"What?" Adrien breathed, though he'd heard Marinette perfectly well.
"He was Hawkmoth all along," Marinette said, her face scrunching up as she fought back more tears.
"But... but he can't be! It's impossible! He was akumatized! Why would Hawkmoth akumatize himself? How could he? It doesn't make sense! If he really said that... then he must have totally lost it! He must have gone crazy! My father can't be Hawkmoth!"
"And he knew that we were Ladybug and Chat Noir, too," Marinette continued, as though she hadn't heard or considered anything he'd just said.
Adrien choked on his words. He couldn't fathom why Marinette would be saying such ridiculous things. Maybe she was the one who'd had a few screws knocked loose. He was confused, and even angry. But he didn't want to lash out at her, no matter how preposterous her allegations were. She'd obviously been through a lot that evening. He would have to be gentle with her; help her to see reason.
"He figured out that you were Chat after he saw your head wound when we met him outside your apartment. And he figured out I was Ladybug when I showed up here tonight. I shouldn't have known where to find you," Marinette continued, as though determined to keep speaking no matter what.
"Marinette, it can't be true," he said, gently but firmly, like he was trying to calm a crazy person. "For crying out loud, I lived with him," he chuckled. "How could Hawkmoth live in the same house as Chat Noir for years, and neither one figure out who the other is? If my father was really dedicating his life to finding our miraculouses, he would have found mine. I wore it in front of him all the time!"
"Then Plagg disappeared, and I knew you must have died or had your ring removed." Marinette, refusing to be sidetracked, plodded on mercilessly with her story. "The doctor came and told us that you'd bled to death during surgery. He gave your father the bag with everything you'd been wearing. Then we went to see your body."
Adrien stifled his frustration. He knew Marinette must be in shock. He wondered what it must have been like for her. He tried to imagine how he would feel going to see Marinette's body with her father if Mr. Dupain had been an outwardly cold and distant parent. His mind recoiled from the pain of the idea. "I'm sorry, Marinette," He said gently. "If I hadn't jumped in like I did, none of this would have happened."
"No, Adrien. I should have waited for you. I made a lot of mistakes tonight, and we're both paying for them." She sniffed. "My only defense is that when I cast my Lucky Charm, I didn't intend to use it to free the akuma. I was only thinking about helping you get away from your father. But when I saw the solution so clearly, I acted instinctively and just... did it."
Adrien still wasn't sure what had made Marinette lose touch with reality, but he thought maybe she was just feeling guilty that her slip up had—for a short time—cost him his life. So he did his best to comfort her. He drew her into his arms and rubbed her back while she softly cried into his shoulder.
"It'll be okay, princess, you'll see. In a few weeks we'll be looking back on this and see that it's just a little bump in the road."
"No..." Marinette shook her head and leaned back, looking Adrien in the face again. "It gets worse! And I should have known! I should have been on my guard. And the worst part is that I can't even make myself feel sorry about it, except for your sake."
"What?"
She started speaking so quickly that Adrien had a hard time keeping up. "He took them. My earrings. And he already had your ring in the bag. And he ran. And I wasn't fast enough to catch up to him. He did it...this...Your life was his wish. He wanted to bring your mom back. That's why he wanted our miraculouses all this time. But he brought you back instead. And I'm glad he did. I think I shouldn't be, but I am! I'm so glad!"
Adrien was shocked for a moment, but then he thought he saw a way to help Marinette out of her delusion.
"Marinette," he spoke softly, trying to show that he wasn't angry or insulted, hoping that she saw he was trying to help her. "You're wearing your earrings. They're right here." He touched her ear, running his finger over the smooth black stone of her miraculous.
"I know they are!" She huffed, finally getting a little irritated at his condescending tone and his assumption that she'd gone insane. "I found him hiding in a bathroom. I chased him through this whole damned hospital trying to stop him! And I got to him just as he made his wish, and then I took back the miraculouses. Mine. Yours. And the brooch of the butterfly: Hawkmoth's miraculous."
Adrien watched, feeling his skepticism shatter like a thin pane of glass when met with a flying rock, as Marinette produced his ring and an unfamiliar tiny black brooch from her bag. Adrien took the ring and stared at the brooch.
"That's... Hawkmoth's miraculous?" He asked.
"That's what Tikki says."
Adrien had all but forgotten that Tikki was with them. He looked down and saw the little red kwami poke her head out of Marinette's bag. She looked weak and tired even though he knew that Marinette had fed her already.
"It's all true, Adrien," she said. "I'm sorry, but it's all true."
"Here, Tikki. Take another." Marinette stuffed a second cookie into her bag and the kwami disappeared again.
"Granting a wish seems to have taken a lot out of her," Marinette noted, keeping her eyes averted from Adrien. "Plagg might be starving when you put the ring back on," she nodded toward the ring in Adrien's hand. "There's one last thing..."
