Chapter 11 - The Beginning of The End

Sitting on the edge of a roof, Ladybug stared hard at her yo-yo as she gripped it tight, thoughts and plans running wild in her mind.

"My Lady?"

She jumped to her feet at the sudden touch on her shoulder, ready for the attack but only to see two confused and concerned masked faces looking at her. "Oh, you're here."

"Have been for a couple of minutes. Chat was teasing me and calling me Peafowl again." She snapped, looking at the cat. "We only realised you weren't listening when you didn't break us up."

"Sorry, I've just been… distracted."

"How so?"

She sat back down and looked at her yo-yo. "I've been thinking about Hawk Moth and how we could… perhaps… capture him."

"What?" Chat said, sitting on one side while Peacock took the other. "How?"

"You know when an akumatised item is broken, the Akuma tries to fly away? Well… I think it returns to Hawk Moth."

"And?"

"We could follow it."

The two sat in silence. "Ladybug, if an Akuma escapes, it multiplies. Don't you remember Stoneheart?"

"Stone what?"

"Before your time Peacock." Ladybug explained. "Our first battle. But when the Akuma did multiply, the original must have gone back to Hawk Moth. How else did he control Ivor? So… if we let an Akuma escape, and follow it, we could find Hawk Moth."

The others sat in silent contemplation.

After a few minutes, Peacock let out a deep sigh. "We… we need to stop him, I know that, but is… is going to engage him the best course of action? You remember the last time."

"We won't be going in blind this time and he won't have the element of surprise on us. We will be ready and have a plan."

"What plan?" She snapped but more out of fear than anything else. "The last time…"

"The last time we weren't as strong as we are now. Last time we didn't have the training and skills we do now." Ladybug said just as sternly. "We… have grown."

"So has Hawk Moth."

"Peacock I understand that out of all of us you are the one scared about facing him but…"

"It's not that Ladybug. I have made peace with what he did to me." She paused and sighed. "But that's not what I mean. I think… I think we need to… understand something."

"What do you mean?"

She stared at her fan for a moment, running her fingers over the frills. "We can plan all we want. We can train and prepare ourselves until the cows come home. But we have to accept, if we go to fight him… we may have to take actions we don't want to."

The others frowned at her. "Peacock… you're not making much sense."

She lowered her head a little more. "We… have to accept the fact… we may have to kill him."

Ladybug gasped at her words. "What?"

"He's dangerous, Ladybug. Even worse, he's getting desperate. You must have noticed how… undefined the Akumas have been recently."

Chat nodded. "They used to have a purpose, their own drive. Now they just want to kill us."

"The last time, he knew he could beat us. He knew we weren't a threat. Now… he knows we are a match to him, if not better." She turned her golden brown eyes to the blue sky ones. "If we fight him now, he will not give in easily. He will fight to the end, his or ours."

"But why should that mean we have to kill him?"

"I never said we will have to kill him. I mean we have to be ready to, if we need to. If he won't give up, if he won't stop, we might have to make him." Her gaze turned back to the others.

Ladybug placed a finger to her lips, thinking. "It's hard to accept but… you're right. We need to be ready."

"My Lady…"

"Chat, remember when Peacock was… akumatised… we… were ready to… to do anything if that meant freeing her."

Peacock nodded. "I know. That certainty is what allowed you to undergo the change. You were willing to destroy me to save me. You made that commitment in your hearts. But this is different." She turned to them both. "Stopping Hawk Moth is not like stopping Feathers. You were doing that out of love. This… this is out of duty."

The others thought silently then Chat nodded. "We have to stop him. And while I don't want to take a life… if the choice has to be made… I will make it. For the good of Paris."

"As will I." Ladybug stated. "So, we have a plan. We allow the next Akuma to escape and follow it. We end this fight."

"This is still risky." Chat sighed. "But it's time to end this."

Adrian sat on the edge of his bed and stared at his ring, eyes narrow as he thought about what was about to happen. Plagg was oddly quiet as he sat on the side and watched his chosen. "You okay kid?" He asked at last in a rare sign of affection.

"Hawk Moth will attack soon…" he said firmly. "And when that day comes… we strike."

"Not having second thoughts now are you?"

