Chapter Thirty-Three

Silver Paw staggered onto the fire escape, wincing at the echo of metal against his boots. He panted heavily, before opening up his window to climb in, muttering the detransformation phrase as he slipped into his room– which was a mistake.

Nino took in a sharp breath, the pain from the slash immediately intensifying as the magic around him faded. And with the mask now gone, there was nothing keeping the blood from his forehead dripping down into his eye. He immediately pressed them shut, hand fumbling about the room until it landed on a discarded shirt, which he immediately pressed against his face.

"Nino," Trixx whispered, zipping up to him. "Nino, you should transform again, you're more vulnerable when detransformed."

"You need to get that treated right away," Wayzz said, floating next to the Fox. "The transformation may have taken the worst of the attack, but this is no small cut."

"Hurts," Nino whispered, tears forming in his eyes. "Oh kwamis, it hurts so much."

"I'll go get that pain medicine you humans have," Trixx said, flying away.

"We need to clean the wound. You shouldn't let the blood get into your eyes," Wayzz said. "Unless those lens things you put in your eyes would protect it."

"Crap," Nino muttered, staggering across the room. "I need to get those out. Wayzz, lead me to the door."

"Nino, you should rest–"

Nino bumped into his desk, a rattling sound echoing throughout the room as several things went flying. He cursed at the clamor, shuffling forward until he found the door, pulling it open as he stumbled into the hallway. With a bit more awareness of his surroundings he slowly made his way to the bathroom, only daring to pull the shirt away from his face for a moment.

"Nino?" Lucie called, and he stiffened up at the sound of his mother's voice. "Nino, is that you? Please don't tell me you used the fire escape to come inside again, that's not safe!"

"Heh, sorry!" He croaked out, hand grasping the bathroom door, pulling it open. "I forgot!"

"...Are you okay?" Lucie said, and Nino was quick to shut the door behind him, prying the shirt away from his eyes just enough to lock the door and flip the light on– and he stared at the bloody hand print he left on the switch.

"I'm– great–" He croaked out again, slowly adjusting the shirt so it was pressed against the cut on his forehead, reaching out for the facet, turning on the water and trying to wash the blood from his free hand. "Just, um, tired?"

The slash on his cheek was bleeding freely, dripping down onto the counter and his suit. That didn't matter in the moment though, drying off his hand, before going to remove his contacts. His mother's footsteps were coming down the hall, and he tried to keep his labored breathing even.

"Nino, you don't sound– heavens! Is that blood?"

"No?" Nino tried, letting his contacts fall onto the counter, before slowly pulling the shirt away from his face. The cut on his forehead wasn't bleeding as much as the one on his cheek, which was the bigger of the two. Made from the same slash, they were only divided thanks to the magical mask that had been around his eyes.

"Nino, this is blood– what's going on?"

"Er, I got it?" Nino offered, and the door rattled.

"Nino, let me in!" Lucie cried.

"N-no, I'm okay–" The cut above his eye was beginning to bleed heavily again, no longer under the pressure of the shirt. He ran the blood shirt under the facet, trying to ignore the red running down the drain. His left eye he squeezed shut as the blood ran down his face, everything in a slight blur without his glasses.

He heard the lock click open, and he spun around to see Wayzz unlocking the door– zipping away before he could say a thing. The bathroom door was pushed open, Lucie looking in, her fear quickly turning to horror when she saw the state he was in.

"It's– it's ketchup?" He whispered, but the pained waver in his voice made tears well up in his mother's eyes.

She grabbed the hand towel, rushing it under the water, before shaky hands pressed it to his face. It hurt, but the pressure felt good as he stood there, tears welling up in his eyes. He wasn't the only one that was crying though.

"N-nino, what happened?" Lucie whispered in horror. "Who did this to you!"

"I just tripped, that's all…"

"Nino, this wasn't from a fall!" Lucie cried, her voice growing panicked. "I'm– I'm going to call for an ambulance, k-keep pressure on it, I'll be right back–"

Chills ran through Nino, and he followed his mother out into the hall. "Mom, Mom wait, you can't call anyone, please–"

He stumbled into a wall, and risked pulling the towel back slightly so he could see where he was going. Lucie was heading towards the kitchen, and he went after her, grateful that Chris was a deep sleeper because his brother did not need to see this.

