First of all, I am so sorry for my extended absence. There was a mixture of factors outside of my control that stopped me from being able to work on this story for the month and I am very sorry for it. I do intend to finish this story, I just request you are patient with me.

Saying that, I would like to thank you all for the support this story has received. The follows, favourites and reviews mean so much.

Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous Ladybug.

The inside of the cocoon was dark. It shook with every bounding step the monster made and Adrien was rattled about until he had no idea which way was up. His head hurt and he felt sick. Plagg did all he could to keep him calm.

But Adrien didn't need calming.

"Do you think he'll try to kill me?" Adrien asked.

They had both come to the unspoken conclusion that Adrien's father was behind it, that he'd been akumatised. At least, it was the scenario they felt the need to prepare for.

"What? No, kid. He's your father. He wouldn't do that."

"He almost has," Adrien admitted. "He pushed me down the stairs. That could have killed me."

"Then so what? We're Chat Noir. We can take him."

"No, we're not."

There was silence but Adrien knew Plagg was giving him a confused expression.

"Adrien went in here. People saw that happen. Hawkmoth probably knows it's Adrien in here. And if I become Chat Noir, he'll work out that they're the same person. And then my friends will be in danger. Again. Because of me."

He took a deep breath, steeling himself the best he could. He felt a small weight on his shoulder and Plagg brush gingerly against his cheek.

"You'd be in danger, Plagg. And you've stood by me through all of this. I…"

"I'm still here, kid. And we're going to work this out."

Suddenly the monster stopped. Adrien frowned, pressing his ear against the wall of the cocoon. He could hear muffled voices but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Plagg, hide," he hissed as he heard the voices getting closer.

Plagg dived for cover in Adrien's jacket. Normally he would find somewhere he was undetectable, even by Adrien but that time Plagg settled against Adrien's side, his warmth a comfort.

The crown began to open around them, sliding down to allow in a dull light. Even then, it was blinding. Adrien covered his eyes, trying to make sense of where he was.

As his eyes began to adjust, he made out a hand offered out to him. The hand was covered in a black glove and Adrien accepted it, wondering for a moment who it could possibly be. He allowed the hand to help guide him out. Then his eyes caught upon the owner of the hand. His heart stopped as he saw the silver mask that covered almost the entirety of the face. Adrien immediately recognised him.

Hawkmoth.

Why would Hawkmoth go after him? Why would Hawkmoth want Adrien Agreste? Unless he didn't. Had the Sentimonster been sent out to capture Chat Noir and just so happened to have grabbed Adrien while he was out of costume? Had he just revealed his identity to Hawkmoth?

Feeling panic flare within him, Adrien recoiled. He fell back into the petal-crown and tried to think of his next move. Did he transform and fight his way out? It would give the game away if Hawkmoth didn't know. Did he try to bluff his way out as Adrien, claim he had been grabbed by accident or indeed on purpose if Adrien was the intended target all along.

He shrunk back as Hawkmoth growled and reached in further. He grabbed hold of the enormous hooded jacket Adrien wore, dragging him from the darkness despite his protests.

As he was pulled from the safety of darkness, Adrien did his best to calm himself down. He tried to make sense of the room around him, tried to work out where the exits were.

The room was round and the senti-monster inside took up much of the space. Adrien couldn't see any doors so guessed the senti-monster was blocking access to it. There was a large circular window with the muntin forming a large butterfly, throwing the outline of it across the floor.

Besides him, Hawkmoth and the senti-monster, there was a woman in a blue dress, holding a peacock feather fan. Adrien immediately recognised her as Mayura but tried to hide it.

"I… I don't know why you took me," Adrien said.

He did everything he could to act terrified and found it didn't take much acting. His voice was already quivering. His leg hurt. He didn't believe he would be able to outrun them if they did attack. He knew he couldn't defeat the two of them alone.

"If you want money or something, my father will pay a ransom. He already believes someone took me and…"

"We both know your father doesn't believe that," Hawkmoth said slowly.

Adrien stared, feeling shivers race up and down his spine. He forced himself to swallow.

"What do you mean?" he managed.

Hawkmoth's cold eyes played over him. Then he drew in a deep breath.

