The Lucky Charm
Adrien stood by the wall in the wide entrance hallway of the temple and watched Hawk Moth getting angry at the disobedient butterfly (because it is wild and not grown in his basement it is disobedient). Mayura stood just in front of the boy, with her back turned to him. He saw his chance when Hawk Moth walked over closer to him. The villain was concentrated on the butterfly. The boy threw himself straight onto the pocket, he felt the earrings and the rings as his hand passed over the suit. He managed to push one of his fingers inside but Hawk Moth pushed him away.
"What." the villain snarled. "How dare you?" There was this civilian kind going over hiw magical suit with his filthy hands. What was he thinking? He smashed the boy away with ease given to him by his enhanced physical power.
Adrien got on his feet and stood tall. He did not dare to move his eyes towards the pocket.
Hawk Moth stared at the boy, the villain was surprised and angry at first because someone dared to stand in his way, not only that, to throw themselves at him, then he was puzzled because who would do that and why, then there was a shadow of recognition passing over the villain's face.
"How dare you?" Hawk Moth snarled as he repeated the question. "You disobedient brat!" The villain shouted the insult. Because, there, right in front of him, was that boy in the black onesie, with sunburned face and a black cap. The boy stared at him with wild green eyes. He remembered that he saw the boy in their previous attacks either through the eyes of the akuma, the sentimonsters or even his own. The boy was one of those more annoying students who did not stand aside and comply with his schemes even when coerced by his magic. He was truly annoying creature.
Adrien squared his shoulders and collected his courage. The whole time, the reality that Hawk Moth was his father did not strike him so much as then. Because the boy never saw him transform. The first time he faced the reality was when the villain called the body of Adrien's mother 'his wife'. He was glad Gabriel Agreste was now transformed into Hawk Moth. It was perhaps easier to face the face of the magical supervillain than the face of his own father. Because the years of suffering the upbringing the Gabriel Agreste way made its mark. So the boy preferred the villain side. The boy assumed his father recognized him.
"The miraculous does not belong to you." Adrien spoke as calm as he could. His voice wavered a little, but it was strong and commanding. He knew how to assume that posture, most of the time he spent around his father, the boy had an example how to do that.
Mayura hitched a breath and Hawk Moth turned towards her to see what was going on. Mayura stared at the boy with so many emotions washed over her face. She began to connect the dots.
"Who are you to say that?" Hawk Moth snarled back, he was tired. The sleepless night with no food and no break finally began to take its tool. Both villains were tired to the point that they were out of their mind, they doubted each other.
Mayura recognized the black fleece onesie as the boy that had just detransformed before them minutes ago. And the villain knew she was looking at Chat Noir as a civilian.
"I am the wielder of the Chat Noir miraculous, not you." Adrien spoke and took one step forward. It was a strange feeling to try to look threatening to a man who was much taller than him and had a magical protective suit.
Mayura recognized the lucky charm tied around Adrien's wrist, red beads with black spots. It was the same bracelet that was tied around the wrist of the arm from which she took the ring off.
"And you will stop me? You would stop me from getting my wish? From wishing my wife back? For my son?" Hawk Moth snarled back at the boy.
Adrien stared at Hawk Moth. Were they wrong? Was this some other person and not his father? But he said his wife. And he saw his mother. So there had to be his father under that mask. There had to be Gabriel Agreste under that mask. Everything pointed at him. And yet, Gabriel Agreste stared down at his own son and did not recognize him?
"Why do you think your son wants any of this?" Adrien asked carefully testing the terrain, but the way he spoke aired self confidence.
"How dare you? Do you know who I am? Of course I know what is best for my son." Hawk Moth confirmed the doubts Adrien had, his father did not recognize him.
Adrien glanced over his clothes. He barely resembled himself. He was dressed without style or fashion sense, in a black fleece onesie that was slightly too big for him. He bought it because it was warm and cute (and because there was matching red one for Ladybug). His face was much darker due to sunburns and his hair was a mess hidden underneath his black hood. He raised his hand and removed the hood and the cap. His blonde hair was a mess going in all directions, windblown and crazy.
Ling and Ye were searching for Marinette and Adrien. They were certain that the two youngsters returned to sleeping in their sleeping bag due to a busy night, but when they found the sleeping bag empty, they became worried. They just entered the wide hallway on the other end after checking the bathrooms. Ling did not need more than a second to flip her phone out of her pocket.
"Yes I do, you are a villain." Adrien smiled his signature Chat Noir crooked smile.
"You are a villain here. You prevented me from bringing back my wife." Hawk Moth snarled. "Who are you to decide about my family? I decided to do this. It is for my son." Hawk Moth snarled accusingly. It was obvious he truly believed his words. Adrien felt defeated. His father never asked him if he wanted any of this. And that was the trigger.
"I do not want any of this, father." Adrien raised his chin. He stood there tall and proud.
Hawk Moth stared at the boy.
"Is that Adrien's father?" Ye whispered to Ling. The girl was holding a hand over her mouth to keep herself silent and just nodded.
Mayura released a high pitch sound while she inhaled sharply. She took a few steps back and looked at Adrien. She studied each feature carefully. He was so different than she remembered him, and she last saw him barely more than ten days ago. Everything was different about him, the posture, the attitude, the clothes, even his face and his eyes had different glow to them.
"Give me the ring and the earrings, they do not belong to you." Adrien demanded.
Hawk Moth slapped him so strong Adrien flew back and was stopped only when his back reached the wall.
