Greeting everyone, I bring you good news today. I have enough written and drawn to go back to our usual weekly schedule which will be every Tuesday for the foreseeable future.

After going over my timeline and notes it looks like this fic will be at least 32 chapters long although that may expand for a few more.

I've made a few tweaks and added some interesting elements and ah…altered my ending a bit. For the better, I assure you. I wasn't fully happy with how I was planning to end it in the first place. This one more to my liking. All the trailer bits still fit though. That's enough out of me let's get onto the story shall we?

Chapter 4

Nightmare Fuel

Gabriel looked down at his hand normally clean but now painted red. The light from the red rocks was casting an unnatural hue coloring his vision. But it wasn't light he saw. Emilie lay in her coffin unmoving as a black rock pieced the center along with its sole occupant. Nathalie was just off to the side crumpled on the floor holding what looked like a pair of earrings clutched in her hand. She too was no longer getting up.

And finally right in front of him were Adrien and Varian lying close together in a pool of crimson. For some reason he couldn't see Adrien's hand while Varian was sporting a deep wound in his chest, his opened eyes looking at Gabriel accusingly. He noted that his goggles also were missing.

He also noticed that he wasn't wearing his usual attire but was currently dressed as Shadow Moth with all the Miraculous now laying at his feet. In his hands he found the earrings Nathalie had previously been holding as well as the ring. He had done it. The wish was his. All it had cost him was everything he held dear.

He let out an agonizing wail.

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Adrien and Varian were trying to get Gabriel's attention without getting too close or touching him. But nothing they said seemed to be getting through. They were shouting in his ear but there was no response.

"Father, snap out of it!"

"Gabriel, can you hear me?"

"Gone…my fault…my son…" Adrien pauses hearing his father's fearful cries.

"What? No Father, I'm here! I'm right here!"

"All gone…Emilie…Nathalie…Varian…" Varian paused, hearing his own name mournfully escape Gabriel's mouth. Their relationship was a bit rocky and oftentimes conditional but that was to be expected. He was aware however that over time his perception of the man/father figure had changed at least on his end. He wasn't aware Gabriel might also feel the same.

"Gabriel, we're alright, we're right here!"

"Father WAKE UP!" but it was no use; the red light consumed him leaving behind a statue of a man who got everything wanted. It was a terrifying sight.

"Why is this happening?" Adrien asked, wanting to help his Father but held back by Varian again. "Is this an Akuma Attack?" Varian frowned. He knew it wasn't it had something to do with these new rocks. But why had they changed? He was in new territory again and he didn't like it one bit.

"I don't think so, this all started when we noticed the new red rocks." But that begged the question, what could they do? They had no way to fight the rocks when they were ripping up Paris. How were they meant to handle these new ones that turned people into statues? At least with an Akuma attack the effect was always reversible.

"We need to get to higher ground." Adrien said, hoping to lock themselves in their rooms so he could transform and see if Ladybug had any idea how to stop this.

"Good idea." Varian was thinking along the same lines hoping Tanuki's power might be able to do…something. "I just have to get something from my lab real quick."

"You lab?" Adrien exclaimed. "Didn't you say the rocks trashed it and it wasn't safe."

"I'll be quick I swear. Lock yourself in your room, it should be high enough." And with that Varian took off. Adrien was very tempted to go after him worried about his brother's safety but he could do more good as Chat Noir.

He raced to the stairs trying to get to his room as soon as possible. To his dismay he passed Nathalie in the hall who had fallen to the floor and was reaching out for something. She was also a frozen red statue. Gritting his teeth he took off again hoping Ladybug would have an answer for this.

As he entered the hallway however he noticed something was wrong. The walk to his room shouldn't be this long. Why did the hallway seem to stretch for miles on end? He turned around only to find himself in an empty white room with no one in sight.

Suddenly he felt a soft breath on the back of his neck and a quiet voice whispering, "Adrien."

He whirled around but was once again treated to thin air with the echo of laughter in his ears.

