Adrien AUGreste

“Wang Fu, he’s listed on both wills that you be sent him if he’s available.” The social worker said, reading off information given to them by their mothers’ family lawyer.

So, they were sent to the outskirts of the French country side, where the house stood out amongst the trees. The traditional Chinese house wasn’t something Adrien felt used to, not to mention all the rules they were given by Su-Han, the groundskeeper of the house, the feeling of a prison was closing in again. Like he needed to survive through this.

Felix, as usual, had been the thing that kept him breathing.

“Hide this.” Felix ordered on their second day, tossing him an orange. It was wax, from the bowl near the front door.

Adrien caught it with ease, looking down at it with confusion. “Why?”

Felix rolled his eyes as always at what he thought were stupid questions. “So, we can learn how to get around this place. We did testing, it’ll take them a while to set up a new home-schooling system for us, so we’ve got way too much free time. now, go hide it.”

Adrien did just that and over the next few days, the halls started becoming familiar as they went looking for the orange, trying to breathe as they never met their host, delt with glares and comments from Su-Han and tense calls from Adrien’s father once permission had been given. It had been a particular bad day to keep his head above when he opened the door to a room he hadn’t gone towards before. it was empty, only a covered piece of furniture sitting inside. He felt something pulling inside, making him walk slowly towards the item and pulling the cloth off. A wardrobe of dark wood stood before him. It was covered in carvings, one with a lion and a tree taking up most of the front. It looked like an apple tree and there was some odd religious thought that came to Adrien’s head, but he brushed those aside as he opened the door. It was full of fur coats, not at all needed for a French winter. Or maybe it was different in the country. Adrien stepped inside, pushing through the furs, going further and further. How big was it? then, he felt it, the change in temperature, the cold. The snow resting on the branches of the pine tree he found as he reached what should have been the back of the wardrobe.

He stepped out into a snowy clearing, a lone lamp post casing on orange glow on the pristine snow as the snow flurried down. for the one moment, Adrien felt like he’d been given a gift for everything he’d been through. He could still see the open door leading back into the house through the frost covered trees, leading him back to reality, but this was something that needed every word that existed to describe. It felt like he’d survived his whole life to end up at that moment. And then when Kid turned past a tree, snow dusting his fur, Adrien didn’t realise he’d have to do it all over again, survive. He thought meeting the faun Kid Mimic, or Kid, was just another part of his reward. He didn’t realise the faun, the person who would quickly become Adrien’s friend, had started everything by inviting the human back to his home, nearly spelling him to sleep while he called for Shadowmoth and then helping Adrien escape. He’d started the prophecy of children of Adam and Eve stopping the White Wizard. But Adrien wouldn’t learn about him until later, after he’d gone back to see Kid, after Felix followed him and was found by the White Wizard, after breaking a window sent them both rushing back to the wardrobe.

“Well,” Felix said, shivering, “any ideas?”

“We can’t hide forever.” Adrien pointed out. He moved back to the break line of the wardrobe and Narnia and pulled two coats down. “When I went the first time, it was only a few moments for you, but I was gone hours.”

Felix hummed, slipping the coat on, frowning at the feminine style of the coat. “It wasn’t that long when I came.”

Adrien furrowed his brow. He hadn’t seen Felix when he came the second time, only finding him in the room after his visit with Kid. Adrien had burst out with what he’d seen and Felix just nodded. He’d thought at the time that his cousin was just agreeing with him to occupy his mind with fantastical ideas.

“You were here? when?”

Felix looked panicked, like he’d been caught. Not a sight Adrien normally saw. “I just, saw something I wanted to see again. We should go see it now.”

“Oh, wait! First, I have to introduce you to Kid. He helped me the last time, I think he was in trouble. Said that any human had to be brought to the White Wizard. He’s really nice and I think he’d should at least know we’re here.”

Adrien hadn’t waited for an answer, dragging his cousin the path he memorized the first time he’d been led there. When he found the destroyed house and the letter left by the police, that’s when it hit Adrien. How surviving was going to be different. When they’d been found by Plagg and Tikki, listening to them explain the prophecy that had spoken throughout the land for ages, since the start of the 100 Year Winter, Adrien realised this time, it would be hard. When Felix went missing, apparently towards the Wizard’s castle, it felt impossible. How was he supposed to do this, when the police, wolves, were coming after him? They’d already taken Kid and Felix; Adrien was trying to live his life without his parents and his aunt. Who decided that this was the thing Adrien needed to survive through next?

__________________________

“Who is Aslan?” Adrien asked, staring at his tea cup. They’d arrived back at the cave Plagg, the talking panther and Tikki, the dryad, shared, after watching Felix walk into the castle of the Shadowmoth or White Wizard. Speaking of, “Who even is Shadowmoth?”

Plagg was sure that the Wizard would send his people after him, so he was pushing Tikki around into gathering everything. They were underground, in a cave system, so they had a moment and Adrien just lost another person. He’d meander all he wanted, even if he had to go looking for a lion no one physically saw, who was a king and left his people to suffer enough that Kid was in agony at the idea he had to kidnap Adrien. Adrien was starting to hate the idea of kings; it reminded him of his father.

“He’s not human. A creature with terrifying power. Said to destroyed his whole family to not lose a fight. He was banished from Narnia but managed to sneak his way back in, usurped the royal family and cast the whole land into a 100-year frozen land. The lamp post you saw when you arrived? The oldest object in Narnia, other than Aslan of course.”

“Aslan is, a king? How is he any better? Why hasn’t he fixed things?”

“Aslan is closer to a god, than anything. His ability to affect the area around him is nothing not even Shadowmoth can fathom. He’s given animals the ability to speak, to cast aside our wild ways and become one with those around us. If he fixed, every little thing, how would any of us learn? How would we become brave enough to think about his sightings and push forward to be free of the Wizard rather than just survive under his rule?”

Adrien guessed but he was gonna have a word with this Aslan.

“Ok,” Tikki said, tossing a bag to Adrien, with one around her shoulders, “let’s go!”

