The multiverse is more than just a prism…
It is ever expanding and ever growing…
A place where one choice, one fork on the road can lead to many opportunities…
But every spark of brilliance there is a spark of madness…
These are the stories of both…
Cain was a proud student of stories. He knew their finer details like he knew the finer points of his sharp nails. And the one that he was studying to best hunt his prey was that of the 'Challengers of the Unknown'. Shade had chosen heroes and allies to help him on his quest. But despite their great deed and victory over the force of madness that was Klarion Cipher, his choices were too narrow minded in his own professional opinion.
"If I am to swiftly find and strike at my quarry, I'll need a team that will be by my side at all times but not be squeamish about certain actions," Cain said as he observed the statue of the frozen in stone Bill Cipher. "I'll need to collect them as I visit their worlds, that way they will be prepared for what needs to happen. But I cannot limit myself to heroes, someone of a more villainous nature is needed."
Cain walked over the small bust of an owl carved out of marvel with a strange Chinese symbol on its forehead. The bird itself had a fierce glare to it. With eyes that could gaze upon eternity and see all its secrets. Like an oracle of wisdom, it showed that there was more to life than one iteration of a story.
"Mhm, yes, I remember your story and what you are meant to represent." Cain caught a scent most familiar, which only made him smile that much widely. "Oh, and would you look at that irony. I'm heading there too." Cain walked to the entrance to the House of Mystery, opening the door to see another door before him.
The door that stood before Cain was a red and black door that swirled together into a Ying Yang spiral in the middle. Black polka dots appeared on the red side like the spots on a Ladybug while green claw marks popped in the black the center of the door there was the picture of a large night owl with its wings spread and talons grabbing hold of two jewels, a pair of earrings and a ring. But the door had something else on it, a creeping red scar coming down from the top.
Earth -5102
What if someone saw that only one decision mattered in Paris?
Down the rabbit hole we go." Cain opened the door stepping into the sunny streets of Paris. "Eugh, this place is far too bright for my taste."
Cain walked through the streets of the city as the Parisian citizens went on about their day without a care in the world. It wasn't uncommon for Cain to see people being happy or carefree, but that often led to something horrible happening to them by either their own ineptitude or fate taking a nosedive when they least expected it. It was a classic trope that led to people being more mindful and purposeful with their lives rather than just mindlessly drifting through life. It was a simple classic that could be taken to great extremes that Cain loved to see. But now he had to face Dr. Destiny and his machinations. Though it made him wonder what he was looking for in this realm.
From the past realm he got the energy of other dreams and a clear star-filled sky for him to play with. But this world seemed like the complete opposite of the past one. Perhaps there was something here he wanted or just the power of dreams this world had. Regardless, Cain had a trail to follow and an ally to find. Which reminded him of the story behind the Owl bust that he'd gotten.
"Oh yes, that bust, almost forgot, the story began-" Cain's words were cut short when an explosion caught his attention.
The sound of a storm of pigeons flying over him made him look up as a man dressed like a pigeon flew amongst them like a maniac. Trailing right behind was a pair of spandex wearing teenagers, one dressed in red with black polkadots and the other one dressed as a black cat with green eyes.
"You won't catch me, Ladybug and Chat Noir!" The man cooed like a pigeon. "I shall steal all the bread in Paris and your Miraculous! So swears Mr. Pigeon!" Mr. Pigeon flapped his wings like an actual pigeon.
"What in the name of-?" Cain muttered at the sight before him.
"Not a chance, Mr. Pigeon!" The red suited girl swung with what looked like a yo-yo with the young man swinging his staff without a car.
The storm of pigeons went through the city, destroying windows, flipping cars and pooping on more than a few statues on their path. It was like a catastrophe of nature's wrath happening right in the middle of the city. All the while, the two teenagers battled it out with the villain on top of said flying rats until they managed to push each other into the Eiffel Tower. As soon as they collided with the iconic landmark of Paris, it tilted, before being lifted by the pigeons.
The villain commanded his pigeons to take the landmark, while the red spandex heroine summoned a strange colored item from thin air. The battle was waged as the Eiffel Tower crashed against buildings and roads. Cars were flipped, buildings were toppled, china shops were shattered beyond recognition. Chaos was unleashed on the city before Cain's eyes and a part of him was loving this.
He saw the monument crash down and fall to pieces and some people screaming in terror. It was quite the flip of destiny and fate to see such destruction.
"Marvelous, simply marve-!" Cain sang, looking up to the skies.
"MIRACULOUS LADYBUG!"
"Come again?" Cain and everything else was enveloped by a sea of glowing ladybugs, blinding him.
Cain coughed and spat out a couple ladybugs, swatting them away like the pests they were.
"Finally, what was all… that?" Cain opened his eyes to see the city back in one piece. "Not a damn thing out of place. Not even a scratch. What is this madness?" He turned to see the people sighing in relief as they went back to their normal day as though the city hadn't been destroyed before their eyes.