"No. I want to end this war. I've had enough of fighting and I don't want anyone else to get hurt." He sighed and looked upwards. "I just… worry about the other side."

"What do you mean?"

"Well… I know we can win, we're stronger now and a better team and everything is a hundred times better than the last time we did this." He looked away. "But there is still that risk. That risk that something… will go wrong. That I… I might not come back."

Plagg paused and floated over to sit on top of his head. "Oh come on, don't think like that. You're gonna win, I know you will."

"I know but… Ladybug is right, we need to… prepare for the worst."

"How?"

"I… I'm gonna talk to my dad."

Plagg blinked and hung upside down from his hair. "And tell him what?"

"Just…" He paused. "I'll think of something."

The little black cat didn't say anything, just flew to his hiding place as Adrian began to walk out of his room, downstairs to his father's office. Natalia wasn't there so he walked right up to the door and knocked. "Father? It's Adrian. Can I speak to you?"

There was a mumble on the inside and not sure if it was permission to enter or not, Adrian pushed the door open a little and peaked inside. "Umm, hello? Father?"

Gabriel turned sharply from the window where he had been stood. "Adrian? What is it? I'm busy." He snapped, voice colder than normal.

Adrian almost retreated but instead lowered his head. "I… I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" The fashion designer huffed as he sat down and picked up some papers, looking over them. "I don't have time for this today."

Walking towards the desk, Adrian nodded a little. "I… I just… wanted to… to tell you that… that…" He trailed off, not sure how to say what he wanted to say.

His father finally moved his eyes from his eyes from the paper to the boy, glaring at him. "Adrian, I do not appreciate you wasting my time. I am very busy at the moment so unless it is vital, please leave."

Adrian stared for a moment but words failed him so he turned around and left the room, sighing to himself as he went. He had just made it back to his room when his phone went off and he looked to see his amazing girlfriend was calling him. He smiled at it, wondering how she always called when he needed a cheer up.

Their call was quick as they agreed to meet up at the park in five minutes. Adrian was able to easily get away, since no one was around to stop him from leaving. Marinette was already waiting for him and he smiled at her. "Hey Mari." he said, pecking her cheek and holding her hand. "How's your day been?"

"Not… too bad." She said, clearly distracted by something but decided not to show it on her face. "Yours? You sounded down on the phone."

He sagged a little. "I tried to talk to my dad and he… basically told me to get lost."

"Oh Adrian…"

"I wish I knew what was wrong. He's been so… different recently. I mean he's always been cold but… now it's like he doesn't care about anything, not even his company. Something is on his mind and he won't… share it with me or anyone."

Marinette didn't say anything for a bit, just watched him as he glared into the ground, a mix of anger and worry on his face. Finally he relaxed and gave her a smile. "Sorry, didn't mean to go off like that."

"It's alright." She smiled back. "But you know you can always talk to me about things like this."

"Yeah, I know."

They sat in silence for a bit, enjoying the sun and their company, thinking about their own thoughts. Adrian's drifted back to the reason why he had wanted to talk to his father in the first place and looked at his girlfriend. Should he fail in his fight with Hawk Moth… she would be left alone… never knowing what happened to him.

"Mari." He said at last. "You… you know you mean the world to me, right? And I'd never do something to intentionally hurt you. You… know that right?"

She turned and looked at him, smiling happily at him. "Yes, of course I do Adrian." She looked at him and her smile gradually fell. "Why? What's brought this up all of a sudden?"

He stared at her, feeling horrid that he'd clearly made her worry all of a sudden. But it was too late to turn back now, he had to say what he was feeling. "It's just… if I suddenly disappear… I… don't want you to worry about me." He looked at her and tried to show her that she didn't need to worry. "If I… I went away… I'd have so many regrets. All the things I'd never get to say, all the things we could never get to do… I'd miss it all. Not seeing your smiling face again, the way your eyes light up when you talk about something you like… so many little things." He sighed and held her hand tight. "Marinette what I'm trying to say is that I love you so much that… the idea of leaving you is too much to comprehend. I wouldn't want to leave you but… there may be a time when… I don't have a choice."

