Master Fu was currently meditating in his massage shop with Wayzz floating beside him.
"Master, are you okay?" Wayzz asked.
"She's here!" he said.
Wayzz had no idea what he meant when suddenly he heard a knock on the door. He quickly flew off and hid inside the phonograph.
The door opened, and Marinette stepped inside the shop.
Master Fu opened his eyes and smiled at her gently. "Hello, Ladybug!"
When Marinette stepped inside with the grimoire in her hands, Tikki flew out of the purse.
"I know you never wanted me to bring her here again, but… you must see what she's discovered," she said and looked at Marinette. "Show him, Marinette."
Marinette recognised the shop; it was the same one Tikki had taken to when she was ill, and the old man in front of her was the one who had healed.
"I've been here; I've met you before. You're the healer that cured Tikki when she was sick!" she said, looking at Master Fu. "Soo… I'm guessing you're not really a vet?"
Master Fu smiled. "Not really. That was your first day of school; that wasn't a chance meeting either." Marinette then suddenly realised that this was the same old man who she the way before he was run over by a car. "Marinette, you're always ready to help others. I knew that day, that very moment, that you'd make a fantastic Ladybug!"
"But, who are you?" Marinette asked.
Master Fu rose to his feet and guided Marinette to the phonograph. He then pressed down on the eyes of the dragons engraved on its base, revealing the sort of keypad. He pressed several buttons, and the phonograph opened up, revealing the Miracle Box inside.
"Master Fu is the last known member of the Order of the Guardians!" Tikki explained.
Wayzz then suddenly flew out of the phonograph. "Guardians of the Miraculous! I'm Wayzz, Master Fu's kwami. It's a pleasure to meet you, Marinette."
"Uhh, you too!" said Marinette, still trying to get her head around all this.
"Don't worry, you'll get used to it," said a voice making her jump.
Marinette quickly spun around and saw Sprite standing there. "Sp-Sprite?"
Master Fu didn't look particularly surprised to see him. "Were you followed?"
"Don't worry, no one was tailing me," he said.
"Uh, what's going on here?" Marinette asked and suddenly remembered Tikki was floating beside her. "Uh, I can explain all this."
"You don't need to tell me anything, Ladybug," Sprite smiled.
Marinette's eyes widened. "Wait, you know I'm Ladybug, but you said…"
"I lied," said Sprite. "And I also know the identity of Cat Noir before you ask. I have also withheld a few other things, all so that I can protect the timeline."
Marinette then looked at Master Fu. "You don't seem surprised to see him here?"
"That's because he came to see me shortly after I handed both you and Cat Noir your Miraculouses," he explained. "He told me a number of things, and I do not doubt that he has the best intentions. Even trust me enough to reveal his true identity to me."
"Which I'm afraid will have to remain secret for both you and Cat Noir," Sprite added. "The only reason I told Master Fu about any of this is because he is the Guardian of the Miracle Box."
"And what exactly is a Guardian?" Marinette asked.
"We guardians are responsible for protecting and distributing the Miraculous for the good of all humanity," Master Fu explained, opening the lid of the Miracle Box. Marinette could see a necklace resembling a fox's tail and a haircut resembling a bee inside it. "We are chosen in childhood and trained for many years, specially for this mission. When we were much, much younger, we…"
Master Fu then paused. "I made a mistake. The guardians' temple was destroyed, all because of me! Two of the Miraculous were lost that day. The Butterfly and the Peacock." He then pointed to two empty slots in the box. "Also gone forever was the ancient spellbook!"
Marinette frowned as she began looking through the pages. "But all it has are drawings of old superheroes and a bunch of strange symbols."
"Not strange to a Guardian," Master Fu smiled as he closed the lid. "Back in the days, I was never given the opportunity to even have a look at it, but I've been taught enough to be able to partially decipher the code."
Marinette looked at Tikki, who nodded, and then she handed Master Fu the book.
Master Fu then began looking through the book. "These pages contain various spells capable of giving Ladybug and Cat Noir special abilities we haven't known about until now! Obviously, this book is invaluable."
Meanwhile, Adrien was in his room being scolded by his father, who had discovered he had stolen the book from his safe. A fact that he proved by having Natalie show CCTV images of the theft.
