This was the end for Chat Noir. No matter how much he struggled, he could not free himself from L' Araignée Noire – the Black Spider – that towered over him. She pinned him down with six of her eight powerful hind legs while her humanoid hands held on to his right hand with a crushing grip.
He had his fist balled up into a fist. She tried to pry it open one finger at a time. "Give me your Miraculous!"
Physical strength and exceptional toughness may be part and parcel of Adrien Agreste's magical transformation into Chat Noir, but the same could be said to what an Akuma did for its victim. In fact, more often than not the Akuma grants highly specialised capabilities. In the case of the Black Spider, that was superhuman strength that surpasses Chat Noir's, if only to match the whole giant spider theme.
He would not be able to keep his fist clenched tightly for much longer. The pinky would be the first to give, followed by the ring finger, and then it would be all over. The Black Spider worked his fingers with brute force, and with that came excruciating pain. Chat Noir could feel the dampness in his tightly-shut eyes. He could do nothing else but to let out a cry in pain.
Black spider's grip suddenly loosened. As the pain lessened, Chat Noir opened his eyes, half-expecting to be de-transformed already with his ring in the Akumatised victim's clutches. But he was still in that black leather cat-like outfit of his. Confused, he looked at his right hand. The black ring with the green cat paw symbol was still there. He was still dangling off the strong grip of the Black Spider though.
"Get out of my head, Hawk Moth." Black Spider shut her eyes, shaking her head a little from left to right. "Do not push me around; I know what I am doing." She grimaced, then opened her eyes and gazed at Chat Noir's with a look of hatred and anger. For a brief moment, she looked as if she would break every bone in his hand to get his ring, but instead she sighed out loud and rolled her eyes. "Very well. I will do it your way."
The Black Spider turned to Ladybug, who was still dangling upside down off a lamp post, completely wrapped from neck to toe in a cocoon of silk that was as strong as steel. With Chat Noir still dangling from her hands, she lumbered towards the hapless superheroine. She waved the cat hero in front of her, taunting her. "You will give up your Miraculous or the cat gets it."
Ladybug was tied helpless, but she could still move her head. She was desperately looking around, scanning her surroundings for anything that could be used to her advantage. Her gaze fell upon Chat Noir's baton that was firmly planted into a crack in the pavement just a few paces in front of him.
Chat Noir understood her intentions. He could almost reach the baton with his feet, if only the Black Spider would dangle him a little bit closer to Ladybug. "She isn't going to give up so easily," he said. "Ladybug is a lot stronger than you think."
Black Spider tensed up and her grip on Chat Noir's right hand tightened. His hand went numb, but his eyes were still firmly planted on the baton. The Black Spider waved him even more aggressively than before. Her agitated swings allowed Chat Noir to get close and closer to the baton and, when the right moment presented itself, he managed to grip onto the baton with his ankles, yank it up, and snatch it with his left hand.
Chat Noir immediately extended the baton into a very long pole. The rear end planted itself into the ground behind him while the front end cut into the line of silk that held Ladybug captive. With an audible snap, Ladybug dropped to the ground. She immediately rolled away, her motion unravelling the unnatural bindings that wrapped around her body.
Black Spider lurched forward, picking up speed as she charged at Ladybug with Chat Noir still dangling from her hand. He adjusted the length of his baton into a short stick and took a swing at her hands with all his might. She let out a yelp in pain and reflexively let him go.
Chat Noir took the opportunity to leap towards Ladybug, putting himself between the Akumatised victim and his lady, who was still in the process of untangling herself. He ducked under two successive wild swings from Black Spider but was caught off guard when her hind legs swept underneath his feet, knocking him to the ground. She raised another leg to deliver a piercing blow, only to take a yo-yo to the face.
Chat Noir took the opportunity to fall back together with Ladybug. Once they were at a safe distance from the enraged Black Spider, she threw her yo-yo into the air. "Lucky charm!"
A red fisherman's net materialized as a result of Ladybug's magic. Chat Noir did not even need to wait for the object to drop into his lady's hands. An idea already formed in his mind and, capitalising on his opponent's momentary disorientation, he extended his baton into a long pole. He caught the net with one end of the pole and slammed it down onto the advancing spider, completely draping the net over her monstrous form.
