Chapter 7: The Agreste Mansion

As Marinette travels to Adrien's, she can't help but tear up at what she's being forced to do? It couldn't be because of her outfit at the showcase could it? There was no way a grown man was jealous of a teenager was it?


As Marinette approached the gate, a shifty pair of eyes were on her from the inside, "Sir, she's here…"

"Excellent!" Spinning around quickly, the master of the castle activated his evil lift to his attic lair to ensure that his plan went under way.

She took a deep breath then pressed the button on the gate wall, she shifted to the side to not get hit by the security camera, "It-It's me, Ma-Marinette…"

Inside, Nathalie went to Adrien's room, "Adrien, you have a guest…" Which caused him to spring up from his computer and run downstairs, when he made it downstairs the Gorilla was there and opened the door for him.

There outside the gate was Marinette, standing in the rain with the umbrella he had given her years ago, at least by what he could see from the door; he could only make out her legs and shoes. She stayed in her spot, unmoving, "Marinette? Why won't you come in? What's wrong?"

Marinette clutched the pole, "Adrien... I... forgive me, we're just... we're just not right for each other…"

Adrien stepped forward, Gorilla's arm was blocking the way, "What are you talking about? Of course we are, we love each other!"

"No! I don't love you... anymore!" Crying profusely, Marinette, further hiding under the umbrella, ran off without rhyme or reason.

"No…" What happened? Why would she say that suddenly? What caused this? No, it wasn't true, he refused to believe that she would just randomly terminate their relationship like that. "Marinette!"

Unfortunately, because of the Gorilla's massive arm, Adrien couldn't get through to chase after Marinette, "Please let me through, it can't end like this! It can't end at all! I love her!"

From the inside of Gabriel's atelier stood Nathalie, watching the whole event take place at the side window; she had her phone at the ready when she saw Marinette rush through the gate. "Everything is going as planned, sir."

"I've never felt such utter despair!" Hawk Moth sensed as the young girl ran away from his son, "Marinette Dupain-Cheng will be my ultimate masterpiece!" He soon called forth a white butterfly to his hand, only to cover it with darkness, turning it into an akuma. "Fly away, my beautiful akuma, and evilise this broken heart!"

As the akuma flew through the bay window, Adrien was still at the door, pledging with tears in his eyes to be let through, "I beg you, please!" Giving in to his puppy dog eyes, Gorilla raised his arm, allowing Adrien to escape. As soon as the barrier was gone, Adrien bolted down the stairs; only to be stopped by the sight of an akuma.

Now worried that he would have to leave his girlfriend to face this akuma, Adrien watched which direction it was headed. Unfortunately, it was headed towards Marinette, who was now sitting on a stairway leading to the train station, "Marinette, MOVE!"

Without thinking, Adrien dashed after the akuma; he didn't care what happened to him, "Plagg, claws out!" His adrenaline was so high that he transformed in public, racing against the akuma to reach Marinette in time. Being inches away, Chat Noir leapt in the air to save his love, "CATACLYSM!"

Catching the akuma just in time, Chat Noir released the ashes from his hand, "Adrien!" Marinette was paralyzed; she saw everything, his identity was exposed but Marinette was safe.

Chat Noir saw Marinette's mouth hanging open, so confused, "You were about to be akumatized. I didn't have a choice, M'lady."

Marinette blunk, coming back to her senses, "'M'lady?' But how did you know? I thought our identities were supposed to remain a secret!" She was so relieved; he didn't hate her; he saved her from becoming akumatized. After dropping her umbrella, she lunged at Cat Noir, tearfully weeping in his chest.

Cat Noir engulfed Marinette into his arms, thankful that he got to her in time; he rubbed her back and nuzzled his head, "Everything will be okay, I promise."

Hawk Moth was standing in his lair, waiting to communicate with his newest akuma, but he never made a connection, he pressed the button on his bluetooth, "Nathalie? Nathalie!"

