Chapter Ten: The Deepest Wound
"Adrien, stay where you are!" Plagg commanded, a tiny voice of reason in the coming dark, holding tight to the inside fabric of Adrien's fencing vest where he'd been doing his best not to be smothered since Adrien had put it on. He felt truly helpless hidden here, particularly as Adrien used the last of his waning energy to ignore his warning, to dash across the hall to save his father from Valerie's lightning attack.
Plagg recognized it, though he had forgotten its name. He'd seen her use it before, had watched Nooroo teach it to her. The point of spiraling the whip directly in front of her was to cut down on the time and space it would take for its length to unfold all the way backward and then forward again. The speed and the intensity were both increased, an attack so sharp it broke the sound barrier. It was a move for confined spaces, an actual battlefield. It was meant to slit throats. Plagg had even once seen it used, not by Valerie, to decapitate someone. To his knowledge, she was one of only a handful of people capable of using the technique. That Valerie was employing it now told Plagg that she had fallen far, that she had been hurt so badly that this was her only answer. The akuma was eating her alive.
Gabriel went down on his knees in front of Adrien, pushed just barely out of the way while Plagg's Chosen stood precariously balanced in the kill zone. But Adrien was shorter than Gabriel, standing in a slightly different place. For an attack as precise as this one, these tiny differences were a matter of life and death. Instead of ripping out Adrien's throat, the whip opened a gash up his cheek, across the bridge of his nose, and into his opposite eye, and suddenly Plagg was showered in blood. He closed his eyes and ducked his head against the salt and copper flood of it, feeling the dizzying change in momentum as Adrien fell back. Eyes still closed, he noted the jarring of Adrien knocking against something as he toppled backward, and then his stomach jumped into his mouth as they dropped from the upper floor.
We're falling, his mind registered. Too far. Too fast. He opened his eyes to see the jagged, broken edge of the floor raising over him, impending doom racing through his body. Plagg risked being seen as he darted out from his hiding place, placing himself under Adrien's head, using all his strength to brace it as they made contact with the floor. He heard the sharp crack of snapping bones, but he couldn't do anything about that but wince inwardly. Adrien landed hard on his right hip and shoulder, crushing them both, several of his ribs and his knee following after, but Plagg remained at his head, protecting his skull and those seven crucial, tiny vertebrae at the neck that would have killed Adrien instantly if they had snapped apart. White dust clouded up, then resettled. Plagg curled himself around Adrien's neck as he fell onto his back, hidden in his hair, watching as rainbows appeared brightly over him from the prism Nooroo held to the window.
He clung to his Chosen, as tightly as possible, as if he were still supporting him against the fall even though the damage was done now. But he was listening, intent on the inner workings of Adrien's system. Dimly, he could hear the screaming, from Ladybug, from Gabriel, as they verbalized their shock and horror at what just happened. He wanted to join them. But what he really wanted to hear was inside, not out. He closed his eyes to focus.
The frantic rush of Adrien's heart came to him first, fighting, straining, a trapped bird in a too-small cage, needing to be everywhere at once but finding constraint at every turn. Rapid, erratic beats that felt desperately the need to rush blood to the many injured areas, oxygenate the wounds as much as possible. Plagg heard the abrupt change as Adrien's brain switched from that hopeless mission and the blood began to move inward to the core in a preservation instinct. Shock.
Adrien took a shallow breath, then another, more sounds for Plagg to use to diagnose just what sort of damage they were facing. The air hissed inside his chest. One of the broken ribs had pierced the lung; it was beginning to collapse. There would be bleeding. Adrien whimpered in pain. Plagg hurt for him.
"I'm here," Plagg told him, speaking directly into his ear, hiding in the golden waves of his hair, trying not to slip in the growing patch of blood dripping from the wound on his face. His left eye was swelling shut. "I won't leave you. It's . . . going to be fine. You're going to be fine, Adrien." Lies. The truth was that Adrien had been weak before the fall, his body struggling already. Now it lay crushed on the floor and there was nothing Plagg could do except hasten it to death. He couldn't comfort Adrien like Nooroo. He couldn't heal him like Tikki. He'd actually done nothing but make every situation worse since Adrien had used him to become Chat Noir on Christmas Eve. He was a danger to everyone who touched him, a cancer, a plague. His only hope was for Ladybug to use her Miraculous Charm before Adrien stopped breathing. He wasn't sure how long she had left before she would change back, but he suspected strongly that however many minutes it was, Adrien had less.
"Plagg," Adrien said, a summons, a plea.
"I'm here. I'm with you," Plagg reaffirmed. "Don't move."
"Everyone's ok?" Plagg pushed his forehead against the smallest vertebrae of Adrien's neck, feeling his ears droop. Everyone except you, kitten.
"You saved your dad," Plagg answered, even though he didn't really care about anyone else right at this second. There were still big things going on around them. The akuma, the fading light, the used Lucky Charm. But Plagg's whole world right now was literally on top of him as he pillowed Adrien's head, tucked into the hollow where the neck curved between skull and shoulders, wishing there were something more he could do.
"Help her," Adrien commanded. Plagg didn't care who he meant, Ladybug, Nooroo, Valerie. He wasn't going anywhere. He was staying with his Chosen. "The rainbow."
"I'm not leaving you, Adrien," Plagg repeated. Not again. Not for an instant. Not your last moments. Not on your life.
"Plagg, it hurts," Adrien told him, and he tried to hold him tighter. He hated losing Chosen, especially if it happened during a battle. Flashes of past faces came to him now. It was the most debilitating feeling ever. Each time he knew that this was it. It couldn't be worse. Then it happened again and he realized how he could be so wrong. Yet this time, with Adrien, he knew for certain. This time, if he lost him, there would be no sharper hurt. If he lost Adrien, he would shatter the Miraculous and lose himself into that spirit place where time moves differently, where everything blurs. "Plagg?"
