There's not even much of an excuse for my extended absence. I just got distracted. However, I really do intend to finish this story so ensure you pester me if I get distracted again please.

I would like to thank you all for the love you give this story, even when I haven't updated in a while. It means a lot.

Also, there are a lot of heavy emotions towards the end of this chapter. I know a lot of the story has been heavy but I wanted to warn you guys that this isn't me easing you guys back into the story.

Disclaimer: I do not own miraculous Ladybug

Eventually Hawkmoth was able to wrestle Adrien back into the main room. He threw his son to the floor, Adrien crying out as he hit the hard surface.

Immediately Adrien twisted, glaring up at his father.

"Why are you doing this?" he demanded.

"I want to make things right," Hawkmoth said.

"There is no making this right. I could forgive you for what you did to me but this… This is madness!"

Hawkmoth snarled, raking a slap across Adrien's cheek.

"You stupid boy, you don't understand. All of this has been for you!"

Adrien felt an anger he had never felt more, one that his father's actions had made him scared of ever feeling. He struggled to his feet, nostrils flaring as he squared up against his father.

"You hurt me! You hurt my friends! You put lives in danger! Tell me how that could possibly be for me! Tell me how there could possibly be good out of this!"

Hawkmoth grabbed Adrien by the wrist, tight enough that the very contact drew a yelp from his son. Adrien tried to struggle free as he was dragged roughly towards the large circular window. He stared out, stomach twisting. The view of Paris was familiar but the different angle made his skin crawl. Mostly because it wasn't different enough. He couldn't be that far from his bedroom, in some part of the house he had been forbidden from going. Hawkmoth had been so close all along. If Adrien had just been smarter, less oblivious, less caught up in his own worries about school and Ladybug and making friends - maybe he could have fixed it all.

He was such a screw-up.

"Are you willing to listen, Adrien?" Hawkmoth said.

Adrien was aware of Nathalie moving around behind him. He tried to look at her but his father tightened his grip on his wrist. Adrien turned back sharply, focusing on the view of Paris.

"Everything Hawkmoth did was for you, so we could be a family again. The power Ladybug and Chat Noir hoard… In the hands of someone who actually knew how to use it, I could do brilliant things."

"So you destroy Paris, you akumatise people, you set Senti-monsters on me? I could have been killed. The people I care about could have been killed."

Hawkmoth looked at Adrien, telling him he had taken all the necessary precautions.

"I only set the Senti-monsters on you because you ran away. It wouldn't have happened if you were so reckless. But they were under orders to use your scent to track you down and bring you back unharmed."

He paused, taking an uneven breath.

"I had to bring my first senti-monster back. I don't know why it allowed itself to become distracted by Ladybug and Chat Noir but after it was damaged and went haywire, I couldn't risk it killing you."

"You didn't seem to care about that before," Adrien snapped.

He could see the fury on his father's face but he didn't care. He wasn't going to bend to his will again because that would be subjecting to Hawkmoth's will. And Ladybug and his friends would never accept him if they knew he had submitted to the villain out of fear.

Before his father could respond, however, a shadow fell across the window. Adrien turned sharply, able to see a red and black form hurtling towards them, blotting out the light.

Hawkmoth raised his hands to shield himself, abandoning Adrien to the side. His son dove out of the view of the window, hearing the glass shatter as Ladybug punched through it. She flipped into the room, yo-yo whirling at her side as she looked around.

Adrien watched relief fall onto her face as her eyes locked onto him and he bit back the urge to react like Chat Noir. Attention was immediately shifted from Ladybug however as two more figures smashed through what remained of the window.

It took Adrien a few moments to recognise them, more out of shock than anything else. Rena Rouge and Carapace stood there, weapons at the edge. Carapace grinned at him as he saw Adrien was unharmed. Hawkmoth looked at the window as though he was expecting a black cat to explode into the room.

Adrien scrambled to his feet, limping towards Ladybug. She stood twirling her yo-yo, collecting him into her arms.

"You okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?" Ladybug rushed.

"No," Adrien managed.

He wanted to cry with relief. Having her there made everything feel alright. It felt like home.

But all relief was snatched away when Hawkmoth called his name.

"Adrien, come back here," Hawkmoth said.

