Since his little conversation with Ladybug, Adrien had been feeling a little better. For the first time since this whole thing started, he felt like things would eventually go back to normal, but not yet. She still had to show she was serious about changing how she behaved instead of just saying she would, but it was at least a step in the right direction.
And with this Cooler head on his shoulders came a realization that he had been perhaps a little unfair with Plagg now that didn't mean he wasn't annoyed about Plagg keeping Hawkmoth's identity from him but his Kwami did have a good reason.
Whatever else Gabriel was, he was still Adrien's father, so of course Plagg would be worried that learning the truth would upset him.
Even if he didn't agree with Plagg's decision, it was understandable, more so that Ladybugs anyway.
"Plagg, let's talk," He said as he lay on his bed. Plagg almost immediately flew into view. Though he didn't seem quite sure what to say.
"Look… I'm not gonna lie, I'm still mad you hid it from me," Adrien began, staring up at the ceiling. "But I guess you had your reasons."
"I'm sorry." Plagg mumbled quietly, but Adrien caught it.
"I mean if I were you. Say as a random example, Nino's dad was Hawk-moth, and I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd like to say I'd tell him, but I'm not sure I could hurt him like that."
"I was always going to tell you." Plagg finally spoke up. "I was waiting for the right time, I know I should have just done it from the start, but I wasn't sure how you'd react."
"I mean, I guess you had a point. I'm not too stubborn to admit I didn't take it well." Smashing the statue and the graffiti might have been a bit far. But he still didn't really regret doing it either.
"Well I can't exactly blame you for it, believe me I thought about doing it myself" though if Plagg had tried to destroy the statue he'd probably have taken out half of paris along with it.
"Fur real? That would have been catastrophic" Adrien mused he'd heard from Ladybug about what happened last time Plagg tried to use his powers without him; it was a good job she could fix everything.
"Did you just make two cat puns?" Plagg groaned, though he appreciated Adrien joking around, actually helped put him at ease. Like things were back to normal.
"And if I did?"
"They were both absolutely clawful,"
"Really? I thought they were pawsitively meowvellous"
"Bleck, stop I yield, those are too cheesy even for me,"
Adrien laughed softly to himself, holding out his hand. "No more secrets, though, okay? Well, you know, within reason, you don't have to tell me Ladybugs identity, of course."
"Deal," Plagg tapped Adriens finger with his little paw, something kind of similar to a high five. Before ducking out of sight when he heard a knock on the door.
"It's open" Adrien didn't really feel like getting up, so whoever it was could let themselves in.
Emilie opened the door somewhat hesitantly, she'd been trying to think on how best to talk to Adrien about this, honestly she hadn't been sure how to talk to him since she'd gotten back, it had been a year since she'd seen him after all and he'd changed quite a lot in that time.
She sat on the end of his bed, taking a moment to articulate her thoughts. "So I spoke to Ladybug about your father, and she told me that she had already told you."
"Yep," He replied somewhat curtly. He wasn't trying to be rude. He just didn't want to talk about it. He didn't even know how.
"Well… I know it must be hard for you to think of him that way -" Emilie began to try and reassure him, but she was cut off.
"No, it's not. It's easy... It makes perfect sense. I'm glad to have you back. Of course I am, but he should have just accepted that you were gone instead of obsessing over bringing you back." Why couldn't he have just focused on him? The family he had left instead of obsessing over bringing her back. "He was a complete idiot."
"Well, you're not wrong there. You know, the first time we met, he made me so angry I actually slapped him." She reminisced with a slight smile, trying to lighten the mood if she could. "But he wasn't trying to make me angry. He always tried to do what he thought was best for the people he cared about, even if he wasn't always right."
"What a pretty way of saying he was selfish. He didn't care about the damage he did to Paris; all he cared about was bringing you back." Adrien scoffed, sitting up. "Even if he thought I'd be better off with you instead of him, he didn't stop to consider that I'd be better off with a father who was actually present in my life!"
Emilie was quiet. She had been aware that Adrien's relationship with Gabriel had deteriorated since she was gone, but she didn't know it was to this extent. Honestly, if Gabriel was still around, she'd probably slap him again.
"Sorry, it's not your fault, I shouldn't shout at you." He sighed as he looked up at the ceiling. He didn't resent his mother for his father's actions, and he didn't want her to think he did. "Losing you was hard, and it was made even harder by him never being around, so it's just, I don't know how to feel about all this."
Emilie placed a hand on his back and offered a warm smile. "There's no pressure. Anyone would feel conflicted after all you've been through. Just take your time to sort out how you feel, as much time as you need and when you're ready to talk, come talk to me or that Marinette girl or even Nino whoever you're most comfortable with."
"Thanks, mom, I will," Adrien replied with a sigh. As he watched her stand up.
