Chapter 2
At the museum, Ladybug or Marinette at this point was trying to keep herself composed. Her partner was out cold, unmasked in her arms, and Plagg wasn't helping any by his if she could guess by the unknown kawamis language, very colorful, creative swearing along with "Oh we'll doomed. I mean this never happened before." There was a sound like a burst of bubbles then "isn't waking up. I I." Then Plagg was purring up a storm so much that she could feel the warmth and concern of it buzzing in her bones.
Marinette's eyes were still shut, but her voice was firmly collected not echoing her shaking inside. Her partner was so cold, but so warm at the same time. "Plagg. I need you to go straight to Master Fu. He needs to use the Horse Miraculous I can get Chat to safety."
The next fifteen minutes was pure agony. Ladybug had her partner in her lap as she was sitting on floor, petting his hair even if he couldn't react to it. "Oh my kitty, what happened to you to faint like that? What's so wrong?"
She feared to even open her eyes to confirm her creeping questions. If they were true, then she needed to be strong for Chat, not go all fan girly. Master's Fu's voice made her relax enough to say, "Tikki Spots off." Tikki let her know when Master Fu was gone with Chat and Plagg did listen to her.
She followed after letting the museum staff know that the Paris hero team wouldn't be able to attend the opening of the newest exhibit. The museum staff was sad but understood that they had other duties.
As Ladybug swung towards Master Fu's place her mind was working on overdrive trying to pinpoint how Gabriel Agreste, her hero in the fashion world would snoop so low to become Hawkmoth. The theory she came up with was unsettling. She needed to talk it over with Master Fu.
When Adrien and he was Adrien at the time, came to he was laying down on a mat on the floor of a Chinese Parlor. Which was strange because he never went to one in his life. For the record, he never ever, never fainted in his life either as Adrien or Chat Noir so to do so was very strange for him.
Adrien wondered what brought it on, then Plagg's voice made him almost feel faint again. "So it turns out that your dad is Hawkmoth. That's a bummer but hey maybe we can find out why he's Hawkmoth in the first place and get Nooroo and Dussu back! Sugar Cube I want to go celebrate. Would you care to cut a groove on a rug? I'll let you have the first Camembert cheese slice."
"Plagg! Have some compassion for the poor dear. It's not every day you find out your dad's a super villain and you're fighting him for the good of mankind." Tikki's voice was soothing next to Plagg but her words made him whimper.
A soft but firm male voice that he recognized as Master Fu shushed the bickering kawamis, moving at least Tikki out of the room as she whispered "Be strong Plagg for your charge. Keep him safe".
"Now you all need to leave. Ladybug needs to get home. Tikki you have eaten enough cookies for a good charge. We don't want Ladybug to find out Chat Noir identity until later. If all goes well."
Adrien sat up in rush that did nothing good to his head which made him cradle it in his hands. "Ladybug brought me here? What about the museum? I have things I need to do today! I need to go home!" Adrien was helped into a more comfortable position by Master Fu. Adrien gave a quick peek while he was being moved.
"Relax and take this tea. It has healing properties and will sooth your aches. Plagg tells me that you for once have a very rare week off of your grueling schedule so you can rest up for the next busy weeks." Master Fu's option on the slightly bittersweet tea was working wonders on his many aches, not just his head. Even if the taste had something left to be desired.
"Yes, I need to rest up in preparation for working the catwalk for my father's fall fashion line." Adrien's swallow of the last dregs of tea was even worst as he started to cry. He almost couldn't get the sentence out.
Still he tried to continue. "My bodyguard."
Adrien stopped talking as Master Fu gently took the tea cup from his faltering hand and he just wept. He almost didn't hear that his bodyguard was patiently waiting in the kitchen. Somehow his bodyguard guessed what was going on, very recently so he was ok to wait. That made Adrien cry even harder. His bodyguard really cared about him. It wasn't just a duty to him.
Once Adrien was calm enough to listen, Master Fu sat across from him, folded his arms, and said, "We have much to discuss. Ladybug and I have pieced together a timeline, we need to confirm a few things to see if what we do expect is correct."
Adrien didn't recognize his own voice as he confirmed and questioned. "My father's Hawkmoth, why do we need a timeline?" It was as harsh and cold as Hawkmoth's was when he battling Ladybug and himself.
"To rush into battle without accurate information will lead to downfall. Ladybug and I believe that we might be able to end this without bloodshed. Now you can either answer yes or no with spoken words or a head movement." Master Fu's words and calm voice settled over Adrien's emotions like a calming blanket, it helped that Plagg was settled near his heart purring his own heart out.
"Ok. But I want to sit at the kitchen table." Adrien got up, moved to the kitchen were his giant of a bodyguard looked at him in relief and moved back a chair for him to sit down in. Then went back to looking at something on his phone tablet.