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At the time Varian didn't think this was worth salvaging since it was easy enough to recreate in the first place. Even now he was reluctant to bring it out but this was the only thing he knew would have any impact on the rocks. The question was, would this do more harm than good?

He grabbed his lab coat from the rack by the door covering himself as much as possible. He also slipped on a gas mask since he wasn't sure if the filtration system had gotten everything out. Sure enough the red rocks were starting to sprout. He needed to be quick.

He ran to the far right cabinet which currently had a long black rock currently puncturing the side. Half of them were already cover by amber when the bottles broke inside. He carefully went to the cabinet next to it praying there was at least some still salvageable. There was, only it was currently wedged against the back by a sharp rock and could fall at any moment. Cursing he maneuvered himself into the small space as he tried reaching for the last remaining vile of the Amber solution. His heart nearly gave out when he tapped it and it started to fall but thankfully he managed to grab it by the neck of the bottle just in time.

He sighed in relief as he untangled himself from the mess of cabinets, his prize in hand. Now he just had to-

"Varian." He froze. He would recognize that voice anywhere even if he hadn't heard it for more than a year.

"Dad?" He turned to where he thought he heard the voice coming from and locked eyes with the giant black rock in the center of the room. As if it had been there the whole time the amber prison appeared with his Dad still locked inside.

"What have you done!" His lips were not moving but his words were loud and clear. "You've left me to suffer in this hell because like always, you never listen!"

Varian trembled, his worst fear starting to manifest before his very eyes.

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Marinette wasn't sure exactly when it started but the rock seemed to be on the attack again. They weren't the big ones that threatened to rip buildings apart and they were a lot smaller in numbers but the effect they were having on people was nothing short of terrifying.

At first she didn't know what to make of it. One minute she was putting up missing person posters with Alya and the next people started running and screaming. Except nothing was threatening them or chasing them. Then she noticed the rocks now red in color and Alya encouraged to hurry and transform while she covered for her. Only when she returned did she see what else happened to the frightened people. Many citizens were frozen in fear now red as the rocks and unable to move.

She raced to where she had left Alya only to discover she too had become a red statue. Worse yet she started hearing things like her own voice telling her it was her fault that this happened. It was quickly followed by Adrien's voice saying he made a mistake and how could he ever love a loser like her.

She shook her head violently.

"I can't let my fears stop me." She said through gritted teeth as she tossed her yoyo to the top of a tall building. "I need to get away from these rocks so I can think straight."

At the top she looked down and saw the citizens running around in fear, it was utter chaos. But as she continued looking she noticed something.

"Is that a pattern in the rocks?" She couldn't be sure, she needed to get to higher ground to get a better picture. She made her way to the Eiffel Tower hoping she'd see something that could help.

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Adrien was in a panic. He kept hearing voices and sensing someone about to grab him but everytime he turned around there would be nothing there and the whispers would manifest from a different direction. It didn't matter how far he ran or which way, there was no end in sight. Fear started to take over his mind where a more rational thought would have told him this wasn't real.

Feeling a hand touch his shoulder he panicked and screamed out, "CATACLYSM!" at the source. Only this time there was something there. Uncanny Valley lay before him, her body destroyed under his claws.

"No…no I'm sorry! I didn't mean…" He was in such a state of shock he didn't realize he never transformed in the first place. He turned intending to run but he was no longer in the empty white halls.

Before him was a destroyed Paris. Buildings were toppled, the entire city was flooded and the moon hung in the sky broken in two.

He looked down at his gloved hands white instead of black. Slowly starting to turn red. He didn't know what was happening all he knew was that this was his fault. It was all his fault.

He had lost control.

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Somewhere in the back of his mind Varian knew this wasn't real. This was a nightmare he had had so often he could practically recite it by heart. That didn't make it any less terrifying to hear it while he was awake.

"This isn't real, this isn't real…" He repeated to himself trying to force his body to move.

"You just don't want it to be real." His father's voice said again as Varian shook his head. "You can blame the Princess all you want but this is all your fault!"

Varian managed to get his feet moving only for the stairs to be blocked by a bed. A bed containing a seriously injured Luka. Like before his lips didn't move but his words were clear.

