Graham backed against the vault door. Arguss shivered inside his short pocket. The dim light in the room did nothing to clear away the terror of what they had just found.

A body.

A dead body.

A dead body that reminded him too much of Adrien.

This is…Mrs. Agreste!

Inside a glass coffin was a beautiful blonde woman with her hands crossed over her chest and her long hair spread out behind her shoulders. She laid in a long white gown with droopy sleeves, on top of a light blue pillow and blanket. A crown of daisies rested on her head to match the white slippers over her pale feet. Graham felt as if he was facing the coffin of a medieval queen…only, this queen was supposed to be at the bottom of a Tibetan mountain.

"What does this mean, Graham?!"

"It means that HawkMoth is closer to attempting a resurrection than we feared."

"We have to get the others!"

Graham stepped forward until he was right beside the coffin. Under the coffin it was as if time had never touched Mrs. Agreste. Somehow Mr. Kubdel has used his museum connections to get her body out of the mountain and into his basement…he shivered just thinking about it. Adrien was going to freak…how had Mr. Agreste not freaked?

Unless he has no idea.

Arguss flew out of his pocket and sat on the coffin. "This is so much darker than anything you and I have faced. This is getting out of control."

"We can stop him."

"We?"

"Povas, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Queen Bee and Vixen." Graham leaned down and examined the peaceful expression on Mrs. Agreste's face. "No more hiding. No more keeping secrets. Even if it costs me my sight…we have to tell the others."

"Are you sure? After three hundred years-"

"This is no longer just us versus HawkMoth – this is us versus the fate of reality. If he tries to go any farther with his plan…"

Neither finished his statement. Both knew what could happen. The uncertainty of messing with reality and time was enough to put a damper on their spirits. Graham turned back to the door. He picked the right keys to lock the coffin in behind them. "We can come back for her with officers. Then Ladybug and the rest of us can-!"

Something was wiggling its way under the door. Graham crouched to get a closer look. He had no idea the museum had a rat infestation…or a cockroach infestation…or…!

Butterfly.

He crawled back up against the coffin as a dark butterfly popped into the room. Arguss gasped. "HawkMoth knows we came!"

Of course he does. Mr. Kubdel never went to Australia. He stayed in Paris and hid away. Now he has me trapped in his vault room!

"You have to transform before it akumatizes you! Heroes are safe inside their costumes! Hurry, before the akuma-"

Graham had to jump over the coffin to avoid being hit by the akuma as it fluttered about. Arguss grabbed the peacock brooch and flew out of its reach. Graham glanced back at the bottom of the vault. He groaned.

Three more were slipping under the door.

Then three more.

Graham was now backed up against the far wall of the room. A huge cloud of akumas had taken to the other side, pouring out from under the door and collecting in front of the locks. In less than a moment he was unable to see the door behind the indigo wings. "Arguss, get out of here."

"Not without you!"

The cloud of akumas was hovering closer…closer…closer…Graham gave Arguss one final grin.

"Bring the others together."

"Graham!"

The akumas enveloped him. Arguss shrieked, nearly dropping the brooch as she raced out of the room. In seconds she was outside the museum and racing towards the Bourgeois hotel. She had to get the other heroes.

Hold on, Graham, hold on!

Back in the vault room, an emotional battle was stirring. Over a hundred akumas were possessing Graham through his army boots. He could feel them inside his brain. They were trying to get him as sad, as scared, and as angry as humanly possible, and then some. He writhed on the vault floor in pain, head in his hands as he tried shaking off their influence. He was so focused on trying to keep himself happy that he didn't hear someone walk into the vault and loom over him. When he finally opened his eyes, panting and sweating profusely, he found HawkMoth looking down at him like he was some cheap rug.

"I was hoping we could have a heart to heart chat before I finished my mission."

Graham tried to spit on his shoes but ended up letting out a groan. HawkMoth leaned against the coffin without a care in the world. "How kind of you to befriend my son while he works alone. I was worried he was becoming a tad antisocial in his work."

Graham could barely speak. It hurt to open his mouth. It hurt to breathe. "You…have…to…stop. This…is…evil!"

HawkMoth could see Graham drifting away. "This is love."

I have to fight it…I have to fight it…I have to fight…I have to…I have…I…I…

Darkness enveloped his body. He stood before HawkMoth in his old Eye of Hera outfit, a black jumpsuit, fingerless gloves, and hood with thick mesh face cover. This time, however, the trim was bright purple instead of blue, and the eye on his face cover was now a butterfly. HawkMoth held his staff out and smirked.

"Welcome to the fold at last, Performer. I need you to…well, you should know better than any other akuma what has to be done."

Performer knocked his knuckles together. "Break the heroes until I can rip the miraculous from their bodies."

"…Dark…but yes." He walked around the coffin and opened the vault door. "Bourgeois hotel is your destination."

Performer ran out of the room and dashed down the hall. HawkMoth glanced back at the coffin and gently traced his gloved hand over the glass.

"Just a little bit more time…"

Things are only going to get darker from here folks, and I will not be backing down! The time has come for a few final confrontations, and it all starts with a party crash followed by so many shocks and revelations that I might need an aspirin after all this! I hope you guys are enjoying the story.

P.S for those who are shipping ChloexGraham...just...just hold on...just a little bit...things are gonna get interesting...

Until the next chapter!