Thud
Marinette and Meg looked at each other, both aware of what caused the sound on the roof.
"I'll be downstairs," Meg said as she hurried to give Marinette some privacy with Adrien.
"C'mon, Tikki." She said, and the pink kwami followed her down the stairs.
Meg stood below the door, listening for just a moment to be sure Marinette and Adrien were thoroughly occupied, before heading down to the living room.
She was nervously wringing her hands and pacing across the floor. She asked Marinette if she wanted to have a sleepover this weekend while her parents were away, but that was just so she could have a chance to talk to Tikki. And this was it. Meg didn't think Marinette would have any objections to what she was about to suggest, but Meg didn't want to get Marinette's hopes up for nothing.
She paused in her pacing; once again listening to the upstairs to make sure no one was coming. It's now or never. She glanced over to Tikki who was nibbling on a cookie much bigger than herself.
"Tikki, can we talk?"
She looked over her cookie with a questioning expression. Usually when someone starts a conversation with 'can we talk,' you know it's going to be something serious.
"What is it, Meg?"
She sat on the sofa and Tikki sat on the armrest next to her, and she took a deep breath.
"I think we can bring Adrien's mom back." She whispered, careful of Cat Noir's hearing.
Tikki almost choked on her cookie.
"WHAT?!"
"Shhhh." Meg glanced upstairs, hoping Adrien hadn't heard.
"I think it's possible Tikki."
"You know the miraculous require balance, Meg! What are you thinking!" Tikki whispered urgently.
"Yes,If you use both of them together; Your creation, plus Plagg's destruction. But what if you only use the good, and not the bad? Your miraculous cure can fix anything."
"Usually, but Marinette has sent it off so many times and nothing has happened."
"Exactly. Marinette has sent it off."
Tikki finally seemed to be catching on to what Meg was saying.
"You and I both know that you can use your powers without Marinette's help, and when you do it's exponentially more powerful. Ever since seeing what Plagg can do, I've wondered what kind of potential your power has."
"But I can't bring people back from the dead, Meg."
"Not even if that death was caused by a Miraculous?"
"What?" Tikki dropped her cookie.
"Well it's not exactly confirmed, but I'm almost one hundred percent certain that Emilie's illness was caused by using the peacock miraculous. Apparently it's damaged, and that can make whoever uses it very sick."
Tikki looked suspiciously at Meg.
"What do you mean it's not confirmed?" she asked Meg, whose expression froze at the question.
"I mean it's a theory I have that I haven't confirmed yet. Didn't Master Fu tell you the Peacock was damaged?"
Meg knew he had. She'd been there when it happened, the same day that Meg returned it to him.
At that moment Plagg flew into the room.
"Hey, Sugar-cube! Got anything to eat around here?" He practically tackled Tikki in mid air.
"Not now, Plagg!" Tikki said, completely unamused by the interruption.
"If not know, then when?"
Tikki sent him a fierce glare, and he seemed to get the hint.
"What's going on with you two?" he asked the girls.
"Nothing." Tikki said, while at the same time Meg said
"I want Tikki to use her Miraculous cure to bring back Emilie Agreste."
"Oh boy," Plagg said looking between the two of them. "Are you sure you don't have anything to eat?"
Tikki led them into the kitchen and Meg took out some cheese for Plagg. She knew if she didn't get it for him that he'd eat Marinette's whole kitchen.
"I believe that if whatever happened to Emilie really was caused by a miraculous, then you should be able to fix it, Tikki." Meg went on.
"Well…she hesitated, it does make sense. But I don't know."
Tikki faltered, looking to Plagg for help. He shrugged.
"I don't see what the big deal is, Sugar-cube. You'd be doing a good deed, which is something you girls like to do, and there really is no risk involved."
"No risk? What if Hawkmoth—"
"Hawkmoth is gone." Meg interjected, and received a sharp look from Tikki.
"What if Gabriel, tries to capture me."
"Tikki I've seen you phase through solid objects before." Meg replied.
Plagg shrugged again.
Tikki sighed and looked at the two of them.
"What if it doesn't work?" she asked quietly.
"It will," Meg said reassuringly. "But if it doesn't, nobody will ever have to know it was even on the table."
"I'll even go with you if you're that worried, Sugar-cube." Plagg said, earning a surprised look from Tikki. Plagg didn't often do things for others. Maybe Adrien was rubbing off onto him.