"What?" Cain looked around, only to see everyone not being bothered in the slightest.
He had gone to many worlds and heard of many stories, but this was perhaps the first time he ever got this kind of reaction out of people. They had just seen their own city torn apart by a flock of flying pigeons and a superhero fight had taken place, and yet nothing. Not only had they no answers or replies to the destruction but how seemingly the whole thing had been swiped clean. Despite many worlds sharing in the superhero genre, there were rarely any of them that didn't at least react in some way or form. But the people around him were more uninterested in the world around them than the most jaded of people.
Well, not completely uninterested. They were all too happy and complacent with their lives. Almost as if they knew that no matter what happened they would be fine shortly after. It was a sickening feeling that he couldn't hold down. Like an acidic reflux going up his throat, he felt the urge to scream. What good was a story if everyone was happy and content at the end without any consequences. It was no different than living like cattle until the farmer decided to chop one of them for food and or to sell off. He wanted to ask questions-no, demand answers before he beat them to death with his shovel for whatever reason they gave him. But before he could murder anyone, Cain's eyes landed on someone he recognised from his story.
Up upon the rooftops, a figure clad in a metallic gray and black costume watched everything with a pair of binoculars. He had a gray cape and a black cowl that resembled feathers and connected to a black circle in the middle of his chest. His torso was covered with an armored chest plate on top of a black long sleeved shirt, gray gloves with sharp claws at the tip of his fingers. Around his waist was a gray utility belt with an owl-like symbol as a belt buckle. His pants were black with armed plates on his thighs and armored gray boots that almost looked like talons. His face was covered in a black cowl with an iron mask that covered his upper face, making it look like an owl's face.
"Paris, Log date 02-23-2010. Ladybug and Chat Noir have bested Mr. Pigeon for the 70th time. Total damages repaired by the Miraculous Ladybug reach to an approximate of $17.5-20.5 Million Euros." He recorded as sighed. "Property value decreases by another 15%, making the local and federal government pay citizens to live in the capital another 200 Euros a month. And yet everyone cheers for Ladybug as though she were the second coming of Christ. What does it matter? If they could see what I see, they wouldn't bother."
"I certainly don't."
The man turned around, throwing a razor sharp boomerang at whoever managed to sneak up on him. Sadly, that man was Cain. He swung his shovel at the weapon, sending it back to the man that had thrown it. The moment the owl armored man looked at Cain, his eyes widened.
"If that's how you say hello to people, I would hate to see how you say goodbye. I take it that you're a detective of some kind?" Cain asked. "Or some sort of assassin judging from all the armor?"
"I am Nite Owl. As for what I am doing here, oversight." Nite Owl's eyes glowed bright yellow, earning the sharp look of an actual owl.
"Neat trick. The name is Cain. Yes, I'm sure you're doing a good job at supervising things. But I must know, what is this whole thing with the ladybugs and the reset messes." Cain leaned on his shovel. "Would you be so kind as to tell me what is going on? Or will we just stand here until the sun goes out?"
Nite Owl didn't reply at first as he looked at Cain directly while his eyes glowed. His mouth didn't move but his expression softened and molded until he finally relaxed. It was as though he looked into the soul of Cain and saw that he wasn't an enemy until he made him one. It was a tense moment but one that had to do with pure realization in the mind of Nite Owl. It was as his world had been turned around.
"I take it that you're not from around here." Nite Owl's eyes went back to normal. "But this city has been under threat for the last few months by a villain by the name of Hawkmoth. He creates other villains like him and the heroes, Ladybug and Chat Noir, stop him. And every day they do the same thing over and over again. It is tiresome."
"Yes, and everyone else walking around like it's just another Sunday stroll must be used to it." Cain lazily pointed to the people below.
"When your house burns down and pulls itself back together like clockwork you stop caring about the smoke," Nite Owl said. "However, what they don't see is the reaction that stuff like this has on their city and the country as a whole. More organized crime that moved in. Less people living here due to the housing market being a joke. Fewer businesses dare to open when they can't afford certain prices such as rent. Taxation is at an all time high because money is slowly being devalued. The works."
"And you seek to fix this by…?" Cain asked.
"Find Hawkmoth, find the heroes, neutralize both aspects of this cycle." Nite Owl pulled up a phone-like device before pressing some buttons. "I've been tracking their movements and have come to the conclusion that their secret identities are reachable for me."
"And how long did that take you?" Cain asked.
"Two days. One to settle things back home. One to get here." Nite Owl turned around, preparing to leave.
"And why are you interested in doing this if this isn't your city?" Cain asked.
"It's more about what their actions do that makes everyone's work that much harder and pointless that I've come here. Not to mention that Hawkmoth threatened to start a nuclear war over the Miraculous that one time." Nite Owl looked at Cain over his shoulder. "Would you care to help me?"
"I have my own mission, but should you succeed, I might make you an offer." Cain smiled.