"Just one?" Adrien laughed mirthlessly as the truth and all its implications started to sink in. "My father... my father is Hawkmoth?! He's the one who's been terrorizing Paris for years? He's the one who's been abusing Nooroo by twisting his power for evil? He's the one who betrayed my mom—his wife!—to steal her miraculous and got her killed?" Adrien jumped up and started pacing the room. "My father did all this? All this time I thought... but no... where is he? Did he run away? We have to stop him!"
"No, Adrien. It's not like... No, I don't think he betrayed your mom. And I don't think she's dead, either."
"But..."
"He was after our miraculouses so he could save your mom from something. I don't know what it is. But the last thing he said to me was asking for my help, to find her in Tibet. So I don't think she's dead."
A wild hope rose up within him. Suddenly, the idea that his father was Hawkmoth seemed almost inconsequential. He'd wanted to use the miraculouses to save Adrien's mom! He hadn't had some sort of evil plan after all! Well, maybe it was sort of evil, but not as bad as he'd always thought it was. And his mom might not be dead! He could get her back!
"I have to say it now," Marinette interrupted his thoughts. "The longer I put it off the harder it's going to be. I'm sorry. I feel like I should have said it a lot sooner. I've been trying to."
"You should have said what?"
"You remember that the wish comes at a cost, don't you? An equal but opposite consequence of the thing wished for?"
And just like that, all his uplifted feelings sank back down again. "Did my father kill someone to bring me back?"
"He traded his own life for yours, Adrien."
"He... what?"
"I called for help and they rushed him back to the ICU, but there's nothing they can do for him. He's gone. He used his wish to save you and paid for it with his own life." Her eyes were swimming again. "I'm so sorry."
Adrien didn't say anything for a long time. He stared at Marinette for a minute, taking in the intense candor of her expression, then hunched over and dropped his head into his hands with a mournful sigh.
Marinette draped her arm over his back and rested her head on his shoulder. They sat there alone together, secluded from the outside world, while the minutes silently ticked past.
After a while, soft sobs began to echo through the bright empty room.
—
The world carried on, as it always does. The discovery that his father had been Hawkmoth, followed by the news that he had sacrificed himself to save Adrien's life, had been a critical blow to the young man's psyche. For the first several days after that fateful night, Adrien had trouble internalizing the information. He knew, in his mind, that it was all true. But he still kept himself on the alert for any sign of a new akumatized villain. And, after he moved back into the Agreste estate—which he now owned—he expected to see his father walking the halls and giving instructions to Nathalie, or hear his voice echoing from other rooms while he argued with a business partner over the phone.
In his father's will, Adrien had been left nearly everything. The company, the mansion, the cars, the money, all the furniture, and most of the real estate properties. Gabriel had given a few things to other people. Some family friends whom Adrien remembered from his early childhood were given the piece of land and house they'd been renting from his father. Nathalie and The Gorilla were both given a large sum of money and several hundred shares of Gabriel stock. There were a few people mentioned whom Adrien had never met before. They received items from the house that seemed to hold sentimental value, like a large vase, or a jade statue, or an ivory hair comb.
Gabriel Agreste's funeral was big news on all the stations, in every newspaper, and all over social media. They had to have guards posted around the funeral home and cemetery to keep the paparazzi out. But despite the hordes of people interested in the fashion superstar's death, the number of people who attended funeral were shockingly few. Adrien, Alya, Nino, Marinette, and Marinette's parents were there. As were The Gorilla and Nathalie. But none of Gabriel's other business associates felt close enough to the man to make an appearance. And Gabriel didn't have any other living relatives.
Adrien was miserable living in the giant house that had belonged to his father, but he felt it necessary in order to set his affairs in order. He hired The Gorilla and Nathalie to temporarily continue their roles as driver and assistant, because he knew they were superb at their jobs and didn't want them forced to look for new ones on such short notice. Most of the time, however, he was all alone with his memories, and he hated it. He intended to sell the place as soon as he could, and that meant going though everything and clearing it all out. His friends sometimes came over to help him, especially Nino and Marinette. This was both a blessing and a curse, because even though Adrien didn't want to be alone, ever, his latent misery seemed to erupt from him as a volatile temper whenever he was around people. And even though he was glad for the company, he worried that sooner or later he would push them too far and they wouldn't want to come back.
As the days passed into weeks and summer started relaxing into fall, Marinette gently brought up the subject of announcing Hawkmoth's 'defeat' to the news. Neither Ladybug nor Chat Noir had made an appearance since Hothead, and people were starting to wonder what had happened to them. Alya had been writing nonstop conspiracy theory blog posts about the heroes. She felt there must be some significance to the fact that Chat Noir hadn't been present at the last battle, and she was highly suspicious that Adrien had been healed after the Miraculous Ladybug power had been used. Some of her theories were, in fact, uncomfortably close to the mark. But Adrien didn't feel up to having a press conference as Chat and answering all those questions. It didn't feel right saying that they had 'defeated' Hawkmoth when they hadn't done any such thing. And any other explanation they might offer would bring too much scrutiny to the situation.
