Sorry for anyone that I replied to super late, this week was insanely busy. I've barely been home at all except to sleep. Fortunately this busy period is done for me for a while so I plan to finish up pre-writing Season 1 so I can continue my weekly updates while I take a short break to work on my cosplay outfit for the fall. (I'm going as Titan Luz from The Owl House.)

Also I know the testing Varian will be taking in this chapter is not standard for home schooled children but I need it this way for plot reasons.

Content warning…not much really. Strict parenting, talk of past imprisonment and abuse.

Chapter 9

The Alchemist and the Swords Woman

The mood in the car that morning was very mixed. Adrien was on his way to his fencing lesson when he received word that Kagami had injured her hand. While she would still be attending the practice, (can't let Adrien get too far ahead) she would be unable to participate. Adrien texted her back wishing her a speedy recovery.

Varian on the other hand was having a hard time sitting in his set. He needed to get his educational assessments complete in order to continue his homeschooling. Adrien himself had to complete one at least once a year but his father usually managed to have Adrien tested at home before he enrolled in school.

He was having a harder time with Varian. Both Gabriel and Adrien had no doubt Varian would do fine but since he was forced to flee his home country most of his records were not accessible (didn't exist).

While his father seemed annoyed Varian was ecstatic to get the chance to attend school even if it was just for a single morning.

Adrien couldn't blame him, he remembered how excited he was when he first entered school and all the new friends he'd made. He thought Varian would have fought his father about homeschooling seeing as he loved learning as much as he could. But Varian said it was for the best since he wasn't sure how long he'd be here. Adrien also suspected he didn't want to get too attached to anything. He was usually interested but hesitant especially when it came to meeting new people.

Soon enough they arrived at the school and a teacher was in front guiding the students to the exam. Varian practically leapt out of the car and skipped into the building looking around at everything. Adrien smiled and made his way to practice with Gorilla watching over him. It then accrued to him that while his father stressed safety for him he always seemed to let Varian have more freedom. Adrien tried not to think about it as he made his way in.

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Even though he knew it was for the best, Varian still wished he could attend school with his peers at least for a little while. Having been mostly self taught with books and experiments, he would have thrived in an environment where learning was encouraged. Where teachers could answer his questions and guide him through experiments, maybe even teach him how not to cause so many explosions.

He slowed down in the hall admiring the trophy case where awards earned by students who won competitions and made great achievements were displayed. He happened to see Adrien's name on one of the trophies for a fencing competition where he won first place. He remembered Gabriel proudly bragging about it during a strategy meeting. He pushed down the lump in his throat and hurried over to the testing room.

Inside were rows of desks set in a semi circle facing a large screen and dry erase board with a podium in front. There was a man at the podium rummaging through the draws.

"Um, excuse me." The man was about medium height with a balding head and a full beard giving him the appearance of an owl.

"Be right with you!" he exclaimed, still rummaging through the draws. "She said it would be the top-Ah, there they are." He stood up holding a stack of papers.

"Sorry to keep you waiting young man. The teacher who usually gives these tests had a family emergency. I take it that's what you're here for." Varian nodded, taking out his student ID. "Very good, you'll leave that along with your cell phone up here and collect it at the end."

Varian complied and took a seat near the front as the other students came in. The teacher handed out the test saying it would take about 3-4 hours and if they needed to leave or use the restroom they would hand their papers in before leaving the room.

Finally the test began and Varian jumped right in. He enjoyed the fact that it was a bit of a challenge, this was a test after all. However even after checking his work over several times he found he was done after only an hour. Wondering if perhaps he was missing a part he brought it up to the teacher who looked confused when he said he was done.

The teacher looked over the papers and assured him that it was complete.

"Are you sure you don't want to look it over before you turn it in?"

"I already did, twice." Some of the other testers were looking at him and the teacher with confusion as well as some agitation.

"Well, if you're satisfied with your work Mr." he paused looking at his Student ID. "Ritter, you may leave." There was a murmur going through the other testers in the room and Varian was starting to think he did something wrong. But he was reassured and collected his ID and cell phone.

It wasn't until after Varian left and Mr. Damocles was looking over his paper that several students came down to him with a few concerns.

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Varian wasn't really sure what he was supposed to do now. He had planned on being here for a few more hours and while Gorilla could take him home he wouldn't leave Adrien here alone. He texted Gabriel saying he was done early and would wait with Adrian's at his fencing club. He was tempted to explore the school a bit more but since he wasn't a student here it would be trespassing and didn't want to get Gabriel in trouble.

