And we're back with a nice long chapter this week. I hope you enjoy it because things are going to really start picking up soon.

Content warning: cursing, guilt, regret, past gaslighting and bullying

Chapter 23

Common Ground

In a pocket dimension somewhere between space and time the holder of the Rabbit Miraculous Bunnyx was pulling her hair out in frustration and anxiety. It all started when Ladybug let the horse Kwami Kaalki use her powers without a holder, bringing a boy who had the missing Raccoon Miraculous to their world altering and splintering their timeline.

She watched as the main timeline continued as intended while theirs became an alternate universe affected by this new arrival. This was concerning until she managed to see the long term effects it would have on their world. Variations happened all the time; it was how new worlds often were formed. She would only step in if the event was catastrophic like the incident with Chat Blanc. The unfortunate world still existed but she and Ladybug kept the variation from spreading too far.

Varian's sudden appearance did throw off a few things but the long term future actually looked OK so there was no reason to interfere. That is until something broke the dimensional barrier and right now she didn't know what to do.

"AHHHHH!" she screamed as she watched the timeline flicker, change and sometimes fade. That last part was particularly worrying. "What do I do? I can handle a funky timeline but this is way out of my pay grade." With all the chaos going on around her she didn't notice the new visitor right away.

"Ah, sorry to disturb you." She quickly spun around pointing her umbrella at the intruder.

"Who are you? How did you get-" and then she realized she did in fact recognize them. "You?"

"Oh, have we met? Or should I say, will we meet? Time travel is so confusing. Anyway, I think I can help."

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Eugene was reluctant to let Varian go off with Rapunzel alone but she was pretty insistent that this was something she had to do. The boy who had been talking to her earlier, Luka, assured them that Varian wasn't going to hurt her.

He was apparently one of Varian's friends here and was respected by the spotted knight, Ladybug, so he supposed it was OK. In the meantime he was stuck with two different Varians who both had varying degrees of help from their counterparts and it would seem the more help Varian actually received the better person he became. That kind of stung a bit…OK a lot.

He recalled how sad and heartbroken Vari looked when he told him that they had left their Varian in prison while they went off on their quest. It was such a punch in the gut when he asked them why. Cassandra had turned her head so as not to look at Vari's kicked puppy expression only saying that he hurt her father.

Vari countered and said that, yes his Cassandra was mad at him for that too but they had a lot of time on their quest while trying to discover the secret of the black rocks. It was really rough at first. He was more than a little antsy having just lost his Dad but helping each other out of life and death scenarios somehow helped ease the tension. Over time they forgave each other for the pain they both had caused.

He also reminded her that his Cassandra had betrayed them for a while and stole the Moonstone and this time he was the one to talk her down. He considers her like a big sister now. Which is why it was so painful to discover that these people who looked like his friends just left their Varian behind.

Eugene had been trying to push that question out of the way but Vari was very insistent. He tried explaining how Varian was dangerous and unlike Vari, piloted an automaton and attacked Cassandra and the queen.

Now to his credit, Vari did seem disturbed by the fact that an alternate version of him did attack Arianna. She comforted him at a time when he needed it the most and even when he was arrested she was constantly checking up on him. He suspected that she was the one who convinced Rapunzel to take him along in the first place. Still it felt like Eugene was still avoiding the question.

He knew what his Eugene said when asked the same thing but he knew the answer might be different. Seeing as he was not going to get that answer out of him just yet he let it go for now.

Eugene tugged at his collar as he saw his long lost father approaching them. Vari smiled going up to Hector and Adira silently praying they were at least close to his family back home. Everything here was so different.

Edmund once again put a hand on Eugene's shoulder trying to bond. Putting Varian out of his head for a brief moment he was surprised to find himself kind of sort of liking the attention. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask a few questions. His Dad was absolutely delighted to answer any question he had and educate him about his family and heritage.

While the group seemed to be bonding Cassandra found herself wandering away from the crowd. All of these weird Varian were making her head spin.