Her hair was as red as a ladybug and her clothes didn’t make sense for the freezing winter – honestly hiking through it with Kid was insane to do without a coat, let alone his pyjamas when he went to go see Kid again that night – but she didn’t seem bothered. When sounds of wolf howls started to make their way down the tunnels, Adrien decided to not question it. they had to get out.

“Come on! This system leads to Fluff and Roaar’s!” Plagg said, leading the way.

The sounds of snarls kept Adrien moving, even as he had to climb up a slanted hole, Plagg pushing him from behind. The dim moonlight made it hard for Adrien’s eyes to adjust as he crawled out. he stumbled to his feet before tripping over something. Plagg and Tikki’s hushed voices cut off as a cloud blocking the moon moved on, allowing more light through the frozen branches above them. Adrien had tripped over stone squirrel, a group of them. all over, there were stone animals. Adrien watched Plagg approach one, the stripes of their coat still visible.

“No. I just saw her yesterday. How…?”

From what Adrien could guess, while he’d gone to see Kid again, Felix followed him and had met this White Wizard. Felix knew how to control a conversation, but he wasn’t perfect. Only if he knew he needed to be in control, would he be ready. Felix was like him, needing someone to notice him, that with his guard down, he’d tell everything. Like his cousin, visiting a faun, who’d broken the law to help him. Why Felix still went when he heard what Plagg had to say, when he saw what the White Wizard could do, Adrien didn’t know, but unless Felix got control, their every move would be known. Had this happened because of the Wizard’s spies?

The fox that helped them reminded him of his cousin, how he easily tricked the wolves and put up a bravado when getting his injuries looked after. When the fox announced Aslan had asked him to gather tropes, he smirked in Plagg’s direction as the panther pouted. Felix would have tilted his head the same, flicking his hair out of his eyes. They talked about how Aslan would be there for a war, but Adrien hadn’t been planning on living through that, even if the fox called him and Felix kings. His only plan was getting his cousin, making sure Kid was ok and leaving.

The fox told them that Aslan’s camp was near the Stone Table. Seeing the distance to cross worried Adrien. Felix was in trouble now, what if by the time they got to the camp, the Wizard got rid of him? He wanted to trust his cousin to figure out a way to stay alive, one that didn’t hand the Wizard everything he wanted, but when had anything in their lives gone well?

The trek over had been halved by Plagg insisting he and Tikki ride on him. Not that he let them forget his gracious offer, bringing it up every two seconds.

“I swear, if he doesn’t shut his pie hole, I’m gonna get the closest tree to smack him.” Tikki said, leaning back to whisper at Adrien.

He couldn’t help but laugh when he heard bells. He looked behind him to see something approaching. Something on a sleigh.

“Plagg! I think it’s him!”

“Shit! Hold on!”

Adrien grabbed onto Tikki’s waist as Plagg sped up, bounding towards the treeline, the sound of bells getting louder. The sleigh was the Wizard’s preferred method. His wolves had found the tunnel in what felt like a matter of minutes. God, Felix could be – was Adrien just meant to be fully alone his whole life? There was an offshoot of rocks and Plagg jumped off, Tikki pulling Adrien off as Plagg landed and pulled him into the cave the rocks made. They sat in tense silence as the bells got louder before the sound of hooves came with it before stopping right above them. Adrien watched the shadow of a tall person stretch on the bank of snow in front of them, snow falling as steps disturbed it. Tikki had described Shadowmoth as a tall man with a staff and a flowing cape that fluttered like the wings of a butterfly. Adrien didn’t see any cape like movements of the shadow above them as they moved away. Was it possible they weren’t the White Wizard?

“I’ll check if they’re gone.” Tikki whispered.

“The bells!” Adrien reminded. They would have heard them if they left.

“I know, but – ” They stopped at the sound of a whistle. Tikki’s hair seemed to move with her moods and it almost twitched as she smiled. “I know who that is! No one else can replicate the sound!”

Adrien watched terrified as Tikki crawled out of the cave and disappeared above them, making a chirping sound. It was surprised, happily surprised. He shared a look with Plagg and decided to climb out. when Adrien managed to climb up the slight hill, he wasn’t expecting to see a red sleigh pulled by 8 reindeer and a man dressed in red with a snowy white beard and as the song went ‘a belly that shook like a bowl full of jelly’ as he laughed when Tikki pulled from the hug he’d been given her.

“Y-you’re…Père Noël.” The bringer of Christmas toys was from Narnia?

“That I am. it is a pleasure to meet you Adrien. I did enjoy the letters you sent, though I apologize for not being able to give you what you wanted in your last one. I’m afraid that was outside my control.”

He was 14 when he wrote a letter to the man in front of him, asking childishly if he could make his mother better. He knew it couldn’t happen, but his father hid enough things from him that Adrien felt desperate. Felix even wrote a letter.

“Your cousin’s other wish I didn’t have a hand in but I wasn’t mad about the result.” Adrien didn’t know what to say about how Felix asked for his other wish to be removing his father from the picture and how the patron saint of looking after people was ok with a person dying. Then again, here Adrien was in a world hidden in a wardrobe, had met a fawn and had lost his cousin to a wizard who wanted them dead because their arrival meant he’d lose his power. So, what did he know?

“We thought you were the Wizard.”

“Ah,” Père Noël patted the sleigh behind him, “yes. Well, to be fair, back when Narnia had its seasons, I drove this far longer than he did. For one, I don’t use a whip on my team. they’d hit me with their antlers. You’re arrival has helped the Wizard’s power weaken with the hope you and your cousin bring. I have quite a number of items to drop off, in respect to Aslan and what is coming and Spring means I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

“Kid did say there hasn’t been Christmas in 100 years.”

“Hard to want to celebrate a solstice when a power-hungry creature takes over the land when Aslan can’t stop him. Come, I can’t take you all the way, but I can help get you further to meeting Aslan. You’re still missing your cousin.”

