Who Needs You?
Episode 01
The Collector: Dark Wings Rising
"Are you sure this is the right place?"
Clutching his father's book in his hands, Adrien stands before a closed door he isn't so sure he should go through. Plagg insisted that they go here, that it was someplace of extreme importance, but the last thing Adrien expected to find was a Massage Shop hidden between two larger buildings in the emptier part of the city.
"If it isn't, at least you get a massage?" Plagg smiles sheepishly, and Adrien just glares at him.
Adrien gently knocks on the door.
There's silence. And then—
"Come in."
Adrien slowly opens the door to see an old man sitting on the floor with his legs crossed, meditating peacefully with closed eyes. Adrien takes in his appearances; he's fairly short, his back slightly bent from old age, with gray hair on his head, and a gray beard and mustache. The old man then opens his eyes, revealing hazelnut eyes that look proud, relieved, and worn out all at the same time.
"I've been expecting you, Chat Noir."
Adrien enters the room, and shuts the door behind him.
"Master," Plagg says, flying out of Adrien's pocket. "I know you told me that I shouldn't ever bring him here, but… we have to show you what we found."
"Wait, I know you," Adrien says, approaching him. "You're the old man I helped on the first day of school."
"And believe it or not, that wasn't a chance meeting," the old man says. "You're always ready to help people, Adrien. Even when you're faced with your own problems, you always put others' needs before your own. I knew at that very moment that you'd make the perfect Chat Noir."
"But… who are you?" Adrien asks.
The old man stands up, guiding Adrien to the gramophone sitting on top of a wooden cabinet. Adrien watches as he presses his thumbs against the red eyes of the two dragons swirling at the very front of the gramophone's boxed area. A little rectangle marked with Chinese characters drops down, revealing a set of buttons. The old man presses three out of nine, making the object open up to reveal a wooden, octagonal-shaped box with intricate red detailing on its top surface.
"Master Fu is the last known member of the Order of the Guardians," Plagg explains.
"Guardians of the Miraculous," a different voice adds.
A little turtle kwami flies out of the gramophone's horn, and floats right above Master Fu's head. "My name is Wayzz. I'm Master Fu's kwami," it introduces. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Adrien."
"Likewise," Adrien says with a smile.
"We Guardians are responsible for protecting and distributing the Miraculous, for the good of all humanity," Master Fu explains as he takes the mysterious box off the gramophone.
He opens it up, revealing a beautifully detailed jewellery holder similarly shaped as a flower. Sitting in the very middle is a circle fashioned to look like yin and yang. However, instead of the usual black and white circle, it's replaced with a ladybug and cat paw. It's clear to Adrien that that's where the Ladybug Earrings and Black Cat Ring are meant to be.
The petals of the flower hold different colors: orange for the Fox Necklace, yellow for the Bee Comb, violet for the Butterfly Brooch, blue for the Peacock Pin, and green for the Turtle Bracelet. Only the Fox Necklace and Bee Comb Miraculous rest safely in the box.
"We are chosen in childhood and trained for many years for this mission," Master Fu says. He then pauses, and hesitates before continuing, "When we were much, much younger, we... I made a terrible mistake. The Guardians' Temple was destroyed, all because of me. Two of the Miraculous were lost that day: the Butterfly Brooch and the Peacock Pin. The Ancient Spellbook was lost as well."
"This?" Adrien asks, opening up the book he took from his father. "I thought it was just a book of old superheroes and strange symbols."
"Not strange to a Guardian," Master Fu says, shutting the Miraculous Box closed. "Back then, I was never given the opportunity to even have a look at it, but I've been taught enough to be able to partially decipher the code."
Adrien hands the old man the book, who thanks him upon receiving it.
"These pages contain various spells capable of giving Ladybug and Chat Noir special abilities we haven't known about, until now. This book is invaluable," he says, flipping through the pages.
Master Fu walks over to his short-legged table, placing the book face-up on top of it. He invites Adrien to take a seat, while he fetches his boiling teapot and pours a cup of hot oolong tea for the two of them. Master Fu sets the tea on the table, and he sits next to the blond so that they can look through the book together.
"I've always believed that whoever possessed this Spellbook must also have the Butterfly and the Peacock Miraculous."
Adrien visibly pales.
"You mean…" Adrien chokes. "Whoever owned the Spellbook could be Hawkmoth?"
"Precisely."
Adrien nearly staggers backwards as he recalls finding this very book in his father's belongings. His world starts spinning, his heart starts pumping rapidly, his stomach twists and turns in discomfort.
Could his father be… Hawkmoth?
Could that explain why he's so cold and distant? Why he's never home? Why he asked about his ring?
"I never noticed your ring before," Gabriel Agreste says, grabbing his son's hand to take a better look at the silver ring.