Hearing her name being called, brought her out of her stupor; she couldn't believe what she saw herself, "It's Adrien. Your son... he's... he's Chat Noir."

Dropping his cane in shock, Hawk Moth revels in his joy, "Chat Noir, my own son?" He grinned proudly to the heavens, "The Miraculous will soon be mine!"

Minutes past as the two teenage superheroes sat in the rain lamenting over the experience they just shared, Marinette's whole world just got turned upside down; her boyfriend turned out to be her partner and he knows her secret identity? Mind blown.

Marinette lifted her head from his chest, sniffing as she wiped her face; she glanced up at him. "Hey Bugaboo…" Even under his mask, that smile was unmistakable, "Come on, Mari. Let's go home…" Chat Noir picked up bridal style as Marinette gripped the umbrella tighter, then hid her face in Chat's chest again. Chat then grabbed his baton from his back then bounced away from the subway entrance and began to race along the rooftops.

Once out of sight, Tikki came out from Marinette's purse, "Hi Adrien…" She was so upset over the occurrence she stuffed herself in Marinette's arms, comforting her charge.

"Hi Tikki…"

Just as Chat Noir vaulted away with Marinette, Gabriel came down from his lair; he rushed over to Nathalie, who was still standing by the window. "Nathalie, is it true?" He gripped her shoulders, shaking her vigorously, "Is Adrien really Chat Noir?" He asked excitedly.

After being released, Nathalie fixed up her glasses, "Y-yes Sir, I saw him transform with my own two eyes, he-he stopped the akuma from attacking Marinette…"

"This is perfect!" He began laughing mechanically before heading for his computer; Gabriel was clicking buttons on his own tablet, smiling wickedly, "This is too good to be true!"

Nathalie walked towards her boss, "Sir?"

"Don't you see Nathalie? The black cat miraculous has been under my roof the entire time and all I had to do was walk down the hallway!"

She made it over to Gabriel, "Sir, are you sure about this? It's Adrien, I'm sure if we just explain the reason why we need it; I'm sure he'd be more than happy to-'' She placed her hand on Gabriel's, only for him to snatch it away instantly.

Gabriel never took his eyes off his computer as he typed away, aggressively, "Nathalie, this is the opportunity I've been waiting for, all these years of searching, the planning, the people I've akumatized, all my hard work was all for this moment, I will get the miraculous by any means necessary!"

"Sir I don't think-"

"I don't pay you to think Nathalie, I pay you to do what you're told!" He snapped, raising his voice to a level she wasn't used to, "Now get to your desk, I've sent you the plans on how we're going to trap Chat Noir and Ladybug, or should I say Adrien and Marinette…"

"Ma-Marinette Dupain Cheng?"

"Who else would be Ladybug? I never really looked at their appearances before considering how she acts, but they look the same in every way; no wonder Adrien took a sudden interest in her." Gabriel went back to typing on his tablet while Nathalie just stood in the middle of the room in disbelief.

Was this man really discussing capturing his own son and the girl he loved? On the one hand, she was elated; their dreams of collecting the miraculous and bringing back Emilie was close at hand, however she did not like the idea of hurting Adrien in the process. They had already forced his girlfriend to dump him, and now they were planning on using her as leverage, so he'd give up his magical item.

"You know when you make a wish on the miraculous, there's a price that must be paid…" No, she couldn't do that to Adrien; he was like a son to her and Marinette was just an innocent girl who happened to be caught in the crossfire. "So, you're willing to sacrifice your own son for the sake of bringing back your wife?" He didn't move, he just stayed silent, continuing to type.

"No, not Adrien… Marinette, the girl he loves! You're planning on using her, aren't you?" Never looking up at her, but he answered by clearing his throat, "Sir please, if you would just reconsider, I know there is a better way to solve all of this!"

"Nathalie, have you forgotten why I hired you in the first place?" His voice became thunderous again, removing himself from his computer; he placed his hands behind his back and marched towards her. "You are my assistant and with that role you are to assist me by doing what I say and protecting Adrien by any means necessary. When I order you to do something, I expect you to do it without question."

