Chat Noir perched on the window sill, taking slow breaths in and out. His hands were shaking, and he knew from painful experience that if he wasn't careful, such strong emotions might activate Cataclysm on accident. He had to calm down. His father was always warning him about this, about his tendency toward being overemotional and losing control.
His father… His father, who was definitely scheduled to be home today, supposedly reviewing design proposals. There were two possibilities, if the butterfly had led Chat Noir here. One, that Papillon had broken into his home temporarily, for some reason, and had possibly taken his father hostage. That was the better possibility! The other… The other was unimaginable. Wasn't it?
He shook his head, forcing himself to focus. Chat Noir was better than Adrien. Chat Noir could control his emotions, and do incredible things, and get the mission done without constant, constant failure. Chat Noir shouldn't have a personal connection to this situation at all. So he swallowed once, steadied his hands, and lifted the window that, these days, Adrien always made sure was left unlocked. Smoothly, he dropped inside and landed on his feet in Adrien's room.
It was unbelievably easy to sneak through the house. He met no one as he passed through silent marble hallways. That in itself sent a slight chill down his spine, though. The house was always quiet and lonely. But there had always been small, subconscious noises. The hum of various machines. The click of a clock, the gentle hushing of a mop or broom the maid moved over the cold floors. Occasional opening and closing doors, subtle signs that over living beings were moving about elsewhere in the giant building. Now, the air felt uncomfortably cold, and there was no atmospheric sound. Even with windows letting in soft daylight, the further he went, the more he felt like he was walking deep into a crypt.
No Nathalie, no Gorilla. And no Gabriel Agreste, not in his study, or his bedroom, or the kitchen, or… Chat Noir quickly climbed the stairs, the knot in his throat tightening. The attic, the upstairs atrium, the guest bedrooms, and the rooftop pagoda. That was all that was left. If they were empty, then surely everyone had just gone out for a surprise press conference or something, right?
He knew he was in trouble when one of the doors was locked. Roughly two centuries before, when the street lights in Paris were only somewhat overwhelming and obstructive to the sky, Michel Agreste had been an avid astronomer. A very expensive, nice observatory with beautiful steel-framed moving windows had been installed, giving a wide view of the sky and the city below it. But his children and grandchildren had not inherited a passion for the stars, and the light pollution had increased too much to see anything anyways. For as long as Adrien could remember, it had simply been a spare room, occasionally made up for visitors, but usually full of shelves and boxes, accumulating dust.
It had never been locked before, though. At least, he didn't think so. He hadn't had a reason to come up to this room in years. He pulled hard on the handle, inspected the hinges, searched for a weakness. He found none, and he knew that the door had a layer of steel. There would be no mere kicking it in. Should he go ahead and use his Cataclysm on it, this early? If Papillon was inside, he would only have five minutes to defeat him. If not, he would have wasted it, and would have to waste more valuable time while Plagg recharged.
No, he just had to think more creatively. It was what Ladybug would have done. He ducked into a nearby room and out its window, and was skirting along the outside of the building in moments. The shutters were lowered over the valuable antique glass, of course, but there was a latch for the window cleaners to reach them easily from outside. It was short work to find the small catch beneath one of the panels and slowly, carefully slide it open. From there it was easy, quick work to push his baton in between sliding pieces of glass, and pry them open far enough for him to slip inside.
His green slitted eyes adjusted instantly to the darkness. It seemed, without him ever noticing, the boxes and shelves had long since been silently removed. Instead, the room was wide open, empty, and dark. A couple of chairs and a table were set up against a far wall, behind the rail. Besides that, nothing.
Movement caught his eye, and he looked up. Hundreds- no, thousands of white butterflies.
A click, and a slow creak. Light spilled into the room from the opening door. Chat Noir stumbled back, pressing his back to the wall, baton up. Nowhere to hide.
Gabriel Agreste sagged into the room, holding on to the doorframe. Chat Noir had to suppress a gasp at his appearance, skin pale, hair disheveled, hands shaking badly. As soon as his foot landed in the chamber, several dark butterflies zipped down from the ceiling, latching onto him. The man cried out in pain as dark energy crackled around them, his knees giving out beneath him.
Chat Noir wasn't able to hold back a sound that time. As Gabriel looked up, Chat Noir could tell that his shock and horror must be written all over his face, mask or not. Familiar blue eyes locked onto the superhero, and narrowed.
"Monsieur Agreste, was it?" Chat Noir said, stepping forward cautiously. "Are you alright? What's happening to you?"
"Chat Noir." Groaning, Gabriel slowly pulled himself up along the doorframe again, then propped himself against it. "Would you care to tell me what, exactly, you're doing in my house?"
Now or never. Chat Noir forced his best cocky smile and grandiose bow. "Pardon me, monsieur. But I have reason to believe the Papillon may be hiding somewhere in your house. Have you seen him, by chance?"
