The next week, just like the months before, flew by. It soon became time for us to fight Hawkmoth. Adrien's father let him stay at my place again tonight, so we planned to sneak out after leaving mom a note saying we went out for breakfast and would bring her back something later that day.

The morning of the fight, we woke up around 4:30 in the morning, and after making sure we were awake, transformed. I sighed heavily, biting my lip. "Alright, let's do this." I said softly, smiling at Adrien before opening my window and leaving my bedroom with him. We made our way to Hawkmoth's hideout quietly, watching as the city slowly began to wake up.

I was letting Adrien lead, since he already knew where it was. When I saw where we were heading, though, I froze. Adrien stopped, looking back at me nervously. "Jasper...? Hey, why'd you stop?"

"Adrien..." I started slowly, staring at the house we were heading straight for. "Why are we going to your house?"

He flinched at the question, rubbing the back of his head nervously and not meeting my gaze. "Um... H-Hawkmoth's lair, it's, uh..."

I didn't need to hear the rest though, as the dots connected in my head and my stomach suddenly dropped. "By the Angel, Adrien!" I shouted quietly, stepping closer. "Why didn't you- you can't fight your dad!" I said quickly, looking at the cat superhero with worry as I took his wrist in my hold. He still didn't meet my gaze, his cat ears flattening against his head sadly.

"I have to, Jasper. I can't let him keep doing this, and I really, really want answers." He said softly, voice barely audible as he seemed to slump in defeat. It hurt to see how this was eating Adrien up inside.

"Why... Why didn't you tell me?" I asked softly, and he shrugged helplessly.

"It-It didn't seem like something you needed to know..."

I stared at him, scoffing slightly in disbelief. "Not- Not something I needed to know?" I asked softly, dropping his wrist from my grip. "Adrien, you've been keeping this inside for months. Months!" I threw my hands in the air, exasperated. "I understand personal privacy, I understand having a terrible father. I get it, Adrien, but this isn't something you should keep to yourself! This isn't something you should have to deal with in your life!"

"What makes you so sure?" He asked defensively, tense again as he met my eyes. They were filled with hurt, and I held back a small sound of frustration and sadness.

"Because it shouldn't be a burden someone like you has to bear!" I snapped, making his eyes widen. I groaned in frustration into my hands, scrubbing my face for a moment before taking Adrien's hand again and pulling him to his house to wait for Ladybug. "Adrien, you are the sweetest boy I've ever met. You do everything you are told, you keep smiling even when you are hurting..." I said softly, having used the walk to his house as a chance to calm myself from my unexpected outburst. "You've been punished enough by your mother disappearing, and now this?" I smiled sadly at him, laughing weakly. "It's just wrong."

"But that's what happened. We can't change that, Jasper. I still don't see why I should have told you... You were going to find out eventually." Adrien mumbled, looking down at the roof of his home, frowning at it.

"Because it might have eased the pain?" I suggested softly, letting go of his wrist with a sigh. "Because... I would have much rather preferred finding out about this from my best friend, instead of going to his hideout the day we were supposed to fight him?"

Adrien was quiet for a few minutes, sniffling a little. "... I'm sorry." He said softly, voice shaking, and I hugged him tightly.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You were only doing what you thought was right, and it isn't your fault your father is Hawkmoth." I said softly, nuzzling him gently. He seemed like he was on the verge of tears.

"I don't want it to be him." He admitted, and I hugged him tighter. "But who else could it be? It's my house."

"Hey, everything will be okay. It won't be so bad, I'm sure. I'll help you. We can talk your dad out of this crazy plan of his, and everything will go back to normal... You'll see."

"I hope you're right." He said softly, finally hugging me back.

"I know I'm right. Seriously." I moved back a little to ruffle his hair, making him laugh and smile. I immediately brightened. "There's your smile! I missed it in the short time it was away." I said with a small wistful sigh. He laughed again and messed up my hair next, still grinning.

I laughed softly, not wanting to be too loud in case Hawkmoth appeared at some point, and Adrien and I started messing around as we waited for Ladybug since I was trying to keep his mind off the fact Hawkmoth was his father. Somehow, we ending up play wrestling on the roof of Adrien's home, carefully pinning each other to the tile and trying to play with each other's animal ears and hair. At some point I started trying to mess with the bell on his collar, but didn't go after it too much so it didn't make too much noise.

Eventually, we stopped when we both picked up the sounds of someone entering that room thanks to our animal hearing, with Adrien pinned under me as I straddled him. Sadly, that was how Ladybug found us, and she got that same catlike grin that Alya would get, making me blush darkly and quickly get off Adrien, pulling him to his feet. I pointed down to the roof, then to my lips, telling her to be quiet since someone was there. She nodded and together we quietly walked to the skylight in the center of the roof, each one of us taking a side. I unsheathed my metal claws and wedged them in the crack of the pane, prying it open as quietly and carefully as I could.

Ladybug and Chat Noir grabbed the skylight's window, holding it up and slowly pulling it out of it's place while I used my claws to pry it loose as they went. After a few minutes it was finally off, and they set it off to the side while I looked down into the room, frowning from how dark it was even with the light. No wonder Mr. Agreste needed glasses, if he spent most of his time here with practically no light.

