Chapter Fifty-Two

Adrien's green eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. His father was Hawkmoth, his mother was supposedly alive and he felt completely lost. Emotions warred within him to the point that he was numb. What was he supposed to do? His loyalties were torn. His heart and soul belonged to Ladybug but he also loved his parents.

It was clear that Gabriel was toeing the line of insanity. If he was telling the truth and Emilie was still alive, why hadn't he said something sooner? Why hide it from him? For years Adrien had mourned his mother, accepting she was gone. Never to be in his life again. Over the last four years he'd longed to hear her sweet voice, to be held in her arms and reassured when life got tough. Heck, he'd reread a number of childhood storybooks she'd read to him when he was a child, just to be reminded of her voice when following the words.

Part of him ached to reconnect with his mother. To have a chance to see her again. Memories and dreams had been the only place that she'd lived on. It seemed surreal to even consider the remote possibility that she wasn't actually gone. But Gabriel had said that the peacock miraculous had made Emilie sick.

Green eyes refocussed and looked to Plagg. "What's wrong with the peacock miraculous?"

Plagg shrugged. "No idea, kid. It's been missing for a long time."

Tikki joined her counterpart, hovering before Adrien. "Master Fu lost both the peacock and butterfly miraculous. Neither of us know the details but Wayzz has dropped hints on occasion. Fu wanted to redeem himself, he wanted to fix what happened with the other guardians. He met up with a man who claimed to be a former guardian who had left on a quest for further enlightenment. He claimed to have become an alchemist and from what I understand, he stole the two miraculous."

"Why those two?" Marinette added as she leaned a little closer to Adrien on the sofa.

Tikki continued. "I think it was a crime of opportunity, they were unsecured at the time and so the alchemist took them. We can only assume he tried to mix his magic with miraculous. Probably seeking further power. Fu came across the alchemist a decade later. He was dying and made little sense. By that stage he'd sold the miraculous he had at markets, claiming he needed the money to try and heal himself. He died days later."

Adrien nodded in understanding. "And Fu never recovered them. Then at some point my parents came across them." His gaze snapped to Tikki. "Could the butterfly miraculous be corrupted too? It would explain my father's behaviour."

Tikki and Plagg turned to give each other a morose glance, the former continued. "Nooroo wasn't changed. We kwamis attempted to contact him on his birthday, during the Sandboy akuma. He was powering Hawkmoth at the time and it was clear that he wasn't touched by other magic."

Plagg snorted. "Just enslaved by Hawkmoth."

The model winced. He'd always known that Gabriel was emotionally cold, but this was beyond anything Adrien had ever considered. Gabriel had never been a people person, yet his behaviour and actions had become increasingly terse after the loss of Emilie. Adrien had always chalked up the emotional distance to his father's grieving. Instead he had been plotting to get his wife back, apparently unfazed by the sacrifice: the loss of a close relationship with his son.

Memories of all the akumas he'd faced without the mask flittered through Adrien's mind. One instance particularly stung. Style Queen. Hawkmoth had allowed him to be blasted into a frozen statue of gold glitter. His fricking father. The same man who had caused a media frenzy when he had turned up at the resumed fashion show to hug his son. Gabriel Agreste's first public appearance since the disappearance of his wife. Supposedly due to the need to check his son was okay. Adrien began to fume, it wasn't done out of concern but rather guilt.

"Adrien." Marinette said in a gentle voice as her hand stroked his forearm.

"Yeah."

"What are you thinking?"

He frowned. "Of all the times Daddy dearest threw me before his latest akuma. Of all the lies."

Marinette pulled him into her arms, cradling his face against her chest. "I'm not condoning what he's done, but he must care to some degree. Remember Gorizilla?"

A smile tugged at his lips. "How could I forget? I leapt off a building because you asked me to trust you."

"Yeah, that was a potentially bad call. When I jumped after you, I got snatched up by Gorizilla and the only reason I was able to eventually catch you was because he let me go. I never understood why. Now I do. Your father didn't want you hurt. Hawkmoth ordered his minion to release his enemy because he wanted me to rescue his son."

Adrien mulled over her words. Remembering how she'd been calling out to Chat Noir to help her, not knowing that it was her partner's alter ego falling to possible doom. His faith in Ladybug had never wavered, although he had considered transforming if the ground had gotten too close.