"Why did you take the book?" Gabriel asked without looking at him
"I… I just wanted to know what you were hiding behind that portrait that was so important," said Adrien. "You… you never told me about those things. I was intending to give it back to you, I swear! But then… I lost it."
"How can I possibly trust you again, Adrien?"
"Sorry… I'll get you another copy."
"It's one of a kind!" said Gabriel, raising his voice. "The book's the source of my inspiration."
"I didn't know that. I hardly know anything about you, Father."
"You won't be returning to school," said Gabriel sternly. "You'll be home-schooled again… with Nathalie."
Adrien was completely crestfallen and watched as his father and Natalie left the room.
Back at Master Fu's shop, he read the book while Tikki chased Wayzz around the room in circles.
"I've always believed that whoever possessed this spellbook must also have the Peacock and the Butterfly Miraculous," said Master Fu.
"Wait a sec. Do you mean whoever owned the Spellbook could be Hawk Moth?" Marinette asked.
Master Fu nodded and looked at her. "How did you discover this book, Marinette?"
Marinette immediately had a mental flashback of Adrien with the book. "I… uh… I found it lying on a bench in a park close to… close to the school."
Master Fu looked at her suspiciously. "You didn't see who it belonged to, then?"
"No. No, I… didn't."
Tikki had stopped chasing Wayzz around and looked at Marinette, bewildered. Sprite stood in the corner, shaking his head, but remained silent.
"What a shame," said Master Fu, looking disappointed. "For a moment, I thought we were about to discover the identity of Hawk Moth. We would've had a chance to defeat him."
"Uh… I could investigate if you want," Marinette offered.
Master Fu closed the book and looked at her sternly. "But you must be very careful, Marinette. If you succeed, you may well find yourself face to face with Hawk Moth."
"I'll be very careful, I promise," Marinette promised.
"If you discover his identity, don't face him yourself. Call me and Cat Noir," said Sprite.
"I will, don't worry."
Marinette then stood up and left the shop with Tikki.
Master Fu looked at Sprite. "Well?"
"You don't need to be an empath to know that she is hiding something," said Sprite.
Master Fu sighed. "I was afraid that. It's a shame that you cannot dive more than what you told me."
Sprite lowered his head. "I can only observe and offer advice; I can't fight their battles for them no matter how much I want to."
Marinette was running through the street frantically, with Tikki sticking her head out of her purse.
"Why did you lie to Master Fu?!" Tikki asked.
"I couldn't tell him or Sprite that Adrien was the one who had the book. Adrien can't be Hawk Moth!" she said strongly but then gasped. "But what if he is?"
She then quickly hid behind an advertisement pole just outside the school, ironically advertising Gabriel's perfume with Adrien's face on it. From there, she immediately began to imagine Adrien as Hawk Moth.
"Th-That would mean that I'm crazy in love with a supervillain!" she panicked. "I can't be crazy in love with a supervillain… I… I'd have to fight him and…"
"Calm down, Marinette; I'm sure there's an explanation," said Tikki, flying out of her purse.
"I need to get to the bottom of this."
"Do you know where to find Adrien?"
Marinette smiled. "I know that boy's schedule by heart."
Tikki nodded. "Let's go."
They then dashed towards the school.
Marinette snacked towards the entrance to the school as a fencing class was taking place. She then snacked towards the locker room, but there was no sign of Adrien.
Marinette frowned. "I don't see him. Something's up. Adrien never misses his fencing lessons."
Marinette continued searching for Adrien when she heard Chloé's cries.
"Oh no!" Chloé cried.
Marinette followed the source of the voice coming from the classroom and saw her classmates surrounding Chloé, who was holding her phone and crying while Sabrina attempted to comfort her.
"This is a terrible tragedy!" Chloé cried.
"What's up with her?" Marinette asked.
"Adrien's never coming back to school! Ever! Oh…"
"His dad grounded him!" Kim explained.
"For life," Max added.
"What? Why?" Marinette asked.
"Something about losing this major important book that belongs to his dad," said Nino.
"A bit overboard, even if it was a one-of-a-kind book," said Jack.