Quietly, I activated my power so I could see in the dark, and I could see hundreds of white butterflies fluttering about the room, faintly glowing. A figure stood in the middle of all of them, a cane in his hand and a mask covering most of his head, a black and dark purple suit fitting snugly to his body. I bit back a growl when I saw what appeared to be a locket in his hand, open and showing him a picture of something.

Chat Noir frowned, looking away after studying the same scene I had been. I sighed faintly, sitting back on my heels. "He's distracted... We should go, now." I whispered, and after a nod of confirmation, I motioned to the opening. "Ladies first."

Ladybug smiled and went into the hideout, landing quietly onto the ground. I looked at Chat, silently asking him if he wanted to go next. He took a deep breath and headed down, and I followed him closely. I looked at Hawkmoth, wondering if he really hadn't yet noticed us, or if he was toying with us.

Ladybug crept forward, yo-yo in hand, and Chat extended his baton, following her. I followed them, and we circled around the butterflies, hoping not to disrupt them. Some flew closer, and I stepped back after a moment of them flying in my face.

Ladybug was the first to attack, flinging her yoyo at the man, who wacked it away with his cane. He let out a deep chuckle as I growled, and turned to face us. "Did you really think I had no idea you were there? My precious akuma could sense you the moment you landed in here." He said with a coo in his voice as he held out a hand for one of the butterflies to land on it.

His cane disappeared in a flurry of smaller butterflies, and he moved his free hand to cover the butterfly waiting impatiently in his hand. I shot forward, knocking his moving hand back and keeping it from covering the butterfly. "Stop this, now." I said softly, so only he could hear as he stared at me with shocked eyes. "What would Adrien think?"

Hawkmoth's eyes grew angry, and he twisted his hand slightly to grab my wrist almost painfully, the butterfly leaving his hand as he grabbed my other arm with the same strength. "What do you know, you pest!" He snarled, and I let out a startled yell as he kicked my legs, knocking them out from under me and throwing me back towards Chat Noir and Ladybug. Chat launched himself forward, catching me with a grunt from both of us on impact.

I looked up with a nervous smile. "Too eager?"

"Too eager." He confirmed, and I nodded as he set me back on my feet. I laughed softly, scratching at my cheek lightly before following after him back to the fight with Ladybug. She swung her yoyo, wrapping it around his right wrist. He grinned, forming his cane again and tapping it on the ground four times, small sparks flaring against the tile. The faintly glowing butterflies around them all turned black, cracks of glowing purple in their wings. Purple mist came from them, forming shapes, and when the mist disappeared, in front of us stood the Akuma we had fought over the past two years.

I let out a surprised whistle at the overwhelming amount of Akuma, ears twitching from all the loud noises of the Akuma starting to attack or defend. Chat was struggling to get to Hawkmoth, and Ladybug let out a yelp as she was pulled off her feet by the ringleader tugging on her yoyo's string and was sent flying towards him. My wolf ears flicked at the sound of one of the Akuma coming up behind me, and I ducked, kicking my feet out behind me and sending them to the ground as my legs came in contact with theirs. Turning and looking at the one I knocked down, I vaguely noticed it was one that I hadn't seen before.

The Akumatized girl snarled, baring animal-like fangs, and lunged for me. I stepped back as quickly as I could without falling over, my feet moving on impulse and I turned away from her a second before she barreled into where I had been. Unable to stop herself due to the momentum of her attack, she slammed into another Akuma, this one being one I recognized. I tensed when they both turned to me, anger in their eyes, and darted in the opposite direction of them as fast as I could, dodging attacks from other Akuma while attacking them if they were in the way. I could hear Ladybug and Chat Noir fighting elsewhere in the room, and wondered which one was facing off against Hawkmoth. I minutely hoped it was Adrien, but at the same time didn't want him to be fighting his own father.

I heard the akumatized girl growl behind me and bit my lip, turning to fight her and the other one. I turned just in time to block an attack from the akumatized male, my claws and his sword scrapping against each other. I flinched at the shrill sound, and the next second I felt teeth embed themselves in my left arm. I let out a small scream of pain and yanked my arm away, ignoring the sting and tear that came from pulling away from the girl's teeth so forcefully.

I kicked the male in his stomach, causing him to crumple to the ground, and slashed at the girl, cutting from her sounder to her hip. She howled before turning into purple mist, a butterfly falling to the ground where she had been. It fluttered, still alive, but the purple glow in its wings had disappeared. The male lunged for me and I shouted in surprise, slashing at him as well. The same thing happened, and I sighed, staring at the butterflies in confusion before looking at my claws. "Neeks... That's not you doing that, is it?"

No, it's not! I think that's just how they are, since they aren't actual people. If you deal enough damage they should turn back to butterflies. They won't be dekumatized, but they won't be able to attack you again.

