Happy Halloween everyone! We're down to the last three chapters for the season and next week starts the two part finale.

Content warning: Medical issues, stress, plotting, and manipulation.

Chapter 26

The Calm Before the Storm

Varian awoke the next morning to the sounds of other people talking around him. It was a little hard to make out at first but as soon as they noticed he was awake they turned their attention to him. Gabriel was there along with Nathalie and the doctor who was there that time he had gotten a headache so severe he-oh. Memories of the previous day came rushing back.

"Good morning Varian, how are you feeling right now?" It was the doctor who was checking his pulse as he spoke. Varian took a moment to access himself.

"I feel fine I guess. I don't have a headache anymore." The doctor hummed.

"Same as last time?" Varian nodded. "Your records say you also suffer from Hemophobia? Have you had fainting spells before?"

"Y-yeah, if I see blood I instantly get lightheaded and I've passed out a number of times. But there was no blood at the museum."

"Have you ever gotten headaches from your hemophobia before?"

"Not that I can remember." The doctor jotted something down.

"Have you been under any stress lately? Any long hours in front of a computer?" Varian nodded, rubbing the back of his head.

"Ye-yeah, a lot of both." He hummed and he made a few more notes.

"I suspect you're suffering from tension headaches caused by stress. While all your vitals are normal I'd like to run a few more tests to be on the safe side since you passed out. I can write you a prescription if the headaches come back." Varian groaned but allowed the doctor to do a quick checkup and take a few samples. He thankfully warned Varion before he took some blood. Even though he was turned away the doctor still noticed a slight drop in blood pressure normal for a patient with Hemophobia. He left promising to have the test results back as soon as possible.

Once he was gone Varian turned to Gabriel. "I thought my Miraculous was all fixed the last time this happened?" He said assuming this doctor's visit was more for a paper trail since he passed out in public.

"I rechecked your goggles and found nothing wrong with them." Varian's eyes widened as he saw Ruddiger pop up holding the goggles out for his boy.

"I checked too and the repairs last time were perfect. They're not what's making you sick." Varian took back his Miraculous more confused than ever.

"So I'm really just stressing myself out so much it's making me sick?" Gabriel put a hand on his shoulder.

"It is a possibility but let's wait for the test results to know for sure. In the meantime it might not be a bad idea for you to take a break from your…extra project." Varian jumped out of the bed.

"You can't be serious, I just found a new angle I wanted to research!"

"Which can wait for a day or so until we get the results." Nathalie gently told him. Varian was about to protest but Ruddiger's tiny form floated up to his face.

"Please Varian, you gave us all a scare yesterday." He floated to the end table where Varian kept his phone and held it up to him. "Everyone else was worried too." Varian took the phone, shocked to see so many messages. Just about everyone from Adrien's class and even a few who weren't like Marc, Kagami and Luka had wished him well or were asking if he was OK.

Varian felt his heart flutter, this…this was for him? Were they really all worried about…him? He sighed but with a smile peeking out.

"Alright, I'll…stay out of the lab for a few days and I'll limit my time on the computer." Ruddiger raised his hand eagerly.

"I'll time you!" He smirked back at his Kwami.

"What, you don't trust me?"

"Nope!"

"Ah, that's fair." he said, trying to lighten the mood. "I'll still be doing some research with the books I just got, I've still got the paper for Art History after all. Because If I can't do anything it will stress me out even more." Ruddiger cringed.

"I can attest to that." After a little more bargaining and promising to call the minute he got another headache for the foreseeable future Varian was finally released.

He looked down at his phone again smiling as he thanked and reassured everyone he was OK. Before he could finish however Adrien found him in the hallway.

"Oh, hey Adrien I was just coming to see-" But he was interrupted mid sentence as his foster brother threw his arms around him.

"You're OK!" Varian was stunned for a moment. Was Adrien really that worried?

"Yeah I'm OK. It was just a headache." Adrien pulled out of the hug to look at him.

"Varian you passed out cold!"

"That's not that unusual for me with my Hemophobia. I guess it must have looked scary since I haven't passed out since I got here." Except for the time Ruddigger got a little carried away while fighting the Celestial Guardian, and that time he passed out on the street when he first came here but Adrien didn't need to know about that.

"Although I did come close at the festival when Kim cut his hand. Thankfully I looked away in time." Adrien still looked unsure.

