Chapter Twenty-Nine: Conjunction
The sun hung low in the sky, nearing evening. The people of Paris, wary as always, went about their business, knowing they could be attacked at any moment. But as always, trouble remained just out of sight. Hawkmoth and all of her cronies crept along the rooftops, unseen by the populace, who were unaware just what was about to go down. "Argos…are they all still in place?" she asked.
Argos' Sentimonster fluttered up onto the roof, floating just behind him. "They are. We'll need to be careful, though: they're going to put up a much harder fight since we're going after their home base."
"Nothing you all can't handle," she said with a grin. The group continued stealthily making their way along the rooftops, until they had arrived at the school. Hawkmoth led them onward until they were above the basement. "Here." She gestured for Hellhound to make the breach.
Her servant stepped forward, her ball floating out ahead of her. It hovered there for a moment, until it suddenly surged downward, smashing a hole through the roof.
Meanwhile, the Resistance were entirely unaware that they had been discovered. They were still riding that happy feeling of what could very well be the end of their conflict. "So, what's the first thing you're planning on doing when your Miraculous is finished?" asked Socqueline. "Changing the past seems like a big job."
"Oh, it definitely is," Alix replied. "Normally, there's people out there who prevent that sort of thing, but with the ITAA dissolved, there's really no reason why I can't, or shouldn't. So, the only right thing to do is go back to when this all started."
"Back to when this all started," Nino said. All of them remembered that fateful day, the battle that claimed Marinette and Adrien's lives. It had left such a deep impact on them, and the city as a whole, they were unanimous in the decision to avert the outcome. Any consequences it could have would be dealt with.
Alix realized that despite everything she had heard of that day, she still knew very little of the actual details. "Y'know…if I'm going back to the day that all happened, I'll need to know everything I can about what exactly went down. Otherwise, I'd be going in blind. Is there anything I should absolutely know before I make the trip?"
The group seemed reluctant to recall everything that happened, but Luka eventually spoke up. "I was there when it happened. I saw the whole thing. If anyone can tell you what happened…" He turned away. "What do you want to know?"
Just as Alix opened her mouth to respond, part of the ceiling fell down from above. At least, that was everyone's initial assumption. But it soon became apparent that something had instead broken through the roof; something heavy enough to leave cracks in the floor where it landed. The spherical object was then lifted up out of its small crater, where it was instantly recognized as Hellhound's ball.
Initially, everyone was too surprised to move. In the split second before they could react, the ball hurled itself into Nino, throwing him against the wall before he could call upon his Kwami. "Nino!" shouted Alya, as the roof above began to crumble. "Tikki, spots on!" Everyone similarly donned their suits as they took cover.
Alix fumbled with her bracelet as dust from the collapsing ceiling filled the room. From above descended several figures that, though masked by the cloud, could only be Hawkmoth and her Dark Angels. Hidden behind an overturned couch, she could make out the muffled sounds of fighting between them and her fellow members of the Resistance. She had to join them before it was too late.
Finally managing to slip the bracelet onto her arm, Roaar appeared. "Roaar, stripes on!" Alix cried before she could say a word. The tiny tiger joined with her Miraculous and Rajah stood in her place. She could only think of doing one thing, and it was far from a good idea. "Clout!"
Powered by her emotions, energy surged from her chain-wrapped fist. She then leapt over the couch, aiming her punch right at the person in the center of the chaos. Their enemies were likely not going to be the only ones affected by her attack, so she had to be precise. Before Hawkmoth had time to react, Alix had launched an uppercut square at her face.
The booming impact spread throughout the room, though most of the force had been aimed upward. With his shield, Carapace managed to shield Scarabella from the swirling vortex the punch had created. Viperion had tackled Huli Jing to the ground, while Kitty Noir held on with her claws. Pegasus shielded Markov with his body, holding tightly to the computer. Hawkmoth's minions had been scattered by the blast, and Hawkmoth herself, having taken the brunt of it, was nowhere to be seen. Alix panted, having thoroughly routed their offence–at the cost of decimating their secret hideout. Hopefully it was nothing a Lucky Charm couldn't fix. "Well, that oughta show them–"
Hellhound's ball then collided with the side of her head, throwing her against the wall. Among the stars she was now seeing, she could make out that Hellhound herself had gotten back up along with Wyvern, who was engaged in a sword fight with Huli Jing.
