MIRACULOUS
CH. 26
LIKE A WATERFALL
5000 BC
A small boat came from a larger ship in the distance to the island. It doesn't seem to appear on their map so they concluded to have been undiscovered. Excited voices erupted upon jumping off the boat and started to set up camp.
Hours of exploration found a small mansion-like house hidden in the trees. That baffled the explorers but entered nevertheless. The rooms were filled with books as well as scribbles and artifacts of knowledge of the round earth, encyclopedia books, philosophy, alchemy, medicine, the miraculous, spirituality, chemistry, metallurgy, astrology, mysticism, semiotics, physics, and art. Whoever was here must've pulled quite a few strings to keep this island hidden. Only to find that there was no one there.
In the center there was a neat paper with a clear message:
"To anyone who finds this island,
You have stepped into the relics of a long past civilization unbeknownst even to us. Our time has come so we will be no longer present upon your arrival. We leave the fate of this knowledge up to you but be mindful of the consequences if destroyed for that was what led to the demise of those from the past…"
That's all she wrote…
On the very pedestal where the note was found, there was a small hexagonal jewel box. One of the settlers opened it… It was the black cat ring.
Present-day…
Tomoe and Future Chloe were standing face to face in the night. After a brief conversation between the two, Chloe finally said…
"I have to go back."
Tenzing Airport…
Marinette and Serah hugged each other tight, both slightly tearing up after realizing that it was unlikely for them to meet again.
"Goodbye Marinette," Serah said. "Whatever happens back in Paris, remember what we talked about."
"I will," Marinette promised, breaking the hug. Claire then patted her shoulder.
"Good luck," she said, Marinette nodded. Snow then grabbed her into a bear hug and spun her around, causing her to giggle.
"See ya, kid!" Snow said, putting her down.
"Yeah," she said. She then turned to Akane one last time and nodded. She then saw a lone plane recently landed on the runway. It was a Gabriel Agreste private jet. Getting out of the plane was Adrien's old bodyguard, nicknamed Gorilla. Marinette gave one last look at her friends from the temple and waved before heading off to greet him.
"Hey, you're Adrien's bodyguard, aren't you?" she asked. Gorilla grunted and showed her a screen of a tablet with Gabriel on the screen.
"I apologize I was unable to greet you in person, young Marinette," Gabriel said.
"Mr. Agreste," she greeted. "Are you still in London?"
"Yes, I have been looking on Emilie's old family files and have discovered quite a bit and how the white plague works," he said, pushing his glasses with his finger.
Gordes…
Nathalie stepped into Emilie's private room where she was lying on her bed, she was watching the screen on her cell phone, rewatching the news broadcast of the night of the fateful fire, she saw Adrien carrying on old lady on his back out of the burning building. He dropped off the old woman with the firemen and dashed back into the blazing building, despite the authorities' protest. Cat Noir had retreated by that point, which infuriated her.
Nathalie had ditched her secretary suit and she now wore a white summer dress with a blue butterfly on her hip and flat-heeled slippers. Her hair is down as well.
"Have you've come up with the perfect way to segway the outbreak?"
"I am curious, Emilie," Nathalie said, not answering her question. "Ummm, what is your take on Paris' defenders?"
"Excuse me?" Emilie asked, sitting up.
"Ladybug and Cat Noir has foiled your husband time and again. Are you sure it was right to exploit Gabriel in such a manner? Considering Dupain-Cheng's creation, she was clearly meant to be Ladybug. But what about Cat Noir and all the others she's recruited?"
"Gabriel will be so overjoyed by having both Adrien and Emma back, he'll pay no heed," Emile said as she swung her legs on the side of the bed. "Of course, I will give them Ladybug. Gene can do whatever he wants with it."
Nathalie flinched at a person being called it as well a pang of dark guilt consuming her after remembering her hypocrisy.
"What about Cat Noir?"
"An expendable poor bastard," Emilie said, bluntly. "Whoever was stupid enough to be Cat Noir doesn't know of the fate that awaits him."
