I Do Not Own Miraculous or Avatar.
Chapter Sixty-Four: The Cat and Moth.
Adrien swam beside Appa and Katara. Seeing as how Marinette was only able to make one more water potion from the limited supplies found in that world, Adrien was the only Miraculous Holder swimming. He rode with Katara most of the way there, but now, as the approached the Great Gates of Azulon, his services were needed to render the gates completely useless. He unhooked the rope Marinette had given him from his belt and began to swim quickly ahead of the group. He just prayed Marinette and Sokka's predictions had been correct as he dove down and found the mechanism for the first net and began to fasten one end of the ropes to it. He swam over to the next mechanism and did the same. Finally, he could hear the muffled sounds of the alarms being sounded and the gates being activated.
"Crap." He muttered, "I need to buy more time... Cataclysm!" Adrien grabbed the rope and as his claws touched, the nets began to dissolve with their mechanisms into ash. He looked behind him and silently noted that the invaders seemed to be already boarding their submarines. Mission one, completely ruin the Great Gates of Azulon had been completed. Now he needed to drive off any firebenders from the boats and act as a distraction while the others continued on. Once they cleared that area, he was to swim quickly and board one of the submarines before his Miraculous ran out. He expanded his staff and it launched him out of the water. He landed on a deck to one of the watertribe boats just as several firebenders came with jet skis. He smirked and checked his ring. Four minutes. That was all the time he needed.
"Hey! You guys looking for me?" He called. The firebenders attacked, jumping onto his boat without hesitation.
"It's Cat Noir! Get him!" a guard ordered. Adrien activated his staff and lunged, narrowly dodging fire blasts and knocking the firebenders out. His ring beeped urgently, informing him that he now had three minutes to get to ether Katara and Appa, or a sub. I glanced up, noting that the other ships were now completely abandoned like his was. The others had successfully boarded the submarines and were making their way undetected past the now completely ruined Gates of Azulon. He smirked and dove into the boat's cabin and locked it with his staff before opening the secret hatch and diving head first into the water. Water began to pour into the boat, causing the firebenders on board to panic and abandon it, moving onto the next boat instead, even though Adrien knew it was very empty at that point. Adrien swam as fast as he could after the others, catching another glimpse at his handiwork with the gates.
"Well…" Adrien said, mostly to himself, "If nothing else, we did just take down one of the greatest military barcades in the Fire Nation. That should leave them pretty vulnerable no matter what goes down at the capitol." His ring simply let out another beep, warning him he now had two minutes to enter a sub or get on Appa with Katara. He got to one of the hulls and banged on the hatch. It opened and a swampbender kept all the water from spilling in as he climbed inside. He detransformed right then and there, but a wild grin was on his face.
"The Gates of Azulon are no more. Mission one complete. Now, the capitol."
"Well done, son." Adrien jerked his head up in surprise, realising he'd boarded the sub that his father was on.
"Oh, hello father." Adrien said with a smile, reaching into his satchel for cheese. Also in that submarine, Adrien could see several Earthbender soldiers and a few swampbenders. No one he really recognized.
"Woah, that spirit magic trick is really neat." An earthbender remarked.
"Er, thanks." Adrien said, giving the cheese to a really hungry Plagg before wandering over to his father's side.
"They were just talking about how you just destroyed the Gates of Azulon without even trying." Gabriel explained, "Everyone here seems rather fascinated by our 'spirit magic.'"
"Well, I am the Miraculous wielder of destruction… so… it's kinda our thing, right Plagg?"
"HmmMmm…" Plagg mumbled. Adrien sat down next to Gabriel, his face growing serious immediately as his voice went low.
"What's your update on Zuko?" Adrien asked in a hushed tone. Gabriel shook his head sadly.