A figure came into her field of vision, helping her to her feet. "Alix, are you still with us?" Though his voice was muffled, it appeared to be Luka. "Come on, we have to get out of here! This place is about to collapse!"
That snapped her out of her daze. "Then what are we waiting for!?" She looked around until her eyes found Max. "Pegasus, quick! Portal us outta here!"
Pegasus was still beside Markov, cradling his monitor. "We can't leave yet! Your Miraculous is still being repaired!" Thankfully, the damage to the computer had been minimal, and it still appeared to function relatively well.
"Indeed. Power is fluctuating, but with a sufficient boost, I can finish the process in under thirty seconds," said Markov. "Max, I presume you are up to the task?"
"That I am!" Max cracked his knuckles, reconnecting his keyboard and starting to type away. "This should only take a moment. Keep them off me until I'm finished!" His warning was well-founded, as Queen Bee had gotten back to her feet, turning her eyes towards the nearly-complete Miraculous of the rabbit.
A swarm of the paralyzing insects rose up behind her as she charged. "Give me that watch!" she yelled, her bees surging forward. Luka and Alix moved to intercept, despite knowing that they really had no way of protecting themselves from her stings. But that was soon to change, as a green barrier soon appeared around the bees, holding them in place.
"What's a queen bee without her subjects?" Nino asked with a grin, holding his shield up as the swarm tried to escape. "I've got the bugs, handle her!" Luka charged, deflecting her top with his lyre.
Alix ran in to help, only for a transparent mass to swoop in and pin her to the wall. "And where do you think you're going?" asked Argos. Smogscreen wrapped tighter and tighter around her as she struggled against the Sentimonster. "You never should have interfered. This dimension is ours!"
Just then, a metal pole shot out from nowhere, pinning Smogscreen to the wall and freeing Alix. Before Argos could question what had just happened, Kitty Noir kicked his feet out from under him. "All you, new girl!" she said, rolling underneath her staff as Argos got up to swing at her with his fan. Alix slid beneath the weapon, moving on.
Huli Jing and Wyvern were still locked in combat, so Max seemed to be in the clear. But that didn't last long, as Hellhound's ball crashed against Nino's barrier with a resounding boom. Again and again it slammed into the force field, with cracks beginning to appear down its surface. "Dang, she's…really strong!" he said, forcing himself to hold it together. "I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up!"
"The answer? No time at all!" The ball then changed its target, darting straight towards Nino himself. He raised his shield to deflect it in time, but this caused the barrier to flicker. He got back to holding it up in time, leaping and dodging out of the ball's way.
Seeing how he appeared to have this covered, Alix went after Hellhound to put a stop to her efforts. She grabbed hold of her flail, raising it over her head as she launched herself into the air. Hellhound saw her coming, and sidestepped her swing.
"Okay, fine! How about instead, I go straight for the source?" She flung her ball away once more, only instead of targeting Nino again, it sped past him. Its target this time was Max–no, it was Markov. She aimed to stop them from repairing the Miraculous. Seeing where it was going, Nino hurled his shield at the ball, managing to prevent it from hitting either of them.
The shield came back to him, but it was too late. His Shell-ter vanished, freeing the bees. He swung his weapon as they descended upon him, but he couldn't swat them all. Eventually, one stung his neck, placing him under Queen Bee's control.
She was saying something, probably gloating, but Alix wasn't paying attention. She was more focused on the bees heading for Max. He noticed them as well, frantically slamming the keys. A ding sounded from the computer. "Repairs completed!" Markov said cheerfully.
With no time to lose, Max snatched up the watch from the machine just as the bees reached him. "Alix!" he cried, throwing it towards her as he was overtaken. The Miraculous sailed through the air, and she reached out a hand to catch it. Time seemed to stand still.
