"This is Nooroo," Gabriel said, indicating the shivering kwami in his hands. "He's the kwami of the Butterfly Miraculous."

Chat Noir held himself steady even though internally, his entire world was crashing in. Father… knows what a kwami is? He knows what Miraculous are? He knows about the Butterfly Miraculous? How did he get that kwami? The Butterfly Miraculous has been lost for most of known recent history, according to Master Fu. How did Father get it? His brain was trying to keep up with his questions, but Chat Noir didn't like the answers that were forming.

Ladybug aggressively pursued the truth. "Where did you get him? What's happened to him?"

"Patience, Ladybug. I will answer the first question in time. The second one… I will answer now. You will need to take him to the Guardian to be healed. I know you know what happened to the last akuma. The Sting from Serket caused a great deal of psychic backlash. Nooroo absorbed the brunt of it, since I was transformed. I… have also been affected."

Chat Noir began pacing the office. He burst out, "Transformed? Affected? What are you talking about, Fa - Mr. Agreste?!" His voice rose with every word.

"Chat Noir. I am Hawk Moth," Gabriel said with finality.

"No, you couldn't possibly be Hawk Moth!" Chat was practically yelling now. "You - you were akumatized! I remember… we were here! The Collector! Before that, an akuma almost killed you by making you jump off of a roof! Akumas have targeted your son on at least three occasions!" He stopped pacing and whirled on Gabriel. "It's impossible!" his voice trembled.

"I assure you that not only is it possible, it's the truth," Gabriel said indifferently.

"But… why?" Ladybug asked.

"That is a long story. But before I tell it to you, I owe you something."

"You owe us a lot more than that," spat Chat Noir. Ladybug looked at him with concern.

"Ladybug… on the table behind you is a white box. In it is the Butterfly Miraculous. Please return that to the Guardian when you take Nooroo to be healed." His shaking hands passed the kwami over to Ladybug.

"Why are you giving us the Miraculous now? I thought you wanted our Miraculous so you could rule the world?" scoffed Ladybug as she picked up the box and examined the brooch inside. I can't tell if this is authentic or not… but the fact that Nooroo is here is a pretty good indication. I never saw Mr. Agreste with a brooch before, but that doesn't mean he couldn't have concealed it somehow. We'll have to be very careful… if this is a trap, we've pretty much just walked right into it. Her mind shifted gears before she could stop it. If this turns into a battle, we'll have to make sure Adrien gets out of harm's way quickly. I wonder if he knows? Poor Adrien… first his mother disappears, and now his father's a supervillain. I'll have to check in on him… if he'll see me. If it were me, I'd want to hide under the biggest rock on the planet! She shook her head to clear her mind, and opened her yo-yo. She gently placed Nooroo and the Butterfly Miraculous inside, then closed it again.

"I never wanted to rule the world," said Gabriel. He paused. "I only wanted your Miraculous for the wish that it would grant. You will have your hands full enough with Serket that combatting an akuma at the same time will most likely result in your destruction, Serket stealing the Miraculous for herself, or worse yet, the destruction of the Miraculous."

"You wanted our Miraculous for a wish…?" Ladybug started. "But… why? What wish?"

"To save my wife," Gabriel responded.

"Save your wife…?" Chat Noir said, on the border of hysteria.

"To save my wife. Emilie Agreste fell irreversibly ill due to the power of a Miraculous, and it's only the wish that will save her."

"B-b-b-but… she disappeared! Nobody knows where she is! She went on a vacation and never came back! Everybody knows that!"

"That was just a cover story. Emilie has been here in the mansion for this entire time, trapped in a magical sleep. I'll take you to see her in just a moment if you would like to confirm my story."

It was too much for Chat Noir. Growling and tearing at his hair, he resumed pacing. "This isn't possible! She's alive? And you're a supervillain trying to get her back? And you destroyed Paris repeatedly - and almost killed your son in the process? This can't be true! None of this can be true!" Without any warning, he flung his staff out a window, shattering it. He leaped after his staff, caught it in midair, and vaulted off into the night.

"Chat Noir! Chat!" Ladybug ran to the window and peered out. She turned to Gabriel. "I need to go after him. But mark my words, Mr. Agreste, or Hawk Moth, or whatever you're calling yourself - this isn't over. Not by a long shot." She flung her yo-yo out in pursuit of her partner and streaked away in a blur of red.

Yo-yo swinging from roof to roof, Ladybug called out "Chat!" every few seconds to see if he would answer. After over an hour of searching for him, she dropped on a roof. She checked the tracking app on her yo-yo for a sign of her partner, but got no result. Out of frustration, she called for her Lucky Charm. Maybe this will lead me to him.

A red-and-black candle fell from the air. "Ok, fine, I'll go see Master Fu!" she grumbled. "I just need to check on Kitty first!" Her earrings started chirping. She de-transformed, got a cookie out of her purse, and handed it to Tikki. She then dug back in her purse and pulled out her flip phone. She started composing a series of texts. Please, Kitty… please, please, please...

