Hello everyone!
Sorry about the wait on this chapter. It has been written and rewritten everyday since the last chapter went up, and I finally have something which will take us into the next chapter quite nicely.
Thank you for the support and the inboxes too! I hope you're enjoying the story, and I Promise, we are almost done with the serious stuff.
This fic was only meant to be a short one, but I got carried away...
Anyway, as always please let me know what you think of the chapter, and how you think a few things will be explained...
Thanks for reading!
Lady Rhi X
Chat was still out of it, as he was moved to his bedroom in silence.
A now detransformed Chloé stood with Marinette, who was hashing the situation out with Gabriel. The Butterfly Miraculous pinned to her top, allowing Tikki, Nooroo and Pollen time to talk about the situation, and what had exactly happened.
"Why the hell did you drop your transformation?" Marinette demanded of Gabriel.
"I hate to remind you, but I had been out of it. I didn't see," he gestured to Chloé with an outstretched arm, "that we had company!" He replied hotly.
Chloé crossed her arms and cocked her hip, "Gabriel, don't lose your temper with Nette! If it wasn't for her you'd-"
A flash of green light interrupted her scolding of Gabriel. Adrien stirred as Plagg flew out of his ring. Flying straight into Gabriel's face, Plagg angrily snarled at his holder's father.
"You son of bitch! What the hell do you think you've been playing at!" Edging closer to Gabriel's nose, Plagg raised his paw. "You're pure evil! You do not deserve to live-"
"PLAGG NO!"
Tikki shouted as she shot to her counterparts side, in a flurry, they tumbled through the air.
Adrien stirred at the commotion going on within the confines of his room. As two Kwami argued loudly in an indecipherable language, Marinette rushed to his side, sweeping away his bangs as he eyes struggled to focus on her. Gabriel stood at the end of his bed, with Chloé eyeing him suspiciously, anxious about how his son would receive him after finding out the truth.
"Hey," Marinette cooed as she smiled softly down to him, gently caressing his cheek.
"Hey," Adrien hazily replied. "Is it..."
"It is true son yes." Gabriel resigned himself, as he watched Adrien slowly sit up and turn to face him. He could not face looking at his son, turning his gaze to the floor Gabriel was remorseful and ashamed. Not knowing how Adrien was going to take the news, he took his chance with his explanation which he held back until Adrien had awoke.
"I do not like what I have done," Chloé scoffed at his words. "Please," he gingerly looked to Marinette and then Chloé, before turning back to face Adrien, "give me chance to explain."
Adrien's emotions were swimming around, a confusing mix of anger, hate, sorrow, disappointment and disbelief at the confirmation of his father being Hawkmoth. Words failing him, Adrien nodded, as Chloé and Marinette took Adrien's lead. Sitting either side of him, each clasping one of his hands, the ladies prepared themselves to not only catch Adrien before he spiralled, but themselves as well.
Using the adrenaline, now coursing through his veins, Gabriel bit the bullet before losing his nerve.
"You're mother is alive, below us."
No matter how well they had prepared, they had not been prepared for that.
"She did not disappear, she fell into a coma which she has not awoke from."
Adrien took a sharp intake of breath, as he brought himself to focus on his father for the first time. He gripped the hands that held his. Eyes wide, he could feel his heart beat increase tenfold. His father's voice began to crack.
"Obtaining the Cat and Ladybug Miraculous'...w-was my last, hope of b-bringing her back to us."
Wiping the small tears which had formed in his eyes, Gabriel still could not look Adrien in the eye. Ashamed at what he had done, his knees felt weak but he knew he needed to persevere, Adrien deserved to know the truth.
"The Peacock Miraculous was damaged when we found it, we did not know the complications and consequences that would be faced when it was used by your mother...she became sick, and..."
Struggling to keep himself composed as the tears fell freely, Gabriel was met with silence.
"I understand if you never want to speak to me again," he finally looked directly at Adrien, seeing for the first time properly, the red tear stained face of his son. "I will turn myself in without question, and try to put this right."
Adrien could see the sadness in his fathers eyes, the disappointment he held for himself and his actions. Adrien did not want to lose another parent, he tried to put himself in his father's position.
If it had been Marinette, would he have done the same? Adrien knew the dire consequences of using both Miraculous' together, would that be enough to stop him from making such a detrimental decision? He would have thought that he would not have, but honestly, deep down, he knew he would have done anything, if it had been the only option to get his lady back.
Was Adrien actually sympathising with Hawkmoth? Yes, yes he was.
Marinette and Chloé shifted beside him, soft, sympathetic expressions watching Gabriel. It would appear he was not the only one sympathising with Hawkmoth.
Gabriel sat down on the edge of Adrien's bed, side facing the three teenagers, he ran his hand through his disheveled hair. "I wanted to tell you Adrien..." He trailed off as he took a shaky breath, "part of me even wanted to contact Ladybug and Chat Noir to discuss this with them," Gabriel hung his head in shame. "I was just too afraid, of what it would do to you."
Adrien, who had been watching his father's emotional confession, looked to his lap. This was his father, someone who was actually present in his life. A father who actually cared to take an interest in his friends. The Gabriel Agreste, who had been know to be cold and unapproachable, had become the exact opposite. His father had good intent, but an exceptionally bad way of achieving it.
Did Gabriel even really understand the consequences of a wish such as the one he wanted to make?
