Chapter 13: Memories, Cheese and Alternate Universes
While Marinette and Alya talked about Adrien, at the Agreste Manor, the holder of the black cat miraculous had just entered in his bedroom, coming back from the kitchen, where he went to get a light snack for both him and Plagg. He hardly ate at dinner, and it was not that he did not want to eat; his thoughts on the matter regarding the fight between his father and his aunt, had taken his appetite. That, combined with the fact that his father did not exit his studio to have dinner with him that night, made him not wish to eat. Unfortunately, shortly after dinner, his stomach began to grumble and he was forced to go get something to silence it. So, going to the kitchen, he made himself a sandwich and grabbed a piece of Camembert for Plagg.
"Here you go." -Adrien said with a neutral voice, as he handed a small piece of Camembert to his kwami.
"Thanks." -Plagg thanked Adrien, as he bit the smelly piece of Camembert. –"Mmm… delicious!" -he exclaimed. –"And what did you bring for yourself?"
"Nothing much. Just a sandwich." -Adrien said.
Plagg knew that Adrien was not well, ever since they left the others to continue to shoot the short-film. He knew it, but he decided not to say a thing, believing the teenager just needed some time to get his thoughts together. After lunch, when he told the team what he had told Marinette the night before, the kwami noticed that he was acting a little more like his usual self. And this went on through most of the afternoon.
"You're starting to let those bad thoughts get to you, kid." -Plagg told him. –"You've got to think about something else, you know? Trying to get those awful thoughts out of your head."
"It would be easier if I had someone to chat with." -Adrien sighed.
"And what am I?! Chopped liver?!" -Plagg asked him, slightly upset.
"Of course, you're not, Plagg." -Adrien smiled at him. It was the first time he smiled, after he left the others on the set, to get back to school, so he could be picked up by his bodyguard, who brought him home. –"But… you're just one, while…"
"While what?"
"While… well, when I had you and the others around to talk to, it made me not think about stupid things, just like I am right now. I don't know if it was because you were so many and I was too busy talking to you, to even consider having these thoughts that I'm having right now, or if it was because of something else." -Adrien sighed, as he sat on the couch. –"Still, when I was had everyone around me, I felt like anything was possible, even the impossible." -he said. –"And don't' get me wrong. I'm happy that all of them are worried about me and they want to help me solve this problem I'm having. But, I'm afraid that in the end, I'm the one who has to solve what's going on between my dad and my aunt… alone."
"I get what you're saying, Adrien, but you can't let those thoughts cloud your mind and your heart. And you're not alone… you've got me and you've got everyone else in your corner." -Plagg said, as he gulped the rest of the cheese. –"Just because they're not here, right now, that doesn't mean that you are alone. What they told you; all those words of advice, they're in your head and in your heart, and you will know what to do with them. You can use them as inspiration for a plan you'll come up with, or just to remember them and use them as motivational quotes." -he said. –"In the end, all that matters is that you remember that even when they are not around, your friends are always with you… inside you."
Smiling, Adrien knew what Plagg had just reminded him was true. Sure, what he had said about how everyone had his back and that deep down, he was never truly alone was cheesy and a bit corny, but it was also absolutely true. Once again, the black cat kwami showed that even though he was a barrel of laughs, he could also be incredibly wise and thoughtful; the perfect combination, some would say.
"You're right." -Adrien smiled at his kwami. –"I know I don't say this as often as you sometimes deserve to hear it, but, you really know how to cheer up someone." -he said, as he bit his sandwich.
"Thanks, and you're right, I don't hear that as often as I should, and you don't say it as often as you should." -Plagg declared, as he gulped the rest of the Camembert. –"Mmm… delicious! Still, I could go for another piece."
"Don't you think that piece I brought you is enough?" -Adrien smirked at him.
"Nope. You know me, I love to eat cheese, especially Camembert, and there isn't enough Camembert in the world, to satisfy my little tummy." -Plagg declared, which earned him a couple of laughs from Adrien. –"Laugh all you want, but it's the truth." -the kwami said. –"Tell me, could you go downstairs and get me another piece, please?"
