They were all allowed on the trip to Tibet, including Adrien, much to his surprise. Though naturally, he had to bring Gorilla along with him. Nathaniel wasn't exactly fond of leaving his grandmother behind in the hospital when he was sure her days were limited, but he couldn't abandon his new team and his friends, so he asked the staff to call him if anything serious happened. Chloe offered to send him back to Paris immediately if need be.
They spent their first day in Tibet resting from the long flight, and wandering into town a bit. They knew their chaperones would report back to their families all that they did and experienced, so they needed to fill up their itinerary with plenty of things to make the trip a success. But to them, the only thing that would make this trip successful was bringing Adrien's mother along with them on the plane home.
The next morning, as the began sun rose, shining dull rays into the boys' room, Adrien sneaked out of the room, trying not to wake up his friends and all of their sleeping Kwami's.
He tiptoed down the hall, and creaked open the girls' door. Before he could stick his head in to see if she was awake yet, Marinette pulled the door open, slid herself out into the hall, and quickly shut it behind her before she could wake up Alya and Chloe.
Marinette held her finger over her lips to keep him from speaking, and took his hand, pulling him towards a door that lead outside.
"Is everything okay?" she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself. It had been much colder out than she had expected.
"Yeah, yeah everything's fine," he rushed, "I just wanted to see you."
She smiled.
"Take a walk with me?" Adrien asked, taking her hands in his.
They walked for a few minutes along a little path that lead into a beautiful area with a little pond. Little animals were scurrying around, and birds were singing their greetings to the day up in the canopy of trees above.
"Big day, huh?" Marinette asked, breaking the silence.
"Ah, yeah, it is..." he squeezed her hand just a bit tighter than he had been already. He also wouldn't turn to meet her eyes.
"Are you okay, Adrien?"
"Just worried about finding my mom, that's all," he breathed.
Marinette brushed his cheek with her thumb, and he closed her eyes at the contact.
"It'll be alright, we'll find her, and we'll bring her home," she murmured.
Adrien just nodded.
"We have a couple of hours before we're going to be woken up. Do you think we should get the others and see if we can at least find where we need to go?"
He swallowed. Butterflies assaulted his stomach. He had waited for this day to come, but he never thought that it would be like this, with no truly happy ending.
"Okay," he agreed, and let Marinette pull him along back to their hotel to wake the others.
"I believe it's around here," Emerald Turtle guided them, following the maps that he had memorized, with the help and very descriptive instructions from Wayzz.
Ladybug glanced at Chat encouragingly, and he forced a small smile.
"Ah yes! This is the cave!" Emerald called from up ahead.
The heroes hesitantly approached the entrance, and glanced down into the darkness anxiously.
"You don't think there are, like, bugs in there, do you?" Queen Bee mumbled nervously. "Because I'm terrified of them."
"But you're a Bee, and you were always a huge fan of me, and I'm a Ladybug."
She hid herself behind Paon Rouge. "I mean real bugs!"
Emerald chuckled. "I'll lead the way, and let you know if I see any bugs. Don't worry."
Paon Rouge took her hand, and she made sure she stayed right behind him at all times.
The team entered, and a few feet into the cave, they noticed lit torches on the cave walls, their flames a vibrant orange.
"Strange, these shouldn't be lit. Unless somebody's recently been here..."
A couple of them gulped, looking down into the cave, even more anxious than before.
"I'm sure it's fine, guys. And even if there is someone in there, it doesn't necessarily mean they're a danger to us. Let's go," she urged them all onward.
As they walked further in, they noticed on the walls were paintings of Miraculous holders, and Paon Rouge especially had to stop and look at each one to marvel over them.
"They're amazing," he cried.
After what felt like hours, they made it to the tunnel's end, and what greeted them there made Adrien's stomach squirm.
"M-m-mom?"
On the wall hung a portrait of Mrs. Agreste, and it was unmistakable who she was. It looked very similar to the painting that hung in their house, the one that kept Gabriel's items locked away.
"I didn't - I wasn't expecting to find her so soon," he smiled up at her sadly.
His friends showed their support and love by putting their hands on his shoulders and arms. Ladybug however, held his hand.
"Let's detransform. Maybe our Kwami's will know what to do," she suggested, and immediately let hers go. Her friends did the same.
"Adrien's mom has been locked away in this portrait somehow. Do you know how to get her out?" she asked them. All six of the Kwami's stared up in shock, however Dusuu shed some tears at the sight of her beloved friend trapped away like that.
"There are a couple of ways, one of which could be very serious," Tikki explained. "The other I'm not sure if it'll work."