Lucie was looking for her cell phone, but Nino caught sight of Trixx bolting down the hallway with it in hand. He quickly handed Wayzz his own phone so she couldn't use it, who hurried off after Trixx, hopefully to hide the devices.

"Mom, I promise it's not as bad as it looks," Nino said, knowing this was a lie, but it didn't stop Lucie from heading into the main room, searching desperately between the couch cushions for her phone.

"Nino, sit down, you shouldn't be moving– I'm going to get you some help, I'll–"

"Alya's apartment caught fire!" Nino blurted out, closing his eyes. "I went there to see what I could do, some metal hit my face, but it wasn't too bad and I–!"

"Fire?" Lucie whipped around to face him. "You're not talking about the one that was on the news, the one Hawk Moth showed up to!?"

Nino pulled the towel away from his face, looking at his mom. He didn't want her to worry more, but she would know that it was indeed Alya's place in time, so lying would get him nowhere. He gave a short nod, and Lucie stared– and Nino realized his next problem, an explanation on why he didn't get his wound treated when medical personnel had been right there.

But soon even that became pointless as he followed his mother's gaze to the muted TV, where footage on the news was playing of Hawk Moth's appearance. The clips of the Miraculous holder and the fire playing quickly across the screen. Nino stared as he watched himself, feeling so distant despite it all happening this evening. As the shot Hawk Moth bringing his sword down into Silver's face played he winced, the blow looking so much more painful as he watched on, Silver Paw being knocked back, blood on his face.

Lucie stared at the screen, watching as Silver stood tall, shouting at the crowd, and then her eyes flashed back towards Nino, flickering across his face. He raised the bloody towel once more to hide his wound, but as his mother took in a sharp breath he knew it was too late. Silence settled between them, and Nino's fear spiked.

"Nino. Nino, please tell me that isn't what I think it is, please," Lucie whispered, voice quivering. "Please tell me I'm imagining this, please."

"…You can't call anyone, Mom," Nino closed his eyes. "If they see this wound… people could figure out who I am. Hawk Moth could– and that can't happen, no matter what."

Lucie's hands covered her mouth, fresh tears welling up in her eyes. The fear, the horror– it was all so clear, and he looked away. The next thing he knew though she was by his side, arms coiling around him.

"We– we can't just leave it, you're bleeding, you're hurt," Lucie whispered. "You need to get to a doctor, we– we could– could–"

"Perhaps I could help, ma'am," Wayzz's voice said, and Lucie jumped in surprise, wheeling about, her arms still wrapped protectively around him.

"It's okay," Nino said quickly. "He's a friend."

The only reply his mom made was a high pitched noise, watching as Wayzz came flying towards her. Trixx soon joined them, holding Lucie's phone with an uncertain smile, but the woman didn't move. Nino adjusted the towel on his face, before taking a step forward, offering a pained smile.

"This is Trixx and Wayzz, they're kwamis. They... um, well, Trixx helps me transform into Silver Paw. And Wayzz... well, he lets me become Carapace. So... surprise?"

"May I have a look at your wound, Nino?" Wayzz asked, and Nino slowly pulled the towel away, looking up at the kwami. "I'm, well, I'm no healer, but I think some minor Protection will benefit you."

Wayzz's paws faintly glowed green, drifting forward, and his mom at last found her voice. "Wh-what will that do?"

"It will Protect the wound," Wayzz said simply, pressing against the upper slash, and Nino let out a hiss of pain. The kwami then moved down to the slash on his cheek, doing the same. "Prevent it from getting worse or infected, hopefully."

It still hurt as Wayzz pulled away, yet the slash didn't feel as... exposed as it had before. The air didn't make it sting, and the bleeding seemed to not flow as freely. Nino stood there for a moment, before bringing the towel back to his face, just because that's what felt the best.

