Ok, so after this is where I haven't really planned out the chapters. I have a vague idea of where it's gonna go, and random dialogue from important parts. But the point is, updating is gonna be slower, especially because school's starting tomorrow for me :( But when I'm on creative low for this story, I have a couple of ideas for other stories. Ok that's all, enjoy the chapter!

~Speckle


Gabriel sat on an armchair, head in hands.

Adrien was gone.

He had taken one look at Adrien's broken body out of the window, and only just made it to a chair before he collapsed, head spinning, nauseated.

He had been here for about 10 minutes, but it had seemed like hours.

Gabriel jumped as sounds began to come out from the large screen, mounted on a stand in the middle of the room, that he used for designing, and the news started to play on it. Gabriel could only make out a few words as he was several metres from it and the volume wasn't very high.

But these words were enough to tear apart a man who had just lost his son.

If he could be broken any further.

A female voice spoke. "Adrien Agreste… lying on street near his… dead… no apparent reason… crowds gather… everyone… grieving… Paris's greatest model."

"Aarghh!" Gabriel growled. He couldn't take it any more, couldn't deal with a stupid reporter talking about his son. On the fricking news. Talking about Adrien being… gone, as if it was just another story, a weather report, to fill the time.

They didn't really care.

But- he shuddered- did he care?

Yes!

He cursed himself for doubting that he wasn't devastated by his son's death.

But of course his ever present consciousness tormented him.

You haven't shown Adrien you cared about him since Emilie died.

You hid behind the excuse that he reminded you of her, but this should have been your greatest strength, knowing that she lived on in him.

Instead, you barely saw him. You weren't his father, you were his controller, watching his life behind a screen, never involved in it. You treated him like a puppet, the face of your brand. It was all for business, and never for anything else.

You never felt anything else.

And now you'll never see him again.

The reporter droned on in the background.

"Gabriel Agreste unavailable… comment."

And he snapped.

He grabbed a vase on the table next to him, drew his arm back, and threw it as hard as he could at the screen with a scream. It connected, though his vision was becoming increasingly blurry.

In another time, he might question why his aim was true.

But not this time.

He didn't care.

The screen shattered.

Gabriel's fingernails dug angry red grooves into his palms.

Glass rained to the ground.

Falling.

Just like-

His eyes widened.

He sucked in a rapid breath, taking in more air until his lungs were bursting, but he didn't let it out.

And then he realised something.

Just this was enough to send him to the floor, forcing out a gasp. His strength had failed him and his momentary fury had drained, subsided, leaving… a wreck.

That was what he had been reduced to.

He sobbed, grasping his knees, eyes squeezing out an endless ocean of tears.

Because it was Adrien who he had sent the akuma to. He had felt the emotion so strongly, even when detransformed, because Adrien had been standing just a few meters above him, on the roof. He had seen a shadow fall down in front of the window shortly after the connection had been established. A human sized shadow. Adrien's shadow. A breath caught in his throat and he choked it out with a strangled gasp, because the connection with the akuma had been broken when Adrien had… when he-

Gabriel cried out in despair, his fingernails digging into the cushion of the armchair he was collapsed next to, cheeks pressed against it. The fabric was rough and he felt every stitch in it against his skin, scraping it like sandpaper. But it was softer, kinder than the stabbing, agonising pain that he felt all over.

He had been too late. He had wanted to finally do something good, help someone. But he had waited too long. If only he had listened to the pleads of his kwami- hell, even Nathalie had tried to talk to him. His fricking assistant. Well, she was also Mayura, but that was- Gabriel stopped himself- not irrelevant. Not at all. It really wasn't. She was so loyal to him, helping him at all costs to achieve his goal. But why was she so selfless, and why did she fight so hard for him, even when the damaged peacock miraculous hurt her? It couldn't just have been for Emilie. But he was infinitely grateful to her.

Gabriel had been blind to how he was treating his son, who in both appearance and personality so much resembled Emilie, his beloved wife. Who- Gabriel clenched his jaw- he had let go of. Emilie was gone. And he had turned his focus to his son, but now his son was gone. He had nothing left. Adrien had put up with him for so long, but he had been pushed too far. By his father. And so it was wholly Gabriel's fault that he had- he had-

Gabriel shook his head, as if this would clear the thoughts.

But of course it didn't work. He would never escape this guilt.

Adrien had been the most important presence in his life.

Yet it had taken… this, for him to notice.

And Gabriel despised himself for it.


Nooroo could feel his master's constant agony, but he couldn't do anything about it. Gabriel was losing the will to live, like his son had done earlier. The emotions were so strong, and so negative, that Nooroo felt each one like a physical stab wound. It didn't go away, pulsing from only just bearable aches to pain so piercing Nooroo curled into a ball, eyes shut tight until it subsided, feeling like a knife was being twisted around inside his tiny body.

He should have just left.

But he couldn't. He knew that he could help the grieving man.