"Better make it a very good one." Nite Owl dropped down.
Cain looked down into the alley he'd seen Nite Owl drop into, only to see no trace left of the man. He could sense something great about the man, almost as though he himself was a collector of stories. But his tone and body language told Cain more. The man he'd spoken to was a warrior on a mission, a soldier out for himself and ready to strike down any who stood in his way. This Nite Owl carried a great power within him and had the wisdom and skills to back it up. This Cain was certain of. The man was no mere mortal and he… struck a very clear resemblance to a man he once met when he first came to this world many years ago. Oh yes, he remembered that night now.
"So this is where your rebellion has led to, Talon?" Cain smirked. "If I recall, I called the story: The Owl's Flight."
Years Ago…
In a manor on the far coast of England, Cain was examining some pieces that were being shown in the manor. And amongst them was the white bust of an owl, the same one he'd soon acquire. But there was another reason that he'd come to the castle. It was the seat of a man that had gone to Tibet and returned, making a fortune and aiding in the protection and securing the future of his country.
Cain looked up to see the portrait of a family. In the center was an old nobleman with tanned skin, and long white beard, wearing a black suit with a very familiar looking belt around his waist. To his right was a beautiful woman with braided blonde hair wearing a black dress much like her husband's. And to the man's left was a young man with short black hair, and a trimmed black mustache, wearing a black suit of his own.
"I had come to the home of a newly named lord, a man known as Bakar. He'd made his fortune in trade and travels between England, Europe and Asia. Many called him the Owl as he had great wisdom and knowledge of what he should do. Truth was that he always knew what to do and when, leading to many believing that he was some kind of foreign sorcerer." Cain recounted. "But many more saw it better to have a sorcerer on their side than against them. He was given the title of Lord of the Waning Tides. Soon, he found a wife and had a son by the name of Edmund. A handsome and skilled man in both his father's trade and his own. It seemed like the start of a dynasty that would last for centuries. Sadly, an invisible hand believed that they had a say in this family's legacy."
Cain looked out of a window to see men wearing red monk robes sneaking into the room where Bakar and his wife slept. He closed his eyes, waiting for the inevitable.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"Evangeline!"
"Mother!"
Bakar and his son bursted into the room to see their wife and mother held up by the neck. Their eyes flared in rage as they saw the Eastern monks preparing to strike should they make a move.
"Bakar, return the Miraculous and your family will be spared." The monk commanded. "If you do not, we are prepared to take it back."
"You dare to come to my home and attack my wife in our room and expect me to bow to your whims?" Bakar unsheathed his blade. "You fools have been in your temple for far too long to believe you hold any authority here."
"They are not meant to be used for the whims of man. They are not tools to-" The monk tightened his hold on Bakar's wife's neck.
"To do what? Use in frivolous wars? To give when you deem them necessary. You hold two in great regards but the rest are abandoned. Why should you dictate the path of history?" Bakar snarled.
"Release my mother and we might spare you," Edmund said.
"This is not up for debate." The monk strangled the woman. "Return the buckle now!"
Evangeline gave her husband a tearful smile, one he'd dreaded more than anything.
"I love you." Evangeline pulled out a knife, stabbing the monk in the stomach.
The monk screamed in pain before breaking Evangeline's neck.
"NO!" Bakar rushed in with his son by his side.
The monks jumped in fighting off the father and son. Their strikes were swift and meant to disarm, but against the blades of the angered father and son, they met their match. They moved swiftly and tore apart the room, with blades cutting flesh and punches breaking bones. Blood was spilled as one of the monks got struck by Bakar's sword. A blow to Edmund caused him to drop the candles on the floor, starting a fire.
Bakar and his son ran out the room as the fire spread through the room and to the hallway. They ran as the monks ran after them with a vengeance and the fires ate through their home. Pain of loss and anger fueled the father and son as they continued fighting against the invaders, but all that it did was spread more of the fire and destruction. They fought back against the monks, stabbing and punching several of them as they made their way out to the balcony. Both Bakar and Edmund looked worse for wear, bleeding and bruised as the remaining monks stepped towards them.
"It is over, Bakar Talon." The stabbed monk growled. "We will take the Miraculous you stole and your memory will be erased from the annals of history."
"You may kill us, but we will have our vengeance. Your pathetic order has its days numbered!" Edmund called out, willing to fight to the end. "We do not run from a fight!"
"No, my son. This is my last fight, but not yours." Bakar placed something in his son's hand.
"Father-?" Bakar pushed his son off the balcony, taking his sword from him.
Edmund reached out to his father as Bakar stood before the monks.
"Now the fate of the world is out of your hands." Bakar smiled, holding his swords. "Let's see if you all can die like men at least!" Bakar lunged at the monks with a bellow akin to that of an owl launching itself to fight.
Down on the cliffs, Cain watched the manor go down in flames while he held the owl bust in his hand. He looked to the side and saw Edmund gasping for air as he pulled himself from the cold waters. He looked up in rage as he held a belt buckle in his hand.