"Nino, you need to sit down," Lucie said quietly. "I don't know how much blood you lost. I'll... I'll go see if we have anything we can wrap this up with. Then... then we'll see what we can do."

He didn't like how afraid she sounded, the waver in her voice– but what was most important to him in the moment was that she wasn't going to try to call anyone. She slowly guided Nino to the couch, eyes flashing up at the kwamis, and he carefully sat down. Trixx set the phone down on the lamp table as Lucie left the room, leaving him alone with the kwamis.

"Didn't think Wayzz would be one to expose a holder!" Trixx chortled.

"We didn't have much choice, if she wasn't getting the full story she most certainly would have called someone," Wayzz replied. "Besides, Nino couldn't take care of this on his own."

"It hurts," Nino muttered, eyes pressed tightly shut.

"Not as bad as it could have been," Wayzz said. "Though had you been wearing my Miraculous you might have been better off– but that won't change things now. They're shallow cuts for something being done with a sword, they will probably scar, but probably not leave any long term impacts."

"Gah! The pain medicine!" Trixx yipped, before zipping off to grab it. It was a short trip to the kitchen, the Fox back, passing the bottle off to Wayzz. "Get him some, I'm going to go grab some water."

"How many?" Wayzz asked, adjusting the bottle to try to read it, but it was as big as him, making the task difficult.

"Four," Nino said after taking a moment to register Wayzz's words– probably the most he could safely take, but it hurt so much he wasn't going to go any less. Wayzz tried to open the bottle, but apparently the child safety feature also helped keep kwamis out, so he had to set the bottle down and put his entire weight on it in order to get it open.

Trixx arrived back with a glass of water at the same time as Lucie returned, who was carrying several things in her arms– but Nino couldn't quite make it out without his glasses. Actually, his sight usually wasn't this bad even without glasses... but he felt dizzy. He blinked several times as he went to swallow the pain medication, forcing himself to focus on what was being said.

"No, you won't need to wash the wound, my magic should keep it from infection," Wayzz was talking to his mother. "Though we will want to make sure no bits of towel or anything is stuck before we bandage it."

Trixx was holding onto the edge of the glass of water, which had been tipping in Nino's hand. After a moment she took it from him, and Nino's eyes flickered over to his mom. "Sorry... I got blood everywhere..."

"Nino, that doesn't matter," Lucie said. "Now I'm going to wrap this up, and hopefully we can get the bleeding to stop."

"You should drink more water," Trixx said, bringing the glass to his lips again. "The whole thing, actually, you humans need lots of water."

"Okay," Nino said quietly. "Hurry though, I need to go find Blue..."

"You're not going anywhere!"

"Blue needs me," Nino whispered.

"Blue Wing... he's going to be okay," Trixx said with complete sincerity– but had Nino been more alert he wouldn't have believed the Fox. But in his injured state, the blood loss getting to him, pain and exhaustion running through him– it was the easiest thing to believe, it was what he wanted to believe.

"Okay..." Nino muttered, closing his eyes.

He drifted off sometime after that.

When Nino awoke he was in his room, tucked into bed. There was bandages wrapped around his face, which felt strange against his skin, but the pressure relieved some of the pain. He slowly sat up, glancing around his room– which looked clean and straightened, and not the usual clutter he had out. He blinked, before wincing, the slashes around his eyes not liking the movement. He reached for his glasses, which were on the bedside table, slipping them on.

"You should be laying down, kit," Trixx said, and Nino glanced to see the kwami flying towards him, her blue eyes bright. "You need to take it easy, since your body is healing on its own."

"Where's Mom?" Nino asked.

"Asleep on the couch last I saw," Trixx said, flicking her tail. "She was up most of the night, actually. Taking care of you and cleaning up all the blood."

Nino's gut twisted. "I– I could've done that–"

Trixx snorted. "No, you need to rest. Besides, she didn't want your little brother seeing it all in the morning anyways."

"Don't worry, Nino, we helped her," Wayzz said, flying into view as well. "We also let her transform too, to carry you and to give her more energy. I hope you don't mind."

