A/N: Sorry for the lack of activity lately. Been struggling to come up with scenarios that I could actually develop. Thanks for all your comments and reviews so far. Hope you enjoy this installation.

Chapter 13: Upside-down

A thick cloud of dust fogged the rubble cluttered room, large streams of moonlight poured in through a gaping hole of what used to be a large circular window, dancing over the particles as it illuminated the remains of the battle. Sounds of broken bricks periodically thudding dully against the floor echoed across the ruins of the chamber and reverberated against Adrien's eardrums as he knelt, bracing himself with his hands against the ground as he recovered from a coughing fit. Adrenaline still surged through his body, rivulets of sweat streaming down his face mixed with blood and dripped on the floor beneath him as he gaped at the sight before his eyes. The once purple clad Hawkmoth whom now laid prostrate mere meters from him had been revealed, revealed to be the one and only Gabriel Agreste. The man he had been fighting all along, was his own-

"Fa-father."

Adrien found his voice catch in the back of his throat from the shock, abruptly stopping any other comments laying in wait. Ladybug who crouched behind him let out a gasp of alarm as what was likely her yo-yo clattered to the ground. Adrien wasn't sure if her reaction came from the man's identity, from his own reaction, or a combination of the two. It hardly mattered anyway, as his ring let out a final warning and a green light enveloped him, ending his transformation as Chat and reverting him back to Adrien Agreste as Plagg came tumbling out of the miraculous.

A pain induced gasp sucked its way between the boy's lips as he careened forward, his arm collapsing beneath him as the added strength from his kwami left him. His forearm, it seemed had broken cleanly in two just above the wrist and was far from capable of supporting his weight. Ladybug made a noise behind him, but he chose to ignore it, pulling the weakened Plagg into a pocket and cradling his broken limb against his chest before he righted himself on his knees again. Without hesitation, he then shuffled over to where Gabriel lay, not daring to trust his judgment without getting a closer look. Having struck his head against the wall when Chat and Ladybug finally managed to remove his miraculous, the man remained unconscious and stationary as a result, but as Adrien closed the gap between them, it was abundantly clear that he had been right all along. The all too familiar face, figure, and clothing. . . all of it. Unless there was a perfect clone of his father, it couldn't be anyone else.

Nausea writhed in the pit of his stomach, thrashing like an angry snake against his abdomen as the implications of the revelation hit him like a truck. The Hawkmoth they'd been fighting all this time. . . the one who started this entire mess in the first place by launching attacks on them and the entire city of Paris. The man who hurt him and his lady, the man who was in turn now wounded by Adrien's own hand. . . A small pool of blood glowed faintly in the moonlight along side the man, provoking the boy's gag reflex which only resulted in a full vomit.

All the hate Adrien had for Hawkmoth had instantly been reduced to a confusing, messy pile of betrayal and remorse. It was like the world had been turned on its head in the last few minutes alone, his entire reality crashing down around him just like the shattered window. Everything he thought he knew wasn't true. The evil Hawkmoth was the man he loved and admired. While Gabriel had grown more distant with the disappearance of his mother, Adrien still wanted to please and make him happier, always trying to bring back the father he once knew. Yet somehow, Gabriel had been warped into a man with an insatiable desire for power, finding a miraculous power and bending it to shape his will. In becoming Hawkmoth, his father had hurt him on hundreds of occasions, and Ladybug, and countless others. . . and now, this had happened.

All of the injuries he had sustained in his time as Chat Noir combined couldn't equate to the pain that currently ripped his heart into shreds. Tears blinded his view as he reached toward Gabriel's blazer, gripping a shaky handful of the lapel's material in his fist as he pulled himself to hover over the man.

"How-" came Adrien's voice softly, but his his fist trembled with aggression. "Why-? What could. . ." His thoughts fired at a million per minute, not giving him enough time to contemplate even a single one for a sufficient amount of time as to come to any remote conclusion. Fat tears carved trenches down his crimson, grime coated cheeks before rolling off his chin and spattering on the man's suit.

"Father-"

He collapsed again, this time crumpling against Gabriel's chest as he let out an agonized scream. Uncontrollable sobs racked his core as he pulled at the suit like an infant child, choking and gasping between episodes before cycling anew, wondering frantically what he could have- should have done differently to have prevented this from ever happening. Bright spots speckled the backs of eyelids that were crammed as tightly shut as physically possible while a ringing pitch sang in the boy's ears, but his sobbing didn't stop. He couldn't stop. It hurt. So. Much. Like his heart could literally burst at any moment. Adrien wanted his father to open his eyes and tell him it was all just a nightmare. But it wasn't. Nothing would ever change the fact that Gabriel Agreste had been Hawkmoth or that Adrien had so injured him. Nothing.

-nothing-

Adrien blinked groggily at the various gray shapes in his tunneled view. His head spun madly, and he couldn't quite tell if he was laying down or falling. Something shifted around him, now seemingly aware that he had awoken. A small amount of color bled through the gray and Adrien found he wasn't laying or falling, but was actually leaning against something- rather, someone. A stained, striped tie partially covered by a vest and surrounded by a jacket came into clarity. Adrien found a pair of arms wrapped around him tightly and a hand nestling the back of his head against the rising and falling motions of a chest. Looking up, he came to find the bloodied, fatigue worn face of his father.

After staring blankly at him for a moment, tears welled up at the boy's lids upon full awareness, spilling over as he cried again, burying his face back into the man's chest. He didn't know what to say and he couldn't bear to look at him right now. Fortunately, his father seemed to lack the words as well. Adrien just wanted to cry, and surprisingly, his father didn't seem to mind. Instead, the man pulled Adrien closer to him, rocking back and forth in small motions as if in a weak attempt to soothe him. The blonde sniffled as the fluids poured from his face, when something else wet dripped on the side of his face. Then again. And again.

The teen chanced a glance upward to find tears now streaking down his father's face, a quivering frown and creased eyes to accompany. More tears escaped the blonde as he shifted, working his uninjured arm partially around Gabriel's back into a half hug. The man responded in kind, placing his chin atop Adrien's head when a small sob parted Gabriel's lips. And so they cried together, with an understanding that things could not be how they had once been and that they would never be quite the same ever again. While all looked bleak, however, they took comfort in knowing that the other was alive. The permanence of death had yet to separate them. They still had a chance to make things right.

A/N: A half reveal, of sorts. xD Thinking about a Gabriel point of view for this one, though it might be too similar to other scenarios. We'll see. What do you guys think? Thanks again for reading and reviewing.