"I wish you could be here for this, Emilie," Gabriel said.
Of course, Emilie didn't answer him. Staring down at his wife's expressionless face, Gabriel felt the first twinges of doubt.
"None of it was supposed to matter," he whispered. "Nothing I did, nothing I left undone, none of it would be real . It would all be undone as soon as I had the Miraculouses. What was the point of spending time with Adrien, when he wouldn't remember any of it? What did it matter how much harm I did with my akumas, when it would all be fixed in the end? But now… I don't want to lose this. I don't want to lose what Adrien and I had tonight, and I don't know if I can get it back if I erase it."
"It's not too late to stop, Master," said Nooroo. "Ladybug and Cat Noir still have no idea who you are. Set me aside, and they will have no way to find you. You can return to your normal life, rebuild your relationship with your son."
Gabriel bowed his head, eyes closed.
Perhaps it is time to stop, he thought. It's been almost a year, and I'm no closer to getting the Miraculouses. Ladybug and Cat Noir are getting better with every fight, while my akumas must start from scratch every time.
And now this. Now Adrien has a girlfriend, and I came so close to missing it. If I win, if I roll back time, will he be able to find her again? One small change can alter everything, let alone something as delicate as the first stirrings of romance.
He raised his hand to his throat.
This need not be permanent. I can always take the Brooch up again, if I so choose. But for a few days, at least, I wish to be simply Gabriel Agreste.
He pulled the Moth Brooch away from his throat and looked down at it.
It really is beautiful like this, with the wings. Almost a shame I can't wear it this way all the time.
He tucked the brooch into his pocket, scooped up the photo album he'd been reminiscing over from the table, and turned towards the elevator.
I think I'll see if Adrien's still up. Be nice to look at some photos with him.
"Uh… This isn't what it looks like!"
Even as she said the words, Marinette realized how utterly absurd they sounded. Moreover, while they happened to be true, there was no way that she could explain why they were true. As catastrophic as the consequences of Gabriel blaming her for seducing Adrien might be, the consequences of her secret identity getting out would almost certainly be worse.
Gabriel just stared at her, not even dignifying her comment with a response. Adrien seemed likewise at a loss for words, his face studiously blank.
Marinette's mind raced as fiercely as it ever had in battle.
Can't afford to reveal the truth. Got to try and talk him down if I can, but more important to make sure Adrien doesn't get blamed for this. He doesn't know who Ladybug is, and we can handle akuma-Gabriel if we have to, however little Adrien's going to like that.
"Sorry, Mister Agreste," she said quickly. "All my fault." As she spoke, she rubbed one hand against the golden ring on Adrien's left hand, hoping he would get the message. "I know I shouldn't have kissed Adrien without asking first, but… well, I just couldn't help myself."
Adrien stared at her blankly.
Damn it, thought Marinette. If I could just have ten seconds to talk to Adrien in private…
"I think you had better leave, Ladybug," said Gabriel Agreste.
Marinette sighed. "Yes, I suppose I had better."
She turned, leapt up, and slipped out through the still-open window. She swung across the street, then touched down on the nearest roof and turned to stare back through Adrien's window.
And now to wait, she thought. If it's going to happen, it'll happen soon.
For a long moment, Gabriel just stood there, not quite looking at Adrien. Adrien wanted nothing more to look away, but he kept his gaze fixed on his father's face. Should his father be akumatized, a fraction of a second's response could make the difference between survival and any number of unspeakable fates. He racked his brains, hoping he could think of a way to talk his father down without revealing the truth.
"Why?" Gabriel finally asked.
"It's… well… it's Ladybug," Adrien said slowly. "I love Marinette, I really do, but… well, it's not the same thing."
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind. Was that what Ladybug was trying to tell me? To throw the blame on her? It has to be. Why else would she have phased what she said to Father like that?
"It's like…" he said, choosing his words even more carefully than before. "It's like in those Greek myths, almost. If Zeus comes down from the sky in a shower of gold, do you think it matters whether or not you're married?"
He sighed, carefully allowing just a hint of regret into his tone and features. "Maybe I'd have said something, if she'd given me the chance. I don't know. It all happened so fast… One minute she's slipping in my window, and then before I knew where I was she was kissing me."
Gabriel echoed Adrien's sigh and closed his eyes. "I won't say anything to Marinette about this, not unless it happens again," he said. "But I think you should. She deserves the truth, however unpleasant it may be. Think about it." He opened his eyes and turned to go.