"Hey Cass!" speaking of which. "Wanna talk?" It was Vee, the Varian who didn't declare war on Corona. Although it seems like the war had been started without him.

"Not really, no." Vee shrugged but kept following her. "You sure, because it seems like there's something you want to get off your chest." She stopped and turned to him.

"Look, you might still be dear friends with the Cassandra from your world but for me that ship has sailed. I know you're not the same traitorous Varian as mine but I just want to get this mission done and go home." He stayed silent for a moment.

"You know my Cassandra actually fought against us at the beginning." she paused and looked back. "She was loyal to the crown as well. I can't really blame her for that, she was raised by the guards after all. Rapunzel was hurt of course but was always convinced she'd come back to us. The moment Cassandra started questioning if what the crown was doing was right however they turned on her."

Cassandra felt a little shiver going down her spine. She was loyal, that was true but more and more she had been questioning if there was more going on then she was told. She even had that special missions that no one else knew about. It was to protect Rapunzel of course but she was now wondering why the king wanted the Moonstone to begin with. It could still be about protecting Rapunzel but what else was going on? And could questioning it get her into trouble?

"What exactly happened to her?" Vari got a dark look in his eyes at the thought.

"She never said exactly what but…it was bad. When we finally rescued her and some of our comrades she was missing a hand and had a number of scars that she wouldn't let anyone see. It took her a while to heal but she was never quite the same.

Still a fighter though, and she really liked the prosthetic hand I made her. It even has a sword attachment." He said with a mix of sadness and happiness.

"Why are you telling me this, our histories are pretty different." He looked back with an unusually serious expression.

"Is it really so different? I heard what Frederic did to Varian and I have little doubt that if Rapunzel didn't come to find me after the blizzard that could have been my fate. I'm seeing a lot of the same signs with your world that were in mine so I'm asking you to be careful. Even if you're not my Cass I still don't want to see you go through anything similar. That's all I have to say."

With that he walked off leaving her with a lot to think about.

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Now that they were finally isolated Rapunzel and Varian both sat down at a park bench in silence. True Rapunzel was the one who asked to talk but now that they were alone she wasn't sure where to start and Varian was not all that eager to talk to her. After several minutes of this Rapunzel gathered up all the courage as she could and finally apologized.

"I know this it's going to fix things but I wanted you to know how sorry I am. Sorry for not checking on you after the blizzard, sorry for leaving you in prison and just…sorry for being a rotten friend." Varian was quiet for a moment refusing to look at her.

"You're right, it doesn't fix anything." Rapunzel sighed but continued.

"I can admit now that I didn't want to see what was wrong. I've never had to deal with anything like this before. Living in the tower was lonely and boring but it was simple. Mo-Gothel told me what to do and once my chores were done I could do what I wanted. It was limited but it let me imagine what the world was like. But life isn't a fairy tale, things get complicated and messy. All of the sudden I'm a princess and expected to take over and rule a kingdom but I'm probably one of the least qualified people for the job. I didn't grow up around a lot of people, everyone looks to me to solve problems that I've never had to deal with myself." she paused seeing Varian still not looking her in the eye.

"I'm not trying to excuse my behavior, your friend was right. Choosing to ignore the problem was still a choice. I can't go back and make a different choice no matter how much I want to but I honestly wish I could. Talking to Vee I realized how easy it would have been to simply go and check on you and boy did that story have a different ending." He still wasn't saying anything but he did turn to look at her.

"Look Varian, I'm not expecting forgiveness or even friendship." she laughed a little. "After talking with your friend Luka I realized that maybe I don't really know what friendship is. I think I need to work on that as well as myself before I can truly call someone a friend."

Varian had to admit he was expecting another half assed apology and prepared to just ignore it. But some of the things she was saying were eating at him a little. He could admit that he hadn't been the best of friends after coming to Paris. He infected Markov with the Hack-san Virus and Stole Adrien's ring just so he could get what he wanted. Not exactly something a real friend would do. He was only starting to learn what it was like to be a real friend himself.