"A decisive moment will likely occur today. He plans to betray Ozai, I just do not know when." Gabriel admitted, "I am not a telepath without a Guāng Papillion, just an empath. I can only sense strong emotions and am able to discern the cause for those strong emotions. He seems upset with his father, that is clear, though I do not now why or how this would lead to a resolution such as the one I sense Zuko has come to. Unfortunately, all we can do is hope that we reach the palace in time to prevent the lad from attempting something foolish that might very well get him killed." Adrien's shoulders shrank. He could only imagine what Zuko might've been going through at that moment. Adrien kept running terrible scenarios in his head as to what might have caused the change and what Ozai would do once he learned Zuko's loyalties seemed to be shifting. The worst being Ozai had some terrible and immoral plan up his sleeve that Zuko didn't agree with and Ozai going so far as to kill Adrien's friend. The best being that Zuko just felt guilty so he wanted to reform and would escape with another banishment or scar. Heck, Adrien just hoped nothing terrible happened at all and that Zuko would notice the invasion and would wisely slip away in all the chaos with hopes that Adrien and Gabriel could track him down later…
Or… maybe...
"Father… do you know who your champion will be in this battle?" Adrien asked suddenly. Gabriel looked at his son with confusion.
"Adrien you know I will choose one out of the men we have here once we make contact."
"Does it have to be one of our men? We could need all of them to win this thing. Every hand we've got… so maybe… if you could find a firebender with a righteous heart and a desire to bring about a change… you could…you know!" Adrien motioned wildly as his mimicked Zuko's dual blades. Gabriel's expression slackened.
"Why that just might work!" Gabriel said, "It would protect Zuko during the eclipse and aide our cause!"
"Well then, what are you waiting for?" Adrien asked. Gabriel paused.
"No. We can't now. He is in a state of change, yes, but in order to keep our element of surprise and protect the boy… I'll have to do it when he's at his turning point. I have to do it when his is ready to face his father and has said his piece."
"That's too risky." Adrien said, "Aang needs to be the one to face Ozai, not Zuko, or the balance won't be properly restored.
"I will be in complete control. Zuko will not lay a finger on Ozai, I promise." Gabriel said with a curt nod. Adrien smiled.
"Thank you, father." Adrien said warmly. Gabriel managed a small smile.
"For you son, anything." Gabriel said, looking away slightly.
"Even a birthday party when I turn eighteen in september?" Adrien asked playfully, not really meaning it, since he knew his father disliked parties. Gabriel winced.
"I don't really see why not… my gosh… we've been here for so long… and you've grown so much since Emilie fell into her slumber. Eighteen?" Gabriel asked in a worried tone, "You must be joking. I could have sworn you were younger."
"I'm not. Heck, I'm pretty sure Mari's birthday is coming up soon, if it hasn't already passed. I kinda lost count of the days so I'm going based off of the seasons and Lunar calendars… which are hard to keep track of. She's going to be seventeen, like me. Crazy, huh?" Gabriel deflated.
"Have I really missed so much during my pursuits as Hawkmoth over the past few years? My son is a young man and his lover a young woman… and I missed you both growing up because of my selfishness…" Adrien wanted to object, but he couldn't really recall the last time he'd been in Paris and actually had spoken to his father about more than the business. They really had grown distant over the years. Sure, they caught up a bit while Aang was recovering from Ba Sing Se, but they still hadn't really taken nearly enough time to get to know one another again. He signed before raising his hand.
"Hello, my name is Adrien Agreste, son of Gabriel and Emilie Agreste. I have been modeling since I was little and my very first friend was a girl names Chloe. When I was fourteen, right before my fifteenth birthday, I was allowed to go to school for the very first time. Around that time I also became the Parisian hero, Cat Noir, who fought the evil Hawkmoth everyday with the love of my life. I loved being Cat Noir. It let me do things I wouldn't normally do. There was something about the anonymity to it that just made me want to let myself go and just enjoy life. I was always helping people. I've been told it's my weakness. According to Nino, I would always see the best in people first. I always give people second chances. Also around the time I became Cat Noir, I became really fascinated by physics and science and began to study it like crazy in my free time. When I wasn't fencing, taking classes, modeling, superheroing, or supporting my father's company, I always tried to hang out with my friends, Alya, Nino, Marinette, and Chloe… though I normally had to hang out with Chloe without the others because she likes to insult everyone." Adrien began. Gabriel looked a bit confused at first before his normally stoic expression began to melt into a warm smile.