"His dad? Ha! Phew!" said Marinette relieved.
Everyone then immediately stared at Marinette.
"'Phew'?!" said Chloé irately.
Marinette smiled sheepishly at everyone. "'Phew. Cause I… I was scared it was super serious. I mean, yeah, sure, it really is serious, but it's not like he's sick or anything, you know. Surely we can fix this, right? We won't just stand by and let this happen! Ha!"
She then suddenly ran off, leaving her bewildered classmates behind.
Marinette quickly rushed into the girl's bathroom, went into one stall, and let Tikki out of her purse.
"So it wasn't Adrien's book. It was his father's! Adrien isn't Hawk Moth! she said and sighed with relief. "I knew it! Adrien doesn't have an evil bone in his body.
"Except, according to Nino, Adrien did take the book without his father's permission," Tikki pointed out.
"Well, he must've had a good reason to do it."
"You realise, based on Master Fu's theory, Adrien's father could be Hawk Moth," said Tikki.
"No way! It couldn't be!" She then paused and pondered. "Hmm… An eccentric artist who never leaves his home. Mysterious, very intelligent, but cold, even with his own son. This is a very strong lead, Tikki!"
"Please be careful, Marinette!" Tikki advised.
"I will," Marinette promised. "Tikki, spots on!"
Marinette then began to transform into Ladybug.
Ladybug flung her yo-yo and flew above the school roof until she reached a certain spot, where she attempted to call Cat Noir and Sprite.
"Has the cat got your tongue? Leave a message!" said Cat Noir's voicemail.
"Cat Noir, I think I know who Hawk Moth is!" said Ladybug. "Get your whiskers over here fast!"
She then called Sprite but got his voicemail. "This is Sprite; please leave a message."
"Sprite, I think I've got a lead; meet up with me as soon as you can," she said.
Gabriel was currently in his atelier looking at the Klimt-style painting of his wife with Nathalie talking to him.
"What will you do without the book?" Natalie asked.
Gabriel opened a blank notebook and then closes it before handing it to Nathalie. "You know where this goes."
Gabriel stormed around while Nathalie walked toward the painting. Gabriel grabbed a picture of Adrien off the wall and threw it on the floor, followed by a second picture of Adrien. He walked over to a small shelf in a cupboard, briefly looking at a drawing Adrien made when he was younger before throwing that as well. He proceeds to smash other objects.
In his room, Adrien listened to pre-recorded piano music while playing with the Foosball table.
"Look on the bright side," said Plagg. "Your father could've found out about me! It's a good thing we kwamis can never be filmed or photographed. Ah, those photographers have no idea what they're missing!"
"I've gotta find that book, or I'll never be allowed to return to school," said Adrien.
Plagg looked at him as if he was crazy. "Return to school?! Are you crazy?! No more homework, no more alarm clocks! We should be celebrating! Hey, I know!" He then flew off only to return carrying a huge jar of Camembert. "I named this piece El Plaggo. It's been maturing for nine hundred and ninety-nine days!"
Adrien groaned in disgust, but then his attention turned to outside as he heard a number of objects being smashed. Without hesitation, he rushed out of his room towards the source of the noise with his bodyguard, Placide I.T., following close behind.
"What was that?!" Adrien asked.
The two of them soon ran down the stairs, only to be greeted by Nathalie guarding the door to Gabriel's atelier.
"Your father is very busy," she said to Adrien.
Gable was indeed busy smashing everything inside the atelier in displeasure. He throws a mannequin on the floor, breaking it in two. He then breaks another mannequin before heading over to something else.
Nathalie looked at Placide I.T. "Shouldn't Adrien be practising his piano right now?"
Placide I.T. nodded and looked briefly at Adrien before escorting him upstairs. Nathalie watched silently as Adrien looked back sadly.
Within his lair, Hawk Moth opened his window.
"I feel… the wrath of a father betrayed by his son. What perfect prey for my akuma!" he said, and a butterfly flew into his open palm, which he then transformed into an akuma. "Stay close, my little akuma!"
He released the akuma, but it hovered in the open instead of flying out the window.
"Dark wings, fall!" Hawk Moth yelled and detransformed.