Nathalie's blood ran cold. Emilie went through the room almost as if she was skipping and approached her. Nathalie backed away a bit and subconsciously held her breath. Shiroi leaned in towards Nathalie as well.
"What do you care about Cat Noir? He's not a product of human mistakes!" Shiroi berated, Nathalie took another step back. Duusuu came to her defense.
"Hey, back off!" She said. "Who are you to say who should exist and who shouldn't, eh?"
"You know your place!"
"Oh, no you don't!" Duusuu shot back. "I've had it with the high and mighty thing you have going on! You will back off and leave Nathalie alone!"
"How dare you!" Shiroi tried to intimidate Duusuu but she didn't even flinch and then they just stared at each other.
"Enough, you two!" Emile shouted, then turned her attention back to Nathalie. "Anyway, I hope you have something in mind to make enough stir to make the plague work, do you?"
"I have… something in mind," Nathalie hesitated, pushing her glasses with her finger. Emilie smiled and took a bang of Nathalie's now loose hair and swiped it behind her ear. "You look so cute in that dress," Emilie said, causing Nathalie to slightly blush.
Paris… Adrien's storage…
"So, we have to wait for her to attack so we can get an opening to stop the plague?"
"Apparently, the substance is harmless on its own. She will have to cause a lot of chaos and stir as the plague feed on conflict and turbulence," he said, pushing his glasses. "On top of that, a sentimonster is needed to give it the right amount of magic. That is the hidden key to fulfill and wish that deals with existence with the Ladybug and Cat noir miraculous. I must admit that had I succeeded as Hawk Moth even I would never stand this low to bring your mother back…"
"Dad… You're hurting…" Adrien said bluntly.
"That's irrelevant at this point," Gabriel shrugged off. "She needs to be stopped!"
"You know you're asking me to fight against my own mother, right?"
"What's the alternative?"
"Father! Think, any place where she may be hiding! Maybe we can get there in time and do something to prevent it!"
"I…" Gabriel hesitated. "I have some rough ideas but I need to narrow down if we were to catch her."
"Somewhere in mind?"
"I can think of one place… Just give me time…" there was a moment of silence before Adrien nodded.
"Okay, I'll wait…"
"I'll contact you soon. Oh, by the way, Rigby should be delivering your package soon," Gabriel said. Adrien sighed.
"All right, I'll see you soon Dad," he said with dread as the two signed off.
A few hours passed, Adrien looked as hard as he could through the old family archives that his aunt Amelie had sent him. He had also contemplated on whether or not to tell the press about the possibility of the white plague infecting Paris. He also took breaks to look into the Tsurugi family but found little as well. Adrien realized he shouldn't have been surprised by the family's secrecy. Aside from very successful conglomerates with the Majima Construction Company, they seem to have very little suspicion in activities outside the norm. With his father still in London, he was unable to meet him in person yet had Rigby send him an envelope. Typical for Gabriel doesn't always know how to approach these situations. There was a knock on the gate.
"It must be him," Tikki said as she held a store-bought cookie.
"I know," Adrien said nonchalantly. He hesitated but after the second knock, he finally answered.
"Hey, kid," Rigby greeted. "Your dad asked me to give this to you…" he handed Adrien an envelope.
"Thanks, Rigby," he said flatly. Rigby put his hands behind his back and rolled his eyes up as if playing innocent. Adrien just looked at him cocked eyed.
"So, I hear you kind have to make some… choice?" Rigby prompted.
"Uh-huh," Adrien muttered. "Yeah, I guess so…"
"So…"
"So?"
"Okay, I'll be blunt," Rigby rolled his eyes. "I want to be on your list of candidates for the belt buckle."
"Wait what?" Adrien asked after shaking his head.
"Please?"
"Where did that come from all of a sudden?"
"Oh, come on!" Rigby continued. "Look at this pale skin. I've been living under Mordecai's shadow for too long."
"Rigby, I can't just give it to you just because of a friend sort of picked on you!"
"*sigh* Damn it…" Ridgy whispered.
"Is that a tear?"Adrien thought.
