Chapter 3

The next few days were strange for Adrien. He had gone back to the bakery a few times, mainly trying to figure out where the dream he had had come from. He blamed it on reading so much about the superheroes online, but he had come to the bakery to check just in case Marinette had woken up. Tom and Sabine informed him Marinette was still in the hospital, though, so that theory was quickly debunked. He checked the Ladyblog to see if any further news about Paris's superheroes had surfaced, but Alya's blog was unsurprisingly quiet.

A quick scan through his phone had given him both Nino and Alya's number, as well as Marinette's. It made him feel strange to have the girl's number when he could only picture her face as the beaming one her parents had shown him. He had his own picture of her on his phone which was a picture of her smiling shyly beside him in a selfie he had taken with her. He wasn't sure why he hadn't gone through his phone sooner since he had found loads of pictures on it, including of the superhero Ladybug. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he was starting to think he had a bit of a crush on the girl back when he could remember who she was.

His phone dinged and he looked down at it in surprise. He had gotten plenty of texts from Chloe about why he wasn't coming back to school, which he had answered patiently as he could. However, this time the text came from Alya.

Hey, I don't know if you'll get this, but I just wanted you to know Nino and I are going to visit Marinette. Not sure if you're interested in joining us, but if you want, meet at the bakery in an hour.

Adrien was on his feet in seconds. He wasn't sure if what he was feeling was excitement or dread, but there was a part of him that wanted to see Marinette face to face. He had seen plenty of pictures of her, but it wasn't the same. It seemed she and he had been rather close since even Chloe had mentioned her to him.

He eyed his door warily, before deciding he could probably sneak out if he told his father that he was practicing his fencing or something along those lines. He made up his mind and flew down the grand staircase toward his father's office. If Gabriel was caught up with work, he probably wouldn't be paying enough attention to realize Adrien didn't have fencing today. He opened the door as quietly as he could, intent on catching his dad off guard.

He wasn't expecting to see his father talking with someone. The voices were strange and squeaky like cartoon characters in the shows he used to watch with his mom when he was little. He frowned, wondering who it could be his father was talking to.

"The miracle box has been moved. I don't know where it is."

"You were Ladybug's kwami," Adrien's father snapped. "Surely you know where it is. I thought you had to do what I asked."

"I went to find it, and it wasn't there anymore," the voice said.

Adrien squinted into the room and made out a pink blob right in front of his dad's face.

"And if she could find it, I'd make sure it never got anywhere near your thieving hands," another voice said, this one bitter.

"You'd have no choice," Gabriel said coolly. "Now I can see where my son developed his sudden attitude."

Adrien wasn't sure what to do at this point. He had been listening too long to let his father know he was here, but he was too intrigued to leave. What were those things his father was talking to?

"Master," a third voice said, this one timid.

"What is it Nooroo?"

"Your son."

Adrien realized with a start that he had been noticed. He thought through his options, which weren't many.

"ADRIEN!"

The call came from the second voice; the more bitter of the three. Adrien's heart dropped and he turned away from the room, knowing he was in trouble. Lots of trouble. He decided that delayed the inevitable lecture he was going to receive was probably his best option for now and bolted for the front doors. After getting through them, he ran down the front steps and headed straight for the subway.

ooo

The hospital smelled strange, and everyone there just seemed stressed. Adrien wasn't sure he had ever entered a hospital, at least from what he could remember. Alya was directing the small group of three well-wishers down the hallway, making Adrien wonder how many times she had come to visit. She seemed to have the route memorized and had taken care of checking them all in at the front desk.

When she came to a stop in front of a door, Adrien nearly plowed right over her. Nino gave him a sympathetic look, and Adrien tried to smile in response. Alya knocked on the door once before opening it and Adrien followed behind Nino, feeling increasingly more uncomfortable. There was beeping all around him and he found himself looking anywhere but the bed.

"Hey, Marinette," Alya said cheerfully, going to the bedside. "How are you feeling?"

Adrien looked over, at last, wondering if Marinette was awake. It seemed that way from the way Alya was talking to her, but as he took in the girl in the bed, he was disappointed to find her eyes closed and her body still.

"The doctor said we should talk to her like she can hear us," Nino said, apparently recognizing Adrien's confusion.

"Oh."