"Oh, okay. Good to know." I hummed, before looking around, trying to find Chat Noir again through the flood of Akuma. "He couldn't have sent them out in waves?" I grumbled under my breathe, trying to find him and help him get through to his father. I spotted a flash of blond hair and black clothes, so I ran in that direction, slashing Akuma out of my way and dodging their attacks. I yelped as an Akuma grabbed my leg and tugged back, causing me to fall to the ground. It was the dancer Akuma from the first month I was here.

"Dance with me again! I'll win this time!" She demanded, and I groaned, slashing at the ribbons around my leg.

"I don't have time to mess around with you!" I snapped, cutting the ribbons that came after me again before grabbing her wrist and slashing her with my claws. She poofed into a butterfly and I scrambled away from another Akuma, one entirely made of stone. I jumped onto its shoulder and climbed onto its head, using it as a vantage point since it was taller than the others. I held on tightly as the Akuma tried to swat me off, dodging its hands when it came too close. I scanned the mass of bodies, looking for bright red and short blond hair.

I spotted Ladybug fighting a group of Akuma, very few I recognized. One of them looked a lot like Chloe, and another like Alya. She looked like she was handling herself well, though, only a few bumps and scraps that I had to assume had come from Hawkmoth when she had been yanked to him earlier. I kept looked for Adrien, though, and sighed when I saw him fighting his father. He was keeping up with him, and I could see him trying to talk his father out of this, although I couldn't hear what he was saying. His dad looked angry. Unsure.

I yelped as I was grabbed by the Akuma I was on, trying to stab my claws into its hand and trying to get out of its hold. "Let go!" I snarled, trying to work my way out of his hold. It just tightened, and I growled, trying to figure out how to get out of this position.

As I struggled, I failed to notice the purple mist coming up the Akuma's body until the last second when it's hand disappeared, and I suddenly felt a small sense of dread. "Uh-oh..." I muttered, before gravity forced me to fall to the ground. I let out a pained grunt when I landed, sitting up and rubbing my lower back. "Ow... What the heck happened?" I looked around, noticing how all the Akuma were disappearing along with the butterflies. My eyes widened and I looked over to where Chat Noir was with Hawkmoth.

Adrien was panting heavily, a foot on his father's chest and his staff pointed right under his father's chin with his other hand holding the moth miraculous high in the air and as far away from his dad as possible. His eyes were pained. "Stop this- please!"

"Chat!" I rushed over to him along with Ladybug, and we all stood around his father. Mr. Agreste glared at us, and I flinched.

"Mr. Agreste, please. Whatever you are doing this for, it's not worth it." I said softly, and he scoffed.

"What do you know, you brat?" He spat, and I frowned, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Now listen here, you-"

"Please, dad." Chat Noir said softly, cutting off my reprimand. Everyone in the room froze, looking at Adrien with wide eyes.

"C-Chat, wait a minute..." I said shakily, glancing at him and then Ladybug and Hawkmoth. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Adrien took a deep breath and removed his ring, canceling the transformation and causing a bright green flash to blind us for a moment. When it was gone, Adrien was back to his civilian form, his foot still on his father's chest but his staff gone. Plagg was floating next to him, and Adrien looked on the verge of tears. "Please," he repeated to his father, the butterfly miraculous clutched tightly in his hand. "It won't bring mom back."

Ladybug gasped, looking ready to faint, and Hawkmoth stared with wide eyes at the superhero- his son. I placed a hand on his shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. I looked back to Mr. Agreste, feeling pity for the man. "Mr. Agreste, you must stop this. Nothing good will come of it, and Adrien needs his father. I understand the world has been cruel to you, but this is no way to handle your situation." I said softly, and the older man stared at me for a moment before looking back at Adrien.

"Adrien, please, you must understand-"

"No, father! You need to understand! Mom's gone and that's how it has been for the past three years!" Adrien snapped, surprising his father and I. Ladybug seemed to be silently panicking over something else, even though she was trying to focus on not he situation at hand. "What am I going to do if I lose you, too?!"

Mr. Agreste opened his mouth, as if to say something, and then closed it again, looking away from us. He still said nothing, and Adrien whimpered slightly. I huffed, frowning at Mr. Agreste for a moment before turning to look at Adrien. Faintly, I could hear police sirens outside. "Okay, that's it. Adrien, Ladybug, we are going to take Mr. Agreste downstairs to the police so that they can deal with the aftermath, and I am taking you to my place." I huffed, snapping my fingers in front of Ladybug's face to get her attention again. "Hey, Ladybug, I thought you were the leader here." I commented in a teasing tone, before pointing to Mr. Agreste. "Can you take him down to the police and explain everything...? I'll get Adrien out of here."

"Huh? Oh,yeah, sure." Ladybug said, snapping out of her daze. She blushed and smiled at Adrien. "Don't worry, I'll make sure they keep his identity a secret and he'll be back to you in no time." She said with a surprising amount of certainty before winking at Adrien and helping Mr. Agreste to his feet. She pinned his hands behind his back and left the room, heading downstairs to where the police were.

I sighed and looked at Adrien again, seeing how he wouldn't meet my eyes and was staring at the floor. I stepped closer, hugging him tightly. "You did good, Adrien." I whispered, "You did good."