Chapter 17: The truce

Gabriel forced the door until he could open it in no time. He got into Nathalie's room, finding her sitting on her bed.

"Get out of here." Nathalie, an unfriendly expression.

"Nathalie, please let me explain." Gabriel approached her, only to meet the hostile look that Nathalie gave him.

"I know what I saw, Gabriel. I know that you were the reason why Adrien was about to be akumatized. It's always you." Nathalie genuinely thought that Gabriel was to blame for the situation.

"No Nathalie, I was comforting him. That's not how it happened, you have to believe me." Gabriel was very desperate for Nathalie to believe him. He wanted her to trust him.

"I don't believe in you anymore Gabriel, I know what you´re like and what you became." Nathalie wiped away the tears that were beginning to form on her face in a hidden way.

Gabriel seemed a little hurt by what she told him.

"If you hadn't ruined my plan everything would have been fixed and none of this would be happening. Everything would have gone back to normal and none of us would have our lives hanging by a thread" Nathalie continued "If you had handed over the USB with the information to fix the broken Peacock Miraculous, you would have saved Emilie and me."

"Ladybug could have set a trap for me, Nathalie, I couldn't risk it." Gabriel tried to justify himself.

Nathalie crossed her arms.

"The only know that you chose to beat a couple of teenagers instead of saving us."

A butterfly entered the room, attracted by the fight that was taking place in the room. Neither of the two adults had noticed. It hovered above their heads, waiting for the right moment.

"This is all your fault, Gabriel," Nathalie snapped. "If you had been nicer to Adrien and had listened to him from the beginning, none of this would be happening."

Gabriel no longer knew what to say to show Nathalie that he had changed.

"I already apologized to him." Gabriel continued.

"You can't fix everything with apologies, Gabriel!"

Gabriel received her words like a knife in the back. He was doing everything he could to fix things with Adrien, although Nathalie apparently didn't seem to be taking into account his efforts to do so.

Gabriel went to take Nathalie's hand to beg her to please listen to him, she immediately blocked him with one of the books that were on the bed. Gabriel took the book lightly.

The black butterfly entered the book that Nathalie and Gabriel were holding.

Their mind clouded for a moment before they felt the connection, a connection they knew very well.

They both realized immediately what was happening.

They were about to be akumatized.

Nathalie and Gabriel began to strain his mind to get out of it.

Gabriel could feel a voice coming closer and closer to him.

Mr. Agreste.

"Don't… get away from us, get out of our minds". Gabriel needed to break the control as soon as possible. If they lost control they would be in serious trouble.

Besides, Adrien was in no condition to face them at this time.

"Why are you scared? I only came to help you." the voice said innocently. That voice he recognized from somewhere, however, he couldn't recognize where exactly.

"Gabriel, we can't allow... her to akumatize us," Nathalie said with effort. Breaking the connection was proving harder than she thought.

"I don't need your help, poisonous snake," Gabriel pronounced.

And with that Gabriel managed to break the connection. Nathalie was still fighting the connection, to no avail.

Nathalie…

"Nathalie." Gabriel grabbed her face, trying to get her out of her trance. "Don't listen to her, the last time she manipulated you and deceived you, don't do it. Do it for Adrien. He wouldn't want to have to face you again."

Gabriel's last words echoed in Nathalie's mind. Quickly, she cut the connection with the Akuma. It got out of the book and before it left, Gabriel quickly took out an empty jar from Nathalie's drawer and caught it. He closed the jar making sure the butterfly would not escape.

"I've got you." Gabriel moved from his position, moving away from Nathalie and holding in his hands the jar in which they kept the Akuma.

Nathalie's heart was beating rapidly. She was grabbing her head, feeling a slight headache.

They were very close to losing control.

"I'm sorry Gabriel, I got carried away by my emotions, I shouldn't have done that, especially under these circumstances."

"It's okay, Nathalie. It's not your fault."

Gabriel owed Nathalie a sincere apology.

"Nathalie. Forgive me, I was a fool." Gabriel knelt before her on the bed "I shouldn't have treated you the way I did. I should never have involved you in my plan to bring Emilie back. I shouldn't have been rude to you."

