AN: This is the final chapter of "Milady," but there are still 2 stories left in this arc. I will start publishing "Mind Games" on Sunday and it will last through the day after Christmas. The third story doesn't have a title yet but is a little more standalone, and I will start publishing that one when it's completely written.
To Toshiro of the Eternal Dream: Thanks for your review. Personally, when I watch the series I see both: Ladybug is the leader and the rest of the heroes (including Cat Noir) take their lead from her, but there is a balance in the partnership between Ladybug and Cat Noir. I don't see it as being a contradiction with the yin/yang balance aspect so much as a difference between their two roles. Their power sets (creation and destruction) balance each other out, but they are suited to different elements of their role in preserving the universe/fighting evil/saving the world/etc. So their powers balance each other and their roles complement each other.
I do agree that Marinette was handed a lot of breaks early on that Adrien didn't get until later (Master Fu did eventually meet Adrien to give him some guidance and information). However, the reason Marinette is the first one to receive more information about the miraculous isn't because of her or Master Fu; it's because of Tikki. I think that if Plagg had brought Adrien to Master Fu in season 1 when they found the book, Adrien would have been the one receiving all the information first, rather than Marinette. But I don't think that would have changed the dynamic in their partnership: she would still have been the "leader" while he was still the "support."
I hadn't given too much thought to this aspect of the show before you brought it up, so thanks for making me think about it more!
To The Keeper of Worlds: Thanks! I'm one of those fans who enjoys the show for what it could be more than what it is currently. I love the idea of pushing the story forward, particularly the conflict with Hawk Moth. And I really want to see more character development from all of the characters.
Gabriel was troubled. Everything had seemed so much simpler a couple days ago, before Nathalie approached him with this high-risk, high-reward plan to seize the ladybug miraculous with a surprise trap. Before this, he was perfectly content collecting information about his adversaries, the so-called "heroes of Paris." He would have continued sending out his Akumas, measuring how long it took for Ladybug and Cat Noir to respond, how long it took for them to get their allies. All of this data eventually would have allowed him to identify who the heroes were and where the Guardian of the Miraculous lived. And now he knew who Cat Noir was, and he was Gabriel's own son! A pity he never confirmed that back when he first suspected Adrien; he could have taken the cat miraculous at his leisure, without Adrien ever being the wiser until it was too late.
Alas, he had gotten impatient, and now he was exposed and vulnerable. And from her calm and untroubled expression, Nathalie didn't seem to think this was such a problem.
"So Ladybug and her friends defeated Mlle. Rossi – defeated you! She's rallied all her friends and gone into hiding with my son. We have no idea where she is, but now she knows who we are and where to find us!" Gabriel gave Nathalie a withering glare, willing her to feel some remorse. "This plan of yours was supposed to work, Nathalie. We were supposed to get the ladybug miraculous, eliminate Ladybug as a threat, and be one step closer to our eventual victory. Instead, we're right back where we started, only we've lost our anonymity!" Gabriel was shouting by the end of his tirade, breathing heavily.
Nathalie met Gabriel's anger impassively, a smile curling her lips. "The plan itself was solid," she reminded him. "Getting Ladybug alone, outnumbered, and by surprise, we would easily have been able to defeat her. The only way the plan could have failed is if one of her friends intervened, and the only way for that to happen was for them to already be inside the room before we locked it down. The only wild card in the room was Adrien. And we thought we had eliminated Adrien as Cat Noir over a year ago, so none of her friends should have been there. It was only dumb luck that Adrien actually was Cat Noir, and so in a position to foil our plan."
"Yes, and that 'dumb luck,' as you call it, nearly cost my son his life. It certainly cost me my relationship with him."
Nathalie's eyebrows raised and she gave him a look. Mercifully she didn't comment on that statement however, instead saying, "That was going to happen eventually. Since he was Cat Noir, he was already firmly in Ladybug's camp. So if and when your identity became known, he would instinctively have turned on you to support Ladybug and the Guardian, either way. As it is, you may have lost your anonymity, but so has he. How many people know your son better than we do? Knowing who he is, and knowing that Mlle. Bourgeois is Queen Bee, we may be able to narrow down who Ladybug's other allies are, perhaps even unmask Ladybug herself."
"Hmm, true." Gabriel stroked his chin in contemplation. "But the fact that they know who I am still complicates matters."
"Not really. If anything, it simplifies them. They know you are the key, and they know where to find you. So they will have to come to us eventually. And when they do, you still have one card left to play with your son." Nathalie let out a bark of laughter. "Perhaps Adrien being Cat Noir will even work out to our advantage. After all no other Cat Noir could possibly have such a close connection to your ultimate goal."
"Yes," Gabriel mused thoughtfully. "Perhaps that revelation will serve to undo all the damage caused by this one. He will have to come to me, and when he does, he will know why we are doing what are doing. Then he will sympathize with me. That may even shake his belief in that girl and this Guardian of the Miraculous. Then he will willingly join us and give me both his miraculous and the ladybug."