"Is that the only thing you've never noticed about me?" Adrien frowns, pulling his hand away.
His father's face hardens. "I'm glad everything worked out for the best," he says before exiting his room. He gently shuts the door behind him, and Adrien is left in silence once again.
"Adrien," Master Fu says, failing to notice the blond's inner turmoil. "Where did you find this book?"
"I found it…" Adrien begins. "…o-on my way home. Underneath some leaves, twigs, and garbage."
Plagg looks at his user with wide eyes, but he doesn't say a word. Normally, he would, but he knows Adrien—and he knows he isn't a liar. It has to be for good cause.
"You didn't see who it belonged to, then?" Master Fu asks.
Adrien shakes his head. "No. I'm sorry," he says quietly.
"What a shame," Master Fu says, shutting the book out of the frustration. "For a moment, I thought we were about to discover Hawkmoth's identity. We would've had a chance to defeat him."
"I can go investigate, if you'd like," Adrien offers.
"And I will keep the Spellbook for now. But remember, you must be very careful, Adrien," Master Fu warns, carefully placing the Spellbook on the table. "If you succeed, you and Ladybug may very well find yourselves face to face with Hawkmoth."
"Why worry about Ladybug?" Adrien asks. "You can count on me, and only me. I can defeat Hawkmoth on my own."
"Maybe you can, maybe you cannot," Master Fu says. "There's a reason why the Ladybug's and Chat Noir's of the past ultimately ended up teaming up, even if they were self-proclaimed rivals just like you two."
"Maybe we'll be the first ones to break tradition," Adrien says, making Master Fu laugh.
"We'll see," the old man says with a smile. "But I choose my Ladybug's and Chat Noir's very wisely. Believe it or not, you two are made for each other."
"Made for each other?"
Adrien grimaces as he walks out of the Massage Shop with Plagg poking his head right out of his inner breast pocket.
"Forget about that," Plagg says, making Adrien trip at his kwami's rare seriousness. "Why did you lie to Master Fu?"
"I couldn't tell him that my father was the one who had the book," Adrien says, feeling his panic attack gradually returning. "He can't be Hawkmoth! I refuse to believe it!"
"What if he is?"
This question alone makes Adrien stop in his tracks. The blond looks down at his feet with a heavy heart, thinking about how painful it would be for him to discover that his father is a super-villain whose enemies are Ladybug… and his own son.
"I don't want to think about it," Adrien mutters quietly. "Let's go home."
The walk home is long and silent. Plagg tries to lift up the mood by making jokes or starting conversations to get Adrien's mind off of it, but one look at his user's clenched fists is enough to make him give up.
Adrien finally makes it home and opens his front door to find Nathalie standing at the entrance with her arms behind her back as usual.
"Your father would like to speak to you, Adrien," she says, turning around to lead Adrien up the stairs.
Adrien immediately takes notice of the tablet in her hands, and he gulps fearfully.
It can't be good.
Nathalie leads him into his room, where his father stands in front of the window, staring into the distance. Adrien can see in the reflection of the window that his father isn't just angry, but furious. Adrien sits on his computer desk's chair and looks down at his hands, ready to get yelled at; he has an idea of how the conversation is going to go already.
"Why did you take the book?"
"The… book?" Adrien repeats nervously.
Nathalie steps up with her tablet and turns it on to reveal screenshots of Adrien stealing what he now knows as the Guardians' Spellbook. Adrien sinks deeper into his chair the more his father's assistant swipes through her tablet, but he sinks even deeper when his father turns away from the window to give him a look that screams both anger and disappointment.
"I... just wanted to know what you were hiding behind that portrait that was so important. You never told me about those things," Adrien says truthfully. He then looks away to avoid eye contact and lies, "I was intending to give it back to you, but… I lost it."
"How can I possibly trust you again, Adrien?" Gabriel asks, turning his back to him like he always does.
"I'm sorry... I'll get you another copy," Adrien offers.
"Impossible, it's one of a kind!" his father explodes. "That book is the source of my inspiration."
"I didn't know that. I hardly know anything about you, Father," Adrien replies.
Gabriel goes silent, making Adrien grow more and more worried as the seconds tick by. He looks up from the floor to see his father's fists clenched.
"You will not be returning to school," he finally says, making Adrien's eyes grow wide in horror. "You will be home-schooled again, with Nathalie."
"But Father—!"
"My word is final."
With that, Gabriel and Nathalie walk out of the room, leaving a distressed Adrien behind.
Marinette walks into class that afternoon to find her classmates standing around the little staircase near Mme Bustier's desk. Confused, she approaches the crowd and looks past them to find Chloe crying hysterically and Sabrina patting her hand to comfort her.
"What's going on here?" Marinette asks.