Adrien didn’t bother asking how the man knew about Felix. The stories did say he was always watching. He wondered just how much power the Wizard had to stop Père Noël from doing anything for 100 years, regardless of if his role was just symbolic. With Plagg settled in the back near the overly stuff sack and Tikki gaining the attention of the reindeer hitched in front to where she sat on their back, Adrien sat next to the man his mother told stories about every time red and green started flowing the streets of Paris.

“You look nervous.” Père Noël said as they started out.

“I…I am. what if Aslan won’t help? I mean, Felix essentially betrayed us by going to the Wizard. I know he didn’t mean to, that whatever he promised had to of made him still go. What if that doesn’t matter? What if he cuts his losses? I know this ‘prophecy’ said 2 children of Adam and Eve, but still. We don’t both have to sit on a throne. Also, I’m 16 and dealing with being removed from my father’s care because he’s not fit to raise kids, not to mention my mother’s death and aunt’s disappearance. Why on earth do they think it’s a good idea to throw me into a war? Haven’t I been through enough?”

These were all questions he wanted to ask of Aslan, ask why this god decided he and Felix were the ones who needed to be here. Père Noël would have to do for now.

“Adrien, I want you to listen to me. What you and your cousin have gone through already, would shatter people much older than you. I’m sure you’ve heard this in some compacity or another already, but what you’ve gone through makes you stronger than you know. but also remember this, surviving isn’t the same as living. I truly believe that you and your cousin’s arrival here, isn’t just meant to break the Wizard’s control over Narnia, but to give you both a chance to live. I know it’s scary to have to fight to get that ability, but it’s what you deserve. You’ve kept your head above water long enough. It’s time you get the chance to float and enjoy it.”

Enjoying things hadn’t been something he did in, well, ever. It was always locked away at home except for photoshoots or going on set with his mom. He had his hobbies, but playing piano and fencing had been shackles his father made for him to keep him even more locked away. Père Noël was right, the idea of fighting was scary, but the idea of living? Both scary and something he begged for without realising.

Père Noël eventually pulled the reigns and let Adrien out, pulling items from his sack. “I hope to give you all the items when your cousin is back in safe hands, so for now, take these.” A quarterstaff made of wood that looked almost silver was handed to Adrien. His fencing master, a lover of the old techniques from years past, had taught his students how to use it before they every used a foil. Holding the staff, with the etching of a lion’s head near one end, felt like coming home. “while a sword is useful, the staff tends to be a reminder to not be underestimated. And this,” a bottle in a pouch the size of Adrien’s palm was tenderly given. Adrien was sensing a theme, with the lion’s head stopper and red of the leather pouch. “Cordial made from a fireflower. One drop can heal any injury.”

Adrien smiled slightly at the man. “Thank you. and, I’ll see you again?”

“That I can promise. I’ve got a bit to do with all the work piled up and Winter ending, but I will be at the camp before it all starts and when your cousin is returned in safe hands. The dryads and I have spent years working together,” Père Noël smiled at Tikki, “so they’ll tell me when to return. Remember Adrien, we start living, not just surviving.”

“Right. Course, I need to survive avoiding the wolf police and getting to Aslan and survive a war.”

Père Noël smiled. “Yes, but if you’ve proven anything, it’s that you’re capable of doing so. And I know the Great Lion would agree. Long live Aslan, and long live you, King Adrien.”

He could do this. he had to, to save Felix. No more just surviving. It was time to live.

“Wait.” Adrien suddenly realised something. “You said Winter was ending. Doesn’t that mean no more ice?”

___________________________

If Adrien never saw snow again, it would be too soon. Paris was nothing like Felix’s London, cloudy skies and rare days of sun, but Adrien had never been happier that the sun had finally returned to Narnia. How was it, only hours ago, it had been completely covered in snow and ice? He couldn’t complain too much though. After his revelation at Père Noël’s words, he’d rushed to where Plagg had pointed out they’d need to cross to get to the Stone Table. The river, waterfall actually, was quickly melting, the only solid pathway of ice barely holding on underneath what was the rushing falls. They’d only gotten halfway across when ice from above started falling. Not because the ice was melting, but because it was being helped by the wolves catching up and caging them in on both sides. Their leader gave him false promises, that if he turned around, he could leave with Felix, but Adrien didn’t believe it for a second. Thankfully, Plagg had been digging his claws into the ice during the confrontation, so when the falls broke through, Adrien just had to hold on. no wolves seemed to survive, or if they did, they’d lost their scent in the water. Once they were back on shore, Adrien finally started to see just how much his and Felix’s appearance had changed Narnia. Flowers were starting to bloom.

It was even more apparent as they reached the camp, a sea of tents with flags of a red lion. Mythical creatures Adrien had only read about dressed in armour that suited their bodies stared at him like he was an anomaly, following as they got close to the tent in the middle, sitting atop a small hill with more flags than the others.

“Why are they staring at me?” Adrien asked, watching Tikki turn into petals and fly off. He’d seen the petals of a tree wave at him, so he wasn’t worried.

“Maybe you look strange.” Plagg joked.

“Look who’s talking. you still look like a drowned rat.”

“Oi!”

The bantering helped Adrien feel calm. This was it, he was about to meet Aslan, about to beg him to save Felix and really decide if he would do this, regardless of wanting more than just surviving. A centaur, the dark hair of his horse half, stepped forward when they reached the tent. With a deep breath and a nod from Plagg, Adrien stepped forward.

“I’ve come to see Aslan.”

There was a pause, as the centaur looked to the tent before a simultaneous noise came from around Adrien, as everyone in the army – god, there were hundreds of them – kneeled as they could. Even Plagg bowed his head as the flaps of the tent were pushed open by a tawny head. Père Noël had called Aslan the Great Lion and the lion motif was everywhere, but somehow Adrien didn’t realise that Aslan was actually a lion. But the sight of him was, comforting, steady.

“Welcome Adrien, Son of Adam. And Plagg and Tikki, thank you for bringing him here safely. Except we are missing one other.” Aslan’s deep voice spoke.

Adrien was sure the army noticed Adrien hadn’t knelt. He stepped closer, hand tightening on the staff he’d been given.