Her hand clenched tightly to the Miraculous. Not Alix's–Hawkmoth's. Holding her prize, she turned around with a smirk. Her costume appeared damaged by her encounter with Clout, but she was otherwise unphased. "So this is what all the fuss has been about, hmm? One tiny little pocketwatch…so many possibilities." Alix charged her, only to be battered aside by Hellhound's ball. "This was a fun game, but I'm afraid this is the end of the Resistance. But don't worry–your new lives will be so much better once I–"
The watch was suddenly snatched right out of her hands by Scarabella's yo-yo. "Alix, here!" She threw it to the girl before any of the Dark Angels could reach her.
This time, Alix caught what was hers. Clicking it to her waist, she saw her Kwami appear once again. But this was no time for a touching reunion, as Hawkmoth and her minions were bearing down on her. "Fluff, Roaar, unify!" As her costume changed, that familiar power surged into her once again.
It was long past time she reunited with the others. And the sooner she got this Miraculous away from Hawkmoth, the better. She had to get out of here, and fast.
"Burrow!" she cried. But rather than extending her hand, she thrust out her fist. Both Kwamis' powers combined, opening up a gateway between realities. Just a heck of a lot bigger than the ones she was used to.
Adrien mindlessly tapped his finger on the table, feeling rather uncomfortable at the hollow stares of the Sentimonsters in the shape of his family. Gabriel, Emilie, and Nathalie all sat around the table, each of them maintaining a forced attitude of pleasantness. While not immediately obvious, their smiles became more and more forced the longer he looked at them.
"So, Adrien, I hear that your new fashion line was just released," said Emilie, staring intently at her son. "Why don't you tell us all about it?"
"Oh, um, sure," he replied. Adrien knew there was no fashion line–these things just brought up whatever they thought he wanted to hear. This had been going on for several minutes. "It's, uh, very avant-garde, very chic. And really…postmodern?"
The three doppelgangers nodded. "I always knew you were destined to take over the family brand," Gabriel said. "A toast, to our son!"
The Sentimonsters raised their glasses for the third time in ten minutes, while Adrien weighed his options. He didn't have his Miraculous, so he probably wouldn't be able to fight them off. He had found that they had placed a copy of the Gorilla outside the mansion, so making a break for it wasn't a hopeful prospect. If he was lucky, they would leave him alone when he went to bed, though that wasn't a given. His best bet right now was to pretend to be tired.
He stretched out his arms and yawned. "Wow, is it really that late already? Man, it's been so nice catching up with you all. I think I'm gonna like it here. Welp, I think I'll turn in for the night, don't wanna–" As he got up and made his way towards the door, he found his path blocked by Nathalie.
"Adrien, leaving already? The sun's barely even set. Why not enjoy this moment a little while longer?" He instinctively backed away, and she advanced on him.
"Yes, son, spend some more time with your family," Gabriel said. He and Emilie had gotten to their feet as well, both approaching Adrien. "We have nowhere to be. No appointments, no business, nothing but time to ourselves. And that's all we need."
Half-expecting them to start chanting 'join us' or something, Adrien's back hit the wall. "Of course I want to spend some time with you, but I'm also exhausted. First thing in the morning, we can do whatever it is you guys want!"
"We want what you want, Adrien," said Emilie, as the Sentimonsters continued bearing down on him. Their smiles had always been creepy, but now they had widened to the point of no longer appearing human. "We're a family again. And we never want to let you go."
The trio reached out their arms to grab him, but moments before they could, something crashed through the wall. They all turned to see that it wasn't something, but someone, that being the Gorilla Sentimonster's unconscious form. Through the hole he had created dashed two figures. "Adrien!" shouted Marinette, with Kagami by her side.
"Marinette! Kagami!" Adrien cried, overjoyed to see them. "How'd you find me?" Angrily turning on the new arrivals, his family ran towards them.
Marinette batted Nathalie aside with her staff, while Kagami did battle with Gabriel. "This whole place is one big copy of Paris," she said, holding Emilie back. "We just went to your place!"
That made sense. "Come on, let's get outta here!" He hopped over his bodyguard and made for the door, only for someone to grab his leg. He tumbled down, coming face to face with Nathalie.
"You cannot leave!" she shouted. "He promised us an Adrien of our own! He promised our family will be whole!" She tried to pull him back, but he was able to kick her off, making a break for it. "You cannot run from us!"