"He says it helps. I'm not sure I actually believe it, but I'll do anything to help the dudette."

Nino moved to slip an arm around Alya who was currently talking to the comatose girl about something that had happened at school. Adrien hung back, suddenly regretting coming at all.

"Look who came to visit," Alya added at the end of her story. "We brought Adrien! Funny thing is, he had an accident the same time you did. I always told you that you two were basically the same person."

"Uh, hi," Adrien said, waving to the girl in the bed.

He was feeling extremely awkward, but he supposed being here was better than being at home. His father was probably looking all over for him. He could only hope no one had posted a picture of him at the hospital. He had borrowed Nino's glasses and cap coming in, but he wasn't sure how much of a disguise that had actually provided.

"If she were awake, she'd probably be over the top excited to see you," Nino said, giving Adrien one of his goofy grins.

Alya shot her boyfriend a look and he scratched his head nervously. Adrien frowned at the interaction, wondering not for the first time if something had happened between him and Marinette. His father claimed he hadn't talked much about the girls he went to school with, but Adrien supposed that could be because he hadn't wanted his father to know.

"How long are visiting hours?" Adrien asked, feeling his phone buzz once again. He was sure the texts were from his parents, but he had been ignoring them ever since he ran off.

"You can stay until around 7:00," Alya said. "But Nino and I will probably leave in a little bit. We've got homework."

Adrien took a seat in a chair by the bed, resting his chin in his hand. He didn't want to go home, and right now the hospital was probably the last place his parents would look for him. He had mentioned to Tom and Sabine that his father might come by and begged them to lie to the man so Adrien could visit their daughter. Perhaps it was a little selfish to use that as a way to avoid his father, but they had agreed after a little persuasion.

"You're going to stay then, Dude?"

Adrien looked up at Nino and shrugged a shoulder unconvincingly. "I've got a lot of catching up to do with Marinette."

Adrien discovered very soon that hanging out with an unconscious girl in the hospital was not only extremely uncomfortable but boring as well. He wasn't sure when he had nodded off, but the firm shake on his shoulder nearly had him using his old karate moves.

"Visiting hours are over," a nurse whispered. "You've got to go home now."

The woman gave him a sympathetic smile and Adrien nodded.

"Thanks," he managed, before nearly running from the room.

He pulled out his phone and groaned. There were so many missed calls and texts from both his father and his mom that his battery was nearly drained. It looked like even Nathalie had tried to get a hold of him. He rode the elevator to the lobby and tried to decide what he was going to do about this whole situation.

As it turned out, he didn't have any time to come to a decision. The second the elevator doors opened he was met face to face with his mother, who did not look pleased.

"Adrien," she said, her voice soft and angry. Adrien shrunk at the tone, knowing he was in trouble.

His mom didn't yell when she was angry. Her voice would always get softer and softer, or she'd stop talking altogether. The fact that she was here, with Nathalie it looked like, was not a good thing.

"I was visiting Marinette," he blurted as if that would keep his mom from being angry at him.

"I know. The Dupain-Cheng's were the ones who told us when we showed up to the bakery wondering if they had seen you."

Adrien looked down at his feet. Tom and Sabine had promised not to tell, but he supposed that wasn't fair to ask of them.

"We've been worried," his mom sighed, at last, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Let's go to the car. Your bodyguard is waiting for us just outside the doors."

Adrien knew the best thing to do at this point was just to let his mom lead him home and endure the lecture from his father. The thought made him sick and he found himself scooting closer to his mom on the way home.

"Is father angry?"

"We didn't know where you were, Adrien. You can't just disappear like that."

"I know," Adrien said, staring down at his hands. "But I meant is he angry with me for walking in on him?"

His mom was silent. That seemed like a bad sign and Adrien felt his hopes sink. His father was probably going to ban him from leaving the house for a month. He wished he could have just asked his mom to let him go to the hospital. If he had claimed it would help his memories, maybe she would have listened.

"We don't want you getting hurt," his mom said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "You know that, right? Everything we do is for you."

A stubborn part of Adrien wanted to argue against that logic. If all his parents cared about was him, maybe they would pay a little more attention to what he wanted to do rather than what they expected him to do.