Master Fu, replenished the refreshments, the hot tea, and ask. "Where did your family get the guardian book from exactly? Ladybug told me that your father got it overseas with his wife."
Adrien sighed. "They went to China on their 3rd honeymoon and got it from there. The book was a gift from mom to father. Her last gift to him before she disappeared. I don't know about the Miraculous. I suppose that they found the Miraculous as well." Adrien let his new tears drip into his untouched tea. His bodyguard pushed a box of tissues his way that was set out on the table.
Master Fu hummed, and poured more tea for himself and Adrien's bodyguard as he pondered how to voice the next question. Master Fu seemed to ignore Adrien as he blew is nose, wiped away his tears, letting Adrien to recover. Adrien's bodyguard was a warm comfort by him.
"Ladybug told me that after she used too many of the Miraculous at the same time, she had a faint dizzy spell. From fighting Kawamibuster. For a person who doesn't have a strong mind and will to handle so many is dangerous. Also it's dangerous to use a broken Miraculous. It could lead to worst effects on a person's health, body, soul and mind." Master Fu was guessing at this point but he needed to confirm what Ladybug and he discussed in case they were right.
Adrien felt his eyes well up again, but he held back the tears to say. "Natalie is having trouble breathing, she gets dizzy and is coughing a lot. She's going through the same thing my mom did before she disappeared. Do you think it's because of the Peacock Miraculous? Is it damaged? Can you fix it? Is my mom alive?"
Master Fu sighed. "Maybe. If the Peacock is damaged, only a guardian can completely fix it. Another can fix it with the decoded Miraculous book but it won't be the same as if a guardian who have trained their whole life to look after and care for the Miraculous could fix it."
Master Fu smiled. "I also have Wayzz with me and he gives great protection. I would need to see Natalie and the brooch before we can jump to conclusions. If the Brooch is damaged, we might be able to reverse the effects after we fix it. The guardians have a lot of experience in the healing arts in case of damage or corruption."
Adrien looked at him with sad hope in his eyes. "But it's not a guarantee is it? If Natalie is Mayura, then she's helping my dad to get my mom back. But why does he need our Miraculous to do so?" Adrien was fighting hard against his despair but it was difficult. He didn't want Hawkmoth to find him. Too much was at stake, way too much.
"The proof that we have of your father's willingness to become a villain to get something that would rewrite time itself, will have results that would ripple though everyone's lives. You might not even know what. You father might get his wife back but loss your life in the process. As for Mayura, Ladybug gave me a good drawing of what she looks like. I do believe the Brooch is broken somehow. The colors are slightly off from when I used it in my foolish youth."
Master Fu fixed Adrien with a stern gaze. "You must bring Natalie with the brooch to this location at all haste." He scribbled down instructions and handed it to Adrien. "As for you bodyguard knowing all of this, he wants his sister back. His kids miss their aunt." He didn't mention that he contacted Adrien's bodyguard himself after keeping tabs on the boy, as with Ladybug. Master Fu sensed the bodyguard could be trusted. Now more then ever.
"Natalie is my half sister, but yes. I will help this strange situation out." Adrien's bodyguard's voice was soft for a big man.
"As for Hawkmoth he caused more trouble then he is worth. Gabriel has become something that Emilie wouldn't want. I've been looking at past designs that Gabriel never produced, and I remembered something I kept of Emilie's designs. I found something interesting that proves everything and it might give clues to why Gabriel is doing what he is doing." He handed the phone tablet to Master Fu.
Adrien gasped in awe and relief at the outfits that his mother was modeling as Master Fu and himself swiped through the images. It was titled the "Feather Butterfly Collection." It was discontinued on the day his mom disappeared. It never went into production at any form. Just these rough sketches. It proved that his dad and in a way, his mom were not at first using the Miraculous for evil purposes.
"It appears that your dad and mom were using the magic jewelry to design a whole new line of clothing but after your mom got sick Gabriel destroyed it. I only know about it because my kids liked a design that Emilie was modeling and I asked for a few sketches. As they were only rough drafts on paper, Emilie emailed them to me and I kept them on my personal tablet for remembrance. She kept me updated because the kids had good suggestions. The last email was on the day she disappeared."
Adrien cried again but this time in hopefully relief. He dried up his tears and hatched out a plan with Master Fu and his bodyguard. It might work even with Nathalie's sharp mind. He stopped just as he was going out the door. "Wait how did I get here with my bodyguard?"
Master Fu waved his hand to Plagg. "Ask Plagg. Now I have to get ready for my visitor."
When the two were out of his shop, Master Fu found himself humming a sad but hopeful song his mom used to sing to him. Wayzz's voice startled him out of his preparations.
"I hope this works Master. I think it might. I'll start getting ready." Master Fu stroked Wayzz head fondly, left to get more supplies and meditate as well.
