This is absolutely without a doubt the last chapter of this story. This chapter took me awhile to write, but after getting high on cold medicine for the weekend and the getting a sick day off of school, it's done! I hope you guys like this story! I've definitely got more ideas up my sleeves!
Also, sorry if I worried anyone in the author's notes earlier! I was scared and panicking, but as it turns out the hurricane barely even reached us! I am alive, although I think the colder weather has gotten me ill. No worries though!
Now, onwards to the story!
Nathanael fished in his pocket for the key to his apartment even before he got to the door. His fingers grasped nothing but a few pencils. Did he not have it with him? Why hadn't he brought it when he went out?
Wait, that was a stupid question. The Evillustrator didn't even have pockets. He wouldn't have carried a key out the house with him.
Luckily, they always kept a key under the dirt of the little potted plant they had out by the front door. He searched through the pot, rewarded with dirty hands and a house key. He could finally go inside, quietly so maybe he wouldn't wake his parents.
Everything's too loud when you're trying to be sneaky, the click of the lock seeming to echo throughout the entire world as he tried to slip inside. When he closed the door again, he found both of his parents on the couch. They looked up at him before jumping to their feet.
"Nathanael! You're okay!" his mother exclaimed.
"Where were you?!" his father asked. Nathanael sighed, scarcely disguising a roll of his eyes.
"I was at a friend's party, and I'm fine, but I don't really feel like-" he didn't get a chance to finish when his mother gave him a bone-crushing hug.
"Oh, Nathanael, why didn't you tell us what was wrong?! We could've helped, we could've been there for-"
"No, you couldn't have! And you wouldn't have, either!" he pushed himself away from her choking embrace, towards his room. "You guys haven't been around for the past five years except for teacher conferences with Ms. Mendeleev, and then you act like perfect, concerned parents who care about your son so much until the meeting's over, and then you just go back to work and disappear from my life for the next month! I never get the chance to tell you anything, and I don't want to tell you anything! Even if I did, Hawkmoth works fast and you're never close enough to do anything! I don't want your damn efforts to make up for how long you've been gone! I don't want you pretending to care about me, I don't want you acting like we're such a close family and we all love each other because you don't, and I really don't want to talk to you right now so leave me the hell alone!" he stormed to his room and slammed the door behind him, locking it before either of his parents could intrude. He heard his father banging on the door demanding to be let in, but he ignored it. His heart was beating too fast in his chest. Oh, god, had he really done that? THey were gonna kill him first chance they got probably. Not literally, of course. He prayed not literally.
He slid his earbuds in and started listening to music. He could already tell he was riled up. Was it possible to get akumatized again? It was clearly possible to get akumatized more than once, but twice in the same day? There were two Timebreakers, but one had traveled back in time to the same moment she had been akumatized before. Did that count? Hawkmoth's power was complex, but… Nathanael didn't want to find out. He changed the song to some slower tunes he usually used while drawing more serious pieces. It was nice and soothing, and he felt his nerves relax as he let his mind wander on to better things…
He opened his eyes and found himself in a room full of butterflies, some white and some glowing with dark energy. He had his tablet on his arm, his stylus in hand as he wandered through. He was Super Nathanael; he felt the power tingling in his veins and the sense of an important mission on his shoulders. He looked down and found it was an older design for him, from 3ème. He felt his shoulders relax as he felt the striped cape in his hands. He wasn't that monster. Now then… He looked around his surroundings, noticing the stained glass window and the high ceiling. It gave off an eerie feel, a sense of evil seeming to just seep from the walls. What was he doing? He felt the evil, the manipulation, and knew he was looking for a target, a malicious villain… Finding Hawkmoth, perhaps?
He heard low, wicked laughter and whipped around to find a man in dark purples and blacks behind him, standing amongst a majority of the butterflies. He'd recognize that mask anywhere though; everyone had seen Hawkmoth's stand during the Stoneheart incident. And though his image had been made up of a swarm of darkened butterflies, it was recognizable in person. It was the Big Bad, in person. The man he'd been looking for. Now he had to defeat him.
