Ladybug entered her suite at the Agreste mansion via the bathroom window. She quickly walked through the suite to make sure nobody was in there and the door was locked, and de-transformed. She took a cookie from the tray that was left on the table in the bedroom and playfully tossed it to Tikki, who caught it gratefully.
Marinette walked over to the mirror and examined herself. Her left elbow was wrapped in a bandage, and her forearms were covered in angry red marks. I did this… just to keep my secret identity safe. Stupid! She shook her head at herself, opened up her purse, and pulled out her flip phone. She went to send a message, but instead chose a contact and pressed the Call button.
Adrien was at the piano playing a piece from memory when his phone rang. He grabbed the phone and gaped at the name on the screen. "Hello?"
"Hi, Adrien… just checking to see if you're home," he heard Ladybug's voice on the other end of the line.
"Yes! Just playing a bit of piano, don't mind me."
"Do you have anything I can plug a flash drive into?"
"Yes, you can use my computer. When do you think you'll be over?"
"Give me five minutes, will that work?"
"That's fine. Have you eaten? There's lunch over here waiting."
He heard the smile in her voice as she answered, "If there's lunch, then give me two minutes. See you then."
"Bye," he ended the call. "My Lady," he added.
True to form, Ladybug was perched in his bedroom window a short time later. He waved her inside and got up to join her at the table. "Are you hungry? We've got a sandwich tray, some cookies, some cheese… if you don't like anything, I'll just have Chef send up some more…"
"It looks delicious, Adrien, and thanks," she cut him off. "Speaking of Chef, be sure to thank her for me for those cookies in my room. They're really good."
"Chef makes the second-best cookies in Paris. I'm glad you like them!"
"Second-best, huh? Who makes the first?" Ladybug asked, a sly smile on her face.
"Marinette's bakery does… or did, I guess. That's a shame; I hope they can rebuild."
"Me too, Adrien. I really love that family," Ladybug said, staring off into the distance. Realizing what she had said, she snapped herself back to reality and continued, "So! The thumb drive. What do you have for me?"
Adrien gestured over to his computer. "Make yourself at home. And while you do that, I'll make you a sandwich. Do you have any preference?"
"You really don't have to, you have done enough…"
"Ladybug, I insist. Now, do you have a preference?" Adrien politely yet firmly repeated.
"No… no preference. Make me something you like," she said gratefully. She sat down at Adrien's desk, woke his computer up, and inserted the thumb drive that Master Fu had given her. She opened the copy of the grimoire and started scrolling through it.
Adrien looked up from the lunch table to see what Ladybug was looking at. He saw ancient drawings of costumed heroes next to an ancient code up on the monitors. Plating a ham and cheese sandwich, he grabbed a bottle of water and brought it over to the desk. "Here you go," he said. "Mind if I pull up a chair?"
"Not at all," Ladybug replied, taking a bite from the sandwich. "I'm looking up something from a book that Master Fu gave me that is basically an instruction manual for the Guardian."
"Oh, the grimoire? Doesn't Father have a copy of that?"
Ladybug nearly dropped her food. "Yes! You're right, he does, unless he got rid of it. I returned it to him after The Collector… sorry," she finished lamely.
"No, that's OK. I'm doing better about that now. A bit. Do you want me to see if he still has it?"
"Stay here. I can get it later if we have to," she said, then continued scrolling through it. "Each page details the powers of the Miraculous. There's not a lot about the kwamis in here; from what I gathered, knowledge of the kwamis and the Miraculous was intentionally kept separate to keep someone from finding the grimoire and abusing the secrets in here. Not that it's easy to decipher the code, or anything like that… but the kwamis wouldn't be able to decipher it even if they wanted to. Whoever came up with this system is pretty genius, if you ask me. There is definitely balance inherent in this system. And speaking of balance…" she halted on a page that had Ladybug on one side and Chat Noir on the other side, with coded words densely packed between the two. "Yes, this is what I was looking for."
"You can read the code?" Adrien said, squinting at it.
"Master Fu taught me, then quizzed me every time he saw me since then. It's not difficult once you know it, thankfully… but I can see how it could be forgotten, too. I can't teach you, but I'll tell you what this page says. I think you'll be interested." She shot him a smile and took another bite of her sandwich.
"If you think you should, I mean…" He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't want to get in the way of official Guardian business."