Nathalie felt bad for not knowing how to control herself.

Gabriel helped her out of her bed.

"Let's go downstairs, Adrien must be worried about us.

They both went down to where Adrien was waiting for them. Marinette and Luka were still there to take care of Adrien.

An Akuma? Adrien thought.

"What happened?" Adrien approached them, pointing to the bottle that his father was carrying in her hand.

"We almost got akumatized, son." Gabriel showed him the butterfly inside the jar.

Adrien got worried. The second Akuma had entered rather quickly. Only fifteen minutes passed since his father left to look for Nathalie.

"Where did that Akuma come from?" Luka asked. That was very strange.

Marinette understood immediately.

"That means…" Marinette looked at Adrien and he looked at her. They were both thinking the same thing.

"It means there was another Akuma waiting to attack." Adrien completed, understanding what Chrysalis planned to do with them.

It seemed like they were a target for Chrysalis.

The real question about that was to know, Why?

Gabriel couldn't believe it. The only time he tried something similar, he needed the assistance of an akumatized Nathalie and a fairly well-developed plan with her help.

"But? Why? Why were you upset, Nathalie?" Adrien saw the butterfly flutter in the jar. He had seen how Nathalie had left the entrance.

Nathalie crouched down to Adrien's level to talk to him.

"Because your father was making you suffer again."

Adrien looked very confused.

"No Nathalie, he was comforting me." Adrien looked at his father with understanding after many months. "I just couldn't control myself better, that's all."

Nathalie realized that she misinterpreted the situation.

"I shouldn't have assumed things." Nathalie felt terrible for her mistake.

"Don't worry, Nathalie, I understand that you don't trust my father, but this time he didn't do anything wrong." Adrien gave Gabriel a look that he could only decipher as trustworthy.

Gabriel gave the butterfly to Marinette so he could purify it.

She transformed again and with the help of her yo-yo purified the new butterfly that Gabriel had captured.

Once the matter with the Akuma was resolved, it was necessary to speak with Nathalie to clarify their problems once and for all.

"Nathalie, can I speak with you in private?" Gabriel then addressed the children, "You wait here, we'll be back in a moment."

Nathalie followed him back to the atelier. She left the door ajar while they talked in case the kids needed help again.

"I honestly don't know where to start Nathalie, it's clear that our conflicts are going to bring us more harm than good and that's going to make us a target for Chrysalis."

"I agree with you." For the first time in months, they could both agree on something.

"I don't know about you, Nathalie, I think we should make a… truce."

"A truce? I don't know, Gabriel." Nathalie didn't think it was an idea that she could fulfill.

Adrien, Marinette and Luka were listening behind the door.

Luka began to have a hunch. This time it was necessary for him to intervene. He was sure that maybe if he intervened, he could push them onto the right path.

Luka could feel a strange vibe in the air. He pulled the guitar out of it to try to discern what it was. He played a couple of notes, listening to the melodies of Gabriel and Nathalie's hearts. It was interesting how different their melodies were, and at the same time, how similar and close they were in tone.

Luka could notice a very strange feeling between the two. He took his guitar and began to tune it while he tried to hear the melody between the two of them.

"What are you doing Luka?" Adrien saw Luka adjusting his guitar.

"I'm reading your father and Nathalie's feelings." Luka played some test notes. He knocked on the door before entering. Both adults stopped their discussion.

"Mr. Agreste, I'm sorry for the interruption. I could hear that you are in a bit of a dilemma with Miss Sancoeur here. I can feel that you are not telling the whole truth." Luka positioned himself with his guitar "You know, your heart sounds something like this."

Luka played a tune.

"A melody that shows a lot of suffering, and despite that, it has the opportunity to love again."

Then, Luka played a different tune.

"And you, Miss Sancoeur, you have a melody of unrequited love, and even despise that you are also loyal to those you love."

Nathalie gave Luka a strange look.

"Is this a trick, Mr. Couffaine?" Gabriel was very skeptical of what Luka said. This seemed dumb to him.

"It's not a trick. I have an ability for hearing the melody of people's hearts and what they feel.

Luka played to continue analyzing.

If they had learned anything from Luka in the short time they had known him, it was that Luka is a very honest boy.

