A/N: Thank you to everyone who took the time to review the previous chapter. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! Happy New Year to all my readers, and all the best in 2017.
Despite the intrusion, Gabriel was able to keep a smooth face as he looked over at the girl who had tumbled into his study. Even before she'd straightened up, he'd known her to be Ladybug. Not transformed, no, but that was better for him. It meant he wouldn't need to be transformed to take her Miraculous, either. Chat Noir had done well.
Nooroo had hidden himself away at the first shout, and he knew what the consequences of interfering now would be, so Gabriel did not fear that the foolish kwami might give him away. Instead, he stood smoothly, folding his hands behind his back and waiting.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, the Ladybug of Paris, cleared her throat, smiled nervously, and extended one hand. "Please forgive my abrupt arrival, Monsieur Agreste. My name is Marinette. I'm one of Adrien's friends, but you might remember me as the girl who designed the hat that won your fashion contest at Collège Françoise Dupont?"
He didn't reach to take her hand, and she eventually lowered it uncertainly. "Adrien is unavailable right now," he said. He was studying her now, and she shifted from foot to foot, not certain what to make of his gaze. She almost shrunk away entirely, nothing like the Ladybug he knew.
Worse still, she was not wearing any earrings.
She did not have her Miraculous.
And she was certainly not acting like Chat Noir had already taken it from her.
"I actually came to speak to you," she said in a rush, nearly tripping over her tongue in an effort to spit out the words. "I wanted to ask you about Hawk Moth, the one Ladybug and Chat Noir are always fighting."
It took more effort for him to keep a straight face now, but to Marinette's knowledge, Gabriel Agreste had no reason to scowl at that implied question. Adrien might not have the power to fight the akuma, not once the deal was made, but it seemed he could still make things difficult. He had delivered Ladybug, yes, but he had not delivered the Miraculous or the kwami. He had merely delivered the girl and assured that Gabriel would not be able to transform and guide the situation along without giving away his own secret.
"I was under the impression," he said stiffly, "that Ladybug and Chat Noir routinely fought different villains." The good deeds they did or the general riffraff they attended to had nothing to do with him.
Marinette's eyes flicked toward the very chair in which Adrien had sat earlier, but he did not offer it to her. "They do, but you remember what happened with Stoneheart. When they fought him the second time, Hawk Moth announced himself." She raised her eyes to look at him squarely, suddenly looking more like Ladybug than she had before. "You are a businessman, M. Agreste, and his actions threaten your livelihood. I'm sure you've taken precautions."
Gabriel pursed his lips. "Take a seat," he said, finally gesturing to the chair. Marinette sat, looking at him expectantly, and he returned to his own chair. "You believe I am actively fighting this Hawk Moth alongside Ladybug and Chat Noir?"
Marinette shook her head. "Not in so many words. You have felt his magic yourself, M. Agreste." She was speaking of the incident with Jackady, of the gamble he had taken that had led to all of this. "Even Ladybug and Chat Noir have fallen prey to it. They may triumph in the end and reverse the damage done, but they can't reverse everything. People are still haunted by what they've seen, what could have been or nearly was, and time can't be regained."
Time was not the only thing that couldn't be regained. At least, not without the power of both the Earrings of the Ladybug and the Ring of the Black Cat.
Gabriel leaned forward slightly in his chair. "And what is it you believe of me, Mlle Dupain-Cheng?"
"I believe you've had the means to discover more about Hawk Moth than most people in this city," she replied. "I believe you value your employees and your company enough to ensure, as much as it is in your power to do so, that they do not suffer as much from the attacks on Paris. I believe you're doing much more than you seem to be on the surface, and…and I believe you can help me."
His company might not have been the centre of an attack, but that was not for the reasons Marinette was suggesting. He was willing to take a material loss like that in order to gain what he needed to achieve his true goal. "And how do you believe I can do that?"
"By sharing what you've learned. Even if you don't think it's of value, it might be what we need to stop him."