"I swear, the house of the Lord of the Waning Tides will rise again." Edmund cursed.
Present…
"And that's the story, or so it would seem," Cain said. "It would seem Bakar Talon's line survived through his son all the way down. But let's see if your descendant can live up to your claim." Cain looked at the faint trail of red and began following it.
Thomas walked through the streets of Paris with a glare in his eyes. He needed to strike now while the iron was hot and the heroes and villains didn't suspect him. But first, he needed to rid himself of the last bit of the Guardians and their antiquated method of leading the world. He didn't personally hate them or what they did. Logically speaking, keeping jewels that could alter or remake the fabric of reality at the whims of fools was a good idea. But to hand such powers to teenagers and allow an idiot like Hawkmoth free reign? Something had to be done to make a real choice.
He looked at the apartment complex in the middle of a no name neighborhood of Paris. It looked harmless enough and didn't stand out, a perfect place to hide. His investigation and the information he'd downloaded from the overhyped Ladyblog had allowed him to triangulate the location from which Ladybug had gathered up her extra allies. As well as the location of his next target. It took a lot from him not to laugh as he made his way up the stairs. He wasn't known to laugh much, but the incompetence and disinterest he was met with? Pitifully laughable.
Thomas knocked on the door, before an elderly man opened the door.
"Yes, good afternoon, sir. May I help you?" Fu asked.
"Yes, my name is Bryce Nappier, I have an appointment for a massage." Thomas lied.
"Oh, yes. I remember now." Fu stepped aside. "Please, come on in. You may hang your coat on the rack. Please, take off your shoes and lay down on the mat while I get ready."
Thomas did as the old man asked. Normally it would be easy, but the idea of a massage was the best way to go. He had the time.
He allowed the old man to work on his back and undo all the knots that riddled his back. He winced and groaned, hearing everything get put back in its proper position. A part of him was telling him that he should put an end to things now, but he knew better. The next part had to be played out accordingly before moving on to the next target. Better to let the old man do what he loved before the inevitable happened.
"I must say, you have a lot of knots on your back. And these scars," Fu said. "What exactly do you need to do to get so many wounds and so much stress?" He continued massaging Thomas's back.
"I run a company back in the States. A family business. I'm in the middle of closing an old deal and you could say that the stress doesn't need to be there for the final signing." Thomas groaned, feeling his back loosening up with Fu's oiled hands. "I heard from an old acquaintance that you are the best person to get a massage from."
"I'm glad that my fame has reached the states, but I am just a humble old man with a business." Fu pressed his palms against Thomas's lower back until he felt the last knot get undone by his hands. "And there we go, the last knot. You may get up slowly."
"Thank you." Thomas did as the old man told him.
He shook the old man's hands with his own. He smiled, giving him a show of gratitude.
Fu walked back to his sink to wash his hands as Thomas put his clothes back on. However, as he was washing his hands, he noticed that he was missing Wayzz's Miraculous on him.
"What the-?" Fu's words were cut short as a swift karate chop landed on the back of his old neck.
"Rest up, Wang Fu. Your guard has ended." Thomas caught Fu before he fell. "Now, Bakar and Edmund's promise has been fulfilled. But go gently into that good night knowing that I hold no ill will against you. Just the cycle you represent. Now rest." Thomas placed the body on the mat he worked on.
Thomas walked to the music player, opening it with a knife he'd brought with him. Inside was the Miraculous box, the last box.
"One down, five to go." Thomas put the Turtle Miraculous inside the box. "Not shedding a tear for the last guardian, Archimedes?"
"What good would my tears be, Master Thomas? I just met the man," Archimedes replied.
"True. Now, let us go grab a butterfly. It is high time he fought someone his own age." Thomas picked up the Miraculous box before walking out of the apartment.
Gabriel was fuming. Mr. Pigeon had been bested once more and was running out of ideas. He paced, thinking what Akuma he could create next to finally get his hands on the Miraculous. He had to fulfill his dream. A dream about a perfect world for him and his family, a dynasty that he would bring to fruition. No matter who or what he had to use to achieve it.
"Master, please, I know that you want to fulfill your dream, but this isn't the way," Nooroo said. "We could create an Akuma to-" Gabriel snapped his fingers, silencing his Kwami.
Gabriel glared at Nooroo with disdain. Ever since he had acquired him and the Peacock Miraculous, his perfect world and vision had slowly been crumbling. And any of his plans to fix that vision were destroyed by Ladybug and Chat Noir. But soon he'd come up with a plan that would eliminate them for good once and for all. He did not need any other ideas or thoughts aside his own.
"Sooner or later, Ladybug and Chat Noir will slip and I will not allow anyone to get in my way. Even if Paris has to be destroyed a hundred times over, I will make my dream come true!" Gabriel claimed. "And I will make everyone that's stood in my way suffer, especially Ladybug."
