"Nino! Come on! I have to get this battle on my Ladyblog!"

Alya dragged the fumbling DJ through the wreckage of fallen buildings and cars and billboards strewn across the road. He looked up to see Ladybug and Chat Noir dancing across the rooftops in a fight against Hawkmoth, fist to fist, kick to kick. It was a whirlwind of attacks, and yet neither side seemed to be winning.

"Watch out!" Nino could only see a blue BMW being thrown in his direction. He shoved Alya on the ground and covered her with his body, preparing for an impending collision. Only it didn't come. After realizing that he wasn't dead, he peeked out to see a web of string stopping the car from its path.

Ladybug came in, sweat pouring down her face. She asked, "Are you guys okay?"
Nino merely nodded, and she zipped away to continue her fight against Hawkmoth. Alya groaned and said, "Nino~"
"Alya, we need to go! This isn't safe! No filming is more important than your life!"
Alya opened her mouth in protest, but merely shut it as she saw the mix of concern and anger on her boyfriend's face.

"You have never listened to me. So please listen to me this time. We almost died!"
Alya turned her eyes to the car nearby and nodded. She let Nino drag her towards the Dupain-Cheng bakery where Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng welcomed them with warm arms, their eyes fixated on the TV where Nadja Chamack was reporting on the current battle. Mr. Dupain-Cheng cried, "Have you seen my daughter?"

Nino shook his head, "Last I checked, Adrien took Marinette to safety." The father's shoulders relaxed a bit but his face still displayed his anxiety.

On the screen, Hawkmoth seemingly threw Chat Noir into a chimney, cracks spreading out around the cat as he groaned. He fell on the roof in a resounding oof. He attempted to get up, but his arm collasped underneath him. Alya whispered, "Do you think they'll be okay?"

Nino pushed back his doubts and tried to control the fear in his voice, "Y-yeah. They'll b-beat him like they always do. And then we'll find Adrien and Marinette, and then happy ever after. R-right?"
Tom Dupain-Cheng sighed, "We can only hope."

The camera trained itself on one Hawkmoth, his purple suit glinting in the sun. He was towering over Ladybug as he swung his staff in her direction. She barely managed to dodge, but she looked exhuasted. Dirt and bruises peppered her arms and forehead. Her suit was a darker red, soaked in blood from a wound on her forehead. Nino expected Hawkmoth to be relishing in his near victory. But surprisingly, there was no happy glint in his eyes. His body looked drained and he seemed almost reluctant in his battle, as if he couldn't bear to see the heroes of Paris to be beaten this close to death.

"Get away from her!" Chat Noir came growling in. His paw was covered in a black mist. He came in between his lady and Hawkmoth like a cat arched for a fight. He looked ready to defend his lady at any second, but he was huffing as if it was hard for him to breathe.

"Give me your miraculous, and I'll let you live. Contrary to belief, your deaths are not my intention." Hawkmoth offered a hand to the leather-cladded hero.
Chat Noir looked at his lady, who was coming in and out of consciousness. Nino whispered to the TV, "Don't do it Chat Noir."

Chat sighed and put on a smile, "My Lady, this will all be over soon." He patted her head with his left paw and pressed a kiss on her temple before pouncing on Hawkmoth. His right paw thrashed at the air in front of Hawkmoth, leaving black mist in its wake. Ladybug yelled, "No, Chat! We can't defeat Hawkmoth by killing him." Her voice dropped to a whisper, "Not like this."

Hawkmoth took a spare wooden plank as a shield just as Chat Noir's right paw was about to touch him. The plank rusted and crumbled. Chat faltered, at a loss. He was distracted long enough for Hawkmoth to land a kick on his chest. The cat stumbled backwards and flipped over. He joined his Lady and they exchanged looks.

Back at the bakery, Alya whispered, "I can't just stand here and do nothing."
It took a moment for Nino to register, "Wait, Alya-" but she was already out the door. Nino raced after her, dodging past cars in flames and people running for safety. He looked up in the sky to see Nadja's helicopter circling around the battle. Alya was not far ahead of him. He grimaced as she was almost crushed by a building, its sign still blinking 'Flowers'.

He went around the ruins and managed to grab Alya's hand. She struggled to free her hand. Nino demanded, "What do you think you're doing?"
"They need our help Nino!"
"We can't help them right now! We don't have miraculouses or anything. We'll get killed. We'll only be in their way. A liability!"
Alya huffed, "It's BETTER than NOTHING!" She gestured to the rooftop scene in front of them where the heroes were panting in front of Hawkmoth as they exchanged attacks. "They're dying! Miraculouses or not, we still have a responsibility to help them!"

She shook off Nino's grip and raced towards the building. Nino gazed after her retreating figure and felt at a loss. They're dying. We might lose. What's the point of even trying?