"Not for much longer," he assured him, either way knowing it would be true. "You're so strong. Hold on."
Valerie cast her shadow across Adrien as she descended from the upper floor, causing Plagg to tense. What would she do? How dangerous was she to the boy she had already broken? But there was a stillness to her now as she settled on her knees at his side, her face softened, her drooping wings spreading out to either side of her like the folds of a mourning cloak. A rainbow danced over her wrist as she placed her damaged hand on Adrien's cheek where her whip had cut him. Adrien also raised a hand to her scar, his thumb tracing the older injury, a twin to his own. They considered each other with their remaining eye. Plagg heard Ladybug sobbing. Why wasn't she here? What was she doing? Wasting precious seconds.
And why was Nooroo continuing to hold the prism up to the light? This was her chance! Valerie was so still right now, a statue, an extension of the marble around them. If only Plagg could remove the akuma himself, but he knew better than to try. While he shared the kwami ability of crossing through physical barriers, doors, locks, only Nooroo could touch the akuma without having it affect her negatively. He could only imagine what he might do if he touched it, the way his emotions were tearing him apart right now. He didn't think anyone in the mansion would live through his chaos. He'd caused enough trouble already without even meaning to. It would have to be Nooroo. Why wouldn't she help him? Couldn't she see how in trouble they were? How important this was?
"Adrien," Valerie said, her voice raw, but sounding more like herself again, more like the person who had discovered Adrien on his knees in the snow in the courtyard. "Why?"
"Because . . ." Adrien answered, struggling to speak. "I couldn't let you . . . Mom wouldn't want either of you hurt."
"Emilie," Valerie sobbed the name, over a decade of loneliness contained in one word. "You weren't supposed to be involved in this." Blood dripped onto the floor beside Plagg as Adrien coughed, a shudder going through him. Valerie winced in pity. "But look what I've done to you. Your mother-"
"Don't worry about me; Ladybug will fix it," he told her, complete conviction, even though Ladybug was not moving, not doing anything. "Just as soon as we save you."
"I'm not worth your life," Valerie replied, with equal belief. She lifted her head, looking for Ladybug, possibly with the intent of instructing her to use her charm. Plagg agreed that now was the time, but with only half his heart. He knew why Ladybug was hesitating. He knew that they still needed to purify the akuma, that the rioting in Paris would not stop until they did. But with Nooroo not coming either, he wasn't sure what to do about Valerie. He had a flickering hateful thought of allowing Gabriel to run her through with Adrien's sword if it meant that Adrien could live. He hated himself for it. He knew it wasn't really her fault.
"Shh, that's not true," Adrien told her. "You're so important."
"Adrien."
"Once upon a time," Adrien began the story, so quiet, his words tinged with blood and ruin, a hollow quality to them stemming from the tear in his lung. Valerie put her hand over his on her face, her eyes closing. "There was a beautiful, sad rainbow. The kind chained to a pot of gold, forced to fulfill wishes that were not her own." He paused to catch his breath; Valerie let hers out in a pained gasp. Ladybug dropped from the ceiling.
"But one day a storm came by, and with a single strike of lightning, freed the rainbow from her prison. Before she knew what had happened, before she could say thank you, the storm moved on, a distant, alluring power." Another breath. It was all he could do to keep talking. Plagg watched Valerie carefully as her face tightened in pain, in memory. She was changing. His words were doing something to her. He willed Adrien to keep going; for Valerie to keep still. He willed Nooroo to come down and catch the akuma. He willed himself not to hope too hard.
Meanwhile, Gabriel succeeded in breaking through the portrait, tearing down the final staircase and skidding to a stop when he saw Adrien, saw the cost of his salvation. Then he looked at Valerie, at the places where she touched his son, a tightness in his jaw, a sign of desired vengeance. "You get away from him," he hissed at Valerie through completely clenched teeth.
"Enough," Nooroo called from high up, next to the window, the voice of an angel. "You will honor his sacrifice."
Gabriel tried to look toward the source of the voice, but the setting sun was too brilliant around her, forcing him to flinch away. Ladybug had crawled to Adrien's side, holding onto the hand that wasn't on Valerie's face.
"He doesn't want you to fight," Ladybug told Gabriel firmly, looking ready to fly at him herself if it looked like he would try anything now. "Come here and be with him; he needs you."
Gabriel and Valerie shared a grudging look of truce before he dropped obediently silent above his son's head, acknowledging that Adrien had put his hand on Valerie in friendship, laying his own hand carefully on his unbroken shoulder, listening.
"Go on, Adrien," Ladybug invited, her voice sad, affectionate, as helpless as Plagg felt. Begging him to keep talking, to keep breathing. She kept looking toward the window, the expression on her face a mirror to Plagg's urgency. Come down, Nooroo. Adrien is holding her still, but he can't do this for long. What are you doing? "Please, tell us about the rainbow."
"Okay," Adrien whimpered, struggling to stay awake, and Plagg knew he would do whatever Ladybug asked even if it killed him. "The . . the rainbow followed the storm, always arriving just as it was leaving, one step behind. She was admired by all who saw her; she was begged to stay, to stop following the storm. It was dangerous, she was warned. She should stay where she would be safe." Another pause as he gasped. Valerie bent over Adrien as if she wished she could breathe for him or take his place. Plagg clung to the softness of his hair, pushing his face into it. His pure, golden boy. What was Nooroo doing? What was the sense of this? Just sitting here around Adrien, watching him die, listening to him tell this story. Plagg tried to see her, up there in the window, so far away from the suffering on the floor. Was this some sort of twisted revenge for her because he'd said that she should be willing to sacrifice Valerie for the greater good? Why had he even said that? What a cruel thing to do. She wouldn't do that, though, right?
So why wasn't she using this moment to do what they needed done? Another spot disappeared from Ladybug's earring. Another minute closer to the end.
"Valerie," Adrien said, like he couldn't see her, like she wasn't right there, like he didn't have his hand on her. "Valerie, you're the storm."