"You are more pathetic than I thought."
Gabriel turned around to see Nite Owl coming out of the shadows.
"Who are you?! What are you doing here?!" Gabriel demanded. "How did you get in my home without my security going off?!"
"I'm impressed you could hear anything over your rambling. Don't bother with your security system. I figured out your password, 'Emily'." Nite Owl scoffed. "You are an idiot in all the senses of the word. Doing the exact thing over and over again expecting a different result. That's insanity if I ever heard it. Hand over your Miraculous and I'll let you live."
"Nooroo, dark wings rise!" Gabriel transformed into his Hawkmoth persona before lunging at Nit Owl. "If you know all this about me, then you must've known that I will have to kill you!" Gabriel swung his cane at Nite Owl, forcing him to catch it with his hands.
Nite Owl dug his boots onto the ground, stopping himself. He had to play this right. Gabriel pulled his cane back before punching Nite Owl in the face. A shallow punch, the man had never thrown a proper punch in his life, but it gave the illusion that it hurt. Nite Owl ducked and dodge the cane swings, blocking them with his forearm at the last minute, making it look like he was struggling. Hawkmoth kicked him in the stomach, sending him back. Again, a sloppy attack. He just needed one more blow before revealing his cards. Hawkmoth jumped at Nite Owl once more, swinging his cane like a club, breaking through the intruder's defenses.
The blows landed on Nite Owl's shoulders, arms and one in the face, much to Hawkmoth's glee. With each blow Gabriel earned more and more bravado, seeing the fight turn in his favor. He could let loose against this intruder all his anger and frustration. Like a living punching bag that was meant for him. He didn't care who or what he was, he would die and whatever he had would be used by him to make his dream a reality.
"You thought you could come to my home and demand anything from me?!" Hawkmoth punched Nite Owl. "I am the master of this city! I am Hawk-!" Nite Owl caught the cane with ease.
Before Hawkmoth could question why someone could do that, Nite Owl punched him across the face. His teeth loosened up before being backhanded with force. Grabbing his arm, Nite Owl flipped him over his shoulder before landing a strong kick to his stomach. Hawkmoth landed with a loud bang against the side of his lair. He spat out blood, tasting the metal in it. He didn't know what happened.
Nite Owl walked towards him with a cold determined look on his masked face. All the damage seemed to have disappeared. He dropped the cane before Hawkmoth.
"Pick it up." Nite Owl snarled.
"W-Why?" Hawkmoth coughed up three teeth.
"Because unlike you, I know how to fight." Nite Owl stated in a demeaning tone. "It's high time you fought someone your own size, Gabriel."
Hawkmoth snatched his cane, swinging it at Nite Owl. But Nite Owl leaned back, easily avoiding the weapon, before punching Hawkmoth in the nose with a jab. He followed it with bobbing under another swing of the cane and hitting Hawkmoth in the liver. He followed that with a kick to the side, sending the villain against the wall. He then slammed his face against the wall, shattering it. Nite Owl pulled Hawkmoth off of the wall before kicking him behind his knee, bringing him to the ground. He then kneed Hawkmoth's jaw, breaking more teeth.
"And I'm not stopping until you really suffer." Nite Owl picked up Hawkmoth's battered body. "Not because of all your villainous activities, but because of all the madness you've brought to the world."
Nite Owl continued his assault, punching and kicking Hawkmoth without pity or mercy. It was an onslaught that could only be described as inhumane, the kind of spectacle of brutality fit for the ancient Roman Colosseum between animals and unarmed slaves. Nite Owl pulled out his sharpened boomerang, using it like a dagger with great skill and dexterity. He sliced at Hawkmoth's body, cutting his tendons and limbs before cutting his cane in two. Soon enough, Hawkmoth fell to the floor, covered in blows, blood and missing almost all his teeth. Nite Owl took Hawkmoth's Miraculous, transforming him back.
"Three down, two to go." Nite Owl pulled out the Miraculous box before dropping the Butterfly and the Peacock Miraculous. "Now, to catch a cat. And you'll help me, Hawkmoth, after I pin you like one of your butterflies." He stepped over the beaten villain.
Adrien hated coming back home, so cold and lonely. He wished he could wear the mask all the time. Adrien entered the house, only to find it even more cold and lonely than normal. Something wasn't right. The house was never this dark at night.
"Hello, Nathalie? Father?" Adrien called out.
No response.
He looked around, only to see a light coming from the dining room. Adrien didn't like it, but he slowly made his way there. Maybe his father and Nathalie were having a romantic dinner and forgot to tell him. Which part of him worried and another part of him was happy for.
"Hello, Nathalie, Father?" Adrien slowly opened the door, only to find the dining table illuminated by candles. "What is-?"
"I took the liberty to tell his secretary to take the night off."