"I planned on, before this whole jinx thing happened, which by the way: probably wrecked Mari and I's school life forever, going to a local college for physics and modeling part time for my father's company. Sometimes, during the night, and if I got really bold, I would transform into Cat Noir and just run around the city, enjoying how amazing my home was. I would sometimes stop by Marinette Dupain-Cheng's bakery and sneak snacks that I know Nathile would have frowned upon. I am really good a ditching my bodyguard during Akuma attacks and whenever I want to get some fresh air. I like to fence with our family friend, Kagami, and I am actually a really good martial artist in and out of costume, contrary to popular belief. I have a weakness for sweets and passion fruit, and I will do anything for a free chocolate croissant. I've been told by everyone I am pretty oblivious to everything and a bit of a dork. I collect puns in a book that I keep in my room and use them all the time to try and sway Ladybug's affections to me. I can't cook at all, but I'm really fast at learning anything else." Gabriel leaned back in his seat.
"Thank you, son." Gabriel admitted, "It's nice to know you are doing well… physics?"
"Yep." Adrien said with a smile, "Amongst other sciences. I've been looking into chemistry and biology, but I really physics the best. Something about science has always fascinated me. I'm actually really, really good at it. Just ask Marinette. I've tutored her and most of our class dozens of times."
"Not exactly fashion, like I had hoped, I admit… but after all we've been through, I understand why you would probably not be interested in the family business." Gabriel noted.
"Don't worry, like I said. I still plan on modeling for the company, but I kinda want to make my own name. If you haven't noticed, I've been kinda adamant about that lately. Besides, Marinette is a wonderful designer and a beautiful girl. I'm sure she'll do the Agreste family name proud."
"...You do realise that in order for her to continue the family name, she'd have to be an Argeste." Gabriel asked. Adrien chuckled.
"Oh, I know." He said with a smirk, "We are still kids, but it could happen. Heck, we probably are gonna change her last name to Agreste in the next few short years." Gabriel got really red at that. His expression was absolutely priceless. Adrien burst into laughter.
"I am not prepared for a transition such as that." Gabriel admitted, "Though you do have the blessing for it should you reach that point in your life."
"Well, Hawky. You are the Miraculous wielder of change. You should really get used to drastic transitions."
"...Fair." Gabriel chuckled.
It was at that time that the submarine let out a loud buzz. One of the Earthbenders loudly announced that they would be going to the surface for air in a few short minutes. The two Miraculous holders were brought back to reality in that moment, suddenly recalling what they were there for in the first place. Adrien looked down a little.
"...um… look, father. I'm going to be right in the front lines fighting besides my Lady. I know you are not really a man who goes out into these things, seeing as you need to focus on your champions. We aren't going to see much of each other during all this and… well… with the jinx and all that is going on… I guess I'm trying to say… if anything happens to me while I'm out there and if I don't come back-"
"You'll come back, son." Gabriel assured him, "I know you aren't the type of warrior to simply let his opponent win. I know that from first hand experience.
"Still… If I don't come back… I want you to keep my ring and find a new Cat Noir and I want you to look after Marinette for me. If anything happens, I don't want you to blame yourself and I don't want you trying to save what's already gone… and I want you to try and be happy. You know? Go home. Be with Nathile and Gorilla. Design stuff with Mari. Make puns and be a superhero like we were. Help people… stuff like that." Gabriel looked down at his brooch before looking at Adrien's ring.
"My son, you have my word."