Nathalie was taken aback, how could he say something like that? She was up against the wall, "I've been with you since the very beginning, I have been nothing but loyal to you! I've dedicated my life's work into helping you bring Emilie back and I've taken care of your son in your absence." She stormed ahead, "I've watched as you terrorize civilians, akumatized dozens of people and I've stood by your side the entire time; it was you and me against the forces of good!"

Gabriel flared his nostrils, "There has never been a 'you and I', there was never any 'us' Nathalie; you were here to serve me, getting my wife back was always my main priority." He backed off Nathalie and retreated back to his tablet, "You are a pawn, something I need to help me achieve my goals, someone to scout out and cover for me when I need to do my real job. You are the face of the industry in order to protect my identity; you are a glorified babysitter with enough intelligence to be on my level and enough skills to be a shield for Adrien."

There was a sharp pain in her chest and for the first time in a long time, it wasn't coming from the miraculous. She placed his hand over her heart, there was no changing his mind. He was dead set on completing his mission without fail and now that he's found some leverage, he'll stop at nothing to bring his wife back by torturing his son.

Nathalie felt her heart breaking; she was on the verge of tears, "Anything you asked of me; I did it without question and this is how you repay me? All the paperwork I do to keep your company afloat, the countless hours I've spent helping you be a criminal, all the late nights I've looked after you and your needs and you're going to toss me aside like a dirty rag!"

Nathalie rushed over to Gabriel's side and yanked his tie towards her, "I've put my health in danger for you, it's all been for you!"

Gabriel took hold of Nathalie's wrist and twisted her hand to force her to release his tie, "You knew what you were signing up for!" He pushed her away, straightened his tie then went back to his computer, "Now enough your nonsense, get back to work, you've wasted enough time."

This wouldn't come to pass, Nathalie grabbed her wrist in pain; she was distraught, throughout her many years of devotion and dedication, did that mean anything to him? He wouldn't even have gotten this far without her, "I see…so that's how it is…"

Tears struck her eyes as Nathalie looked upon her lost love, with a heavy heart she reached inside her jacket pocket and retrieve a small colorful trinket and a set of keys, placing them on her desk before turning back and headed for the door, "Gabriel, I can't do this anymore, you've gone mad. I loved you, but I can't stand here and let you torment young people any longer, especially ones in love, especially your own flesh and blood! I highly doubt that Emilie would like what you've become…" With that she stepped out, closing the door behind her.


The trip back home was silent, except for the rain hitting the umbrella and the sniffing continuing from Marinette; she kept her face hidden in his chest, hearing his heart rapidly beating as they ran. Chat Noir remained quiet while jumping from rooftops as he did every day, holding on to his precious cargo tightly. Once they made it to her house; he placed her down with ease, but she still couldn't look him directly in the eyes, "Thank you, Cha-Adr-..."

Marinette brought her fists to her eyes, "I have to go talk to my parents," Chat grabbed her shoulders making her look at him, but she grabbed the doorknob, "I-I'll uh I'll meet you on my balcony…" Chat Noir nodded then simply leapt upwards and landed on her patio shortly after; she took a deep breath before turning the knob.

"Marinette!" Her mother practically dropped the tray of crepes, she threw them on the counter then ran to the door to comfort her daughter. Once she was surrounded with loving arms, Marinette began to cry again. She hugged her mother tightly as she sobbed.

After Marinette let out her second wave of tears; she sniffed away from her mother, wiping her face. "You've had a rough day bébé, why don't you go lay down for a while, I'll come get you for dinner."

Marinette nodded; her face was flushed; her eyes were so puffy that she could barely keep them open. Hearing her pain; Tom stepped out from the back; she ran into her dad's arms finishing the last bit of her tears.

Seeing his daughter hiccupping; he made a fist to his side but soon ignored his anger to hug his weeping baby, "It's okay my pet, heartbreak is just a part of life. I mean, granted Adrien wasn't the one who broke your heart, anyway what I'm trying to say is that it'll all work out I promise."