Adrien snapped back at the sound of the unfamiliar voice. He saw Nite Owl sitting on one of the chairs, sipping some wine. Adrien's mind was filled with questions and only briefly stopped himself from calling out to Plagge.
"I wanted us to have a chance to talk uninterrupted." Nite Owl stirred the wine in his glass before sipping it.
"Wh-Who are you? What do you want?" Adrien tried to act the scared teenager. "This is private property, I'm gonna have to ask you to leave before my father and his bodyguard arrive."
"More polite than your father, I'll give you that. But they won't bother us. Your bodyguard has a meditation session for the next hour, with no phones or calls," Nite Owl said. "As for your father, he's a bit tied up at the moment… Chat Noir." He pointed to the other end of the table.
Adrien was shocked not just by him outing his secret identity, but by the sight at the end of the table. His father. Beaten up and tied up with ropes to a chair. Blood dripped from his face and broken mouth.
"Don't worry, he's still alive. And he can't hear us due to the unconsciousness and the blood in his ears." Nite Owl sipped on his wine.
"You're… A monster! An Akuma!" Adrien looked at him with hatred.
"I can assure you, Hawkmoth had no hand in creating me." Nite Owl pulled out the butterfly Miraculous, still stained in blood. "In fact, you could say that I did in one evening what you and that girl of yours couldn't do in almost a year. He's sitting at the end of the table if you're wondering." He put the Miraculous back on the box.
Adrien's emotions bubbled and boiled like a volcano about to erupt. Hatred could not even begin to describe what he felt at that moment for the two men in that room. For one, his father was a villain, Hawkmoth, who had terrorized Paris and his friends. And the other was someone that had broken into his home and was holding his father hostage. There was no logic, only emotion.
"PLAGG CLAWS OUT!" Adrien transformed before Nite Owl's eyes.
He swung his staff at Nite Owl with all his strength, forcing the vigilante to jump out of the room. Nite Owl skidded to a halt as Chat Noir came down from above. He sidestepped out of the way of the spinning bo staff. He raised his arm to block the attack, before jumping over Chat Noir's head, avoiding another attack. The bo staff was shifted into the form of a baseball bat, but it carried no less force behind it. Nite Owl dodged, bobbed and weaved around the attacks that were wild but far more battle trained than his father.
Chat Noir knew how to use his weapon after all his lessons and time on the field. But as he spun his staff and destroyed everything around him except his enemy, he only thought of one thing. Hatred. How much he hated the man before him. How much he hated that he had hurt his father. How much he hated that he'd been fooled all this time by his father. He hated that no one took him seriously and assumed what was best for him. And he was going to unleash all of that anger on this man!
"Good form. But you're losing focus of your surroundings." Nite Owl moved out of the way, grabbing the staff before slamming Adrian on the floor.
Adrien stood back up, snarling like an angry cat. He lunged forward, reeling back his right hand.
"CATACLYSM!" Adrien thrusted his hand forward.
"Predictable." Nite Owl grabbed Adrien's arm, redirecting the deadly attack to the floor.
The floor crumbled below them, causing them to fall down to Gabriel's hidden chamber. Adrien fell down hard while Nite Owl gracefully landed on his feet with the aid of his cape.
Adrien groaned as he got back up and saw what was under his feet. He turned to see something that shook him to the core. It was his mother. He rushed to her glass coffin in utter disbelief. He'd thought her gone, but she was here all along. It was another one of his father's deceptions.
"I really didn't want to do this, Adrien. But you're not giving me much of a choice." Nite Owl pulled something from his pocket, a ring.
Adrien snatched his staff back before charging at Nite Owl, swinging for his head.
"Stop." Nite Owl commanded, making Adrien stop in his tracks.
"W-What?" Adrien struggled.
"Drop it." Adrien did as he commanded. "Kneel down. And listen." Adrien fell to his knees as he looked up to see Nite Owl holding the rings his father and mother wore.
"H-How? How are you doing this?" Adrien asked.
"Because Adrien, you have been living a lie your whole life. Your parents used arcane powers of the Miraculous to conceive you. A perfect little boy. But in the end, no more than a puppet for his parents to play house with." Nite Owl revealed. "You and Pinnochio are very much the same. Only difference is that you're trapped in a crumbling golden cage unaware that you were a puppet playing at being a real boy. With your parents pulling your strings. Telling you who to socialize with, marry, live, etc."
Nite Owl looked at the ring, noting all its meanings and what it had been turned into. A symbol of loyalty, love and happiness being turned into a tool of slavery and manipulation. Had he been more of a wide-eyed heroe, he would've tried to comfort the boy, maybe even tell him that it would all be okay. But that wasn't the real world. He knelt before Adrien as his Miraculous beeped.
"Why… Why are you doing this?" Adrien barely had the strength to look up at him.
"Because this cycle, this wheel of chaos will never end unless someone makes the only right choice. And I will do that. I will break the wheel," Nite Owl replied. "But that doesn't mean I'm not sympathetic to your plight. I'm going to offer you the one thing no one else has given you in your entire existence: A choice."