"I know," she replied, tired, resigned. "The chaos, the noise, the dark."
"No," Adrien explained. "The cleanse, the power, and the new start." He cupped her face so tenderly, holding the hurricane in his palm, and she bowed to him in complete submission.
"And the rainbow," Adrien continued, the entire circle hanging on his every word. "She wanted to be with the storm who had set her free, who had taught her to race the wind. Eventually, she caught her, and they made beautiful patterns together, had many adventures, complimenting each other perfectly, the light and the dark. Until very suddenly –" He cut off, beginning to shiver. Valerie opened her eyes, worried. "Father?" He asked, interrupting his tale, noticing Gabriel for the first time.
"Adrien?" Gabriel choked, all tattered inside and out.
"Could you move whatever's on my chest? I can't . .. breathe very well."
Valerie began to cry. Ladybug hadn't stopped since he'd fallen.
"But there's nothing," Gabriel began, shaking his head. Plagg reconsidered taking a shot at the akuma in Valerie's heart. If Nooroo couldn't bring herself to do it, then maybe he should. He knew it wasn't fair, that her Chosen was just as important to her as his was, and yet, well, that's the reason he was called Chosen in the first place. Because Plagg had picked him above everyone else. He always would. And he couldn't stand that they were all just sitting here while he was hurting so much. Waiting for who knew what?
"Very suddenly," Adrien said, speaking through his pain, still trying to tell this story as the rainbows slowly faded around them. The shadows were lengthening. The sun almost down. He coughed again, more blood. Ladybug cringed over him, half paralyzed. Plagg looked at Valerie, trying to separate the sound of her heartbeat from Adrien's in his ears, both of them very weak, trying to pinpoint exactly where it was. Wondering how much he was willing to risk if he could just save his boy. Wondering if it hadn't been thoughts like this that had made Valerie take the akuma into her in the first place.
"Suddenly the storm disappeared without a trace," Gabriel continued when it became obvious that Adrien could not. Plagg froze, surprised. "The rainbow was very . . . very sad to lose her friend. Her only comfort was to rest in a large, deep-rooted tree, one that had once been damaged by the storm. The tree did not love the storm the way his rainbow did, nor could he see the new, stronger growth in him that had taken place because of what the storm had done to him." Gabriel closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "But the tree loved the rainbow dearly and hung bits of glass in his branches to try and brighten her light. Together, the strength of the tree and the tender beauty of the rainbow persuaded a . . . a young sunbeam to join them, which made the rainbow very bright indeed. Oh, Adrien," Gabriel groaned as the weight of his words settled on him. Plagg doubted he'd ever thought much of this child's story before. This might be the first time he'd ever recited it out loud.
"Please," Adrien begged, clinging to Ladybug's hand, his face turned toward Valerie. Gabriel nodded, bowing his head.
"And though she was mostly content, she felt faded without her storm. She wanted her back." Again he had to pause, overcome. Ladybug put a hand on his arm in support, urging him on. "She wanted her to know the happiness that they did, to share it with them. She knew that however beautiful her life, it would not be fully complete without knowing what had happened to her old friend. So one day she kissed the sunbeam and the tree, knowing they would be safe if they stayed together, that the tree would shelter the sunbeam, and the sunbeam would nourish the tree, and she went . . went in search of the storm." Gabriel's voice broke at the end, as if something had just occurred to him, as if the meaning of his wife's fairy tale were only now becoming clear to him. He looked at Valerie like he'd never seen her before.
"She loves you," Adrien confirmed to Valerie, his voice frail and gasping. "So do I. Please, let us help you. It will be ok. I promise."
"I want to believe you," Valerie answered, even though she hated promises, hated accepting help. "But I just . . can't. I don't know how. I've . . . failed so many times."
"Valerie," Adrien said, impossibly concerned, more worried for her than he was for himself.
"The things I've done," Valerie cried, curling inward, removing her hand from Adrien's face. Plagg studied her, feeling the end rushing in on them. He'd never seen an akuma victim act this way. But then again, none of them had done what she had, none of them knew what she knew.
Adrien traced the scar on Valerie's face, remaining the only person to ever touch it. The only person who had never cringed away from her appearance. The purest soul that Plagg had ever seen. That he would ever lose.
"I know," Adrien said, voice full of sorrow and pain and love. "I let you get hurt. I wasn't there for you."
"Shh, Adrien, don't. You didn't -"
"Please forgive me," Adrien asked, clearly, his hand falling down, too weak to hold it up anymore, and Plagg watched something in Valerie release as something cracked apart inside her. She sobbed, pressing her hands to her chest as blackness began pouring out of it. Adrien had done it, saved her, gently broken her heart with his words, with his love. He'd succeeded, without Chat Noir, without a cataclysm. Nooroo had known what she was doing; she'd been right to wait. Valerie's wings dissolved. Her gloves and whip disappeared, leaving her once again in her work uniform from the hotel. A black butterfly separated itself from her, fluttering, disoriented. Valerie slumped to her side next to Adrien as soon as it was out, her own wounds severe, all of her strength taken, a fragile peace over her features.
The rainbows around them vanished, leaving only shadow as Nooroo finally raced from the window to Ladybug, passing her the Lucky Charm before rushing to Valerie's side, reunited at last. "Save them," Plagg heard her beg frantically as she touched Valerie's cheek, and he added his petition to hers. Be quick, now. Plagg apologized to Nooroo inside his head, for doubting her, for thinking that she wasn't as involved as she should have been. He could hear in her plea how desperate she was, how hard it had been for her to stay up there at the window, to keep Emilie's rainbow bright on the scene to make them all remember. How she had likely been counting the seconds too.
But it was done. The akuma out in the open and its victims still on the floor. Valerie's and Adrien's eyes were closed; their breathing slowed alarmingly. Plagg actually couldn't hear Adrien anymore, not his breath, barely his heart. He'd stopped trembling, a frightening chill on his skin. Gabriel had a hand on each of their heads, the light and the dark, also looking to Ladybug.