"Sorry, but I've taken my shoes off, and you know what that means." -Adrien told him. –"It means that I'm not moving out of this couch, except to go to bed in a about two hours." -he said, as he took another bite from the sandwich.
"That would mean nothing, back in Japan!" -Plagg complained about.
"Yeah, back in Japan, maybe. But we're in France, not Japan, so tough luck, Plagg" -Adrien joked.
"Fine… I'll get another piece myself." -Plagg exclaimed, as he made his way to the air duct he usually used to go to the kitchen.
Entering the air duct, Plagg did not waste any time in getting to the kitchen. His stomach was aching with hunger. No matter how much he ate, he was always hungry, especially when it came to cheese. He was able to entire wheels of cheese, if one would give him the chance. He remembered the times when that happened, almost every day. It had been a lifetime ago, with some of his previous holders. They had all treated him right, and he could not remember a holder who had ever treated him badly or unfairly, especially when it came to food. But from all of them, the one who had treated him with enough cheese to fill a pantry fit for a king, was the one who invented Camembert cheese, Marie Harel. Plagg had always been fond of cheese, but it was only when he first tasted Camembert that he promised himself, that if allowed to, he would never eat another kind of cheese, ever again. Of course, he had broken that promise more times than he could remember, mainly because even when he had Camembert to eat, he would not resist in taking a bit out of the other cheeses. And that was going to happen once again, that night.
Arriving at the kitchen, he made sure no one was around, before hovering to the pantry, where the most delicious cheeses were kept. Not seeing anyone, he allowed himself to be guided by the delicious of aroma of the cheeses he was going to eat. Once in the pantry, it was hard for him to choose which cheese would take a piece from first. The aged Camembert smelled deliciously, but so did the Gouda, the Mimolette, the Valençay, the Zimbro, the Monterey Jack, the Edam, and so many others.
"Oh, which ones should I take, which ones?!" -Plagg asked himself, as he inhaled the aroma coming from the aged Gouda in front of him. –"This one looks scrumptious… but so does this one here… curse my insatiable appetite for cheese!" -he sighed in frustration.
In the end, he decided to take a little slice from each one of them. Starting with the Camembert, he made sure that he would cut a slice of each of the cheeses. The last one he cut a slice from was one he had never heard about, the Herrgårdsost, which he felt had a mild-sweet, nutty flavour. Placing all the cheese in a plate, he needed all of his strength to carry it to the air duct. Because the plate was so heavy, Plagg was forced to eat some of the slices along the way, to make the plate a little lighter.
"Mmm… this Emmental is really good." -Plagg said, as he nibbled the slice of cheese. –"At this rate, I'll have finished eating all the cheese, before I get back to Adrien's room." -he thought to himself.
Not noticing he had taken a wrong turn, instead of ending up in Adrien's room, Plagg ended up in Gabriel's studio. Upon seeing his mistake, he knew he would have to go back, but hearing Gabriel moving inside the studio, curiosity got the best of the black cat kwami, making him want to check him out. Gently placing the plate on the ground, being extra careful to not make any unnecessary noise, Plagg exited the air duct and went to check on Gabriel. He was not very fond of the designer's studio, maybe because it looked a lot like the rest of the house; cold, distant and uncaring, which gave him shivers. The exception to this rule was Adrien's bedroom, which was the polar opposite of the rest of the house. Looking down, he saw that Gabriel was seated on the largest of the three couches that were arranged around the coffee table, looking at a book. Looking at it a bit closer, Plagg saw that it was not a book, but a photo album; a photo album where there were numerous photos of Emily Agreste, Gabriel's wife and Adrien's mom.
"I know I shouldn't be mad or angry at your sister, my love… but I can't stop blaming her for what happened to you." -Gabriel sighed, as he looked at one of the photos, where Emily was alone. The photo had been taken in Cannes. –"Every time I look at her, I can't stop thinking that she's still here, while you are not." -he sighed, as a tear ran down his face.
Seeing him like that, Plagg saw that just like it had happened with Adrien, Gabriel was also going through a rough time.