"Hmph. And Ladybug, is she with you?"
Chat Noir glanced up, frowning. "Is that a yes or a no, Monsieur Agreste?"
Gabriel took a slow breath, then walked toward the railing, adjusting his tie and his hair as he went. "Interesting. Neither of us is fond of answering questions. And both of us seem a little tense around each other. Do you have any idea why? I think that I might."
"I only want to stop Papillon," Chat Noir said, unnerved. "We both do, don't we?"
"…"
"Monsieur Agreste?!"
CLUNK. Something loud, metallic, and very heavy fell, somewhere nearby. Chat Noir jumped, looking around wildly. Above, the butterflies were beginning to swirl, agitated.
"Last chance, Chat Noir!" Gabriel called, raising his voice over the noises. "If you have something to confess to me, do it now! Do it, and I promise you, there will be no hard consequences." Gabriel turned to face him again, eyes searching and strangely vulnerable. "If you care anything for me at all, you will do it. If not, I can't promise what may or may not happen!"
Chat Noir stepped backwards, stunned, watching the man. He hesitated, claws tightening around his baton.
"…I… I don't know what you're talking about, Monsieur Agr—"
"IDIOT!" Gabriel slammed his fist down hard on the railing, only to bend over coughing. "Then that's it, is it? You leave me no choice! Nooroo! Transform me!"
Only when the man opened his hand did Chat Noir see, too late, the butterfly-shaped pin. His breathing caught as the purple kwami flew out from Gabriel's jacket, pulled against its will into the miraculous. Gabriel doubled over in pain as white and purple light engulfed him, removing Adrien's father and leaving behind only, unmistakably, Papillon.
"Stop!" Chat Noir yelled, frantic. "That's… That's not you! It's an illusion. There's an akuma, or…"
"There is no akuma, not in me," Papillon said, turning to face him.
"There must be!" Chat Noir said. "It's in your cane! Or that pin, or… Or someone else has the akuma! Some power to make you like this. You would never, ever-!"
"Aren't you listening, Adrien?!"
Stunned silence.
"It's me," Papillon said. "It's been me, all along. And it seems we both have, for too long, been keeping secrets from each other." He sighed, looking down at one gloved hand. "I was justified. I wanted to protect you. I didn't know you were already doing such foolish… I don't know what your justification is."
"Father…" Chat Noir spread his hands, pleading. "If you're really Papillon, you are hurting a lot of people. I know you. I love you, Father. You could never—"
"I can," Papillon said, stepping toward him, leaning heavily on his cane. "I have. And I will. You must understand. Once I have both miraculouses, none of it will even matter." He held out his hand. "So… Adrien…"
"No!" Chat Noir stepped back, lifting his staff. Still in denial, still trying to reason, to make all of this not real. "Stop it! Don't make me fight you. I'll… I'll…"
"Pity," Papillon said softly. "Still overemotional, like always. You can't stop and think, Adrien. Just like your mother. So, for her, for you both…" He waved his hand, but not at Chat Noir. Chat Noir had been distracted, and noticed too late the feline instincts, of something behind him. He turned to look—
Thunk.
Pain. Bursts of light. Then nothing but cold.
…
He wasn't sure for how long he was out. It didn't feel like long, but maybe it was. As painful consciousness swam back over him, he felt himself being dragged over cold floor. The thing pulling him by his bare arms was not human, limbs shaped like those of some giant insect, a grasshopper or tarantula. His head hurt, and despite fighting, he sank into the dark again.
Another minute or two? A few hours? He was laying on his side, cheek pressed to cold stone. His wrists were being pulled in front of him, cold metal clasped around them. Heavy, heavy…
…
"Pl…agggggg….."
Fight it, fight it. Had to wake up. Had to think.
Papillon stood several feet away, back turned to him, looking out through glass windows. Akumas were constantly dropping from the ceiling, pulling dark energy from his body, then flying out through the glass. Didn't… Didn't make sense. That many, so constant… Someone would see… Would know where…
Plagg… Pl… Plagg! His ring! He snapped to consciousness, and started up, ignoring the piercing pain in his head. Chains yanked him back down immediately. He was connected to an iron ring in the floor, and he couldn't get any higher than on his knees. "Father!" he yelled. "Give it back! Right now!"
"Hush," Papillon said, distracted. A pink butterfly-shaped light surrounded the man's face, and he stared off, at something Adrien couldn't see. "Nathalie, give him something for the pain, if he needs it."
A hiss to his side. He glanced over, and felt his heart drop. Nathalie was in the shadows, but whatever she had been akumatized into, it wasn't human. Something spider-like, her multiple arms skittered over a bank of computers set up on a giant web, monitors displaying news, traffic conditions, maps, financial transactions, and all sorts of charts and graphs Adrien didn't understand. One long arm bent back toward him, shaking a bottle of pills.