"A choice?" Adrien didn't believe him.
"Yes, a choice free for you to make. I will give you back the rings that hold your existence, and you can live a normal life away from all this madness. I've doctored paper to have Nathalie, the closest you've had to a true mother, take you in as your guardian so you can stay in Paris. A sizable portion of your father's fortune will be granted to you to do with as you please. You will be able to go to school, have friends of your choosing, your choice of a life, a dream of your own if you will. No one will pull your strings ever again." Nite Owl explained. "All you need to do is hand over your Miraculous."
Adrien transformed back as Plagg got between his wielder and Nite Owl.
"What is stopping me from blasting you right here and now, huh?!" Plagg hissed as his energy crackled around him.
"This." Nite Owl pulled out a transmitter. "This transmitter is linked to my heart rate. If I die, everything and everyone in a 100 meter radius will go up in smoke."
"What kind of choice is that?!" Adrien snapped. "What happens if I refuse?!"
"Then the wheel keeps on spinning. You and your lady will continue running around Paris without any end in sight. Only without Akumas there might be an end. You'll be left alone, never learning who the one that truly loves you is and that will be the end of things." Nite Owl explained. "Don't misunderstand, Adrien. This is a choice. I could make you give me your Miraculous. But you've been controlled for far too long by everyone else's dreams. It's time to have dreams of your own. But first you need to wake up. What will you choose?" Nite Owl held out his hands, with the ring resting on one of them.
Adrien looked at Plagg and then back at his ring, the ring that held him tied to this world. His whole world was crumbling down around him. Tears flowed out of his eyes and down his cheeks. He wanted this to be a nightmare so badly that he would give anything for it to end. But no matter what he tried or did, he couldn't wake up. He was stuck in this twisted nightmare or a real world. And now he had to face it. He wished that his lady was with him to save him. But then the thought of Ladybug made him feel happy.
"What about Ladybug?" Adrien asked.
"I will retrieve her Miraculous. But, I will sweeten the deal. I promise not to hurt her. I won't harm a single hair on her head, Adrien." Nite Owl promised. "You two can still have your happy life together, you just need to start living in the real world."
Adrien looked at Plagge, his one and only friend in the end. He couldn't betray him. He just couldn't.
"Adrien," Plagge said. "It's okay kid. I had fun while it lasted." He gave Adrien a smile to cheer him up.
Adrien wiped the tears away. He could still do something.
"Plagge. Destroy me and the ring with me!" Adrien commanded.
"CATACLYSM!" Plagge struck his own ring, sending a destructive wave through Adrien.
Nite Owl was pushed back from the blast. He covered himself with his cape. He looked at the spot where both Adrien and Plagge once stood.
"His one and final act of rebellion was to keep me from my prize." Nite Owl smiled. "Well played, Adrien. Now you're truly free. Have a nice eternity." He dropped the ring, watching it bounce on the floor.
Ladybug, Marinette Dupain-Cheng, watched her perfect life unfold before her. Her house was pink and bright as Adrien helped her make fabulous clothes and their beautiful children played with their pet hamster. Everything had gone well in life since Hawkmoth was defeated and had married the man of her dreams. She could already see their future being bright and beautiful.
"I love you Marinette," Adrien said.
His words were like honey to her ears.
"I love you too, Adrien. Please, kiss me once more before the fashion show." Marinette reached out to kiss.
In the real world, Ladybug kissed the air passionately as Dr. Destiny held up the Dream Stone beside her. He'd had such a fun time feeding the stone with so many dreams and energies from the people of this world. All so caught up in their own trivial matters and content with Ladybug's power that dreams were particularly potent.
"Oh Adrien, I didn't know you could do that with your tongue," Ladybug moaned.
"Ah the dreams of a horny youth~. They are as sickening to watch from this angle as the other." Dr. Destiny scoffed.
"You know, you could always just not watch them." Dr. Destiny looked back and saw Cain swinging his shovel at him, hitting him in the face. "I always preferred the vital lesson of premarital sex often leads to disembowling by slasher." Dr. Destiny crashed against the wall before pulling himself up.
Dr. Destiny held his jaw, snapping it back in place. He narrowed his eyes at Cain with nothing but rage that sprung from his appearance and the pain his now physical body felt.
"Cain. I see that the Lord of Dreams has set you on my trail, hasn't he?" Dr. Destiny snarled.
"I am one of his favorite hunting dogs when it comes to certain nasties like you." Cainspun his shovel aiming it at Dr. Destiny's head. "Surrender and undo whatever you did to that poor girl."
"...No." Dr. Destiny snapped, lifting the Dream Stone.
Marinette's eyes glowed red as her dream turned into a nightmare. She turned towards Cain with hatred in her eyes. She saw him as Hawkmoth, holding Adrien by the neck.
"NO! Hawkmoth, you won't destroy my life!" Marinette pulled out her yo-yo and swung it at Cain.