"What's going on here?!" Chloe repeats, pointing at her phone. "Have you not heard?! Adrien isn't coming back to school!"
"Is he on vacation?" Nino asks. He's been in Chloe's class for years now; this could just be one of her overly dramatic outbursts again.
"No, you idiot!" she screams. "Adrien's back to being home-schooled!"
"Home-schooled?" Marinette whispers in shock.
She and Adrien don't get along, and she knows that, but she can't help but feel slightly betrayed that she didn't hear about it at all. He and Chloe have been friends for years so naturally, she should be one of the first to know, but what about her?
They may claim to hate each other's guts, but at the end of the day, Marinette still considered him a close friend.
"Marinette, are you all right?" Alya asks, and Marinette only realizes right then and there that her best friend was standing next to her this whole time.
"Me? I'm fine," Marinette says, though the feeling of betrayal never leaves. "Did you know about this?"
Alya shakes her head. "I didn't get anything from him," she says. "Neither did Nino."
"I hope he's all right," Nino chimes in. "I hope we hear from him soon."
"I don't want to hear from him at all," Marinette says, making her two friends look at her in absolute shock. She clenches her fists, feeling both angry and sad to find out that he didn't inform them about his leaving.
"What are you saying, Marinette?" Alya asks in disbelief.
"He didn't think to tell us about something so important, and instead just decided to tell Chloe?" Marinette asks. "Aren't we his friends, too?"
Alya and Nino take a glance at each other before turning back to their friend.
"I know we argue all the time, but I would've at least liked a goodbye text," Marinette says sadly. She then turns away and looks down angrily, "Oh, forget it. He'll always be a jerk."
With that, she runs out of the classroom, failing to hide the frown on her face.
Marinette runs through the school hallways to get to the girl's washroom, dodging students and teachers on her way there. She forcefully pushes the door open, and she locks herself inside one of the stalls so that she can exchange a few words with her kwami.
"Adrien's gone?" Tikki asks in a shock, and Marinette nods in response.
"And he didn't tell anyone," she says. "Only Chloe."
"Marinette," the little ladybug begins, flying up to her user's eye-level. "I know you're going to miss him—"
"Miss him?" Marinette repeats with a scoff and looks away.
"—but you don't know why that happened."
Marinette turns to face Tikki, her face no longer showing anger, hurt and disappointment, but instead curiosity, guilt and realization.
"Maybe something horrible happened at home," Tikki reasons. "Even though you two say that you hate each other, it's still very clear that you care for one another. If he knew that there was absolutely no way for him to get out of being home-schooled, he definitely would've messaged you. Since he didn't, he probably believes that there's a way he can fix it. He's probably even working on it right now."
"You're right…" Marinette sighs. "Knowing Chloe, she probably bugged him until he gave in."
"Exactly," Tikki says. "He'll be back, I just know it."
Adrien buries his face in his hands; taking that book was such a stupid move. He should've just left it where it was.
But then again, it was an important book that originally belonged to Master Fu. It was only right to bring it back to its true owner.
"You told Chloe?" Plagg asks, lying his back on top of his user's head.
"She spammed my inbox. I eventually gave up and just told her," Adrien replies, scrolling through his contact list.
A certain black-haired girl in pigtails catches his eye, and he scrolls back up, chuckling at the silly picture he took of Marinette when making fun of her. (She did not appreciate it. At all.)
Adrien taps Marinette's contact photo, and the name Klutz along with her contact information pop up onscreen. His thumb hovers over the messaging icon, and he wonders if he should at least let her know that he wouldn't be returning to school…
"Are you going to tell her?"
Adrien makes a jump, nearly knocking his kwami right off his head.
"Plagg!" Adrien shouts. "Don't scare me like that!"
"What?" Plagg replies. "I was just asking if you were going to tell her."
"How I feel?!" Adrien exclaims in horror.
"No, that you're now home-schooled. But that works, too," Plagg shrugs.
Adrien sighs in response, shoving his phone back into his pocket, and he gets out of his seat to play some foosball, hoping it would distract him for a little while. But he soon realizes that that's not so easily done with a kwami named Plagg.
"Look on the bright side, kid," Plagg says, flying over to the foosball table to sit above a goalie net. "Your father could've found out about me. It's a good thing we kwamis can never be filmed or photographed."
"I have to ask Master Fu for that book back," Adrien says. "It's the only way for me to go back to school."
"Are you crazy?!" Plagg exclaims. "Do you hear yourself right now?! Not only does no homework sound fantastic, but you did the right thing by giving it back to Master Fu."
"You don't get it, Plagg," Adrien says, letting go of the levers. "Going to public school made me so happy. I don't want to throw it all away because I went snooping around."
"Adrien, don't think like that. Master Fu just told us he chose you as Chat Noir because you always put others before yourself," Plagg reminds.