"I hope you're right, papa…" Marinette got on her tiptoes to kiss her father on the cheek, then circled around to do the same to her mother, "Do you mind if I take some cookies and camembert? I-I need some comfort food."

Sabine and Tom glanced at each other then back at Marinette, "I honestly don't know why you bother getting such a horrid smelling cheese, but sure, whatever you want." Marinette collected a few chocolate cookies and as well as a tin of cheese from the refrigerator then headed to her room.

Marinette made a pit spot in the bathroom to wash her face, after the day she had; she needed a little breather. She didn't want to waste too much time; Chat Agreste was still out in the rain waiting, Tikki finally made an appearance, "Marinette, are you okay? You just narrowly escaped an akumitization?"

"No Tikki, I'm not! How did everything get so messed up? One minute I was living in Candyland the next a giant macaron came crashing down on my little house of happiness!" Marinette looked awful; she quickly rinsed off her face then trudged up to her room.

Upon entering her room, Marinette barely caught the sound of knocking on her skylight over the rain; she placed the snacks on her desk, "Tikki, can you let Cha- Adri- ahhh the blonde cat boy in! Can you let him in please?" Clenching her forehead, she crossed her arms then leaned against her desk.

Tikki did as she was asked and floated herself to the trapdoor, once there she let Chat Noir in; he came in holding onto the ledge, not wanting to get her bed wet. While swinging there, a towel appeared below him so he could land safely and crawl to the ladder.

"Marinette!" Soon the sound of heavy boots were heard next to her, "Are you okay?" Chat ran to her side as she was rubbing her temples; this was so much harder on her then it was on him.

"Am I okay? Am I okay? Are you kidding me?" Marinette fumed; she began to pace around her room as she waves her arms about. "I unintentionally got my heart broken, then I was almost akumatized, then right after that I found out that not only was my superhero partner also my boyfriend, but he knew about my superhero identity the whole time!"

"And it's raining…" Chat received a towel in his face, putting it on top of his head and rubbing his hair to dry off. When he removed the towel; Chat Noir had a very "Adrien" looking hairdo. Marinette took a deep breath, forcing herself to look Chat Noir in the eyes, her heart was about to jump out of her chest; her brave partner that she got to see almost every day, fighting side by side was actually her biggest crush. "What?"

Marinette, eyes still hurting, reached up with uncertainty; she looked into his eyes. 'Emerald,' The color that pierce her heart, she stepped up and tousled his hair, 'golden,' like the sun she always flew too close to. Getting closer; Marinette was able to place her hand on his cheek and the other on his chest, over his heart, feeling it beat so rapidly. For her and only her.

"It is you under there isn't it?" Chat placed his hand over hers, leaning into it, he closed his eyes enjoying the connection; his biggest fear of her rejection after finding out his identity was no longer a factor, and he couldn't be happier.

"Claws in…"

After coming down from the exhilaration of the day and enjoying their snacks, Plagg and Tikki made themselves scarce while their charges introduced each other to themselves, properly. Now that they know their identities, it was time to figure out who Hawk Moth was; Marinette's attack was just too coincidental. First things first, they needed to figure out his location. It was obviously in a high place, where he could overlook the city, but where?

"Well, I thought he might've used the Eiffel Tower, but that gets destroyed on the regular," Marinette and now Adrien were having a heated discussion of the day's events, she was spinning in her desk chair while he was laying down on her chaise.

"What kind of supervillain would keep his secret lair in the place that gets destroyed on a constant? The only other place is the La Grande hotel, although there are a lot of people; they may not notice a sketchy guy walking the floors," Adrien tapped his cookie piece to his chin, "Maybe the school?" He sat up excitedly.

"As logical as that sounds, I doubt he'll station his headquarters at school, plus between you and I; we've been all over that place. Between crime fighting and just general attendance, I'm sure we've covered every nook and cranny of that place. At one point one of us would've found something." She was right, she was always right; Adrien deflated, putting his head down in defeat.