Cain narrowly avoided the spinning weapon as it smashed through a smokestack. He jumped back as Ladybug spun her yo-yo and swung it at his head like a whip. He blocked the attack with his shovel before she cut the distance between them kicking him in the stomach. He jumped out of the way of a punch aimed at his head. Her attacks were vicious and with her subconscious taking the reigns, there was nothing holding her back. He growled at Dr. Destiny as the superhero girl shot her yo-yo forward, piercing through an AC box with ease.
"What are these things made of?" Cain asked, wrapping his shovel on the yo-yo's string. "I know they're magic but to be this deadly for a young lady? Please, give me strength."
"You will pay for attacking my family, Hawkmoth! I will make you pay!" Marinette pulled at her yo-yo. "You should've stayed in whatever dark hole they threw you into! This time I beat you, you will not let you off without taking your Miraculous!"
"And that just proves your shortsightedness."
Marinette turned around only to receive a kick to the face from Nite Owl.
"I take it that you're not here for just little old me, are you?" Cain dusted himself.
"The girl's Miraculous is one of the most powerful ones. I've all but collected all of them or put them out of commission. Hers is the last one," Nite Owl replied.
"She's enhanced and unbound thanks to my quarry's influence. May I suggest a team up?" Cain spun his shovel.
"It doesn't matter. They're both going down." Nite Owl pulled out his boomerang blade.
Cain and Nite Owl charged at Dr. Destiny and Ladybug with determination.
Cain swung his shovel at Dr. Destiny as he blocked it with a blast from the Dream Stone. He blasted Cain back only for him to turn into a living shadow, sinking into the cracks. He popped up behind the rogue nightmare, hitting him in the back. They glared at each other clashing tooth and nail against each other.
"You won't stop me, nightmare wrangler!" Dr. Destiny snarled. "I won't give up my dream!"
"Sadly, that's not a good reason to spare you." Cain snarked back. "If it was Able it would've worked. Not on me though."
Dr. Destiny sunk into the shadows followed by Cain as they popped in and out throughout the city. They popped out in the middle of the subway, scaring the passengers as they fought and traded punches. They went back into the shadows dropping down in the middle of a gala, accidentally shoving the mayor's wife into a cake. They jumped back into the shadows ending up at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Back with Nite Owl and Marinette, they continued fighting amongst the rooftop. His bladed boomerang blocks and swatted away at Ladybug's yo-yo with ease. He had plenty of experience with long ranged weapons like this one, but her strength was another matter. She swung her weapon wildly and whenever she got close enough, she landed some surprisingly strong blows. Normally, he would've struck her down in any given opening but he knew the best path was to incapacitate her.
He got in close, striking her armpit mid swing. Marinette dropped in pain before going for a roundhouse kick. Nite Owl caught her leg before slamming her on the ground. He snatched her yo-yo, trying her up with it. She thrashed and kicked like a wild animal against him. But he easily countered and blocked the attacks.
"Enough!" Nite Owl punched Ladybug in the face, knocking her out.
He snatched her earrings off of her, leaving her an unconscious girl on the rooftop.
"And just like that, the wheel is broken." Nite Owl dropped the earrings into the Miracle box.
Back with Dr. Destiny and Cain, the former was thrown into a school classroom.
"It's over, Dr. Destiny. You will come with me now." Cain demanded.
Dr. Destiny laughed as the Dream Stone glowed brightly.
"No, this is only the beginning!" Dr. Destiny illuminated the whole room, blinding Cain.
The light subsided, revealing that Dr. Destiny had indeed vanished. Cain huffed in annoyance.
"I see he's escaped." Nite Owl surprised Cain.
"Not many can sneak up on me," Cain sighed. "I suppose that you won your battle?"
"That dream is over. Now humanity is on its own." Nite Owl pulled out the Miracle Box. "You're a collector, right? A gift. Sorry if it being incomplete bothers you."
Cain examined the box before shrugging off.
"I believe there's a story behind it." Cain summoned the House of Mystery. "Perhaps you can tell it to me while we hunt Dr. Destiny."
"I don't work well with others. But I have nothing here," Nite Owl said.
"Then come with me. We'll have some good ideas to do together." Cain and Nite Owl entered the House of Mystery.
Nite Owl entered the room Cain had lent him.
"Archimedes, roost." Thomas transformed back as a white owl Kwami floated next to him.
"So, what is the plan, Master Thomas?" Archimedes flew by him as he pulled out a journal.
"The mission is still the same, only on a much grander scale. I will require your services for a little longer, Archimedes." Thomas looked at the owl symbol on the journal.
"I've faithfully served your family for centuries, Master Thomas. Since Bakar freed me, you and your family have allowed me to fully unlock my potential." Archimedes bowed its head. "But for what comes next, we can't do it alone. Oversight will be needed and to see all the outcomes."
"Then let's get to work," Thomas said seriously.