Chapter 4

Gabriel

"Emilie, I... I just killed Chat Noir... It wasn't supposed to go like this. I didn't even get his miraculous. I'm so sorry. But if I carry on, Ladybug will have no choice but to choose a new partner. I will not give up on you." I said, standing in front of Emilie's glass tomb. "I need to go. Adrien will be home soon. I love you." I headed towards the lift.

When I reached the top, I heard someone sobbing. I rushed to the next room, to find Natalie knelt on the floor next to a smashed tablet.

"Natalie! What happened? What's wrong?" I asked her, kneeling down beside her.

"The news... I... It's... He's..." She pointed to the TV in the living room. I went over to it, thinking it must be about Chat Noir dying. I hadn't had time to tell her what happened, and she must've just been a bit shocked. I turned it on. The news reporter was also crying. A picture of Chat Noir was on the screen.

"D-don't be b-bemused, it's just the n-n-news," she said, trembling. "We have d-discovered t-that Paris' superhero, C-chat - I can't do this," then she burst into a fresh bout of tears. Someone helped her off the stage. A new reporter came in, this one looking upset but not crying.

"We have recieved news that Paris' superhero, Chat Noir, was killed by Hawkmoth earlier this afternoon. We also discovered his secret identity. In civilian form, he is Adrien Agreste, teenage supermodel, son of Gabriel Agreste, one of France's best fashion designers."

"NO! I COULDN'T! HE COULDN'T BE! NO! I would never..." What had I done?

Marinette

When they came to take him away, I grabbed onto

his chest and snarled at them. They took him anyway. I ran out of the room, Alya calling after me. I ignored her. I ignored it all. I transformed and swung to the rooftops.

Ladybug

I ran along every rooftop we ever visited, tears flying behind me. I ran to our favourite rooftop and stopped. I looked around.

Flashback

"Close your eyes and hold on tight, okay?" Chat said. I closed my eyes. I could feel him jumping from roof to roof with me in his arms. When we stopped, he said, "Just give me a minute okay?" I kept my eyes closed. After a couple of seconds he said, "Alright. You can open your eyes now." I opened them, and found myself on a rooftop surrounded by candles. There were rose petals on the floor.

"Wow!" I exclaimed. "Chat Noir, this is beautiful!" I saw him leaning on the railing, his head hung low. "I'm... So sorry." I told him, feeling guilty about not coming earlier as Ladybug.

"Why? It's not your fault."

"No... Yeah! I mean - what I mean is I'm very sorry for you, cause, um, you prepared all this, and then, she didn't show."

"She told me she might not make it but I had my fingers crossed. I really wanted her to come."

"Maybe she had a really good reason for not coming, like a problem or something."

"You're only saying that to make me feel better."

Flashback

"For you, M'lady," Chat Noir said, kneeling on the floor and offering me a rose.

"Chat Noir, I can't accept this rose from you. I told you already. I'm in love with someone else."

"I know M'lady, but if he weren't here, would things be different between us?"

"Well, you know, I can't even begin to imagine him not being here. I'm sorry Chat Noir, I really gotta get going. And you'd better do the same," I said swinging away from him.

End of flashback

My knees buckled and I fell to the ground, tears racing down my cheeks as I howled into the night. I screamed his name, again and again, begging for him to come back to me, until my throat burned and my voice was hoarse.

"Ladybug," said a cold, deep voice from behind me. "I need to speak with you, but please hear me out."

I knew that voice. I whirled around, and saw Hawkmoth standing on the rooftop, our rooftop, looking over at me. Quick as a flash, I took my yoyo from around my waist, got behind him, and pressed the wire to his neck.

"Why should I EVER LISTEN TO YOU? YOU KILLED HIM! YOU KILLED ADRIEN AGRESTE, AND CHAT NOIR IN ONE MOVE!" I screamed in his ear, my voice echoing around the houses.

"I know, just hear me out. Please," he begged. I tightened the wire around his throat, but not so much that he couldn't speak. I wanted an explanation before I killed him.