But run they did, the three of them making their way towards downtown. While Ryuko and Lady Noir could easily have taken the three of them on, a veritable army of Sentimonsters was closing in. Consisting of what was likely the entire army of Paris, Adrien recognized a lot of people he knew closing in with hostile intent. "Here, I think these are yours!" said Marinette, handing him his Miraculous.
"Glad to see these two again!" he said, donning the ring and earrings. "Tikki, Plagg, unify!" Blackbug was once more. "I don't suppose either of you have a plan?"
The three heroes made their way up to the rooftops as the army chasing them grew ever larger. "Most of the plan centered on taking down Panoptes," said Kagami. "We might just have a better chance at that now, but our odds are still not the best." Rather than using stairs or ladders to get to the roof, the ones chasing them were piling onto each other like ants to reach them.
"We might have a better chance if we get out of this dome," Marinette suggested. "He controls this whole place, right? So let's fight him on our turf!"
"We don't have turf," Kagami replied. "That said, it is worth a try. On me!" The trio grouped together, with the army of Sentimonsters climbing the walls to get to them. With Ryuko's wind powers, she scooped them all up, carrying them away from danger.
They sailed through the sky, heading for the edge of the giant dome. "Hey, we're actually gonna make it!" said Adrien. "Unless…" He looked over his shoulder, expecting to see Panoptes flying in pursuit. Thankfully, he wasn't there. "Okay, we're in the clear!"
It was then that Marinette got a strange feeling. An odd tingle, the source of which was unknown, but that caused the hair on the back of her neck and arms to stand up. "Hey, do you guys feel–"
A loud cracking sound filled the air, like breaking ice being broadcast over a speaker system. What felt like a wave of static electricity washed over them, followed by a blinding blue light. A massive glowing crack appeared in the air itself, as though reality had been shattered. Unable to stop herself in time, Kagami sped towards the opening, carrying the others through it as well.
"Alix!?" shouted Adrien, before colliding with the familiar face in an unfamiliar costume.
Gentle piano music floated from the gramophone's horn, filling the room with a soothing air. Starlight shined in through the round window. Akumas gently drifted near the ceiling, twinkling like lights. For once, they did not serve a darker purpose. Seated on a picnic blanket, Gabriel and Emilie sipped from their glasses, simply enjoying each other's company.
"I've wondered what I'm going to tell Adrien, you know," Emilie said. "I'm worried that him just walking in and seeing you would be too much of a shock. You might have to pretend to be comatose at first, and gradually wake up over a few days."
Gabriel chuckled. "If it means we can be a family again, I'll pretend anything you want," he said. He took a moment just to admire how his wife's hair sparkled in the moonlight. "And I cannot wait for that moment."
Emilie smiled, a sight that shined brighter than anything else in the room. "I just know Adrien will be overjoyed to have you back. It truly is a miracle that brought you here. Once we're together, we can finally be normal again–no more Hawkmoth, no more Mister Bug or Lady Noir, just us."
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Leaning closer, their lips were about to touch. But fate, as it would turn out, had other plans. Gabriel suddenly pulled back, the hair on his neck and arms standing up. "What in–Do you feel that?"
Unable to feel the static electricity in the air, Emilie shook her head. "Is something wrong? I'm sorry if I said something that made you uncomfortable."
Gabriel stood up and wandered to the window. "No, no, nothing like that." Whatever he was feeling seemed to be centered just outside. "There's a sort of…charge in the air. I cannot tell what it means, other than that something is coming."
And something indeed came, with a sound like a glacier breaking in half. There was a sudden flash of blinding blue light, causing them to shield their eyes. They both watched in terror and amazement as a crack seemed to form in reality itself.
As the universe broke apart, what lay on the other side became clear. One half showed the Paris skyline, though at day rather than night. But the other opened into the interior of what looked to be a ruined building, inside of which were several costumed individuals. The crack widened, opening the ways into these two worlds.
Why this had appeared now, Gabriel wasn't certain. But he did know that he recognized some of the ones he saw. Blackbug, and Marinette, and Alix, and though the latter two were in possession of some different Miraculous, he still knew they were his.
"That's…impossible," he stammered, his eyes stuck on the ever-growing gateway, through which lay his long-lost companions. Somehow, some way, they had found their way back to him.