“My cousin. His actions say he betrayed you, but you don’t know him. Felix might be what my father called a sly fox, but we’re all we have. I refuse to believe he’d do this without an explanation. If you decide that you’d rather cut your losses than help him – ”

“I’d be much like your father, wouldn’t I? judging on only one action. When people are hurting, they react in ways most can’t understand.”

Felix had stolen Gabriel’s ring, one that belonged to his wife’s family and got caught, which started the whole fox comments. It was the one thing Aunt Amélie had wanted from her sister.

“Regardless of your decision on where you’ll stand on this, I give you my word that I will get him back safely. You and your cousin have been forced to do more than enough within your life. I won’t add on another thing.”

And the thing was, even though Aslan was a lion, someone he’d just met after hearing all the stories, Adrien believed him, more than he had most adults in his life. If living meant not getting involved, Adrien believed Aslan would walk them back to what Kid had mistakenly called Spare Oom until the door was shut behind them. so, Adrien kneeled, because that one statement was what he needed to hear to respect the creature in front of him.

“Thank you.”

He was given clothes to change into, fitting into the area more in the tunic and doublet than his jeans and sneakers. He watched the petals and leaves of the dryads fly over him as he sat on one of the many hills, watching a castle shine in the distance. It didn’t look anything like the castle between the mountains he’d seen Felix disappear into.

“That is Cair Parvel. It’s where you and Felix will sit as Narnia’s kings.”

“It’s the ending point of Narnia. That’s what Kid said.” Adrien remembered when he asked his faun friend what Narnia was.”

Aslan hummed as he laid down next to Adrien, his quarterstaff sitting between them. “I suppose he’s not wrong. The Isles belong to the Wizard, as that’s where he was banished when he first came here. Plagg mentioned that when you heard of me, you wondered why I didn’t just fix everything.”

“It’s just…100 years? You left everyone to just, excuse what feels like the word that describes my life right now, survive under Shadowmoth.”

“There’s something that binds the very fabric of Narnia together, called the Deep Magic. I was there my father created it, like I created Narnia. It’s a set of laws that governs this world and we’re all bound to it as it defines right from wrong and governs our destiny. If I went fixing every issue, Narnia wouldn’t flourish like it has. Look around you, they might have survived, as you said, under the White Wizard’s rule for 100 years, but it was their own strength that gathered them here today. So, while yes, I would like to fix everything, I can’t. I’m as bound to the rules as the White Wizard is. I’m not the one who decided your appearance would change everything.”

“The Deep Magic did.” Aslan nodded and Adrien turned back to Cair Parvel. The idea of being responsible scared him but it still felt less like being ordered around by his father. it still felt like he was being given the chance to do more than get through each day, and didn’t that say something about his life.

“My Kings!” purple petals swirled around them before forming a figure. “We’ve found him. We’ve found Felix.”

“Wha – how?” Adrien asked, getting up.

“The White Wizard brought him with him and your cousin has been leading him in circles. From what we could tell, up until recently, he led the Wizard to believe that rumours of Aslan were just that, rumours. That only a small group took your arrival in hopes in confusing the Wizard. Tikki had spread word through the trees to look for him and when the snow finally started to melt, after one of ours was turned by the Wizard, he took off. We managed to get hold of him and he’s being passed around and brought here.”

Adrien turned to Aslan, who stood up and nodded his head. “Noorro, have Marin gather a party and met Felix to be brought here. Adrien would quite like to see his cousin again.”

________________________

Felix squirmed in Adrien’s grip, but he didn’t care. Felix had a few bruises on him, the worst one on his face, but he was alive.

“Can you let go?”

“Why, so you can run off again?” Adrien snapped. “I’m not gonna ask what you were thinking, cause I’m sure Aslan gave you a lecture already, but just know I’m mad at you, while being so happy you’re ok.”

Felix sighed, leaning harder into Adrien’s embrace. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I hated it.”

Adrien let go of Felix so he could look at his face. “Hated what?”

Felix sighed, sitting on the bench inside the tent they’d been given. They were waiting for one of the healers to finish boiling water so Felix could bath before his injuries were looked over. “being controlled. Lorded over, by my father, yours, the case worker. Fuck, even Su-Han. I just, I wanted us to have control for once. Mum always thought I was amazing and when the Wizard did, I thought, maybe this was it. maybe things could change. I arrived at the castle and everything in me was screaming it was a mistake. I didn’t do one thing  right and suddenly, I was of no use. It took a bit and your friend Kid had to pay the price, but I got the upper hand, even if only a little. when the fall was flowing and you seemed to get away, I knew then I had to go, I had to try and get back to you. you’d said something about the trees when we got to Kid’s place when this all started and I just hoped I could find one to trust. You know,” Felix had a wry smile on his lips, “throughout everything, both before and now, knowing you were ok made it all worth it. I hated not having power but you seeing the good in everything reminded me that maybe things would be ok.”

Adrien leaned on Felix. “It will be. Promise. No more doing this by ourselves. We already are supposed to rule together according to the prophecy, so let’s not split up again unless we have to.”

Felix rolled his eyes. “I’m older, why are you giving orders?”

“I just spent the past few days escaping a wizard with only a dryad, a talking panther and a quarterstaff for help. I know spinning lies takes work, but I went a lot harder. Now, let’s get you looked after. Père Noël is supposed to arrive at some point to finish getting us ready.”

“Did you just say Père Noël? As in Father Christmas? What the fuck is this place?”

Saying that Chat Noir’s plan to destroy the reputations of the heroes was a success was putting it mildly. Using the notes that Chat had given her, Chloe had managed to write dozens upon dozens of articles about the heroes’ many flaws and insecurities. She wrote about Viperion’s social anxiety, Rena Rouge and Carapace’s distracting relationship, Ryuko’s struggles with her cold and cruel mother, even Ladybug’s self-esteem and controlling nature was brought to light by Chloe’s poison pen. 