"And there might not even be a Chat Noir anymore if I don't get that book back either," Adrien says. "Do you realize what I've done?! My father will tighten up security; there's no way I'll be able to get out of this house to fight akuma anymore."
Plagg blanches. "Oh," he says. "You have a point."
"Master Fu can always find another Chat Noir, but I don't want to be replaced," Adrien frowns. "I want to be Chat Noir. I want to save people."
"I half-expected you to say something about wanting to be the hero instead of Ladybug, but I was wrong," Plagg says, flying over to his user's head to pat it. "You've finally matured. Good job."
"I don't know if I should be offended or not."
Suddenly, a loud crash from downstairs makes Adrien jump up in alarm. He sprints out of his room and down the stairs, meeting Gorilla on the way, only to find Nathalie standing guard in front of his father's office.
"What was that?!" Adrien exclaims.
"Your father is very busy," is all Nathalie says. She then looks over at Gorilla with her usual poker face and asks, "Shouldn't Adrien be practicing piano right now?"
Gorilla nods silently, and escorts a frowning Adrien back up into his room. The blond enters it, and he closes the door behind him before making his way over to the couch.
"Maybe some tv will get your mind off of everything," Plagg says, flying over to the tv remote. He presses the power button, and the news pops up onscreen. Nadja Chamack is the reporter as always, sitting comfortably in a plush chair with some papers in hand.
"Don't be bemused, it's just the news. I'm Nadja Chama—"
Adrien jumps up and rubs his eyes when a notebook comes flying out of nowhere, making the woman disappear in thin air. The camera then pans over to a man with violet skin, attire painted violet, black and red, and large glasses with lenses tinted crimson.
"Since the book that used to fill my life is gone, I'm going to use your life to fill up this new one!" the villain says before swiping the screen with his notebook again, making the channel go static.
"An akumatized victim!" Adrien exclaims, jumping out of his seat. He grabs another remote on the table and pushes a button, making one of his windows open up. "Plagg, let's go!"
"What happened to being grounded?" Plagg smirks.
"If this is really going to be my last mission as Chat Noir," Adrien says, eyes full of determination. "Then I want to be remembered as a hero and capture that akuma."
"Now, that's the Chat Noir Master Fu chose," Plagg cheers, making a loop in the air.
"PLAGG, TRANSFORM ME!"
Ladybug stands on a rooftop, wondering what her next course of action should be. While trying to come up with a plan, a shadow looms over her, and she turns around to find none other than Chat Noir. She immediately notices something wrong when she looks at him—despite his teasing smirk, she can see tired eyes, shaky hands, slumped shoulders. He looks nothing like the confident Chat Noir she knows.
"My Lady," he winks. "Fancy meeting you up here."
"Chat, are you all right?" Ladybug asks, eyebrow raised. "You look a little off today."
"I'm purrfect," Chat Noir replies with a smile that's all too fake. "Just a little excited to get another point."
She can tell that he doesn't want to talk about it, and pushes no further. There's an akumatized victim on the loose, and they need to save him before Paris gets printed on The Collector's pages.
"Any idea who The Collector might be?" Ladybug asks, and she notices Chat Noir's smile drop in an instant.
"I have a hunch," he says quietly. "Gabriel Agreste."
Ladybug nearly falls off the roof. "The fashion designer?!" she exclaims, heart sinking for her favorite designer. "Got any proof?"
"It's a little hard to explain," Chat Noir says, turning his back to her.
He extends his silver staff, ready to take off, when he suddenly stops himself. He clutches his staff a little tighter before turning around to face his rival once more.
"Hey, Ladybug," he says, grabbing all of her attention. "After today's mission… I can't say what comes next. You might still get this Chat Noir, or a completely different one."
"What are you trying to say?" Ladybug asks in confusion.
"If I can't fix things," Chat Noir says with a sad smile. "You've been a great rival."
With that, he extends his staff further and pole-vaults himself off the roof to land onto the one three buildings over. Ladybug watches him leap from one roof to the other afterwards, feeling her heart drop and break into pieces.
If she heard correctly, Chat Noir just said that he may not be returning after today's mission.
First, she loses Adrien in her normal life. And now, she loses Chat Noir in her superhero one.
Her mind is buzzing with all kinds of questions, but she pushes them aside for now. She can't risk getting her feelings in the way and messing up throughout this mission. Chat Noir said that Gabriel Agreste is his prime suspect—so, if that's the case, then she'll just have to do some investigating in his own home.
Ladybug throws her yoyo into the air, and she yanks it so that it carries her with the wind. She hurriedly makes her way over to the Agreste mansion, jumping right through an open window and into Gabriel Agreste's office.