Trance-like, Ladybug stood up and swooped her yo-yo out, catching the akuma in its purifying white light, wrapping it close to remove its taint, before releasing it to go where it pleased. It flew at first to Gabriel, the one who had let it loose into the world, fluttering before his gaze, but in the end, it came to rest on Valerie's blouse, right over her heart, its wings closing and opening in relaxing arcs, a piece of her come back to rest. Ladybug watched it, completely transfixed, her face shattered and open. Plagg could not hear Adrien breathing.
"Adrien, hang in there now," Plagg commanded, pushing into the back of his neck, willing Ladybug to hurry. There may still be a chance. "You did it. It's almost over. Stay with me, please."
"Ladybug, what are you waiting for?" Gabriel asked her, concern and fear making his voice hard, knowing from many lost battles what she was supposed to do next. "Finish this."
"Don't be afraid, Ladybug," Nooroo agreed from where she hovered close to Valerie's face. "Only you can save them, but you have to do it now."
But Ladybug did look afraid, and Plagg could tell that much of her confidence had been stripped from her tonight. There was hurt, love, and uncertainty in her eyes, but she was out of time. If she wanted her civilian face to remain a secret, she was going to have to leave. He could see how much she didn't want to. She looked at the piece of glass in her hand, and Plagg noticed her faith wavering. Like she didn't believe it would work. That this time the damage had been too great. That maybe she would invoke the charm but Adrien would still be lost. And even though he knew Tikki's power, knew that this wasn't how it worked, Plagg found himself doubting along with her.
"Ladybug?" Adrien whispered, calling to her with his last breath, his faith never wavering for an instant. His voice was so soft that Plagg didn't think there would be any way for her to hear him, but she was completely tuned to his every movement. If only Adrien could see how she was looking at him right now, her whole world on the floor at her feet. Her face tightened. She gripped the prism, bending her knees slightly just before she launched it into the air.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" She said, her voice breaking, and a swarm of restoration split from the prism like a firework. Ladybug looked once more at Adrien, as if she expected to never see him again, before following the tide out of the house. Her time all used up.
BB
Adrien had been on the receiving end of Ladybug's Miraculous Charm many times before, each a unique experience. Sometimes it felt like being scrubbed over with a new towel. Or being lifted on a kite string. Covered in the strokes of tiny wings. Caught in a warm rainfall. The soothe of drinking something hot after coming in from the cold. Each sensation fresh, warm, and lovely.
This time it felt like electricity. A lightning bolt cracking apart the rainbow in his mind's eye and splitting through every vein in his body. He felt it strongly along the main artery of his neck, streaking through the delicate systems of his hands, sparking tendrils up and down his spine, hot and fierce and invigorating. The final thunderclap beat hard in his heart before releasing him, gasping in the aftermath. The vestiges of energy twisted him over, palms against the floor, back curling upward. He felt like a sprinter just finishing a race, taking in as much air as possible into his newly repaired lungs. It felt so good, easy, greedy breaths. He felt something wiggle inside his collar against his neck, against his pulse, then registered hands taking hold of him at his shoulders, gripping him tight.
"Adrien? Adrien, look at me!" He recognized the panic before he recognized the voice. Lifting his head, he opened his eyes, both of them restored by the charm, brand new. They met with Gabriel's, staring at him fearfully. "Oh, Adrien!" Gabriel said, pulling Adrien up and scooting closer in one motion, holding him close, both of them on their knees on the clean floor. "My son!" Gabriel ran his hand over Adrien's back, up until he could grab a handful of his hair, then closed his protective circle so tight that Adrien thought his ribs might shift.
"It's ok, Dad," he comforted, feeling wetness against his neck, thinking of pulling back but waiting, letting his father take his time. Even as he let Gabriel hold him, he turned his head toward the open front door where Ladybug had fled, smiling at the memory of her being here just a moment ago. He knew she would fix it. He knew she would win. Just in time. She always would.
Faces peeked in at the doorway now. The officers from before, the red and blue lights of their vehicles outside standing out dramatically now in the new darkness.
"Dad?" Adrien patted his father's arm, trying to get his attention. "The police?"
"Mr. Agreste?" The squad leader called as Gabriel slowly extracted himself off his son. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes," Gabriel affirmed, never taking his eyes off Adrien. "Yes, thank you."
"Could we take a few minutes?" The officer continued, his tone implying that he knew it was a bad time but he had to do his job. "Ask a couple questions for our report?"
"Now?" Gabriel asked, not moving.
"A few minutes," the officer reiterated, staring at the entryway with a bemused sort of expression on his face. People touched by the power of an akuma that were later restored by Ladybug didn't always remember what had happened to them. Part of the protection of the charm was sealing off the memories that would haunt them if they knew what they had done while under the influence of evil. This man looked as if he knew that there was time missing from his head, but he wasn't about to dig too deep to find it.
Adrien followed his eyes around the house, filling with awe as always to see what the charm was truly capable of, what his lady could do. The floor and railing of the upper hallway were repaired. The portrait restored to the wall. Gabriel's suit untorn and clean. Valerie's cane in one piece just a few feet away on the floor.
"Valerie," Adrien said softly, dipping gently out from under Gabriel's hand on his shoulder to retrieve the cane. How much would she remember? He stood straight, holding the cane in both hands, seeing his father giving him a slight nod and behind him, he saw Valerie just sitting up from where she'd fallen. He needed to be with her, help her in these delicate moments of returning from deep pain. Gabriel surrendered to the officers at the doorway, but did not let them come in. Adrien hurried to Valerie's side, going down on his knees beside her.
"Take it easy," he encouraged her, putting a hand on her arm, helping her to sit up and placing her cane across her lap. "You're ok."
"Adrien?" She asked, orienting herself.