Nooroo exited from the Miraculous, facing the all-too-familiar man, confused as to why the akuma was still in the room.
"Uh, why is the akuma still here?" he asked.
His owner then removed the tie around his neck, revealing the Butterfly Miraculous under it, and the owner was, in fact, Gabriel Agreste.
"I must become someone else to lead them astray," he said.
"I don't understand, Master," said Nooroo, still confused.
"Nooroo, I renounce you…" he said, removing his brooch and causing Nooroo to get sucked into it, then put the Miraculous into a small box. "…temporarily."
A spotlight then shone down onto his empty notebook, which he approached. He left the box containing his Miraculous on the table and opened the book towards the akuma.
"Come to me, my little akuma, and evilize me!" he commanded.
The akuma flew into Gabriel's notebook and began to transform him. Seconds later, he stood there wearing a sporty black and white outfit with a red visor covering his eyes.
"I am now… the Collector!" he said as he spun around. "My book of inspiration has been taken from me, so I shall build a new one! And perhaps pick up a Miraculous or two while I'm at it!"
He then laughed evilly.
Inside his room, Adrien was still using his pre-recording to fall his bodyguard into thinking he was practising on the piano. He opened his window with his remote, planning to evacuate his room to get some fresh air.
"My father's angry because of me; he won't forgive me until I find that book," he said.
"May I remind you that you're actually grounded?" Plagg pointed out.
"Adrien is, but Cat Noir isn't. Plagg, claws out!"
"Oh my!" Plagg yelled as he flew into the ring.
Instantly, Adrien transformed into Cat Noir.
However, before he could even think about searching for the book, he automatically received a message from Ladybug.
"Cat Noir, I think I know who Hawk Moth is," said Ladybug's recording. Get your whiskers over here, fast!"
"Wow! I guess the Spellbook will have to wait a bit longer," he said.
He then extended his staff and vaulted out of his room.
Meanwhile, Nathalie was still guarding the atelier door only to be knocked down by the Collector when he kicked open the door.
"Nathalie! You'll be the first of my many inspirations to come," he said.
"Mr. Agreste?" Nathalie gasped.
"You will call me… the Collector."
He swung his book at Nathalie like a boomerang, and she vanished when it touched her. When the book returned to his hand, he smiled as a picture of Natalie appeared on one of the pages. He then turned his attention to Placide I.T. and did the exact same thing to him.
He then began to approach Adrien's room unopposed.
"Adrien… I have a great collection I want to show you," he said, knocking on the door.
He then kicked the door and entered Adrien's room only to find it was empty. His eyes then turned towards the piano and saw a CD player perched on the piano playing the music. He swiped the CD player with his book in anger and growled in frustration.
The Collector wasn't quite finished collecting as he began collecting practically everything in Paris. He started at the Louvre, where some tourists took photos and tossed the book at the Pyramid, causing it to disappear.
Everyone instantly screamed and ran, and then he entered the museum and collected the Mona Lisa. He wasn't done as he went outside and collected Jagged Stone and Fang.
"Don't be bemused; it's just the news," said Nadja as she began her news report. "I'm Nadja Chama—"
Sadly, she never got a chance to report on the news as the Collector collected her as well. He then turned and looked at the camera gleefully. "Since the book that used to fill my life is gone, I'm going to use your life to fill up this new one!"
He then swiped at the camera.
Outside the Hôtel de Ville, Mayor Bourgeois was about to give a delivering speech.
"People of Paris—"
He was then collected by the Collector, making everyone gasp. Then, from the rooftops, he snatched the Eiffel Tower.
"Nothing can inspire me more than imprisoning Ladybug and Cat Noir in these pages forever," Collector smiled.
Ladybug was still waiting for Cat Noir on the rooftop of Collège Françoise Dupont, and she was getting more than a little impatient. Sprite had only arrived a few moments ago, and he seemed to be relatively calm as she began pacing up and down.
"You do realise he won't receive your messages until he transforms, right?" said Sprite.
"I know," said Ladybug in annoyance. "I just wish she would hurry up and get here." It was at that moment that Cat Noir arrived. "Cat Noir, did you get my messages?"
