But it can't be, Ladybug told herself as she followed her arch-nemesis into the Agreste home, he was akumatized…
"As promised, I'll tell you everything," Hawk Moth said, snapping his fingers. A wave of energy washed over Ladybug's body, stripping her of her powers as it did. She was left as just Marinette again with an emptiness inside her, longing for her alternate persona. The tenshi flew away as its own energy dissipated, turning into a harmless butterfly once more. Thanks to her willingness to receive the powers, Marinette still maintained her memories, unlike most akumatized victims.
Marinette turned to watch Hawk Moth, an odd sort of sadness to his eyes. He sighed before announcing, "Nooroo, dark wings fall." A wave of energy passed over him, revealing his true form at last. As he appeared before her, there was no more room for doubt. The man that stood before Marinette, Hawk Moth himself, was none other than Gabriel Agreste.
"How could you!?" was her first reaction, shaking an accusing finger in his direction, "Do you have any idea how many times you've put your own son in danger! And for what?!" Marinette was livid. After all the times she had seen this man's restrictions on his son as a sad fate, now she saw the truth of how he had treated him, and it was a hundred times worse than anything she could've imagined.
"I never intended to hurt him," Gabriel waved a hand dismissively, yet he avoided eye contact with Marinette, "And I was doing this for him anyway."
"How is trying to kill him going to help him!" Marinette was shouting now, fed up with this attitude.
"Come with me," Gabriel said, turning away from her, "and you'll understand everything."
Gabriel led Marinette down the secret elevator and into his hidden basement. There, at the end of the walkway, was the glass capsule that had long held Emilie, keeping her alive. Instead it now held Adrien while Emilie stood over him, her hand on the glass over her son's face. She looked up as the two approached.
"Gabriel, did you find a way to… Who's that?" Emilie shot Marinette a suspicious look. The girl paid no heed to the question nor the look, moving forward instead straight for the boy she loved. Tears welled up in her eyes as she lovingly placed a hand on the glass over his heart.
"What did you do to him?" Marinette's voice was low, but the malice was so tangible Gabriel could feel a twinge of pain.
"Emilie was in a coma for a long time," Gabriel explained, waving a hand toward his wife, "as a result of using a broken miraculous: the peacock."
For the first time, Marinette looked up and saw Emilie there. The two of them locked their tear-streaked faces, a mutual understanding born from a sadness fueled by love.
"You used the wish to revive Emilie," Marinette turned eyes red from tears in Gabriel's direction, "and the consequence was Adrien entering a coma instead."
Gabriel nodded and sighed, looking away from the two women. He couldn't bear to face them now. After all he had tried to do for Adrien and Emilie, in the end all he had done was harm them. He failed both as a husband and a father, and most certainly as a miraculous wielder. All he could feel now was shame.
"Can you fix this?" Gabriel asked, trying not to dwell on the problem, rather the solution, "Can you revive him without returning Emilie to the coma?"
"I'd rather be in a coma than our son," Emilie replied sharply.
"Not again!" Gabriel exclaimed, "I couldn't bear that again."
"I need to think," Marinette shook her head in frustration, her eyes turned back to the still body of Adrien. "Give me the miraculous," she added after a brief pause, "the ladybug earrings and cat noir ring."
"They're about here somewhere," Gabriel answered, turning to scour the ground, glad for the distraction. He hadn't touched them since tossing them aside after using the wish. Surely they were still useless, with Tikki and Plagg still needing to recharge.
"Looking for these?" a gruff voice whispered from the shadows behind Gabriel. He whipped around, finding himself face-to-face with Night Shade again, the miraculous of creation and destruction resting in his palm.