"Like I said, I think you'll be interested. Here: While any two Miraculous can be combined, using the powers of Creation and Destruction allows the wearer to make a Wish for anything. Beware - to maintain balance, there is an opposite reaction to everything that is Wished for.
"The Ladybug and Black Cat are a special combination. Balanced, they are yin-and-yang to each other. When both the Ladybug and Black Cat are active, they will find themselves drawn together… OK, we can probably stop here." She squinted at the rest of the page. "The rest of this is just describing the incantation to perform the Wish. Do you mind if I print this out?"
Adrien put his hand over Ladybug's on the mouse, guided it to the Print icon, and clicked. "There's your answer," he said, pinking a bit. "So… a Wish for anything, huh? Why were you looking at that?"
Ladybug put her hands in her lap and swiveled a bit to face him. Fidgeting a bit, she said "You may not know this, Adrien… but your father was trying to get the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous so he could make that Wish and save your mother."
"Really?" Adrien's face was a mask, revealing nothing. "He… never mentioned it."
"He didn't tell me directly, either, but he told Chat about it. Chat wants to consider using the Wish to save Emilie… and I want to get your opinion on that."
"My opinion? I'm flattered, but… why ask me? Other than the obvious… matters of the Miraculous should stay with the Guardian, don't you think?" He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck again, squirming a bit as he did so.
Ladybug placed her forearms on her knees. "It directly involves you, Adrien. And you have proven yourself worthy to wield a Miraculous. And," she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, "I value your opinion, regardless of the first two qualifications."
Adrien leaned back in his chair and frowned. "Well, I think it goes without saying that of course I want Mother back. As far as Father… I've had a really hard time dealing with him being Hawk Moth. I'm not going to lie about that. I'm not sure I understand how he came to be the biggest supervillain Paris had ever seen. He was a good man. He worked hard. He was creative, loving, generous… and then Mother disappeared. You know how he is now; I wonder if bringing Mother back would do him any good? Has he forgotten how to be the person he used to be? Would it even change anything? Would Mother want to be with him, knowing what he did while she was, well, sick? I know this Wish is supposed to be for anything… but would it be worth it?"
Ladybug reached out and took his hands in hers. The emotion that Adrien was keeping behind his carefully-practiced public mask burst through in overflowing waves, and he collapsed forward in his chair, resting his head on her forearms. His shoulders shook as weeks… months… years of frustration with his home life poured out.
My heart breaks for this poor boy. It's a good thing I've got my Ladybug mask on, because I'm not sure I would have been able to handle this as Marinette. She gently pulled his hands toward her until she could put them on her shoulders. She reached around his back and pulled Adrien closer until his head was resting on her shoulder. After a few minutes, she could make out words in between the sobs.
"Sorry… silly… making a mess…" he blubbered into her costume.
Ladybug stroked his hair and made shushing noises to soothe him. When the sobbing passed, she looked around for a tissue and spotted a handkerchief on the desk. That's odd… I could have sworn that wasn't there a minute ago! Oh well… I'm not going to complain. She handed the handkerchief to Adrien, who dabbed at his eyes and blew his nose before he lifted his head off of her shoulder.
Red-rimmed green eyes met red-masked blue eyes. "Really… I'm sorry, Ladybug… your costume is probably a huge mess now. I shouldn't have lost control like that."
Ladybug smiled tenderly. "It sounds like you've been keeping that in for a while. It's OK, Adrien. I'm glad you finally got it out. It looks like I'm not the only one who has been hiding things behind a mask." She reached out again and gripped his hands, staring into his eyes. "For what it's worth, Adrien… I've seen your mother. I spoke with your father. I think… I think he's sincere, and capable of change. I also think he wants to change, Adrien. He's hurt you and made your life miserable in ways I can't even imagine. Maybe you should talk to him and tell him your concerns."
"I can't do that, Ladybug. I'm not strong."
"I'm strong with you, Adrien."
His head jerked back at the familiar exchange. In a tiny voice, he asked "Will you… come with me?"
"Do you think that's wise? I don't want to intimidate your father into doing anything he normally wouldn't, and I also don't want to have it look like I'm forcing you to do anything."
"Wait at the door, then. Can you do that for me, please?" Adrien's wide eyes searched Ladybug's desperately.
"Yes, Adrien, I can do that for you. When would you like to go?"
"Is now OK?"
"Are you sure you can handle it?"