"Yeah, and I can't wait to know more, M'Lady-tective," he said. "So, who's the suspect?"
"Gabriel Agreste," she said, making Cat Noir gasp, and he almost tripped after hearing the suspect's name. "You know, the fashion designer?"
"You got proof?" Cat Noir asked.
Ladybug stammered, knowing she couldn't tell them about the book or Master Fu. "I can't tell you."
"So, I'm supposed to just… accept that?" he asked.
"You must trust me on this," she said.
"When Simon Says attacked Mr Agreste, he did seem infatuated about Ladybug's earrings," said Sprite.
"It all makes sense," said Ladybug. "Gabriel Agreste is a secretive man, and he never leaves his house. And get this." Then, using her bug phone, she showed Cat Noir and Sprite images of Gabriel's fashion design logos. "Check out his brand's logo."
"A butterfly?" Cat Noir gasped, stunned.
He soon realised that he had been seeing butterfly patterns on the planet inside his house, even on his shoes. He never once questioned about the logo, but now a feeling of dread consumed him.
Ladybug noticed the expression on his face and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You okay, Cat Noir?"
Cat Noir turned his back on Ladybug with a grim face of determination. "It's time to get to the bottom of this."
The two of them then left the school to investigate this lead, but observing them from behind the statue was the Collector.
"My plan is working perfectly!" he smiled.
They soon arrived at the Agreste Mansion and ended Gabriel's atelier through the window. Once inside, they found many broken pieces of furniture littering the place.
"Whoa, what happened here?" said Ladybug shocked. "Looks like somebody had a little tantrum."
"That is an understatement," said Sprite.
Cat Noir saw a painting he drew him and his parents on the floor. Upon seeing the picture, he sighed with heartache.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Ladybug asked, concerned.
"Yeah. Yeah, let's keep going," he said.
"He's got a son!" Ladybug gasped. "Let's go check his room; make sure nothing's happened to him."
The three of them quickly dashed towards the front hall and suddenly stopped when they saw Collector at the top of the main stairs.
"Where's Gabriel Agreste?" Cat Noir demanded.
"There is no more Gabriel Agreste. There is only… the Collector!" said Collector.
He tossed his book at Ladybug, but she quickly somersaulted backwards and dodged the hit. The book instead touched the mansion's entrance doors, causing them to vanish. The book came spinning back around like a boomerang, and Ladybug quickly tackled Cat Noir and Sprite to the ground before they got hit as the book returned to its own.
"You won't be able to escape!" said Collector.
They soon began to engage with one another, though the three heroes had to be extremely careful not to touch the book. They also have the added problem that he was quite nimble dodging their attacks; plus, he was using the book like a boomerang, so they have to watch out for a return trip.
Using their weapons, the three heroes vaulted up onto the second floor, and the Collector tossed his book, which began following them around. They quickly landed on the stairs, and Cat Noir launched himself at the Collector, but he jumped out of the way.
Eventually, he forced the three heroes into the large dining room, and Cat Noir then tossed his staff directly at him.
"Wait!" Ladybug yelled.
Too late, the Collector captured his staff with his book, making the heroes gasp.
Nice piece, wouldn't you agree?" said Collector, looking at the page.
He tossed his book directly at them, but Cat Noir quickly grabbed a nearby chair and used it to block the book. The three heroes quickly dashed into the main hall while the Collector looked at the new page with disdain. He swiped his hand across the book, erasing the chair inside it.
The three heroes quickly hit behind the stairs, giving them a little bit of breathing room for the time being.
"The akuma's gotta be in that book!" Ladybug theorised.
"The problem is that book absorbs everything it touches, including people," Sprite pointed out.
"Yeah, but if we touch it, we'll disappear!" Cat Noir agreed.
"Lucky Charm!" Ladybug yelled, tossing her yo-yo up into the air, and seconds later, appearing out of thin air, were set of red and black spotted pedals. "A pedal?"
Ladybug began looking around, trying to figure out what to do with them, but nothing came to mind. "I have no idea what to do with this. We need to stall him."
Then suddenly, the staircase disappeared behind them as the Collector had collected it inside his book. "Ladybug, Cat Noir and Lord Sprite, you shall be the masterpieces in my new book of inspiration."