"And I know that maybe if you spoke the truth among yourselves, it would help you a lot with your dilemma. And I'm not only referring to the problem you have on your hands."

Neither of them had admitted the issues they had with each other. They were so focused on Adrien that they forgot that they had to solve their own.

Nathalie reconsidered for a moment. Maybe she should stop avoiding Gabriel and actually face the problem. For Adrien's sake

"Then I agree." She offered her hand to Gabriel. He took it immediately.

"It's a deal. No more fighting between us."

Lila was clutching her head caused by the abrupt connection cut. Sending two akumas at the same time was her idea. With them she created a distraction so that she could akumatize her second victim if the first attempt failed.

She used all of her power without detransforming. Nooroo had wanted to tell her something, although she didn't have time to listen. Her revenge came first.

Destransforming, she fell to the floor. Some faint vein marks appeared on her face. Looking at the mirror, she noticed they were barely visible on her skin. For now…

"Miss Rossi, you must be careful with the Miraculous. If used improperly, it can cause a lot of harm to others and especially to you." Nooroo informed her in his sweet voice.

"I already know that, little Nooroo."

Something in Lila's voice gave Nooroo chills. Lila seemed very determined to continue with her plan to take revenge on the Agrestes, Ladybug and especially Marinette. He witnessed her planning everything down to the smallest detail. Lila was a really dangerous person.

Nooroo was very scared.

Lila remained transformed until after the security system the Miraculous for protection ended. She looked in the mirror. Noticing some light black marks on her face. She searched through her bag for the makeup kit that she used to carry every time she changed her identity.

"A small setback." Lila began to apply her makeup in front of the mirror "There is nothing that a little makeup won't solve."

Gerald was thinking about the progress Gabriel had made in his last session. Gabriel seemed a little less rigid than the first time and Gerald seemed to have made good progress with him.

He still needed to confirm what they were hiding. And for Gerald there was only one way to find out.

Gabriel, Nathalie and Adrien arrived just as they had agreed some time ago. It was difficult to find time to have all three at the same time, although he finally made an appointment for that day.

It was the perfect opportunity.

He was happy when he saw Nathalie, Gabriel and Adrien coming through the door.

"Welcome, you came! I hope you didn´t run into any issues." Gerald signaled them to sit down.

"We did our best to attend," Nathalie mentioned, taking a seat between Gabriel and Adrien on the couch.

"Well, that´s very good."

Gerald would get to the point.

"You know, lately, I've noticed something in our sessions. You guys are hiding something right?" Gerald readjusted himself in his seat, looking each one in the eyes.

Nathalie wasn't expecting that. Her lie was almost perfect.

Maybe she underestimated Gerald.

"Not really." Nathalie gave him her professional look, trying to divert the conversation.

Gerald looked at the three. Gerald's original plan was to try to talk to only Nathalie, however, he preferred Gabriel and Adrien to be present.

"It's okay if you've been hiding things from me. It is very common among patients. It is more common than you think. Now the problem is that I won't be able to help you if you don't tell me the truth."

Nathalie put her hands together when she found herself exposed. If they really wanted to help Adrien they should tell Gerald the truth. She looked at Gabriel waiting for his approval.

Gabriel was not very comfortable with the idea. He looked at Adrien, to remember who he was doing all this for.

There was no turning back.

Gabriel returned his gaze to Nathalie and nodded silently.

"Can we trust you?" Even without showing it, Gabriel was very nervous. He wasn't prepared for all the truth to come to light.

Gerald gave them a kind smile to reassure them a little.

"Of course. It is part of the professional secret. And I always keep my word."

"This will take a while," Gabriel mentioned.

Gerald settled in his seat, ready to listen to everything the Agreste family had to tell him.

"There´s No problem. I'm free for the next few hours, just do what makes you feel comfortable." Gerald sat on the couch in front of them and put his hands together.

It was there when Nathalie started telling the story of what took them to where they were now.

Gerald drank the fourth cup of coffee he had taken that day as he listened to more of the story. In his 30-year career, he never imagined that he would end up with a case of this type.

Adrien, Nathalie and Gabriel were none other than Chat Noir, Mayura and Hawkmoth.