He pointed his cane to the ceiling with another laugh, and a ripple of dark magic shot through the room. All of the darkened butterflies started twisting and convulsing and growing and turning into… akumas. Reflekta, Rogercop, Pharaoh, Stormy Weather-every akuma Ladybug and Chat Noir had ever faced was there in that room, lunging towards him. He slid under Stoneheart's legs before popping back up on one knee to draw a box that fell from the sky and trapped Lady Wifi, barely dodging a pause rune she'd cast his way. He immediately had to flip backwards to avoid a shot from Pixelator, and ducked around a corner to come up with a more solid plan. Maybe he could box them all in? But could he draw the boxes that fast and avoid their attacks?
A shot of lightning arced around the wall, reminding him that his problem was still around the corner and probably fast approaching. He turned and ran further into the labyrinth that had lead to the butterfly room. He and the rest of his team had split up further back to get the job done, and he really needed a hand right now.
It wasn't long until he found Ladybug and Chat Noir. He quickly debriefed them on the situation, and just in time, as they heard heavy footsteps behind them. They turned out to be Stoneheart, with a brigade of akuma's behind him. They all tensed into battle stances, all trying to come up with a plan.
Pharaoh clapped his hands together, sending a shockwave that knocked them back into the wall. Super Nathan managed to get himself off the ground fast enough to draw a wall to block Princess Fragrance's controlling perfume. Couldn't have them working for the enemy, now could he? Ladybug and Chat Noir were back up at this point, and they leaped over the wall to fight the akumas.
With the whole team together, things went much more smoothly. These akumas weren't used to firing at three targets, let alone firing at three targets and trying to work together with other akumas. Soon, they were all tangled up with each other, or immobilized with each other's attacks.
"Did you find Hawkmoth?" Ladybug asked as she looked at their handiwork.
"He's back there, in the atrium. I'll lead you out of this mess." Super Nathanael tossed his head in the right direction before they all ran off.
Sure enough, Hawkmoth was still there, and out of pre-made akumas. He took two butterflies in each hand and they became black and purple, twisting into new forms. His allies beside him gasped in horror at what they saw, and Super Nathanael felt his grip on his pencil tighten. Because, now standing beside Hawkmoth, were a black and purple-spotted Ladybug and a white-clad Chat. They wielded their weapons and prowled forwards to attack. They seemed equal matches to the real Ladybug and Chat Noir, and soon their battle was at a stalemate, even with the help Super Nathanael tried to offer.
Hawkmoth's wicked laugh echoed in his head, and the room began to darken. He froze in the spot, his blood going cold. "Your efforts are useless, Nathanael. Do you really think you can fight me for much longer? You've fallen to me before, you'll fall to me again."
Super Nathanael felt himself turning, and immediately wished he hadn't. He stood face to face with the new design, the Collège design, the monstrous inner demon… the Evillustrator. He wore a nasty smirk, his own tablet and pen ready to cast deadly attacks. Super Nathanael felt his legs start backing away, felt his heart beating so hard he was afraid it may fail him, until he tripped on his cape and fell backwards.
Damn. No wonder he'd gotten rid of that thing.
The Evillustrator stepped forward, laughing to himself as he drew a sword for himself, taking it in one hand and looking ready to swing at Hawkmoth's word. Said villain was standing just behind him, a cold smile gracing what could be seen of his face.
"Ladybug and Chat Noir will fall to me, Nathanael. And you'll have no hope of helping them. You're just an artist; nothing more." he turned to the Evillustrator. "Proceed."
"Gladly," the purple-skinned boy in front of him grinned and swung his sword. There was nothing he could do to stop it, absolutely nothing, it was over, he'd lost, and now he was-
"AAH!" he sat up with a scream, the blanket flying off of him. He was embraced with… the freezing air conditioning of his room, and not death. It was all a dream, after all. He'd known it was before, but at some point… it'd felt real.
Could Hawkmoth send visions to people?