Marinette stared at him with tears in her eyes. Part of her wanted to ask why he was saying these things but another part knew she should be saying them back. The ultimate battle with Hawk Moth was quickly approaching and she might not walk away from it and ever see Adrian again. "Adrian… I want you to know… I love you too. No matter what happens I'll always love you." She gave him a sad smile and leant over to his cheek, kissing him and linking her fingers with him. "No matter what, you will… always be in my heart."

He pulled her closer to him, breathing in her love, holding her like a life line as he pressed his lips to her forehead and memorising her. This is what I'm fighting for. For you, Marinette. I'll win and come back, to you.

Running her fingers back and forth over the picture of herself and Sophia as they stood posing in front of Big Ben, Annamarie sighed deeply before looking up at her kwami as he munched on some grapes by the window. "Frou." She said at last. "When I gave Sophia the miraculous… do you know if she told Adrian who she was?"

The bird paused in his food and look at her, contemplating the question. "Yes." He said at last. "She told him she was his mother. But she didn't tell him who you are."

"I didn't expect her too." She confirmed with a smile. "Sophia would never give that kind of information."

"Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking about perhaps going to see him as Peacock and talk to him, about his mother."

"Is that a good idea?"

"Probably not." she chuckled, walking over and picking the little bird up, nuzzling his head. "But… I want to."

With no complaint from the little bird, she transformed into her superhero self and headed off towards the Agreste home, stopping as she stood on the house across the road, looking at his bedroom window. Adrian was inside, she could see him, sat at his computer doing something but she was too far away to see what.

She stood for a minute contemplating what she would say to him and began to wonder if she should talk to him at all. He was her friend but only as Annamarie; she'd never interacted with him as Peacock. He was almost a stranger to Peacock.

She sighed, leaning on the wall and watched him as he sat at his computer. It was a little… weird watching him like this and she was worried someone would see her and cause rumours to start. Even more when she would be easy to spot since, unlike her partners, her outfit stuck out like a sore thumb in the darkness and could be spotted even in limited light.

Glancing back at the house, she suddenly became aware that Adrian had moved from him computer to the window and was looking at her directly from an open window. "Royal Peacock?" He called. "What-what are you doing here?"

Standing off the wall, she paused then looked around before at her friend. "Can I come over?" She asked, feeling a little stupid for such a request.

Luckily Adrian nodded and opened the window wider, letting her jump in and stand next to him.

They stared at each other for a bit and Annamarie smiled as she saw a little more of Sophia in his curious eyes and the 100 questions in them. "Thank you for letting me in." She said at last to break the silence. "I… I know this is a little unusual but I just wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" He asked instantly. Peacock's eyes moved quickly to the sofa near them and Adrian got the subtle message and held his hand out towards it. "Would you like to sit down?"

"Thank you." She said, sitting at one end while Adrian took the other.

Silence fell for a bit as Peacock placed her fan on the coffee table and Adrian waited. When it became clear she was struggling to start conversation he coughed slightly. "What did you want to talk about?"

Her whole body rose and fell with the sigh she let out and Peacock turned away. "I… I wanted to talk about… you and… and your mother."

His whole body went stiff at the mention of his mother. "You… know who she is?"

"Yes." She whispered. "She was my predecessor and gave me my miraculous. And you must swear never to tell anyone what I am about to tell you but… a few months ago, when I was akumatised, your mother helped saved me and took me to a place where I could heal." She turned and smiled at him. "She is a really close friend to me, has been for a while. She… she's like a second mother to me and helped me get over some very tough and dark things in my life. I owe her so much. Not just for my miraculous but for my life and everything I have in it."

Adrian blinked. He had known his mother knew Peacock behind her mask but he had no idea how close they had really been. He was a little jealous of her but part of him accepted it. He saw his mother in the teen before him and he felt close to her via Peacock. "Do you know where she is now?"

"Yes. But I can't tell you. It's not safe. For any of us. I hope you understand."

"Yeah, I know."

Peacock took a moment then nodded. "Adrian, the last time I saw Sophia, I promised her that I would look out for you."

"Y-you did?"

"Yes." She let out a breath and lowered her head to stare at her hands. "Being akumatised… it shook me up. It scared me and… for a short time… I didn't want to transform again. I… I wanted to give up and find a replacement for my miraculous. I… I didn't think I was strong enough… or worthy to carry on fighting with Ladybug and Chat. I… I failed them."