He had spoken to Hawkmoth in person.

Now he was feeling at the top of his professional career.

And that whole story was worthy of a soap opera. It was incredible how many things happened in one year. And also, the consequences that the family was suffering due to Gabriel's bad decisions specifically.

"With everything you have told me, it seems incredible to me, you as a family have suffered enough."

Gerald rose from his seat to pace around the room and organize his own thoughts.

"Then let me recap, you looked for a magical artifact, found it and by using it you caused the death of Emilie Agreste."

"That's right," Gabriel admitted. He omitted some details about the real cause of Emilie´s death since Adrien was there "We used those Miraculouses irresponsibly, and that brought even more misfortunes to our family. The Miraculous made her sick and we couldn't do anything for her."

"It's understandable you feel this way. With what you told me, there was definitely no turning back for you. And that's why you became Hawkmoth, and Nathalie was helping you the whole time.

"Yes" Gabriel recapitulated in his head what happened next "And then it was when Chat Noir and Ladybug appeared."

"And it was when everything got out of control, isn't it?" Gerald guessed that was when everything went downhill.

"Yes." Gabriel repeated "And it's what took us to where we are, that's why we are here."

Gerald realized something very important with everything he was told. Gabriel and Adrien were quite connected to a specific person.

Nathalie Sancoeur.

He needed to talk to her. Gerald walked closer to where Nathalie was sitting.

"I can speak with you in private, Miss Sancoeur? It will only be a moment."

They both left, leaving Adrien and Gabriel inside the office.

"What do you need to speak about, Mr. Simson." Nathalie wasn't so sure why Gerald wanted to speak with her specifically.

"Although you are not so directly related to the family, I would believe that you are a very important and influential part of the family. How many years do you say you have been working for the Agreste family?"

"Approximately 15 years."

That was a long time.

"Well, I think you are part of the family at this point. Nathalie, now I understand what happened between you." Gerald commented "I can see that things between you and Gabriel are not very good at all.

"He did things that are difficult for me to forgive." Nathalie remembered the last weeks when she fell terribly ill. That was not the Gabriel she knew.

"I understand, Miss Sancoeur." Gerald felt empathy for Nathalie "Everything you told me is quite serious, I see that your relationship with Gabriel greatly influences the decisions made regarding Adrien. I think it's important for you two to talk and work things out."

"I don't know if I should trust him," Nathalie was very unsure of what to think now. Gabriel was very difficult for her to read now. It seemed like he wanted to change, at times, however, he fell back into the same behaviors that led to his downfall."

"You know, Mr. Agreste has had great progress. Simply letting his wife go was a big decision on his part."

Nathalie didn't know what to think. It was true that Gabriel had made the difficult decision to let Emilie go.

"I know I shouldn't tell you this, professional secret you know. But I think this might help you though. Gabriel not only did it for Adrien, he did it for you too, Miss Sancoeur."

"For me?" Nathalie inquired.

"Gabriel needed a good reason to do what he did, so he came to the conclusion that you and Adrien would be his reason for making such an important decision in his life."

Had Gabriel done it for her? And for Adrien?

That moved something inside Nathalie. A new feeling of love surfaced in her again.

Maybe she should give it a try.

"I'll let you think about it, Nathalie. Now I must talk to Gabriel."

They both entered the room again so Gerald could give them his verdict.

"Before you leave, I would like to talk to you for a moment, Gabriel, if it's not too much trouble." "Nathalie and Adrien, you can leave now. We will see you next session, I will be happy to assist you again."

Gerald offered them his hand before Nathalie and Adrien left. After they were both a safe distance from the door, Gerald asked a question that arose when he heard the way Gabriel spoke about Nathalie.

"Gabriel, do you have feelings for Miss Sancoeur?"

"How do you know?"

"From what I was told and from what I could see, you seem...quite interested in her. Are you in love with Miss Sancoeur, Mr. Agreste?"

Gabriel couldn't deny it. He really is in love with her.

"Yes, it's true. I'm starting to have feelings for Nathalie. I still don't know how to approach her without making her feel uncomfortable after what happened."