Nathanael didn't want to devote any of his thoughts to Hawkmoth at the moment. A quick glance at his alarm clock told him that, while four in the morning was awfully early to be waking up on a sunday, it was the perfect time to maybe start a new piece. He was awake anyways, and he sure as hell didn't want to go back to sleep after that had happened. Ignoring the chill on his arms and legs, he stood and went over to his desk to contemplate what to do…
Monday morning already. Nathanael quickly hurried out of the house with a croissant in his mouth and his present for Marinette under his arm. A blush had been teasing his face all day, but burned harder and harder the closer he got to school. Would she like the gift? Would she think he was weird? He personally thought it was one of his best pieces, but still…
Maybe he'd get her some sweets to lessen the weird! Yeah, she really loved pastries! Maybe he'd go to his favorite patisserie to get her some sweets, so he could share a little piece of him with her! He slipped inside the Boulangerie-Patisserie and bought a few cookies and macarons before walking the rest of the way to school.
Not too many people were there yet. The classroom was almost empty, in fact, save for Alix. He greeted her with a nod before putting his presents on Marinette's desk. He heard a soft chuckle from the pink-haired girl and turned.
"What?"
"Is that your birthday gift?" she asked, a slight smirk tugging at her lips.
"Um… yeah. Do you think it's a bit much?"
"No, no, I'm sure she'll love it, but… you do realize she lives and works at the Tom and Sabine Boulangerie Patisserie, right?" Alix let out a laugh as Nathanael realized just how ridiculous this was. Of course she loved pastries, she lived among them 24/7! What if she was sick and tired of seeing and eating pastries, oh god, he'd screwed up!
Well… Alix said she'd probably like it anyways. He might as well give it a chance.
"Hey, dude, where's your backpack?" Kim asked as he walked inside, Max busy on his phone. Nathanael tensed, checking himself and his surroundings only to realize he'd somehow forgotten his backpack at home.
"Ooooooooohhhhhhhhh shit I gotta go, bye!" he ran out the door as fast as he could and half the way back home until he got tired. Thank god he always tried to get to school early. Maybe he'd be able to get back on time.
Sneaking back into his house was simple enough. His parents were nowhere near conscious at this time of the morning, so he could just slip into his room and grab it and go. The streets were a little bit busier on his way out back to school, as people started heading to work or school. He let his mind wander as he walked back to Francois-Dupont, observing his surroundings. The Parisian streets really were nice, no wonder so many artists dreamed of coming here. Maybe he could paint a few streetscapes, try and get them in a gallery. He'd heard those sold well in galleries, apparently tourists love them for whatever-
A silver car glided down the street and parked in front of the school. The side door opened and Adrien Agreste stepped out, waving a goodbye to his bodyguard in the driver's seat. When he looked up and saw him, he seemed to flinch back a moment. Was Nathanael really that terrifying to him? He had maybe a full head and a half on him, maybe two heads. Had their talk in the basement really intimidated him that much? He had a bodyguard for crying out loud, it's not like he was going to actually going to do anything!
Then his face shifted into one of those dazzling grins and he waved at him. Wait, what? He was just afraid of him, what's going on?! He looked to his bodyguard for clarity only to be met with a cold glare. Dear god, he'd called him dumb. He'd called this huge, muscular, intimidating guy in control of a two-ton machine dumb. He'd probably heard about it, Adrien probably told him, half the class was probably going to hate him, what did he do, what did he do-
"Hey, Nathanael! Wanna walk to class together?" Adrien asked.
"Uh… Uh, I-I… What about Nino? Don't you usually walk with Nino?"
"Eh, he won't mind one day. He can catch up if he wants to." Adrien closed the car door and the bodyguard drove off, leaving the two to themselves.
"I… I guess…" he stepped over to Adrien's side and they started going up the stairs. They were silent for a moment, and Nathanael was beginning to wonder if he was just hard to talk to or what when suddenly Adrien spoke up.
"Thank you." he said.
Nathanael turned, wide eyed. "Thank you? Wait, you don't hate me?!"
"What?! Hate you?! No, of course not, you're actually… you're actually kinda cool."
"But, your bodyguard-"
"Oh, he always looks like that. We call him the Gorilla because he's huge and he never talks and he literally almost always looks like that."
"Oh… Well, wh-wh-what are you thanking me for?" Adrien's hand was reaching for the door handle to the school but hesitated a moment.