Now tangled up and unable to manoeuvre properly, it was just a trivial matter for Ladybug to snatch the black spider's red hourglass-shaped buckle from her abdomen and smash it with her feet, releasing the Akuma for her yo-yo to purify. It was another day saved by the heroes of Paris, but Chat Noir had other things occupying his mind. He vividly recalled the moment when Black Spider almost had his Miraculous, yet changed her tactics all of a sudden and went after Ladybug instead.
"Chat? What's wrong?"
Chat Noir blinked. He saw a look of concern all over Ladybug's face. Her fist was still held out, waiting for his own to connect to it.
"It's nothing, Ladybug." He responded with a weak fist bump. "It's really nothing at all. I… I have to go."
It was a lie, but he couldn't tell her anything yet. At least not until he could figure out exactly what was going on. He couldn't put a finger on it, but of late something was amiss with the recent spate of Akuma attacks. He really didn't think much of it at first, but this was the first time that he heard a verbal confirmation that Hawk Moth was personally pulling the strings on the attacks. In fact, the way that the attacks had panned out, it seemed as if they were going easy on him. But why?
"How was school today? I hope that it was pleasant for you?"
Adrien Agreste perked up at the very thought that his father even bothered to show some form of interest in him. This has not happened before. Not since the Jackady incident. He had originally pegged his father's deviant behaviour as some form of temporary post-traumatic stress, but ever since that day Gabriel Agreste began to show interest in his son's personal life.
"School was okay today, father."
"There was another Akuma attack, wasn't there?"
"Yeah, but that was after school. I was already at my fencing lessons when we caught wind of it." Adrien stole a peek at his father, but all he saw was an unimpassioned face.
"Hmm. You have also managed to maintain your perfect grades alongside your other activities and modelling sessions. That is good, son. Keep it up."
His father's tone was cold and distant, yet Adrien's heart skipped a beat. His father had never, ever given even the slightest bit of compliment before. He couldn't decide if he should be elated or suspicious. Something had changed, and he knew it. He just could not put a finger on it yet.
"Thank you, father."
They went through the rest of the day without saying a word to one another.
Chat Noir dived for the large, oversized hammer that lay embedded in the sidewalk. The moment he laid his hands on the handle, an invisible force flung him away from the object.
"Only a craftsman and true connoisseur of the arts may wield the hammer of the Master Craftsman!" the large, muscular Akumatised victim proclaimed. Like any other supervillain, this individual was just an ordinary craftsman who seemed to hold a grudge against a particularly large Swedish furniture superstore. Whatever irked the man, he was visited by an Akuma and as a result, was now on the way to pulverise the superstore to the ground and that hammer of his was certainly up to the task.
Chat Noir ducked underneath a wild swing from the Master Craftsman. Another series of swings and missteps forced him to fall back to Ladybug's side. "M.C.'s hammer. I can't touch it."
Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Really, Chat?" She flung her yo-yo at the Master Craftsman's feet, binding his ankles together. "Hit it with your Cataclysm!"
Chat raised his right hand and yelled, "Cataclysm!" The destructive force materialised over his open palm. He clenched his fist and sprinted towards the hammer.
The Master Craftsman grabbed hold of Ladybug's yo-yo line and give it a swift tug, pulling her off balance. With a second, more powerful pull, Ladybug was dragged off her feet and rolled straight into Chat Noir's path. The black cat tripped over Ladybug's sprawled form, causing him to tumble towards the ground and wasting a perfectly good Cataclysm on the concrete pavement.
Chat Noir felt a powerful hand grasp him by the nape of his neck and lift him off his feet. He struggled to breathe; the experience was not at all pleasant. "Time to die, little cat." His grip tightened as Chat Noir began to struggle more frantically.
The Master Craftsman's grip loosened all of a sudden. His eyes narrowed and he growled. "Stop telling me what to do, Hawk Moth. You'll get what you want soon enough."
"Oh hammer man," Ladybug cooed. She did the impossible. She held the Master Craftsman's hammer over her shoulder.
The Akumatised victim immediately tossed Chat Noir aside. "How did you manage to pick up my hammer?" He took a step forward; Ladybug stepped backward in response. The Master Craftsman then made a desperate lurch towards her, but she had anticipated the move. She raised her knee while bringing the handle of the hammer downwards. With a loud crack, the hammer broke into two halves, releasing the black butterfly hiding within.
"No more evildoing for you, little Akuma." She swung her yo-yo out at the escaping butterfly, ensnaring it with a single swipe. Purified, she released the white butterfly to the sky. "Bye bye, little butterfly."