"Good, now get up and change out of your pyjamas. It's already past 11, and you haven't even had breakfast yet."
"Right yeah, i'll get up, sorry." Once Emilie had left, he dragged himself to his feet and got changed. He didn't really have any plans for the day. Maybe he'd see if Nino or Marinette was free?
He'd have to put a pin in that plan, though, as Plagg informed him that he had a message from Ladybug. Apparently she'd gotten Mayor Bustier to agree to a press conference Where she could tell the people of Paris about the Monarch's real identity; she wanted as many heroes present as she could in case the new Hawkmoth tried anything.
It was at 5pm so he had a little time before then but knowing Nino Alya they'd probably be preparing to go so he didn't want to interrupt, that left Marinette but she wouldn't answer her phone for some reason.
Eventually he figured it was for the best, once he'd gotten dressed and eaten breakfast he began to plan ahead for the conference, as far as he knew Ladybug would be the one doing the talking so he didn't need to worry about that, he just arrived early and looked for a good vantage point.
From his perch, he saw Ladybug arrived as well as Carapace, Rena Rouge, Ryuko, King Monkey, and even Miss Hound showed up. With 7 heroes present, he was pretty confident that whoever this new Hawkmoth was wouldn't be dumb enough to attack them.
It was pretty short notice, but Ladybug needing to announce something still managed to draw a rather large crowd. Including one Cerise, or Lila, whatever her real name was.
She watched as Ladybug approached the podium. She had been here to disrupt, and that plan was still on, but she was a little hesitant with how many people had shown up.
"I thought you were going to make your in person debut." A stern voice asked from her earphone.
"I was, but I wouldn't last long against everyone here." Cerise argued in a hushed tone. To try and avoid attention
"Hmm, how many heroes are present?"
"Six that I can see, and that cat probably isn't too far off."
There was a moment's pause on the other side of the phone. "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Don't worry about the Ladybug and Black Cat for the time being. Go for Miss Hound. The Miraculous of the Dog will prove most useful as an insurance policy. Is the distraction en route?"
"Should be here in a couple minutes," Cerise replied with a smirk as Ladybug got ready to speak.
"By now, I'm sure you've all heard the rumours about Gabriel Agreste being Monarch." She began seemingly reluctant to continue. "Well, I'm here to inform you that they're true, I apologize for initially hiding it, I just didn't want it to reflect badly on his family. They didn't know and they wanted me to tell you."
"So what? If they said no, you wouldn't have told us?" An accusing voice called out from the crowd. "Who says that's your decision to make, we have a right to know!"
Ladybug didn't really have an answer to that. They were right, of course. She shouldn't have hidden it. "Ideally, I would have. It's just. You can't predict how people will act. What guarantee would I have that someone wouldn't take out their frustrations against Gabriel on his remaining family?"
"Oh, so you don't have any faith in us, is that it?" Another voice from the crowd sound of the crowd disguised the noise of Ryuko being struck by an arrow from somewhere unseen. They were not alone here.
"No, that's not what I meant. It's just -" She was floundering, and even Chat felt a little bad for her. She had good intentions; she'd just gone about it the wrong way.
Before she had a moment to form a solid defence, she had to duck as someone fired an arrow towards her. Carapace quickly identified the source of the attack and threw his shield towards them.
It was a young woman with a red hood covering lilac skin. She was obviously Akumatized. Which the group had been expecting. King Monkey was the first to go after her, and he was shot with an arrow, though It didn't seem to do any physical damage.
It definitely had some effect. "I'm worthless, I'm just so stupid what's the point in even trying anymore."
"I was supposed to crash this speech a little earlier, but hopefully, boss lady won't be too mad that i'm late." She readied another arrow, but this time, the group was ready to dodge.
"Everyone, get out of here! There's an Akuma!" Ladybug shouted into the microphone, effectively dispersing the crowd.
Cerise managed to slip away in the confusion, heading to a quiet spot in an alley. "Nooroo Dark Wings rise." She transformed into what she was for now, just calling Hawkmoth until she thought of something a little more her.
"Defeatist, lead those heroes away from here. You can't beat all of them at once."
"You're the boss." The Akuma turned and began to run in the opposite direction, jumping between rooftops.
Ladybug, Chat Noir, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Miss Hound all ran after her, but before Miss Hound could catch up with the group, she felt someone grab her leg. Pulling her down to the streets below.
Her blood ran cold as she came face to face with her attacker. The old Hawkmoth had never been this bold.
"Hey, little pup, wanna play?" The villain mocked before rushing her.
Defeatist was doing her best to lead the group away from where Hawkmoth was fighting Miss Hound. Thankfully, they didn't even seem to realise the fight was going on.