"Still what if they're a sign of something…" Varian put a hand on his shoulder.

"The doctor thinks they're just tension headaches but he's running a bunch of tests to be on the safe side."

"That's good, still you should take it easy."

"You'll be happy to know your Dad has temporarily banned me from my lab and is limiting my time on my computer until the test results come in." Varian didn't sound too happy about that but it did make Adrien feel a little better.

"I could stay home and keep you company." Adrien offered and while Varian was touched he shook his head.

"No, you just got back to school recently. I'll be fine. I still have to finish my Art History paper and I have some non-stressful things I can work on here."

"If you're sure."

"I'm sure. You can tell everyone else you saw me safe and sound because even though I already messaged them some are not quite convinced. Nino thinks someone's hacking my email." Adrien chuckled knowing he'd have to straighten out his best friend.

"Alright I'll relay the message." He started back to his room to get his school things. "Oh, since you are taking a break from your project, wanna come to the Paris Careers Expo with me tomorrow?" Varian thought for a moment. He hated taking a break from achieving his ultimate goal but the last thing he needed was to overexert himself again. This could be an interesting distraction.

"Yeah OK, sounds like fun." Adrien beamed happy to have another opinion on his new career path.

"Great, I'd love some advice and maybe you'll figure out what you'd like to do for a career. There are so many jobs in science you'll have your pick." As Adrien ran to his room to get ready for the day he missed the frown forming on Varian's face. He had no problem going to support Adrien and for a moment he'd been excited about the idea of looking into a new future for himself. But then he paused.

'What am I doing, planning a future here? It's not like I'll be going to college here or getting a job or…' he pushed those thoughts down. 'It's fine as long as I don't lose my focus.'

After breakfast he went to the library in the manor and made short work out of his assignments so he could focus on his side project of looking for clues for the Miraculous in the paintings he'd found. He started with decoding Leonardo da Vinci's notes and checking his answers in the reference book. He found a lot of them but was surprised to find out he missed a few. There were even some that were still unknown to this day. This was going to be trickier than he thought but he did love a challenge.

After a few hours though he was stuck. He found a symbol or two in several of his known works but couldn't figure out what they meant. Ruddiger was also unusually quiet during all of this. He was usually quick to offer a suggestion or take an educated guess. This time however he just sat there watching with a knowing smirk on his face. Varian wasn't sure what to make of it; it was like he knew the answer and was waiting to see if Varian could discover it on his own. But why?

Thinking about Ruddiger made him think back to his Art History paper when he wrote about the possible reasons the Miraculous symbol was hidden within the paintings.

Suddenly he had an idea, a crazy idea, well maybe not crazy now that he thought about it. He pulled the prints with the weird unknown symbols and cut them out laying the pieces on the table in front of him. He manipulated them like an elaborate jigsaw puzzle finally having some idea what the picture could be. Sure enough he stepped back and was greeted by the symbol of the Miraculous.

"I…I don't believe it! I solved an unknown puzzle by one of the greatest minds in history before anyone else!" He bounced up and down, extremely pleased with himself. "Oh but this means Leonardo da Vinci knew about the Miraculous…" he trailed looking back at Ruddiger who was still silent but still had a huge grin on his face. "Or was even a former holder." He cupped his hands under Ruddiger who rested himself within them.

"Was he a former Raccoon holder? Were you his Kwami once?" Ruddiger's silence spoke volumes. A Kwami could not reveal the identity of their holder even to praise their legacy. Varian smiled back proud to be included in a legacy such as this, even if they were the only ones who knew it.

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In the dead of night in the walls of the palace of Corona a lone figure was still up and about. The royal adviser Nigel had finally gotten the news he so desperately needed. The results however were not what he expected. Once again he used the magic mirror in his bedroom to contact his comrade Tromus or Mathews as he was sometimes known.

"What news brother? The Princess and her party will be arriving shortly. While their journey has been long they are getting closer to the Moonstone everyday. I don't know how much further I can move the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow before they have no reason to enter." Nigel folded his hands, Mathews was known for his patients but he was correct, time was running out. Luckily he had good news to share.

"Not to worry, we have located the boy." Mathews seemed to sigh in relief.

"It's about time. Where was the brat hiding for so long?" Nigel frowned.

"That's the bad news. It seems he was spirited away to another world." Mathews' eyes shot open before frowning and looking away as if in thought.