"Gabriel, it is clear that your relationship with Nathalie is quite complicated, so I suggest seeing that you find a way to make amends with her, not only for yourself but for Adrien as well."

"Make amends?" Gabriel wasn't sure how he could make peace with Nathalie.

"I don't know, you know her better, maybe you can use something to make Nathalie let her guard down and you can talk frankly with her, like adults."

Maybe Gerald was right.

"Well, if there's nothing else to mention, I think that would be it. What you decide to do, Gabriel, is up to you." Gerald proceeded to open the door.

"Thank you, Gerald." Gabriel offered him his hand to say goodbye. Gerald took it and gave it a squeeze.

"See you soon, Gabriel."

Gabriel prepared to do what Gerald recommended.

And he would do it with food.

Gabriel asked Adrien if he had any idea that Nathalie might like. He wasn't too sure if Nathalie had a favorite dish. Adrien gave him, a couple of ideas. He could work with it.

Gabriel entered with a tray of breakfast. This was completely different from the one he usually brought her in the mornings. On the tray there was a white rose next to the food.

"It's my peace offering, I hope that with this you know that my intentions with you and Adrien now are different than those I had before I lost my mind."

The tray that Gabriel brought her left her intrigued. Gabriel had never been a person of words, but of actions.

"Bon Appetit, Nathalie" Gabriel removed the lid of the tray to show her the dish he had made himself.

Nathalie examined what was on the plate. It was a simple crepe with vegetables. She even brought her tea to accompany the meal. She took the fork before Gabriel, who was waiting to know Nathalie's opinion of his new dish.

Nathalie took a small bite. It needed a little bit of salt. Despite that, it was delicious.

"Nathalie, I know you are thinking badly of me, but this time I was trying to help Adrien."

"I'm sorry for doubting you, Gabriel." Nathalie was honest.

"I understand." Gabriel didn't want Nathalie to feel guilty. He understood why she distrusted him so much. "I understand that you don´t trust me. Don´t worry about that."

Nathalie felt bad about that whole situation. Because of her they almost got akumatized.

"We must prevent a situation like this from happening again." Gabriel continued "We cannot allow him to akumatize us."

"Consider it done, Gabriel." Nathalie nodded. They couldn't let the new wielder of the butterfly Miraculous take advantage of them.

He just wanted to do the right thing and make Nathalie trust him more.

"There is something else that I wanted to tell you, Nathalie. I was thinking about what you recommended a while ago. I was thinking of giving the rings to Adrien." Gabriel played a little with the ring in his hand.

Nathalie didn't see him so sure about that.

"I thought you said he wasn't ready." Nathalie drank some of her tea.

"I know what I said, I think you´re right. Adrien deserves his freedom." Gabriel moved nervously around the room. Doing this was proving to be harder than you thought. And doing it alone made it much worse.

"Gabriel, I can help you." Nathalie wasn't going to leave Adrien alone.

Gabriel felt somewhat relieved. He did not feel capable of giving the rings alone.

"And when do you plan to do it?" Nathalie put the cup on the plate.

"I do not know yet."

Nathalie stirred what little of her tea was left, it was already cold after talking about how to help Gabriel with his predicament.

"I think it's better that you do it soon" Nathalie advised him "The sooner you set him free, the better it will be for him."

Soon an announcement alarmed Gabriel to the point of doubting his decision.

Adrien ran into Nathalie's room, still transformed into Chat Noir.

"Look for the news Nathalie."

Nathalie looked for the news page and opened the live feed to see what was happening.

The cameras were pointed at some televisions that were broadcasting some kind of message. A series of butterflies appeared in the sky with the face of a person in a butterfly mask. Gabriel, Nathalie and Adrien fell silent to listen.

Hello fellow citizens.

You may be wondering why Hawkmoth suddenly disappeared and there was calm for a while. Well, now I am the threat.

All I want is for Ladybug and Chat Noir to hand over their Miraculous.

Don't take this as a direct threat to you. Take it as a warning. I won't stop until I have Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous in my hands. So it's better for them to do it the easy way than the hard way.

That message left all three of them cold.

Gabriel was no longer sure whether to give the rings to Adrien. Now that Chrysalis was officially active, he feared for the safety of Adrien and the rings.