It's a complete mess, with shattered statues, ripped papers, and broken home décor littered all over the floor. She notices something lying on the floor a few steps away, and she approaches it to find a framed drawing that his son must've done when he was around five years old. It was of their family holding hands; Gabriel Agreste, his late wife, and his son Adrien.
"Where's Gabriel Agreste?!"
Ladybug jumps up at the sound of Chat Noir's voice, and she rushes out of the room to find her rival in a defensive stance at the bottom of the stairs, while the Collector stands at the very top with an evil smirk on his face.
"There is no more Gabriel Agreste," the akumatized victim shouts. "There is only the Collector!"
The Collector launches his weapon at Chat Noir, who easily dodges it with a couple of backflips. The book instead hits the front door, making it disappear, before making a boomerang effect to try to hit him again. The book, however, changes its course and starts heading straight for an oblivious Ladybug.
"Hey, watch out!" Chat Noir screams, tackling his rival. The book makes its way back into The Collector's hands, who laughs maniacally upon seeing the stress on his enemies faces.
"Are you trying to get us trapped in that book?!" Chat Noir yells, getting up. "Look, if you're just going to be causing trouble, stay out of this."
"I'm not trying to cause any trouble at all!" Ladybug screams back.
The Collector jumps to the bottom of the stairs, sending his book flying around the room as he goes against Ladybug and Chat Noir with hand-to-hand combat. He increasingly grows frustrated when he realizes that they are not intimated by him at all, but instead more invested in their own heated argument. And yet, they still manage to block each of his attacks and the flying book.
"How am I supposed to react to you saying that you might not return after today's mission?!"
"I don't know, welcome the next Chat Noir with open arms?"
"Well, maybe I will! I already know he'll be much better than you!"
"Excuse me?!"
"He'll probably be a lot more skilled in fighting, a lot nicer, and not a huge jerk like you!"
"Oh, yeah?! Well, then it's a win-win for both of us! I won't have to deal with anymore of your clumsiness!"
"Hey—!"
"I'll trap you both in my book so that no one has to ever hear you two argue again!" The Collector interrupts, grabbing his weapon from the air to try to hit either of them on his own.
"This isn't over," Ladybug says, before sprinting into the large dining area.
Chat Noir follows shortly after, throwing chairs at the villain with all his might to try to get him to back off. The Collector barely flinches at the attacks, merely swiping his book at any item thrown his way to make them disappear.
When Chat Noir runs out of chairs to throw, he decides to continue with hand-to-hand combat by targeting The Collector's wrist. If he can hit him hard enough to make him drop the book, then it'll be an instant win for Team Chat.
He, however, miscalculates his move and gets kicked in the stomach, sending flying across the room. Seeing The Collector making his way towards him, Chat Noir backs up slowly and panics when he realizes he's been backed into a corner of the dining area. He shields his arms in front of him, ready to be wiped out of existence, when The Collector makes a surprise gasp and falls forward, just barely missing Chat Noir's foot. The superhero quickly makes an escape by making a flip and landing right next to Ladybug, whose yoyo is tied around The Collector's boot.
"Uh… thanks," Chat Noir says, scratching the back of his head.
Ladybug opens her mouth to answer him, when the string in her hands suddenly disappear, making her fall forward. Chat Noir stifles his laughter when she falls to the floor, earning him a death glare from the fallen girl.
"My collection's growing!" The Collector exclaims, performing a kip-up to get right back on his feet.
Chat Noir and Ladybug run back out into the hall and up the stairs to try to look for someplace to hide. The former decides that his room is probably their safest bet for now.
"The akuma has to be in that book," Ladybug says as they rush up the stairs.
"Oh, I definitely couldn't have guessed that," Chat Noir says sarcastically, making his rival roll her eyes.
The two make it to Adrien's room, and immediately barricade the door with his arcade machine, couch, desk chair, couch, and table. This will make it much harder for the The Collector to go through since he'll have a lot of things to add to his book before getting to them.
"Gabriel Agreste's son isn't at home?" Ladybug asks, looking around the empty room.
"Maybe the Collector's already captured him," Chat Noir says a little too quickly.
"You think he'd take it out on his own son?" Ladybug gasps, throwing her hands over her mouth.
"You cannot escape from me!"
Chat Noir and Ladybug look over at the door to find that The Collector is slowly making his way into the room. The two heroes take a step back and look around the room, looking for something to defend themselves with. Chat Noir's eyes suddenly lock onto his bookshelves, which are filled with all kinds of movies and video games. An idea suddenly pops into his head.
"Hey, Ladybug," Chat Noir says, eyes kept locked onto the shelves. "No Lucky Charm today, huh?"
"I'm guessing that means you have a plan?" Ladybug groans.
He nods. "I'm going to complete his collection."
Chat Noir onto the room's second floor, while Ladybug continues to throw random objects onto the barricade.