"W-Well… For… Saying what you said in the basement."
"Wha-Really?!"
"Yeah! Um, after the party, I put a lot of thought into what you said. And, I do like Ladybug, but… She doesn't know me. And she's a hero, I have no chance with her, I'm just a model. And… Marinette is very nice, and I realized, I did like her for a long while, I was just forcing it aside for Ladybug. So… I'm going to ask her out."
"Oh. That's great!" Nathanael didn't mean for it to come out that way, but honestly he was a bit envious. He'd given Adrien an edge he hadn't known about after all, and now he'd lost. Sure, Marinette would be happy, but his own feelings…
"Th-that is, if you don't mind!"
"What?"
"I mean, I don't want to interfere or offend you somehow, I know you've liked her a long time and-"
"I don't mind. Really. She'll be happy with you. That's all I want."
"So… You really don't kind if I ask out Marinette?"
"Dude! You're asking out Marinette?!" The two boys whipped around to find Nino behind them, adjusting his cap. "Finally, man!"
"What, were you waiting for me to or something?"
"Everyone in class was waiting for you, dude! We've had meetings!"
"You have?"
"Yeah, what got you to do it?! Was it the music Kim picked or what?"
"Uh… Nathanael yelled at me in the basement Saturday."
"I-I-I-I wouldn't call it y-y-yelling!" Nathanael waved his hands in front of himself, his cheeks burning red. Nino put his hands on his shoulders.
"Dude. Thanks for putting some sense into my bud where I couldn't." he said.
"Uh, no problem?"
"So, let's go find her!"
"She's probably not here yet. She tends to come late." Adrien shrugged. "I'll just ask her when she comes into class."
"In front of everyone?"
"...sure, I guess."
"Sweet, dude! Let's head on in, I've got an idea!" Nino wrapped an arm around Adrien's shoulders and they walked inside, talking to each other, leaving Nathanael by himself at the door. No big deal. He was used to it. He held his bag to his chest and looked around before heading to the lockers. He grabbed a few books to put in his bag and closed the door, only to find Chloe and Sabrina behind it.
"So, Kurtzberg, I heard you got akumatized again on Saturday? How pathetic do you have to be to get akumatized twice?" Nathanael tensed, stumbling over his words as he tried to form some sort of defense and coming up short. "Or is that such a low level that only you can reach it?"
"Leave him alone, Chloe!" Chloe scowled and turned to face Marinette, her friend Alya not far behind. "You know just as well as anyone that people don't choose to be akumatized! Stop blaming him for Saturday!"
"Why should I listen to you? And, you're just going to let him get away with what he did? Didn't he try to kill you and your parents?"
"He didn't, and Ladybug fixed everything, and he apologized, and it wasn't his fault and that's all that matters! If you're implying that he's to blame for trying to hurt me and not Hawkmoth, then that means you're implying that you're to blame for trying to kill Ladybug and Chat Noir."
Chloe faltered, seeming to struggle to come up with an argument just as much as Nathanael had just moments before. During the distraction, Marinette took Nathanael's hand and walked off, urging him to follow.
"Sorry about that, Nathanael. But, it's really not your fault." she said.
"I-It's okay, I-I-I understand. Ladybug… Ladybug told me that before…" he smiled a bit at the thought.
Marinette grinned. Alya stepped closer. "So, what all did she say to you?!" she held up her phone, and Nathanael immediately realized that this was for the blog. He clutched his bookbag tight to his chest again. Cameras weren't exactly a comfort zone for him, but he didn't want to disappoint his classmate…
"W-Well, I, um… d-don't laugh, but when I… got purified? Detransformed? I dunno what the right term would be, but when whatever happened happened I, uh… I started crying, because I felt kinda dumb letting myself get manipulated like that again and I thought, um, nobody liked me enough to invite me to the party-"
Marinette gave him a tight hug. "Oh my gosh, Nathanael, I'm so sorry! You're really cool, I just couldn't find your email address and then I was sick and then you were sick and I-"
"I-I-It's okay, Marinette, I totally understand!" somehow his hand ended up on her shoulder, and he quickly tore it away before things got weird. "I was just kinda overwhelmed, and then Ladybug and Chat Noir came over and asked if I was okay, and I told her what all had happened and she said that 'hey, I've met Marinette before, she's pretty cool, she probably made a mistake with the invites and totally meant to invite you and totally wouldn't mind if you just showed up' and I… I-I was kinda like 'but I wasn't invited and I tried to kill her and her parents just go' and she said 'nah man just go hang with your friends it'll be chill' and then she left and I went to the party."