What would happen if Chrysalis managed to get her hands on the rings? Or what if something went wrong with the rings?

It was something that is making him reconsider that decision.

But Nathalie tried to reassure him once they were alone once again.

"Gabriel, I know you're scared. I am too, but I'm sure Adrien is very responsible and wouldn't think of losing any. Especially if they once belonged to his mother."

Gabriel really wanted to free Adrien once and for all. He feared for his future, whether he would be able to make his own decisions.

"Gabriel, Adrien has shown that he is capable of taking his own decisions, you should trust him."

Nathalie was right. The fact that he was chosen as the wielder of the Miraculous of Destruction showed that Adrien was ready to be freed.

Gabriel expected Adrien to be very responsible with the rings.

"Very good. So let it be. Adrien deserves to be free."

Nathalie caught his attention, noticing the worried expression that adorned his face.

"Gabriel, you´re doing the right thing. I'm sure Adrien will be fine." Nathalie added in a sympathetic voice "He will be very happy to be able to make his own decisions."

"And what if he makes a mistake, Nathalie?" Gabriel mentioned.

"It's part of life, Gabriel. He will be able to learn from his mistakes and he will have you, Gabriel, to teach him the right path."

"He will have us, Nathalie." Gabriel considered Nathalie an integral and very important part in Adrien's life. And Emilie thought so too.

That is if they survived, of course.

Gabriel didn't want to think about that.

"Then this afternoon, we will give him the rings." Gabriel played with the ring for a moment. "I don't want to wait any longer."

"So be it, Gabriel." Nathalie said. They would wait for Adrien to return from his daily patrol, to once and for all give him both rings. There was still something Nathalie was wondering about and wanted Gabriel to do. "I also hope you are planning to tell Adrien that he is a sentimonster."

"All in its due time, Nathalie." Gabriel wasn't ready to reveal that to Adrien yet. For the moment, he would just give him the rings. Nathalie wasn't at all surprised. However, she was willing to wait for the right moment for Gabriel to reveal his origins to Adrien.

Adrien entered the mansion, back after finishing his patrol with Ladybug.

"Adrien, is everything okay out there?"

"Yes, there is no sign of Chrysalis today. Marinette thinks it looks like she's planning something.

Gabriel was thinking the same thing. Chrysalis had been very quiet since her announcement. She assumed that she was giving them time to see if Ladybug and Chat Noir would give up.

That just wasn't going to happen.

It seemed very strange to Adrien. His father seemed worried.

"There is something I need you, me and Nathalie to do." For Gabriel, it was very important to give him the rings at that moment. If he didn't do it now, he would regret doing it later.

"Now?" Adrien was wondering what it was about.

"We were just waiting for you for that." Gabriel stepped forward. "It's very important."

Adrien just followed Gabriel to Nathalie's room.

"Adrien, we have something to give you "Gabriel entered Nathalie's room. She was sitting on her bed, under the covers. She was feeling a little sick that day, so Gabriel forbade her to get out of bed.

"Adrien, come here" Nathalie patted the bed. Curious and intrigued, he approached Nathalie's bed, she motioned for him to sit down. Adrien sat between his father and Nathalie on the edge of the bed to listen to what they had to tell him.

"What did you have to talk to me about?"

Nathalie took the ring off her finger and took Adrien's hand in a motherly way. She put the ring on his ring finger.

"These are your mother's rings, Adrien." Gabriel explained "The rings of the Grahams of Vanily. She would have wanted you to have them... And finally, I have decided to give them to you."

Gabriel hesitantly took the ring off his finger and slipped it onto the same finger that Nathalie had put the first one on. Before releasing both rings, he would give him one last order.

"I only ask that you take good care of them, Adrien." Gabriel looked him in the eyes "They are very special; they are the inheritance that your mother left you. And don't forget that she always wanted you to be free. Just be yourself Adrien. You should be able to make your own decisions, ok?

"Yes, father, thank you." Adrien said, admiring the rings on his finger, not completely understanding why his father had just told him that.

I´M ALIVE! Sorry for the long hiatus.

And it seems that Gabriel finally gave the rings to Adrien. Isn´t it cool?