Another supervillain was defeated and another day saved by Ladybug and Chat Noir. It was a solid victory, yet Chat Noir still had doubts. Again, Hawk Moth seemed to have interfered with the tides of battle.
Adrien Agreste was not in a very attentive mood in class. His mind was preoccupied with the recent fights with Akumatised victims, and for good reason. It was now twice in a row that he heard verbal confirmation that Hawk Moth was calling the shots. The moment the school bell rang, he turned around to speak to the writer of the Ladyblog. "Alya, can I have a moment of your time?"
Alya Césaire looked curiously at Adrien for a moment, then at her friend sitting next to her, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, then finally back to Adrien. "Uh, sure. Of course."
Adrien turned to Marinette and said, "Don't worry, I'll just be borrowing her for a few minutes."
"S-s-sure, go ahead," she stammered.
The two found an empty seat in the nearby park. Alya stayed quiet the whole time until they had made themselves comfortable. "So what did you want to talk about, Adrien?"
"Well, you're the author of the Ladyblog, so you are familiar with Ladybug and Chat Noir's recent encounters, correct?"
Alya simply nodded.
"Have you noticed anything peculiar about their most recent encounters?"
The girl looked down at her feet, her fingers touching her lips playfully. "Well, nothing that I am aware of. Is there something I should be aware of?"
"Nothing." Adrien shook his head. "I was just wondering…"
"Wondering about what? Ladybug?" Alya teased.
Adrien felt warm in his cheeks at the mention of his partner. "No. Nothing at all. Just a hunch. About… about Hawk Moth and the recent Akuma attacks."
Alya narrowed her eyes at the mention of the supervillain mastermind who had been terrorising Paris. "What about the attacks?"
"Well…" Adrien bit his lip. He didn't want to reveal too much that could make his friend suspicious but, on the other hand, besides him and Ladybug, she was the only one who kept close tabs on their exploits. "I don't know, but there seemed like a sort of shift in dynamics in those fights. I mean, I practice fencing so I kind of have the sense of rhythm when it comes to fighting and it seemed like something was off."
"Adrien, I didn't know you were so into Ladybug and Chat Noir's fights," Alya said. She smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I can't promise anything, but I'll review all the recent material and footage that I have collected to see if there's anything up with them. But in return…" A slight curl formed on one side of her lip. "You'll have to owe me a favour." Her eyes briefly turned their attention to something behind Adrien.
He turned his head and barely caught the sight of a girl with pigtails slipping behind a nearby tree. Marinette, perhaps?
"Hey, eyes over here. Do we have a deal or not?" Alya extended a hand to him.
"Uh sure. Yes, deal." Adrien took her hand and shook to it.
Another day, another Akuma attack. This was certainly getting quite ridiculous, as if Hawk Moth was on some sort of deadline and was ramping up on the attacks. This time it was the school's archery champ. Apparently there was some kind of kerfuffle between him and Chloé Bourgeois. What was it with her and Akuma victims, anyway?
"I am Arrow Hawk, greatest archer in all of the world!" To demonstrate his claim, he fired four arrows, each piercing Chloé's expensive designer clothes without drawing a single drop of blood from her delicate skin. What it did, though, was pin the girl to the wall behind her.
Chat Noir was first to the scene, fending off a third arrow that may or may not have been intended for her head. "Sorry to disappoint, Robin Hood, but methinks you've just lost your edge."
The Akumatised victim responded by releasing a flurry of arrows at the two. Chat Noir formed a shield by twirling his baton at an impossibly fast speed, knocking aside every single arrow that was loosed.
"You're pinned down, Chat Noir. If you move, the girl gets it!"
He was right, and the both of them knew it. Chat Noir was counting on Arrow Hawk to run out of arrows, but to his dismay he noticed that new shafts kept materialising after each arrow had been fired from the bow. He could only stay on the defensive until Ladybug arrived.
Arrow Hawk's next arrow was aimed at the ground between Chat Noir's legs. "It seems like someone has other plans in store for you." He aimed one more arrow at Chat Noir's head but did not release it. "Now stay put until Ladybug comes to rescue you. If you dare move, Chloé gets it."
A flying yo-yo struck the archer's wrist, throwing off his aim. The released arrow embedded itself in the wall several feet away from Chat Noir and Chloé. "You called?"
"Ladybug!" the evil archer cursed.