Adrian's jaw dropped. She'd never told them she had wanted to give up. Yes that she was scared and worried but never that she wanted to stop.

She didn't look at him so didn't see the shock on his face and, after a moment to get her thoughts together, continued. "But Sophia… your mother… I knew she couldn't come back to Paris as long as Hawk Moth was still around so… I carried on fighting. I made myself stronger and I made myself keep fighting. I didn't give up… for you and Sophia." She smiled a little. "I promised her I would stop Hawk Moth… so that one day she could come back to you." She paused and looked up at him with a sad smile. "You… you know she had to leave to protect you, don't you?"

Adrian, not trusting his voice anymore, nodded.

She nodded as well, looking down at her hands. "I have tried to keep my promise as best I can. But soon… we will find out if my hard work has been worth it."

"What do you mean?"

She smiled at him. "I can't tell you. But… if all goes to plan, you'll know soon."

Adrian blinked and realised what was going on. Just like he had made his peace with Marinette in case he didn't come back, Peacock was making her peace with him. His heart swelled at the idea that his partner's promise to his mother was so strong that she would come, in person, to say her 'goodbye'.

Boldly, he reached out and took hold of her hand. "Peacock… when this plan works out… you can come and tell me yourself what it means."

She forced herself to smile and held his hand back. "Sophia would be so proud of you Adrian. And you will see her again. I promise."

(LINE)

Class wasn't due to start for another 10 minutes but Annamarie had already been sat on the step for five minutes, staring intently at the small brown pendant around her neck and the oval sky blue stone in the middle.

"Hey, Annamarie." Yawned a voice from the bottom of the steeps.

Looking up at the unexpected call, the dancer smiled. "Oh, someone's early." She chuckled then looked down again. "Then again, I'm one to talk."

Marinette smiled as she walked up the steps toward the other and sat at her side. "Yeah, I have some class rep things to do before everyone arrives. Why are you here so early?"

"I've had a lot on my mind recently." She confessed. "I didn't want to stay home and think about it… so I came here and I still found myself thinking about it."

Looking up at the sky as they sat together, Marinette nodded. "Yeah, I know how you feel."

Doubt it. The peacock thought to herself with a smile before sighing. "I hate exams."

"Who doesn't?"

Annamarie didn't reply, she just reached up to her neck and fiddled with her necklace again. The unusual action caught Marinette's attention and she looked at her hand. "What's that you got there?"

Lowering her eyes to look at the Soul Stone, the dancer shrugged. "Just… a trinket from while I was away." She confessed. "It's kinda my lucky charm. Helps me focus. Silly I know but…"

"Lucky charms are never stupid." The young fashion designer stated. I should know. She mentally added with an amused chuckle. "Can I have a look?"

After a hesitant moment, wondering if she should let someone else touch the gift from the Kwami gods, Annamarie shrugged and took it off, holding the leather strap out towards her friend, placing it in her hand. Marinette was quick to look over the stone and its carvings, their shape and design similar to what she had seen in the Kwami book months ago but she didn't think much of it, it was only a pretty design after all. After a moment she looked at the stone itself and smiled. "It's beautiful, such a lovely shade of red!"

Annamarie's eyes narrowed. "Red?" She muttered to herself, looking over to see that the blue stone in the middle had turned a beautiful bright almost Ladybug type of red. She frowned at it, wondering what it could mean.

"I wish I could get a necklace like this." Her friend continued, turning the stone over in her fingers, watching the sun shine off the stone. "It's really pretty. You said you got it when you were away right?" The young fashion designer sighed.

Still staring at it and the wondering how it could have changed colour, Annamarie tried carefully not to show her confusion, barely even realised she'd been asked a question until she shook herself out of her thought and nodded. "Yeah… while I was… away." She held out her hand, silently asking for it back. "And it's one of a kind I'm afraid."

The dark haired handed it back with a small smile. "Oh well, you're really lucky to have been given something so beautiful."

She almost choked as felt a cold fear fill her, remembering why she'd been given the stone. "Believe me Marinette, I was not lucky to be given this." Almost as soon as she said it, her smile vanished and she put it back around her neck. She felt a shiver run up her spine at the memory. "You know I don't like talking about that time."