"Nooroo, dark wings fall."

Despite the terror and confusion inside him, Adrien couldn't help but feel the thrill of discovery. They had worked so hard to find out who Hawkmoth was and he was revealing himself to him.

Adrien watched the glow of energy as the costume fell away. He almost covered his eyes as the light filled the dark room.

When the light was fading, Adrien was sure he had been blinded. His eyes had to have been damaged by the transformation because he simply couldn't believe them.

Before him stood his father. Gabriel Agreste.

All the faked signs of concern were gone. The man looked furious, almost repulsed by his son.

Adrien tried to think. His mind just swam. He tried to say something but he could barely breathe. He looked away. It was all he could do.

Not only was he in the hands of Hawkmoth, not only was he in the hands of his father, but they were one and the same. The man who had put the city in so much danger and Adrien had done everything he could to help him feel better, had behaved to make his father, had felt bad about lying about Chat Noir adventures.

He clenched his fists and was reminded his ring was still on his finger. Plagg was still there. Whatever he felt didn't matter. There was only one person in the room who had always cared about Adrien and that was Plagg. He would not, could not, let him fall into Hawkmoth's hands. He just needed some escape. He'd go and get Ladybug, tell her that he knew who Hawkmoth was that he knew where to find him.

But then Adrien felt his mind catch on an issue he could not ignore.

She'd ask how he knew. She'd be trying to rescue Adrien Agreste. How was Chat meant to convince her that Adrien was safe without revealing who he was? Because he couldn't. He wasn't ready for Ladybug to know how broken his life was, how imperfect he was. And he wasn't ready to tell her that he was Hawkmoth's son. She would never be able to love him. Would she even be able to look at him?

"Adrien, do you realise how complicated you made things by running away? How easily you could have messed up my plans?"

"You're Hawkmoth," Adrien accused.

"Yes. I had hoped that I might be able to tell you in another way but this feels as good as anything."

It wasn't happy. It wasn't relieved. His father was angry. And all Adrien wanted was to get away from him. His father had been terrifying before, now he knew he was a supervillain…

He took a step back, hitting against the senti-monster again. Adrien needed it gone. He wasn't going to be able to get away with it there.

"Father, I… This is a lot."

He tried to force a shiver into his voice. It wasn't difficult. He was absolutely terrified.

"Too much, I…"

He gestured to the senti-monster behind him and met his father's eye for just a moment. It was all he could manage. He felt sick. His palms were clammy. He couldn't breathe. He felt like he was dying. Maybe he was.

"Remove the monster," Gabriel said.

His voice was cold and level. Adrien wasn't sure if his father meant it as a kindness or just wanted to see what he would do with the monster gone. There was a pause. Adrien expected the monster to disappear instantly. It didn't. His father clenched his jaw. Adrien felt the anger radiating from him. He flinched back, his throat seemed to close as terrified sobs tried to force their way out of him. He shook, closing his eyes and waiting for the slap or punch. Nothing came. For a brilliant moment, Adrien was sure Ladybug was there. He calmed, trying to settle into the reassuring familiarity of her presence. He was sure any moment he was going to hear her voice.

Then Mayura's voice cut through.

"He seems very calm."

Adrien was not calm. He was anything but calm. It was all he could do to stop himself from dropping to his knees and sobbing. It felt like a terrible hand was tightening around his head, stopping his thoughts. Like a weight had been put on his chest to stop him from breathing. He did not want to be with his father. He did not want to be with Hawkmoth.

But he was Chat Noir and he was used to hiding his terror.

"Did I say you could question me?" Gabriel roared.

Adrien screwed his eyes shut as tight as he could. He bit his lip until he could taste blood in his mouth. He tensed, waiting for the blow to land.

He heard the slap echo about the chamber. He waited for the pain to come but it never did. Slowly, heart thundered, mouth dry, he forced one eye open.

His father was standing over Mayura. She looked shocked. Adrien could understand. The shock and the humiliation the first time his father had hit him had hurt a lot more than the pain. He had never imagined it would happen to him. He was sure Mayura had never imagined that anger would be turned onto her either.

