. She hadn’t let go of his hand at any point.

Gabriel advanced further into the labyrinth. Little by little, he managed to find the right path, using trial and error. Taking one last turn, they reached the end of the labyrinth.

“We’re here.” Gabriel saw the chest at the end of the path. The chest was slightly buried in the ground.

They both approached the chest. Gabriel let go of Nathalie’s hand once they were in front of it.

“Would you like to do the honors, explorer Nathalie?” Gabriel gestured for her to approach the chest.

Nathalie smiled at him, and she took the lockpick out of her pocket. She crouched down in front of the chest and meticulously used the lockpick to open the padlock that locked the chest. With a few movements, she was able to open the chest, revealing the contents inside. It was a Gallic relic. A piece of jewelry specifically, made of pure gold. Other bronze pieces were also in the chest. Nathalie took the piece in her hands, examining it carefully. The shape of the artifact was fascinating.

“This piece is very rare. It’s part of Gaulish history.”

Gabriel could see how happy Nathalie was with what they had acquired. Once Nathalie had packed what they had found in her bag, Gabriel offered her his hand again.

“Shall we?”

Nathalie took his hand and let Gabriel guide her to the exit of the maze, collecting the rope as they walked back. Marinette and Adrien had already collected enough vines and were waiting for them at the exit of the maze.

“So... did you find anything interesting?” Adrien glanced at Marinette, and she smiled at him, knowing what he meant. The way Gabriel treated Nathalie wasn’t exactly the conventional way to treat an assistant.

“Your father and I found this, Adrien.” Nathalie showed him what she had in her bag.

Gabriel watched as Nathalie explained a little about the artifact to him. Adrien seemed fascinated. She also allowed Adrien to examine it as they walked toward the exit.

Both adults walked behind the two teens to keep an eye on them as they moved through the forest.

“Gabriel, thank you. You didn’t have to insist we go through that labyrinth to see what we could find. I know I have a desire to explore, and that it could be a waste of time for our search.”

“No, Nathalie, don’t think your desire to explore is a waste of time. It’s thanks to you and that desire that I have him.” Gabriel looked ahead to where Adrien and Marinette were talking. “I did it with all my heart. I saw you were so interested, and I didn’t want this expedition to kill your interest in finding treasures like you used to.”

Nathalie gave him a sweet smile until she felt her throat burn and a new coughing fit began.

Gabriel approached her to rub her back as her coughing stopped. He could hear Nathalie’s coughing getting worse. Adrien and Marinette turned to look at them, their faces worried.

The four of them arrived back at the entrance to the plane, guided once again by Nathalie.

Nathalie, Marinette, and Adrien proceeded to take their seats while Gabriel started the engine and entered the coordinates for their return home.

Marinette pulled out the list to make sure everything was ready.

“We already have all the ingredients on the list.” Marinette crossed off the last ingredient. “But we still need to figure out a way to get the other ingredients out without the guardians noticing.”

“I’m sure you and Luka can find a way.” Adrien said from his seat.

“And we will.” Marinette was a little worried that the guardians would notice they had some missing ingredients. Although the fact that Su Han was buying ingredients made her think it would be a little easier to conceal the theft.

“If you need a place to create the cure, I’ll offer my lair. I have the potion-making equipment, it might be useful.” Gabriel offered once he returned to sit and wait for takeoff.

“Thank you, Mr. Agreste.” With that, Marinette could solve a problem.

Marinette looked at the back of the list, seeing all the ingredients she would have to steal from the guardians.

“Once we’ve obtained the missing ingredients, we’ll get to work.”

“Excellent, Marinette. Then, once we return to Paris, I’ll prepare the utensils we’ll use.” Gabriel wanted to start creating the potion to cure Nathalie as soon as possible. Her symptoms were slowly returning, and it was only a matter of time before she got worse.