"I keep remembering what you told me, right after we got married… "One must never let hate into its heart, because that way, happiness won't have space in it to flourish"… and I know that if you were here, you would be asking me to just talk to your sister and tell her it's time to bury the hatchet." -Gabriel sighed. –"I would love to do that, if only she would admit that it's her fault that you're not around anymore." -he said, as he took the photo from the album and held it in his right hand, staring at it, as if he was trying to memorize every last detail in it.
Feeling that he had overstayed himself long enough, Plagg quickly went back into the airduct, leaving Gabriel alone, once again, though he would never know he was there with him. And as he grabbed the plate of cheese and made his way back to Adrien's bedroom, he thought about what he had seen and heard.
"Guess Adrien isn't the only one who's in pain." -Plagg thought to himself. –"I wonder… should I tell the kid about what I just saw and heard, or should I just shut up about it? I mean, it wouldn't hurt Adrien to know what his dad is thinking about." -he kept musing. –"I better tell him. Besides, it won't hurt him to know about it."
After a minute or so, Plagg opened the airduct cover and exited it, holding the cheese plate, which by then was already half-eaten. He saw that in his absence, Adrien had finished eating his sandwich, and was not watching a little bit of television; something which the black cat kwami saw as an attempt to clear his mind from all his problems.
"So, did you find what you were in the mood for?" -Adrien asked Plagg, as he noticed him appearing from behind the couch holding the plate.
"You could say that." -the black cat kwami declared, as he flew over the couch and placed the plate on it. –"I couldn't decide what to bring, so I helped myself to a slice of everything." -he said. –"Plus, on my way back, I made a wrong turn, and I ended up in your dad's studio…"
"You did?" -Adrien asked him, surprised.
"Yeah, and let me tell you… your dad's just like you right now." -Plagg declared.
It did not take long for Plagg to tell Adrien what he saw. The blond was not surprised with what he heard his kwami telling him. Deep down, he knew his father was also in pain. His aunt's sudden appearance had cracked open a couple of old hounds, which would take a bit of time to heal properly. He also knew that when he was feeling like that, Gabriel would open one of the numerous family photo albums that he kept in the safe, and would lose himself in the memories for a couple of hours. Adrien also did that from time to time, when he felt like remembering his mom.
"He blames your aunt for what happened to your mom, kid." -Plagg said. –"But, from what I heard him say, he would be willing to bury the hatchet and mend fences, if she admitted it was her fault your mom died." -he declared, remembering the words from Gabriel.
"That's not going to happen." -Adrien sighed. –"You remember what my aunt said? She blames my dad for what happened to my mom, just like he blames her… and before you suggest me that I should pull a Parent Trap on the two of them, like Kim and Alix suggested me today, let me just remind you that they hate the guts out of one another. The result would be the same as placing a mongoose and a serpent in the same room, and hope they wouldn't kill one another." -he said.
"Actually, I was going to suggest you something else." -Plagg smiled at him. –"I never had a holder with this kind of problems before, so I don't exactly know how to advise you." -he admitted. –"But, I've seen a lot of television ever since you placed my ring for the first time, and I think I know what you should do."
"And what is your suggestion?" -Adrien asked Plagg.
"Well, you should try and find something that connects them… I mean, you are the obvious choice, but I was thinking maybe an object, or something that reminds them both of your mom and that would inspire them to forget that stupid fight. You know what I mean?" -Plagg declared.
"I think I do." -Adrien said.
"Memories are pretty powerful things, Adrien. And when used wisely, they have the power to make things better, or to make them worse." -Plagg declared. –"And in this case, whatever object you find, will surely make things better." -he said, confident in the positive outcome of all that.
"But what kind of object could do that?" -Adrien asked his kwami.
"Maybe something from you mom?" -Plagg said. –"I remember your aunt telling you that she took every single last photo she was in with her, after your mom died. But I don't remember her saying anything about any objects." -he pointed out. –"Where are the things that belonged to your mom? I'm sure your dad wouldn't have thrown them away. He's not the sort of person who would do such a thing."
"They're in the attic. My dad ordered that everything regarding her was taken to the attic." -Adrien said. In it were pretty much all the clothes she had worn, props from her films that she collected, and many other things. Over the years, some fans of her had had tried to acquire some of those objects for their own private collections, and many auctioneers had tried to persuade Gabriel to liberate a few objects, so they could be auctioned and the money raised would be given to charity, but he had always refused. –"I haven't been up there for years now, but I think I might know where they were stored." -he stated.