"You think you can stop him?"
"Not alone." It sounded more like a confession than a statement. "Even Ladybug can't stop him without Chat Noir by her side. But together, yes, I think we can stop him. Please. You must have gathered some information on him. I need to find him."
Gabriel leaned back. "And why would you try to do something like that on your own?"
"Because I think he took my friend," she answered.
Adrien might have been trying to fight against Hawk Moth, but he must not have realized exactly who he was fighting, even now. Marinette might just be the girl who was Ladybug, but the way she was now, Gabriel knew she could be very useful. He smiled. "How about we make a deal?"
Marinette crossed her arms. "I'm listening."
Tikki dove for Chat Noir, knowing she had to distract him before he took Plagg. It would only take two little words, and Plagg would as good as be Hawk Moth's prisoner. She'd told him he shouldn't reveal himself in front of Chat Noir, but did he listen? Of course not. He'd just insisted that Marinette, having met him, must know that Chat Noir couldn't be Chat Noir if he wasn't really transformed—or at least, not transformed by Plagg's power.
But a few different words from Chat Noir's silver tongue, and Marinette believed a lie instead of the truth. Tikki should never have let Plagg sneak ahead. He was too reckless. He was too—
Chat Noir's baton caught her straight on and flung her into the wall, her magic too scattered for her to simply phase through anything. The impact hurt, even for her, but Tikki was moving even before her vision stopped swimming. She didn't have time to look for Plagg. While she couldn't be caught with mere words, not by Chat Noir, she could still be caught, and they couldn't afford to let that happen.
Tikki went for Chat Noir's eyes, easily drawing his attention—if Plagg hadn't escaped already, he should recognize that move for what it was—before zipping over his head and diving for his tail. He twisted to try to catch her, but she grabbed the end of the belt and evaded his swinging baton. Right. Left. Left again. Between his legs, then right, around and through and—
"It's the Ring."
Tikki squawked at the sound of Plagg's voice, hesitating long enough for Chat Noir to rip himself free before she could finish her knot.
Plagg would know, of course. He knew his Miraculous better than anyone. He might even be able to feel its corruption. But how were they to—?
"Plagg." It was Adrien's voice. Tikki surged forward even as Plagg stayed where he was, looking resigned. "Claws o—ow!"
Tikki missed her mark as Plagg attacked Adrien's face, claws and teeth bared. Even as Adrien tried to protect himself, dropping his baton as his hands flew to his face, Plagg moved. Drops of red sprang up in crisscrossing parallels on Adrien's flesh, tracking from his bottom lip to the top of his forehead, over the protection of the mask and back to his left ear before zigzagging under his neck and around to his right cheek. Tikki went back to her knotwork. Adrien's initial shock might have halted his words, but he'd remember them with his anger, and she had to buy them whatever time she could.
She didn't have the strength to pull the knot tight, could hardly finish it with Adrien thrashing about, but she managed something and moved on.
The baton. It was small enough now that she could shift it. Not quickly, not nearly quickly enough, but if she could at least roll it into a very inconvenient place—
"Claws out!"
Tikki didn't look back. She didn't have time. With no good hiding place in the hallway and Chat Noir's eyes undoubtedly on her anyway, she snatched the end of the baton and heaved, swinging it around and letting go. She darted left. A yelp from behind told her Chat Noir had discovered the inconvenience of her knot. She picked up the baton on the rebound and swung it again. The snarl behind her confirmed Chat Noir's mood; the lack of an immediate snap told her that his true costume—more durable than Nooroo's imitations, however slightly—now covered his form. She was fortunate the transformation had not undone her work.
Catch and swing, catch and swing. There was no time to fumble. No time to try a door. No time to—
The baton sailed into open air, past a woman coming up the stairs. Tikki squeaked and dove through the floor, already altering her course so she'd come out near the baton. She knew Chat Noir had been having trouble moving easily—he'd have caught her otherwise—but if he got help….
