Chapter 3: Adrien's House
THAT EVENING
"I am sorry Mr. Agreste but I checked all over the library you told me about and found nothing. I have a few more lead ups I can check on the next few days, but they do not seem promising." -Nathalie outlined in her summary to Gabriel.
Mr. Agreste leaned back in his chair, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes.
"Thank you, Nathalie. I want you to follow up on those leads. I need to find some way to learn more about the Miraculous and how to locate them."
Natalie nodded and walked out, leaving Gabriel alone in the atelier, his study. He walked around the room, looking at the mosaic of Emilie, then over to the pictures of Adrien. While Gabriel had no intention of giving up his desire to get the ladybug and cat miraculous, he felt that he was at an impasse.
Sitting down at his desk, he began to look into historical records and discoveries, which he found nothing other than story after story of how Ladybug and Cat Noir had saved Paris again and again, defeating the evil Hawk Moth.
Slamming down his tablet, Gabriel then walked over and grabbed the Miraculous spell book. He had studied it several times over. There had to be something he was missing.
After about 10 minutes Nathalie came back into the room.
"Mr. Agreste, I think you might find this interesting." Natalie informed Gabriel, handing him her tablet.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news! I am Nadja Chamack here at the Library of Scrolls. They are promoting an upcoming event where they will open up a limited amount of their ancient collections for individuals to study in three days."
The news camera panned up to a small building that had been turned into a store. The front of it read Library of Scrolls: History's Hidden Knowledge.
Nadja Chamack came back into central focus in the shot.
"And here we have the manager of the store, Welkin Gunther. Mr. Gunther, do we have you to thank for all the information?"
Mr. Gunther was a professor at one of Paris's universities who ran the shop when school was not in session. His wife Alicia ran a mobile bread bakery out of a truck which ran all over Paris. The store was a popular site to visit for various researchers and bread enthusiasts.
"Thank you Nadja. Unfortunately, I cannot take all the credit for this. We have a generous benefactor who wants to share some of his life's collection. There are many texts on ancient history, journals of famous individuals, and even some writings of old orders. I can't wait to read some of them myself!" -Welkin enthusiastically explained
"Well there you go Paris! A great opportunity to look into the past and who knows what you might discover. Maybe I will find some ancient reporting tips ahaha."
The news cast went to commercial as Gabriel handed Nathalie back her tablet.
"Nathalie, make sure my schedule is clear for tomorrow. I want to see some of this collection." Gabriel began to ponder what he could possibly find.
"Very well. I will also try to track down who this benefactor is and set up a meeting. Will there be anything else?"
"No, that will be all" Gabriel responded as we waved Nathalie onward, who promptly bowed slightly and left the room.
After sitting for a few minutes thinking, Gabriel walked over to the mural and pressed the hidden buttons. As he had done many times before he moved into the platform which brought him into his lair. Then Nooroo appeared.
"Hello Master, what can I do for you?"
"Nooroo, how long have the Kwamis been around with humans?" Gabriel began to inquire.
"Well Master, we have been around as long as the universe has been around. As you know we are able to interact with humans because of the Miraculous. Many of us have had different holders in the past."
"Would it be possible then Nooroo, that other people have recorded encounters with Kwamis and their secrets?" Gabriel began to think he was onto something.
"Oh no we Kwamis keep our secrets, just in case our powers fall into the wrong hands" Nooroo responded instinctively, forgetting the situation he was in. "But then again, when we use our powers in public it would not be surprising if someone saw something."
Without responding to Nooroo, Gabriel began to get an evil grin across his face as his next plan began to assemble in his mind.
"Nooroo. Darkwings Rise"
Gabriel was swarmed by hundreds of butterflies as he transformed into Hawk Moth.
"Yes, I can see there is more to the Kwamis than I could see before. When I find out their secrets, I will be able to finally defeat Ladybug and Cat Noir."
Hawk Moth clenched his fist as he began to laugh maniacally and prepare for his next move.
