"Why can no one else see you, Tikki?" Em was asking her. Em and Plagg had just gotten back from the local village market. Em always had questions about her own kind after interacting with them. The last six years had been the most interesting of her entire existence. Caring for a human had been a difficult task for the kwami to say the least, but she had enjoyed every second of it. Even Plagg had enjoyed watching Em grow.
"I don't know, Em," she answered gently. "Humans cannot see us. It has always been that way."
"But I can see you!" Em protested. "Why is it that I can see you and others can't?"
"Em, you are special. You have always been special." Tikki said sadly. "But I don't know why."
The girl fell silent after that and resumed munching on the cheese she had gotten. Plagg and Tikki had no money to buy food for the child and had taken to stealing when she was little. Now that Em was older, she would work odd jobs around the village in exchange for her food.
"I'm going to make it so others can see you," Em stated as the sun began to dip under the horizon.
"And how are you going to do that, sweetheart?" Plagg asked as he rejoined them.
"I don't know yet, Plagg," she said with a smile. "But I promise, when I do, it's going to be miraculous."
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"Anything?" Adrien asked as Marinette handed him another plate to wash, referring to Emma who was still standing at the window. She hadn't moved or said anything since Adrien had written in the book. Master Fu had left and him and Marinette were cleaning up from lunch.
"No," she whispered. "She's going to be ok, isn't she?"
Adrien took a deep breath as he plunged the plate into the sink of soapy water. Ever since he had moved out of his father's place, there had been many things he had to learn how to do; dishes being one of them. He enjoyed the more common tasks he had never been given the opportunity to learn, but today the warm water brought little comfort.
"She will be," he answered, summoning as much confidence as he could for Marinette's sake. "She's our kid. The daughter of Ladybug and Cat Noir. She's tough."
"You're just saying that," she replied. "But thank you."
"No prob-" Adrien was cut off by a loud bang that shook the apartment building. Emma appeared from around the corner, her face full of worry.
"Akuma attack," she stated as Adrien dried his hands.
"Stay here," he ordered. "We'll take care of this."
"Adrien," Marinette said as she grabbed his arm. "Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Milady what do you..."
"He's your father." She cut him off, reminding him of the devastating news they had gotten yesterday.
"All the more reason I have to stop him." He muttered through gritted teeth. His stomach was tied in knots at the thought that he was no longer fighting some random evil villain, but his own father. "I can't let him get away with this, no matter who he is or what reason he has for doing this."
"Alright," Marinette answered. "Tikki, spots on."
Ladybug appeared before him and he quickly said his transformation phrase. Turning towards Emma as Cat Noir he could see the torn emotions in her eyes.
"Little princess," he said, pulling her into a hug. "Stay here. Promise?"
"Be safe, Papa." she whispered. He could feel her body shaking but another loud crash told him they were out of time.
"We'll be back as soon as possible."
He let go of her and headed towards the bedroom balcony, Ladybug following close behind.
Alright, father. He thought to himself. You started this and I'm going to finish it.