A game of keep-away would only delay the inevitable.
The baton had bounced to the base of the stairs. Tikki wedged it into a corner behind a table leg. She needed to find Marinette. Ladybug would need to cleanse this akuma, as with any other villain. Once she was transformed, her Miraculous would be more difficult to take. As another Miraculous user, Chat Noir would have an easier time of it than the others Hawk Moth had sent after them, but he would still have to fight Ladybug, and she would defend it even from her partner once she knew what was at stake.
Tikki knew which way Marinette had gone. Even without knowing how far she'd gone, it would make searching for her easier. Tikki phased through wall after wall, being sure to give Chat Noir a wide berth as she darted through the rooms. She didn't know what he was telling the woman, but it didn't matter. Tikki would have to treat her as another threat.
At the far side of the house, Tikki finally found Marinette. She'd surfaced beneath a desk, and she could only see Marinette's shoes, but she knew it was her.
But she also knew that the man who was facing Marinette, the one who was speaking, was Adrien's father. Gabriel Agreste. Hawk Moth. Nooroo's captor.
Staying close to the floor, Tikki crept forward. Gabriel wasn't transformed, but that didn't mean he didn't have power. Fortunately, his back was to her, but unfortunately, Marinette's eyes didn't stray from his. Despite Marinette's occasional doubts, she could stand her ground or attack when necessary. Clearly, she thought she had some reason to fight now, if the set of her mouth was any indication.
Tikki wished she would look around, that her eyes would catch the movement, the flash of red, but Marinette didn't look away.
More worryingly, she wasn't wearing her Miraculous.
If Hawk Moth already had it in his possession, he was hedging his bets and playing the long game. Marinette didn't know who she was truly facing, of course, and even if she had willingly given her earrings up to Chat Noir while believing one falsehood or another, she was not concerned over their loss. Something worried her—Tikki knew her too well for Marinette to be able to hide it—but it wasn't her Miraculous. And if Hawk Moth intended to keep it that way, Chat Noir wouldn't be able to simply hand it over even if he already had it.
But if Gabriel wasn't transformed, then even if he had Nooroo's Miraculous, he didn't have Nooroo.
The study was too crowded for Tikki to make a thorough search while remaining inconspicuous, and she hadn't the time for it anyway, but she needed to try. She couldn't just leave Nooroo behind without even looking for him while knowing she might have been able to help him. Besides, he might still be able to help her.
Nooroo wasn't likely to be far from Gabriel, so Tikki started with the desk.
She wasn't sure which of them was more surprised that she found him within moments, tucked within one of the many cubbyholes of the desk and hidden from sight.
Before Nooroo could do more than open his mouth, Tikki took hold of him and dragged him out of the room, much as she had when Plagg had surprised her at Marinette's home.
"I have to get back," Nooroo said, trying to struggle out of her grip the moment they were in the next room—mercifully empty but for the baby grand piano and shelves of books that lined the walls around the windows. "Master won't be happy. I'm not to leave him. I—"
"Nooroo, he has Plagg."
Something in her voice must have gotten through to him, because Nooroo stopped trying to get away from her. Now, he looked like he was about to cry. "Plagg? But I thought you two—"
"—were dispatched to rescue you and right the balance again, yes," Tikki cut in as she released Nooroo, "but we didn't even know where you were until Hawk Moth targeted Chat Noir and Plagg figured it out."
Nooroo's antennae quivered. "I can't go without my Miraculous. He holds the Butterfly Brooch. I can't…. I can't…. There's nothing to be done, Tikki. You must go. Save yourself."
"I'll save you and Plagg." Tikki left no room for question in the statement. "But I'll need your help to do it."
Nooroo shook his head. "He'll know," he insisted. "I can't. I need to get back before he notices I'm gone."
"Ladybug is distracting him. Her name is Marinette."