"How nice of you to swing by, Milady." Chat Noir began pulling arrows off Chloé before ushering her off to safety. "Quick, find somewhere safe and hide."
The ensuing battle was intense. Arrow Hawk drew all manner of trick arrows from his quiver. There were arrows that exploded on impact. Some split into a pair of bolas, attempting to ensnare his unwitting target. There was even an arrow in the shape of a boxing glove, for crying out loud. Ladybug did her best to keep the archer distracted, and was therefore the main target of his assault while Chat Noir lurked along the sidelines, looking for an opening.
He had it easy. Too easy, perhaps. Arrow Hawk kelp pelting arrows at Ladybug, and all Chat Noir needed to do was approach the evil archer from his blind spot and ambush him in mid-draw. A quick swipe with his baton later and Arrow Hawk's bow was knocked out from his grasp. Ladybug broke the weapon in half soon after, releasing the Akuma hidden within. The day was saved yet again.
But the fight still left a very empty feeling inside Chat Noir.
"Adrien, can we meet at the park after school today?"
Adrien perked upon hearing his friend's request. "Sure, Alya."
As soon as the school bell rang, Adrien hurriedly packed his things and slipped out of class before Chloé Bourgeois could come and smother him with unwanted attention. Slipping out from another exit to avoid being spotted by his bodyguard and chauffeur, he bee-lined to the nearby park where he spotted Alya and Marinette waiting for him.
"Hi Alya. What's Marinette doing here?"
"Hi Adrien," Alya said. "About that favour you owe me…"
Adrien felt his heart race. "You found something?"
"Yes, but let's talk about the favour first."
"Okay…"
Alya slapped the back of Marinette, forcing her to stumble forward a step towards Adrien.
"Uh… uh… hi, Adrien." She waved meekly.
"Hi…?" Adrien returned the wave. He wondered what Marinette had to do with Alya's favour.
"Marinette here needs some help with…" Alya deliberately paused. She tilted her head towards her friend and elbowed her for a response.
"Ch- Chinese! Yes, Chinese lessons. Chinese food. No, not food. I mean, Chinese over food lessons. Food over lessons of Chinese. H-hep me…"
Alya chuckled. "What she means is, she'd like you to teach her some Chinese. Perhaps over some Chinese food at that new place nearby. Maybe the end of the week, say… Friday at 4pm?" She leaned onto her friend and gave Adrien a wink.
"Chinese? Didn't her mother-"
"The deal, Mr Agreste!" Alya interrupted. "Do we have it?"
Adrien blinked. This whole encounter certainly took a different turn and picked up a level of weird or two. "Okay, sure. 4pm on Friday."
"Okay, you heard the man. Now scoot, Adrien and I have some business to attend to." After Alya shooed Marinette away, she brought out her phone and began showing Adrien a series of pictures and video clips involving the most recent fights between the heroes of Paris and Hawk Moth's supervillains.
Adrien watched Alya's presentation with his full attention. He recognised every single one of them. There was the bodybuilding athlete who was accused of doping and became the Incredible Hunk to take revenge on the lab responsible for his urine tests. Then there was the tailor who lost a major client due to the actions of a rival and flung spinning scissors, sharp needles and burning-hot irons at him as the Iron Tailor. Soon after that, he encountered Black Spider, a widow whose only connection to her deceased husband was an hourglass-shaped heirloom but was caught in a web of deceit involving lawyers and inheritance. Adrien also watched clips of his fights against the hammer-wielding Master Craftsman and the Arrow Hawk.
"In all these cases, notice how they are paying attention to Chat Noir." She paused and swiped between several footages and stills. "And notice how sometimes, they have a clear shot at him, but choose not to take it." Again, she brought up several stills and zoomed into the details to highlight her point. "It is as if they're deliberately staying clear of Chat Noir."
"So I wasn't imagining things…" Adrien muttered under his breath.
"What was that?"
"I mean… so the change in battle dynamics that I noticed is true."
Alya gasped. "Do you know what this means?"
Adrien shrugged. It was a deliberate move, of course. He wanted to hear her theories first, without having anything he said muddle her observations and conclusions.
"Chat Noir could be working with Hawk Moth in secret!"
"What? That's impossible," Adrien found himself saying out loud. "Chat Noir would never betray Ladybug!"
"Settle down, young padawan. It was just a theory," Alya said, motioning for Adrien to sit down. "Maybe he's being threatened or something."
"No, he's not being threated," Adrien snapped back. "There's got to be something else."