"And what did Chat Noir do?" Alya asked.
"...well, I mean, he didn't say anything, but he was there, and to be completely honest neither of them had to do that. They could've just left me there, and I'm really glad they didn't. It's almost like… I dunno how to explain it, but it's like… I mean, they're the heroes of Paris. They deal with crazies all the time, they don't really have to stop and help each and every time. And yet, they do it anyways. They definitely helped Paris that Saturday, but they took a bit of time and helped me too. And I'm grateful." Nathanael took a breath. "They reminded me that people make mistakes, but in the end, I still have friends to fall back on. Whether it's Chloe tormenting us, or Ms. Mendeleev talking shit about our grades, or if we just woke up on the wrong side of bed, we have people to support us. And I' grateful for that; some people don't have half as much. And I hope that I can find the courage to be a support system for someone else." he looked up at Alya. "...Did I say too much?"
Alya and Marinette were staring at him, slack jawed, eyes wide. Marinette looked like she may cry. Alya lowered her phone before they both gave him bone-crushing hugs.
"That was perfect, Nathanael!" Alya said.
"That was beautiful! I'm sure everyone will love it! Marinette added. Nathanael grinned and returned the hug the best he could. Soon they released him, and started walking to class. Oh great, he was being left behind again-
"Hey, Nathanael! Coming with?" Marinette turned and asked.
"Oh! U-Um, sure!" he jogged a bit to catch up with them.
"Did you enjoy the party Saturday?"
"Yeah, it was really fun! Thanks for letting me in-which reminds me! I got a present for you! Well, I guess in a sense I got you two…"
"What do you mean, 'in a sense?'" Alya asked.
"You'll see. But I promise you'll like it." Marinette looked like she wanted to ask more questions, but Nathanael just smiled and opened the door to their class, beelining for his desk.
Adrien looked up as they entered. He hesitated a bit until Nino nudged his shoulder, then stood up and approached Marinette by the door. Almost the whole class was there, save for Chloe and Sabrina. Good thing. They'd just ruin the moment.
Marinette's face erupted in a blush as he fumbled over a greeting. Adrien blushed a bit as well and said hello, putting his hands on her shoulders. Marinette froze under the touch, eyes wide.
"M-Marinette, I… I've been informed you l-like me…"
"Wha-Alya!" Marinette turned to face her friend, who shook her head to indicate she hadn't but was recording the experience on her phone. How the hell did she have the space for all of this recording?
"I-It was Nathanael."
"Nathanael?" Marinette looked over at him. Nathanael smiled and offered a thumbs up. She turned back to Adrien.
"I… I thought about it all weekend, and I realized… I like you too." gasps rippled across the room at this revelation. Rose barely kept herself from squealing, settling for latching onto Juleka's arm. "So, um I was wondering… could we… do you want to, um… go on a date this weekend?"
This time Rose actually did let out an excited scream. Everyone only got more excited when Marinette said yes. Kim and Alix actually high-fived each other. THe entire class seemed to be celebrating. THey'd been waiting for this for a long time, Nathanael couldn't blame them. It was practically as wild as a New Year's Eve party in that classroom for just a few moments.
Then Chloe and Sabrina came in.
"What's got you guys acting so crazy?!" Chloe snapped. Everyone froze, looking between Adrien and Marinette an Chloe and Sabrina.
"Oh! I'm dating Marinette now!" Adrien beamed, pulling Marinette into a side hug. "Isn't it great?"
Chloe screamed and stomped over to her desk in a huff, Sabrina's eyes widening before she followed. Adrien faltered for a bit, looking confused and disappointed. Marinette was blushing too hard to speak.
"Don't sweat it, bud. If you and Marinette are happy, that's all that matters! Don't let her drag you down, dude." Nino said, patting his shoulder.