"I know one way," Adrien spoke, putting in all his effort to sound strong and steady, even though he was beginning to feel weak in the knees. "Marinette, use our Miraculouses. You can set her free with them."
Before she had a chance to reply, Adrien removed his ring. Plagg had started to protest, but he disappeared the moment the ring was willingly off his finger.
"Adrien!" Tikki warned, but he just shook her head.
"Take it, please," he whispered, putting the ring in her hand, forcing her fingers to curl over it.
She looked at it a moment, observing all the details the cat Miraculous had to offer, before she slipped it on her ring finger of her right hand. Plagg appeared again, and started to protest, but Adrien just shot him a look.
"You can save my mother, with the power of both the Miraculous. When they come together, they can grant a wish."
Suddenly, a flashback overwhelmed her. It was from years ago, back before her team came together, before Chat had left, before she knew his identity.
"Master, do you know why Hawkmoth would want both of the Miraculouses? I don't see what all he could do with our powers. It's not like they'd help give him the power to take over the world," Marinette asked one quiet afternoon during her occasional tea with the wise old man.
"Oh but Marinette, that's where you are wrong. You may think that it would be just simply the holder of both having the power to create and the power to destroy one thing before the five minutes are up. But yours and Chat Noir's Miraculouses hide an incredible power when brought together, that no other Miraculouses can ever recreate.
Your Miraculouses represent Yin and Yang, I suppose you know about them?"
"Yes," Marinette answered. "They're different entities that represent opposites, however one cannot exist without the other."
"Correct," Master Fu replied. "Chat Noir's Miraculous represents bad luck and destruction. Ladybug's represents good luck and creation. They cannot exist without each other, yet they're opposites.
You and Chat Noir, cannot exist without one another either, now that you've been brought together. You two were destined for one another."
Marinette made a face, but she didn't dare argue with Fu.
"These Miraculouses when brought together, much like you and Chat Noir, can do remarkable things. Things that you could not even dream... but also like Yin and Yang, there must be a balance. With whatever the holder of both Miraculous wish, there will be an event to counteract it, to balance it out.
If a person had just lost a loved one, and they wished to bring them back to life, someone else in their life would have to die in their place.
If one wished for world peace, that all the wars in existence today, and all wars that could potentially start in the future were wiped from our future history, then something else catastrophic and utterly terrifying would swoop in to take war's place.
By using this power as a solution to a problem, it'll only be creating another.
Sometimes, our problems can be solved in other ways, where this balance of power will not create a problem as severe, or even cause one to exist at all. That's why it's important to look for every solution possible to a problem before ever resorting to using the Bug and Cat Miraculouses, and also that it's important to know when some things need to be let go of."
Marinette's eyes went wide as she recoiled away from Adrien.
"No!" she screamed, her body beginning to shake. "How- how could you ask me to do this?!" she asked, her voice cracking.
Their friends had jumped at her sudden outburst.
"I - I -" he stuttered.
"I know what will happen if I do this, Adrien. I know that if I wish for your mother to be freed, that you will take her place, or something even worse. I'd lose you, forever. How could I live with that? Don't you know it's not possible for one of us to truly lose the other without the other one perishing, or going insane?"
Adrien just stared down at her with his mouth popped open. The others tried to follow what was being said.
"Wait, so you're saying that Adrien was going to sacrifice himself to save his mother?" Nino asked in a pained tone.
Adrien glanced over at his best bud for a second, then looked back down at the ground, giving a nod.
"Dude..."
Chloe looked like she was about to cry at how close she came to losing him.
"How did you know about this, Adrien?" Nathaniel asked.
"My father, I found out all about it in this journal of his," he held up the small book, and flipped it open. "It was kept in his safe, and I had removed it just after we had gotten back to Paris. Reading through it, I... I discovered he's Hawkmoth."
Everyone in the room glanced at him with various levels of shock and worry on their faces, including the Kwami's.
"It wasn't obvious, at first. But I figured out that he wanted them, so he could bring them together for a wish, and that wish was to bring her back. Reading through it, I realized that if he were to do so, I'd be sacrificed. That's when it clicked. My father kept me away from everything, kept me busy and safe, him keeping his distance...it was all because he needed me in the end, to bring her home in my place."
The impact his words had on his friends was powerful. The girls began to cry, and Nino was clearly trying not to, and instead punched the wall of the cave to alleviate his anger.
"If I ever see your father again, I swear I'll..." he muttered through his teeth.
Nathaniel stood there with furrowed brow, shaking his head.
All the Kwami's looked at each other with sadness, and Plagg for the first time that he could ever remember, cuddled Adrien's face.