"It's over," he assured her, then steadied them both as she threw herself into his arms. He rested his head on hers, relieved to have her back, that she wasn't angry at him anymore.
"You crazy, wonderful boy!" She exclaimed, separating only enough so she could put her hands on either side of his face, joining their eyes.
"Valerie!" He yelped, astonished, but she wasn't ready to listen to him yet.
"I'm so sorry," she apologized. "What I've done. I almost killed you."
"Stop," Adrien ordered, keeping his hands on her shoulders. Ladybug had pulled her out of darkness. He wasn't about to let her slip back in. Not when there was so much to be happy about right now. "It's done. This was just a painful road to something amazing."
"Amazing?" She repeated, unconvinced. Adrien took her left hand, pulling it forward under their faces, pushing his palm to hers, stretching all their fingers up, waiting for her realize, watching her face. Valerie's mouth opened, looking at her fingers, her restored and undamaged hand. It started shaking against Adrien's. She drew back, using her perfect hands to cover her equally perfect face, feeling the new skin there. "Ladybug," she whispered.
"She made you new again," Adrien told her, pulling her wrists, uncovering her face. He brushed her hair back, wanting to see her, wanting to see what she looked like without the brutal scar. "You're beautiful."
"You saved my life," she told him, serious and grateful and overwhelmed.
"You saved mine first," he answered. They smiled at each other, a pause of mutual appreciation disturbed only by Nooroo, who couldn't contain her joy any longer. Adrien allowed himself to laugh as he watched the butterfly kwami zip around her true mistress, in and out of her hair, brushing her wings along her cheek, pushing against her shoulders, tugging on her ear as Valerie bowed under the affection, her shoulders hunching up as Nooroo tickled her with her energetic movement. The white butterfly too remained close to Valerie, shifting from her shirt to her hair, a living barrette.
"I knew you were alive," Nooroo told her, at last coming to a stop inches in front of Valerie's nose. Adrien cupped his hand over his neck as he felt Plagg press gently against him as well. But they would have their chat later. This moment was for Nooroo and her Chosen, together again at last. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Hello Roo," Valerie greeted, her face hopeful and sad. Adrien knew how she felt, how happiness and guilt were an uneasy mixture in a heart, the want for something, so strong, conflicted with the crush of not deserving it. He reached into his pocket for the brooch, holding it out to her.
"I think this belongs to you," he said, nodding at it, but Valerie made no move to touch it. As if it were tainted now by the violence that had happened because of it.
"No," she confessed, looking at Nooroo. "Not anymore."
"But Valerie," Nooroo protested, her face falling.
"I lost you," Valerie said, the words coming out of her like the blackness of the akuma's poison. "I used your power to attack people. I used Plagg's even worse. No. I am no longer a Chosen. We need to return your Miraculous to the Guardian."
Nooroo's eyes welled up in rejection. She had likely imagined a very different reunion than this. While Adrien could understand both of their feelings on whether or not Valerie should take back her Miraculous, he was definitely on Nooroo's side in the affirmative. He opened his mouth to begin a list of reasons why Valerie should listen to her kwami.
Gabriel interrupted by clearing his throat before Adrien could start, striding strong into their presence, his interview concluded with the police. He stood with his hands behind his back, characteristically stiff and straight, another shadow in the entryway. He and Valerie stared at each other with uneasy, wild expressions. Like they weren't sure what they should do. Like they were frightened of what the other would do. They were no longer actively circling each other seeking out a position to strike, but they were still watching for one.
"Gabriel," Valerie spoke first, her posture suggesting submission, Nooroo seeking shelter on her shoulder, under her hair. Adrien moved to put his arms around her for protection as he had before when he shielded her from Master Fu. Because he knew his father. Knew that he would be outraged by Valerie's attack on their home and his family, forgetting that it had been his akuma that had started the whole thing. He didn't know what he would do to her, but he knew it would be cold, quick, and sharp, and he wanted to keep her safe from that. But Valerie, stronger now than she had been for years, pushed his hands away to get to her feet. She held the cane reflexively, even though she no longer needed it. "You don't have to say anything. I'm leaving."
"No, wait," Adrien protested, but she gave him a final look that quieted him. A look of warning. The wrongness of it chilled him. This wasn't how things were supposed to end. Not after what had happened. Not after what Ladybug had given them. He sent a pleading look to his father, remembering that he had been Hawkmoth, remembering the horrible things he'd said to Valerie, the equally vicious things she'd said back. He didn't want them to end that way, both of them half out of their minds, driven into a hateful frenzy by the akuma. He didn't want Valerie to leave. So he looked at his father with all the persuasion he could find pushed to the front of his eyes. Don't do this, please. Don't send her away where I won't be able to find her. She can't disappear. It's not right.
Gabriel stopped Valerie with a firm hand on her shoulder as she walked past him, a pained look on his face. They stood still that way, unmoving, Gabriel's hand tight and her shoulder underneath it equally tense. She bowed her head, as did he, neither one able to look at the other, but Valerie looked ready for whatever final word he wanted on the matter. Ready to be told in detail her transgressions. The ones she was already punishing herself for. Adrien knew better than to move.
"Wait," Gabriel said, his voice expressionless.
"Let me go, Gabriel," Valerie requested, still not looking at him. "It will be as before. I'll never contact your family again."
"I believe the terms were limited to Emilie," he recited, eyes on the floor. She turned slightly toward him. Adrien allowed himself to hope. "And it seems to me our current situation merits the dissolvement of that particular arrangement."
"What are you saying?" Valerie tested him, the air between them charged and strange. He removed his hand from her, completely closing his eyes now to make it easier for him to speak, folding his arms across his chest, which looked to Adrien like a more protective than threatening gesture.
"That I'd like your help," he answered, shocking Adrien. His father never asked for help. Something big had happened today. Maybe it had been Valerie's words, or the Miraculous Charm, or something else, but this tiny admission was a huge change in Gabriel. "Beginning with my assistant," he added. Valerie looked puzzled for a moment before realization hit her hard enough that she had to close her eyes. Adrien looked up the stairs, thinking of Nathalie alone on the floor in her office.
