Gabriel Agreste stared at him wife. She remained unconscious in her casket like box in the mansion's lower level. The glass casing was open. Her breathing had increased over the past few weeks and her cheeks were less pale. Improvement. That was all the hope he needed. Shouldn't be too long till-

Suddenly she twitched. Gabriel's eyes widened. He froze. She didn't move again. Maybe he had just imagined it. Hoped to much, maybe. Emilie's eyes shot open. They scanned her surroundings. Gabriel stepped forward and her stare struck him. Neither moved. Her eyes stay locked, attempting to process the situation.

"Gabriel?" She croaked, her mouth dry.

He sighed with a smile. "Emilie."

"What am I doing here?" She started to sit up.

"Woah, take it easy." Gabriel pulled out a water bottle. "Here. Drink some water."

Emilie took the bottle and nearly chugged it all. She wiped her mouth and stared at him as she screwed the cap on. Her eyes moved around again and she immediately tried to get out.

"Wait." Gabriel helped her out slowly. "You don't need to rush."

"Why am I here and in a casket?" She asked, stumbling to gain her balance.

"Maybe we should talk somewhere else."

"What's wrong with here?" Emilie crossed her arms. "Just tell me the truth, Gabriel."

"Fine." He sighed. "Do you remember our final battle?"

"Yes. Of course. How could I not?" She scrunched her eyebrows and rubbed her forehead. "That was the last day we fought The Keeper. We had been fighting for years, but on that day we finally defeated him. He was actually my bestfriend Mila's uncle. I don't think I ever got to tell her. She would be heartbroken if she knew the truth." She paused. "He died, but not before he blew up his home temple to destroy the other miraculouses and books. Our mentors and teacher there all died. Everything was gone after."

"Yes and . . . " Gabriel paced around. "The Keeper put a curse on your miraculous. He knew you very well because of Mila. You may have been a good person, but he couldn't stand you and because he knew your identity, he had an advantage. He set a limited number of transformations on the peacock holder."

"Oh yeah. I remember that. I still don't know what I did to make him hate me." Emilie frowned, holding her head. "But I don't remember much about my miraculous after that. Frankly, I just remember you and Adrien and like a few movies that I was in."

"That's because we tried to forget about being superheroes. We focused on each other and soon after, Adrien. We put our powers away and became a family. We formed a new life." He sighed. "But . . . even with my warnings . . . you continued to transform. Year after year, you always found someone in need of saving. Someone you couldn't leave behind. And then one day, you were out in town with a twenty-four year old girl who was running away from her dreams. She was on the verge of killing herself and you went to save her. You may have stopped her, but . . . it was the last time you ever plucked a feather from your fan. I found you collapsed on a bridge in an eternal sleep. I thought you died and that there was no hope, but I found a way to wake you. I regained feeling."

"What kind of way?" Emilie questioned. "If it's a miraculous curse, wouldn't you need either the caster or the book it came from? All of that was destroyed. There shouldn't be another way."

"Well . . . not exactly." Gabriel stopped pacing. "At least one man survived the destruction and a few books were saved. I spent years looking for the books and I found just the one I was looking for last year. The first one gave a solution involving combining the two most powerful miraculouses, the ladybug and black cat miraculous, but those two heroes are stronger than they look, so I couldn't get them. And then I found out that if I was to bring you back, I would need to take away a life. So . . . I searched for a different solution. One that was more permanent and wouldn't hurt anyone."

"What kind of solution?"

"A baby." He answered.

"You-"

"No, I wouldn't." Gabriel dismissed her thoughts. "I only wanted you. Ladybug and Chat Noir, the new ladybug and black chat miraculous holders, had a baby. A baby from two heroes like that is not just any ordinary baby. No. A baby like that has undeniable power inside them. Something extraordinary of a creation."

"What did you do?" Emilie hoped for the right answer. Scared of what he'd say.

"You and that baby are now connected." Gabriel answered.

"Connected how, Gabriel?!" She shouted, eyes welling with tears.

"By a spell."

"You put a spell on a baby?!"

"No one was hurt." He defended.

"It's someone's baby!" Emilie screamed. "I shouldn't be alive with this reasoning. If I'm to be brought back, it shouldn't be like this. Not anywhere near this. It's wrong."

"What's wrong is you being stuck in an eternal sleep! You're a hero. You did so much. The universe owes you this. The baby is alright and with her mother. She is alive and healthy . . . " He walked up to her and touched her cheek. "And so are you now."

She removed his hand. "How long was I gone? And where's Adrien? How old is he now?"

"Adrien is nineteen now and he graduated last year."

"Nineteen . . . " Her mouth gaped open. "I missed everything. Is he here? Where can I find him?"

"I'm not sure." Gabriel answered. "Two years ago, Adrien and I took a break from the fashion. I stopped to create more designs and Adrien stopped to explore other careers and opportunities. He comes homes sometimes, but I haven't really heard from him. We're both really busy."

"Really busy." Emilie crossed her arms. "This is your own house and you aren't sure if your son is home?"

Gabriel sighed before pressing his earpiece. "Nathalie, can you check if Adrien is in his room?"

"On it, sir." She replied.

"Who's Nathalie?" Emilie asked.

"My assistant."

Nathalie walked down the hall before reaching Adrien's door. She hesitated knocking and checked her watch. 10:13 p.m. Adrien was probably asleep. She creaked open the door, peaking inside. Nathalie saw Adrien in his dark room, staring at his bright computer screens. He didn't notice her. She slowly closed the door.

Nathalie exhaled, pushing her earpiece. "He's not here, sir." She answered.

"Thank you, Nathalie." Gabriel said, turning to Emilie. "I guess he's not here."