"All the power and imagination at your fingertips and you choose the one that only hurt me more!" He started backing away.

"No…no I didn't mean…"

"You knew I could expose you. That's why you "forgot" how to perform CPR! Wasn't it!" Tears were burning Varian's eyes fearing what they were saying was true.

"Luka please, I was going to talk to you. I was going to tell you everything!"

"And what would you do if I still turned you in? I'd be in a similar state no doubt." Varian shook his head even harder this time.

"No I wouldn't, I swear!"

"Varian! Snap out of it!" Varian turned to see Ruddiger hovering beside his head. It looked like he had been trying to get his attention for a while now. "I don't know what you're seeing but there's nothing there. We have to get out of here NOW!" Varian clutched the bottle of amber liquid while the voices still rang in his ears.

"Yo-your right." He closed his eyes, tuning out everything he could and raced for the stairs. He half expected to run into Luka's hospital bed but he felt nothing but air and the raised stairs as they carried him up and out of the lab. He shouldn't have been surprised when he tripped on the last step. Thankfully that jolt seemed to clear his head. He quickly got back on his feet and raced upstairs.

"It's OK just stick to the plan. Just gotta get to my room and-" He stopped dead in his tracks. "Oh no…" In the hallway just before their rooms Nathalie and Adrien stood as frozen as Gabriel and had a look of terror edged on their faces. Unknown to him, Plagg was also frozen in Adrien's coat pocket. To his right was a small red rock barely noticeable, but it only meant they were climbing higher. He looked back at his brother one last time.

"I don't know if I can fix this, all I seem to be able to do is make things worse but…I promise to do whatever I can to help." He looked back at the vile in his hands. "Even if that means taking another risk." No longer worried about being spotted, he transformed into Tanuki and headed for higher ground. He needed to think of something quickly.

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Ladybug had been at the Eiffel Tower for some time now and after studying the landscape she realized that they were all springing out in a radial pattern with the Louvre Museum at the epicenter. Both the black rocks and the red one all seemed to be coming from there.

"So that's where they're coming from. I wonder if I found a way in could I-"

"A way in where?" Ladybug jumped at the other voice nearly losing her footing. Luckily Tanuki grabbed her hand, balancing her enough to get a better grip.

"Sorry," he said, letting her go. "But you said something about finding out where the rocks were coming from?" She looked back at the villain (on break) wondering just how much information she should give him. Then again the last Lucky Charm seemed to think he was the answer to the rocks so maybe he could help

"They all seem to be radiation out of the museum both the black and these new red ones." Tanuki put a hand to his chin.

"So not where the portal first brought me through." Ladybug gasped only now realizing the alley she had accidentally opened the portal in was across town and didn't seem to have any more rocks than anywhere else they've seen.

"No, I guess not." Part of her felt relieved this wasn't a case of the old portal reopening but that only meant something else had broken through.

"Any idea what these red rocks are?" He asked, surprising her.

"Wait, you don't know?" He shook his head.

"We didn't have these red ones in my world, not that I know of at least." This wasn't good. "Maybe they reacted to the magic of this world?" Tanuki suggested, although he looked doubtful himself.

"I don't know. I haven't used my miraculous any differently and NO I haven't let any of the Kwamis use their powers without a holder." She said defensively as Tanuki held his hands up.

"I never said you did."

"You were thinking it." He had to admit the idea did cross his mind but now was not the time to be fighting.

"In any case it seems possible the rocks broke through at the museum. How does that help us?" Ladybug thinks for a moment looking back at the raccoon holder.

"I don't know, what I do know is that these are from your world and the Lucky Charm pointed to you when I was looking for a solution." Tanuki turned and huffed.

"Obviously it got it wrong."

"It doesn't work like that and you know it."

"Well maybe you interpreted it wrong! If I knew how to get rid of the rocks I wouldn't need the Miraculous." he said with a bite. Ladybug just sighed.

"Alright fine, you don't know anything but we still need a plan. A lot of people are going to be frozen in fear if we don't do something, including people I care about."