"I know," he said instead, knowing he was already going to get the lecture of a lifetime for eavesdropping and then disappearing for the better part of the day. He hoped his mom and dad hadn't been too harsh to Tom and Sabine. It wasn't their fault, after all.

"What did you hear with your father?"

His mom's tone was probably supposed to be curious, but she couldn't mask the fear completely. That made Adrien even sicker. It seemed his parents were hiding something from him, and it probably had to do with whatever a kwami was. That's what his father had called the blobs, right? One of them had known his name, too.

"I'm not entirely sure," Adrien admitted. "Something about a box. Father wasn't happy that they couldn't find it."

"Ah," his mom said with a forced laugh. "He was probably talking about that box of fabric he accidentally had shipped to the warehouse rather than to the mansion. It was quite the expensive box to lose."

Adrien almost pointed out that he knew that wasn't true, but he decided that maybe it would be for the better if his mom didn't know that.

"I thought I would get in trouble for eavesdropping," Adrien said, honestly. "So, I left. Some kids I knew from school invited me to visit Marinette to see if seeing her in person would help me remember her."

"Did it?"

Adrien shook his head slowly and the car came to a stop. Nathalie was the first out of the car, moving to open the doors for Adrien and his mother. Her expression was tense and Adrien wondered what his father's assistant was thinking.

"Adrien, maybe this is for the best," his mother said, her eyes tired. "Not remembering, I mean. Let's make new memories instead of trying to recover old ones."

Adrien felt like his mom and slapped him. His eyes filled with tears despite his best attempt to keep them in, and his mom looked pained.

"You don't think I'll ever remember?"

"I-I don't know," his mom said, her voice becoming more and more pinched. Nathalie was eyeing the two of them, her expression transitioning from tense to unreadable. "But maybe we're focusing too much on trying to recover them instead of moving forward. What if we go to London to visit your cousin?"

Adrien perked up a little at the suggestion, though he couldn't entirely bury the disappointment he felt from his mother's previous comment. Despite that, he hadn't seen Felix since they were just kids. His mom and he used to take trips to London to visit them all the time, but they hadn't gone since his mom had gotten sick and he had been wondering what his cousin was up to.

"That would be awesome," he answered his mother, flashing a smile and wiping at the vestiges of tears still in his eyes.

"Good, we'll plan on it then," Emilie told him, looking more at ease. She turned to head toward the front doors of the mansion, and Adrien's good feeling faded completely. He had almost forgotten he had to deal with his father.

ooo

The conversation hadn't been a good one, but Adrien hadn't expected it to be. His father was not pleased, to say the least. In fact, Adrien was sure that if his mom hadn't been there in the room with him, Adrien would have lost the privilege to even spend time in his room without his bodyguard or Nathalie watching over him.

Needless to say, Adrien was miserable. He sprawled out on his bed, the moonlight streaming through his large glass wall of windows. He didn't feel like sleeping, and he most definitely didn't feel like going through his day tomorrow. He was grounded, and extremely so. His father would be accompanying him to the photoshoot, and his Chinese tutor was to come in for a home visit rather than having Adrien go to him. The worst punishment of all was that Gabriel had taken Adrien's phone away. It was his newest and only link to his past, and now it was in a safe in his father's office.

The room was stiflingly quiet and Adrien got to his feet. He felt holed up, even if his room was bigger than an average person's room would be. That was assuming that Marinette's room served as a comparison. The only other person his age whose room he had been in before was Chloe's, but she had an entire suite of her father's hotel to live in so he assumed her room wasn't an accurate contrast.

He wasn't sure where he wanted to go, but he exited his room regardless. He half expected his bodyguard to be on the other side of the door like he had been all night, but the large man wasn't anywhere in sight. Adrien was glad of the fact, both because it meant he would be able to wander around the mansion and because it meant his bodyguard was at least allowed to sleep at night.

"Duusu, I don't feel right about all this."

Adrien froze in the hallway, hearing his mother's voice down the hall. Tiptoeing closer, he strained his ears to see what she was saying. Why was she still up?

"Gabriel's being a little harsh to Adrien right now," a high obnoxious voice responded. "But it's so romantic, isn't it? He sacrificed everything to fix his family. He just wants to keep it that way."

"That's the thing," Emilie said, her voice getting softer. "It doesn't feel right because I feel okay about it all. I feel like I should be freaking out, but I feel fine."