Marinette sniffled next to Adrien, he turned to see fresh tears streaming down her face, as she wiped her eyes with her free hand. Chloé was in a similar state, she knew what it was like to lose a parent, albeit, not in the same way.
Meekly, Chloé rose off the bed and approached Gabriel. "I understand," was all she said, as she bent down to hug him from behind. Chloé had known Gabriel all her life. She remembered Adrien's mother. She remembered how life had been before Emilie had vanished. Chloé understood why it was so important for Gabriel to try. "I don't agree with what you've done, but I understand."
Adrien watched his life long friend comfort his father, as much as he wanted to do the same, part of him was still angry. Part of him wanted to rip his father to shreads for turning their world upside down. Part of him wanted to shout, shout about being kept in the dark, not knowing that his mother had been there all this time. He knew it would not do any good however. He also knew he was not going to lose another parent, and would do anything in his power to keep his father with him.
Tikki, Nooroo and Pollen had been conversing before the need to stop Plagg wiping Gabriel off the face off the Earth had arose. Since his assault against Nooroo's former master had been intercepted and defused, Plagg had joined them reluctantly, while the humans spoke. Composing himself, Plagg had almost eaten the entire contents of his cheese stash. Taking comfort eating to a whole new level.
Tikki, Nooroo and Pollen circled back on to the subject of what had happened during the battle.
"I don't understand how Lila managed to break my Miraculous." Nooroo stated, confused by the events which had played out. "I am not even wiped Tikki, you have truly heeled me, all the negativity I have been subjected to, all the terror I have caused...I feel like a new Kwami again."
Nooroo hovered before his fellow Kwami, glowing from the immense power which had been thrusted into his Miraculous. As he had previously explained to Tikki, the fact his Miraculous was active when it was broken, had somehow fused him and Gabriel together in an instant.
Tikki sat, with Pollen for support, eating her umpteenth cookie as her energy had been drained by the cure. The red Kwami was in deep thought, thinking back to the last time it had happened. The wielder of the Cat Miraculous had inadvertently damaged the Mouse Miraculous, leading to major repercussions for the wearer who was spilt into many at the time. Luckily Tikki's holder, during that time, was able to harness the power Tikki bestowed up them, fixing the Miraculous and repairing the damage which had been inflicted on both the Mouse Miraculous holder and the Kwami Mullo.
Fortunately, because Mullo's wielder was split into many, the Kwami was still present once the transformation had dropped. But both the wearer and the Kwami were sick until Tikki's holder had directly applied her power through her tool, to fix the Miraculous.
"Maybe it's only the Miraculous power which can damage the Miraculous." Tikki mused to Nooroo and Plagg.
"And fix it too!" Pollen added encouragingly.
"But Lila did not have a Miraculous." Nooroo conferred.
"No, but she had your previous wearer's tool," Plagg noted.
"I guess that makes sense then." Nooroo nodded to the others. "Do you think you could help Duusu?" Tikki and Plagg looked to Nooroo with perplexed expressions, so Nooroo explained the situation. "Duusu is still not healed, even though Gabriel fixed their Miraculous." He hung his head, "their last holder became sick and tired, so they stopped using the Peacock Miraculous...and you know what happened to Dussu's holder before that."
Tikki pondered Nooroo's words, as Plagg idly ate yet another piece of cheese. "Hmm," Was all that came from Tikki, as she looked back in the direction of her holder, thinking over Pollen's words.
In a numb silence, Gabriel lead Adrien down to see his mother. Adrien was still trying to digest all of the information which had been put to him while Gabriel had contacted Nathalie to clear their schedules. Gabriel was not wanting to ask the teens before him for their Miraculous anymore, as he had come to realise the implications such a wish would have. He owed it to Adrien for him to see his mother, and to know what had happened, so he told him how the already damaged Miraculous, had further cracked while it was being used.
The couple had been using the Miraculous' for good, when a particularly strong emotion for justice, had been used to create an 'Enabler', as Emilie had referred to the creations. the Enabler had become difficult to control, and the amount of power being harnessed by the broken Miraculous became too much and cracked further. After this, Emilie's health deteriorated quickly, and she had fallen into a coma from which no medical professional could wake her. This was when Gabriel had turned to his last option, and lured out the use of the creation and destruction Miraculous'.
Adrien was beside himself when he had put the pieces together. That it had been Nathalie who had been Mayura. That his father had let another important person take the risk, after already having witnessed the consequences of using the Peacock Miraculous. Gabriel explained that since Nathalie had also damaged her health, she had come to the decision that she would not wield it anymore, and the Miraculous itself, had been placed on his mother once more. Reuniting his wife with the Miraculous had seemed fitting to Gabriel in a way, and he had noticed that Duusu had seemed brighter once this placement had been made.
Marinette was lying next to Chloé on Adrien's bed. The two friends silent, while their thoughts and feelings swirled chaotically around their heads. Marinette was trying to formulate a plan, amongst the uncertainty, on how they could put everything right, with minimal implications on Gabriel. She knew what he had done was inexcusable, but at the same time, she could not see Adrien go through losing his father to imprisonment.
Was there a way this could all be solved? Was there a way to bring Adrien's mother back too? She needed all the facts, and she needed to speak to Tikki. As long as there was hope, she would do whatever it took to right the wrongs which had occurred.