"I - he - I - oh I can't say it. Nooroo, dark wings, fall." He said, his voice trembling. There was a flash of purple, and then I was standing behind the world-renowned fashion designer, Gabriel Agreste himself.

"You - you BASTARD! You killed your own son! You selfish, evil, monster!" I yelled.

"If you just give me your miraculous, I-"

"EXCUSE ME?! After all this, you STILL WANT MY MIRACULOUS?!"

"I can bring him back! I can use the wish-"

"HAVE YOU LEARNED NOTHING? THERE IS ALWAYS A PRICE TO PAY IN RETURN! IF YOU BRING HIM BACK, SOMEONE ELSE WILL DIE!"

"But you want him back don't you? Isn't it worth it, to get him back?"

"WHAT?! NO! It's never worth it, no matter who or what it is!"

"But - but I - I-"

"No. You don't get to say anything." I snatched his miraculous off his chest, and tied his hands behind his back with my yoyo. "I'm taking you to the police, so they can lock you up. You don't deserve to die, you deserve to live in torment for the rest of your life, with the everlasting guilt of killing your own son."

And I did just that. Gabriel Agreste was locked up. I don't know where they took him, but I honestly couldn't care less. Hawkmoth was gone, and Nathalie soon gave up the peacock miraculous. The box was complete again.

I never loved anyone again, because that love I had for both Adrien and Chat, it never went away. And little by little, it broke me. I wasn't the same. Even Tikki couldn't break me out of it. Although, that's not entirely true. A part of me came back when I was 31, many years after Chat and Adrien's death and Hawkmoth's defeat. I adopted a beautiful baby boy from the orphanage, in London, where I moved not long after everything went wrong. I named him Adrien. He grew up to be talented, smart, handsome and brave. I was still the guardian of the miraculous, but I had to give it up at some point. So when I was 51, on Adrien's birthday, I handed the miraculous box over. For some reason, I kept my memory. Perhaps the universe had decided that I'd already lived through so much grief in my life, and allowed me to remember my son and my lost love.

I died when I was 92, after living a long life, but it turned out to be a good life. After I adopted Adrien, my heart seemed to fill again, and I began to enjoy the wonders of life again. I was finally happy. But I still felt empty, as though half of me was missing. My son had helped me find one half of me again, but I needed something else. I knew exactly what it was.

Adrien

I don't remember much after I said goodbye to Marinette on that treacherous day. But then, I was in a place filled with trees, and fountains, and sunlight shining onto bright green grass. It looked like a massive park, with two silver gates at the edge. I couldn't see beyond them. But I watched as they opened, and a beautiful young lady with dark silky hair, and kind bluebell eyes walked through. She looked around, confused, not seeing me yet. But I knew exactly who she was. I snuck up behind her when she wasn't looking and closed my hands over her eyes.

Marinette

I felt someones hands close over my eyes, and they whispered, "Guess who?" in my ear. My Ladybug reflexes kicked in and I flipped them over onto the grass in front of me.

"Well, I can see you're still in good shape, M'lady." He said, his emerald green eyes staring up at me. I gaped, and he laughed.

"Have I ever told you that you do an excellent impression of a fish?"

"A-Adrien?"

"No, I'm Spongebob Squarepants. Nice to meet you."

I picked him up and hugged so hard he stumbled backwards. I cried into his chest.

"I love you so much," I said between sobs.

"I love you too," he said. There was a pause, and then, "Can I... Can I kiss y-?"

I didn't let him finish. I titled my head towards him and smashed my lips against his, pouring all my love, my relief, my joy, my everything into that kiss. After what seemed like an eternity, we broke apart, gasping for air.

"Wow," Adrien said. I laughed.

"There are many more where that came from, but for now, we have this massive park to explore! Let's explore it, and find all its hidden wonders!"

"Brilliant idea," he beamed. And so, we did just that.

That's it guys! Thank you all so much for reading, and please check out my Miraculous fan account on Instagram, it's called _l.a.d.y.n.o.i.r_