"I can't," she denied, shaking her head. "It's been so long."
"You can," Nooroo prompted, eager to work with her, to show her that they could be together, that there was still a reason for her to hold on to her Miraculous. She flapped out into the open again, making Gabriel startle a little to see her, to see how different she acted around Valerie. Adrien felt Plagg shift at her boldness, perhaps in jealousy that he had to stay hidden. "Valerie, you can. This is why you were Chosen. You can heal her."
Adrien put a gentle hand on her arm and again held out the brooch, keeping a close eye on his father. Gabriel looked at it, his face full of dark memory, of deep desire. Adrien felt a pinch in his heart that there was still so much sadness in his home. He felt that it should be gone now, but the adults around him seemed unable to put it down. They'd carried it so long. He flinched away, almost ducking behind Valerie when Gabriel reached for the Miraculous, not willing to let him touch it again. But when he saw the expression on his father's face, he let his hand fall open for him. He wanted to trust him. No one starts as a villain, he reminded himself. The lucky ones don't end that way either.
Gabriel picked up the brooch, holding it reverently, a fallen star, a lost wish. He sighed, then turned to Valerie in order to pin it to her shirt, directly over her heart. "This is yours," he told her authoritatively. She held herself motionless, but Nooroo flew over Gabriel's hand, kissing the back of it. Adrien saw him wince slightly at the kindness, at the gesture of forgiveness, saw the guilt, doubt, and want in his eyes.
"It wouldn't have worked the way you thought it would," Nooroo explained softly, looking hard into Gabriel's eyes. He looked as though he were struggling to keep eye contact. "The cost would have been too high, no matter how pure the wish. You're doing the right thing, Gabriel. And I know it doesn't seem like it . . .but there are still so many reasons to hope." He nodded, silently, letting her words sink into him like medicine.
"Valerie?" Adrien asked her once her Miraculous was part of her again, hoping she would agree to use it, taking the cane from her so her hands would be free. She closed her fingers over the brooch, her head turned toward the stairs, a hesitancy in her posture.
"Roo?" She spoke to her kwami, hovering at her ear.
"We're ready," the spirit assured. Valerie took a deep breath, steadying herself. It had been so long for her, this part of her identity that she had likely taken so much for granted until it had been ripped away from her. Adrien understood. He hadn't been able to be Chat once since Plagg had been returned to him, and they hadn't been separated near so long. He knew the guilt-laden desire of it, and the fear that it wouldn't be the same as it used to be.
"Wings rise," Valerie said, barely loud enough to hear, and Nooroo flew into the heart of the brooch. Adrien stepped back as Valerie transformed, properly this time, into Zephyr. The heroine version had lilac wings striped in gold and spotted white. She wore a lavender colored body suit; the whip still a black coil around her waist, though much less threatening. Her mask fluttered open across her face as if a living butterfly had landed there and spread its wings over her cheeks, her dark eyes now spots against the gold and white. The purified akuma was forced off her hair, but stayed close, joined by others until she was the eye of a tiny, winged snowstorm. She stood a solid power before them, glorious and light.
Adrien bowed low to her before offering his arm to lead her up the staircase, forcing himself to be slow and courteous about it, though he wanted to pull her at a run. She smiled fondly at him, her sadness just a shine over her eyes, allowing him to escort her instead of flying to the upper floor on her own. Gabriel followed, quiet in his own thoughts.
Nathalie remained where Adrien had left her, though the office door had been repaired. She looked younger to Adrien, lying there without her glasses, brow furrowed in disrupted rest. He let go of Zephyr to kneel above her, putting his hand against her forehead, remembering her anguish. Her physical wounds were gone, the places she'd clawed open with her own fingernails, but even the Charm could not remove the pain of her memories, could not stop them from crippling her again.
"I don't understand, Gabriel," Zephyr said as she studied the sleeping assistant. "You could have done this yourself."
"No," Gabriel denied. "After what she's been through, I couldn't bring myself to even try. Some things require a trained hand, and a woman's touch." Zephyr turned her attention to him as he spoke, her eyes gentle and discerning, slightly confused, like he wasn't who she thought he was. She broke the moment by shaking her head, opening her hand in front of her expectantly. One of the butterflies surrounding her immediately came to rest in her palm. She covered it a moment, holding it close against her chest, and when she took her hand away it was shining with an internal light, brilliant and sparkling. Zephyr held it out for Gabriel to inspect, as if to say, "this is how it's done."
"Peace," she said to the butterfly. The shining creature left Zephyr's hand, flying straight for Nathalie, vanishing into her heart like a flame's spark. Nathalie stiffened slightly as it entered her, then her muscles relaxed, her face softening.
"What did you do?" Adrien asked, not sure how it worked or what had happened, crouched over Nathalie, waiting for her to wake up. He was slightly apprehensive that the butterfly had gone into her. The last time that had happened, it hadn't been a good thing. But those were corrupted powers, dark, damaging emotions. This time it looked pure and healthy, like water cleansing a wound. "Did you take her memories?"
"No," Zephyr answered, her tone gentle. "I can't change a memory, but I can change how it makes her feel. Her past will have no power over her now." She opened her hand again, a second butterfly flying into place. Zephyr turned toward Gabriel.
"And for you?" She asked, extending her hand slightly. "Would you like the chains on your heart undone?"
"What?" Gabriel said, suddenly confused. But this was part of Zephyr's power, reading emotion in others, the strength of perfect empathy. Even if he didn't know what he felt, it was open to her. "No," he protested as he understood what Zephyr was offering him. Both of his hands raised against her using her powers on him. "I'd rather you didn't."
Zephyr nodded. "You're right," she agreed. "That is a work Emilie began. It's only right to let her finish." She turned then to Adrien, still on the floor beside Nathalie, watching everything intently, so he could remember every tiny detail.