"Why would you freak out? You have your husband back and your son! You're all together again, and it makes me so happy!"

"My husband has been terrorizing Paris for months," Emilie muttered. "He wished me out of a coma I shouldn't have woken up from and my son lost all his memories. Why do I feel okay about any of this?"

"Because it's what you want," Duusu offered. "Isn't it?"

Adrien didn't wait for his mom's answer. Once again, he was eavesdropping on a conversation that he shouldn't have heard. He stumbled down the hall, unsure where his feet were taking him. Something was boiling inside, though it was masked by the shock he felt. He had to be dreaming, but he wasn't sure how he could be. His father had been terrorizing Paris? Is that why he couldn't remember? Had he blocked his own memories because he had found out? Or maybe his father had blocked the memories himself somehow.

He found himself in his father's office. He wasn't sure why he had come here of all places, but as his eyes fell to the portrait of his mother across the way, he basically ran to it. His phone was in the safe behind the picture, and he wanted it back. His parents were obviously hiding something from him, and his phone was the only thing that he could think of that had answers. Maybe he could find some information about what happened before his accident in deleted photos or in search histories.

The picture swung away from the safe without too much resistance and he stared at the keypad with a determined look. What would his father put as the code? He glanced back at the back of his mother's portrait and he smiled. Of course, his father would make it something about her. He typed in their anniversary date, and the safe swung open. Grinning to himself, Adrien searched the shelves for his phone. He found it and pocketed it and moved to close the safe.

Something made him hesitate, however. He took in the different things inside, feeling both intrigued and confused. His father had quite the collection of jewelry inside the safe, but Adrien couldn't help but notice one item in particular. He grabbed the wide ring and looked at it with wide eyes.

It was the ring. The one he thought he could remember, and the one his father and mother had sworn they hadn't seen before. Why would it be in his father's safe when they claimed they hadn't ever seen it before? Angry that his parents were hiding yet another thing from him, Adrien slipped the ring onto his finger. It slid over his knuckle comfortably, the added weight making Adrien feel more at ease than he had felt since he woke up in his mother's arms.

There was a flash of light and Adrien jumped back from the safe with a strangled noise. Had someone caught him? It was stupid to come into the office, but he had thought he was safe once he got inside and closed the door.

"Kid!"

Adrien looked up at the voice, confusion washing over him. No one he knew sounded like that, nor did anyone at the Agreste mansion refer to him as 'kid'. He didn't have much time to determine where the voice had come from before something warm was nuzzling against his face.

"I thought you would never remember," the creature said, obviously not noticing Adrien's shock. "The wish must have been faulty."

"What are you?" Adrien asked, taking a step back to get a better look at whatever was talking to him. "Where did you come from? Were you in my father's safe?"

Two big green eyes stared back at him, and Adrien could clearly see the disappointment in them. He felt the usual feeling of guilt in the pit of his stomach, realizing once again there was someone in his life disappointed because he couldn't remember them.

"I'm sorry," he started, ready to give the small creature his usual speech. "I don't remember anything."

"I know," the creature said, his voice a low growl. "It's your father's fault. If I had known he was Hawkmoth, trust me kid, I would have cataclysmed his face a long time ago."

Adrien's heart sank as he thought about what the creature was saying. He had researched a lot about Paris's two superheroes and had obviously seen a bit about Hawkmoth as well. With this creature's comment and his mother's overheard conversation, Adrien was beginning to think his father was indeed the supervillain Adrien couldn't remember.

"You all right, Adrien?" the creature asked again.

"It's a lot to process," Adrien admitted. "Especially since I don't remember anything about it."

"I'll help you," the creature said his tiny chest puffing. "First off, you should know I'm Plagg, your kwami. And I'm starving."

ooo

The stinky cheese his father kept on his desk made a whole lot more sense. As did the cookies, after Plagg told Adrien to grab the earrings his father was hiding as well. Plagg said there was a butterfly brooch and a peacock one as well, but Adrien didn't see either inside the safe. There were only two empty jewelry boxes.

"You really can't remember anything?" the kwami named Tikki asked, her eyes wide and sad. Adrien shook his head regretfully.

"I've tried. I've forgotten everything. All my friends, the photoshoots, what I learned in school...I can't remember any of it."