"Father," Adrien called.
"Yes, Adrien?" Gabriel replied, not turning around.
"Please don't be angry at Ladybug," Adrien said, crossing mental fingers. "It's not all her fault. She doesn't know about me and Marinette."
Gabriel paused for a moment in the doorway, but left without responding.
"Well," said Plagg, popping up from behind the desk, "That could have gone worse."
"It's not over yet, Plagg," Adrien said. "Remember the last time Father was this angry?"
"Oh, right," Plagg said. "Hang on a sec…"
He flew over and phased out the window, before popping back in. "Looks like your girlfriend had the same idea," the tiny god remarked. "She's waiting on the roof across the way."
Adrien blushed. It still felt weird to think of Ladybug as his girlfriend.
"How long are you going to wait up, anyway?" Plagg asked.
"I don't know," Adrien replied. "Usually, if someone doesn't get akumatized in the first few minutes, they're not going to. I think… I think if Father doesn't get akumatized in the next few minutes, then either he's got his emotions under control for now, or Hawkmoth isn't looking for akumas at the moment. Either way, it should be safe to get some sleep. I hope."
Claudia leapt from rooftop to rooftop, zigzagging to and fro across the narrow street as she tried to get a clean shot. Unfortunately, the eidolon was evidently familiar with her capabilities, and kept ducking and dodging behind civilians, stalls, and anything else that would keep her from getting a clear line of fire. The thing was pushing its stolen body to the limit, ignoring fatigue and the injuries she'd inflicted on it during those few moments hand-to-hand.
There was no time to stop and call for a Lucky Charm. This eidolon was cunning and clever, if she stopped chasing it for even a few moments, it might slip her entirely. She'd just have to rely on her own mind, and her luck as Volucris Rubrum.
And just then, she saw her chance. Ahead, the crowd thinned. She could here the monotonous sing-song of the lictors calling for the crowds to make way for the carriage of some official. But at this exact moment, the open space created by the crowds drawing back had yet to be occupied by the oncoming carriage.
The eidolon checked itself, skidding to a halt before it entered the open space. But Claudia had already leapt from her roof, and she landed right behind the eidolon, close enough to see the luminous golden eyes that were the spirit's betraying mark as it spun around to face her, almost close enough to reach out and touch its stolen body.
With a flick of her wrist, her yo-yo wrapped the eidolon's host up, and the body crashed to the ground. The yo-yo string flashed white, and Claudia felt something push against it as the eidolon tried to escape its stolen body. But the magic running through the string bound the eidolon just as surely as the string itself bound the host. Claudia saw those golden eyes widen with terror as the creature realized what was about to happen.
"Eidolon," shouted Claudia, "I cast you out!"
The string of her yo-yo blazed white. The eidolon's stolen body arced, and the creature let out a harsh, inhuman shriek. Those eyes blazed the same brilliant white as the cord of her yo-yo for a heartbeat, then faded to a human brown.
With a flick of her wrist, Claudia retracted her yo-yo into her palm and turned to leave.
"Volucris Rubrum," said a familiar voice, heavy with amusement. Claudia turned and only barely managed to keep from bursting into laughter. Gazing down at her from the window of the carriage was none other than Gaius Fidelius Felix, her own husband.
She felt her cheeks heat up as amusement gave way to embarrassment. Most of the time, she could keep her personas separate enough to avoid feeling embarrassed at running around Rome in a skin-tight suit and absolutely nothing else, but being seen like this by her Gaius, by one of only two people who knew her as both Volucris Rubrum and Claudia Crusta, that could still embarrass her.
"May I ask what is going on here?" asked Gaius, clearly struggling to hold back his own amusement.
As if to put the cap on her embarrassment, the eidolon victim chose this moment to step in.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you," he babbled. He dropped to his knees in front of Claudia and began to kiss her feet, still babbling thanks and offers of undying service.
Claudia's face must be almost as red as her suit by now, but she had to say something. She opened her mouth, and…
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! DWEEDLE-DEE! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! DWEEDLE-DEE!
Claudia… no, Marinette , struggled awake. She threw back her covers, hit the alarm on her bedside clock, and, still more than half asleep, rolled out of bed and padded over to where her phone lay on her desk. She thumbed that alarm off as well, and stared at the phone for a second.