"Back in Corona I had such a hard time relating to anyone my age that when someone was even a little nice to me I bent over backwards just to keep them happy. I can look back now and see just how many times I'd been taken advantage of. When no one came after the blizzard that was the last straw." He sighed and took a deep breath. "I had to learn not only what a real friend was but how to be one myself. So I guess it's something we both have to work on." Rapunzel smiled.

"It looks like you're off to a better start than me." He knew she meant Luka.

"Luka is the best of us." He wrung his hands taking some time to gather his thoughts. "Look Rapunzel, I'm…not ready to forgive you just yet but I believe you when you say you're sorry." It was just like him and Adrien. They all needed some time. She smiled sadly.

"I think I'm OK with that for now." She perked up suddenly remembering something. "I've got an idea. Vee said his Rapunzel knew a spell that freed your Dad in his world. When I get back I can-"

"STOP!" He said as his eyes darkened. "Please don't make any more promises you don't know you can keep."

"But he-"

"Is from a different world. What worked there might not work for us. I…I can't take getting my hopes up again and again just to get them smashed." He thought of the ring but also when he met the other Quirin. Saying goodbye even if it wasn't his own Dad made the weight on his shoulders lighten a little. But as much as he wanted to free his Dad he couldn't afford to get his hopes up again. Rapunzel for her part didn't push the issue.

"Alright then. Let's just do what we came to do and see if we can take care of the black rocks." Varian nodded.

"Agreed, you said Vee knew how to get rid of them?" She nodded.

"He told me a shortened version of it but wanted to confirm some details since it was something we can only try once." Varian nodded eager to focus on something that didn't involve a hurricane's worth of emotions.

"Sounds like a plan. I can agree to not start any fights or bring up the past if you and the other will do the same." There was a part of her who, despite everything, still wanted to try and be real friends with Varian but she wasn't sure this was something that could be fixed. This might not be something he wanted to fix and perhaps it was better to just pick up the pieces and move on.

"If that's what you want I agree as well."

The two made their way back to the group not as friends but as comrades with a shared goal. Both of them prayed this wasn't a mistake, neither wanting to get hurt again.

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"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST THE KING!" Nigel flinched as his master berated him for his failure.

"Please Master, it wasn't my fault! Mathews-"

"Enough of your excuses." Zhan Tiri said, cutting him off. "Inform Mathews I wish to speak with him as soon as he is back to full power. I know a way to find the king even if he is lost in the multiverse, provided he's still alive that is." Nigel gave her a crooked nervous smile.

"That's wonderful news, Master. I'll see about waking Mathews-"

"You will do no such thing!" she shouted, showing off a hint of her demon form. "His magic must be at its peak for the spell to work and I can't afford any more mess ups." He looked down, a little fearful. Hopefully Mathews won't blab that it was him who convinced him to send the king to the other world before he was rested in the first place.

"As you wish Master. In the meantime, is there anything I can do to help?" She gave him a stern look.

"You've done enough. Once I'm back to full power I can fix the crack in the dimension and save this world so I can rule it. Sadly this will mean the worlds connected and surrounding it will have to be sacrificed but I have a way to work this into an advantage for myself." Nigel fought to keep the neutral expression on his face. He had very quickly lost favor with his Master; he was going to have to think of a way to fix this and quick.

"Are you sure you don't require any assistance? Time is running short if the plan is to succeed." At that she smiled coldly.

"Fortunately this world runs faster than the other. Mathews should awaken with just enough time to hopefully salvage the plan. If not…" The demon's eyes glowed ominous, her warning clear.

"Understood, Master." With that Zhan Tiri cut the connection and Nigel let his expression drop. This was bad. His master was not only displeased with him but it didn't seem like she was interested in giving him a chance to redeem himself.

Not only that, if the King ever did return he doubted his positions would be very secure knowing it was him who got him lost in the first place. He doubted he could manipulate the Queen as easily as her husband; he could tell she already distrusted him.