Nooroo's wings drooped. "I know. He already knows. And if he holds Plagg—"
"Chat Noir holds Plagg," Tikki clarified, "which he'll realize once you transform him again. Which means we need to make sure we can free him first, before you and Plagg are forced to work in tandem. Please, Nooroo. I can't do this alone."
"I can't. Chat Noir will have to fight on his own. We can't go against our master's wishes. You know that."
"And you know that however much Chat Noir fights, he won't be able to defeat your magic by himself. Not once it has taken hold. Nooroo, you've already transformed his reasoning. If he's fighting, he won't be sure which side he's fighting on. He'll genuinely want whatever Hawk Moth offered him, and to strike it down for something that seems lesser—"
"I'm sorry, but I can't!" Nooroo was shaking his head again, his eyes shut tight. "You ask the impossible, Tikki. You know how we are bound."
The binds might not be visible, but they were there. They were why Nooroo could not steal away his Miraculous from a sleeping Gabriel. They were why Nooroo did not abandon his Miraculous, however temporarily, and flee to them for aid. They were why Nooroo transformed people as he did, even knowing how his magic was being used.
But even bindings such as theirs allowed for some wiggle room, some loopholes. "You don't have to tell him unless he asks you directly," Tikki pointed out, "and even then, you only need to answer. You don't need to elaborate. And you're free to try to misdirect him or imply."
"He knows me too well now. He might not always press me, but he knows when I do not say as much as I know!"
Doubtless that was true, but— "It's different this time anyway. Chat Noir is his son." This wouldn't be new information to Nooroo, but it was worth saying again. "From what Plagg said, this transformation was more like it used to be. In better times. Hawk Moth might have gotten his agreement, but—"
"Agreement is all that is required."
"But—"
"It's all that's required, Tikki. You know that. Unless the contract is broken, it holds until it is completed."
Tikki frowned. As of late, Ladybug was the one to break Hawk Moth's contracts, removing and cleansing the akuma to reverse the magic, but she knew there was power in the terms. Hawk Moth was not above using pain to remind his victims of their deal, was not above forcing their hand if it came to that, but a deal could be broken by either party.
"What are the terms?"
Nooroo's wings fluttered nervously. "Which terms, Tikki? You know mine."
"And you know which ones I mean. The contract with Adrien. What were the terms? You must know, Nooroo. It all goes through you."
Nooroo swallowed. "Adrien agreed to accept his father's help, given to the best of Gabriel's ability."
Tikki scowled. "Which includes using you."
"And allowed him to promise his son the health and safety of those he loves. Those who are dear to both of them."
The addition was Nooroo's best guess as to Gabriel's intentions, and Tikki was grateful for any clues he could give her. She had spent enough time with Marinette to know about Adrien's mother, and she had good reason to suspect who else the boy loved. She could do nothing about Adrien's mother, so she had to hope that her suspicion was correct.
"I have to get back," Nooroo repeated. Tikki didn't stop him this time, and he vanished into the next room in a flash of purple.
Nooroo may not be willing to help more than he had, but he was right; he did have to get back. And she needed to find her Miraculous. She couldn't afford to assume Marinette had simply pocketed her earrings. It was far too likely that wherever they were, Chat Noir could access them.
She wasn't about to accept that fate. She wouldn't condemn Plagg to it, either. And she wouldn't leave Nooroo behind, not now that they'd found him. She would find her Miraculous, retrieve Plagg's, and rescue Nooroo. They knew the location of the Butterfly Brooch. Even if it didn't feel like it, she and Plagg were closer to their goal than they had ever been before. Hawk Moth's reign of terror would end, one way or another.
But her resolve would stand for nothing if she couldn't keep her Miraculous out of Hawk Moth's hands. She might not know where to find it, but a good place to start would be Chat Noir himself. It was dangerous, but he sought the same thing she did. If he knew where it was, he could lead her to it. And if he already had it….
Well, she'd find a way to get it back, if it came to that.
She had to.