"Do you think you could go up there now?" -Plagg asked him.
"I don't think so. Not without raising suspicions of course." -Adrien declared. –"And before you ask, no, it's Nathalie I'm worried about. It's my dad. I think Nathalie would even help me with this." -he said. –"Even if I went up there as Chat, I wouldn't be able to get in, without breaking one of the windows to get in, raising the alarm."
"Then, you'll have to try and go up there tomorrow after school. Didn't you say the other day, that your fencing lesson had been postponed?" -Plagg asked. –"That way, you can come home and check the attic, and your dad will never know."
The idea was not bad. If there was any chance of Adrien finding out some object that could help him end that fight between Gabriel and Elodie, he would have to try. One afternoon in the attic could be the solution to his problems and with Plagg helping him, he would be able to search through his mom's things a lot faster. The more he thought about it, the better the idea sounded like. But before he could think more about it, he lost his train of thought, as his cell phone rang, signalling that he had gotten a text. As he reached for the pocket where he had it, he wondered what could the text be about, wishing that it was not one of the others telling him there was an akuma attacking the city. After that day, he just wanted to stay home.
"What is it?" -Plagg asked him. –"Another akuma attack?" -he asked. Like Adrien, the black cat kwami did not feel like lending him his powers that night. Still, if it was the case, he would have no other choice.
"Nope… it's just Alix texting me that she got us tickets to see the exhibit her dad and her brother were helping with in the Louvre." -Adrien told Plagg. –"She's saying that she's going to propose to Miss Bustier to take us to the exhibit. Guess we'll be going to the opening in two days." -he said.
"And you think your teacher will let you go?" -Plagg asked him. He knew they had the coolest teacher in Paris, but he believed that even she would have limits, as to what they could do in school.
"If I know, Miss Bustier, she'll even dress herself as Cleopatra, just to make things more interesting for the whole class." -Adrien joked. –"You've seen her History and Literature classes… she loves to dress up. Plus, Principal Damocles won't be able to argue that she's taking us on a joyride, because it's a fieldtrip to a museum, so, she can argue that it's educational." -he told the kwami.
Just like it happened with him before, over the course of the day, Nathaniel had had a couple of amazing ideas for his Miraculous Team comic book, and it was only after dinner that he was able to draw them. While shooting the short-film, he tried to use every little bit of free time to sketch a couple of things, so as to not forget any of the ideas he came up with. Still, only when seated in front of his desk, did he truly felt like his ideas could fully come to life. Having decided to create an alternate version of the Miraculous Team. He had already come up with an alternate alter-ego for Alix, in which she was the holder of the rabbit miraculous and called herself Bunnix. And on that day, he came up with one for Kim, and another for Max, where they would be the holders of the monkey and the horse miraculouses respectively. Looking at the designs, Mulan could not help but to think they did not look like Kim or Max.
"Roi Singe and Pegase?" -Mulan said, as he read the names over the designs.
"Yeah. I think they're cool names for both Kim and Max's miraculous personas in this universe I'm creating." -Nathaniel told Mulan, as he gave the finishing touches to the heroes' designs. –"And before you say anything, I think that having them with French heroes' names, instead of English ones sounds a lot cooler." -he said. –"Monkey King and Pegasus sound like something taken of a Disney cartoon, if you ask me."
"Well, I don't oppose them having French names… but don't you think they don't look like Kim or Max at all?" -Mulan asked him. No matter how much he looked at the designs, he just could not see Kim or Max in them.
"It's kind of the point." -Nathaniel said, as he erased some of the guiding lines, he sketched to help him. –"I can't make them too similar to what they look like in reality. So that's why I decided to give them a makeover, which will help me and the readers to distinguish them."
"And why the choice of those particular miraculouses?" -Mulan asked Nathaniel.
"Well, Kim's always bragging that he's the funniest guy in our classroom and he's always playing pranks, whenever possible, and well, you know just how the monkey is associated with mischievousness… in a way, it would almost be criminal, if I didn't give it to him." -Nathaniel explained to his kwami. –"As for Max, well, he's the most intelligent guy in our class, and the horse is associated with intelligence, so it figures he would end up with it." -he said.