Marinette's eyes when wide as she realised, remembering how scared her friend had been back then, reaching out and taking hold of her hand. "Oh my gosh! Annamarie! I'm so sorry. I… I shouldn't have brought it up."

Holding her hand back, the other smiled and waved her hand towards her friend. "Don't worry about it. I… I'm getting used to talking about it." She sighed then turned away, lowering her head to her hands, picking up the Soul Stone and noticing it had turned blue once more. "I'm just… worried it might happen again."

"What? Why?"

She didn't reply. Just closed her hand around the stone before she stood up quickly and turned into the school. "I need to be alone." She said as she walked away was quickly to the bathroom. As soon as she was inside she closed the door and leant on it, letting out a deep breath.

Frouforu flew out from her bag and looked at her with a worried pout. "Are you alright Annamarie?"

She nodded slightly, sliding down the back of the door to the floor, hugging her knees. "I'll be fine. I just… need a moment. Thinking about that time… isn't easy." After a moment to get control of herself, she lifted her hand and looked at the stone once more. "Frou… why did the soul stone turn red when Marinette held it?"

The kwami blinked and hovered for a moment then looked away. "I have no idea."

His chosen frowned at him, getting the feeling he wasn't telling her something.

A few hours later, at the end of the day as the bell rang out, Marinette was quick to step over to her friend and take hold of her hand. "Hey, you alright now?" She asked, full of concern about their previous conversation.

The dancer sighed loudly. She was far from alright; the battle with Hawk Moth was looming closer and closer with each day that passed without an Akuma attack. But she couldn't tell anyone that. Instead she nodded and tried to smile. "Yeah." She whispered. "I'm fine. Just stressed. Sorry if I worried you."

"No it's okay." The fashionista replied as they walked out the room together. "Trust me you're not the only one."

With a small nod, the dancer looked up at her friend. "Thanks Marinette."

They walked in silence for a bit before Marinette reached down to her bag, biting her lip as she did. "Hey, um can I ask a favour?"

"Sure, anything. What is it?"

She paused, about to make her request when she noticed her friend was fiddling once more with her necklace. "Are you sure you're okay?" Marinette looked at the pendent and back up to its owner.

Tucking the pedant under her dress, Annamarie smiled. "I'm fine, honest. Just got a lot on my mind at the moment. What can I do for you?"

Marinette took a moment then pulled out a small white envelope from her bag. "I… I wanted to ask you to hold onto this for me."

"What is it?"

"It's a letter. But you can't open it unless… something happens to me, alright?"

Her friend stepped over to her and held her wrist with a panicked look in her eyes. "Mari, don't talk like that. Look, I know I upset you but I don't want you to worry about what happened to me. It won't happen to you, I promise. What happened to me could never happen to someone as brilliant as you." She said with a smile before looking back at the letter. "I don't need to have that Mari, honestly."

Marinette stared at her friend, glad for her protective positivity but she still held out her letter. "Please take it… for me? Just in case."

She frowned at her but looked at the letter, sighing as she nodded and removed it from her grip, putting it in her bag. "Alright. But if this is so important, why give it to me? Why not Alya?"

Quickly looking to see if her reporter friend was not in ear shot, Marinette looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, I know Alya and I trust her but… I know she would give into temptation too quickly. I know you have the patience to… to not look."

With a small smile, the dancer nodded. "Don't worry, I won't look. But… please, tell me, what's all this about?"

The other shook her head. "If you need to know, the letter will tell you everything. Otherwise, you don't need to know."

"Alright. But… you are scaring me a little."

"Sorry. I just… as you said, there is a lot on my mind at the moment." Marinette said and forced herself to smile. "Exams and all… you know. Just stuff."

Annamarie gave her a knowing, understanding look. "Yeah." She said, looking out the window. "Feels like… the end of a very long battle is coming."

"You have no idea." Marinette muttered to herself, looking out at the sun and sky as well.

A/N: Good evening everyone! New chapter for you and I have amazing news;

FEATHER'S FLIGHT IS FINISHED!

100% complete, 100% spell checked and ready to roll! So chapters will be coming faster now!

Not that this means you don't have to review ;) Keep them coming everyone!