She aimed and fired a shot at Ladybug. But Rena Rouge got in the way of the attack, like King Monkey before her she too collapsed into a heap, cursing herself and questioning why she was even trying.
But even with Rena Rouge and King Monkey out of action, Three against one was hardly a fair fight.
She ducked Carapace's shield just as Ladybug called on her lucky charm a skipping rope? Well, it was good enough to restrain the Defeatist. She'd been easier to catch than most Akuma's. "Got, you, now where's your Akuma?"
"Haha, it doesn't matter. You've wasted your time chasing me when I'm just a distraction."
Miss Hound wasn't doing great against Cerise. She may have more experience, but she wasn't exactly the best fighter, and it didn't help that her opponent fought viciously and didn't seem opposed to fighting dirty.
She attempted to throw a punch, but the villain simply grabbed her by the arm and threw her into a car. She decided her best shot was to run. But that was easier said than done.
She scaled the tallest building she could find and tried to run across the rooftops. By now, their fight had attracted the attention of the local news, and it didn't take long for Hawkmoth to catch up with her. She grabbed Miss Hound by the hair and held her up to face the camera.
"Good to meet you in person Paris, you can call me… Chrysalis." She introduced herself with a venomous smirk before pulling the necklace off Miss Hound and dropping Sabrina as her transformation disappeared. "Shame, you couldn't be here in person, Ladybug, but whenever you see this, just know that this? Is only a taste of what I've got planned."
"You'll want to come get your friend. It's awfully cold up here, and she doesn't exactly have a way down anymore." Chrysalis laughed to herself wickedly before leaping off the rooftop. She was talking big, but she knew she couldn't actually beat Ladybug if she did show up.
It was all too late when Ladybug realised she'd been tricked. She caught the Akuma, and Her Ladybugs helped Alya, Kim Kagami, but it didn't get Sabrina her miraculous back. She helped Sabrina down from the rooftop, who still seemed shaken. "Sorry we weren't there to help Sabrina."
"No, it's not your fault you didn't know it's just-" I really hope she doesn't treat Barkk too badly." Before Ladybug even had a chance to reassure her. Sabrina's father ran over.
"Are you alright, Sweetie?" He asked as he pulled his daughter into a hug. Ladybug herself felt like she shouldn't even be here.
"I'm sorry about this." She went to leave but stopped when he spoke.
"So, you should be," Roger scolded. "You're the reason she was in danger in the first place she shouldn't be involved with this! We never should have trusted you, never! First, you hide Monarch's identity, and now you're endangering our kids?"
"I wanted to help her," Sabrina interjected. Taking her father's attention. "It's my fault Chrysalis stole my miraculous not hers, Ladybug might have given me the Miraculous, but she never made me use it!"
"You shouldn't trust a kid with that kind of power regardless. How old are you anyway?" He turned back to Ladybug only to discover she'd gone.
She knew it was rude to bail on the conversation, but what was she supposed to say? She'd ruined everything. This was all her fault. Now, not only did Chrysalis have Sabrina's miraculous the General public's trust in Her, Chat, and the others had been shattered.
"All's well that ends well," Chrysalis sighed in satisfaction as she sat down spinning on a chair. "I got the Miraculous of the Dog, and Ladybugs credibility is destroyed. The old Hawkmoths got nothing on me,"
The chair stopped spinning as a woman wearing a blank white mask stopped it with her hand. "Yes, but you were supposed to stop her from confirming the rumours were true."
"Why do you care?" Chrysalis replied with a shrug.
"Let's say I have a vested interest in the Agreste brand and would rather not deal with the bad press." The woman chose to keep things vague. Cerise had her theories but wasn't completely sure of her identity.
"Boring business stuff got it."
"What was it you called yourself? Chrysalis? It suits you, a half-baked moth."
Cerise really didn't like the implication that she thought Gabriel was better than her but bit her tongue for now, If she said the wrong things, her benefactor could easily out her as the new Chrysalis
The woman in the mask took hold of the miraculous of the dog before transforming and tapping the ball on the butterfly brooch. "There now even if you should be captured I can reclaim the Butterfly, not that I don't have the utmost faith in you, of course."
"That won't come up. I can assure you,"
"I'm sure it won't." And with that, the woman left, come to think of it. Cerise wasn't really sure how she got in to begin with.
Hey, it's a bit of a longer chapter this time. Maybe that makes up for the longer wait? I had an idea and I wanted to roll with it and see where it took me, things didn't go too well for our heroes this time but hopefully they'll have better luck next Chapter, maybe.
I may have changed it, but yes, I did forget that I said Ryuko was there while writing it originally. I just tweaked it, so she was taken out early, so it didn't change anything major.
Anyway, feel free to leave a review, I always look forward to reading them, bye now.