Thanks to everyone for all of your encouraging comments! (You know who you are~) I wish you all happy reading!

Gabriel quietly surveyed the room, his eyes coming to a standstill as they met with Adrien's. The world was impossibly quiet, the silence deafening. An eternity passed, no one moved, no one spoke. At long last Gabriel turned to head back down the stairs, his eyes still on his son.

"It's time to come home, Adrien," Gabriel began walking down the steps, not waiting to see if Adrien would follow but simply knowing his son wouldn't dare refuse him.

The door to the entrance all closed and the two teens took a collective breath. Marinette turned to look at Adrien, her brows knitted together in worry. She couldn't tell him to forget his father and just stay there with her, no matter how she wanted to. She wasn't so much of a wiseacre that she believed to know everything that went on in Adrien's life behind closed doors. If anything, she knew – now more than ever – that she knew next to nothing about him. But he was her friend, and that was all she needed to know.

Adrien looked at Marinette as the door clicked shut behind his father. His expression was unreadable. Was it terror she saw in his eyes? Adrien wanted to apologize. He wanted to tell her that coming here was a mistake, that he'd just put her in very real danger. He wanted to tell her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her but it was no use. His could hardly breath and his voice had stopped working.

Standing from the couch where he'd been seated, he walked around to the front door. Pausing for only a moment to look Marinette in the eye once more.

"Don't try and contact me..." he managed to whisper through clenched teeth. His body felt stiff, every fiber of his being rejecting the idea of leaving this place. Gabriel had pervaded in upon his son's safe place and it left him shaken to the core. Gabriel never left his house for any reason. Despite what he thought Gabriel was capable of, Adrien knew in his heart of hearts that his father's appearance here was a silent threat. It sent a simple message, one that resonated within him, Obey me. "everything will be okay... I promise..."

"Adrien..." Marinette breathed his name as he walked out the door and down the steps. He didn't look back.

Adrien climbed into the car, hardly daring to breathe. Everything was silent as the car took them home. His father didn't even look at him. It made Adrien even more uncomfortable that if his father had started lecturing him. It made him feel exceedingly small and insignificant. The car lurched to a stop outside the house and Adrien followed his father inside. The front door closing ominously behind him, he didn't feel safe here. He wanted to run away, back to Marinette. He felt Plagg press himself against his chest from inside his shirt pocket but the gesture held little comfort for him.

"Adrien," Gabriel spoke at long last as he continued through the doors on the left that lead to the front office. He paused to look back at his son who had stopped following him just inside the front doors. "come with me. There's something I need to show you."

If Adrien had been asked to guess what his father was about to show him, he wouldn't have guessed this. The Atrium was dark but an interlocking metal gate shrunk back on itself to reveal the window and flood a portion of the room with light. The white butterflies lifted off the ground in the presence of light, fluttering around the seemingly empty rotunda. Adrien stood just outside the circle of light, enveloped by the surrounding darkness.

"Contrary to what you might think. I'm not angry about you disappearing last night..." Gabriel said simply as he stood amidst the butterflies. He wasn't looking at Adrien, instead, his gaze steadily watched the city beyond the window. "But I would advise against Chat Noir going to visit Miss Marinette again. The more you see her the higher the risk that she will find out your identity." Adrien shifted uncomfortably but his father was still facing away from him and didn't see. "The last thing I want is for someone innocent to learn too much and end up getting hurt because of it. Though, I imagine you find that rather hard to believe."

Adrien remained quiet, listening to what his father was saying. He didn't seem angry. He wasn't yelling, he seemed calm, sad even. Thinking back, Adrien noted that his father had been more melancholy since he'd revealed his identity to him only two weeks ago. Adrien would have felt bad for him if it weren't for the underlying threats his father was making. How could someone simultaneously be both sad and threatening?

"Please, believe me when I say that this isn't what I wanted," Gabriel's professional tone wavered, his back still to his son. Extending his arms out to either side he called on his transformation. "Nooroo! Dark wings, rise!"

The butterflies landed on him, swirling into his transformation before bursting outwards in a flash of light. Adrien's spine went rigid, his muscles contracting. He hadn't exactly been expecting this. Nails already digging into his palms, dug deeper as Adrien clenched his fists even harder. He was so tense he felt he might actually rupture an internal organ.

"There is going to be an Akuma attack today," Hawkmoth finally turned his head just enough to look back at Adrien, still standing in the shadows. "I would like for Chat Noir to deliver a simple message to Ladybug for me. If you would?" before Adrien could inquire, Hawkmoth held up a hand. "You don't have to fight her, just giver her a verbal message."