"There you go again with the I," Ladybug huffs.
"Because I'm not the one who got their weapon swallowed up," Chat Noir says, sticking his tongue out. He turns around, whispering an apology to his movie and game collection before throwing a hand up in the air.
"CATACLYSM!" he screams as a black, bubbling glow emanates from his right hand. He presses a hand on one of the bookshelves and runs across the entire floor to touch every single one. The shelves crumble all over the floor, leaving only their circular disks behind. Chat Noir picks a handful of them up and fans them out with a grin on his face.
"Did you really think that blocking the door would save you?" The Collector cackles as Ladybug dodges an attack of his.
"No," Chat Noir answers from his place on the second floor, catching the villain's attention. "But I'm sure that doing this will."
He throws disks in The Collector's direction, five at a time, smiling to himself when he sees that the akumatized victim is doing exactly as he had hoped—swiping each and every disk into his book. Ladybug quickly gets what Chat Noir is trying to do, and she rushes up the spiral staircase to help him out.
"We're running out of ammo!" Ladybug cries, struggling to find disks on the floor.
"Huh, I wouldn't have guessed," Chat Noir says, throwing his last set of five.
When Chat Noir and Ladybug fail to retrieve any more, The Collector jumps onto the railings to the second floor, deciding to corner the black cat hero because of all the trouble he's caused. The villain closes in on him, his book wide open and ready to add him to his collection. Chat Noir runs out of options and instead just shields himself with his arms a second time, eyes closed and ready to face defeat. This time, he knows he won't be so lucky.
But then, he feels… something repeatedly being pressed against his arms?
Chat Noir opens his eyes to find The Collector looking through his book with rage-filled eyes.
"It's full?!" the villain yells in both horror and disbelief.
Just as he's about to swipe a page clean with his hand, Chat Noir kicks it out of his grasp and performs a flip in the air to fall back onto the first floor. He catches the book, and, being careful not to touch the white pages, Chat Noir rips it in half, where a black butterfly flutters out of it.
He unclips his staff from his belt and catches the akuma, painting it white as snow. As he watches the butterfly fly out the window completely free, he feels his shoulders slump knowing that he may never get to experience freedom again after today's events.
"MIRACULOUS CHAT!" he screams, with a little less excitement than his past captures. Never mind the fact that he got the final point for his possibly final mission—he just wants to continue being Chat Noir.
After the bright, green light fixes everything around them, a violet cloud envelops The Collector and, in his place, lies Gabriel Agreste. Chat Noir rushes over to him and immediately helps him get back up on his feet. Ladybug follows shortly after.
"Are you okay, Sir?" Chat Noir asks worriedly.
"What happened to me?" Gabriel asks, pressing a hand to the side of his head in hopes of easy the painful drumming.
"You were akumatized by Hawkmoth. But don't worry, it's over now," Ladybug smiles.
"Thank you for saving me," he says, giving them both a rare smile. His face then falls, and he lets out a gasp of horror as he looks around the room. "Adrien—where is my son?!"
"He… must be hiding," Chat Noir says, surprised to see his father so worried over him. He's never seen his look so scared.
"Chat Noir is right," Ladybug assures. "Otherwise your son would have reappeared right here."
"Nothing must happen to him. He's too precious to me," Gabriel says, placing his hands on Chat Noir's shoulders, who unintentionally tenses up upon contact. Chat Noir looks up the distressed man, trying his very hardest not to smile now that he knows how much his father cares for him.
A warning beep suddenly goes off, and Chat Noir looks down to find that he only has two cat pads left.
"I should go," Chat Noir says.
"Don't worry, Sir. I'm sure your son is safe and sound," Ladybug says, throwing her yoyo out the window and yanking it when it hooks onto the next building.
"Goodbye, Mr. Agreste," Chat Noir says, leaping out of the window after her.
Chat Noir and Ladybug run on rooftops together, and the latter takes in what could possibly be her final moments with him. They've fought akumas for months now, and with it came so many moments she wouldn't trade for the world.
She thinks back to all their missions together, whether as Ladybug or Marinette. She recounts all the many times he's saved her, their heated arguments, their rare moments of peace and quiet. She recalls the nights she spent staying up late to finish up the gifts she made for him, like the chocolates for Valentine's Day and the mittens for Christmas.
And she also thinks back to when she first realized she liked him.
Sure, he's always been a jerk to Ladybug, but to Marinette, he's been nothing but kind. How could she not fall in love?
"Hey, Ladybug."
Ladybug snaps out of her thoughts, only to find Chat Noir no longer running next to her. She stops in her tracks and turns around, to find him a few steps behind, smiling sadly at her.
"I'm still not sure if this is really the end," Chat Noir says, walking closer to her. He then extends his hand out for her to shake. "But if it is… it's been fun."
