Ladybug swung through the Paris sky, hurrying towards the Eiffel Tower. Chat Noir had sent out an emergency message to meet up. It was something they had set up as a failsafe, in case something came up that was important enough that it couldn't wait until their regular patrol.
Coming up on the tower, she could see her kitty pacing around the top of it. She swung up to him quickly, landing next to him a moment later.
"Chat?"
He stops pacing and turns to face her, tears in his eyes. "M'lady!"
He stumbles over to her and she pulls him into a hug. "Chaton? What's wrong?"
His voice is almost a whisper. "I found him."
"Found who?" she asks, confused.
"Hawkmoth, but he's…" He bursts into tears, and Ladybug pulls him closer, worriedly looking around for any akumas.
"Who is he Chaton?"
"He's Gabriel! He's my dad, Ladybug! My dad's Hawkmoth!"
She looked at him with shock. "What?" she whispered.
She watches as he pulls himself together, but his breath is still shaky when he speaks. "Gabriel Agreste is Hawkmoth, and he's also my dad." He pulls away from her. Suddenly there's a flash of light and in front of her is Adrien Agreste. His eyes are teary, and his breaths are shaky from sobbing into her shoulder, but he smiles at her. "Hi M'lady. This wasn't really how I wanted to tell you who I was."
"Oh Chat." She pulls him back into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Adrien."
—
They strike quickly, breaking into Gabriel's office the next day when he's not expecting it. But it all goes terribly wrong.
Gabriel transforms as soon as he knows that his identity has been discovered. The two heroes charge at him, but he manages to hold them back with the sword from his cane.
"Give up Gabriel!" Chat swings at him with his baton and the man barely parries it.
"Never!" the man yells. "This is too important!"
"What is?" Chat yells back. "What is important enough that you would put your son in danger day after day!"
"He'll agree it was worth it after I bring his mother back!" The man scoffs. "You'd never understand."
"Wouldn't understand?" Adrien practically snarls, smacking Gabriel into the wall with a particularly vicious swing, before there's a flash, and he transforms back into Adrien. "Say that to my face, Father."
Gabriel stares in shock, before scowling at his son. "Then you never really loved her."
Adrien screams and runs at Hawkmoth, Ladybug yelling at him to stop. Gabriel raises his sword instinctively, and there's the sound of metal on flesh.
"Adrien!" Ladybug screams as Adrien falls to the ground.
She attacks Hawkmoth, punching the frozen man in the face, knocking him out cold. She only takes a moment to take his miraculous before rushing to her partner's side. Desperately checking to see if her best friend is alive.