"For you, dear sunbeam," she said, giving the butterfly a little push by blowing gently on it. Adrien wasn't sure he wanted or needed anything pressed into his heart, but this butterfly simply landed on his chest where warmth spread from its touch all across his body, covering him in security and love. It felt like a mother's embrace, the sure knowledge that he was needed, wanted, the comfort that he was exactly where he was supposed to be.
"Wow," he heard himself exclaim softly, all of the lonely places in his heart now full. "Dad, you should reconsider."
Nathalie stirred beneath his hands, beginning to wake, before Gabriel could answer. Zephyr gave them a nod, moving to leave the room.
"You're not leaving?" Adrien asked, worried. There was still so much he wanted to ask her, so much they needed to work out, even if it did make sense for her to disappear before Nathalie could see her.
"If you can give us a moment," Gabriel added. "There are still some items I'd like to discuss."
"I'll wait outside," Zephyr said, closing the door behind her just as Nathalie's eyes opened, glazed with questions when she saw both Adrien and Gabriel hovering over her. She'd never been in this position before. Gabriel dropped to one knee beside her, which spurred her into nervous action.
"Sir!" She began, pushing herself off the floor until she was seated between them, her hand unconsciously moving to her head. "Forgive me," she continued, but seemed at a loss of what he should be forgiving her for.
"Take your time," Gabriel invited as Adrien put his arm around her. She met his eyes where he could clearly see that she would desperately like to know what had happened and why she was waking up on the floor. It was so unlike her, and she was not pleased.
"How are you feeling?" Adrien asked her, trying to gauge her memory as well as her condition.
"Fine," she answered without thinking, looking back and forth between them as if waiting for some sort of trap to spring. Zephyr may not have taken any of her memories, but it looked as though the Miraculous Charm had. Just as well.
"Indeed," Gabriel said, getting to his feet again and looking with purpose at Adrien. "Though to be safe, I think you should take the rest of the night off, Nathalie. Tomorrow as well if you feel you need to." She unconsciously checked her watch for the time, still looking rather dazed. Gabriel reached for her hand to help her up, but she seemed absolutely unable to accept it. After a moment of awkward motionlessness on both their parts, Gabriel stood straight and put his hands behind his back.
"I have a guest waiting for me," he told them, as if this afternoon had never happened, as if that guest weren't in any way remarkable. "Adrien, if you could please escort Nathalie to her quarters? After you've informed the kitchen that they should set an extra place for dinner tonight."
"Of course, Father," Adrien agreed. Gabriel bowed slightly to them before heading toward the door.
"Sir?" Nathalie called after him, causing him to pause but not to look back. "Thank you." It came out more as a question than a statement of gratitude. Gabriel half turned over his shoulder.
"Get some rest," he commanded gently, then disappeared. The second the door closed behind him, Nathalie slumped, startling Adrien.
"Whoa! Nathalie, you ok?" He asked her, leaning over her, trying to get her to look at him, realizing all of a sudden that Gabriel hadn't left because he was being horrible but because he knew that Nathalie would be more comfortable figuring out what had happened if she didn't have to admit to any weakness in his presence. He'd been doing her a kindness in leaving her to Adrien. He'd never realized his father knew her so well.
"Adrien, what happened?" She begged, leaning against the wall, draping her arms over her upturned knees, a rather sporty pose for a pantsuit. "Why are we on the floor? Please tell me I didn't pass out?"
"Kind of?" He told her, wondering how detailed he should be. "What's the last thing you remember?" She studied her hands as she searched her memory.
"I was getting you something to eat. OH! But I never brought it back to you, did I?" Adrien smiled at her distress, at her care.
"Actually you did," he assured her, skipping the part where he hadn't eaten it yet. "Then Dad's guest arrived, and you buzzed her in, but then yeah, I guess you did faint." She looked absolutely appalled at herself; Adrien had to hug her. "You've been working so hard," he said. "You've been taking care of me and not yourself lately, and I haven't made it easy. It's no wonder this happened."
"And how are you?" She asked, pulling him off so she could study him closely, dismissing everything he'd just said, though he could tell that it had touched her somehow. "You look a lot better."
"I'm great," Adrien said. "Better than I've been in a long time." She put her hand on his face, cupping the side of it, looking relieved.
"I'm glad," she said, and they both smiled. When Adrien stood and offered her his hand, she did take it. Together they made their way to the kitchen where Adrien was surprised to find the chef and his assistant. Had they been here the whole time? Did they even know about the akuma attack that had happened in the entryway? Or maybe they'd arrived after it was over? They gave him no indication either way, only accepted that there would be one extra plate and that was that.
"Thank you, Adrien," Nathalie said once they were back in the hall again. "I can make my way from here. You've got somewhere else you want to be right now, I can tell."
"Are you sure?" He checked, wondering exactly how she could tell. He did want to go see what Valerie and his father were talking about without him, but he also didn't want to leave Nathalie before making sure that she was absolutely all right. "You really scared us."
"I'm fine," she assured him, actually sounding like she truly meant it. "I'm . . . also feeling better than I have in a long time." He took her hand, kissing the top of it while she shook her head at him, thinking of Ladybug and Zephyr working together to give Nathalie this new peace. How wonderful it was and how he was looking forward to seeing how it might have changed her. "Off with you!" Nathalie shooed, taking her hand back. He grinned at her before heading up the stairs to his room for a few minutes with Plagg before joining his father.
The first thing he did was rip off the hot and uncomfortable fencing vest. He didn't need it anymore. Plagg toppled out of it as he gave it a shake, landing on the bed and not bothering to move from where he'd fallen.
"That's better," Adrien said for both of them. He knew that Plagg hadn't really enjoyed hanging out in the collar. He caught sight of the plate Nathalie had brought him before, a simple ham and cheese sandwich with grapes. And even though he knew that the bread would be too dry on the outside and too wet on the other, even though dinner would be in another ninety minutes or so, he also knew that he was still going to eat every single bite on that plate. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been as hungry as he was right this second.