It was exhilarating, writing down all these secrets, and knowing that soon, Ladybug’s tiny little empire would come crashing down. Pouring all that rage, that hate into destroying the heroes gave Chloe access to a new well of hate and spite to draw from that she feared hoped would never run out.

Then, after a few weeks of Chloe’s campaign against his friends, when Adrien finally caved and gave Chloe the admin credentials, Chloe reaped the fruits of her labor. The site practically exploded from all the views her articles got. As it turned out as much as the people of Paris loved their precious heroes, they loved watching them bleed too. 

It wasn’t long until analyses of her articles began popping up en masse. Debates about Ladybug’s leadership skills spread like wildfire. People began questioning if the heroes had mental illness. Questions became raised once again about the ethics of teenage superheroes or the likelihood that they may become akumatized. 

The best part was the reactions of that Ladyblogger and her goody-two-shoes friend , Dupain-Cheng. They both were so hopelessly distraught and helpless to stop her. It made her feel good. It made her feel strong. 

Until 1 day, when she went into the bathroom to make sure that her hair and make-up were still perfect -which they were, as usual- Pollen spoke up. 

“My Queen,” Pollen started, her entire body curled up to look as small and submissive as possible, “don’t you think that you might’ve taken this a bit too far?”

Chloe laughed scornfully. “Too far? Puh-lease! Those heroes deserved to be knocked down a peg or two. I just helped them along the way.”

“But you and Adrien are friends,” Pollen told her, worriedly. “This whole thing has really hurt him.”

Chloe dismissively waved a hand. “He’ll be fine,” she said. “Trust me, he’s gone through worse.”

“Look at him,” Pollen insisted. “When you head back into class, take a really good look at what you’ve done. To him. To his friends. To his heroes. You need to ask yourself if it’s worth it to punish your best friend for what Ladybug did to you.”

“Adrien is not my friend,” Chloe spat. “Friends are there for you. Friends stick up for you. When Ladybug threw me away like trash, where was he? He was right there with her, saying that I deserved it for being so mean.”

“Sometimes,” Pollen said quietly, “You have to be a good friend first…Can’t you tell? Something’s off about him. Something’s wrong. If you don’t do something to help him soon, you might lose him forever.”

“Well, good!” Chloe exclaimed. “I don’t need him anyways!”

Pollen looked almost disappointed in Chloe. “Chloe,” she said, “you don’t mean that.”

“Yes, I do,” Chloe declared. And of course she did. She was Chloe Bourgeois. She didn’t need anyone.   

Yet, when she came back to class, she couldn’t help but notice that something about Adrien seemed pale and empty, like Adrien had finally given up and allowed himself to be carved into the perfect little doll his father had always wanted him to be. But that was ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous, so Chloe let it go. 

That night, Chat Noir gleefully pounced into Chloe’s apartment, with an advertisement clutched firmly in his jaws. One for the gala her Daddy had been planning to help the heroes rebuild their reputations. He slinked over to her, practically vibrating in excitement. 

“Can you believe it, Chloe?” He asked. “They’re running scared, trying to fix their precious reputations and pretend like none of it ever happened. We did this. You did this.” He nuzzled her. “You’re incredible,” he told her. “Absolutely amazing. Not many can go toe to toe with Ladybug and win, but you did.”

Chloe felt that incredible intoxicating rush flow through her, as once again, Chat Noir told her how impressive she was. Which, she was, but it was nice to hear it come from someone else. Especially from Ladybug’s former lackey. 

“I think it’s time,” Chat Noir said, beaming, “that we invited another ally into the fold.”

“I suppose we can trust Sabrina with helping us,” Chloe drawled. Of course, Chat Noir didn’t know that Sabrina was already helping them. She had proofread Chloe’s articles, but Chloe supposed she could share some of the credit with her if it would make Chat Noir feel better. 

“Sabrina’s a good choice,” Chat Noir allowed, “but I had someone else in mind. Another Miraculous wielder that was replaced, just like we were.”

Chloe narrowed her eyes in suspicion. “I haven’t heard of any other heroes that were replaced,” she said. What was Chat Noir up to? Was he going to replace her? What, now that he’d used her, he was going to just throw her away like everyone else? 

Chat opened his baton, showing her a picture of a much different mouse hero than Polymouse. She was skinner, with dark hair tucked into cute little buns and the cutest gray-blue eyes. 

“This is Multi-mouse,” Chat Noir told her ruefully. “She was only a hero once, but she was very clever and resourceful during her run. I’m pretty sure she’ll help us. Not only does she have a crush on me, but the only reason she was replaced was because she exposed her identity to me.” Chat Noir’s voice turned bitter as he muttered, “And only me.” 

Chat Noir rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure Ladybug replaced her because either a) she really doesn’t trust me, considering that she used all the other heroes after their identities were exposed to Hawk Moth, or b) she was concerned about her crush on me interfering with our job, which it didn’t. Either way, it was super petty.”

“But,” Chat Noir’s eyes grew clouded in worry, as he pulled something out and fidgeted with it in his hands, avoiding Chloe’s impatient looks, “I haven’t exactly heard about her crush in awhile, and she’s always been a bit of a goody-two-shoes. I’m not quite sure how much we can trust her.”

“So we just don’t let her in on anything until she’s proven herself,” Chloe told him dismissively. “Big whoop.”

“I was actually hoping to see if you two could get along together first,” Chat Noir admitted, then he straightened himself up and said, “that’s why I brought you this!”

Chat Noir held up a pendant shaped like a fox. Rena Rouge’s pendant. Chloe felt her breath catch in her chest. She knew that Chat Noir had stolen the Bee. He’d nearly said as much giving it to her, but the Bee had belonged to Vesperia, the hero who’d replaced her. And yes, part of her knew that the Ladyblogger was Rena Rouge, and she and the Ladyblogger had no lost love between them, but Queen Bee had fought with Rena Rouge. She’d protected Rena Rouge, and been protected by her. Now, to see Chat Noir with her pendant…

“Chat,” Chloe asked, gathering up her courage, “what did you do?”