He turned away from them, taking slow, shallow breaths. If that was Nathalie, what about the other servants? The Gorilla? "You don't have to do this!" he said, desperately pulling at the chains. "You must stop. Whatever you're doing, it's crazy!"
"It certainly is," Papillon said, the pink butterfly disappearing for a moment. "It got your attention, didn't it? And it will get Ladybug's. And when I have both of your miraculouses…"
"Ladybug?" Adrien laughed harshly, sinking back down. "That really is crazy. You won't defeat her, Father. She's much more incredible than me, and she won't lower her guard like I did."
"See, that's where you're wrong." Papillon gave him one last glance, before turning back toward the window. "You see, Ladybug will come here, straight to my den. And she will absolutely lower her guard."
"Oh really?" Adrien asked, glaring at the floor. If he stayed angry, the urge to cry, like when he was a small child and his mother was still around, would surely be held back. "And why is that?"
"Because she will come here. To defeat me, of course. But most of all, little Chat Noir, she will come here for you."
.:|:.
Without her miraculous, Marinette could have never carried Alya more than a few feet. The girl was taller than her, and on her own, Marinette had no enhanced strength. As Ladybug, the kicks and punches from a supervillain's thrashing seemed to hurt a little less, too. Carrying Lady Wifi, strapped to her back, over the rooftops of Paris was almost easy.
It was too bad being Ladybug didn't give her super patience.
"Ow!" she yelped, skidding to a stop a few feet short of an edge. "Would you cut it out?!"
Lady Wifi smirked, intentionally striking her heel against the back of Ladybug's leg. She was tied too tightly to use her arms, but she was more than happy to use what was left free. "Give me back my cellphone, and then we'll talk, Ladybug."
Ladybug rolled her eyes. "No we won't. You'll freeze me, probably gloat for a few minutes, then grab my miraculous. How is that a choice?"
"Okay then," Lady Wifi said, "You can either give me your miraculous, or I can keep making you miserable. That's your choice!"
"Rrgh, I can't talk to you when you're like this," Ladybug said, lowering the straps for a moment and settling the supervillain onto the ground. She had already purified most of her class, although two or three students were still at large somewhere. No matter where she looked, though, she still couldn't find any sign of Miss Bustier, let alone an explanation behind what was happening.
Even more worrying, Chat Noir wasn't answering her calls. She opened her yoyo again, checking the screen inside. No return calls, just a text. "The Agreste mansion?" She glanced at Lady Wifi, confused. "What is Papillon doing in the Agreste mansion?"
"How should I know?" Lady Wifi spat, glancing longingly at her own cellphone, held in Ladybug's other hand. "The guy's not a very close-and-personal type of boss."
"Chat Noir, you should know me better than that," Ladybug murmured. "Of course I'm going to come. Especially if you won't answer your stupid phone-baton-thing!" Besides, Adrien hadn't been in class. If he had gone home early, and now Papillon was there…
The red superhero turned toward Lady Wifi, sighing. "Sorry, Alya. I kept you a little longer in case I needed to use your akuma to track Papillon, but… This really isn't fair to you." She lifted Alya's phone, preparing to smash it down on the roof tiles. Just a minute or two, and her friend would be purified and back to normal.
"Hey—No!" Lady Wifi said frantically. "You don't have to do that! Stop it! Uh, um, look over there!"
"What?" Ladybug turned.
It had been a feint, a desperate move to stall for time. But as they both glanced in that direction, they saw it, suddenly: an entire swarm of black butterflies, spreading out through the air. In the distance, she could hear people screaming, followed by flashes of light as the akumas got hold of host bodies already made vulnerable by fear. Ladybug stared, paralyzed for a moment. This was utterly ridiculous! If Papillon could send out hundreds, or even thousands of butterflies at once, why hadn't he done it before? She had already had to un-transform to refuel Tikki twice now, and she knew the kwami had to be getting exhausted. Fixing her class had taken hours of hard work. This many akumas… This could take days, if not weeks or months!
Chat Noir. She needed Chat Noir.
Lady Wifi was laughing quietly behind her. "What will you do now, Ladybug? It's clear you've lost. Nothing you do can possibly—"
"Hold on, Alya," Ladybug said suddenly, hoisting her back up onto her back. She backed up three steps, then ran forward, leaping for the next rooftop. She still didn't know what was happening, or what it had to do with the Agrestes. But it was like Chat Noir had said: if they took out Papillon, all of this would probably stop, right?
And Chat Noir would be there. No matter how dark things looked, if she and Chat Noir were working together, they would always, always find a solution.
Determined, she threw her yoyo forward, aiming for the next roof to bring her closer to the home of the Agrestes.