The woman believed his lies. Chat Noir thought the pretense unpleasant, but as with Marinette, he knew it was necessary. It was not the first time he had lied to Nathalie Sancoeur, though despite the haze of his past, he knew he usually did so through omission. But it was something he had done before and it was something he would do again. Because he must.
He would protect her. He would protect Marinette. He would protect his father. He would protect everyone. He would not lose them. Not like he had lost his mother.
Ladybug's kwami was proving troublesome, but after a joke about a game of cat's cradle gone awry, Nathalie had helped him undo the knot in his tail and given him freedom, much like she had when she had quietly orchestrated the means for his flight from isolation to friendship. It was a gift he would repay. He would free her from Hawk Moth.
Hawk Moth did not renege on his deals.
Chat Noir clung to that knowledge as he scampered down the hallway, retracing his steps in bounding leaps so that the end would come more quickly. That was more important than retrieving his weapon from Ladybug's kwami. He wouldn't need it, and the minimal household staff that meant he faced no more barriers; they wouldn't dare use his baton even if they found it abandoned, and they wouldn't question Paris's hero. That worked in his favour. He did not have the luxury to dally when every passing moment meant he was more unlikely to accomplish his task. He cared for the staff. They, like his family and friends, would be protected, and he could do for Nathalie as she had for him. All he had to do was keep his end of the bargain.
Plagg would not like the deal he had struck. Plagg would think it the antithesis of everything they had already fought for. But Chat Noir cared deeply for many people, and none of them could be touched. Plagg was among those he loved. He would be kept safe, uninjured and healthy, even if Hawk Moth did possess his Miraculous. Chat Noir had not traded his power for his family and friends; he had traded the freedom given to him by the mask for the certainty that those he loved would be well taken care of.
He was not handing over his power if the Miraculous could not be used without Plagg.
Things would be better this way, once the bargain was fulfilled. No one would suffer from his mistakes, from his inadequacy. Ladybug would understand in time, and his father might finally see him for who he really is. It was all for the best. It might be a rough start, it might take some time for the others to understand, but there would be no more reason to regret.
The bedroom was quiet when Chat Noir arrived. Ladybug had hidden her Miraculous here, inside Adrien's room—inside his room, even if he felt oddly distanced from that reality, from the weight of being the Agreste heir—and all he needed to do was retrieve it and present both the Earrings and the Ring to Hawk Moth.
Chat Noir was not sure what would become of Ladybug's kwami. He did not know Tikki—he'd only seen her for a second or two before Ladybug had transformed—and he doubted Hawk Moth would be swayed by arguments for her safety as well. The contract could not be altered once it was agreed upon.
Still, an unpleasant twisting feeling grew in the pit of his stomach. Was he being too selfish by valuing the safety of some over the safety of others? He had not promised to present Tikki with the Miraculous, though he knew that was what Hawk Moth desired. But if she kept trying to interfere, to stop him from realizing what must be, then he would have no choice but to capture her. He would uphold his end of the deal. He would do this for all those he loved.
The strength of his resolve deadened his doubt and he strode into the room with the confidence that all was right. He closed his eyes and stood still when he reached the spot where he had stood while Marinette had hidden the Earrings of the Ladybug, recalling what he had heard then.
"I'm not taking that long," she had insisted in answer to his question. The reply had come from behind him. Not from the resonating confines of the washroom, not that far, because it had been followed by the scuff of a book, the squeak of flesh on metal, the soft thump of Marinette's feet hitting the floor. He could not recall the sound of her footsteps before she'd reached the pole. He was confident of that despite the lightness of her feet and the sturdiness of the room's build.
She'd hidden her Miraculous in his library, somewhere amongst the volumes on the second level by the fireman's pole.
He just needed to find it.
Chat Noir opened his eyes and smiled, leaping smoothly to the second level and examining the bookshelves. He would find some trace of Marinette's presence, and then he would find her Miraculous. He wouldn't fail. He wouldn't break the deal. He depended upon it too much to give up the fight now.