"Something else… like what? What do you know about this? What are you not telling me?" Alya stared at Adrien with narrow eyes and a wrinkled brow.
"Nothing!" Adrien raised his hands defensively. "It's… probably nothing. Thanks for doing all this research. I really appreciate it." Adrien took a step back. "Sorry, but I've got to go now." Adrien turned around and ran. He didn't bother to look back. He didn't know what to think anymore. He ran back to the front entrance of the school where he knew his bodyguard would be waiting to usher him home.
It took only a single day after the Arrow Hawk incident for a new Akuma attack to strike Paris. Chat Noir and Ladybug raced to the scene of one Captain Paris, a retired veteran who was accused of cowardice and told to relinquish his Medal of the Nation's Gratitude. Now this veteran of war paraded the streets of Paris in a suit of blue, white and red while brandishing an enlarged version of the offending medal on his forearm like a shield.
"The Akuma's probably in his shield," Ladybug said as she swung from building to building using her yo-yo line.
"On it." Chat Noir extended his baton into a pole vault and launched himself towards the Akumatised victim. As he made his approach, he extended both legs towards the foe for a drop kick.
The Captain bashed Chat Noir's attack aside with his shield and sneered. "Out of the way, boy. You're off the hook for now. At least until I get my hands on Ladybug's Miraculous."
"What did you say?" Chat Noir scrambled to his feet and interposed himself between the Captain and Ladybug.
"Move, boy. I assure you that once I have Ladybug's Miraculous, it'll be your turn and this will be all over soon."
The Captain's words sent a familiar, tingling sensation down his spine. His eyes widened. He struggled for a witty retort but his mind had pulled a complete blank on him.
"What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" Captain Paris charged with his shield raised for a strike.
A yo-yo line wrapped around Chat Noir's waist and hoisted him up high just as the Captain swung his shield wide, slicing into the thin air where the black cat had just been moments ago. Ladybug nonchalantly deposited him onto the rooftop beside her.
"Hey, snap out of it. What's going on with you today, Chat?" Ladybug knelt down, placed a firm hand on his shoulder and stared at him with those enchanting blue eyes of hers. There was a warm sense of familiarity about them, but Ladybug shook him out of his contemplative lull.
"Sorry, got a little distracted back there." Chat Noir shook his head in an attempt to clear it.
"You're not at the top of your game today, Chat."
Chat placed his hand reassuringly on her extended hand. "I know. I lost focus and I a-paw-logise for that." A sly grin began to form on his face. "Won't happen again. Cat's honour."
Ladybug smiled back at him. "Now that's the Chat that I need right now." She looked over her shoulder, catching a glance at a rampaging Captain Paris down below. "We'll still need to talk about it later though. Deal with the Akuma first, okay?"
Chat Noir nodded. He turned his attention towards Captain Paris, who was making his way towards the mayor's office. He spotted an intersection several blocks ahead where they may be able to cut him off and deal with him there. Ladybug pointed in the same direction that he was looking; apparently she had the same idea.
"I'll cut him off from the right side," Ladybug said, pointing at the direction of her planned attack. "See if you can blindside him from the left and get his shield." She swung off to the side with her yo-yo, leaving Chat Noir to race into flanking position.
As planned, Ladybug launched herself at Captain Paris, diverting his attention so that Chat Noir could use the cover of the Parisian rooftops and approach from the opposite direction. Ladybug engaged the enemy in a tight, close-quarter skirmish, playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game where she dodged and weaved through the Akumatised victim's attacks.
Ladybug back-flipped away from a wild swing and immediately responded with a yo-yo shot to the face. Captain Paris knocked the weapon aside with his shield and then, in a reverse motion, released the shield at Ladybug. Her abdomen took the full brunt of the attack. As she doubled over and dropped to her knees with her arms wrapped tightly over her stomach, the shield reversed direction and returned to the man's forearm.
Chat Noir sprung out from his cover and vaulted over his foe. At the apex of his jump, he lengthened his baton and took a swipe at Captain Paris' shield. The impact was good, but not enough to disarm his opponent; it only threw him off balance. Chat Noir used the opportunity to interpose himself between the Akumatised victim and Ladybug.
"Out of the way, boy!"
"Ladies first," Chat retorted.