His mind blanked as another wave of pain took over him. When it had subsided, he shuddered. After 3500 cycles, he thought he would be used to feeling this kind of thing, but that wasn't the case. He missed Tikki, who could always make sense of a situation. He missed her calming, sweet voice. He missed Plagg, who could always make him laugh with his bad jokes. He missed all of the kwamis, his best friends.

Actually, after thinking for a second, he realised that he could do something. He floated to Adrien's father, who was sleeping fitfully, and rested on his forehead. He concentrated for a second, imagining a portion of his power leaving him, transferring to Gabriel. "Be at peace," he whispered. After a second, he added, "Please, Gabriel." Nooroo flew back a few centimetres to look at his master, regarding him with a sorrowful expression; his face looked calmer, more relaxed, and he seemed to breathe more easily. Nooroo gently lifted Gabriel's glasses off his face, and placed them on a table.

For better or worse, Gabriel's fractured mind couldn't keep Nooroo from being more than a few metres away from him, like he usually did. It was now or never. Nooroo glanced at him once more, before tearing his gaze away with difficulty, and phasing through the wall.

He had to find the guardian of the miracle box.


Nooroo phased through the wall of the Guardian's dwelling; he had found it by simply extending his consciousness- he was the kwami of transmission after all- although he never told Gabriel that- knowing the Guardian's location would have had disastrous consequences.

Previously.

Not any more.

Gabriel could barely think anymore.

He had felt the Guardian's presence, following it like a trail leading him… here. He looked around the plain house- there was barely any furniture, and there was a mat on the floor, as well as a few shelves next to the walls. On one of them was a gramophone, and Nooroo was drawn to it, recognising a connection he hadn't felt for many years, at the same time realising that it contained the miracle box. The very same box that he and his miraculous, along with Duusu and hers, had fallen from when the young teenage Guardian had escaped from the burning temple. He was regretful for that, but had never felt any anger towards the scared young boy fleeing from the burning temple, burdened with a new responsibility that he would carry for the rest of his life. Nooroo felt that the other kwamis were inside here, except Tikki and Plagg of course, who aided Ladybug and Chat Noir respectively. Wayzz also wasn't there, maybe the Guardian wore his miraculous- Wayzz was a very friendly, wise kwami. A good choice of companion. Nooroo longed with all his heart to see his friends, but he had to see the Guardian first.

Nooroo heard footsteps, and an elderly Chinese man shuffled into the room. When he saw Nooroo, his eyes widened and he opened his mouth, but said nothing. Nooroo got straight to the point. "You are the Guardian of the Miracle box, correct?"

"Yes, I am Master Fu." Nooroo saw recognition suddenly bloom on his face, and the man gasped. "Are you… Hawkmoth's kwami?"

"Indeed, I am Nooroo."

"How-" Master Fu was interrupted by a solemn "Nooroo?" Plagg flew into the room, ears drooping. Nooroo was shocked; he had never seen this side of Plagg before. "It's good to see you again." Plagg spoke sincerely. "Pity we had to meet again under these circumstances."

"Yes," Nooroo murmured. "I'm so sorry you lost your holder." Plagg looked down in dismay, and said no more.

Master Fu had been silent during this exchange, looking astonished, but now he recovered. "Nooroo, you must be exhausted, would you like something to eat?"

"If it's not too much trouble?"

"Of course not." From his pocket master Fu took a cookie and gave it to Nooroo, the kwami nibbled on it and felt a bit better.

"I presume Plagg has told you about… Hawkmoth."

"Yes, Gabriel Agreste must be feeling the loss of his son pretty hard, as well as the revelation of Adrien being Chat Noir."

"Everyone is," said Nooroo sombrely. "Negative emotions are running high, Adrien was Paris's most loved model. I think the way I react to it and feel it is worse because of the… way I've been used for so long. I think I was… starting to… break." Nooroo's eyes were full of tears, he couldn't remember the last time had had spoken so openly. Plagg just hovered next to him, eyes blank.

"How did you get away from Hawkmoth?" asked Master Fu gently.

"His emotional state is crumbling, Guardian. I tried to use my power to partially heal his mind, I think it has started to work… a little. He's constantly full of grief, it's eating him up from the inside."

"And what of Mayura?"

"Nathalie Sancoeur is… better. But I can feel her worry for Gabriel all the time. She… she loves him. Deeply."

Master Fu nodded. "I had long suspected that this would happen."

Nooroo continued. "Gabriel normally keeps me from leaving the space of about 3 metres around him, but he couldn't continue to do it, so I can leave, but I didn't want to! I know he's using my miraculous to harm people, but I don't hate him for it! I understand him, Guardian- he acts purely out of love, he couldn't get over the loss of his wife!" Nooroo grew more earnest as he spoke, not used to talking to someone like this, maybe except Duusu, on the rare occasion that they saw each other. But the Guardian's presence was calming. "I can help him! His journey has already started, Adrien's death has made him see the error of his ways. He has let go of Emilie Agreste. It was extremely hard on him, but I know he'll recover!"

I hope he'll recover.

But it was hard not to lose himself in the endless pools of misery and anguish that were Plagg's eyes.