Adrien didn't even shift. His father's face contorted with rage, the sort of look that Adrien would normally have folded to, done whatever he could to lessen the punishment he knew the look heralded. But he wasn't going to give in any more.

Ladybug carefully drew Adrien behind her, blocking Hawkmoth's path to him. Adrien heard the sound of Rena's flute being turned and saw that Rena and Carapace were stopping Mayura from being able to reach him.

"He is not going anywhere near you," Ladybug growled.

"Ladybug," Adrien said, voice breaking. "Hawkmoth's my father."

She would already know - Plagg would have told her. But Adrien felt the need for her to hear it coming from him.

"Yes, I know. Chat told me," Ladybug said.

Adrien nodded and Hawkmoth sighed.

"It hardly matters, now you're here, I just need to take your miraculous. Luring the cat here won't be difficult when I have his lady. And then everything will be fixed and Adrien will forget all about this."

The confidence in Hawkmoth's tone chilled Adrien to the bone but he had no time to think of a response. Hawkmoth pounced, cane driven forwards like a sabre. Ladybug barely had time to get her yo-yo spinning fast enough to deflect it. She glanced over her shoulder at Adrien. His eyes locked onto Ladybug's for a moment. She looked so terrified for him. He wondered for a moment what Plagg had told her but decided there wasn't much he could do then.

"Run," Ladybug instructed, pointing wildly off through the corridors.

Adrien nodded and sprinted towards the door. He heard footsteps giving chase and turned. Mayura's blue gloved hand was reaching out to grab him. He went to dodge but a flash of orange suddenly blocked Mayura's path to him. Rena Rouge swung her flute, managing to force Mayura back.

"Go," Rena urged with a glance over her shoulder.

Although his ankle screamed, Adrien nodded and set off once more.

Adrien ran until his ankle decided it was time to stop. He collapsed on a long catwalk and lay there panting for a few long moments. Then he found the strength to pull himself into a sitting position. He rested his back against the railing, staring down at the ankle that gave him so much trouble in exhaustion.

It hurt so much. It felt like it was never going to stop. He tried not to think about it. But he didn't have anything good to distract himself with. Everything had gone wrong.

A wave of relief filled him when he heard a familiar voice calling his name. He looked over as saw his black kwami flicking about in the air, his ring firmly in his grasp. Adrien raised a hand to signal where he was and grinned when he saw Plagg speeding towards him.

"Plagg!" Adrien cheered, his kwami coming to rest in his hand.

"I did good, right?" Plagg asked.

"You did brilliantly," Adrien praised.

Plagg nestled into Adrien's palm, pressing the ring into his grasp as he went.

"How did you get Rena and Carapace to come as well?"

Plagg gave Adrien a shocked look and said it would have been harder to keep them away.

"They were desperate to get you back."

Adrien couldn't help but smile at that fact. Somehow, despite everything he had messed up, he had the best friends he could ask for. And he couldn't abandon them after everything they had done for him.

"They're going to need Chat Noir."

Horror immediately formed on Plagg's face. In the past he had occasionally been reluctant to go out, preferring to laze about. His hesitance at transforming wasn't due to that, however. He looked genuinely concerned for Adrien. The idea of the boy fighting Hawkmoth in the state he was in was the last thing the kwami wanted.

"Your ankle," Plagg said weakly. "And Hawkmoth is… You just found out he was your father. You shouldn't have to fight him after that."

"I can't just abandon my friends. I need to put this right."

"You're talking like this is your fault."

Adrien looked at Plagg, trying to convey that there was a reason for that. The moment his eyes met his kwami's though, Plagg had flown up and was pressing a cuddle into Adrien's cheek.

"You would never want any of this," Plagg said. "You can't blame yourself for what your father did. He is responsible for himself. Just because he…"

Plagg's words were cut off by the sound of a door opening. Adrien froze, looking towards the source of the noise.

"Adrien, I know you're down here," Mayura's voice called.

She must have slipped away while the others were dealing with Hawkmoth. Adrien slipped on his ring, preparing to turn into Chat Noir. He stood, looking around for Mayura to ensure he could transform safely. The moment he was standing, however, his ankle threatened to buckle beneath him. Mayura was a big threat at the best of times, injured Chat Noir didn't believe he would be able to beat her. And if Mayura was able to capture Chat Noir, she and Hawkmoth would have no qualms about harming him to get to the others. Staying as Adrien might be the safest thing.