Perhaps he should start making some plans of his own…just in case.

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Varian and Rapunzel returned to the group just in time to witness a curious sight. Vari was cowering away from Luka of all people and was hiding behind a confused Eugene.

"What's going on?" Varian asked, looking to Luka for some sort of explanation.

"I'm not sure." Luka sounded just as confused as he turned back to Vari. "I'm sorry did I say something wrong?" Varian couldn't fathom what Luka could say to make anyone this upset. Vari however turned to Varian with a slight look of panic in his eye.

"He says you two are friends! Please tell me that isn't true." Now everyone looked confused.

"Ah, yeah it's true he's one of my best friends. He's honestly one of the kindest and wisest people I've ever met." Luka smiled back at Varian appreciative for the compliment. Vari on the other hand looked like he thought Varian was crazy.

"Him?!" He pointed back at Luka who was still confused why this other Varian seemed so scared of him. At this Ladybug stepped in.

"I know you're from another Paris where Chat Noir and I are the bad guys and Butterfly-"

"Betterfly." he corrected.

"Right, Betterfly is the good guy there." For most of them that was still baffling, especially for Adrien. "So is Luka a bad guy in your world as well. Is like everything reversed?" Vari sighed.

"For me this is reversed." He glanced back at Luka. "He's not exactly a…villain but he's…" He trailed off nervously as if afraid to speak.

The Luka in his world was…complicated. When they first met he thought he had found a great friend. Luka told him how tough it had been for him since his mother had passed away and since she never named his father he'd been shuffled in and out of different foster homes for the past five years now.

Vari shared that he had recently lost his Dad and that he was living with relatives. Due to some complications back home he had to stay with Gabriel Agreste for the time being. They seemed to bond over their loss and shared grief but then red flags started popping that made Vari nervous.

Like when he found out Luka had a sister. Only when he asked about her Luka went really quiet for a bit then warned him never to speak her name again. He was taken aback but Vari figured something must have happened to her and he didn't want to talk about it. He told him that was fine and it was like a switch had flipped and he went back to being happy again. The switch was more unnerving than the anger.

Then there was him knowing things he shouldn't know. Nothing big a first but he was starting to get the feeling he was being watched. Vari had to be careful, not only was he from another world but he was also Kujaku the Peacock holder. Luka never did say it out right but Vari strongly suspected he knew something. The problem was he wasn't sure what he knew for sure or how much he was fishing for information.

He tried keeping his distance but Luka always seemed to know where to find him. That's when he started finding little…presents in his bag or locker at school. Things that didn't look all that disturbing but they meant something to Vari and again they were things Luka shouldn't know.

He once thought he lost the marble he had recently used to make a sentimonster in his latest battle. He always kept the objects like treasures even if they no longer had any life within them. Then he sees Luka in the doorway to his classroom and he's holding it in his hands and staring at it with a smirk.

It took an embarrassing amount of pleading to get him to give it back with most of the class laughing at him for getting so worked up over a marble.

The worst part was Luka knew how to play it cool and acted like he didn't do anything wrong at least while other people were around. If they were ever alone together…that was a whole different story. He even tried to catch him in the act a few times but Luka was always one step ahead and made Vari look like the bad guy. Only one of his friends believed him.

Currently He was looking at this alternate Luka and back at the Varian who considered him his friend. He didn't see any of the subtle smiles and Varian honestly seemed fine being around him. Unless this guy was playing a very long con it didn't seem like he was trying to be anything but nice.

"I don't know but if you really see him as a friend I'll take your word for it." Luka for his part backed up as much as he could and Vari visibly relaxed.

"It's so bizarre." Commented Chat Noir. "Is everything reversed in your world? Is Chloe like a saint or something?" At that Vari shook his head almost violently.

"Oh hell no Chloe's a royal…witch." Hector, who had been watching with the rest of the knights smirked.

"I think the word you're looking for is Bitch" Everyone looked at him in shock but Vari and Varian just snickered.