He found the fencing class easily enough and watched as the students dueled each other. It was much different than the sword training he'd seen back home. This was more sport than actual combat with more rules and forms but the flair was still there. He found himself imitating some of their moves reminiscing about the sword fight he'd read about in his Flynn Rider books.

"Your form is all wrong." came a voice from behind him. He was very proud of the fact that he didn't jump this time. Maybe flinched a little. He turned to see a dark haired girl about his age wearing some kind of school uniform with a bandage on her wrist.

"Your footing as well. Your opponent would strike you down in an instant." She was sitting on a bench watching the practice with trained eyes. Varian straightened up as he recognized her as Kagami Tsurugi, holder of the Dragon Miraculous and another one of Adrien's friends.

"In a real fight I have other assets." He held out his hand. "You're Kagami right? Adrien was telling me about you." She shook it.

"You must be Varian the Basement Dweller." Varian cringed. Seems he was stuck with that nickname. Kagami glanced back at the duelers.

"Are you here to support Adrien?"

"No, I was actually here for the assessment test." She looked back at him confused.

"I've taken that test myself earlier in the year. Isn't it supposed to take a few hours?"

"Yeah but I finished early." He couldn't quite read her expression but she seemed to be analyzing him the same way she was doing to the duelers. She said nothing else and went back to watching the duels. Varian shrugged and once again attempted to imitate the fighter more closely this time.

"Your stance is still too loose, you're leaving yourself wide open. Your feet are better but they should still be farther apart. Here." Without warning she got up and manually corrected his stance moving his arms and legs. Varian hoped she wouldn't see him blushing.

"There, now lunge." Varian tried but led with the wrong foot getting his legs all twisted up and fell flat on his face. He groaned as Kagami helped him up.

"You're not very good at this are you." Varian rolled his eyes checking his nose to make sure it wasn't broken.

"Honestly, I was just playing around. Although learning some self defense wouldn't be a bad idea but maybe not fencing. Adrian is the talented, perfect son in our house." She was quiet for a moment.

"It's true he is very talented, but he is not perfect." It was then he remembered that she and Adrien dated not too long ago but it didn't work out.

"Sorry." She shook her head.

"Don't be. We're on better terms now but I'm not going to be in a relationship with someone who clearly loves someone else. I don't suppose he mentioned to you who he likes." Varian rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

"No clue, I can tell he's crushing on someone but he doesn't want anyone to know." Kagami nodded looking back at the boy in question.

"He did say that the person he likes was in love with someone else." Varian groaned.

"I don't know if that's irony or Karma." Kagami let out a tiny laugh. "This is way too complicated. I'm glad I'm not involved. Still I feel bad for Marinette though. It beyond obvious she like him but he never seems to notice."

"She's a good friend, she even tried to get Adrien and me back together despite being in love with him herself." Varian agreed, he's had enough bad friends to know she was a good one.

"That's pretty selfless. I know you two aren't together any more but I kind of wish Adrien would at least acknowledge her crush on him. That girl is a complete mess around him"

"And Adrien is completely oblivious." Kagami stated with a smile.

"I know!" Varian sighed dramatically. "It's driving me crazy, how can he not know? I want to shake him sometimes."

"It may be obvious to most people but until recently Gabriel barely even let him out of the house. I have a similar relationship with my mother." Once again Varian was reminded of another blond child who spent most of her life away from people and how she had to learn to socialize much later in life.

"That…can affect a person's social interactions, I guess." He grudgingly admitted. His alarm went off reminding him it was time for lunch. He reached into his bag for his food but in doing so dropped his notebook. It fell open revealing several sketches for some of his personal projects. Kagami eyes the book with interest.

"Oh, I didn't know you drew as well." After a moment of panic he relaxed. He wasn't supposed to take any of his notes or plans out of the house that were related to Tanuki or Shadow Moth. Considering Adrien was friends with nearly all the holders it was a necessary rule. Fortunately nothing incriminating was in this book.

"Not much, mostly technical sketches and blueprints." He said, trying to sound casual.

"Still you are very talented." she said looking at some sketches of car designs with notes on how they work and some improvements that could be made. "I can tell you're very passionate about your work." Varian blushed at the complement.

"That's very nice of you to say. Although I can get a little too…passionate about my…passions. Not everyone sees that as a good thing." Kagami nodded sadly.