Marinette had returned the butterfly miraculous to Master Fu at her earliest convenience. They had not summoned Nooroo, even though Adrien had really wanted to. Marinette thought the poor kwami had been through enough already, and may even be in need of restoration. And she trusted the Master to ask any and all necessary questions in his own time.
Adrien was frustrated with the decision, even though at the time he thought she was probably right. Still, he couldn't help but be short with Marinette when he thought about all the questions they'd left unanswered.
"If you felt that strongly about it, then why did you agree with me?" Marinette asked one evening. They were working together in the larger of the house's two studies. Marinette was boxing up books while Adrien sorted through the items in a large oak desk. Plagg was taking a nap in an empty Camembert box on a shelf and Tikki was reading through some of the books stacked on the floor.
"Because it seemed right at the time! But..."
"But it doesn't anymore?"
"I can't think of a reason why summoning Nooroo, just to ask him a few questions, would have been wrong. I trust Master Fu... But I don't always agree with him. And I think I deserve some answers. And you do, too!"
"I'm sure he'll answer our questions eventually."
"Really? When?" Adrien demanded. "Five years from now? Ten? According to his timeline we shouldn't even know one another's identities yet. It's been over five years, and I still don't know where my mom is! And I only think she might be alive because of something Hawkmoth told us!"
Marinette grimaced, like she always did when Adrien referred to his father as Hawkmoth.
"How can you be so... complacent?" He fumed. "Didn't you want to at least ask a few questions?"
"Of course I wanted to. But I just thought..."
"I know. I know!" Adrien slammed one of the drawers closed and wrenched another one open, feeling horrible for snapping at Marinette again, but still angry all the same. Somewhere inside himself he knew that he wasn't really angry at her. He didn't even know who he was angry at. He was just... angry. And he couldn't seem to help taking it out on those closest to him.
He turned away, covered his eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself the way Master Fu had taught him. It worked a little bit.
"Adrien...?"
"I'm sorry, Marinette."
"No... well, yes, thank you. And I forgive you. But... is that the bag of your clothes from the hospital? Why is it in here?"
"Huh?" He looked back. Marinette was pointing at a bag in the drawer Adrien had just opened.
"Oh... No, that's my father's stuff. I just stuck it in there after... I haven't even opened it. I was kind of hiding it, actually." He stared at the hospital bag containing the clothes, shoes, watch, and anything else his father had been wearing when he was at the hospital, not wanting to touch it. Marinette, sensing his aversion, reached in and took out the bag.
"I can do this one, if you want," she murmured.
Adrien grabbed her elbow as she withdrew her hand from the drawer. "I really am sorry, Marinette."
She gave him a small smile. "I know."
"I've been such a jerk lately. I don't know why you put up with it."
Her smile widened. "Don't be silly. Of course you know." She bent a little closer and whispered conspiratorially into his ear. "It's because I love you."
Adrien chuckled a little and wiped some moisture from his eye while Marinette kissed his cheek and took the hospital bag over to her work area.
"Don't be afraid to just throw everything in there in the trash. I kind of don't want to see any of it ever again."
"Mmhmm," she nodded, prying open the knot.
"Um... Marinette? Are you...okay?" Tikki had looked up from her book and was staring at her mistress with a strangely concerned expression.
Marinette paused before reaching into the bag. "Yeah, I'm fine. What do you mean?"
"What's wrong, Tikki?" Adrien asked.
Tikki's eyebrows furrowed. She pursed her tiny lips and floated over to Marinette. "I sense...something. Something familiar. Something..." She zoomed around the place where Marinette was sitting, much like a dog trying to pick up a scent. "...coming from in there!"
Marinette started to reach in to pull everything out.
"No! Don't touch it!
"What? Why not?"
"It might be dangerous. Back up."
Without hesitation, Marinette and Adrien got up and backed away from the bag together. Then Tikki grabbed the bottom corner, upended the bag, and emptied its contents in one jumbled pile on the floor. Then she flitted all over the items, examining every piece, discarding things left and right, until finally... "Aha! I found it!"
"What? What is it?" Adrien asked.
Tikki floated up to eye level dangling a golden locket on a long chain.
"My father's locket? What's wrong with it?" Adrien asked, stepping forward and stretching out his hand.
"Don't touch it!" Tikki backed away, keeping the locket out of reach. "I think it's contaminated."
"Contaminated with what?"
Tikki didn't answer. She just zoomed to the desk, laid the locket on it's dark polished surface, and started examining every tiny crevice in the ornate gold. She opened the locket, revealing a picture of Adrien's mother. She examined the edges of the picture, then finally prised the picture out of the locket. And there it was, behind where the picture had rested, a small splotch of some mysterious dark substance.
"Is... is that...?" Adrien began.
"The same evil stuff we found in New York? The stuff that made the Trash Krakken?" Marinette finished.
Tikki looked up at them gravely. "Yep."