"It's just that… I guess I wanted a chance to prove myself to be something more. Back in Ohio, I was always the one they had to 'keep safe' whenever something freakish happened in the park we used to work."
"What had happened?"
"You'd be surprised," Rigby snorted.
"Rigby…"
"I'm just sick of being locked in some cage while everyone did the hard work. Mordecai always protected me from bullies. Skips and our boss, Benson, always did what everyone else couldn't while they always choose Mordecai to do any errands for them…"
The two stood in silence for a second and Rigby turned to walk away.
"Rigby, I…"
"I'll see you later…" He walked off. Adrien looked towards where Rigby left with lament. He closed his eyes with a sigh before closing his gate. He walked in and sat on his bed.
"Adrien," Tikki began. "Are you sure you want to see that?"
"If not now, when?" Adrien asked. He looked at the envelope and began untying the bound that sealed the envelope. Adrien's heart sped up and rubbed his fingers for a moment. He didn't even realize he held his breath until he exhaled abruptly. He finally opened the lid and there were a few documents that fell off the envelope. But of course, the first that caught his attention was the unmistakable material that was the echography from his mother's womb all those years ago. Just as he feared, there were two fetuses in the womb. Himself and…
"Emma…" he breathed tearfully. He sniffed as he swiped his finger at the one that's supposed to be his sister. "Tikki…"
Her heart sank at Adrien's fragility in his voice, the same that she heard from Marinette the night of her parents' funeral. She knew the pain all too well from previous Ladybugs, it didn't make dealing with it any easier. She flew by his face and caressed his cheek. He could say any more and whenever he tried to speak, only sobs came out.
"Shhh," she shushed. "It's okay, don't talk."
Agreste Private Jet…
Marinette sat all alone in this luxurious section of Gabriel's private jet. She kept her skepticism to herself of Gorilla's piloting skills. Thankfully, there was an 'actual' pilot with him. She tried not to think about it and looked at what she could on her tablet. The Ladyblog had been kind of drought as of late. She wondered if Alya's involvement as Rena Rouge had anything to do with it. There was only the occasional text post, telling her viewers that she was still there.
She knew she was stalling. She looked at her backpack which contained her two dreaded items. The gift box and the letter they had left her at Tiger's Lair. Their final gift and their final message. It's definitively not some things to be taken lightly. She never set herself a date when she will open them. She was heading home. If there was a time to open them before starting again, it would be now. Without thinking about it again she opened the letter on a whim and the phantom pain of the loss of her mother hit her back fool force when she suddenly covered her mouth.
"My dearest Marinette,
If you are reading this then that must mean your father and I are no longer in this world. I truly wished this letter wouldn't ever get to you, we hoped we could tell you everything ourselves.
Yes, everything Akane told you is true, you were created by the Blue Mustang to be their weapon for their conquest and yes, I was amongst their ranks as a sleeper agent. Thus, confirming that it was I who whisked you away from them and ran to Paris with your father. When I found out how these babies came to be and what they were intended for, I couldn't bear the thought of these children to be indoctrinated for evil. Thankfully, I was not the only agent amongst them and we all agreed to insurrection from within and rescue as many of these babies as we could then we went on separate ways so it would be harder to find us. As of this day, I still don't know what became of the others and those babies and most likely never will.
We even believed that we were to sever you away from your Chinese connections was a way for the Blue Mustang to lose track of you. But now we know to be a mistake. We were hoping to guide you personally into this confusing new world but it is not meant to be.
We wanted you to have a happy life as a normal girl before you became Ladybug. We wanted you to know how to be human before you became something more. The elders in Tiger's Lair at the writing of this letter were insisting on killing you, believing you to be a threat. It was with the help of Master Fu that led to the decision to spare you and raised you to become a valuable asset. I felt terrible to even consider using the term "use you." Tom and I were so deeply in love and I couldn't bear any children so we purchased this opportunity to settle and begin a family in Paris. That was why I couldn't give you a sibling when you begged me to.
