The following day, Adrien dropped out of school and his fencing lessons. He got his backpack and put it on the desk. He got out a notebook, a pencil, and began to write. He got on the computer and typed in the search box, List of deserted areas in Paris. The search came up with a lot of results.
Some of the many villages, places or other locations within or nearby Paris including, but not limited to, Goussainville, the Rothschild Castle, Le Fort du Buc, L'abbatoir de la Nausee, Le Sanatorium de Langue, Petit Ceinture, the Metro de Croix-Rouge and the Catacombs.
He thought those could all be possible locations. He tried to remember what Chloe had said during her trial about where she and Lila had met up with Hawkmoth. Before she explained the final battle, she was explaining how she and Lila kept in touch with Hawkmoth.
"If you never found his secret lair, as you claim, how did you communicate with him?" Adolphus asked.
"Well, your honor, when we transformed, we got these communicators that we used to speak with each other and our boss. In some cases, we met up with him in person." she answered.
"Where have you guys met him face to face?"
"In various locations. Sometimes it was the Eiffel Tower, one time it was the Notre Dame, another time it was at Francoise Dupont High School. But for the most part, we communicated through the means of videochat."
His flashback ended. He continued the list until he got every possible hiding place down on that list. Then he thought of another thing; should he tell Marinette's parents? They deserved to know the truth. But could they handle it? Or would they break down? Would they go into denial? He asked his father for advice on the situation at hand.
"Bear in mind, Adrien, they may not react too well to all of this." Gabriel said.
"You do you have a point. Mom didn't take it too well when she found out you were Le Paon."
"Part of that was because she was supposed to get the Peacock Miraculous." He briefly thought to himself before speaking again. "You've met her parents at least once. How strict are they?"
"Not very. She told me they grounded her once because she was absent from class, obviously not being aware that she was saving the day as Ladybug. It was actually around the time of Simon Says' attack. Other than that, they're not too harsh on her. "
"Hmm. She was lucky not to get caught by her parents." He sighed.
"Although... what do I say to them?"
"Are you sure you should be doing this? Technically speaking, you would be going behind your girlfriend's back."
Adrien looked at the ground sadly. "I know, but..." He sighed and looked at his Miraculous. "Assuming we're still facing Hawkmoth or another big powerful threat by the time I've rescued her, her parents would be overprotective, which would make it harder for her to do her job. It..." He hesitated as Terra entered the room. "it just seems like the right thing to do."
"If you do decide to tell them, bear in mind that the way you covey the message will make a difference." Terra stated.
"You have a good point there." he said to himself.
After some internal debate with himself, and his kwami, he had finally made his decision. He was going to tell Marinette's parents.
"I can only hope that Marinette won't be too angry with me." the blond-haired model said. "Plagg, claws out!"
He transformed into Cat Noir and left for Marinette's bakery. He knew the path all too well. When he finally got there, he could see the construction workers trying to repair the exterior area that was Marinette's room. He had entered the store. The smell of pastries hit his nostrils hard. He smelled macaroons, clafoutis and a thousand other pastries, many of which he couldn't identify. Most of all, he smelled croissants. He loved croissants. He almost lost sense of why he was here.
Cat Noir looked at Marinette's parents. "Mr. and Mrs. Dupain-Cheng, I need to speak with you. Do you have a moment of spare time?"
"Yes, we were just about to close up shop." Sabrine answered.
"What is it?" Tom asked.
"Well, there's something important I must speak with you about. It's about your daughter. Can you keep a secret or two?"
They nodded in agreement. Sabine looked at Tom before turning back to Cat Noir. "Of course."
She turned the sign from closed to open and turned back to face Cat Noir.
"Well, I don't know if anyone ever told you this, but, prior to Marinette's capture, Hawkmoth was telling his akumatized villains to target Marinette. I didn't realize the true reason for this intention until it was all but too late. I wish there was an easier way to say it, but there isn't, so I just have to tell you the harsh truth." He breathed in deeply, then exhaled before he spoke again. "Your daughter, Marinette Dupain-Cheng... is Ladybug."
They gasped. Sabine looked like she was about to cry. "All... all this time... Marinette was Ladybug? And she never even told us?"
Tom widened his eyes. "That explains everything. All the absences, the occasional minor grade slip, everything..."
She felt her eyes begin to tear up. "But why would she not tell us?"
"Because when you're a superhero, you have to keep your identity hidden to prevent your enemies from finding you."
Tom looked at the superhero curiously. "Even your loved ones?"
"Especially your loved ones." He looked at them with sorrow and honesty. "Truth be told, I was never supposed to know who Ladybug was behind the mask. I was just smart enough to figure it out on my own. Unfortunately, Hawkmoth figured it out too, and now he has Ladybug's Miraculous." He sniffed up. "And it's all my fault."
"Cat Noir... Why do you blame yourself?"
"Because, I never told anyone this, but, a long time ago, long before I found out she was Ladybug, I promised to protect Marinette from evil. At the time, I was up against the Evillustrator, a boy she had to go on a date with to in order to prevent him from going after Chloe Bourgeois for revenge. I had promised to protect Marinette, and every time she needed my help, I was able to save her. Until now. I feel horrible for what happened. Which is why I am making this promise to you; I will not stop searching. I'll never give up looking. I will not rest until I find her and bring her back home safely."
"Oh.. Cat.." Sabine sobbed and covered her eyes with her hands. "Please... bring her back to us."
"I will." He looked around. "I know you guys are already closed for the day, but, do you mind if I buy a dozen croissants?"
Tom looked at him strangely. "Regular or chocolate filled?"
He bought 12 of each. He had more croissants than he knew what to do with. He knew that if his father caught him with these, he'd be lectured for three hours, but he didn't care. After he made his purchase, he went to the nearest rooftop and detransformed.
"Seriously, why did you buy two dozen of these pastries? That cost you 36 euros!" Plagg berated.
"I don't care. It was worth every cent." Adrien took a bite of a chocolate filled croissant. "Not only is their food delicious, they're a bakery who's short one worker who's trying to get back on their feet. They need all the help and support they can get."
He swallowed then opened the box and looked at the divider they provided him. The plain croissants were on the left side of the box while the chocolate filled ones were on the right side. He handed a plain croissant to Plagg, who started to nibble on it. He got out the list of possible locations.
"Okay, first place on our list; Gousainville. Let's get going."
Adrien was confident that he'd find Marinette quickly. Of course, he had no idea how wrong he'd be.