"You don't have to preach, this is affecting people I care about as well. Where's your partner anyway? Isn't he the one usually helping you out." She frowned looking at her yoyo.

"He hasn't been answering. Most of the holders aren't answering either." Tanuki looked away, he knew a lot of those holders. Even if they were technically his enemies this wasn't something he'd wish on any one.

"Guess we're on our own then." He sighed looking towards the museum, the rocks had formed a solid shell around it. Finding a way in would take time, time they didn't have. "So what now?"

"We need a better clue. LUCKY CHARM!" She shouted using her power to hopefully give them a way to fix this problem. "A subway map?" Tanuki peered over her shoulder.

"Can I see that?" Sure enough it was a subway map but it didn't just have the current routes. It also had discontinued stations and abandoned tunnels. "Assuming the red rocks are following the black rock's pattern and if they're acting like tree roots then the center would be…"

"Here!" He and Ladybug said at the same time. Ladybug took the map back.

"If we can cut them off at the source maybe, like a plant, the rest of them will die off."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" She held up the map. Where the Paris Transportation System symbols would normally be there was his kwami's symbol, bright as day. Tanuki rolled his eyes.

"Why does that thing think I have all the answers? I tried back in my world to stop these things but I couldn't. I couldn't then and I can't now."

"Well do you have anything that might be useful? Anything at all?" Tanuki hesitated before bringing out a vile of yellow liquid.

"This was the only thing I found that affected the blacks in any way."

"Why didn't you bring this up sooner?" Ladybug said exasperated.

"BECAUSE IT ONLY MADE IT WORSE!" He screamed loudly, making her back up in shock. "You want to know what this stuff is? This is my greatest mistake! It reacts to the rocks by expanding and forming an amber-like substance just as unbreakable." He paused, taking a shaky breath. "And someone I care about was caught up in that mistake. Now they're trapped with no way out. That's why I need the Miraculous, because only a miracle can stop this." He turned away leaving Ladybug stunned.

'Was he right?' she thought. 'Is that the only way to stop these things from destroying the city?' She looked out at the once beautiful landscape now splintered with dark lines as far as she could see. 'They have already hurt so many people. Maybe the wish should be used for this?' But what would the consequences be? If they wished the rocks away they might just end up somewhere else. That was not something she could do in good conscience. No, the Lucky Charm seemed sure Tanuki was the key even if neither of them knew what that meant.

The warning went off on her earrings. She didn't have much time left but what was the answer? It felt like it was starting her in the- She looked again at the amber liquid in Tanuki's hands and back to the map.

"Maybe we can't stop the black rocks right now but I think we have just about everything we need to stop the red ones." Tanuki looked curious but still doubtful. "I just need to get one more thing. I'll meet you near the entrance to the subway at the museum, and bring that yellow stuff."

"What? Wait, what are you-?" but she'd already raced off. He looked back at the amber solution and then it dawned on him what she was trying to do. He had to admit it was just crazy enough to work, if they could get past the red rocks without becoming statues themselves. Hopefully whatever she was bringing could help with that.

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In the House of Yesterday's Tomorrow the group grunted as they blocked the cursed mirror that had been replacing them with doppelgangers. Everyone but Rapunzel and Pascal had been replaced; fortunately the Princess was able to get everyone out and the monsters back in. Right now they were covering the mirror, and checking for others, so they didn't have to worry about trusting each other. But just as Cassandra was pushing her side into place something caught her eye.

The mirror duplicates were all very displeased at being trapped again but for a moment she thought she saw a red eyed Varian winking at her just before the mirror was blocked. Everyone else sighed in relief but she was concerned. Did she really see that? It could easily be another trick by them but how would they know what he looked like? Did he somehow get into the house and escaped the mirror monsters too?

She couldn't be sure about that but one thing she was sure about was that she wasn't unblocking the mirror just to find out. This smelled like a trick but in the off chance the young terrorist was here she couldn't let Rapunzel or the others know. She had a mission to complete after all.

She was just going to have to find him first.

To be continued…

Next time: Ladybug brings something or rather someone to help them get past the rocks. Will it be enough though?