Still, he didn't want to get caught as Adrien either. He looked around and grinned when he saw the tube for the glass lift running past him. He tracked it up and down, trying to work out where the nearest place to board was. It was on the walkway below him. Adrien looked around for a set of steps, trying to work out how he was meant to get down there.

He couldn't find anything. Stomach twisting, he realised he only had one option. He bit back a cry of pain from his aching muscles as he lifted himself over the walkway's railing and dangled over the edge.

The drop wasn't massive. He had survived worse as Chat Noir - a lot worse. But he needed to land perfectly. If he landed on his ankle, it might never heal properly. If he landed on his head, Mayura would have no trouble dragging his unconscious body back to Hawkmoth. If he missed the walkway entirely…

"Are you sure about this, kid?" Plagg hissed.

Adrien shook his head. Then he grinned.

"Ladybug's done worse."

He let go.

Adrien did his best to roll when he hit the walkway. The blow jarred every bone in his body but he managed to weakly get to his feet. Plagg circled him nervously, demanding answers on how he was, whether he could keep going.

Adrien nodded, unable to truly get his breath back. His attention fixed on the lift a short distance away and he limped towards it.

Then the walkway shuddered beneath him. Adrien glanced over his shoulder, hissing for Plagg to hide. His kwami scrambled to hide himself behind Adrien's form as Adrien saw the figure of Mayura standing at the far end of the gangway.

Adrien grimaced, watching her eyes pass over him.

"Your father won't be happy you're down here," she said. "You should come with me, Adrien. We can discuss what is happening. Perhaps your father might even give you a miraculous of your own."

"I don't want anything to do with him!" Adrien shouted back.

He turned back, putting all his energy into moving forwards. Mayura was walking slowly after him. Adrien was sure she believed that he could be brought on side if she just said the right thing. They had no idea he was Chat Noir, that he had picked his side long ago and was sticking to it.

Even when he reached the lift, she didn't seem worried.

"If you just let your father explain, he can tell you his motives. You'll understand. Everything he has done has been for your good. You just don't see it yet."

Adrien looked at back her, wishing he could make her understand. He pressed the button that called the lift and took a deep breath.

"I know you stay at his side because you think he is going to love you one day. I'm sorry. This is as good as it gets."

Mayura stopped. She faltered for just a moment.

"He loves your mother. He's capable of love."

"He isn't. Whatever that is, isn't love."

The doors in front of Adrien opened. He stepped inside the lift without a moment of hesitation. Mayura began to race forwards as Adrien picked a random floor and pressed the button.

The lift doors slid shut and began to descend. Mayura reached the glass and began to pound on it. Adrien couldn't stop himself from flinching back, a whimper torn from him. The lift descended far too slowly. Adrien was sure Mayura was going to smash through in time.

But then they dropped too low and she was gone. Only then did Adrien allow himself the chance to relax. He slipped onto the floor of the lift, head in his hands, drawing in deep breaths.

"That was close," Adrien whispered.

"Where are we going?" Plagg asked, staring at the buttons on the lift.

"Anywhere she's not," Adrien said.

He had just begun to get his breath began when he felt the lift slowing. It stopped so gently Adrien jumped when the doors slid open before him.

He stared at the scene in front of him.

"What is that?" Plagg asked.

Adrien struggled to his feet, mouth hanging open. He moves forwards as though in a trance, unable to look anywhere but the scene before him.

There was a long catwalk in front of him and Adrien made his way down it, limping, pulling himself along by the metal bars on either side of him. At the end of the walkway was a platform, lit by a column of sunlight from above. It was green and Adrien could smell the scent of grass in the air. There was a large collection of bushes, each one glittering like an emerald, forming a semi-circle around something Adrien couldn't quite make out.

It was a tube angled upwards, perhaps twice his size if he lay down beside it. The light hitting it made it shine like a bar of gold and Adrien felt impossibly drawn to it. He was sure he could see an angelic figure in the light.

Plagg was flitting around nervously. He seemed to be able to sense the same energy Adrien could. Adrien couldn't really describe it. It felt like the air was electrified. Every hair on his arms stood to attention. His skin tingled and itched.