Marinette giggled, she would never admit this out loud, but he really was funny. "It was a good guess, Kitty…" She reached over, cupping his chin and raising it to her level.

Leaning into her touch, Adrien smiled, "I'm going to have to get used to you calling me that, M'lady…"

"I'm going to have to get used to you calling me that…"

Adrien had another idea, but he didn't want to share; he turned his head away from her, got up and went to the ladder, "I think Hawk Moth set up his lair in my house…"

Marinette shot up, "Wh-What makes you say that?"

"That akuma that tried to attack you, I saw it fly out the window… from my attic… I thought that maybe since I saw the butterfly fly from there; he somehow managed to have a lair up there." Adrien griped down on the pole, "Maybe before we became superheroes, maybe even before that; I don't know!"

"You've been thinking a lot lately haven't you, Kitty…" Marinette gasped, "Do you think, do you think that maybe your father is…"

Adrien turned around, "I've thought about that, but he's been akumatized before, remember?"

Marinette deflated, "Right, I guess that wouldn't make sense," She rose from her chair and began to pace around her room, "Unless he akumatized himself to throw us off…"

Adrien ran the whole scenario in his head since they left the mansion and every way to Sunday there was no way his father could be,

"A rich recluse, hell bent on power, who also has a female sidekick that followed his every whim? That's too coincidentally, I mean dontcha think-"

"No!" Adrien exploded, he stood fully in front of Marinette; his fists were shaking at his sides and his eyes were screwed shut. "My father may be a lot of things, 'cold, heartless, angry', but I know he's not Hawk Moth!"

She staggered back, Marinette was still coming from her anger towards his father; he did force them to break up, but maybe she was still jilted from earlier. Marinette slowly approached him, "Adrien, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine," Adrien took a deep breath, running his fingers through his hair, "I-I understand…"

"Marinette?" Tom knocked on the trapdoor, startling the both of them; Adrien leapt up to her bed to hide, while she answered her door. After she retrieved her dinner plate, she found Chat Noir sitting crossed legged on her bed.

"Chaton?"

Chat stayed silent, he simply scratched the back of his neck, "I was going to head out, you've had a long day and I should get home before anyone notices…"

"Yeah yeah, it's okay…" Marinette crawled into the mattress, leaned in and gave Chat a kiss on the cheek, which he reciprocated. He then reached up to the skylight and leapt outside. "Hey…" She looked up and saw Chat poking his head out from the opening, "That stuff you said earlier, was any of it true?"

Marinette smiled, "No, not one word of it!" She stood up and gave him a kiss on the lips; he soon then disappeared."

She was then left alone with Tikki, who came out from her kissing spot and rubbed Marinette's arm, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I can't right now, I was almost akumatized." Marinette took a hold of Tikki, bringing her to her face and flopping back on her bed.


Adrien made it home in the nick of time; he texted Marinette letting her know that he was back safely, and no one was the wiser to his disappearance. One would think that a parental unit would come in to check on him after he was just dumped by his girlfriend, but that would require a heart.

"I'm glad you were able to come to me honestly about how you feel; you've become quite a responsible young man; your mother would be proud. You have my blessings…"

As Adrien laid in his bed, with his hands behind his head; he thought about his conversation with Marinette earlier. After explaining what happened at the bakery and the reason for the initial visit, Adrien was infuriated, he felt as if his father lied and betrayed him.

"Do you think, do you think that maybe your father is…"

No, he couldn't be! Sure, he's gruff, stubborn and a hard ass, but he couldn't be Hawk Moth, right? He was akumatized before,

"Unless he akumatized himself to throw us off…"

"Hey Plagg, is it possible for a miraculous holder to be akumatized?"

Plagg sighed, halting his consumption of his cheese, "Well it's not impossible, every human is susceptible to being akumatized; even heroes driven to the point of intense negative emotions."