Ladybug looks down at his hand, feeling her heart drop.
"Does that mean I won't be seeing you for patrol tonight?" Ladybug asks.
"Maybe, maybe not," Chat Noir replies honestly. "I'll do my best to fix things so I can stay Chat Noir, but if not… then let the new guy know I say hi. If you're lucky, he might be willing to be partners with you."
"But he's not you," Ladybug frowns, making Chat Noir ruffle her hair with the hand he had extended.
"Yeah, well, he won't be as big of a jerk as me. I'm not so easily beat," he grins. "No one can bug you as much as I do, after all."
While Chat Noir laughs at his own pun, Ladybug battles with her thoughts, wondering if she should let him know how she feels.
But what if she does confess, and he does come back? It could ruin everything.
A warning beep resounds again, and Chat Noir looks down at his ring to find one cat pad left.
"I'm about to transform back," Chat Noir says, making Ladybug look down and hide her teary eyes with her bangs. "See you later, My Lady. If not, don't forget me."
She sees him extend his hand again for her to shake, but she doesn't take it and instead lunges forward to give him a hug. Chat Noir freezes in place, not knowing how to react or what to do. Before he could even lift his arms to hug her back, she lets go, smiling up at him sadly.
"If you do manage to fix things, I'll be waiting for you at the top of the Eiffel Tower as usual," Ladybug says. "If not… then… I should let you know that…"
Ladybug feels her face grow hot as her words become a jumbled mess, and her confession is kicked right out the door. Her confidence shatters when her eyes land on the blinking black ring in Chat Noir's finger, telling herself that there's no way she'll be able to muster up the courage on time.
She sighs, slumping her shoulders in defeat.
"I just… Thank you," Ladybug says. "For everything. It has been fun."
With a nod, Chat Noir turns around, ready to jump off the roof, when Ladybug calls out to him one last time.
"Chat, one last thing," she says, making him turn around once more. "No matter who the next one in line is… you'll always be Chat Noir to me."
He smiles. "And you'll always be clumsy Ladybug to me," he says.
He backflips off the roof, leaving behind a disappointed Ladybug.
She couldn't tell him.
"The book was your father's?"
Adrien finds himself back at Master Fu's later that afternoon, having decided to tell him the truth about the book and the consequences that came along with it. They're both sitting on the floor, with the short-legged table separating them, and the Miraculous Spellbook resting on top of it.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth, I wasn't sure if I could trust you yet and lied," Adrien answers. "I also couldn't bring myself to accept the fact that my own father could possibly be Hawkmoth."
"Well, since Gabriel Agreste was akumatized, it's very probably that he isn't," Master Fu assures him, making Adrien sigh in relief.
"I also wanted to tell you that I may not be able to continue being Chat Noir," Adrien says, making the old man's eyes widen. "My father was extremely upset with me because I told him I lost the Spellbook. He's making me go back to being home-schooled, meaning that I'm going to be watched all day. There's no way I'll be able to escape so easily anymore to fight akuma."
"I see," Master Fu says, looking down at the Spellbook. "Don't worry, Adrien. There isn't a single problem that can't be solved."
Master Fu reaches into his pocket, and Adrien falls back, thinking he's going to take out a magical item of sorts that can help solve everything—
—but instead, he just takes out his cellphone.
"These modern inventions really are quite incredible," Master Fu says, flipping the book open and taking a picture of the first page. He continues to do this for the next two hundred pages or so while Adrien watches with a laugh.
Once done, Master Fu shuts the book and hands it back to Adrien.
"Now that you've 'found the book'," he says. "Hopefully, your father will reconsider his decision."
"It's no guarantee that he'll let me go back to public school, but it's worth a try," Adrien grins, shoving the book into his bag. "If not, I'll be back to return my ring. Thank you so much for believing in me and choosing me as Chat Noir. I've learned so much."
"Thank you for all your hard work," Master Fu says.
Adrien nods and starts walking towards the door, calling Plagg over while doing so. After disappearing behind the door, Adrien pokes his head back into the room.
"Master?" he asks.
"Yes, Adrien?" Master Fu answers.
"Whoever the next Chat Noir is," he smiles sadly. "I hope you never forget you chose me, too."
"You were my first choice, and it will always stay that way," he says.
Adrien smiles, happily this time. "Oh, and I hope you find a good Chat Noir for Ladybug. Preferably a partner instead of a rival," he says. "I know she'd really like that."
"I'll keep that in mind."
With that, Adrien shuts the door behind him, hoping all will be fixed once he returns the book.
Adrien stands in front of his father's office with the book in his clutch, gulping nervously as the outcome remains unpredictable. He takes in a deep breath, and he raises his hand to knock on the door.
Knock, knock.
