Chapter 8_ Dream casting

Hawkmoth

Blue mist billowed from the wizard's hands. "Morpheus anoíxte tin pórta mas" a portal swirled into existence and widened. The wizard lead Hawkmoth into the void. "I should warn you, many a lesser man has gone mad traveling through the spirit world." "I am prepared."

Hawkmoth

The void gave way to his study, he looked around, it was exactly as it was supposed to be. Nuru was with him "Master, this manner of training is dangerous, if-" Hawkmoth held up a hand to silence him. Hawkmoth started to follow the music. Nuru continued speaking, "I am the quami of transmission, my miraculous is change, you have remained stagnant, until you willingly adapt, until you grow, you cannot hope to use our full power."

Hawkmoth followed the sound. It was growing as he approached his son's room. He stopped clutching the doorknob like a vice. He could hear his wife's voice on the other side. "This will break you, Gabriel. Like a sword you must be broken, purged of impurities, and reforged into something stronger. I can stop the process, but you won't be able to transform with my miraculous safely."

Gabriel opened the door. The room was as it was fifteen years ago, except the window didn't show anything at all.

Emilie was singing to their son, holding his tiny, bundled form in her arms. "…Ma poupée chérie vient de s'endormir Bercez-la bien doux, ruisseaux et zéphyrs, Et vous chérubins, gardez la moi bien Sa maman jolie l'aime à la folie" She finished laying Adrien in his crib.

He approached the music box, winding it a little further. When he turned back to Emilie, she was facing him, smiling in that warm, sweet, loving, way. He would do anything for that smile to be real again. Fight, cheat, steal, kill. "Isn't he perfect?" she asked. "He's flawless" he said, just like when she really asked him.

She took his hand and drew him to the crib. Their son was sound asleep.

Gabriel looked over to Nuru who was close at hand, "What's the point of this?" Nuru shook his head, "I can't control what you see here, the spirit realm is called the dream world for a reason, this is your dreamscape. Be it pleasant or a nightmare."

Hawkmoth tore himself away from the crib backing away, "I'm supposed to be…" he paused for a moment trying to remember. He couldn't think with that music playing.

Hawkmoth jumped out the window landing in what should have been the courtyard, instead it was an art gallery. Infront of him was the scene he had just fled. Below the painting a sign read "values: -_=" the number scratched away. Nuru appeared next to him, "Do you see? The heart wants what it wants. Even if it is unobtainable." "I CAN obtain it and I will!"

Nuru didn't cower like he normally would. "I'm know that. I can't stop you, but I don't have to when you're doing it to yourself."

Hawkmoth scowled, "Are you even here? My miraculous is active." Nuru sighed, "Magic has different rules in the spirit realm. You aren't actually in costume, but the difference is non-existent." "It's my dream" "Sort of" Hawkmoth observed the next painting, 'desire:' he and his wife are dancing at a wedding, but it isn't their own, they have aged considerably. Nuru shuddered, "You would not be the first to go mad and die because of this painting."

"Must I?" Nuru shook his head. "This one is so important, but I advise against it. The next painting is what will break you only then will we begin.

Hawkmoth strut to the painting turning to face it not needing to read it to guess what it was, "Fear," he confirmed, "Why was it so obvious." The painting captured his despair so cunningly, Cat Noir and Lady bug stood over him. A police officer held back his son who looked on in utter horror.

He reached out and touched the painting, the scene shifted, a cold grey cell wrapped around him closing in on him. The light flickered out and a dripping sound was the only thing to accompany him. His clothes were orange, except for the cold steel handcuffs.

Hours later of Gabriel wondering what he was supposed to do. A guard took him to the visitation area, Adrien wearing an expression he had never seen before, his eyes red, face contorted with rage, sadness and begging for help.

Gabriel picked up the phone, Adrien did the same, "Why?" Gabriel sighed. "I was trying to save her." "I'm losing you because we lost Mom?" "We could have been together again, like the last fifteen years never happened. You wouldn't have ever known." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I tried to protect you." "Bullshit! When have you ever cared?" "Everything I do is out of love, I kept you safe. If I had lost both of you… if I gave up. Life wouldn't be worth living."

Adrien stared on in horror now. "So, you've given up?" Gabriel new this was fake, but it didn't feel like it. His mind was tricking him, "I can't do anymore, I'm sorry." Adrien held up the butterfly miraculous, "I can" "How do I use this?"

"No Adrien!"

Adrien eyes had a fury now. "This is for mom. Right?" "Nuru! Enough!" Nuru didn't appear. "Tell me how!" Adrien yelled. "NO!" his father yelled as he stood up knocking down his chair. "Then I'll figure it out on my own." Adrien stood up and left. "Adrien!"

Gabriel was dragged away from the phone, back to his cell and thrown to the floor, where Nuru was waiting. "Does he die?" he asked the quami. "I don't know, and if I did, I couldn't tell you. I cannot reveal the identity of my master, past, present, or future."

Gabriel snarled, "Damn it Nuru, what now?" Nuru looked at the ground, "I never enjoyed hurting anyone. But you want power. Your son is alive, just give up and I can put you back in your bed at home. My miraculous can be hidden away or sold to a secondhand good store and gather dust. Your worst fear will be impossible." Gabriel lay on the floor with Nuru for a moment in silence for a while. Nuru knew he would not accept but the thought must feel alluring. "If I did, I wouldn't be able to live with myself." Nuru nodded as the scene began to fade away, success was the only option.

Nuru and Gabriel were back in the art gallery. Nuru spoke, "I should clarify this is a representation of your mind taken form, if you want me to show you anything, we have to go out those doors." "Do I?" "That's the next step, go forward or quit."

