"Cat Noir!" Ladybug felt on the verge of tears as she witnessed the most brutal murder. A son driven to rage by his father, only to take his revenge in the most horrifying way. Except that Hawk Moth wasn't dead. Instead of disintegrating, Ladybug watched in shock as his transformation dropped, giving way to the familiar and expected form of Gabriel Agreste. Cat Noir pulled his hand away, his fist clenched, then opened it. The broken pieces of the butterfly miraculous clattered against the tile floor.
Ladybug felt like a huge weight lift off her as she realized what happened. She was so scared for that brief moment that Cat Noir – Adrien, the boy she loved – had just murdered his own father. Despite all that had happened, she never would've wanted it to end that way.
Cat Noir still maintained a frown of disapproval, as though he looked upon something disgusting. Gabriel, no longer empowered by the miraculous, was just a man again, and he looked broken. The former arch-villain fell to his knees, looking in horror at the broken miraculous, and – surprisingly – began to cry. Cat Noir said nothing, just looked down in contempt at the man that knelt before him.
"Let's go," Cat Noir said, turning away from the pitiful sight. Ladybug couldn't help but feel some sorrow seeing the man like that, though she knew it was misplaced. After all the havoc he had caused throughout the city, turning her own friends and family into supervillains, this man was least deserving of pity out of anyone in the city.
A wave of energy washed over Gabriel as his transformation dropped. He had seen his life flash before his eyes, but he was still alive. Momentarily confused, he understood what happened as Cat Noir dropped the shattered miraculous of the butterfly to the floor. It was over, he had lost.
As the weight of his failure descended on him, Gabriel fell to his knees, tears springing to his eyes. He looked to the broken miraculous, seeing in it his ultimate failure. His one true love, lost to him forever, with any hope of ever having her again now shattered to pieces in front of him. He watched as Ladybug scooped up the remains of his miraculous and turned to leave.
Gabriel was a man that liked to be in control. In the last few weeks, he felt completely out of control. All of his plans, gone awry; his only son hardly spoke with him; his trusted assistant and only real friend was slipping away, possibly forever; and now the last thread of hope to reconnect him with his wife was gone. Gabriel was a broken man, given over now to tears and sorrow. As he began to cry, he choked out the words, "I'm sorry, Emilie."
Cat Noir felt a twang of pain as he heard the name uttered. He turned back toward his fallen nemesis, now wrapped up in sorrow, just as his ring sounded its first beep.
"What did you say?" he demanded, his tone harsh but also trepidatious.
"My wife, Emilie," his father explained, looking up through tear-soaked eyes, "Everything I did, I did for her."
Cat Noir heard Ladybug gasp, as though understanding suddenly struck her. Her sharp mind had reached a conclusion that Cat Noir was still searching for as he tried to maintain his grasp on reality. What does mom have to do with all this? he wondered, frustrated that he was missing something that should be obvious.
"What do you mean?" Cat Noir demanded with a sense of urgency, uncertain what to feel or think anymore.
"My Emilie," his father looked crestfallen, "she fell into a coma from using a broken miraculous. The only way to save her is… with the wish, using the Ladybug and Cat Noir miraculous."
"You mean she isn't missing?" Cat Noir's eyes went wide, reeling from this revelation, "Where is she?!" He took a few steps forward, standing right over his father, practically shouting at him as he did.
"She's here," he answered, no longer crying, but now looking alarmed at Cat Noir's tone, "I've kept her close so I could take care of her."
"Take us there," Cat Noir demanded, "Now."