"We're going to get your mother out of there," Marinette sniffled. "But I am not going to lose you, do you hear me?"
He nodded, making sure not to look into her eyes.
She suddenly flung her arms around his neck, enveloping him in a tight hug.
"I will not," she whispered in his ear, and moved her hands so they cradled his face.
In a single moment, her lips were on his. He could feel her pain, her desperation, and her love that she had harbored in her heart, in that kiss.
He reciprocated, pouring his emotions into it as well.
"You won't lose me," he whispered.
"Good," she sniffed, and wiped away the wetness under her eyes.
"There is another way that I know we can try, Adrien," Tikki spoke up, and flitted over to him, so that she was in front of his face. "Us Kwami's may be able to get her out of there."
Adrien blinked.
"What are the consequences of that?" Nathaniel asked at once.
"Nothing serious like there would be if the Cat and Bug Miraculouses came together, but even if it were as simple as freeing her manually, there could always be repercussions. The same could be said about any decision or action."
"Then can you guys try it?" Marinette had asked them, looking at each individual Kwami.
"Of course we'll try, Marinette," Wayzz replied.
"I'd do anything for you, kid," Plagg smiled at his Chosen, his words touched Adrien deeply.
"We'll all help, as we've gotten to know you through our Chosen's, Adrien. They all care very much about you, and because of that, so do we," Pollen buzzed around his head before flying to face Adrien's mother.
Although they weren't sure if it was possible, especially given that Nooroo wasn't present, they would try with all their power, and all of their will to bring her out of the ancient trap.
When the wall began to glow, Adrien's heart started to race. The light became so bright, that they had to shield their eyes.
But when the light had dimmed and disappeared, Adrien's mother had been set free. She was standing but a yard away from him.
He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Mom?" he breathed.
She blinked a few times, her eyes trying to adjust, but her ears didn't need any adjusting, and turned towards the voice.
"Adrien? Oh Adrien, is that you?" she asked as he came into focus.
Adrien beamed then, his eyes filling up with tears of joy. "Mom!"
"My angel!" she held her arms out for him, and for the first time in years, he got to feel what it was like to be in her arms again.
Nino started to cry watching his best friend reunite with his mother. Alya had silent tears streak down her cheeks. She leaned on Nino's shoulder as she watched Adrien with his mom.
Chloe and Nathaniel wore smiles on their faces, but their eyes held a sadness that would never be able to be erased, as their mothers, and Nathaniel's grandmother would never have a chance of coming back again.
Marinette stood away from them with Tikki, she watched with a huge grin on her face.
"It's wonderful for him to have his mom back," Tikki commented, her eyes bright.
"And it's all because of you, Tikki. Thank you," she said, taking the little Kwami in her hands and kissing the top of her head.
When they had returned from the cave - which taken them a lot longer than the trip there since they couldn't leave Mrs. Agreste to walk while the others used their various means to move at a much faster pace than any regular human - Chloe had arranged for them all to fly back to Paris the following day.
His friends left him to spend time alone with his mom, while they explored the nearby Tibetan towns and scenery.
Adrien caught her up on all he could. About the friends he had made when she was away, all of his new experiences, his time in New York, and of course his experience as Chat Noir. She was happy and relieved that for the most part, things had gone so well for him.
However, she wasn't pleased to find out about Gabriel, and his coldness and anger. And when he informed her of his supervillain status, all the chaos and damage he had caused, not to mention his reason for doing so and his plan to make it a reality, she was furious.
"How could Gabriel do such a thing?!" she paced the room.
"I... I honestly don't know, Mom," he shook his head, and his shoulders slumped.
"And how could he ever think that I'd be able to live and be happy knowing that my husband sacrificed my precious son to save me?" she sat down next to Adrien and stroked his hair before pulling him into another hug.
"I'm so proud of you," his mom whispered. "You've grown up so well."
He smiled a brilliant, toothy grin. Marinette's mom had been right after all. "When we get back home, I want you to meet Marinette's parents. I think you'll really like them."
"Of course, they treated my boy so well, I'd love to meet them to thank them!"
"Thanks Mom," he said, hugging her again.
Before their flight back to France, Marinette talked with Adrien and his mom about needing to take Gabriel's Miraculous from him and that he would need to be brought to justice. As hard as it was to think about, they both agreed. No matter his intentions or his reasoning, it was unacceptable to have tormented the poor citizens of Paris for years, and they all deserved justice.
After arriving home, Adrien, his mother, and Gorilla walked through the door to Gabriel and Nathalie awaiting him. They did not expect to see the blond woman enter the door.