Chat Noir ran.

He leaped from roof to roof and vaulted if the jump was too large, but most of all, he ran. The wind in his ears wasn't enough to drown out the memories of his father's voice from earlier that evening, so he ran faster. He ran to escape the memories of the akuma attacks, the memories of the times his father missed dinner, the times he was called away from time with friends to fight…

When he could run no longer, when the weight of those memories caught up with him and pinned him down, he de-transformed and collapsed on a roof. The moonlight from the Paris night sky spotlighted young Adrien Agreste, teen idol and one of the most recognizable faces in the city, curled up against a chimney sobbing. Plagg nestled underneath his chin and purred in attempt to comfort his charge.

"Why, Plagg?" Adrien finally said, his voice small. "Why did he do that to me?"

"I don't have an answer, kid. Chances are if he knew you were Chat Noir, it would just be worse since he'd just take your Miraculous… or even try to force you to fight with him against Ladybug."

"Why didn't he tell me about Mother?" he whispered.

Plagg didn't have an answer to that.

"Nathalie, too… she knew! She knew! She could have told me!"

"She probably was acting on orders from your father," Plagg pointed out.

"All of this… right under my nose… Mother…" Adrien sobbed again. His flip phone buzzed. "Crap," he said. "I've gotta let her know I'm ok. I'm not sure I even know where I am, but still…" He pulled out the phone and flipped it open. "Huh, I must have missed some messages." He read:

[LB] Kitty? I hope you're ok

[LB] I know you've got your ears off since I can't find you on the tracker

[LB] and that's ok

[LB] I don't know what happened or what's going on but I'm here for you if you need to talk

[LB] just text me back and tell me you're ok and I'll stop Lady-bugging you /(%)\

[LB] gotta see master fu but I swear I'll drop everything for you, just tell me when

[LB] please let me know you're ok

Adrien smiled and wiped his eyes again. She's so sweet. I know tonight was rough on her as well, and I just left her to deal with it by herself. She has every right to be mad at me for ditching her, but here she is. His thumbs danced over the keys.

[CN] I'm here and I'm safe, Bug. Far from ok but I'll get there =^.^=

[CN] thanks for checking in. I'll get there. text you later, ok?

[LB] :) so glad you're safe. ttyl /(%)\

Marinette flipped her phone shut and let out a deep breath. "Tikki… what could have set him off like that?"

I can think of one really, really big reason, the kwami thought. But there's no way on Earth I can tell you right now. Maybe Master Fu will give you permission… after all, as the Guardian, you'll have to know who all the Miraculous holders are. But in this case… I don't know if it's the right call. You still fall to pieces around Adrien, and knowing that he's Chat Noir would throw your partnership way out of balance.

"Tikki?" Marinette prompted.

"Sorry, Marinette," Tikki answered around a mouthful of cookie. She swallowed and continued, "I imagine it was the stress of finding out who his nemesis was after all this time. I know Chat's protected Adrien a few times in akuma battles, so maybe they're close." Closer than you realize. "You're the level-headed one of the pair, and Chat is more of a force of nature. It's natural that you two would react differently." That's as close to the truth as I could safely get.

Marinette hummed and carefully placed the phone back in her purse. The Butterfly brooch and Nooroo were still nestled in there. "I know my lesson with Master Fu is tomorrow night, but we've gotta get over there now before Nooroo gets any worse. Master Fu will have to teach me about healing kwamis eventually anyway," she sighed. "Come on, Tikki, let's go."

She called for her transformation and swung away toward the right bank of the Seine, where hopefully more answers than questions awaited her.

Ladybug landed in front of Master Fu's apartment building and entered. She quickly de-transformed in the stairwell and knocked at his door. Master Fu opened the door cautiously and said, "Marinette! Come in! I wasn't expect…" His words faded as he saw the stricken look on Marinette's face. "Tea. You need tea. Come, come." He pulled her in and closed the door.

Once they were seated in the kitchen, Fu poured Marinette tea from a kettle on the stove. "Tell me what is troubling you, Marinette." In response, Marinette opened her purse and took Nooroo out. Fu's eyes opened wide as he took in the kwami's appearance. "He is not well… he must be seen to immediately. Finish your tea. I will meet you in the main room."

Marinette drank her hot tea as quickly as she could. This never fails to relax me. When she finished, she ran to the main room, where Fu was kneeling over Nooroo. The kwami was laying on the mat with the grimoire opened next to him. There was a small gong and mallet next to Fu.

"Marinette, we must hurry. I will show you how kwamis are healed. It is a matter of strengthening their connection to the Miraculous. I assume you have the Butterfly?"

Marinette pulled it out of her purse and handed it wordlessly to the Guardian.