"This…complicates matters even more. What power could have even done this in the first place? It must be strong." Nigel glanced to the right for a quick moment.

"It is…familiar." Mathews didn't know what that meant but he was more concerned about what this meant for the plan. The plan that had been in the works for many years now and was looking like it was about to fall apart.

"You do realize if we can get to the boy-"

"Rest assured we are still going ahead with the plan, things will merely have to be…altered a bit. Your role will be even more important than before with these new changes, can I count on you to push your powers further than ever before?" Mathews looked surprised for a moment but then a smile a mile wide crossed his face. This was his chance to win great favor with their mistress. Nigel was counting on that to make this work. He even took on his alternate form to display his power.

"The House and my magic are some of the strongest there is. Whatever the mistress desires I can provide." As expected his eagerness to show off made him more willing to try something that may be a bit dangerous to his limits. But Nigel had no choice; they had to make this work.

"Good, Rapunzel and her party are going to need one more delay. We'll need a little more time to prepare and they will need to retrieve something before they arrive at your house." Mathews looked a little frustrated that he could not get started right away but figured whatever he was being asked it must be big.

"And what is my new role in this?"

"While we figured out where the boy ended up, we don't have an exact location. Even if we find him quickly, bringing him back to the dungeons in Corona won't give us enough time to use the Sapporians to stage a breakout. Rapunzel and her party will return before then and we can't afford to delay them again after they acquire the last piece of the scroll." Mathews thought for a moment.

"So what do you plan to do then, bring everyone to the boy?" he laughed, not realizing that's exactly what he had in mind.

"Precisely, after finding out where the boy ended up I realized this could work out better than we had planned. While the worlds don't run at the same speed they will be in sync for the eclipse. So your job will be to lure the Sundrop in and send her to meet the boy." Mathews' eyes widened. That was a test of his power indeed.

"That's all well and good but what about the moonstone? Our agent hasn't-"

"Our mistress has already taken care of that. Her powers may be limited but her connection to the Sundrop and Moonstone allow her some…creative liberties. But even she can't restore the moonstone without the missing piece. Which thankfully has already made a connection."

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Varian jolted awake from his desk not realizing he had fallen asleep. He pulled an annoying piece of paper that had stuck to his cheek and was semi glued in place by his drool.

"Ug." he groaned, reorganizing his papers. "How long was I asleep?" Not long according to his phone, about twenty minutes give or take. He glanced at Ruddiger who was happily eating an apple three times his size. He smiled at the little creature who had likely saw he was asleep and figured he needed a power nap.

"Enjoying that?" Ruddiger bounced up and down with delight.

"They were so small when I was a real raccoon." He pushed the apple closer.

"Enjoy it buddy." Ruddiger opened his mouth comically wide to take a chunk out of the oversized (for him) apple. Vavian laughed, enjoying watching his little friend enjoy his treat. But no rest for the weary, he went through his research papers again debating if he should add his latest find to the list.

He had been trying to find accounts of people coming back to life to see if he could discover when the first Miraculous Wish took place. It was proving to be more challenging than he thought. Accounts of so-called miracles were everywhere and from all over the world. There were many accounts of people "coming back to life" but not a lot of evidence to suggest it was the power of the Miraculous. Not to mention doctors in the past didn't always get the diagnosis of "deceased" correct. The modern doctors of this world were benefited by the wonders of technology but even in his own time mistakes were known to happen. A person not quite dead waking up was also called a miracle by most people.

Then again Varian remembered he did know someone who came back from the dead. Flin-Eugene was saved by the last remains of magic in Rapunzel's hair. It was one of the reasons he was convinced Rapunzel could save his Dad even if he- He shook his head. Eugene had also just died so maybe the magic just…pulled him back at the last moment or something. Regardless her hair has a connection to the rocks so even if the healing magic was lost it should have been able to do…something.

He sighed, glancing back at Ruddiger, determined to eat the entire apple. He needed to stop thinking about that. She wasn't here and she couldn't help him…wouldn't help him. Especially not now. Maybe the rocks changed the magic somehow. He wished he had been able to salvage his notes from the tests he ran on her hair when they first met but they burned up in the explosion.