With a roar, Captain Paris launched himself at Chat Noir. The Captain's attacks consisted of brutal, large area strikes which Chat Noir attempted to dodge to the best of his ability while returning deliberate and precise strikes using his baton as a rapier. However, sometimes finesse proved to be the wrong counter to aggressive all-out-attacks, and for that mistake Chat Noir found his baton clattering onto the asphalt.
Chat Noir attempted to dive for his weapon but his opponent caught him by the ankle and slammed him onto the pavement, knocking the wind out of him. The Captain then grabbed Chat Noir by his bell collar and lifted him off his feet. The Captain then cocked back his shield, ready to take a swipe when he froze in mid stance.
"Shut up, Hawk Moth. You do not control me." The Captain's muscles tensed again, as if preparing to strike, and then froze a second time. "Stop getting in my way!"
Suddenly Captain Paris released Chat Noir and clutched at his face. He stumbled backward, shaking his head from side to side. Chat Noir could not fathom exactly what was going on; all he saw was an opportunity. He raised his right hand and called upon his power. "Cataclysm!"
With the Akumatised victim wholly distracted, getting at his shield was an easy task. The moment Chat Noir's destructive energies made contact with the shield, it fell to the ground and shattered. The dark, shadowy butterfly attempted to make its escape, but Chat Noir only rushed to Ladybug and helped her up to her feet. "Can you stand, milady?"
She grunted in pain. "I'll survive. Thanks, Chat." With one arm around Chat Noir, her stance wavered but her eyes remained fixated on the fleeing Akuma. She swung her yo-yo far and wide, capturing and purifying the foul beast with her magic and that was the end of it. But the words that Captain Paris had said earlier continued to haunt Chat Noir. Someone else had told him something similar in the past.
"I assure you that this will all be over soon," a familiar voice spoke in his head. It was like an echo; a fragment. A part of memory that refused to come forward and be identified. All Chat needed to do was to clear his mind…
"Chat, are you okay?"
Again, with Ladybug's unanswered fist bump. Chat Noir quickly returned the gesture, but again it was a weak one.
"Chat, about earlier. Something's been bothering you this whole time. Do you want to talk about it?"
"I… I'm not sure I can. At least not now. Not until I have made sure of something first." A beep from his ring reminded the two of them that he was running out of time before his transformation ended.
"Chat, we're a team. If there's anything at all… anything that you can tell me, I would do everything in my power to help you." Ladybug tried to offer a hand, but he gently pushed the hand back to her side.
"Thanks for your concern, Ladybug. When the time comes, I will tell you everything but for now, you have to trust me. Besides, I don't have much time left before I de-transform. Perhaps another time?" Another beep emphasised his point.
"Alright. Just… just don't do anything reckless, okay?"
Chat Noir raised his hand and said, "Cat's honour." He turned to leave. He took a few steps and then paused. "Ladybug...?"
"Yes?"
"You know that I always have your back, don't you?" he asked softly.
"I know you do."
"So you should know that I would never abandon you. Not to the best of my ability. If, one day, I don't show up for some reason or other, it's never because I have abandoned you." Chat Noir looked down at his ring as it beeped another time.
Ladybug took a step towards him, her hand raised as if trying to reach out and grab him. "Chat, what are you talking about?"
"It's nothing." For a brief moment, they both looked at each other without saying a word. Finally, Chat Noir gave her a wry smile. "Don't worry about it. See you around!" He vaulted away without giving her a chance to reply.
"Father, we need to talk."
Gabriel Agreste looked up from the thick book that he was studying. His eyes narrowed as he stared at his son. His secretary stood behind the boy. "If you need to see me, you know to talk to Nathalie first. I am a very busy man."
"I'm sorry, Mr Agreste. Adrien rushed past me before I could stop him," Nathalie said, sounding very apologetic. She placed both hands on Adrien's shoulders.
Adrien brushed her hands off him and took another step forward. "I know that you are very busy and that your work is of utmost importance. But despite that, we still need to talk. About Hawk Moth."
Gabriel closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. With a deep sigh, he said, "Nathalie, leave us."
"Yes, Mr Agreste."
The moment he heard the sound of the heavy wooden door closing, Gabriel looked up again at his son. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them. "In hindsight, I suppose I should have expected that we would have this talk sooner or later. There is much to talk about, so have a seat."
Adrien walked towards his father's desk and took a seat. His heart was racing as he leaned forward and rested both elbows on the table.
Gabriel leaned backwards and crossed his legs. His voice was cold and expressionless when he spoke. "Now where do we begin, Chat Noir?"
END.