Nino's hand went to his neck, and sure enough the Fox Miraculous was gone. He put his feet on the ground, feeling slightly dizzy as he rose, and the kwamis were there immediately. "Of– of course it's fine. Is– is she okay? How much sleep did she get, what–?"

"Kit, you need to worry about yourself," Trixx said, flying in front of him as he made his way to the door. "You lost a good amount of blood, you need to rest."

"Water," Nino said quietly.

"We'll get it for you," Wayzz said, and he flew towards the door, phasing through it. Trixx did the same, right behind the Turtle, but Nino didn't go back to bed.

He pulled his bedroom door open, and was greeted by a perfectly clean hallway, no sign of the blood that had been dripping from him last night. Guilt ran through him, knowing that his mother had cleaned it all up. He slowly made his way down the hall, and a quick glance into the bathroom showed it was just as clean. He peeked into Chris' room as well, but his brother was fast asleep, it still being early in the morning.

As he came into the main room he immediately spotted his mother. She was on the couch, fast asleep, and Nino's heart tightened. He made his way forward, and found the Fox Miraculous around her neck and the Turtle on the arm of the couch. He carefully gathered them in his hands, putting them on his neck and wrist as he sat next to his mom.

"Thank you," he whispered softly, not wanting to wake her. "I'm so sorry for putting all this on you."

His kwamis were flying into the room, Trixx carrying a glass of water, which she pressed into Nino's hands. He took it as each kwami landed on his shoulders.

"What... what do I do now?" Nino asked quietly.

"We need to take things one day at a time," Wayzz replied. "Right now, I need you to focus on yourself, okay?"

"But–"

"Nino, you can't help anyone if you're hurt," Wayzz said, flying in front of him. "And... and if anyone sees that scar, I think they'll piece together who you are quickly, glamour or not, as your mother did. The speech you made has been traveling through your human technology, you will need to be careful."

Nino touched the bandages on his face.

"Don't worry, I can help you with that," Trixx said, flying in front of him. "At least once those bandages are off– a good little illusion can cover that up no problem!"

"But don't you use minor illusions for your eyes?" Nino said softly.

Trixx snorted, landing on his head. "I can last a few hours at school."

"Thank you, you two, thank you..."

Adrien was cold.

The ground was cold, and his suit did nothing against the warmth, even as he curled up against himself. His muscles felt sore, and he didn't want to move.

It was dark... Dark. Quiet. And cold.

He only had the clothes on his back with him, the same he had been wearing the night of the dance. Sometimes he wore his suit jacket for just a bit more warmth, but then sometimes he'd steal it away as a pillow. His options were limited, and he wished it were possible to have both– a bit more warmth, and a bit more comfort.

His father's lair was dark, a cover over the stained glass window preventing any light from shining through, and keeping him from knowing how long he had been up here. Every minute felt like an eternity, and the bruises that covered his body did nothing but ache as he laid there on the ground.

Adrien didn't stand up often, as it hurt to do so.

His hand kept going to where the Peacock Miraculous had once rested on his chest, but Father had ripped that away the moment they had gotten home. He didn't remember too much about that night, he had just felt dizzy from all the smoke he had breathed in, and his focus had been on hoping that Nino was okay.

He did remember being dragged up here, and his father's furious strikes for what he had done.

A jolt of terror ran through him as he heard the whirling of an elevator, and his shivers turned to shaking. He wanted to bolt, but there was nowhere to go. He didn't even inch away, knowing that he'd only hurt even more. So he just laid there, eyes staring into the darkness as the elevator rose up into the room, small lights flickering on overhead. As dim as they were, the lights felt blinding to Adrien who had spent so long in the dark, that his eyes pressed shut as he tried to shelter his gaze.

"Adrien," a voice said, and he felt a wave of relief run through him.

"Nathalie," he croaked, opening his eyes, looking at the woman, who was carrying a tray in her hands. Pollen hovered behind her, darting back and forth nervously.

Nathalie knelt down in front of him, setting the tray down. "Sit up, Adrien, you need to eat."