He then tossed his book at them, but all three of them quickly jumped out of the way. Cat Noir then quickly got in close, carefully avoiding the book. He twisted his arm, holding the book behind him, but avoiding his wrist was rather tricky. He quickly tossed it into his spare hand and began swinging the book directly at him, forcing him to back away.
Cat Noir soon backed away into the wall, and the Collector brought the book closer to his face, but Ladybug was able to wrap her yo-yo around his arm, pulling him back. He then quickly spun his book directly at Ladybug, who leaned back in time to avoid it and quickly swung his fist at her.
She was able to jump back to avoid it but then quickly ducked as the book made its return trip. The three heroes then quickly moved in close, and Cat Noir was able to knock the book out of his hand, but Collector was able to perform a spin kick, sending him back and then jumped up to grab the book.
Ladybug swung her yo-yo, wrapping it around his leg, and then slammed him onto the ground. Sprite quickly pinned him to the ground with his cane. Sadly, the book landed in front of him, and when he reached out, it returned to his hand. Sprite had to jump out of the way in order to avoid getting hit by the book, but his cane wasn't as lucky and vanished. He then did the same with Ladybug's yo-yo, effectively disarming all three heroes.
"My collection's growing!" said Collector, showing the pages that contained Sprite's cane and Ladybug's yo-yo.
"No!" Ladybug yelled.
Collector then swung his book at Ladybug and quickly jumped out of the way. She landed next to Cat Noir and Sprite and saw that the book was still heading straight towards them. They quickly ducked and then jumped onto the second floor above.
"So that must mean… Gabriel Agreste can't possibly be Hawk Moth since he's been akumatized!" said Cat Noir, sounding rather happy.
Ladybug stared at him. "You call Agreste turning into the Collector good news?!"
"How about we focus on the supervillain in front of us before discussing the supervillain that is in hiding," Sprite advised.
A split second later, the bannisters vanished, and Collector began chasing after them.
They quickly dashed towards the nearest room, which so happened to be Adrien's room. Once inside, they grabbed everything not nailed down and formed a barricade around the door.
Ladybug then noticed that Adrien was absent. "Gabriel Agreste's son isn't at home?"
"Maybe the Collector's already captured him," said Cat Noir.
Ladybug gasped in shock. "You think he'd take it out on his own son?"
"Uh…"
"There's no telling what kind of damage he can do now that he's akumatized; it depends on the emotions he was feeling at the time," said Sprite.
"You cannot escape from me," said Collector's voice yelled as he opened the door.
The barricade slowly began to disappear, but that gave Ladybug an idea.
"What if he has no pages left in his book?" she said and immediately looked around.
She looked up the shelves where Adrien kept his CDs, DVDs and games, then looked at the Foosball table and lastly at Cat Noir's belt.
The Collector finally cleared the barricade and immediately dashed towards Cat Noir. He quickly jumped to safety before he could swing his book at him, but then he turned his sights on Ladybug as she hid behind the TV.
"But before I immortalise you, allow me to seize your Miraculous for Hawk Moth," he said as he slowly approached her.
Ladybug and looked up at Cat Noir and Sprite you on the second floor where all the shells were. "Cat Noir! Sprite! I need ammunition!"
The TV then suddenly disappeared, and Collector began chasing after Ladybug.
"You need what?" Cat Noir frowned.
"We're gonna complete his collection!" she said, grabbing one of Adrien's trophies and tossing it up at them.
The trophy hit the shelf, knocking a few CDs on the ground, and the two heroes got the idea.
"Very smart, M'Lady, quite ingenious," said Cat Noir.
"Less talking, more doing!" she said.
"We're on it!" said Sprite.
Ladybug jumped onto the second floor with Collector following close behind. When she passed Cat Noir, she detached the belt on his suit and leapt towards the Foosball table. Cat Noir and Sprite began fighting Collector until Cat Noir tossed over his shoulders and into the climbing wall.
"Cataclysm!" Cat Noir yelled.
Cat Noir then uses cataclysm on the shelves, causing all the CDs, DVDs and games to fall to the ground. At the same time, Ladybug attached the pedal and Cat Noir's belt to the Foosball table to create a makeshift catapult.