"Do you remember the catchphrase to turn into Chat Noir?" Plagg asked, swallowing a wedge of cheese whole.

"What?"

"You don't remember being Chat Noir?" Tikki asked, her tiny frame sinking as she nibbled on a cookie.

"I don't remember anything," Adrien repeated, frustration mixing with his guilt.

"Well, maybe if you suit up, you'd remember," Plagg said, laying back on Gabriel's desk. "All you have to say is Plagg, claws out."

"Plagg, claws out?" Adrien asked, sure the kwami was messing with him. However, Plagg shot across the desk and there was a flash of green. Adrien looked down at himself, and he nearly fell over. He could see everything perfectly in the dark, though it was all a bit green. He was completely covered in the same leather-like material he had been covered in his dream.

"What is this?" he asked Tikki who was looking him over with her big eyes.

"It's your costume," she said, smiling a little. "Your old Chat Noir costume."

Adrien looked over his arms, surprised by how awake he was feeling since he hadn't gotten any sleep. He caught sight of something poking out by his hip and grabbed it. It looked like a pipe.

"What is this?"

"Your weapon," Tikki explained. "It extends."

"This is...weird," Adrien said, pushing the button. The staff extended a little, and he retracted it. "But kind of awesome too."

"You were like this the first time too," Tikki told him. "You were way more excited than...Ladybug was."

"Ladybug," Adrien said, his eyes growing wide. "That's who you were the kwami for! Why did my dad have you?"

Tikki's smile faded and she looked sadly down at the earrings Adrien had placed next to her on the desk. "He defeated you and Ladybug," she said softly. "He made his wish and messed up the balance of the world."

"What happened to Ladybug?"

Tikki said nothing, looking down at the earrings sadly. Adrien's stomach twisted as he guessed what had happened. His father really was a villain.

"Was Ladybug like me?" he asked, feeling sick. "Like, was she my same age?"

"She was," Tikki said, looking up with her eyes shining. "Your father was so desperate to get your mother back that he didn't care about who he was fighting. We didn't know your mother was sick, or maybe we could have tried to help."

"He's a monster," Adrien spat, looking down at his costume again. Had he fought his father? Or had he given up his ring to save his mother? He couldn't remember, but he wasn't sure he wanted to.

"He's a hurt man," Tikki said soothingly. "He made some very wrong choices, but he wanted his perfect family back. He just went about it wrong."

"Very wrong," Adrien responded.

Adrien didn't hear the door open, too busy talking with Tikki. The only indication he had that something was wrong was when Tikki's eyes grew wide and she let out a squeak. Adrien turned in horror and his mom dropped whatever it was she had been holding.

"Adrien," she managed. "No."

Adrien felt a flash of panic surge through him and he realized he was still wearing his Chat Noir costume.

"You've got to get us out of here," Tikki yelped. "Hurry, Adrien!"

Adrien didn't need to be told twice. He snatched up the earrings and Tikki disappeared inside them. He used the pole to vault himself over his mother and out the open office door.

"Wait! Adrien!" his mom called, running out of the office to follow him.

Adrien did wait. He wanted to hear what his mom had to say to him about everything that he had discovered. He looked at her, his mouth open in a silent question. His mom swallowed and held out her hand.

"Adrien, give me the earrings. And...the ring."

Adrien's heart sank all the way to his feet. She was going to take it away again; the only part of him that felt familiar.

"I'm sorry mom," he managed before he ran to the doors and ran out of them.

ooo

It only took a little while to get used to the feeling of vaulting over Paris rooftops. Adrien wondered if it was because he had done it before. He had been able to fence and play piano because of muscle memory, so maybe being Chat Noir was the same way.

He wandered Paris for hours before he found himself in a familiar location. He stared at the bakery doors from a bench in the park, wondering why he was so drawn to the place. He was sure he had already gotten Tom and Sabine in trouble with his parents, but he couldn't seem to stay away.

Besides, he had nowhere else to go. He couldn't go home; he knew that now. Sighing, he walked toward the doors. It was the middle of the night; they wouldn't answer the bakery door if he knocked. Bakers got up early, though, didn't they? He would just have to wait.

He leaned against the bakery door to wait, watching the streets warily for any sign of a silver sedan.