After takeoff, Gabriel went to check that the plane was heading back to Paris as scheduled. He left a message for the bodyguard to be ready to pick them up. He leaned back in the seat in front of the control panel, reflecting on what had happened on the trip. That trip had been good enough to begin repairing his relationship with Nathalie, which he himself had managed to destroy.

But he was still worried about being able to save her in time. He uncovered his arm from the bandage, examining the wound from the cataclysm. And what would become of him? There was no concrete solution for him yet, and that meant his fate could be sealed.

Nathalie also went to the cockpit to check that everything was in order, seeing that Gabriel had taken too long.

“Gabriel.” Nathalie opened the cockpit door. She found Gabriel checking his arm and scratching it a little. She stood next to him, while looking at the map of the plane’s route.

“Nathalie.” she stood next to him, while looking at the map of the plane’s route.

“Is everything okay?” Nathalie asked, her lips showing a relaxed but serious expression.

“Yes, Nathalie.” Gabriel didn’t want him to think he had a problem.

But Nathalie wanted to push him a little to tell her the truth.

“You seem worried.” Nathalie proceeded to pick up the bandage that had fallen off. She took some of Gabriel’s medicine and began applying it to his arm. Gabriel closed his eyes, trying to ignore the burning sensation the medicine caused his skin.

“It’s just that there’s still no solution for me, and the cataclysm keeps advancing relentlessly. And I don’t know if I’ll make it.” Gabriel showed the rest of his arm to Nathalie.

“We must trust Marinette, Gabriel. I’m sure there’s a solution to this.” Nathalie proceeded to wrap the bandage around his arm again once she finished applying the liquid to his arm. Once she was done bandaging it, she let go of his arm. “That’s it.”

“Thank you, Nathalie.”

After 30 minutes of flight, the plane landed smoothly and taxied until it stopped on the runway.

Gabriel was the first to get up to give instructions.

“Our bodyguard will get your things out while you can leave. He’ll take us to the mansion with everything. Please make sure you don’t leave anything lying around, understood.”

“Understood.” Adrien and Marinette said in unison.

The gorilla was waiting for them at the airport, just as Gabriel had requested. Once they opened the plane door, the gorilla went to the baggage claim area to load their suitcases and the trunk containing all the ingredients into the waiting car. He made sure everything was packed. Adrien, Marinette, and Nathalie sat in the back, and Gabriel sat in the front, in the empty seat.

“Let’s go home.” Gabriel ordered Placide impatiently.

In just 30 minutes, they were back home. The gorilla helped unload the trunk from the car and carried it to Nathalie’s room. There, they placed it in front of Nathalie’s bed, allowing easy access.

Nathalie was feeling a little tired. Gabriel knelt down beside her as soon as she sat down on her bed.

“You need to rest, Nathalie. This trip was a lot of effort for you.”

“Gabriel, could you get my pajamas?” Nathalie realized she hadn’t brought clean pajamas.

“I’ll get them for you in a moment.” Gabriel ran to the laundry room to get clean pajamas for Nathalie.

Marinette approached Nathalie to make sure she had enough medicine for the next few days.

“Nathalie, do you have enough medicine?”

“Yes, Marinette.” Nathalie searched her nightstand drawer, showing her that she still had several of the vials she gave her just before the trip. “I have enough for several more days. Don’t worry.”

Marinette nodded. She was quite anxious about forgetting to make some more medicine for Nathalie and Gabriel.

“Perfect. Then tomorrow we’ll proceed to start creating the cure. We don’t know how long it will take, but I hope we can finish it as soon as possible.” Marinette grabbed her bags to leave the mansion as quickly as possible.

“Do you have anything to do, Marinette?” Adrien thought Marinette was in a hurry.

Marinette needed Luka to give her a better understanding of the situation. She hadn’t heard much from Luka during his absence, so that seemed a little suspicious. She just wanted to make sure everything was in order.

“I have to go now. My parents should be waiting for me, and I need to talk to Luka.”