"He's not wrong." Varian commented as Vari laughed through his hands. Vee had no idea who this Chloe was but it was probably for the best that he didn't. Adira gave Hector a swat in the back of the head. Not for cursing, she just thought her word was better. Edmund just rolled his eyes.

"Is it wrong that it feels comforting to know not everything is backwards here." Vari said, as some of the tension was starting to leave him.

"Nope." Ladybug said also glade Chloe was the same terrible person there as well. "Guess some people like Chloe and Lira never change." Vari nodded in agreement.

"Oh I know. Lila's my best friend! I don't know what I would do without her support." Ladybug had a very visceral reaction to that comment. Varian noticed too.

"L-lila?" Vari didn't seem to notice her distress.

"Oh yeah, she's so kind and supportive I feel like I can tell her anything. Well almost anything, I still have to keep some things a secret but I kind of wish I didn't have to." Ladybug's head was spinning. Was Lyra really a nice person in Vari's world or was she manipulating him just like the one here? It was hard to say really since Chloe was still a witch with a "B" in both.

It went unnoticed by her but Varian saw her reaction to the mention of Lila being a nice person. He knew she was a liar but she had tricked just about everyone around her…except two people. One of which was Adrien. He smiled to himself confident he'd guessed right and now knew who Ladybug really was. It was probably a good thing he'd stop trying to get the Miraculous. He'd just keep this bit of information to himself. No need to give her any more undue stress.

"In any case." Ladybug began again getting everyone back on track. "Vee, you said you got rid of the rocks in your world right? Tell us how it was done." Vee launched into his tale of how Rapunzel was indeed the key to stopping the rocks but in order to do so without killing her they'd need to cut off her hair with a piece of the black rock. Doing so would release the sundrop from her body but would leave her powerless. Then they needed to reunite the Sundrop and the Moonstone and then all the rocks would recede and the power of both would be nullified.

Of course this posed a few problems for their current situation. King Ednumd had the original stone but the power had escaped. The Varians all suspected that the Moonstone's power had taken another form and was now residing in the museum.

"Well this is just great." Eugene commented, glancing in the direction of the museum. "Rapunzel said that place was sealed shut with no way in." Adira let out a long sigh.

"Unfortunately I had to leave my black rock sword behind to escape to this world. Is there anything else here that can break them?" Chat Noir raised his hand.

"My power is the power of destruction and it can shatter the black rock easily. But the rocks tend to explode like shrapnel when I do." Varian knew Chat Noir was subtly looking at him. He wasn't outing him but he knew he had to come clean. There really wasn't any other option. He looked at his former friends from Corona and took a deep breath,

"Actually, I know a way." Now all eyes were on him. "If I use my Miraculous powers with the powers of the Black Cat I can cut through the rocks without risk of them hurting anyone." The Corona crew looked confused for a moment before Cassandra let out a laugh.

"HA! So you're that other villain we're heard about. I should have known, it was a freakin raccoon! I noticed you left that part out of your testimony when you and your partner had us arrested, you little hypocrite!" Varian lowered his head in shame. He had been expecting this but that didn't make it any easier to hear. Eugene and Lance were both giving him nasty looks but to his surprise it was Rapunzel of all people who came to his defense.

"Cassandra that's enough?"

"You're not just going to let that slide are you? He's been playing the victim this whole time while he's been terrorizing another kingdom. And this one didn't even do anything to him!" Varian felt horrible. For so long he had been justifying it to himself but he couldn't any more. Cassandra was right, he was a hypocrite. Rapunzel however seemed to think otherwise.

"Look I'm not saying what he did was just-"

"TWICE!" Cassandra shouted.

"Twice," Rapunzel said with a sigh. "But before we judge him again I want to hear his side of the story." Varian looked at the small crowd all were looking at him with interest. He sighed.

"Look I know what I did was wrong, both times, and I'm not trying to justify it. So I'm offering you an explanation not a justification. When I was in that prison cell I was just waiting to die. I was sick, hungry and knew no one was going to help me. No one did before, why should they now?" Vari raised an eyebrow at this but kept silent wanting to hear the whole story.