Chat Noir looked at Chloe like she’d slapped him. “What do you mean what did I do?” he asked defensively. “Are you asking if I hurt Rena Rouge? No. Of course not. I took this from her while she was sleeping. I figured it’d be useful.” He gave Chloe a betrayed look. “How could you think I would hurt her? She didn’t do anything to us. I mean, she helped Ladybug replace us, but we already got her back for that. I’m not a monster!”

“The Chat Noir I used to know wouldn’t have helped me get any of those stories on the Ladyblog,” Chloe bit back. “He wouldn’t have had me attack my best friend-”

“Oh, now, Adrien is your friend?” Chat Noir growled. “He sure wasn’t your friend a few weeks ago!”

“Well, maybe if Ladybug hadn’t-”

“Ladybug is not the problem! It’s you.”

Chloe felt like she’d been slapped. “W-what?”

“You were the one who was so happy to ditch us to go play superhero with Hawk Moth,” Chat Noir said, tears welling in his eyes. “You took his akuma and then you tried to control the entire city. You were the one who chose to be akumatized. You were the one who revealed everyone’s secret identities. You shot me into space! Then, when you lost, you tried to steal all the Miraculouses again. Everything would’ve been okay if it hadn’t been for you.”

“He targeted my parents!” 

“They never loved you anyways!” Chat Noir cried. 

In that instant, the world seemed to stop, and the air got very cold and very still. 

“You need to leave,” Chloe told him.

Immediately, Chat Noir seemed to realize his mistake. “Chloe, I didn’t mean-”

“Get. Out.” 

Reluctantly, Chat Noir obeyed, but he dropped the Fox pendant off on the nightstand. “In case you change your mind,” he said. Chloe didn’t react, waiting until he left to finally let the tears that she’d been holding inside flood out of her and overtake her. 

~*~ Chat Noir paced angrily across his room like a tiger in a cage. Why couldn’t he just keep his stupid temper in check? He hadn’t meant to say those things about Chloe, but she’d just been so irritating that he’d wanted her to hurt more than he’d wanted her help. 

Now, he had no way of getting into that dance. No one was going to let Chat Noir in. Or at least, the heroes weren’t going to let Chat Noir stay or trust him enough to let him get to Polymouse alone. 

He’d hoped that he’d be able to convince Chloe to use the Fox to disguise him as Catwalker so he could ust waltz right in, lure Polymouse away, take the Miraculous, and run. Now that he’d ticked Chloe off, he’d probably have a better chance of asking Hawk Moth to pretty please hand over his Miraculous. Sure, there was a chance Chloe might calm down enough to help him but he seriously doubted it. 

There was however the issue of what Chloe might do now that he’d earned her ire. As much as he wished he could just delay his plans and find another way to get Polymouse alone, he wasn’t sure that was an option anymore. Her sudden burst of inexplicable loyalty towards Adrien and her anger towards Chat Noir might mean that she might stop antagonizing Catwalker and then the anger he’d been using to keep himself afloat would disappear. Or worse, maybe she’d betray him to Ladybug. Tell her that he was after the Mouse Miraculous next, and that he was going to give it to Multimouse.

Chloe might not know that it was Marinette, but Ladybug did. If it came down to it, as big of a crush as Marinette had on Chat Noir, he had no guarantee that she’d choose him over Ladybug, especially if Ladybug got to her first and told her side of things. She’d tell her that he’d changed, that he’d become a monster, one that needed to be put down like a rabid dog. Sure, Marinette would be conflicted, but Chat Noir was the hero of Destruction. If he wasn’t a hero, he was one of the most dangerous threats ever made to Paris. Who wouldn’t want to hunt him down after learning that?

No. Chat needed to reach her first. He was going to have to gamble on the gala. One way or another it’d make or break his alliance with Marinette, and then, afterwards he could try to patch things up with Chloe, after she’d had a minute to calm down. 

Maybe if Chat Noir was sneaky about it, he could get inside. He couldn’t go through the front gates. Even if security let him through, rumors would spread to the rest of the heroes, but what if he came early? 

He could hide in some hidden nook or cranny until he found Polymouse alone. Perhaps then, he could ambush her. 

No, that wouldn’t work. He’d have to maintain control for hours, not to mention the idea of having to sit still for that long…Chat Noir had done it before, but that was before he’d been cleaved from Catwalker. Now he could barely stay quiet for 5 minutes. It seemed that all of his patience had been kept by Catwalker. 

Chat knew he couldn’t go as Adrien. His control over himself without being transformed was temporary, fleeting, and unpredictable. It had taken weeks to get enough of a grasp on himself to spy on Alya long enough to watch her enter her passwords and memorize them. He wasn’t sure if he could even do that much a second time, let alone get control long enough to steal a hero’s Miraculous. 

No, Chat Noir would need to lure Polymouse, and Polymouse alone, for an ambush, but what would tempt her. What would possibly be important enough to leave the others without warning them? He didn’t know her secret identity. He didn’t know her wants, her fears, her desires. He didn’t know anything about her. 

Inspiration struck him. He didn’t know anything about her, except that she was a hero. ~*~

Polymouse stood at the edges of the crowd of the Gala, politely greeting anyone who talked to her, but not doing much else. Everyone had been on edge ever since Chat Noir had suddenly gone rogue. 

First, he’d thrown Vesperia off a building, then he’d stolen her Miraculous. Then, he’d just disappeared, but not without a trace. The Ladyblog had been hacked, allowing dozens of articles to be published on it without Alya’s knowledge or consent. 

It was scary the amount of details it had in it, especially the stuff about some of the heroes having disorders just put out there without any warnings. Thankfully, Polymouse had been spared, but she saw how the citizens of Paris had begun looking at the heroes differently. It was even worse for the ones who had their secrets published. Just the other day, the class had a debate on whether or not there should be a minimum age on superheroing, or if superheroes below a certain age needed a mentor. 

Now, everyone was on alert since Rena Rouge’s Fox Miraculous had been stolen. She’d been reminded time and time again that Chat Noir could be anyone, anywhere, at any time, but they weren’t actually sure if he’d strike at the gala, and even if he did, there was no way that any of the heroes could leave. Not when they needed to reassure the people of Paris that they could still protect them, that they could still help them.  