"I... I don't want to," he whispered. Physically he felt hungry, but he felt no actual desire to eat. "Nathalie, can I go back downstairs...? Please?"

"You know what you need to do," Nathalie said, hooking her arms under his shoulders, forcing him up, and she leaned him against the wall. "You need to tell us the identity of Silver Paw, then you can come out."

"I can't," Adrien said, his head falling forward. "I... I can't, Nathalie, I can't."

"We know you know it," Nathalie said, picking up a bowl off of the tray, offering a spoonful. He turned his head away, but as she brought it close he took a bite, his stomach begging for the food. "Your Father has been talking to Duusu, and while she can't tell us herself, she has said that you interact with him as a civilian."

"I can't," Adrien whispered. "Father will... he'll hurt him. A-again. I can't Nathalie, I can't."

She set down the bowl, picking up a plate and offering him more food, and he barely registered what he was eating, just staring up at her pleadingly. Nathalie was always the one that stopped father from going too far, she was the one that could stop him now, who could get him out of the dark and cold.

"He's not your friend, Adrien," Nathalie said softly. "He is using your 'friendship' to stop us, to prevent us from helping your mother."

"That's not true."

"Yes, it is," Nathalie replied, offering a cup of water, which he fumbled to grasp with his shaking hands. Unlike food, water was something he truly wanted, and he chugged it down, careful not to spill a drop. "I know you want to trust him, that's natural with those who are kind to you, but this isn't a casual situation. We have magic, and we have goals– and there are those who will do all they can to stop that, including lies and manipulation."

Nathalie took the empty cup, and he looked up at her. "I may not have my Miraculous right now," he rasped. "But I have felt his emotions, Nathalie– Silver Paw is not using me. He loves me, Nathalie, and I love him."

Nathalie went still as he said this, and he stiffened up as well. His eyes went wide, and his hand fumbled out for Nathalie in desperation.

"Adrien... you know your father won't take well to that," Nathalie said after a moment, and he grasped her wrist.

"You can't tell him!" Adrien gasped. "P-please, Nathalie, please. I can't do this any more, I hurt, it hurts, please, please, please, please–"

"I won't tell him," Nathalie said after a moment, placing more food into his mouth, and he choked it down. "That would be hypocritical of me. However, I do have to tell him that you are refusing to tell us more about the Fox holder."

"P-please–"

She grabbed his chin, tilting his head up so they were looking into each other's eyes. "Adrien. You are protecting our enemy right now. Someone that wants to keep your mother from returning to us– how do you think any of this is right?"

"Silver was already hurt because of me," Adrien whispered. "Th-this is my fault."

"It is," Nathalie agreed, pulling away, and she slowly rose to her feet, gathering up the tray and dishes. "Now, I am going to go talk to your father– will you please tell me who the Fox holder is? I don't like seeing you like this."

Adrien just shook his head.

Nathalie sighed, and didn't say another word, just simply walking to the middle of the lair. Those bright blue eyes regarded him in the dim light, and then the elevator whirled to life, Nathalie sinking down into the floor and vanishing from sight– leaving him alone once more, or so he thought.

"Adrien," a voice whispered as he closed his eyes– which snapped open. "Adrien, are you okay?"

"Pollen...?" He said in confusion, looking at the Bee kwami, who had not followed her holder out of the lair.

"Here," she whispered, reaching into the yellow fuzz that surrounded her neck, pulling out several pills, which she pressed into his hand. "I found these in the bathroom, it says it's pain medicine."

"Oh..." Adrien said slowly, looking down at them. "Oh, thank you, thank you..."

Everything hurt so much, and he didn't know if this would ease it all– but any relief was better than none. He slowly brought the pills to his mouth, but with no water it was a fight to swallow them down. They seemed to cling to his dry mouth, but the aches and bruises he felt was enough to make him choke them down– even though they felt as if they were painfully lingering in his throat.

"Are they working?" Pollen asked in worry when she saw his expression didn't change.

"They... they take time to work," Adrien said, opening his eyes slightly.

Pollen's antennae fell. "Oh."