The bakery was your father's idea. You may find it hard to believe it but I knew little to nothing of baking. We spent hours upon hours getting flour being blown up my face. We will spend our and months up to years for our business to get off the ground, paving way for our lives, for you. We don't know if we actually succeeded by the time you read this letter. A slew of memories must be going through you at this moment. Your father even reconciled with your grandmother over the phone so she could help us settle in Paris. However, I believe she also wanted to be part of your life.
I am deeply sorry if you feel everything is crumbling down on you. That your entire life has shattered before your very eyes. I understand that you're devastated that things will never be the same again. Because of what you are, you are destined for an unavoidable life of fighting and risking your life for the sake of others. But know this; whatever happens, listen to your heart and know that we will support you and we will be watching you. Only then, we died knowing that you'll never stray from the right path.
Whatever you do and whatever you chose, every day, you will always be our hero.
Fly away our little Ladybug.
Love,
Mom and Dad
P.S. Your Dad says hi."
"I thought she was alone…" Marinette thought.
Marinette nearly crushed the letter as she slightly tightens her grip. She started to feel like she had already cried too much about the issue, but she couldn't help it, she missed them so much.
"Hi, papa… I wish you were here too mommy…" she said before letting out a few sobs. Fear came creeping up on her again when she remembered the last gift they left her before their untimely demise. She took another deep breath and grabbed it. Right now she wished she had opened the letter first. She undid the bow; her palm is in a cold sweat. Upon opening the box she saw something falling out of it. She picked it up and it was a hard sheet with something written on it.
"Give yourself a new look for him!
Love
Maman"
She turned the sheet around and saw that it was a picture of herself and Adrien at that party right after Heroes' day. She then looked at the box and saw that it was a redhead ribbon. Her tears came out full force now. She undid her pigtails, letting her hair down, and put her new ribbon on. She turned off the lights and curled into a fetal position and cried herself to sleep.
Then the jet began to shake abruptly, snapping her out of her sorrow.
"Ms. Dupain-Cheng, I apologize but we have to make an emergency landing. Severe weather!"
"Wait, I already told…" she was cut off by another vibration.
Marinette tried frantically to contact Cat Noir but was unable to reach him.
"Engine failure! Emergency landing!"
Paris… Adrien's storage…
Adrien got ready to call out the others then he saw the Racoon belt buckle. He stuffed it into his pocket and head out.
"It can wait."
Gordes…
"Perfect!" Emilie exclaimed with glee. Nathalie merely stood there, her eyes were wide, paralyzed. Emilie spoke: "Come on Nathalie, let's get on this now" she chided as it was like a girl's night out. Nathalie remained still.
"Emilie, please don't do this!"
"What? Why should I?" Emilie asked, turning to her cockeyed.
"Please, I can't bring myself to do this. Too many innocent people to suffer!"
"Why do you pretend to care?" Shiroi stepped in. "You are not like them and you'll never be… OOOOH!" she was cut off when Duusuu clashed with her.
"That's not true!" She protested. "Nathalie is nice and she cares about Gabriel!"
"How dare you!" Shiroi yelled and glowed in an almost ethereal white light, blinding both her and Nathalie.
"ENOUGH!"Emilie called. "Let us execute our plan!"
"Yes, ma'am" both kwamis conceded. "Nathalie!"
"Yes ma'am," she said almost tearfully. She readied her brooch. Emilie readied her own. DUUSUU, SPREAD MY FEATHERS!"
"SHIROI, LET'S SOAR!" Both women roared and both transformed into their respective alter egos as they proceeded with their plan.
Suddenly, a portal appeared, blinding the two women, and saw her enemies enter. It was Mister Bug, Rena Rouge, Carapace, Pegasus, Queen Bee, and Ryuko. Emilie took a step back but stood her ground.
"So, you found me," she said.
Author's note: I'm gonna leave it there.
Some of you may be rolling their eyes at how abrupt things escalated, but I decided that things will only get crazier from here and I didn't want to slow the story down. Yes, I realize some of you were also frustrated with delaying Marinette's return but again, her return has to happen concurrently for certain events.