"You should be grateful. Look at what I am doing for you. Look at how much I suffered for you. It is all for you." the villain truly believed his words, and now everything he did was Adrien's fault. But the boy was having none of it.
"I do not want it father." Adrien replied looking at the villain straight into his eyes.
"Stop that." Tenzin shouted at the villain, he tried to walk between Adrien and Hawk Moth. But the villain ignored the old man and walked right past him. He did not need the old teacher any more, his healing abilities were not needed any more. He had the miraculous stones.
"You spoiled brat! I know what id good for you!" Hawk Moth snarled at the boy.
"Do not hurt your son if you are doing this for him." Tenzin raised his voice.
"I will teach my son what is good for him. I told you to stay in your room during the holidays. You disobeyed me." Hawk Moth snarled and raised his hand for another hit, but when he finally slammed, Adrien was not there, and he hit the wall.
"I am doing all this to bring you mother back, and this is how you repay me." Hawk Motioned towards the boy with disgust and contempt written all over his face. "By disobeying me, by fighting me?" he spat the words out.
"You are wrong. This is not the way." Adrien spoke loudly and clearly. The words his father had just said had only made him prouder and stronger. Perhaps he did not have Plagg or his lady by his side right then, but he was fighting this fight against his own father assisted by magical superpowers.
"I am right. And this is the right thing for you." This time, when Adrien approached, Hawk Moth waved his stick towards his son, but Adrien was quick to evade the blow.
"Father, please, detransform so I can talk to you." Adrien pleaded but in much more authoritative tone than the words suggested.
"No!" the villain snarled.
Hawk Moth glared at his son. He smashed his hand into a wall because Adrien evaded his blow, he smashed his stick towards the boy, but Adrien threw himself onto the floor and rolled away. A blade stuck out from the stick and cut one of the tapestries, it fell to the floor. The blade got stuck into the temple wall. Hawk Moth was confused for a second before he pulled it out. He expected that the wall would simply crumble when he hit it with his stick just like those rocks on the cliff.
"Stop doing this father." Adrien ordered with as much attitude as he could muster given the circumstances.
Mayura stared at the boy and then at the floor and then at Hawk Moth. There were hundreds of different threads of thought in her head and they all got tangled.
"You ungrateful brat! You do not want your mother back?" Hawk Moth shouted back.
"This is not the way! I love my mum, but I would not hurt the other people to get her back the way you do!" Adrien cried while he evaded another attack.
Tenzin stroked his beard. He knew. The temple walls were protected by similar magic that built the weapons of the miraculous wielders. But he had to do something to protect that boy.
Down on the cliff face, Marinette slowly blinked and then finally opened her eyes. She moved her hands towards her ears. Her earrings were gone.
"Adrien?" she called. But there was no reply.
She quickly got to her feet. She decided to go for the temple first. She first jumped from one rock to another and then another until she reached the path. She did not care she was not transformed and had no way of doing it. She did not care if she fell to her death. Adrien was taken. Her earrings were gone. Tikki was gone. She assumed Hawk Moth knew their identities and took Adrien with him while he disposed of her.
She reached the path and the cave where she found Pema and Dorje who woke up at the same time she did and were just getting out from the cave looking for Adrien and her.
"Hawk Moth got my earrings." she spoke between two heavy breaths. "And Adrien." she added.
Dorje grabbed her and practically carried her while the three of them run up the narrow path towards the temple. They reached the small side door and threw themselves inside, they ran into the main corridor and then Dorje and Pema quickly formed a shield in front of Marinette.
But Marinette took the few steps around and inhaled sharply as she saw how Hawk Moth threatened Adrien with his cane turned into a sword.
"How long have you known? How did you follow me here?" Hawk Moth shouted more while swinging his cane.
"I only learned your identity once I got to this temple, father. And technically, it was you who followed me." Adrien smirked as he threw himself onto the floor and rolled away.
Marinette looked around. The tapestries were hanging on long sticks. She quickly jumped on Dorje's back and climbed onto his shoulders. She grabbed one stick and pulled it to the side. The tapestry fell down, but she had the stick.
"Adrien." she shouted as she threw the stick. Adrien had his back turned, but something in the tone of her voice told him 'catch' so he stretched his arm behind him. And he caught a stick, it was almost two metre long. He hoped the wood was strong. It was, but it was not a weapon aided by magic suitable to fight a villain protected by magical armor.
Dorje moved for a few steps and Marinette grabbed another stick, then she jumped to the floor. Mayura jumped into the battle by attacking Dorje and Pema, but the two monks were on her quickly. Mayura had the superior strength, and Pema got smashed into the wall with the first blow that managed to reach her body. The young monk was not versed in the way the supervillain fought. And she was not protected by the suit.
Marinette stood next to Adrien while both held the wooden sticks.
"Two against one." Hawk Moth glared. "How fair of you."
But the sticks were poor defence against the blade on the tip of Hawk Moth's cane, the stick Marinette held shattered into pieces, but at least it deflected the blow from her body. Marinette grabbed one piece of tapestry that fell onto the floor and threw it into Hawk Moth's face. That moment enabled Adrien to slip away from the blow directed at him.
But while the boy threw himself to the side, Hawk Moth went for his wrist with his empty hand and grabbed the lucky charm bracelet. The thread ripped apart and the beads spread on the floor, with his net step towards Adrien, the villain stepped on the beads and fell. While he was falling he grabbed the curtain and pulled it down, behind the curtain there was a niche with the stone covered by a pair of boxer briefs with the name 'Gabriel Agreste' clearly printed in bold letters on them.