He had to forget about that for now. He needed to find information on a magic that could actually work. But…could it? He looked at Ruddiger who had successfully devoured the entire apple and was floating in a tiny food coma with a very bloated belly looking extremely satisfied with himself. He knew the Kwamis had no power in his world but still there had to be a way. He was brought here by their magic after all so it had some reach. Maybe the magic could reach even if the Kwamis themselves couldn't?

He sighed again looking at the article he found about a man who supposedly made a deal with the devil to bring his daughter back from the dead. He added it to the maybe pile which had grown quite large since he started this. He rested his chin in his hands and tried to think. Maybe he needed to step back a bit. He had been data hunting all day and by now all of the accounts were blurring together.

Ruddiger pushed a plate of food in front of him. It was a simple soup and half sandwich, a favorite study food.

"Thanks buddy." He reached for the sandwich.

"Your body's bigger than mine. Gonna need more than an apple." Varian smiled as he dipped the bread in the soup.

"Don't worry I'm being a good boy." He held up his food then took a bite. "Yum, tomato soup." While he was nibbling on his food a picture at the back of his desk caught his eye. It was mostly buried underneath his piles of research papers but the corner was still visible.

He recognized it as Adrien's class photo, the one he had been using to try and determine if Ladybug and Chat Noir was someone in that class or the school. This was an angle he had been working on but had been pushed to the back burner with everything going on lately.

He looked at the notes he made noting all the students who were Akumatized, who held a Miraculous at any point and who could possibly be Ladybug and Chat Noir. There was only one student who didn't meet the first two criteria…Adrien. He was the only one except Marinette who was never Akumatized but unlike her he wasn't a holder.

But…it just couldn't be. After all, Ladybug was the Guardian and for safety reasons didn't know Chat Noir's identity. His Kwami being in the school might have just been meeting with Ladybug's Kwami which only reaffirmed his theory she was a student in this school.

See, no reason to suspect-a memory suddenly flashed in his mind. Chat Noir angrily kicking Jacques for hurting Adrien. He paused, it would make sense if not for the fact that Gabriel would know…wouldn't he? A month ago he wouldn't have entertained the idea but recently he was coming to the conclusion that the relationship between father and son was much different than he first thought. With all the praise and good things Gabriel had to say about his son it was a surprise that Adrien didn't seem to hear any of it. He also learned that Gabriel assumed a lot of things about Adrien that weren't true.

Still that wasn't enough to prove anything he could still be a student just in a different class. But then he remembered how Chat Noir had not been present while they had been rescuing Adrien. Then he lied about his absence by blaming Tanuki.

Varian closed his eyes giving this some very serious thought. I still didn't prove it was him but…if it was true what would that mean for this family? He could imagine how devastated Adrien would feel knowing that his entire family were villains? Would knowing they were doing this to bring his mother back be enough? He wasn't sure anymore. And Gabriel…he wasn't sure how the man would react to finding out his own son was one of the heroes he was fighting against.

Adrien couldn't be Chat Noir, again, there was only circumstantial evidence which didn't mean much. I couldn't be true…he didn't want it to be true. He put Chat Noir out of his mind before he started to stress himself out too much. He didn't want another headache.

He was about to put the picture away when a thought came to him. Ladybug had access to all the other Miraculous, was it possible she was using one or two to trick them. He wouldn't be surprised. The way she figured out all the lucky charm puzzles she no doubt had a backup plan to protect her identity. Heck with the Fox and the Roster Miraculous she could pull off a number of tricks and they'd be none the wiser.

He looked at the picture again wondering if he crossed off someone too early. Suddenly he was struck by a memory. She had slipped. When he was fighting her as Mean Streak she called him Varian!

"How did she know my name?" He never said it while he was transformed. While Adrien was easily recognizable as a celebrity, Varian was purposely being kept out of the general public. Not many people knew who he was or that he was staying with the Agrests outside of Adrien's circle of friends.

He looked at the picture again, a spark of fear, excitement and dread all seemed to roll together in the pit of his stomach. She knew him! He had suspected it for a while but this was his first bit of real proof he had managed to come across, Right here in this picture Ladybug could be staring back at him.

"Almost missed it." He said but couldn't bring himself to smile. He knew most of these people. "It would seem we're getting to the point where all our masks will finally have to come off."

To be continued…

Next time: Varian and Adrien visit the Paris Careers Expo when Shadow Moth comes up with a plan to reveal Ladybug and Chat Noir's true identities using his newest Akuma Wishmaker. It doesn't go as planned.