"Don't tell anyone this, especially my mother but I love to draw manga. She says it as a waste of time though." Varian nodded sympathetically.

"I know what you mean. I know my Dad wished I'd help with the farm more than my al-science experiments." he quickly corrected. Kagami went to her own bag and showed a sketchbook hidden in a text book.

"Oh wow!" Varian exclaimed seeing she had made an actual comic inside. "This is really great!" She turned her head to hide her reddening cheeks.

"Thank you for the complement as well." She reached into her bag again and pulled out several small books. "I'm not sure if you've read this or not but it's one of my favorites." Varian's eyes went wide.

"Fullmetal Alchemist?! Did I translate that right?" She smiled.

"You speak Japanese as well?"

"A little. I needed a foreign language for my curriculum and since Adrien is already proficient in Chinese I wanted to try something different. I've only just started though."

"Well then if anyone asks I gave it to you to help you study, and you wouldn't be lying." Varian gave a genuine laugh as he held the books.

"Well thank you for the study guides."

They spent the rest of the time casually talking about their likes and dislikes. Varian was glad she wasn't trying to pry his tragic backstory out of him. She was a lot easier to talk to than most people. She told him she had trouble making friends, she suspected most people found her bluntness a bit off putting. Varian said he liked the fact she was honest instead of sugar coating the truth. He also confessed he had trouble making friends himself with his last few abandoning him when his family was in trouble.

After a quick lunch, Adrien's practice was finished and came up to them.

"I saw you here earlier Varian, what happened with the test?"

"Nothing happened, I just finished early." Varian was once again worried he took the test wrong or something.

"Oh." was all Adrien said before addressing Kagami. "Good to see you still made it out today Kagami. I hope your hand feels better soon."

"It's good to see you too Adrian."

"I see you met Varian."

"Yes he was very good company, but lousy at fencing." Varian just shrugged.

"She's not wrong." She thought for a moment.

"While it is still possible for you to improve, I don't think fencing suits you. Perhaps a different sport where your quick use of calculating would work better for you." But the conversation was quickly cut short when Gorilla pulled the car around at the same time Kagami's mother pulled up as well.

"Well Kagami, I hoped you used your time wisely."

"Indeed Mother, I spotted 17 and ½ weaknesses in Adrien's performance today." Adrian blinked not realizing that's what she was doing.

"17?" Adrian wondered what they were.

"½?' Varian wondered what the half meant.

"Who's the other boy there with you?" It was only now Varian realized Kagami's mother was blind. But even so she didn't seem like a woman to mess with.

"Mother, this is Varian." Her mother seemed to recognize the name.

"You're that German boy Gabriel took it."

"Yes ma'am." He said as politely as possible. "I was here to take my assessment test."

"He finished early as well." Kagami emphasized trying to highlight Varian's good qualities.

"A rushed job is a sloppy one." She commented and Varian was reminded of oh so many adults who thought children should be seen and not heard. He would have spoken out but held his tongue for Kagami's sake. "Just what were you discussing with my daughter?"

"School lessons mostly." He said, trying to sound casual. "My foreign language studies is Japanese and she was giving me some pointers." She gestured to her daughter.

"And what did you learn from him?"

"Mechanical engineering and automotive design." She answered quickly as if anticipating this conversation as she brought up his sketches. Her mother looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Tell me Varian, isn't that more of a man's field of study?" Kagami gave him a subtle look but he wasn't sure what she wanted him to say so he just went with his gut.

"Traditionally yes but I don't see how that matters. If someone is interested in learning I see no reason to restrict them." She was quiet for a while. Varian wasn't sure he answered correctly but he didn't think he was wrong either.

"Let us be on our way Kagami."

"Yes Mother." Kagami said as she got into the car but not before giving Varian a quick smile. Guess he answered correctly. Before she could close the door however, a man rushed out of the school calling out Varian's name.

"Mr. Ritter, I'm so glad you're still here I was afraid you left." Kagami's mother held out her hand to keep the door open.

"Was there a problem with my test Mr. Damocles?" The man paused to catch his breath.

"I'm afraid so. I do apologize but it seems I made a grave error and gave out the wrong test earlier." Varian looked at Adrien a little confused and somewhat annoyed.

"Why didn't you call me back then? I could have retaken it, I've been here all morning."

"Because you got full marks my boy. I graded it myself." Varian and his friends looked even more confused.

"But what does it matter if it was the wrong test?"

