A/N: As I contemplated some of Ayolen's suggestions I came up with this doozy. It's not exactly en pointe with her idea, but it definitely spurred this addition.

Chapter 19: Fog of War

Another post Mayura scenario. Hawkmoth and Maryura go to extremes to obtain the miraculouses.

Thick smoke swirled around Gabriel's feet as he stepped over more rubble. The heavily damaged city was now on fire, courtesy of a fire breathing dragon created with the help of Mayura. It was all or nothing this time, Nathalie had counseled him. They had to pull out all the stops if Gabriel wanted to obtain the cat and ladybug miraculouses so unlike last time, they wouldn't leave anything to incompetent akumas and would handle it entirely as their own super villain duo. Therefore Gabriel agreed, giving his assistant permission to wield the power of the peacock miraculous, promising to end the battle as quickly as possible in an effort to spare her from experiencing any side effects due to its corruption. This time, it seemed, their victory was inevitable as Gabriel's desperation had given birth to a monster. The dragon had all but obliterated the surrounding districts, leaving burning trails in its wake, successfully separating the heroic duo. Hawkmoth found himself face to face with Chat Noir and no Ladybug in sight. He grinned nastily.

Chat Noir had seen better days. Hawkmoth figured the boy was just out of clever comments, but he really seemed to be off his game today. More than once Chat had misjudged his leaps or depth of strike, either missing his target entirely or being hit by oncoming assaults he tried to avoid. The smarmy teen hero looked worse for the wear with all the shreds and chips taken out of his leather armor. Bruises on his cheeks and jaw shone in the light of the surrounding fires and he had somehow managed to get a bloody lip. As much as Hawkmoth would like to take credit for that one, he was pretty sure the cat had just tripped mid run and introduced his face to the pavement. Now the battered hero stood in front of him, baton at the ready, but his usual energy seemed nearly extinguished. His back drooped forward in something of a slouch and he swayed side to side, as if he were an oversized toddler who didn't know how to stand properly and was about to kiss the concrete a second time. All things considered, the battle couldn't have been going any more smoothly.

"Come on, boy," Hawkmoth goaded. "Where's your fighting spirit?"

Chat glared back as he growled, wobbly pointing his staff at the man who simply laughed. So strong was his advantage it made it difficult to remain calm. Gabriel was just so close to attaining his goal, he felt like he was becoming manic. It took every last bit of control to not fly completely off the handle and absolutely wreck the teen, the final obstacle before he could promptly double team the spotted heroine. But he didn't want to risk losing everything he had worked so hard for. He wouldn't react without caution this time and since Chat Noir had yet to employ his cataclysm, Hawkmoth remained at a safe distance. No, no matter the temptation, Gabriel would maintain control over the situation until he saw it through, even if it meant waiting five more excruciating minutes for Chat Noir to actually make an advance.

The boy took a staggering step toward the man. This was it. Hawkmoth raised his cane sword and grounded his stance. Chat Noir let out a yell and sprinted at him, extending the baton into the ground and vaulted upward. Flying over Hawkmoth's head, Chat slammed the baton downward, planting its end in the crumbled cement when the purple clad man deftly side-stepped the strike. As Chat landed, he stumbled over the end of Hawkmoth's sheath into a tumbling roll. Gabriel stared at Chat in disbelief as the boy pushed himself off the ground, only to then break into a coughing fit. Frowning, Hawkmoth advanced to where the boy stood bent over as he heaved for breath. Perhaps he didn't need to exert any more energy. He reached toward the boy's right hand and the blonde didn't seem to notice. Surely it couldn't be this easy, Gabriel thought to himself as he easily took hold of the teen's arm.

Suddenly, the leather clad boy ripped his arm from his hold forcing Gabriel to leap away as Chat Noir's other hand came swiping at him. Springing back on the defense, Gabriel dropped low and prepared to strike, smirking when he found Chat had yet to turn back around. The man darted at him, aiming a side swipe with the sheath at the backs of Chat's knees when the boy suddenly collapsed forward on his own accord. Out cold, by the looks of it as Gabriel then stood over Chat who only expelled a soft moan. His breath seemed ragged and the side of the boy's face was dripping with sweat. There was no way all of these symptoms came from this battle alone. Chat Noir probably had a head cold. Perhaps a flu- or something. Not that it concerned Gabriel, especially when fate had been so kind as to bring him an ill, now unconscious Chat Noir. He squatted down, lifting the boy's wrist once again bringing the ring toward his other hand. The cat miraculous was now his.