"B-but they will," Adrien said, raising a hand. "Th-thank you, for bringing them, thank you. I... I know that you don't have to help me... I know you don't like me..."

Pollen regarded him for a moment, before drifting forward, running her paws through his hair. He shuddered at first at the touch, but the soothing movements were something he hadn't felt in such a long time, and he slouched back against the wall.

"Adrien, you are a child," Pollen said quietly, landing on his head as she worked. "Just a child."

"I brought you here..."

"Yes, you did," she replied. "But... but I can't hold that against you, not after what you are going through." She was quiet for a moment, still running her paws through his hair. "Adrien... I know you're hurting, and that this is hard... but you need to get out of here. The moment you get the opportunity you need to run, okay?"

"I can't leave Father and Mom..."

"I... you can't think about them right now, I need you to think about yourself– you need to run, you have to get out of here, you are not safe here," she went still for a moment. "It's... it's what Duusu and Nooroo would want you to do."

"Is Duusu okay...?"

"Your father has been questioning her, but he has not hurt her."

"That's good..." Adrien said, and he slowly moved himself away from the wall, laying down on the ground, and Pollen hovered above him. "I know that things look bad, but it will all be better when we save Mother... Father will be happy again, and it will be over."

"Adrien, look at the state you're in," Pollen whispered, tears in her eyes. "He's hurting you."

"Nathalie will stop him if things get bad..."

"You can't trust Nathalie," Pollen whispered. "I know you want to... but I've heard her talk, what she wants to do. Orders won't let me tell you, but I can tell you that she is not here to help you."

Adrien looked up at Pollen, blinking tiredly. Bruises covered his face and arms, and there was only more under his clothes. He watched the kwami for a moment longer, looking like there was more there he wanted to say– but instead he just closed his eyes as he slouched to the floor, too exhausted to do anything more.

"I have to go before Nathalie realizes I'm gone," Pollen said quietly, drifting back. "But please, Adrien, please run."

With that the kwami phased through the floor, and he was alone once more.

As Monday came around, Lucie didn't want Nino to go to school, but he had insisted, not wanting his absence to raise any suspicions. His wound was still fresh, but healing quickly– and he wasn't sure how much magic was involved. It was scabbed over, and didn't bleed when he walked around without bandages, though he was sure it wouldn't take much to open it up again.

He had been forced to avoid Chris for most of the weekend, because the boy was just too young to keep a secret this big if he were to piece things together. Lucie had told her youngest that Nino was sick, which had resulted in Nino being confined to his room for most of the weekend, where he continually scrolled through his phone, looking to see what people were saying about Blue Wing.

"There's people out there that think it's all an act," Nino whispered, pulling his jacket close as he walked up the steps of the school. "That the attack was just an illusion."

"People will think whatever they want," Trixx replied, the kwami hidden away in the hood of his jacket– currently using her illusions to make the scabs on Nino's face appeared like smooth skin. That didn't keep him from keeping his head angled down, hat lowered– not wanting anyone to look at him.

It still hurt– but like the kwamis had said the wound was very shallow compared to what should have happened with a sword being swung on his face. It was red and raw, but showed no sign of infection. The only thing he could do was wait to see how far it could heal on its own, and not do anything to reopen the fragile scab.

As he walked into class he found everyone gathered around Alya and Marinette's desk, and he slowly made his way to join his classmates. Alya looked exhausted, leaning against Marinette, but she was answering the questions that were being thrown at her.

"Actually I've been staying at Chloe's hotel," Alya said softly. "My mom works there, and, um, Chloe offered it to our family. We're just kind of taking things one day at a time."

"And your sisters?" Rose asked in worry.

"Nora has been released from the hospital, though she has some burns," Marinette said, speaking for Alya. She glanced at her girlfriend. "And, um–"

"Ella is now in stable condition, technically," Alya said quietly. "She's... she's stable, but her wounds are still severe. She's on a lot of medication and– and they say she's going to be okay, but– but she needs graphs and… and…"

"She's going to be okay, and that's what matters," Marinette said, shooting a glance at everyone– telling them to drop the subject. Nino's stomach tightened, he had seen Ella be brought out of the building... and it hadn't been pretty. He couldn't imagine seeing his own brother in such a state, and even if she was on the path to healing it couldn't be anything but difficult for Alya.