"Excellent, thank you." He placed the brooch next to Nooroo and picked up the grimoire. "The incantation to strengthen the bond between a kwami and a Miraculous is right here. Repeat after me, please." He began to speak some words in something that resembled Chinese.

Her limited Chinese skills notwithstanding, Marinette successfully followed along. At the end of the incantation, Marinette picked up and lightly tapped the gong.

Fu smiled. "I will have to teach you how to read the grimoire. There is so much you can learn through its study. We will commence that tomorrow night. Now… tell me how you came into possession of the Butterfly Miraculous."

Marinette related the events of the afternoon with Serket and evening with Gabriel Agreste to her mentor. When she described what happened to Gabriel, Fu nodded. "Hawk Moth… well, Mr. Agreste is very lucky. He could have been injured much worse than he actually was. Magical injuries are not something to trifle with, and can only be fixed in the most extreme circumstances."

"Master Fu… Mr. Agreste said that he wanted to use a wish to heal his wife. That's why he wanted the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous. Why won't Lucky Charm heal her? Why didn't it heal Alya? Why wouldn't it have healed Mr. Agreste?"

"You remember what I told you about the wish back when we first discussed it, yes?" Fu asked. Marinette nodded. Fu continued, "There must be balance in all things. When you use Lucky Charm to create something, it is by necessity only temporary. Your Lucky Charms are all designed to expire or be destroyed at some point."

"But Miraculous Ladybug… that's permanent."

"It's permanent in the sense that it is reversing effects of destruction. It is restorative, not creative, even though it uses the creative energies that helped form the Lucky Charm."

"So how is that different than the wish?"

"The wish is permanent because it is balanced in its nature. It combines the powers of Creation and Destruction. Creation to fulfill the wish; Destruction to take the balance. Does that make sense?"

Marinette nodded. "How does one make the wish?"

Fu smiled. "That is a lesson for another time. There are things I need to… teach you about first. There are fragments of the steps in the grimoire, but you will have to know how to decipher it first. We start tomorrow night." The finality with which he said it indicated that the subject was closed.

"What will happen to Nooroo?"

"I will return the Butterfly Miraculous to the Miracle Box. Nooroo will join his fellow kwamis there. He will be celebrated and allowed to rest for a season. And speaking of rest, Marinette… you have had a long, difficult day. You must go home and rest now. We will meet here again tomorrow night."

Marinette thanked Master Fu and left his apartment. Once she reached the street, Tikki poked her head out of her purse. "You're not going to use Ladybug to get home?"

"I need to clear my head, Tikki. The walk will do me good."

"This isn't the way to your house, though!"

"I know. There's something else I need, too." Something I can only get from one person.

Twenty-five minutes later, Marinette arrived at the houseboat. She could hear a guitar faintly playing on the deck. "Luka?" she called softly.

The guitar stopped playing, and Marinette heard footsteps. "Marinette!" Luka whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"I… need you right now."

"Sure, what's up?" He extended his hand and helped her onto the deck.

"I can't talk about it. I just need… this." She embraced him and buried her head into his chest.

"Are… you're crying," he said, a touch of fear in his voice. "Marinette, what happened?"

But she only cried more and didn't answer. Luka felt a buzz against his hip. Marinette wiped her eyes. "Sorry," she said. She pulled a flip phone out of her purse and read the message. Smiling, she tapped a quick response and put the phone away.

"Marinette. Please, I want to help you. What was that?"

"I… can't tell you. It was something important with… ugh, I can't explain. Just… trust me on this one for now, okay?" She nestled up against him and said, "Please… hold me."

Against his better judgment, Adrien was back in his bedroom. He locked his door and pushed his chair up against it to keep any unexpected visitors out. I guess with Hawk Moth out of the picture, I'm technically safe... but to be honest, I just don't want to deal with Father right now. Or ever. I'm not sure I'll ever be able to forgive him. I've heard of "the ends justify the means", but this is going way too far.

I feel so stuck! I can't talk to Ladybug about this as Adrien because she doesn't know that I know. I can't talk to her about this as Chat Noir because she doesn't know that Chat Noir is Adrien. I'm starting to get really sick of this "secret identity" thing.

C'mon, Agreste… think! There's got to be someone I can talk to about this. I don't know where the Guardian is located or how to get in touch with him… which really stinks right about now. He's the only one I know of who knows me on both sides of the mask. But then again… Ladybug is the new Guardian, so she *should* know who I am… if she doesn't already… but again, that's a secret identity dance I don't want to do again.

OK, so… can't get in touch with the Guardian, probably shouldn't let Plagg out of my sight if Serket is still on the loose so using him to get to the Guardian is out… can't talk to Ladybug about this… well… actually, maybe I *can*.

He pulled out his flip phone, tapped out a message, and waited.

[CN] Hey… just dropped in on Adrien. Can you visit him tomorrow for me? He's not doing the greatest.

[LB] of course. will check in on u tmrw too

Things are never going to be the same after tonight.