Much like the purple that surrounded Gabriel upon transformation, a green light shrouded the boy and the black leather melted away. Ring in hand, Hawkmoth turned it over as he stared at it curiously. The silver band was uncannily familiar and he was sure he had seen it before. But the grimoire didn't have any illustrations of the miraculous in their dormant form, so where would he have seen it? The green light dissipated into the dark leaving only the glow of orange to illuminate his surroundings. Hawkmoth looked past the ring now, pocketing it away as he peered into the smoky sky. Ladybug would be wherever Mayura's dragon was but he would need to find a better vantage point if he wanted to see beyond the polluted air. A loud crack sounded from a nearby building as the second story of the wooden structure broke apart. The fiery rubble rained down on him as he sprang out of the way. He rolled onto his knees and sucked in a sharp breath when wooden planks and metal roofing missed him by a margin. Shaking with adrenaline, he pulled himself to his feet with the aid of his cane when he saw the unconscious boy that was Chat Noir laying in the midst of the burning rubble.

"Adrien?!"

There was a definite probability that he was wrong. The boy wasn't facing him, after all. But the tousled blonde hair, the dirty- definitely white shirt, light blue denim pants. The silver ring. Another crack deposited more debris from the crumbling building, sending burning coals to shower the street below. Gabriel hastily stepped over and under the burning remains, calling Adrien's name as he went, but pleading at the same time that the boy wasn't his son. It wasn't in the cards, however. As he blessed his fate moments ago he now cursed it with venom. Adrien was dusted with ash and coals, of which Gabriel hastily brushed from him upon dropping to his knees. Blood trickled from a rough abrasion at his forehead and his right shoulder had a large wooden splinter embedded in it. The man grimaced uncomfortably at the burns on the boy's exposed flesh and the holes that had been burned through his clothing. Gabriel unburied the boy as quickly as he could manage, ripping the burning debris from above him before they crumbled. A moderate level of exertion and a makeshift lever using Hawkmoth's cane freed the teen's left leg from a large chunk of cement that had pinned him down. After pulling the slivered wood free from his arm, Gabriel took great care to avoid the gash that traced the length of Adrien's calf and lifted him into his arms, proceeding to dash for the nearest open space.

Adrien's head lolled back and forth in the crook of the man's elbow as Gabriel ran, barely audible groans escaping the boy every time Gabriel leapt over something and landed hard despite how steady he tried to keep him. The boy's body temperature felt dangerously high and he was sweating profusely. How had he not noticed Adrien had been sick? Guilt flooded what was left of his conscience as he recalled that he had been particularly neglectful toward the boy that week. Once away from immediate danger and the chance of encountering prying eyes, Gabriel released his transformation. He needed to call off Mayura. He sat on a curb, positioning Adrien safely in his lap, leaning him against an arm and called Nathalie to hastily explain the bare minimum before hanging up to place an emergency call. Dispatch directed him to stay on the line so he did so, grudgingly setting them to speaker phone only to then take Adrien up in his arms again and ignore anything else.

He leaned his head near the boy's, weeping silently as sirens blared in the distance. Placing his fingertips on Adrien's cheek, he then sobbed as he gently wiped at the dirt and grime from his skin finding his blood crusted lips were devoid of color and their natural redness had migrated to his cheeks. Gabriel whispered to him, speaking of happier times and how much he admired the boy, continuing to talk at him with the hope that it would somehow keep Adrien from crossing into an irrecoverable state. How short sighted and blinded he had been. If he had been more involved in Adrien's life in the first place, perhaps he would have known he was Chat Noir sooner. There might not have been any secrets between them. And perhaps- just possibly, the pain he experienced from his broken family would have been the tiniest bit lighter. Had he chosen a different path, at the very least, he was confident that he wouldn't have found himself in the burning streets cradling Adrien as he died in his arms. Hawkmoth thought he had won the battle. Gabriel knew he had lost desperately. If the price of life was that of Adrien's, he would never seek it again.

A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. As always, I appreciate the feedback. :)