"Come in."
Adrien walks into the room to find Gabriel staring at his wife's portrait as always. He slowly approaches his father, clutching the book in his hands even tighter.
"Father," Adrien starts. When he receives no response, he continues, "I found your book."
At this, Gabriel turns around, his usual cold facial expression replaced with one of relief. Adrien gives his father the book, who takes it and immediately puts it back in its place behind Emilie's portrait.
"I found it under my bed. It must've slipped under there when I dropped my bag," Adrien lies. "I shouldn't have taken it without your permission. I'm sorry."
"And I'm sorry I became so furious over a book," Gabriel apologizes. He hesitates, but continues after a few seconds of silence, "That book was the very last gift your mother gave to me before she… disappeared. All I have left of her is this book, and you."
"I understand, Father," Adrien replies, looking down.
"And I know I can't keep the book, or you locked up in this house forever."
Adrien's eyes widen, and he looks up to find his father giving him the smallest of smiles.
"Does that mean you'll let me go back to school, then?" he eagerly asks.
"Yes," Gabriel answers with a nod.
Unable to contain his happiness, Adrien throws his arms around his father. "Thank you, Father!" he exclaims, burying his face in his father's chest.
Gabriel doesn't say another word, and only hugs his son back.
Marinette walks to school the next morning, scowling as she prepares for another day without Adrien. She hasn't heard from him at all. Maybe he never really did consider her a close friend like she always did.
She walks up the stairs and into the building, but upon turning a corner to get to her classroom, she slams right into someone, making her drop all her books.
"O-oh, I'm so sorry, I—" Marinette begins, stopping mid-sentence when she sees who she bumped into.
Adrien picks the fallen books off the floor, putting them into the hands of a surprised Marinette.
"I get back, and you're still as clumsy as ever, huh?" he chuckles. Once it all sinks in, Marinette punches his shoulder. "Ow! Is this really how you're treating me after I just got back?"
"Yes, because you didn't think to tell anyone else that you left!" Marinette fumes. "Alya, Nino and I all waited to hear from you! Instead, we had to hear it from Chloe!"
"If you really wanted to know, I was working on fixing everything," Adrien argues back. "I didn't want to tell you guys until I was sure that there was no way I was going to be coming back to school. I only told Chloe because she was messaging me nonstop!"
"Oh…" Marinette falters. Tikki was right. "I thought you just… didn't care to tell us. I'm sorry."
"Glad to see you're still jumping to conclusions," Adrien says flatly.
"How else was I supposed to react?" Marinette huffs, walking past him angrily and into the classroom.
Adrien follows in after her while chuckling, and he's instantly surrounded by all of his classmates. He gives each one a hug or a high-five, shy at the fact that everyone was so worried about him. After exchanging a couple of words with each of them, he walks back to his regular seat in front of Marinette, who's already sitting in her spot and scowling at him. After sitting down and placing his bag by his feet, Adrien turns his body around to look up at her.
"Good morning, klutz," he says, as per his usual greeting.
"Good morning, jerk," she says, as per her usual greeting. And then, she smiles, "Welcome back."
Later that night, Ladybug finds herself sitting all by herself at the top of the Eiffel Tower. She should be going around the city as of now, but something holds her back, telling her to wait just a little bit longer. But it's seventeen minutes past their meet-up time, and she's slowly losing hope.
Maybe today really was Chat Noir's last mission.
"Hey, Ladybug."
Her ears perk up at the voice, and she turns around, grinning ear to ear to find Chat Noir standing on the other side of the platform. He makes his way over to her and sits in his usual spot next to her.
"Sorry I'm late," Chat Noir says. "Just wanted you to miss me a little more."
"Don't make me laugh," Ladybug scoffs. "I'm guessing it all worked out in the end?"
"Can't get rid of me that easily," he grins.
Ladybug suddenly gets up on her feet. "Well then, ready for patrol?" she asks, and Chat Noir gets up on his feet shortly after.
"I'll race you," he says, and Ladybug smiles brighter than she has all day.
"You're on."
end card
A/N: I just wanted to clarify that this chapter takes off right after Chapter 28 of Who Needs Love? Chapter 26 and 27 were written as an ending to the story, since I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to write for Season 2 at the time. Since I'm writing it now, just pretend that Chapter 26 and 27 don't exist. I also want to add that the reason why I don't use "Tikki, Spots On!" or "Plagg, Claws Out!" is because I watch the French dub. I usually mix up both the English and French dubs when writing the episodes, but I ultimately prefer the French dub and keep most of their script.
For those wondering, I will be following the production order of Miraculous Ladybug Season 2. What episode are you most excited for?
Thank you for reading!
Akuma Capture:
Ladybug: 0
Chat Noir: 2
Next Episode: Prime Queen