The DJ collasped on the ground. He watched helplessly as his girlfriend joined the heroes on the rooftop, throwing insults towards the villain. Hawkmoth didn't look amused and attempted to punch her, only for Ladybug to get the brunt of the force with Chat Noir attempting to catch her as both heroes tumbled towards the ground. Alya stood there. Alone.

Nino whispered, "Alya." Then, he ran like he never ran before. He soon found himself on the same roof, shielding Alya and the heroes from Hawkmoth's punches. He double-took and groaned, spitting out blood as it dripped from his mouth. Alya yelled, "Why are you doing this? Stop!"

Hawkmoth scowled, "You wouldn't understand young lady. You wouldn't understand a love where you would do anything to get that person back. Even waging war on Paris and her heroes, just for some hope." He spit some blood himself before thrusting more attacks towards Nino. Chat Noir pushed him out of the way and blocked the attacks. He shouted, "My Lady!"

Ladybug nodded and yelled, "Lucky Charm!" A camera dropped into her arms. She inspected the camera a bit.
Alya whispered, "What are you supposed to do about this?"

Ladybug began looking around for anything that could help her. Nino watched as Chat Noir was thrown towards them, normally missing them as he landed on the ground, his back making a sickening sound as it collided. Nino rushed over to the hero and saw just how worse for wear he truly was. His suit was peppered with holes and blood was streaming from unnatural spots. As Chat tried to get up, he grunted and instinctively reached for his chest. He cursed, "Damn. Some broken ribs." Nino faltered a bit. Chat Noir was never this serious. There were usually jokes being thrown around during battles. There was no such thing this time. Chat looked tired and determined, no inkling of amusement in his eyes.

Nino helped Chat to his feet as the hero panted for breath, his eyes squeezing in pain. "My Lady, we are running out of time." His ring beeped. Three paws left. Ladybug's earrings beeped as well. She whispered, "I don't know..."
She checked the camera again. She looked through previous photos and found only one, a recording. She pressed play and saw a video of a little boy playing with a toy moth action figure from the Spider-man collection. An unknown deep voice came in and asked, "What are you doing?" The voice was oddly familiar, but it held a sense of amusement and adoration. The boy gave a toothy smile to the person holding the camera. He exclaimed, "I'm playing with Mama!" The man laughed and a new voice spoke, flute-like. "Isn't he precious, Gabriel?"

Nino glanced up to see Hawkmoth, gazing at the ground, listening carefully. Tears welled up in his eyes. He whispered, "Emilie..."
The woman spoke again, "Promise me that we will always remain like this. A happy family."
The camera was still trained on the boy, whose attention drifted to some toy trains. The man chuckled, "I promise."

The video ended. Hawkmoth gasped and grasped his head. Nino saw Chat Noir freeze up, his claws clenching and unclenching. He was shivering slightly, gasping for breath. His features softened at Hawkmoth, but formed back into a growl. Beep. His ring protested the long transformation. Ladybug glanced at her partner in worry. She reached for his hand, but she faltered.

Hawkmoth whispered, "This is for you, Emilie."

He shouted as his fists landed on Chat Noir. The cat shouted, "Why didn't the Lucky Charm do anything?"

"Maybe, I haven't used it correctly!" Ladybug handed off the camera to Nino, who was shielding Alya away from the wreckage as her eyes fixated on the ensuing battle. Alya cried, "You got this Chat Noir! Ladybug!"
Nino whispered, "We need to get to safety. The Lucky Charm didn't work."
"Nino. I- fine. Let's go. They can't worry about us right now."

Just as the pair was going to leave. They heard a gasp. They turned and saw Ladybug being held by Hawkmoth, his staff at the hero's throat. He sneered, "Your miraculous, Chat Noir. For your lady."

Ladybug gasped, "Don't do it Chat!"

Chat's, however, gazed at her sadly. "It's my job to protect you." His grip on his staff loosened. "I would do anything for you."
"But Chat!"

BEEP. BEEP. Wide-eyed, Nino shielded his eyes as both hero's transformation dropped in a wave of pink and green light. Standing in front of them was Adrien, deeply bruised, a black eye forming. He collasped to his knees, his eyes not leaving his lady's. Marinette held in Hawkmoth's arms.

Nino and Alya gasped. Nino whispered, "Dude is that you?"
"Marinette?"

Marinette glanced at her and mouthed 'Sorry'

Alya shook her head and wiped some tears that were forming. Even Hawkmoth stumbled a bit as he realized who his enemies truly were. The only one's not reacting where the heroes themselves. Nino took Alya's hand and they forced her back onto solid ground, far away from the rooftop battle, but close enough where they could watch their friends with concern. Alya screamed from the ground in a hope to reach her friend, "We still believe in you Mari! You can do this! Don't worry about us! We'll go find shelter!"