"No… but I need to." He stood up out of his chair and stretched. Steeling himself, he held out his hand. Ladybug took it without a second thought and stood up. They left Adrien's room and went down the stairs hand-in-hand to the door of Gabriel's office.
Ladybug gave him a squeeze, whispered "Good luck," and watched as Adrien entered the room.
"Adrien," Gabriel said, his head snapping up from his computer terminal. With long strides, he closed the distance to where the boy was standing. He reached out as if to hug Adrien, but let his hands fall to his sides instead.
"Father," Adrien said warily in response.
Gabriel rocked back on his heels. "It's been… a while since we've seen each other."
"It's not like we've seen each other that much for the past two years," Adrien pointed out politely, but with an unmistakable edge in his voice. "In fact, the last time I did see you, it was because your assistant told you to take me out for dessert."
"That's… true," Gabriel said, abashed. "And… that was my fault. For what it's worth… I'm sorry."
Adrien paced in place, nervous energy filling his body. "Sorry? Sorry? I did everything you asked me to do! I was your perfect son, your model… I would have done anything you asked just to spend time with you! And in the meantime, you're off being a supervillain, trying to take over the world!"
"I never wanted to take over the world, Adrien." Gabriel's voice shook. "As I explained to Ladybug and to Chat Noir, I just wanted to bring Emilie back. That's all I wanted to do. I regret the suffering I caused and the rift in my family… in our family. Do you know why I haven't come to see you? I've been ashamed. I'm ashamed to be called your father. I haven't earned that title over the past couple of years. And… I hope you can forgive me. Eventually," he concluded with a sigh.
"Forgive you? For being a bad father and a terrorist?" Disbelief was etched on his face and in his voice.
"I just wanted your mother back!" Gabriel snapped. "Not just for me… but for you!" He took a deep breath to calm himself. "Sorry. Your mother and I had… big dreams for the Miraculous. We wanted to help people. After she started getting sick… I got desperate. Obsessed. I wanted my Emilie back, Adrien. And I know you want her back, too. I hope one day you find someone in your life that you would do anything for to save them."
Adrien opened his mouth, then shut it. I do have someone that I would do anything for… and she's waiting outside these doors for me. If Ladybug turned evil, would I risk it all to get her back? If she was hurt, would I hurt people to get her back? If she died, would I be willing to kill to avenge her? He shuddered at where his mind was taking him. Father would do all that for Mother, he realized. I'm too blinded from being on the receiving end of him risking everything. After all, he and I have the same goal now. "Can I see her?" he whispered.
"Of course, Adrien." Gabriel smiled tenderly. "The entrance to her chamber only admits one person at a time, so I will have to show you how to use it." He moved to his mother's portrait and beckoned to a stunned Adrien, who paused for a beat before racing over to his father. Gabriel placed Adrien's fingers over certain parts of the portrait. "Just press here and the elevator will take you there. I'll be right behind you."
"Elevator?" gaped Adrien before pressing the buttons. The floor opened up beneath him, and he descended into darkness.
Adrien stepped off the platform when it stopped moving. He heard a whirring behind him, and less than a minute later, his father joined him. Gabriel put his hand on Adrien's shoulder and guided him to a panel, where he flipped four light switches, illuminating the chamber. Adrien's eyes scanned the room. He held out a finger, and a small white butterfly landed on it. He watched in awe as the butterfly sat there, then flitted away after a few seconds.
"Bye bye, little butterfly…" he whispered under his breath.
"Come, Adrien." Gabriel strode across the bridge to where Emilie's sarcophagus was. Adrien tentatively followed, his footsteps on the metal bridge echoing throughout the room. When he reached the sarcophagus, he gasped and felt his eyes fill with tears once more. He put his hand on the glass, then looked over to his father, who smiled and nodded sadly.
"Mother…" Adrien choked out. He staggered away from the sarcophagus, tears clouding his vision. "All this time… she was right here. And you…" he hammered his fist ineffectively on Gabriel's chest. "You were keeping her from me! So many secrets… Mother… the Miraculous… Hawk Moth…" Each point was punctuated with another blow to Gabriel's chest. "I do have someone that I love like that… but I could never hurt people like you did. I understand what you did, Father. But I don't think I could ever forgive you."
Gabriel pulled Adrien closer to him and held him tight, his own tears racking his body. "I'm sorry, son. I never meant to lose you, too."