"Gabriel was the first person to offer me any kind of aid. Some said it was simple human decency but that was more than I had for months at that point. He didn't ask for my help right away, just let me get better and stronger and get my strength back. He told me about how proud he was of his son and how great he was." Chat Noir's ears perked up at this but he kept quiet as well.

"When he told me about his wife there was this…connection. We had both hurt someone we cared about deeply and had both done terrible things to try and fix our mistakes. In hindsight we were probably feeding into each other a little too much making the partnership easier. There was also the fact that any damage we did could simply be fixed by Ladybug's lucky charm. So I convinced myself I wasn't hurting anyone but that wasn't true. I hurt people who were nothing but kind to me and I deserve to pay for it.

"I already made a truce with Ladybug. She knows what I did and after this mess is taken care of my fate is in her hands." At that he went silent, having spoken his piece. Everyone turned from him to Ladybug who was now in the spotlight.

"Thank you for being honest, Varian. I've decided to withhold judgment until after we've tackled the rocks and the dimensional crack."

"But-" Cassandra began but Ladybug held up her hand.

"That being said, Varian if you do anything to hurt anyone or betray us again you'll be sent straight to jail is that understood?" The brotherhood members were looking at each other silently, conveying that they would protect Quirin's son no matter what. They were less concerned about Ladybug; she at least seemed fair and just but Cassandra would likely be on the lookout for anything that could incriminate the boy.

"That's more than fair." Varian conceded, not aware that his Aunt and Uncles were never going to let that happen.

"Good, not that we have a possible way in, we need a solid plan."

"Oh!" Rapunzel exclaimed, running up to her boyfriend. "Eugene, do you still have the scroll?"

"Sure do." He gave a silent thanks to Vari who thankfully grabbed their stuff when he broke them out of prison. Rapunzel laid out the scroll for everyone to see.

"We've been collecting pieces of this scroll throughout our journey. Lord Demanitus said they were linked to the Sundrop and the Moonstone." Varian blinked.

"Wait, you've talked to Lord Demanitus?" she nodded.

"Yeah, he was a monkey, you would have liked him." That sentence made no sense to Varian whatsoever but she kept talking so he decided to ignore it. "It has several spells that might prove useful but we don't know how to read it. Varian or Varians do any of you know what this says?" Vee perked up.

"Sure, this is where my Rapunzel got the decay incantation and used it to free my Dad," Varian and the Brotherhood exchanged a quick look. This was a possible way to free Quirin but it would have to wait until all was said and done. "I was able to translate the rest. The first is the healing incantation, the second in the decay incantation. The third is supposed to enhance the power of the Moonstone but I doubt we'll be needing that." Vari nodded.

"This is the same one from my world but there was also supposed to be another to increase the power of the Sundrop. We never found it." He looked to the other Varians. "Did either of you?" Vee shook his head but Varian didn't answer; he was just staring at the parchment.

"You OK Varian?" Vee asked.

"I…I've seen this before." He pointed to the eye-like symbol with a flower shape as the pupil with lines radiating out from its center. It was on the right hand side of the scroll, the part he hadn't seen before. Rapunzel took a closer look.

"Somewhere in Corona?" He shook his head.

"No, here in this world." Ladybug looked at the scroll and back to him.

"Are you sure it's not a coincidence? Eyes are a pretty common symbol after all." But this was something he was sure of.

"No it was this exact one! I saw it while I was researching the wish." Chat Noir came a little closer.

"You were researching the wish?"

"I was trying to see if I could figure out just how it worked to avoid…well what happened yesterday."

"What was in regards to." Varian racked his brain but the answer wasn't coming.

"Ah, this is so frustrating I know I saw it. I think I even made a note of it but I can't remember what it meant." Hector glanced in the direction of the museum.