She looked up at the ceiling where Marinette was somewhere above them and sighed. She was afraid, but knew that Meg was right. If she had the power, she should at least try.
"Okay," she looked at Plagg, "But we have to hurry and get back soon before those two come down looking for us."
"Right," Plagg said with a small salute.
"Take this," Meg handed Plagg a cookie and laughed at the way his nose crinkled.
"It's for Tikki if she needs her strength afterwards. If those two come down, I'll keep them busy. Good luck guys."
The kwamis flew through the city together, Plagg careful to hold onto the cookie that Meg trusted him with. He couldn't let his Sugar-cube down if she ended up needing it.
Plagg showed Tikki a shortcut to Adrien's place. They didn't have to worry about cameras since kwamis can't be captured on film, but they avoided them anyway because a floating cookie probably would've been suspicious. Once inside, they had to be extra careful not to be spotted by actual people.
Or so they thought. The place was dead. Not that it was ever a party zone or anything, but Nathalie wasn't around. Adrien's bodyguard wasn't around, and they hadn't spotted Hawk—Gabriel anywhere either. That was strangest of all since he never left his home.
Plagg quietly led her through the mansion to the office, and when they made sure the coast was clear, they phased through the painting and followed the tunnel. They remembered the dark tunnel from when Cat Noir and Ladybug traveled it, but it was different this time without their holders with them.
They went down the long tunnel until they saw the faint glow of light. It got stronger as they got closer, but not much stronger. As they approached they saw the glow came from a single light above a glass coffin.
It was Adrien's mother, and she looked perfectly preserved. But she wasn't alone. Gabriel was knelt in front of her coffin, and it looked like he'd been there for days. His features were gaunt and his clothes were worn, loose and dirty. His hair was disheveled and his glasses were on the floor beside him. This was a far cry from the man they knew him to be, and from the man they defeated less than a week ago.
The kwamis froze, not knowing what to do. They'd talked about phasing through if he tried to capture them, but they'd both hoped they wouldn't even come face to face with him. And there he was in front of their objective.
Tikki looked at Plagg and took a deep breath. He nodded his head, ready to provide backup if she needed it. She cautiously floated over to Emilie, hoping Gabriel wouldn't look up and see her there.
So of course he did.
She froze, mid float, and they stared at each other for a long moment, neither of them moving. After a moment Gabriel turned his head back to his wife, ignoring the kwami in front of him. Surely he knew what she was?
Tikki looked back at Plagg and he shrugged.
She was uncertain, but she still moved forward until she reached the glass case. She and Gabriel looked at each other again, but he still didn't move.
"Miraculous Ladybug." Tikki whispered, her hand on the case.
The room swarmed with the magic ladybugs and encircled the case, knocking Gabriel backwards, and he stared in wonder at the magic before him. When the ladybugs vanished he peered into his wife's case. At first, nothing happened. But then her eyelids fluttered. Then they opened.
Gabriel sucked in a breath that he'd been holding since the magic began, and then he choked it out, astonished at what he just witnessed. This was the power of the miraculous. And after everything he'd done, she still…
He looked at the kwamis before him with tears in his eyes.
"Thank you."
They nodded and hurried away.
Adrien and Marinette quietly headed downstairs together to get their Kwamis, only to find that everyone was still awake and having a two a.m. meal.
"What are you guys doing still awake?" Marinette asked?
Meg gestured to the table in front of her, "Eating. Having a sleepover without you losers." She smiled teasingly.
"Sorry about that." Marinette said, rubbing her shoulder.
"It's okay, I'm glad you guys took your time."
"YOU WHAT?!"
After Adrien left, Meg and Tikki told her what they'd done. It was no doubt the reason Adrien's father called him away. Tikki and Meg (and Plagg before he had to go) were celebrating.
After the initial shock wore off of the insanely dangerous thing Tikki had done, and that Meg asked her to do, she rose to celebratory levels of joy and shared in the occasion.
Adrien would have his mother back. That was the most amazing thing Tikki could've done for him, and for that she was grateful. Talking to Adrien in her room she'd realized exactly how hard he's had it. Not only this past week, but since his mom's 'disappearance.' She was so happy that it brought tears to her eyes. They only spilled after Meg's "Aww Don't cry." And then everyone was crying.
It was a good cry though, one that was joined with laughter and shared with friends. She wondered if Adrien was having something similar with his family in that same moment, and smiled at the thought.