Adrien stood in the alley a few blocks away from his house, trying to swallow back the dread that threatened to make him nauseous. His father would be waiting for him—the same father who had only a few hours ago tried to kill his only son. He thought back to Master Fu's place, when he sat in the old Chinese man's candlelit room discussing what to do.
"I think I know what happened, then," Adrien had said, after Master Fu explained how using a Miraculous for evil might have corrupted his father's heart. "If he just started out wanting to bring Mother back…and then that consumed him entirely…"
"The road to hell is more often than not paved with good intentions," Master Fu had replied. "His desire for a good thing overcame him, and he fell into evil as a result. But you must understand something, Adrien—as tempted as you may be to see if combining the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous together could bring back your mother, you cannot. You see, the Miraculous keep the world in balance. Every action has a reaction. If Hawk Moth had succeeded in bringing your mother back, the universe would be out of balance. Somebody would have to lose someone to keep that balance in place."
"Do you think he knows that?" Adrien frowned. "Do you think…he even cares?"
"I think that he is beyond caring at this point. Only you can help him to care again."
"Me? How?"
"Even evil cannot wipe away the love a father has for a son."
"You're assuming he loved me to begin with. Which I'm kind of starting to doubt."
Master Fu smiled. "But tell me, Adrien. Do you love your father?"
"Honestly? I don't know," Adrien said. "He's a jerk. And I just found out he's willing to kill me to get Mother back, and he's willing to sacrifice somebody else's life too."
"Those things are beside the point. Only love can drive out evil. And evil is what has taken hold in your father's heart. If you wish to save your father and rid the world of Hawk Moth, you must do the most daring act of all, Adrien. You must love your enemy."
"So…love conquers all, or something dumb like that? I don't think you know my father very well."
Master Fu chuckled. "Perhaps you don't know your father very well."
Frowning, Adrien stood up. "Probably not. Because he's shut himself away for years. Because he never talks to me. Because he doesn't love me."
"Hmm. Maybe he does, maybe he doesn't. I do not know. But ask yourself this: if you could spare your father the indignity of prison, save him from his grief, and cleanse him from evil, would you?"
Adrien had thought long and hard when Master Fu had asked that question. Even though he had already decided on a course of action, as Adrien stood in the alleyway he found himself still pondering that question. Maybe Gabriel deserved prison. Maybe he deserved to be lost in grief, since he wasn't willing to reach out. Maybe he deserved to have evil overtake him.
But if he was honest, Adrien wanted none of those things. He just wanted his father. That was it.
And so he had decided to give up his Miraculous so that he could reach his father. And then, when the time was right, he'd find a way to put an end to all of this.
He would bring his father back.
Somehow.
Adrien drew a steadying breath and ran the rest of the way to his father's mansion. When he reached the door, he was startled to find that Nathalie was not there to buzz him in. He rang the bell multiple times, and nobody answered. A chill shot down his spine. Had his father hurt Nathalie? He pondered for a moment how he was going to make it back inside. If he could transform…
His heart sank. He could not transform. That part of his life was gone for now. He wondered if he'd ever be able to get it back.
The gate buzzed and swung open.
Adrien swallowed. Who was it that let him in? Did Hawk Moth wait for him on the other side of the door?
Biting back his fear, he strode through the open gate and up to the door of the mansion. He put his hand on the doorknob, braced himself, and walked in.
The hall was empty and dark. Clearly, Miraculous Ladybug had done its work; there was no sign whatsoever of any damage, and the place was immaculate as ever. Adrien took step after cautious step inside, letting the door close behind him.
"I have to admit, I did not expect to see you again." Gabriel's deep voice echoed through the hall.
A surge of anger boiled up inside Adrien. "Disappointed?"
"Quite the opposite." Gabriel emerged from the shadows. "Have you come to reason and decided to give up your Miraculous?"
"Oh, I gave up my Miraculous," Adrien said. He held up his empty hand. "But not to you. Not ever."
Gabriel's eyes widened. "You must be joking."
"No. I renounced my Kwami. You'll never find the Cat Miraculous."
"So you abandoned your friend Ladybug? I thought better of you, Adrien."
"And I used to think better of you," Adrien said, "but I guess we were both wrong, weren't we?"
"Please. Your childishness knows no bounds. I wouldn't expect you to understand any of the reasons behind my actions."
"What? I wouldn't understand grief? I lost Mother too, you know!"
"Losing a parent is not the same as losing a spouse!" Gabriel snarled.
"So…what, your grief is more important than mine?" Adrien clenched his fists. "You might have lost your wife, but I lost both of my parents when she disappeared. Now, unless you're going to transform and try to kill me again, I'm going to my room."
"Ladybug will fail without you," Gabriel said. "And before you get any ideas about helping her anyway, know this: you will not be going back to school. I will be putting bars on the windows of your room. You will never leave that room again, for any reason."
"Not even the fashion shoots that make you so much money?" Adrien twisted the words with as much sarcasm as he could.
"Not even those."
"Good. I hate doing them, anyway." Adrien climbed the staircase and headed to his room. When he got there, he slammed the door behind him. "Wow. Can you believe I said those things, Plagg?"
Only silence answered him. Adrien's heart sank. "Oh. Right."
He lay down on his bed, wondering just how he was going to pull this off.
Marinette collapsed onto her bed, sobbing. "Oh, Tikki, how am I going to do this without Cat Noir?"
Tikki gently patted Marinette on the head. "It'll be the hardest thing you've ever done, that's for sure. But I know you can do it."
"I'm not strong enough alone." Marinette smeared a tear away. "What in the world am I going to do?"
"You should sleep for now, while you can. I have a funny feeling Hawk Moth is going to stir up another villain pretty soon. Plus you need to recover from that concussion."
"I can't believe how much I forgot. I feel like there was something really important…about Cat Noir being hurt…something I recognized…but now I can't even think of it. And to have completely forgotten my fight with Hawk Moth? It's incredible. I wish I remembered."
"Maybe it's best you don't," Tikki said.
"Maybe so."
As Marinette lay in her bed trying to sleep, she could not stop thinking about all the good times she'd had with Cat Noir. He was so goofy and light-hearted all the time, and his puns were ridiculous…but he was a true friend. He had forgiven her instantly when she had misused her Lucky Charm. He supported her no matter what.
And now that was gone. It left her empty and aching in a way she hadn't expected. Of course, she never expected to lose Cat Noir. She had taken him completely for granted. She thought of his flirtatiousness, and wondered if it was just him being silly, or if he really meant it. And if he did really mean it…
The thought stirred something inside of her. If he really had feelings for her, and he was gone…
No, Marinette told herself. I have Adrien. It doesn't matter if Cat Noir has feelings for me…
Right?
Finally, after hours of restlessness, Marinette fell into a deep sleep.