So, Polymouse had to come to the gala, to show her support for the other heroes, but it didn’t mean that she liked it. Although Ladybug had claimed that their supersuits were considered okay for the ceremony, Polymouse couldn’t help but feel incredibly underdressed, and it felt as though the guests were judging her constantly. 

Then, just as the gala started to get unbearable, her jump rope buzzed. Once, twice, three times. Polymouse grabbed it before it revealed itself to be a phone, and as she brushed the phone to accept the call, she saw Chat Noir’s barely illuminated figure smirking at her with a lot of foliage in the background. 

It was hard to tell where he was exactly. It was too dark to see much of anything besides his silhouette and his vibrantly green eyes. 

“Polymouse,” he greeted with a feral grin, “how nice of you to pick up the phone. I’ll admit, it’s hard to really enjoy a party all the way from the back, but,” he shrugged, “to each their own.”

“Why are you calling me?” Polymouse asked, not in the mood to play any games. They’d never been close, and Chat Noir’s antics had done little to endear him to her. He was up to something, and Polymouse wasn’t going to have it.

Chat Noir hummed, tapped his finger against his chin. “Well, I was thinking. It’s a nice party and all, but aren’t you missing a certain guest?” Chat Noir tilted his camera and just vaguely in the shadows, Polymouse could see a figure lying prone across the ground.

Chat Noir turned the camera so Polymouse could see the figure, or at least their shirt better, “Catwalker was a good sport, but sometimes, you just gotta let loose a little.” Chat Noir prodded the figure with his shoe a few rimes. “I suppose I may have taken it a bit too far though.” He sighed, tsking at Catwalker. “Such a shame.”

“You know, I was getting kinda lonely, after Catwalker here decided to just call it quits on me,” Chat Noir said in a flippant voice, but then I thought, why bother myself with some wanna be when I can have a real game of Cat and Mouse? Sure, you’re young and inexperienced, but well, you know how Ladybug is about secret identities. She’d probably let him die just to keep his identity safe. But you? You’d do something now, wouldn’t you?” 

“Ladybug wouldn’t do that,” Polymouse said, scanning the room for Ladybug. She had to let her know that Chat Noir was here, that Catwalker was hurt. 

“I used to think that Ladybug wouldn’t do a lot of things,” Chat Noir mused. “When we were younger, I thought it’d be me and Ladybug against the world.” He laughed bitterly. “Now, look at us.” 

Polymouse didn’t curse as she failed to spot any of the other heroes in the thick throngs of the crowds. They were all clad in bright super suits. How could a bunch of heroes be so hard to find? 

“Hmm?” Chat Noir hummed inquisitively. “Oh. Huh. I don’t think he’s breathing anymore. Should we be concerned?”

Polymouse felt goosebumps spread across her skin at Chat Noir’s callousness as he focused the camera towards Catwalker to show that indeed, he wasn’t breathing. Yet, something felt off. 

Something made Polymouse take a second look and think. Yes, he wasn’t breathing, but the body shape was off. The shirt itself, what little Polymouse could make out in the moonlight, was nice and neat, but almost swollen, like it was too tight. From what little she knew about Catwalker, it was obvious that he never wore clothing that was too tight. He was too refined for that, and had she actually seen any skin? Was there any proof that this was actually a person?

As Chat Noir turned his camera back towards himself, Polymouse wanted him carefully. For all his mischief, Chat Noir had yet to actually kill someone, not really, and from what Ladybug said, he’d been very freaked out when he had. No one grew that casual about killing that fast. He was bluffing. But why?

Obviously, he wanted Polymouse to go outside, not only to go outside, but to hurry. Alone. He must want her Miraculous, but what was he going to do with it? What had he done with any of them?

Well, if she couldn’t find her teammates, Polymouse was going to figure this out herself! She was Mylène Haprèle. Yeah, she got scared easily, and yeah, she was a bit of a coward sometimes, but she was also brave and smart. She’d been the one who’d figured out the Project Oxygen was a sham, she’d done the research, she’d explained it to her class, and then she’d been the one to stop Malediktator. She could figure out Chat Noir. 

Because if she didn’t stall him, she wasn’t sure how long he’d wait until he’d take the fight inside with all these people.

“What do you even have against Catwalker anyways?” Polymouse asked, trying to keep the frustration out of her voice. 

“Why? Is it so hard for you to picture perfect little Catwalker doing anything less than perfect in his perfect life?” Chat Noir snapped. 

“I mean, obviously you have something against him, consider how often you steal the Ring from him,” Polymouse pointed out. 

“I do not steal the Ring!” Chat Noir hissed, his pretend hostage all but forgotten. “He trapped me there! And none of you did anything! You just accepted Catwalker without any hesitation! You never missed me or wondered what happened! Ladybug herself tells him that he’s perfect in every way. He carved out every piece of himself that no one ever liked, and you all started fawning over him.”

Polymouse frowned. She couldn’t be hearing this right. “Are you telling me that you and Catwalker are the same person?” she confirmed. 

“I’m the part of Catwalker that wasn’t wanted, all the nasty little emotions, and jokes, and flirtations that you all didn’t even hesitate to throw away like yesterday’s trash. Just like you did with Queen Bee. Just like you did with Multimouse.” His voice turned darker as he said, “But I won’t let you throw me away anymore. I’m not going to disappear, and I need your Miraculous to keep it that way.”

That was the last thing Polymouse heard before the window next to her exploded. 

Glass showered down like rain, pelting the partygoers with tiny projectiles as they screamed and ran. The heroes tried to race towards her, but the roaring tide of the crowd pushed them back. 

Chat Noir grabbed Polymouse, dragging her to the bathroom. She fought as hard as she could, but it wasn’t enough. As the bathroom door closed behind them, Polymouse saw a flash of red escape through the crowd, but it’d be too late. They’d be too late. 

Chat Noir ripped off Polymouse’s hood and then her Miraculous. 