"Because the test was meant for second year college students, not Junior High." Suddenly everyone's eyes were on the child prodigy. "My boy, have you ever taken an IQ test before?"

While Varian was being bombarded with questions from the over-zealous teacher, Kagami's mother silently closed the door and signed her driver to depart.

"Very interesting. I had been wondering why Gabriel would take in a seemingly random child. The boy seems to be an undiscovered prodigy, one that he was trying to keep hidden." She looked back up to her daughter.

"It might be beneficial for you to continue to study with him if Gabriel allows. He must have plans for that boy."

"As you wish Mother." Her tone was obedient but inside she was delighted. She rather enjoyed hanging out with Varian. Hopefully they could become friends.

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After being grilled by Mr. Damocles with questions he wasn't sure he could answer, the two boys finally made their way home. Gabriel was waiting for them and immediately called for Varian to meet him in the project room while Adrien was told to stay in his room.

Varian entered the lair to find Gabriel on the phone with who could only be Mr. Damocles.

"Yes sir I do understand. You're right it would be a waist. I'll see to it then. Good day." He hung up without waiting for a response. Varian looked at him nervously. It felt like he was in trouble but he wasn't sure why.

"Is everything alright Gabriel?" Gabriel rubbed his forehead as he looked at the boy.

"I thought I told you to keep a low profile."

"It wasn't my fault he gave me the wrong test."

"Didn't it strike you as odd that the material was at a higher difficulty then what you review?"

"I've never taken a test like this before. I thought it was supposed to challenge me."

"And yet you finished a college level test in under an hour." Varian threw up his hands.

"Why are you angry at me for doing better than expected? I thought you said education was the most important thing in a child's life."

"Of course it's important! But I had to forge all your papers for you to stay in this country and while they should hold it's not a good idea to draw attention to yourself and have the wrong people looking too close." Varian looked away but didn't back down.

"I still didn't do anything wrong, it was just dumb luck." Gabriel sighed.

"Perhaps not." He thought for a moment. "I suppose I could work with this. I knew we couldn't keep you hidden forever. I just thought I had more time. I'll prepare a new cover story for you that should cover all the gaps. I'll try to keep this quiet for as long as possible but I'll also need a headline in case this gets leaked to the press. It'll be something like: Teenage genus flees his home country to escape unlawful persecution added by Gabriel Agreste."

"But…" Varian started. "I did attack the royal family. I was charged with treason, found guilty and sent to the dungeon. How is that unlawful?" Gabriel looked at him and for a moment, there was a hint of pity.

"In most civilized countries we don't throw children into the dungeon and leave them to waste away and die." Varian was a bit taken aback by this. "When I found you you were on death's door. Ask Ruddiger." The tiny raccoon peeked out of his pocket and nodded sadly. "Anyone who does that to a child regardless of what they've done deserves to be locked up as well. And the justice system would agree with me.

Varian didn't know what to say. After all this time he still hated Rapunzel and the king but he had started to regret his actions especially regarding the queen, who hadn't done him any harm. Was he any better now? No one was getting hurt but…He left having a lot of things to think about.

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Adrien was once again stuck in his room with yet another layer to Varian that he had to unpack. He knew Varian was smart and loved learning but the kid might actually be a genius if Mr. Damocles was right.

"You think that's why Father seems so…invested in Varian?" he asked Plagg. "What's he having Varian work on in the basement?"

"Don't know." The little cat floated in the air inspecting a cheese stash he was aging. "They both seem to be hiding something if you ask me." and that was true. There were a lot of things about Varian's past he didn't know about but he wasn't supposed to pry.

But was it to protect Varian or to keep others from prying? Adrien was also left with a lot of things to think about.

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Later that Night…

KagamiTsurugi: So, what did you think of the first book?

VarianRitter: ?

KagamiTsurugi: ?

KagamiTsurugi: Oh, I forgot about the part with the little girl and her dog.

VarianRitter: ?

KagamiTsurugi: Sorry, but are you enjoying it otherwise?

VarianRitter: ?

KagamiTsurugi: Alright then I understand if you need a break.

VarianRitter: ?

KagamiTsurugi: You're welcome. Goodnight.

VarianRitter: ?

To be continued…

Next time: Tanuki and Shadow Moth begin testing to find out how Ladybug is blocking the Akumas…with mixed results.

Meanwhile Adrien invited Varian to a picnic with most of his classmates and friends. He meets a lot of new people that day and…wait there's another boy genius?! And he loves science and he builds ROBOTS?! SQUEEE!