Wrapping his arms tightly around his girlfriend, Adrien nuzzled his face against her throat. "It would have been bad PR to have me splattered on the pavement."

Marinette snorted at his sardonic tone. "I think he was motivated by more than PR."

"The tragedy of losing my beautiful face." He mocked.

"Now that would have been a catastrophe."

Adrien chuckled at her pun. "That should have been my line."

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me."

He wiggled his eyebrows. "I'd rather be rubbing on you."

She whacked him playfully on the shoulder. "Flirt."

"Tease," he said with a smile. Sitting back to look at the girl who was able to cheer him up when he was at an all time low. Those expressive blue eyes were studying him with an intensity that made his heart speed up. So much compassion, so much caring, so much love. Damn, he'd wanted someone to cherish him like this his entire life. Adrien raised his hand to caress her cheek, smoothing it down her jaw to cup her chin. "I love you, Marinette. So very much."

"I love you too, Adrien. And I'll be by your side through this. I'm not leaving you. You hear me?" she said as she shifted to straddle his lap, holding his face between her hands.

"I hear you," he said, laying his forehead against hers. "But you might need to leave me for a bit tomorrow. As much as it pains me to say it, I need to know if my father is telling the truth about Mum. If she's still alive, I need to know."

Sighing, Marinette lowered her hands and laced her fingers behind his neck. "I understand."

Plagg cut in. "I'm not sure that's a good idea. He could be trying to lure you in, just to steal your miraculous."

"I wouldn't put it passed him," Tikki added.

"Yeah, I know." Adrien admitted. "But I have to go."

Marinette swept his hair away from his face with her splayed fingers. "I don't like this."

"We've got until tomorrow to come up with a plan."


In the early hours of dawn, Adrien lay on his back in bed unable to sleep. At some point he'd dozed off with his lady in his arms but now he was alone. He wasn't sure where Marinette had gone but he assumed she'd be back before the sun was up. For the millionth time he was thankful to have the apartment as a temporary sanctuary. He supposed that Marinette could have snuck him into her room at home, but it was safer here. If Hawkmoth struck, there'd only be the two of them to contend with. Then it dawned on him, he'd unwittingly exposed Ladybug's identity. When he'd told Gabriel that he loved Ladybug, that she was his girlfriend, he'd pretty much highlighted who his partner really was.

"Dammit," he hissed as he thumped the headboard with his fist.

Plagg snorted awake. "What?"

"Father will have figured out that Marinette is Ladybug."

"You weren't very subtle," Plagg concurred.

"I have to go tomorrow. Hell, I'm half convinced we should check on her parent's place."

"He said he'd give you a day."

Adrien's jaw tensed. "But do we believe him?"

A light thud sounded on the balcony. Followed by the quiet padding of feet. Adrien considered transforming but suspected it was his partner. Sure enough, Ladybug sauntered in with something in her hand. "Hey, you're awake."

"Yeah. Where'd you go?"

"To see Master Fu. I told him what was going on. I figured you wouldn't want to rehash the details."

"Thanks."

Ladybug sank to the bed and lay on her side, holding out the object in her hand. "He suggested we use this."

"A miraculous box?" Adrien said in confusion.

"It's more than that," she told as she opened the box. "This is the bee miraculous. Fu suggested that you wear it as well as the cat miraculous."

"Why?"

"I told him you are going to see your father alone to learn the truth about your mother. He wanted to give you an advantage. Apparently, you can wear two miraculous at once. Just not ours together. He suggests that we hide this in your hair." She pointed at the bee hair comb. "That way if your father does manage to steal your ring, you're not defenceless."

Adrien nodded in appreciation. "That does make me feel better. What's it's power?"

"It can incapacitate a person."

"That could come in handy."

"Especially if you want to steal their miraculous too." The pair grinned at each other. "Hawkmoth won't see this coming."

"Let's hope not." Adrien rolled to his back and lifted the sheet. "How about you come here and reassure me? I'm thinking kisses are a great tool to bolster my confidence."

"What a fabulous idea," Ladybug grinned and joined him under the sheet.


Our heroes have a plan B, but will it work or will Hawkmoth surprise them? Find out soon.

I'm so excited - 500 followers - so much wow! Thank you for the support, you wonderful people. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the review box below. Until next chapter... (In case it's later than planned, I'll wish you a Merry Christmas!)