"If there's anything we can do for your family, let us know," Nino said, stepping forward.

Alya gave a tight smile. "We'll... we'll be okay. Chloe lent me some of her clothes, and Nora's boxing friends gathered things for us and... and..." She took in a deep breath. "There's several families with someone still in critical condition– if there's anyone you should help, it's them."

"But if you do need anything, you'll tell us," Alix said, putting a hand on Alya's shoulder.

"Is it true that Blue Wing was the one to pull Ella from the fire?" Kim asked, and everyone tensed up slightly– but Alya seemed okay at the mention of her sister.

"Yeah," Alya said. "And Silver Paw brought out Nora. They... they saved them. They saved them."

The class was quiet for a moment, and it was Max that broke the silence. "It... it seemed like quite the unlikely turn of events."

Nino couldn't help but tense up slightly. "What makes you say that?"

Max looked at him. "Villains acting as heroes? Hawk Moth attempting to attack his own ally and apparently family? I don't think anyone expected such, considering their previous actions."

"I guess that just means everyone was wrong about Blue Wing," Nino replied.

"The whole thing is pretty messed up," Ivan said quietly.

"Just when you think Hawk Moth can't get any worse," Juleka muttered.

"He's not just a villain, he's a monster," Nino growled, and he felt his classmate's gaze on him, and he raised his head slightly. "What you– what we saw, that was just a few minutes. Mere moments. We don't know what goes on behind closed doors, we don't know what Hawk Moth does when he takes off his mask– and I don't even want to imagine."

"He's Hawk Moth," Rose said. "I... I don't think anything would be off the table, seeing what his akumas have done."

"If not even family means something to him... he'll stop at nothing to get what he wants," Nino said. "This– this isn't some game of hero and villain with magic. If it wasn't for the Miraculous Ladybugs... people would be dead. And Blue Wing... I'm surprised h-he isn't."

Not with the broken Miraculous on his chest and the abuse he was put through.

"We... we can't just do nothing," Nino said, raising his head. "Standing on the sidelines has done nothing to stop Hawk Moth, and if we're going to keep him from finding more victims, from attacking his own son, something has to happen."

"Nino's right," Alya said, raising her head. "If– if it wasn't for Blue Wing, Ella would be... she'd be..." She closed her eyes. "He can't be left there, he can't be left with that man!"

"There's, er, not much we can do," Nathaniel muttered.

"We have the LadyBlog," Marinette said, and eyes turned towards her. "We have the daughter of the mayor– who literally has her father wrapped around her fingers." Marinette pushed herself to her feet. "Not much we can do? We have our voices, and no one to keep us quiet."

How Nino could have ever been surprised that Marinette was Ladybug, he did not know.

Nino told himself he would be ready. That when the next akuma came he would not hold back. So when the next alert went off he transformed immediately with Wayzz, the Fox Miraculous in his pocket on standby as he raced out on the rooftops. His costume has slightly changed, goggles more bulky and hood falling a bit lower over his face, hiding the slashes on him. For once he didn't have to worry about making an excuse for where he was going, but he would have his mother worrying for him until he got back.

But he just needed to see Blue again. Look at his face, hold him close, and perhaps even whisk him away. He didn't care if he did it as Silver or as Carapace, if the heroes agreed with him or not, he just had to get to Blue.

But Blue Wing wasn't at the akuma fight, nor was there even an avatar. The akuma stood alone, not even Mellifera by their side as they single-handedly took on the heroes.

The akuma had been defeated with ease.

Ladybug clearly saw his distress as the fight came to a close, putting a hand on his shoulder as the Miraculous Ladybugs swept through the air.

"Don't worry," she told him. "The last akuma was like this too, we'll get the chance to talk to Silver and Blue Wing soon."

That didn't ease the feeling that something was wrong.