"Right…" He sat up then slung his legs over the sides; he was about to ask another question when he heard a large door slam close, it was rather late for anyone to be roaming around let alone slamming doors. Adrien peeked out of his room to witness Nathalie carrying a few bags in her arms heading downstairs towards the front door and by the looks of it; she was in a hurry.

As she reached for the knob, one of her suitcases fell out of her grasp, "Nathalie?" She gasped, when she saw Adrien trotting downstairs, he quickly scooped up her bag and held it, "What's going on? Are you and father going somewhere?"

Clinging to her bags, she turned her face away from him, "N-No Adrien, I-I'm leaving…"

Adrien perked up, "Oh okay, where are you going? How long will you be gone for?" He walked past her to open the door for her, that's when he got a chance to see her face. Nathalie's hair was messy and out of place; she had streams of makeup running down her cheek, even behind her glasses; her eyes were red. "Nathalie, what happened? What's wrong?"

"I-I can't do it anymore, Adrien. Your father, he-he's not well and he needs all the help he can get, and I can only do so much. Unfortunately, I have to move on…"

Adrien was horrified, how could this have happened? He dropped her bag without thinking, "N-no no, you can't leave us, you can't leave me!" He lunged forward, grasping her forearms, "What will we do without you, you run this house! We'll be nothing without you!"

Nathalie bent down and picked up her discarded suitcase, "Unfortunately, your father no longer feels that way…" Nathalie looked back at the door; she stepped forward, only to be stopped short again.

"Please Nathalie, I need you, what am I supposed to do without?" By now, Adrien was in tears, it was bad enough he almost lost Marinette. "Nathalie please, I've already lost my mother I can't lo-"

Without thinking, Nathalie dropped the rest of her bags, engulfing Adrien in a loving embrace; Adrien was halted by the sudden thrust of his person into the mature chest of his surrogate mother; he had no hesitation in hugging her back.

"Adrien, remember: you are stronger than you think you are, all you have to do is be brave and stand up for yourself. You are an exceptional young man who is destined to do great things, I just wish I could be here to watch you grow up into a wonderful man."

Adrien felt wetness on her cheek, glancing up he saw Nathalie shaking in fear, her tears matching his, "Then stay with me… I'll talk to father, I'll convin-"

"I'm sorry, I can't…" Nathalie squeezed him tighter, allowing a few of his own tears to fall as well. Why was this happening? First Marinette almost gets akumatized then his mother figure is leaving him for reasons unknown, whatever happened between her and his father must've been something big; something she couldn't talk to him about.

Adrien felt Nathalie hiccup; she had to leave; she was in pain. "It's okay, Nathalie; I understand…" He didn't, but she needed to leave him and with a heavy heart; he respected her decision. "Let me help you, it's the least I can do for you.

They released each other looking very remorseful, Nathalie sighed and went back to her bags, however Adrien managed to pick them all up and began to head outside. Nathalie looked back toward Gabriel's office, "Goodbye…"

On the porch, Gorilla was waiting under an umbrella, he and Adrien nodded at each other then took a suitcase from Adrien; he held the umbrella out for Nathalie, as they all walked down the stairs. As Adrien finished placing her bags in the trunk, Gorilla opened the door for Nathalie; when she took the umbrella from him, he sprinted around the car, patting the blonde on the shoulder before he hopped in the driver's seat.

Before she stepped inside; Adrien sighed, she was really leaving. "Is there any way I could convince you to stay?" He asked, shoving his hand into his pockets.

Nathalie pulled him into another hug, "I want you to promise me that you'll stay vigilant; stay strong and stay sweet," Speaking into his hair, Nathalie gave him a kiss, "I love you." She quickly let go and returned to the car, no sooner the door closed, they took off; to Lord only knows where…

Adrien was left alone, waving, lost in thought and so confused. "I love you too…"


Translations:

Bébé = baby, baby girl

Papa = Dad

Chaise = chair

Chaton = kitty, kitten

A/N:

wiki/Adrien_Agreste

wiki/Cat_Blanc/Transcript