She wanted so badly to crash back into bed. It had already been late when she'd gotten the idea to try her Miracle on Chloe, and even after she'd decided that Gabriel Agreste wasn't going to get akumatized that night, nerves had kept her from falling asleep for a while. All told, she had only gotten a few hours of sleep that night. She wanted to just plop down on her bed and fall back asleep.
She wanted too, but she knew she couldn't. She already missed far too many classes, and she couldn't afford to miss any she didn't have to. Instead, she walked over to her closet and grabbed the day's clothes.
"Good morning, Marinette!" chirped Tikki as the ladybug kwami floated up next to her.
"Good morning to you, Tikki," replied Marinette with a smile. "Hey, I have a question for you," she added as her brain began to kick into gear.
"Yes?" replied Tikki.
"I had a Ladybug dream again," said Marinette as she pulled off her pajama shirt. "And I could have sworn that Claudia… that was the name of the Ladybug in the dream, Claudia Crusta… I could have sworn that she remembered her and her Cat Noir knowing each other's identities. Did your previous Bearers know the identities of their partners?"
"Most of the time," Tikki said. "Usually you can trust other Bearers to keep the secret. Hawkmoth's a bit of a special case, because of the way the Moth Brooch works. So most of the time the Bearers would know each other if they knew each other, if you know what I mean."
"I'm not sure I do," admitted Marinette as she slipped into her pants.
"Well," said Tikki, "Usually, we aren't all in the same area. Take Claudia, for example. When I was bonded to her, Plagg and I were active in Rome. But of the others you know… Let's see, Pollen was active in Ireland at the time. Trixx was in Japan, I think. Or possibly the Koreas, she moved around that area a lot back then. Anyway, Wayzz was between partners, Duusuu was in Abyssinia, and Nooroo hadn't gotten a Miraculous yet. So most of the Bearers would never come in contact with each other, but if they did they generally shared identities. Plagg and I were both in Rome just then, so our Bearers knew each other. And Pollen was in Ireland and Eponna in Britain, so I think they'd shared identities. You get the idea."
"I see," said Marinette. "Lucky them. You have no idea how nice it feels to know Cat Noir's identity, to know at least one person who I can share all the stresses of being Ladybug with."
"Or maybe you do," she added as she bent to tie her shoes. "I guess you and Plagg kind of had to deal with the same thing before Dark Owl, didn't you?"
"I did miss the little sourpuss," Tikki admitted with a chiming giggle.
"I noticed," replied Marinette with a smile as she opened her purse. "Now come on. I need coffee, and we've both got sweethearts to meet."
The photo was very nearly one of a kind. So far as Gabriel Agreste knew, only three copies existed. The first he was holding, the second was a digital copy in his secret database, and the third lay beneath Emilee's folded hands.
The picture showed a woman, clad in a flowing electric-blue dress that fanned out into a series of rounded points where it hit the floor. Each point bore a ring of darker blue around a spot of light pink. Brilliant green eyes shone behind an ornate opera-style mask, and golden hair fell in a tight braid over one shoulder. A hand fan of peacock feathers was held in front of the mouth and nose, with the green eyes just barely peeking over the top.
Gabriel stared at the picture, and wondered idly whether he'd be able to recognize Emilie behind the cobalt dress and the ornate mask if he didn't already know it was her. It seemed obvious enough to him, but he also knew from personal experience just how strong the glamour on the Miraculouses could be.
For that matter, he'd wondered in the past whether the glamour would affect someone who didn't know that this was a Miraculous in action. If he showed the picture to Adrien with no explanation, allowed him to think it was simply a fancy costume, would Adrien recognize his mother? Gabriel had seriously considered trying it last night, before...
He sighed, closing his eyes and burying his face in his hands as the memories of the previous night came pouring back.
He'd never truly hated Ladybug and Cat Noir. They were obstacles, annoying and frustrating obstacles, but he knew that wasn't their fault. They had no way of knowing what he intended to Wish for, what their refusal to simply surrender their Miraculously was costing him.
But now… now for the first time, he was truly angry at Ladybug.
It's not enough that you deny me my wife, he thought, you have to corrupt my son as well? The first good thing to happen to me since that day, the chance to watch Adrien at least get to feel what I've lost, and you have to take that away?
Suddenly, a wave of power flowed through him. His aimless frustration and anger were purified into purpose by some strange mental alchemy, and he heard a woman's voice in his mind.
"Menelaus," she said, voice kindly and inhumanly melodic, "I am Hawkmoth…"