“You’re free to go, Marinette.” Nathalie sat down on the bed. “If you need anything, you can tell us.”

Before leaving, Marinette remembered what Nathalie had told her about making Adrien feel useful during his trip.

“You stay here and monitor your father and Nathalie’s condition, Adrien. I need you to be my eyes here.” She approached Adrien and took his hands.

“Of course, Marinette. I’ll keep you updated if anything happens.” Adrien kissed her cheek as a farewell. “I know you’re in a hurry, you can go.”

Gabriel was just returning to the room with clean pajamas for Nathalie when Marinette abruptly left the room.

“Are you leaving so soon?” Gabriel noticed the girl was in a hurry.

Marinette stepped back a little.

“I needed to talk to Luka first. I want him to give me an overview of the situation.”

“Then you’re free to go, Marinette. Please keep me updated on Chrysalis.” Gabriel understood why she was in such a hurry. At no point had they heard of any activity from Chrysalis.

Marinette nodded.

“See you later, Mr. Agreste.”

“See you later, Miss Marinette. Thank you very much for your help.” Gabriel offered her his hand, and she took it in farewell.

Leaving the mansion. Marinette then headed to the meeting point she’d arranged with Luka once she arrived back in Paris. She hadn’t heard anything on the news or read any articles that mentioned Chrysalis being active. That was... strange.

Arriving under the Trocadéro bridge, she detransformed and found Luka waiting for her there.

“Hi, Luka.” Marinette greeted him.

“Hi, Marinette.” Luka looked somewhat exhausted. It seemed like the guardians had been training him while she was gone.

“So, how was it, Luka?” Marinette lowered her voice slightly, being in a public place. “Has there been any Chrysalis activity lately? Has it given you any trouble?”

“No, Marinette, that’s what I wanted to tell you. While you weren’t here, absolutely nothing happened.” Luka explained.

Marinette was very surprised when Luka mentioned that.

“Luka, did you see anything strange while we weren’t here?” Marinette asked. It seemed incredibly strange to her that Chrysalis had been so inactive during the time they left.

It made her very anxious.

“No, but it certainly is strange that Chrysalis hadn’t shown any signs of life in all that time. At first, I thought she was taking her time to attack. But nothing happened, it’s as if...”

“She waiting for us?” Marinette nervously bit the tip of her nail.

“Exactly. I’m starting to think maybe that person has a personal vendetta against you.” Luka wasn’t fully aware of the situation between Ladybug and Chrysalis. The viciousness this person displayed toward Ladybug and Chat Noir was definitely on another level.

Luka was very observant.

“Luka, I haven’t told you yet, but we do know who it is. It’s the girl who used to be called Lila Rossi. The person tried to turn everyone at school against me, and I exposed her along with Sabrina, and now she wants revenge.”

“And why haven’t you been able to find her?” Luka couldn’t understand why they hadn’t captured her yet if they already knew her identity.

“That person has multiple identities, Luka. We don’t know where she is now or if she’s even still called Lila,” Marinette explained, remembering all the things Lila had in her old hideout to camouflage herself. “We were about to catch her once, but she escaped with the help of the Butterfly Miraculous.”

That was quite worrying for Luka.

“I understand. This will be a problem.”

“Alya was helping me look for her, but it’s been harder than we thought.” Marinette huffed in frustration. "But for now, we have to focus on finding a cure for Nathalie, and soon. Can you come to the mansion tomorrow?”

“Sure, Marinette. Once I finish my shift at work, I’ll go straight to the mansion. Just let me find an excuse to use with my mother.”

“Perfect, Luka. If you need help with your excuse, I’m willing to help you. For now, I have to get back home. I’ll be in touch to start tomorrow.” Marinette prepared to go to rest.

“Be very careful, Marinette.”

“Same here, Luka. Goodbye.”

All the way back, Marinette couldn’t stop thinking about how to make an effective cure with the time they had left.