"You guys ready?" she asked.
"I'm always ready for you, M'Lady!" said Cat Noir.
"Ready whenever you are," said Sprite.
"Now!" she yelled just as Collector got to his feet.
Ladybug turned the petal, and Cat Noir and Sprite tossed CDs over the balcony. The CDs landed on the Foosball and were immediately launched directly at Collector, who used his book to absorb as he got closer with every step.
"Come on! Come on!" said Ladybug as he got closer and closer.
Cat Noir and Sprite had just dropped off the last of the CDs.
"No more ammo!" Cat Noir yelled.
Collector then swung his book at the Foosball table, causing it to disappear. Ladybug fell backwards and crawled away from him as he held his book up towards her face. However, when the book touched, she didn't vanish.
Collector immediately went through the pages and saw each and every single one of them was full. "It's already full!"
He was about to remove the CDs from the notebook when Ladybug kicked the book out of his hand. Cat Noir then jumped into the air and caught it.
"My book!" Collector yelled, dashing towards Cat Noir, but Sprite landed in front of him, blocking his
Ladybug ripped the book in two, causing the akuma to fly out of it.
"Miraculous Ladybug!" she yelled, tossing the pedals up into the air, and the magical ladybugs began to repair everything.
Cat Noir's staff returned to his hand, and he immediately kissed it. Sprite's cane and Ladybug's yo-yo also returned to them.
"No more evildoing for you, little akuma. Time to de-evilize!" said Ladybug and swung her yo-yo, catching the akuma. "Gotcha!" She then released the now-purified butterfly and watched as it fluttered away. "Bye-bye, little butterfly."
The Collector then transformed back into Gabriel.
Ladybug walked up to Cat Noir and raised her fist. "Pound…Uh."
To her surprise, Cat Noir instead rushed over to Gabriel. "Are you okay, Faaa… sir?"
"Cat Noir, Lord Sprite, Ladybug, what happened to me?" he asked, rubbing his head.
"You were akumatized by Hawk Moth," Cat Noir informed him. "But don't worry, it's over now!"
"Thank you, thank you, all of you!" he said, then realised his son was still missing. "Adrien… where is my son?"
"He… must be hiding?" said Cat Noir.
"Cat Noir is right. Otherwise, your son would have reappeared right here," Ladybug agreed.
Gabriel immediately placed his hands on Cat Noir's shoulders. "Nothing must happen to him. He's too precious to me."
"Really?" said Sprite dubiously. "More precious than that book of inspiration of yours?"
Gabriel immediately glared, but before he could answer, Ladybug heard earrings beeping, warning her that she was about to de-transform.
"We're about to transform back," she said to Cat Noir. "Goodbye, Mr. Agreste."
"Don't worry yourself, sir. I'm sure your son is safe and sound," Cat Noir assured him.
Gable then watched as the three heroes vaulted out of the window, and once they were gone, he smiled evilly to himself.
"See you very soon!" he said.
Marinette and Sprite had returned to Master Fu's massage shop to inform him of what had happened. While doing this, Tikki and Wayzz played around with the phonograph.
"So, since Gabriel Agreste was akumatized, he can't possibly be Hawk Moth, right?" said Marinette.
"That's very probable, but… how did you find out that Gabriel Agreste was the owner of the Spellbook?" Master Fu enquired.
"At first, I was thinking the book belonged to Gabriel Agreste's son, Adrien, 'cause I saw him with it at school—well before it was stolen by a girl and before Tikki got it back, and I'd only just met you so I… I didn't know if I could tell you that, so yeah.
"You were afraid in case the one you love turned out to be Hawk Moth," Master Fu finished.
"Wha… Uh, no, uh, how did you know that? I mean, I don't love him at all," she stammered, chuckling nervously, and Master Fu chuckled.
"You might as well tell the truth because he can really like an open book," Sprite advised.
"Oh, all right, yes, Adrien is amazing," she admitted. "I couldn't stand the thought of him being a supervillain."
"You know, Marinette, if we want to be stronger than Hawk Moth, we have to trust each other," said Master Fu.