"Yeah! This is amazing, for both of you!" Rose piped up. The rest of the class surrounded the two, expressing just how excited they were for them and offering date ideas. Nathanael hung back, unsure what he could say. He was happy for them, sure, but so was almost everyone else. That wasn't news. He couldn't offer any good date ideas, since he'd never been on one. Well, technically he had, but he didn't count that.
"Oh, what are those?" Nathanael snapped back to attention when Marinette walked over to her desk to start checking out his presents. He could feel his cheeks explode into a blush as he remembered exactly what he'd done for her present. What if she hated it?!
"Those are Nathanael's presents for you!" Alix grinned, sending him a wink. Nathanael sank lower in his seat as everyone gathered around, including Chloe and Sabrina. Marinette opened the box of pastries and smiled.
"Oh hey! Thanks, Nathanael, I totally didn't eat breakfast this morning!" she said. He sat up a bit. So they really were useful!
"I can't believe he got you pastries from your own bakery. How useless is that?" Sabrina scoffed.
"It's her present, Sabrina! If she likes it, she likes it, leave it alone!" Alya said, crossing her arms and sending a glare towards the twosome of terror before flipping her hair and directing her attention back to the final present. Nathanael dared to stand and come closer. He wanted to see her reaction to it, gauge whether it was horrible or okay.
"Read the tag, read the tag!" Rose giggled, hopping on her tiptoes.
"Okay. 'To: Marinette, From: Nathanael. I hope it's okay.' Oh, is it a drawing?! I love your drawings, I'm sure it's wonderful!"
"Oh, w-well, it's not exactly a-you'll see." Nathanael shrugged, trying to downplay how badly he could feel himself blushing. She'd complimented his drawings! He barely registered that Marinette had started tearing away the wrapping paper until she hugged him.
"Oh my gosh, Nathanael, it's beautiful! Thanks so much!" she squealed, lifting him off his feet before setting him down again.
On Instagram a few weeks ago, she had posted a picture Alya had taken of her after school one day, in an outfit she had designed herself and had tried on. Someone-he had assumed it to be a family member or something-had commented that she looked beautiful, like a painting. Nathanael agreed, but never typed it out. To which, Marinette said something along the lines of 'haha I guess so, if someone did paint this I would love them so much lol' and then tagged him. She was probably joking when she said she wanted it done, but he'd taken it seriously and done it anyways. It'd been around two weeks ago, and he wasn't sure if she'd even remember she'd tagged him, but he took a chance and wrapped it in wrapping paper and brought it to school.
"Dude! You never told us you could paint!" Nino exclaimed, tipping his hat. "Nice!"
"How much do I have to pay to get something like that done?!" Kim said. "I want these pecs immortalized!" he added, putting his foot up on the bench and flexing dramatically. Max rolled his eyes. He was joking, right? About paying him? He hadn't paid him last time, unless 'publicity' counted, but-
"Ooh! Could you paint Juleka and I together for, maybe, forty euros?" Rose asked.
"F-Forty euros?!" Nathanael's jaw dropped. The rest of the class began crowding around him, asking for paintings and how much he was asking for each one. He was overwhelmed. Were they actually wanting him to-
"Alright, class, the bell has rung, everyone to their seats please!" Miss Bustier called out as she walked into the room. Everyone scrambled to their seats and pulled out their textbooks and tablets to prepare for class. As their teacher began their history lesson, Nathanael assumed everyone would forget about whatever requests they had given.
He was proven wrong every time a slip of paper was passed back to him by Ivan, containing a phone number and a request for a drawing or painting. He blushed just a bit more at each one, flattered that his classmates thought so highly of his work. Marinette sent him smiles every few minutes throughout the day, but seemed more focused on Adrien. Nathanael couldn't help but smile, seeing how happy she was.
By the end of the day, he came to realize he was happy too.
I hope you enjoyed the story! Tell me what you thought! Feel free to message me or follow me on any of my social media accounts, which are listed pretty early on in my profile! (Don't worry about scrolling through the rest of that mess, it's unimportant.)
Have a wonderful day!