"I understand… still, Max doesn't look like him at all." -Mulan said.
"I admit that I might have been influenced by the Matrix movies, while coming up with his outfit and overall, but hey, you can't blame me for being inspired by them, right?" -Nathaniel said, as he began to colour the sketch. –"Though, the glasses might be a little too much, I give you that. I don't know if I'll let him keep them, or if I'll give him a different pair of glasses."
"Matrix? What's that?" -Mulan asked him, puzzled. He was not the kind of kwami who liked to watch television, and instead liked to read or to listen to music.
"Oh, yeah, I forgot that you haven't watched them… well, they're these movies, where they depict a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside a simulated reality, called the Matrix, created by thought-capable machines to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source." -Nathaniel explained to him.
It did not take long for Nathaniel to start explaining Mulan the whole story and lore of the Matrix trilogy, given it was one of his favourite sci-fi movies. And though he loved the story behind it, the main reason why he loved those movies so much, was because of the whole visual aspect of them. It was sleek and shiny, while also being rough and ungroomed at the same time. From the perspective of an illustrator or an artist like him, they were the sort of thing a person would love to conceptualize and draw.
"So, in other words, it's like a philosophical movie, but it has lots of action." -Mulan said, after hearing Nathaniel's explanation.
"Pretty much, yeah. It's the kind of movie that even Wayzz would love, because under all those gunfights, chases and explosions, it has a very interesting story." -Nathaniel stated.
"Now you're making me want to watch them." -Mulan admitted. Nathaniel had managed to spike the curiosity of the red-panda kwami.
"Well, we can do that, right after I finish colouring these two here. I've got them in Blu-Ray." -Nathaniel said, pointing to the case where he had most of his movie collection, before going back to work. –"Do you think I should give Kim red hair?" -he asked Mulan. He was having a little trouble choosing the hair colours for both Max and Kim, because he wanted to make them as unrecognizable as possible.
"I don't know… maybe?" -Mulan said. It was a bit hard for him to imagine Kim with red hair.
"Maybe… you know what? I'm going to give him red hair, just because I can." -Nathaniel chuckled. –"One of the perks of writing and drawing your own comic book, is that you can do whatever you want." -he joked, as he began to colour the drawing, beginning with the hair.
He was already half-way through the inking process, when he receives a text. Asking Mulan to check who it was, so he would not lose momentum, the kwami quickly saw it was from Alix. Reading it, the red-panda kwami told Nathaniel what it was about.
"So, she got us tickets for the exhibit's opening, two days from now?" -Nathaniel said. –"Cool! That means a fieldtrip, which also means that I'll have a little more time to sketch the rest of the heroes." -he declared. One of the things he loved about fieldtrips, was that no one would reprehend him for spending his time sketching drawings, as long as he paid attention to what was going on, from time to time, and if he did not disturb things.
"Are you going to show them to the others?" -Mulan asked him, curious.
"Not yet." -Nathaniel answered him. –"I want to draw them all and then show them to everyone. Plus, I still haven't figured out if I'm going to change the designs of Marinette, Adrien, Alya, Nino and Chloe in their miraculous forms." -he said. –"Believe me, I still have a lot of work ahead of me."
"You'll make it, like you always do." -Mulan said, cheering for him.
I know, I know, I know... this one took a little longer, but believe me, this heat makes a person incredibly sleepy and steals away all the energy. Still, it's finished. I like to point out that this chapter was pretty much an excuse for me to develop Adrien's character a little bit more, and to also explore a little bit more the multiple stories that happen inside Agreste Manor. Oh, and before you ask me, yes, the name I gave the previous holder of Plagg's miraculous isn't made up. She's the person who invented Camembert, so that means that in both this universe, and the original series universe, she was one of Plagg's previous holders. I might one of these days use her in a flashback sequence, you know? It would be something cool to add to the story.
Oh, and of course, for those who have seen Party Crasher, I don't have to tell you just who I added to this story, as part of Nathaniel's webcomic, now do I? As always, feel free to comment, fav and leave suggestions to improve the story.