"No offense Varian but is that really important right now? We have a way to get in, 2 in fact." Rapunzel recoiled at the suggestion. "We have the original stone and if Vee is correct." he said begrudgingly, hating to admit Adira might have had a point all along. "Then we have a way to end the curse of the Moonstone. Should we really be wasting time on something we don't need?" Varian couldn't really explain it but he felt this was something important. Like a puzzle piece that didn't seem to fit that suddenly connected.

"Maybe you're right but…I still want to check this." Some people weren't so sure but Vee put his hand up.

"I personally think we should get as much information as we can. This is a different world that might have other factors at play and as you can see there are differences. Even though we got rid of the black rock it always bothered me that we never found the last incantation. I know you said it was an eye but either way it could be a clue." Adira nodded.

"He's right. We don't know why or how the rocks entered this world. We could be missing something important." Vee and Vari also confirmed the appearance of the rock were a surprise for them as well. Edmund was thinking hard for a moment before he spoke up.

"The other Quirin said the black rocks never invaded Paris in the world he landed in either. Something is different here and if Varian found something in this world that might explain it I think we should investigate. The fewer surprises we run into the better."

Ladybug honestly didn't think this was worth checking out at first but had to admit they did have a point.

"Where are your notes, Varian."

"Unfortunately I didn't take them with me when I left the Agreste Manor. I had given up on the wish by that point." Chat Noir grit his teeth. He wasn't ready to go home even if his father likely fled but he had a feeling this was important like Varian said.

"I'd be willing to escort him." Ladybug still looked unsure.

"I don't know, Shadow Moth could still be watching the house."

"Don't worry MyLady, we'll be quick I promise." Adira stepped forward.

"I can go with you to help keep watch." Lance quickly jumped up.

"I'll help." He said putting on a charming smile. "As an ex thief I'm good at knowing when to stay or when to split." Adira rolled her eyes but didn't protest.

So it was agreed. Chat Noir would escort Varian back to the Manor while Ladybug, Lance and Adira would keep watch. They all got there quickly as Chat Noir opened a window he frequently used to get in and out because it was in a blind spot. Varian made a beeline for the library where he kept a large stack of notes which he hadn't looked at since the black rocks showed up.

As he started combing through them one by one he got a text from Vee.

Vee: I sent over a copy of the scroll so you have it for reference. I also sent a translated version of the spells in case you might have seen them in French.

Varian smiled, sending back a quick thanks as he continued to hunt.

"Do you need help?" Chat Noir said looking at the massive pile.

"That would be appreciated." He handed his phone to Chat Noir showing him a picture of the scroll.

"Alright I'll take this half.'' Both were anxious to get out as soon as possible but there was simply too much to just take with them and if they needed another book from the library they didn't want to come back.

After a few minutes Adrian spotted something that looked like an eye. He glanced at Varian's phone but saw it was the wrong shape. He then saw the translated versions of the spells and one caught his eyes. It was strange, it was like he was drawn to it somehow.

"Wither and decay

End this destiny

Break these earthly chains

And set this spirit free"

He paused feeling something cold seeping deep into his bones. He tried to look away but he couldn't. He tried keeping silent but he couldn't.

"Hey I think I found-"

"Wither and decay

End this destiny

Break these earthly chains

And set this spirit free"

Adrien sang as the temperature in the room seemed to suddenly drop.

"Chat Noir?"

"Take what has been hurt

Grant them no mercy"

The black of Chat Noir's suit seemed to be dripping away like wet ink caught in a rainstorm revealing white underneath. The lenses of his mask seemed to crack and chip as his eyes and hair turned black as night.

"Chat Noir, snap out of it!" Varian shouted as he watched as the papers near him started to turn black and rot. He quickly grabbed the ones he needed but didn't want to leave his brother alone.

"Bend and break the reigns

And set this spirit free

"ADRIEN!" He cried out as the song of death spread further and further with Varian powerless to stop it.

"This spirit free"

To be continued…

Next time: Why did the black rock invade Paris? Where did they come from in the first place? What is Adira hiding? Why does it all come back to Varian? It's time for some answers.