Adrien's eyes snapped open. His hands clenched into fists and he charged. His father barely turned in time. His cold eyes widened in shock as he saw his son barrelling towards him. Adrien landed a blow to his stomach. Enough to wind him, enough to take him down.

Then the boy grabbed at Mayura's hand. He tried to pull her to her feet but she refused, dragging her hand back from him.

He started at her, confused. Instead, she pulled a flower from her pocket and crushed it. Adrien watched as a black feather sprung from it and drifted to the floor. His eyes met Mayura's and she silently told him to go.

Adrien shook his head. He didn't want to leave her. He couldn't leave her. He was a hero. He was meant to help people. And if she was being manipulated by his father, hurt by his father like he was… She deserved his help.

But his father was getting to his feet. He was seething, spittal flying from his mouth with every growled breath. Adrien felt panic grip him. His blood froze. His heart stopped.

He looked towards the door to see it was clear. The senti-monster was gone. He could run for it.

And he did.

Adrien found himself racing through a maze of walkways. He couldn't think. He had no clue where he was going. He felt utterly lost. Everything looked the same. It was like something out of a nightmare.

Occasionally a white butterfly would flutter past him. He bit his lip to stop himself from yelping, driving past them.

"ADRIEN!" he heard his father roar.

He froze, looking around desperately. He ducked into the shadows, seeing his father race pass. His father had transformed into Hawkmoth again. Adrien guessed it was meant to scare him - seeing a supervillain. However supervillains were the one thing Adrien could handle. It was his father, not Hawkmoth, who chilled him to the bone. He lingered in the shadows, holding his breath, as the villain went past.

He didn't know if he was going to be able to make it out. He had no clue where he was. He could be somewhere on the edge of Paris. He could have been moved out of the city.

He wasn't going to get away running.

The realisation twisted in Adrien's stomach. It tore through him with a wave of pain and emotion. Tears began to form in his eyes. He clenched his jaw, doing everything in his power to stop them from falling.

Maybe if he could find a window or a small opening he might…

He emerged from hiding, moving slowly. He took creeping steps, not daring to look back, not wanting to see his father standing there.

"There you are."

The voice was hard and cold enough to send shivers down Adrien's spin.

He set off running, grunting as he slammed his injured ankle against the hard floor. He glanced about, wondering if there was some way he might be able to find an escape. He saw a large circular elevator and rushed towards it, slamming his hand down on the button. He could hear the thunder of his father's approaching footsteps and beat against the button, begging for the lift to hurry up. Unable to see it approaching through the glass tube, Adrien shook his hoodie.

"Plagg, Plagg, I need you to do something for me."

Plagg looked at him. Adrien could see on his face that the kwami knew that there weren't any good options.

"I need you to tell Ladybug that Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth, that that's why the senti-monster took Adrien. Tell her that Chat Noir can't be there because of family stuff but that… That because I can't be there, she will need this…"

Feeling his stomach twist, he lifted his hand. He worked his miraculous from his finger and held it out to his kwami.

Plagg prepared to protest but Adrien shook his head, insistently holding it out.

"Please, we can't let him get hold of it," he told him.

Plagg reluctantly took the ring. His eyes fixed onto Adrien. Adrien could see the regret in his eyes. They both knew they had no choice. As much as Plagg wanted to protect Adrien, the miraculous needed to be protected. They couldn't let it fall into Hawkmoth's hands.

"Everything is going to be fine," Adrien said, forcing the strongest smile he could. "Ladybug will work this out."

Adrien watched as Plagg nodded and took off to find an escape. Adrien watched as the darkness consumed his kwami. He took a deep breath, before trying once more to summon the lift. Then he saw a large shadow fall over him. Swallowing hard, he turned.

Hawkmoth stood before him, chest heaving as he fumed.

"Are you trying to make me angry?" the man growled, grabbing Adrien by his wrist.

Pain shot up his wrist. The vice-like grip was inescapable. Adrien cried out, trying to squirm free.

"Let go!" Adrien shouted. "I can… I'll go by myself."

Hawkmoth chuckled darkly as Adrien stumbled, his ankle screaming at him. The punishing speed Hawkmoth was maintaining was agonising. His father did not relent. He didn't seem to notice any of Adrien's squirms and cries.