Gabriel's eyes went wide, and he practically ran down the stairs to greet her. He could barely believe his what he was seeing.
"You're... you're..."
"Adrien rescued me," she said with a soft smile, her arm wrapped around his back.
"But how?" he uttered, looking down at his son. Adrien showed him his shiny, silver ring.
"My Kwami, along with the others, released mom from her prison," he answered coldly. "I know all about you, Father. I know you're Hawkmoth. I know you were trying to get our Miraculouses to save Mom. And I know you were going to sacrifice me to do so."
Gabriel looked desperately at his wife, but she closed her eyes and looked away. She never thought the man that she loved would be capable of such things.
Police came in through the door, with Ladybug leading the way.
"Your Miraculous, Mr. Agreste," she demanded with a straight face. It bothered her knowing that he was her boyfriend's father, the one person she truly looked up to and had aspired to be like. Her jaw tightened as he pulled at the scarf around his neck.
He surrendered the Miraculous without a word to Ladybug.
"All I wanted was for you to be safe, for you to be home again, with me."
His wife's head snapped towards him. "I never asked you to torture people, or give up our son's life for me. I can't accept someone that would do such things, claiming their actions are because of me. I never knew you had the potential, Gabriel."
She led Adrien up the stairs, so he didn't have to stand there and watch the police take his father away, but Adrien looked back at his father with sad eyes. He could never have it all, his parents together, a happy family. Despite what his father had planned to do, he still loved him. He didn't hate him for it. But he knew that this situation was the best for him, being with his mother again. And maybe someday, there was hope that they could come together again as a family.
A few months later had passed since their trip to Tibet.
They had finished their schooling, and were set to pursue higher education and their careers.
Adrien decided he'd go traveling awhile with his mom, while Marinette was set to leave for New York to enter the world of fashion.
They both had flights that boarded at the same time, heading in opposite directions.
Their families had left them alone for a bit to let them say their goodbyes.
"Do you think the team will be okay without us?" Marinette wondered, biting her lower lip.
"I'm sure they will. Without frequent akumas, the number of super villains in Paris have decreased dramatically. I'm sure when one does show up, they'll be able to handle it. I'll join them again when I return."
She only nodded.
"What's wrong?" he cupped her face.
"I don't want to leave you," she shook her head, "not after everything that's happened."
"Marinette, you're not really leaving me. No matter what happens, no matter how far away from where you are that I may be, or you from me, always know that my heart is forever with you, wishing that the rest of me could be with you, too. One day in the near future, we will be together again. Just you wait," he smiled his brilliant smile, and threw her a wink.
Tears escaped the corners of Marinette's eyes, and as they fell down her cheeks, Adrien wiped them gently away with his thumb. She let out a sorrowful laugh and a sniffle.
"I love you, Kitty," she whispered.
Adrien leaned in, resting his forehead on hers. "And I love you, my beautiful Princess."
Marinette stood on her tip toes, tilting her head upwards until her lips met his. Although it sent her heart into a frenzy, the kiss also caused her heart to ache. The pain within it increasing with every second that ticked by, with every second that brought her closer to letting go.
She didn't have to leave. But she would be giving up an amazing opportunity, one that everyone in her life understood the importance of, and insisted she take. She had worked too hard for the chance to study fashion in America to give it up now. Marinette had swallowed back all the fear and doubt that rose up within her, and accepted her decision. Though that didn't make this any less painful.
Adrien wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tightly to him. She nestled her face in his chest, enjoying the moment before it was gone, and fought to stay strong and not fall apart.
Over the intercom, Marinette's flight was announced that it had begun boarding passengers.
"I have to go," she wiped her eyes with her forearm.
Adrien looked behind him when he heard the announcement for his plane.
"Me too," he said with a sad smile. "Remember, it's not forever. I'll see you soon."
She nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you soon."
Their Kwami's poked their heads out to say their goodbye's to each other. Plagg was going to miss Marinette. She was always so kind to him, and knew just how to make him happy.
And Tikki, spending time with Adrien was always joyful for her.
Marinette and Adrien walked a few steps apart from each other, closer towards their planes. They both stopped, and took one last look back. They waved goodbye to one another, and turned around to board their flights that would bring them half a world away.
AN:
Thank you so much to all of you that have read, left a kudos, or commented on this fic! I'd appreciate it so much if you could let me know what you thought of it.
Also! I would gladly make a sequel/part 2 to this fic if I had enough interest, so if you'd like this story to be continued, PLEASE let me know! ~ToujoursMiraculous
