Gabriel pushed himself up from the ground. His head throbbed with pain. He looked at the floor in front of him, only to see a trail of blood leading away and out the doors.

Panic shot through him. Adrien! What have I done?

Gabriel climbed to his feet. It wasn't supposed to have gone this way. He had hoped Adrien would give him the ring willingly. He had hoped he would be able to take it from Adrien without seriously injuring the boy. But from the moment Gabriel had transformed into Hawk Moth, all he could think was violence—and doing whatever it took to obtain the Miraculous, regardless of the price.

And now, because of that, the likelihood of Adrien bleeding out before he could get help was high. Gabriel had underestimated his son's fighting abilities, thinking that without Ladybug's aid, Cat Noir would be easily defeated.

But he had been wrong.

And now, Adrien might die, and the location of the Cat Miraculous along with him.

Adrien would be gone forever, gone just like Emilie.

The thought nearly brought Gabriel to his knees with grief. Why? Why had he become so violent? What had possessed him to risk his son's life? To attack his own precious boy?

"Dark wings fall," he whispered, and transformed back into himself.

"Master," Nooroo's soft squeaky voice said. "Master, are you hurt?"

"Nooroo...what—what is happening to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I nearly killed my own son. For all I know, I succeeded. My own son!"

"I have often warned you, Master. If you corrupt the purpose of a Miraculous, it corrupts you in turn. You have done this to yourself."

"All—all I ever wanted was to bring her back," Gabriel said, stifling a sob.

"Perhaps you can save Adrien, Master. Find a way to contact Ladybug. Bring her here to defeat the Red Knight. Once she has done so, she can work her magic, and perhaps it will save Adrien again."

"Ladybug? Yes, of course...and perhaps I can find a way to take her Miraculous, too. Adrien will rush to her aid and I'll have a second chance to take his Miraculous!"

"Please, Master. Listen to yourself. Do you hear what you are saying? You must stop this. You have to accept...you have to accept that she's gone."

Gabriel let out a snarl. "I'll never accept that. Not as long as the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous exist. Not as long as that absolute power is in my reach."

"So you're willing to hurt Adrien again?"

"If that's what it takes—"

Nooroo shook his head. "Then Adrien was right. You don't love him, do you?"

"I do love my son! Don't pretend you understand any of this, Nooroo!"

"I understand your abuse of the Miraculous has corrupted you. But you can stop it. You must renounce me, Master, and find a Guardian to purge the Miraculous of its evil!"

"Renounce you? No! Not as long as there is hope I can obtain—"

"Mr. Agreste?"

Nooroo disappeared beneath Gabriel's lapel in a flash. Gabriel wheeled around to find Nathalie lying in a heap on the floor, covered in bruises. If Gabriel remembered correctly, the Red Knigt had attacked her, knocking her unconscious and throwing her aside like a rag doll. Fortunately, it appeared she had been unconscious for all of his conversation with Nooroo.

"Are you hurt, Nathalie?"

"Yes, I-"

"Then go to the hospital. I'm going to see if I can find a way for Ladybug to help us."

"What about Adrien? Where is he?"

A pang of guilt shot through Gabriel's stomach. None of it matters, he told himself. Not once I have the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous. Then I will make amends for all my mistakes.

All of them.

"I'll find him. Go to the hospital."

Nodding, Nathalie unsteadily took out her phone and called a taxi.

Gabriel turned his back on her and went straight back to his office. He winced from the bruises Adrien had given him. He arrived in his office, only to find the Red Knight was still trapped in the broken floor. He took out his personal phone and called the local news station.

"Quickly," Gabriel said, pretending to be panicked. "You must alert Ladybug that the villain is at my house."

Once he had hung up, he slumped into his chair, ignoring the Red Knight's angry roars. Gabriel sighed as he re-tied his scarf.

Was Nooroo right?

No. None of it matters.

None of it.

After a lengthy discussion with her parents, Marinette was finally released from their endless questioning and counseling. It made sense that they were worried about her, considering that her mother had been akumatized only a day before, but still—every second ticked by like hours when Marinette thought of the fact that the Red Knight could still be out there.

Once inside her room, she popped open her purse. "Okay, Tikki," Marinette said. "It's time to transform. Spots—"

A large thud on the roof interrupted her. She practically jumped out of her shoes. "What's that?" Hesitantly, she pushed open the door in the ceiling and peeked out onto the small patio. "H—hello?"

Nothing answered her. She climbed the rest of the way up and looked out over the city. Huh. Maybe it was nothing...

"M—Marinette..."

Marinette stifled a scream and wheeled around. In the shadows off to the side, a dark figure lay sprawled on the ground. Marinette turned on the flashlight on her phone and held it up.

It was Cat Noir.

"Cat Noir? What are you doing here?"

"Listen...Marinette...I need you to find Ladybug. I'm hurt and I can't...can't..." Cat Noir's head fell down and he was still.

Heart racing, Marinette knelt down beside him. She gasped at the gaping hole in his suit and the warm sticky blood pouring from the wound in his stomach. "Cat Noir! Wake up!"

He didn't move.

"Oh, no, Tikki, what do I do?"

"The first aid kit, Marinette!" Tikki said. "Quickly!"

Marinette ran to the potted plant she had hidden the first aid kit behind and retrieved the red and black-speckled bag. She opened it up. "Do you think this will really help? I don't even know what kind of ointment this is." Cat Noir's ring beeped loudly. Marinette glanced over and saw that there was only one toe pad flashing. "Tikki—go get a pillowcase, now!"

"Why?" Tikki squeaked.

"I can't know his secret identity, and he's about to change back. We'll just put it over his head while I'm treating him, and then I'll take him to Master Fu right away."

Tikki nodded, then whisked away through the door down into Marinette's room. Marinette took off her jacket and pressed it against the bleeding wound in Cat Noir's abdomen, applying as much pressure as she could. She had never treated wounds before—she had only seen it done in movies. Tikki reappeared with a pillowcase, and Marinette promptly put it over Cat Noir's head. Not a second later, there was a flash of green light and Cat Noir's suit was gone, replaced by a t-shirt, jeans, and white jacket. Something in the back of Marinette's mind recognized the outfit, but she was too panicked to place it. All she could think of was the very real possibility of her friend dying.

"Hand me the ointment now," Marinette said, trying to keep her fear under control. Once Tikki brought the ointment over, Marinette squeezed a generous portion onto his stomach wound. She reached into the bag for a gauze pad, pressed it down, and then wrapped bandages around Cat Noir's torso. "Oh, Tikki, I don't think it'll be enough."

"Then hurry, we have to get to Master Fu!"

"You're right. Tikki, spots on!"

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