Nino watched on as Chat -no- Adrien growled, "You wanted our miraculouses, right? Father." Adrien said the last part with a sneer.

On the rooftop, Hawkmoth released Marinette and grasped his head. He whispered, "This was not supposed to happen. Adrien-"
"I'm Chat Noir, father. After all this time. I know it's you under that mask. That's what the Lucky Charm was trying to tell us, huh? Who you were?" Adrien started spitting and growling. Marinette reached for him and hugged him from behind, trying to prevent the young boy from attacking Hawkmoth.

"Adrien. I did this for you. With the miraculouses, I can bring her back!" Hawkmoth cried. He detransformed, revealing Gabriel. He reached for his son, kneeling in front of him.
Adrien's eyes softened. "Can you really do that?" Marinette loosened her hold on him and he merely looked at the man in front of him.

Gabriel reached into his pocket and threw something in the air. A photograph floated into Marinette's hands. She took a look and saw a fair lady holding a familiar little boy and a grumpy man next to her, preserved in film. "W-wait, is that you?" asked Marinette. She pointed to the grumpy man. It was indeed Gabriel, significantly younger, with less wrinkles in his face, and even a small smile peeking behind his stoic face.

Gabriel ignored Marinette and took Adrien's hands into his own. "We can save her. You remember her, right? We can bring her back; we can bring back our family. I know I haven't gone about this the right way. If I knew my akuma attacks were putting you in direct danger, I would have stopped. But, I've gone past the point of no return. I can't stop now. You either give me your miraculous right now, Adrien, or I will take it from you."

Marinette said, "Adrien..." The boy was shivering and couldn't keep the water from falling down his face. "Hawkmoth! You have to stop! If you make a wish from our miraculouses you will suffer a fate far worse. You will have to pay a price. Please, stop!"

Gabriel sneered, ruining his normally stoic face, "Stop confusing Adrien. Let him decide for himself."

"Father. I want her back." Gabriel smiled. "But not like this." Adrien stumbled backwards into Marinette's arms. Adrien's father's smile quickly disappeared. He sneered, "Do you not want our family back?"

"I thought we were a family. Even after mother disappeared. Why couldn't we still be a family then? Why can't we now?" Adrien looked at his father with childlike curiousity. Marinette tightened her hold on him.

Gabriel shook his head. "It's not the same Adrien. But you made your choice. Nooroo, dark wings rise."

No longer was it Gabriel Agreste who stood before Paris's heroes. No. It was a heartbroken man. A hawkmoth.

MLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBMLBML

Nino screamed, "We have to get to them!" Dozens of police officers tried to restrain the poor boy. Alya cried, "They're our friends!"
Nino and Alya escaped to the bakery right after Ladybug and Chat Noir dropped their transformations. However, an intense light swallowed Paris. Afterwards, all hell broke loose. Police cars swarmed the building. Nino and Alya ran back to their friends only to be held back by the police barricade.

Ambulances pulled up and entered the building. Moments later, stretchers came out. Nino counted them. Only two. Nino stopped resisting and watched helplessly as medics wrapped Marinette in bandages to prevent the bleeding before loading her onto the van. Alya broke down, "Marinette."

Nino reached for his girlfriend, rubbing cricles in her back as he watched an ambulance drive off. On the second stretcher was a woman who looked oddly similar to Adrien with her fair skin and blonde hair wrapped over her shoulder. Medics were checking for injuries and a pulse, but deemed her fine except that she never once opened her eyes.

Soon, police officers came out of the building like bodyguards to a detransformed Hawkmoth who was carrying his son bridle-style. Tears ran down his face as he cried, "Save him, please!" The boy that Gabriel had neglected all these years was now limp in his arms. Nino stifled a cry. Alya buried her head into his arms. Medics came over and immediately checked Adrien. Nino whispered, "Is he-?"

The medics whispered something in Gabriel's ear. The man crumpled, hugging himself as his suit got ruined. The man, usually so strict on his son, a workaholic bent on one goal, was now realizing the consequences of his narrow-mindedness.

He whispered, "Ms. Dupain-Cheng was right. I was too focused on Emilie that I neglected the consequences, I forgot about Adrien."

Gabriel reached for the brooch and tore it off him, flinging it as far as he could. He couldn't bear look at the brooch, a reminder of the man he became, the man he was, the man he is. He is a moth, who flew too close to the light, who hoped for too much that he forgot about the ground below. He got burned, and now he's paying for it.

FIN

This is kind of depressing, not gonna lie, and really long for my standards. I wrote this while it was raining, so the vibes were perfect for this angsty one-shot. This is my first time writing a one-shot and a MLB work too. Hope you enjoyed it!
Eat. Sleep. Read. Repeat.

PM for story requests. I would love prompts for MLB fanfics.

From this corner of the world, signing off
Hope4all