Nuru led Hawkmoth out the door, "Change is a laborious process" the went into the void behind the doors, they closed and vanished into the darkness behind them. "The entire universe is changing as we speak. Endlessly expanding, light is flowing from one place to the next. The butterfly is the only creature defined by its transformation. Other animals have life cycles sure but what creature is more recognizable for metamorphosis?"

Hawkmoth sighed annoyed by the rhetorical question, "Get on with it." The pair stopped in the darkness. "You can't rush your metamorphosis. We are spinning up your cocoon so to speak, what emerges doesn't have to be evil. It can be good and awe inspiring, as beautiful and amazing as life itself."

Then the sun started to rise over a mountain reflecting off fresh snow and cutting through the forest. They were at the edge of a short cliff, overlooking a steaming spring, a group of deer huddled around it.

"There is no miraculous for life, Master. It is too complex, too imperfect, too illogical, and too fleeting." Gabriel nodded, "This is beautiful Nuru, thank you." Nuru smiled, "An old friend stood there, and shared that knowledge with me."

The odd pair looked at each other, they knew they were master and servant, but that didn't mean the master was so cruel as to enjoy hurting his servant. "Do you not resent me Nuru?"

The quami sighed, "No slave doesn't long for freedom. Part of me wishes I didn't sympathize with you. That makes you my third most hated person of all time. Whether you succeed or not, I'll live so long our time together to fade into the depths of my ignorance. But I've never been used so liberally for such selfish and destructive means. You've felt it, eventually my miraculous will break like Duusu's did. I resent your actions, but I can't fault you for your pain."

"So, what now?" "My memory ends, and we carry on."

The blackness returned. "Cat Noir is close by." Nuru darted off leaving Hawkmoth to race after him. He stopped as the clearing came into view. Several of Cat Noir were fighting with an array of weapons. "He's training" "Is this his dream or his mind?" "Neither this is a fabrication made by my brother Haibai."

Hawkmoth's eyes drew to the warrior in black and white, "The Panda?" "Yes," Nuru confirmed, "Balance between all things. He is the center of machinations human minds can barely begin to comprehend, that comprehension is best symbolized in the yin and yang."

Nuru began to lead Gabriel away, "You must meet a predecessor of yourself, but we have to find them, this will take time."

Ladybug

Stood half soaked in sweat, the other half of her was buried in sand, her former incarnation, laughing, before imparting more wisdom in her thick Arabic accent, "Speed may be the emphasis of wit, but unguided will only make you sink faster."

Marinette looked up at her predecessor, and scowled grabbing up her whip, and changing it back into a yoyo, "Why don't I get pointy things like Cat Noir?" She threw the yoyo, wrapping it around a beam far above them, and started hoisting herself up. Her past self said: "When have you ever been in such a simple situation?" As she put her full weight on the beam it snapped in two. "If you killed every enemy, you would run out of people to protect."

Marinette groaned in frustration, "Yeah, but is one knife such a bad idea?" "Will a knife help you out of that pit?" "No?" "You seem unsure Sebau, let me throw you a knife." A knife fell into the sand next to her. "No, a knife will help me in a fight! I need a rope or a ladder or something."

Then why hasn't the lucky charm given you a knife yet?

"Lucky Charm!" Marinette caught the arrow generated. "See what I meant! it's broken!"

"Are you so sure? Think a moment." "Bunnyx told me Lucky Charm can't break. Was that a message from future me?" "Why ask me? How would I know?"

Marinette groaned. "Aren't you me? or a figment of my imagination or something?" The Egyptian woman looked down at her, "How thick are you Sebau? I was enjoying my retirement when you and Tiki showed up to ask me for help! The Spirit realm is a wonderful place once you stop jumping into quicksand."

"You pushed me! and wouldn't that make you a ghost?" "Real and unreal overlap in the spirit realm, it's a reflection of the real world, the same way it is a reflects the next world. Hmm, your priorities seem out of order Sebau."

Marinette snapped the arrow in half and threw them up to her ancient predecessor. "You're right, I don't want to fight, I want to learn." "Excellent work, Sebau!"

A rope ladder unfurled from above. She climbed up to her instructor. "So, what now?" "You are out of the hole, you tell me."

"The Labybug miraculous isn't a weapon, none of them are." "That's not what they were made for." Tiki appeared again giggling, "We agree that's a good thing too, let's move on. At this rate you might just make a new suit all on your own."

Marrinette frowned, "Why would I want a new suit?" Tiki giggled, don't worry you'll see.

Alya

Alya crashed on her bed, and barely had time to roll over before she passed out. She didn't usually dream much, or maybe she didn't remember them. but this one was very weird. She was hiking in a woodland area she had never seen before, when a fox appeared on the path ahead of her, it was so flushed with color, clean vibrant, almost unreal, it darted up the path a bit before looking back to her. She followed it somehow confident it wasn't going to hurt her.

She approached it and it opened its mouth revealing the fox miraculous. She took it gingerly, fox closed its mouth slowly, and wagged its tail visibly happy she took it, and darted off again. She rushed to follow it, putting the charm in her pocket. She only made it five or six steps before a tree branch swung down and knocked her to the ground.

Alya hit the floor hard. She was in the hallway of her apartment, looking up she saw her sister standing over her. "Alya you were sleepwalking." "What?" "I yelled at you; you didn't respond."

Alya put a hand to her pocket, something was in it. "Thanks, I'm going to go back to bed." "If I do that again wake me up." Her sister gave her a strange look then nodded. "If this becomes regular, you're going to see a doctor." Alya nodded, "Yeah this is a little freaky."

I'm calling it here! You guys get the idea. UPGRADES! people UPGRADES! I hope ya'll enjoyed!