"I know, but now, Adrien will never be able to come back to school because I can never give him that book back. I'll never ever see him again!" she said and fell to the floor whimpering.
Master Fu then rose to his feet. "There isn't a single problem that can't be solved, Marinette."
Master Fu then began taking pictures of the contents of the Miraculous Spellbook using his phone.
"These modern inventions really are quite incredible," he said.
After Master Fu had finished photographing the contents of the Spellbook, Marinette made her way to the Agreste Mansion. She then made up a story of taking the Spellbook from Adrien when he wasn't looking.
"So, when Adrien put the book down and walked away, I wanted to take a peek," Marinette explained. "You see, I thought it was a portfolio with lots of pictures of him 'cause he's so cute. Uh, but you already knew that. Anyway, um, when he came back, I was scared he'd see me staring at his book, so I hid it in my backpack, and I know it was a dumb thing to do. I'm really, really sorry."
"I see. So, you're one of his admirers?" said Gabriel.
"Admirers? Yeah. That's the word," Marinette nodded and then handed Gabriel the spell book, who then passed it on to Nathalie. "You won't say anything to him, will you?" Gabriel shook his head. "Are you going to let Adrien come back to school?"
"Well, considering he didn't actually lose my book as it was borrowed by you, yes, I will," he said.
"Thank you," said Marinette excitedly.
Once she picked up her backpack, Natalie began guiding her to the door, but she stopped just outside the threshold and looked back at Gabriel.
"Hmm, can I ask you a question?" she asked, and he nodded. "I flipped through the book, and it looked really awesome. Those illustrations of legendary heroes are super… inspiring. Where did you get it?"
"I found it while I was on a trip overseas with my wife," he said. "I've never seen another copy of it."
"Well then, you're very lucky to own it," she said, waving goodbye before leaving.
Once they entered the mansion, Tikki poked her head out of Marinette's purse, smiling up at her. "It was really brave what you just did for Adrien."
"Thanks, Tikki. All that really matters is for Adrien to be allowed out of the house again."
She then slowly walked away from the Agreste mansion.
In his atelier, Gabriel returned the Spellbook to its shelf while Adrien stood there and watched.
"I'm sorry I became so furious over a book," he said as he closed the safe.
"I shouldn't have taken it without your permission," Adrien admitted.
"That book… was the very last gift your mother gave to me before… before she disappeared," he said without looking at him. "All I have left of her is this book…and you." He then turned and faced him. "But I know I can't keep the book or you locked up in this house forever.
"Does that mean you'll let me go back to school, then?" Adrien asked hopefully.
Gabriel nodded.
Adrien instantly hugged him. "Thank you, Father!"
At Collège Françoise Dupont, all the students saw Adrien had returned and immediately ran up to him.
Nino was the first to give him a big hug, but he was then pushed aside by Chloé, who left into his arms and took a selfie. The students then immediately rushed over to Adrien and completely surrounded him while Marinette looked on, looking relieved Alya by her side.
At his atelier, Gabriel was looking at the pages of the Miraculous book on his monitor, revealing that he owns a digital version of the Spellbook himself.
"So then, if you already had a copy of the book, why'd you go through all that trouble?" Natalie asked, confused.
"I did what I had to do to keep my secret," he said.
He then pressed down on the code incorporated within his wife's painting, and a secret floor hatch took Gabriel to a secret place, revealing his lair.
Once there, he opened the small white box where the Butterfly Miraculous is stored, and Nooroo popped out.
"Happy to see me again?" Gabriel smiled.
Nooroo was anything but happy, but he had no choice but to serve him. "At your service, Master."
Gabriel placed the brooch back on. "Nooroo, dark wings rise!"
Nooroo was absorbed into the Miraculous, and Gabriel transformed into Hawk Moth.
"Ladybug, Cat Noir—you almost managed to find out who I am, but now I am more above suspicion than I've ever been," he said. "As of today, nothing will prevent me from getting your Miraculous and making my greatest wish come true! All I need to do now is wait for my next prey. As for you, Lord Sprite, you pose a significant risk, yet you may hold the answers I seek. After knowledge of the future can be very useful indeed."