But first he pulled out the cheese for Plagg, who was still on the bed, being rather quiet, actually.
"Plagg," he called him as he wolfed down the food. "Don't you want this?" Because Plagg hardly ever turned down cheese. Ever. He let himself chew and swallow three more bites before realizing that he was still eating alone. "Plagg?" He grudgingly set down the remnants of the sandwich so he could see what his kwami was doing. Why he was sitting so still, not talking, and not interested in food. "Hey, what's going on?"
"You eat it," was his only answer, wrenching Adrien's concern meter all the way up. He stretched out on the bed so he could be at eye level with Plagg, reaching out with one finger to trace the edges of his ears, trying to perk them up a little since they were so droopy.
"What's wrong?" He asked. "Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm just . . . tired, Adrien."
"Then you should eat something. If you aren't into what I've got, I can go back to the kitchen-"
"Not that kind of tired."
"Okay," Adrien said, as if he understood. Before he could ask anything else, his phone began buzzing from the bedside table. Adrien rolled off the bed, snagging it on his way to check who was calling him. Nino.
"Hey," he answered, waiting for the onslaught of questions, hoping to keep the conversation brief so he could get back downstairs as soon as possible.
"Dude, you're all right! Man, I've been calling and calling. The police were all over your house, but I only just caught a glimpse of you and Ladybug shoving four of them outside. What happened?"
"Oh, you know, the usual," Adrien answered, trying to be flippant about it, keeping an eye on Plagg as he curled up tight. "Hawkmoth sends out an akuma, this one had it out for my dad, crashed into our house, Ladybug shows up and Poof Miraculous everything's just the way it was and we're having dinner soon."
"No Chat Noir, though?" Impossibly, Plagg curled up even tighter.
"Um, no, actually, I didn't see him," Adrien replied honestly. "No one else did either then?"
"Not a trace this time. Weird."
"He'll turn up? He always does." Adrien hated answering questions about where Chat Noir might be. It made him feel like something was wriggling down the back of his shirt.
"That's what we told Marinette," Nino said, though he sounded like she had needed a little more than his word for it. He sounded sort of defeated about it.
"Back up," Adrien insisted. "Where'd you see Marinette? What happened?"
"Well, Alya and me saw what was going down at your house while I was walking her home, so we decided to come check it out, right? But the police weren't letting anyone close, even though it was obvious that Ladybug had won and everything by this point, but they still were keeping everyone back, so we had no choice but to leave. We found Marinette not too far away." The way he said it made Adrien cold. Like something was off about finding her. Like he had reason to worry.
"Is she all right?" He asked, though how she wouldn't be was hard to imagine. She'd performed the charm. She'd purified the akuma. Everything was as it should be. Wasn't it? He looked at Plagg, who had his eyes closed.
"She said so? Could hardly understand her; she was crying pretty hard. We tried to tell her you were fine, but she was really worked up about it. And she kept asking if anyone had seen Chat Noir anywhere else in the city. She wasn't making a lot of sense, really, but you know how she is sometimes."
"Where is she now?" Adrien began pacing, like that would help him, keeping Plagg in sight, watching him close.
"Well, we took her home. Offered to stay with her since she was so shook up, but she didn't want us to. I think you should give her a call. She's really worried, for some reason."
"I'll do that. Thanks for the heads up."
"I got your back, man. Glad you're ok."
"See you tomorrow." He'd hung up without noticing if Nino had replied to his last statement, dialing Marinette as quickly as he could. Why would she be crying? Or worried? She knew her magic better than anyone. Knew there wasn't anything to worry about. Maybe she'd . . . had to work herself up to preserve her secret? That wasn't very convincing, but that was all he could think of. Her voicemail message came on, so he hung up and redialed. And again. And one more time.
"She's not answering, Plagg," he said out loud, as if his kwami hadn't noticed that.
"Give her time, Adrien," Plagg suggested. "You forget so easily, but we were the ones watching you die." He paused in his pacing, staring at the spirit.
"But you knew I'd be ok," he said simply. "Ladybug's charm puts everything right again. You both know that."
"No one trusts her like you do," Plagg said. "Look, I don't really want to talk about it right now, and I don't think she does either. She can see you called her; let her come to you when she's ready."
"What about you, then?" Adrien asked, scooping Plagg up in both hands. He didn't stay there, though. He immediately floated up and into his normal spot under Adrien's jacket, into the breast pocket on his shirt, curling up against Adrien's heartbeat.
"Give me time, too," Plagg said.
Confused, Adrien put a comforting hand over the lump of kwami against his chest. Then he sent a text to Marinette letting her know that everything was all right and asking her to call him when she could. Then he made his way from his room to see what was going on with Valerie and Gabriel, wondering why everyone except him seemed to be so against this being over. Everything was supposed to be all right now. Except everywhere he turned, it really wasn't.
Author's Note: This chapter makes me So Happy. My absolute favorite so far (yours?) And I know we are really close to being done but I have to say that I have this overwhelming compulsion to write about Gabriel, Emilie, and Valerie from when they were sixteen together at school. COMPELLED. Even though it has almost nothing to do with what's going on here. Would anyone like that? After this is finished, of course, but would that be fun to read? Like the time Valerie caught a bunch of crickets and released them in Gabriel's room and it took him four days to find all the irritating little chirping things keeping him up at night? Or how he would replace her textbooks with copies of The Idiot at random intervals? Or my personal favorite – how Emilie danced in the Nutcracker at Christmas time and got them tickets to the last show, but they had to go by train to where it was playing and they had to sit next to each other and Oh How Awful!
Anyone? Just me? Anyway, with consideration to THIS story – I hope you're still enjoying it. But you know it is totally missing something. Like, I don't know. CHAT? Please, please, neko-child, we need you desperately.