"W-what message?" Adrien crossed his arms defensively. He couldn't exactly say no to his father, not after almost openly threatening Marinette. Adrien would do whatever was necessary to keep Marinette and her family safe. Delivering a message wouldn't be so hard, right?

oOo

Ladybug stood panting as the little white butterfly disappeared into the sky. Chat Noir had watched the battle from the sidelines. This Akuma had been more terrifying than most of the others he'd faced in the past. It had been a city firefighter keen on setting the whole city ablaze after he'd been retired due to what he believed was an insignificant injury. Chat had actually almost been dragged into the battle once or twice but managed to remain out of sight – and un-singed – until the end.

Chat was hardly surprised to see that a third new hero had appeared. The sight of the black and yellow heroine did nothing but provoke his ire. As Ladybug and the others shared a four-way fist bump Chat Noir walked out into the street, clapping his hands in mock praise. They turned to look at him, all of them freezing where they stood.

"Ch-Chat Noir!" Ladybug croaked, the name sticking in her throat like sandpaper. She wanted nothing more than to run to him and throw her arms around him but she steadied her impulse. Something was wrong.

"You told me to leave. You implied that I was unnecessary, said you could fight the Akumas alone..." Chat tapped his chin as he surveyed the three new heroes standing behind Ladybug. "I could be wrong... but I think you lied to me. You don't want to fight alone, you just don't want me as your partner."

"Chat, no!" Ladybug cried taking several steps forward. "This isn't-"

"Isn't what?!" Chat yelled at her causing the other three to gather around Ladybug defensively. "This isn't what it looks like? After all this time that's all you have to say?!" Chat's laugh was unsettling, manic almost. Ladybug pushed through the three heroes and motioned for them to stay back as she once again approached Chat Noir. This was her battle.

"I'm sorry I lied to you!" Ladybug cried, as her earrings beeped for the second time. "I need you Chat! I always have! I always will! Please come back! I'm sorry!"

"Well, maybe you should have realized that sooner..." Chat growled, his voice low. "Even if I wanted to come back, I can't. Hawkmoth won't allow it."

"What do you mean, he won't allow it?" Queen Bee interjected placing her hands on her hips defiantly. Ladybug motioned for her to stop talking but Chat looked her in the eye.

"How is any of this your business, New-bee?" Chat chided her, causing her to visibly blanch at the name jab. He turned back to Ladybug. "He sent me here with a message for you."

"He s-sent you?" Ladybug was on edge as Chat stepped forward and leaned close to her ear.

"He wants to meet with you, face to face," Chat whispered. Ladybug let out a small gasp. "He said to meet him tonight at the Eiffel Tower and you'd better come alone. He only wants to talk." Chat leaned back and saw the look on Ladybug's face. The wheels in her head were turning, she was forming some kind of plan, he could tell.

"Chat, what happened to you?" Ladybug asked reaching out and taking his arm as he started to walk away. Chat pulled his arm from her grip and looked back at her. "Please let me help you!"

"Funny, isn't it?" Chat said as he pulled out his baton. "You didn't want me when I was at your beck and call. So, I gave you what you wanted. I left and suddenly you want to pretend to be hurt like you ever actually cared about me... I have to go. I've done my part and I delivered my father's message." Chat bit his tongue, he didn't mean to say that!

"Hawkmoth is your father?!" Ladybug cried out desperately, Marinette behind the mask screamed for him to come clean. She wanted him to trust in her once again but she was short on time. The heroes behind her gasped collectively. Chat fumbled with his baton and stepped several paces back from her. He hadn't expected her to explode at him or for her to yell that so loudly. Would that get him in trouble? Was she endangering Marinette by shouting things so recklessly?! "Is he making you do this?! Is he threatening you?!"

"He... I..." Chat looked around like a scared kitten, clutching his baton to his chest. His voice quiet as he found his lungs unable to take in enough air. He was panicking. He had to give Marinette a safety net, a backup plan. "I can't let him hurt her... He threatened me with my friend earlier today! Marinette Dupain-Cheng... I-I'm going to be in so much trouble... but she's precious to me! You have to keep her safe! I will do whatever he says to keep her safe! I'm sorry..."

Without waiting for a response, Chat turned and ran, extending his baton to launch himself over the rooftops and back to where Hawkmoth waited. The heroes only had a moment to stand dumbstruck before their failing transformations drove them into hiding.

Chat Noir stood hunched several paces away from Hawkmoth. His expression was impassive but Chat could feel his father's dissatisfaction with every fiber of his being. Chat cringed as his father walked forward slowly, his cane tapping metronomically as he approached. His eyes were on the floor, staring at his feet as Hawkmoth came to a stop in front of him. He stood for a minute, watching his son's spirit diminish under the weight of his gaze before he finally spoke.

"You couldn't have delivered the message more perfectly," Chat couldn't stop himself from glancing up into his father's face. Hawkmoth's one-sided grin made Chat's skin crawl. It was then that Chat realized the true message he'd delivered to Ladybug...

Chat Noir was under Hawkmoth's control.