"What is it, Plagg?" Adrien asked.

He had reached the end of the catwalk and froze, allowing himself to acclimatise to the light coming from above. He knew he would have to let go of the metal railings but the pain in his ankle was almost entirely forgotten. He clung to them because it felt like a lifeline, the only thing that made the scene in front of him feel real.

His eyes began to pick out more of the figure. She was a woman, nestled on a bed of blinding white. She wore white as well, a rose tucked into the lapel of a suit jacket, and she was beautiful, with blonde hair and delicate features.

Adrien felt his heart stop. He found himself unable to breathe, to think, to process the sight of the woman before him.

"Mom!"

Adrien tried to rush towards her. With his first step, his ankle gave out. He slammed hard into the grass but didn't care. Plagg tried to say something but he didn't catch the words. Adrien clawed and crawled across the grassy floor, one hand latching onto the cold metal of the container his mother was in. He dragged himself up, staring, tears forming in his eyes.

"Mom?"

She didn't respond. She didn't seem to realise he was there. It looked like she was sleeping. Adrien's view of her blurred as tears began to spill over his cheeks. He ghosted a hand over the glass that kept the two of them apart before trying to pry it up from one side.

"Mom!" he cried out, hoping that she might be able to hear him.

Plagg flicked around the machine for a moment before noticing a set of controls. He pressed one button and the glass lid began to fold back. Adrien immediately lunged forward, taking his mother's hand into his own.

The air inside the case was cold but Adrien could feel the heat in his mother's skin. He closed his hand around hers, remembering the way her fingers had fitted, the way she had held his hand when they went on walks in the city or when he had something exciting he needed to show her.

"Mom?" he tried, voice soft as though he might be able to coax her out of the dream world she was in.

A sob broke through his words. He carefully turned her hand around, taking his mother's pulse at her wrist. It was weak. It was incredibly faint. But it was there. Relieved, Adrien guided his mother's hand up to his face.

"It's me. It's Adrien. It's not him. Whatever he was doing to you, I'm not going to let it happen any more. I… I'm here, Mom. Just please come back to me."

There was no response. There wasn't even a flicker of movement. When Adrien let her hand go, it fell away from his cheek instantly.

A sob wracked his body painfully. He shook uncontrollably as he placed his mother's hands back where they had been folded into her lap. He didn't know what else to do. There wasn't anything else he could do. He felt utterly helpless, utterly hopeless. He carefully pressed a kiss into her forehead like she had used to do to him and then collapsed back.

Plagg shut the glass case as Adrien retreated until the metal of the pod dug into his back. He buried his face into his hands and wept and howled and sobbed, unable to hear the comfort his kwami gave him.

"We have to do something, Plagg. We have to. There has to be something we can do. There has to be some way we can fix this. There has to be. There just has to."

Plagg flew to Adrien's side, taking in the boy. His eyes were swollen from tears. His lips trembled, his body shook. His hair was a mess of odd angles and his expression was one of the most profound pain Plagg had seen in his thousands of years.

"Maybe your father will know," Plagg said.

Instantly, he knew it was the wrong thing to say. Adrien's jaw set. He drew in a shuddering breath, forcing his way up using the pod.

He sent his mother a final glance.

"I'm going to put this right, Mom."

"HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HER?!"

The shout cut through the fight and froze it. Ladybug felt like her heart had been ripped out. Rena and Carapace fought the urge to cover their ears. Hawkmoth flinched back.

All eyes turned to see Adrien standing there, tears flowing down his cheeks. Plagg was flicking through the air around him, sending Ladybug looks of alarm. She felt a pit forming in her stomach, her blood running cold. Carapace stepped forwards to say something but the words died in his throat.

"Adrien, I…" Hawkmoth began.

"Plagg, claws-"

"Adrien, I don't think this is a good idea," the Kwami protested.

"I don't care! Plagg, claws out!"

Plagg sent Ladybug one more pleading look and then was pulled towards Adrien's ring. Green light bathed the cavernous space. And then Chat Noir stood there, chest heaving with pants.

"CATACLYSM!"

His hand began to burn with a familiar dark energy and he set off running towards Hawkmoth.