“Mylene?” he said in confusion, before the bathroom door slammed open and battered him into the wall like a child throwing a doll in the midst of a tantrum. Stunned, Chat Noir dropped her Miraculous.

Ryuko appeared in the middle of the room, dipping down only to snatch the Miraculous off the floor. Then she marched towards Chat Noir, raising her sword. 

“Don’t!” Mylene cried, running to stop Ryuko. Ryuko continued, unmoved. Mylene pulled and pulled at her arm, but her strength was nothing compared to Ryuko’s. 

 “He’s Catwalker!” Mylene cried, and finally Ryuko stopped, turning her head. 

“What?” Ryuko asked. Chat Noir took his opening and fled, not even bothering with the Rat Amulet anymore.

Adrien had wanted to be normal his while life. He wanted to go to school, hang out with friends, eat sub-par food, and make stupid cheesy jokes. But w hen you were the son of the Gabriel Agreste, heir to the Agreste Fortune and face of the Agreste brand, normal wasn't exactly possible. Adrien had tried. He'd snuck off to school, proving his wish, and finally getting Nathalie on board to let him go. Only, school wasn't a garuntee for Adrien like it was for some kids, it was just another carrot for his father to pull away from him at the slightest inclination, a punishment for any slight Adrien could have done, not that he'd needed it, but perhaps it was one of Gabriel’s little mercies, or maybe it was a necessary distraction to keep Adrien out of the way once he'd proven he would be sneaky to get what he wanted. Adrien didn't know, and he supposed he'd never know, since his father was dead. It didn't really matter why Gabriel let him go, only that he did, and because of that Adrien made friends, and fell in love with Paris

Fr om the moment Gabriel had met Nino, his father had declared the boy a bad influence. Ironic considering which of them was the hero, and which the supervillain.

At the time, Adrien had assumed it was because of Nino’s music, the way that Nino dressed, or the casual demeanor Nino spoke to everyone in clashing with what his stuffy, rigidly composed father had considered fashionable and in good taste. He had assumed it was normal, the way that his father would push everyone in Adrian’s lives away, save for those that his father had personally vetted and approved of. That it was simple over-protectiveness, and nothing more. It was normal for a father to isolate him, keep him busy with a professional life in front of a camera and rigorous, sufficiently sophisticated pursuits such as Mandarin, fencing, and piano.

As far back as he could remember—truly, and hopefully genuinely remember—he was limited to Chloe Bourgeois and his cousin Felix. Even then, he was only allowed to see them on infrequent and strictly controlled occasions. Dinners. Fundraisers. Holidays. All the way until the day she died, and his father fell into his grief.

And even then he had to wonder where to draw the line between where his memories started, and where the memories his mother had crafted for him began. In a perverse way, he knew from her coma onward meant what he experienced was most likely real. Or at least what he experienced in some way, even if just as a manipulation of his father who had held his amok.

He knew for sure what he felt for Nino was his alone. No matter how he was crafted and tweaked, he loved being with Nino. Nino made him feel safe, understood in a way no one, not even Marinette had managed. Although they’d had a rough patch when he had found out Nino’s identity, it was ultimately Nino that Adrian had asked to help find his grave with him.

His time as Chat No i r made him love his city as well. It’s passion, it’s art and creativity, and it’s defiance and resilience in the face of near-daily supervillain attacks. It was Adrian’s life’s greatest honor to be one of it’s protectors. Higher than anything being the Agreste heir, a child celebrity, a classically trained pianist, or excelling in fencing ever could be. In in way, he had Hawkmoth to thank. If not for the constant threats and attacks—his father’s single minded grasping for power—he never would have had the chance to be as close to his friends as he was. If it wasn’t for Hawkmoth, for Plagg and Ladybug, he might not have grown into someone who could stand on their own, nor have found a meaningful outlet for his constant need to help and put others before himself.

Adrian thumbed at the rings on his hand that sat in place of where the Cat Miraculous once was. In its place now was his own amok. The same rings his father once wore. The same rings Ladybug returned to him when she told him how his father died a hero.

She had to have known. In a way it was easy for him to believe his own father was a supervillain. Even after over a decade—his entire artificial life—of trying to deify and raise the specter of that man that even now haunts him to the same level of grand hero the rest of the world believed him to be, too much of his childhood finally made sense after finding out. What doesn’t make sense is why did Ladybug lie? Why did she try to hide this from him?

Growing up, Adrien’s defiances had been small. Quiet. Little victories meant to be non threatening to avoid provoking his father’s more extreme reactions. Now, he can go big.

He was the heir to the Agreste name. The child star, son of the “Hero” Gabriel Agreste. He was built and raised to command a camera, to shine in the spotlight.

He closed his eyes.

He was strong enough to face what was to come. His father made him for the stage. Hawkmoth taught him to fight. Ladybug had given him the strength to face his own destruction.

“Spot’s on.”

Nino wa s worried about Adrien. For the past 3 months, Adrien had been working on some mysterious project for every waking moment of the day. During the few times that Nino s aw him, Adrien always look ed paler, skinnier, and with darker circles under his eyes, and each time, Adrien rushe d him away, like he was hidden something . Something dangerous and illicit.

At first, Nino had theorized. Maybe Adrien was investigating a murder. Or maybe he’d done a murder. Or maybe he was working on some sort of crazy plan like his father had done. No, Adrien was smart, but not mad genius level smart.

Then, one day, Adrien called him and invited Nino on a camping trip, and Nino, of course, said yes. How could he not? Not when he was the one person he knew Adrien would trust to hide a body, and Adrien was acting so secretive. So squirrelly. So, together, the two journeyed far out to the country side until they reached a small, but luxurious cabin with a waterfront view.

It was beautiful, the type of beautiful only a lot of money could buy hidden behind a thin veneer of modesty. There was no one else around, and there were a few trails around the cabin leading to a few sites of interest like a waterfall and a private fishing hole.

They unpacked their belongings in silence. Nino asked a few questions, and Adrien answered him, but he was distant. His eyes were always far away, and his answers were always short and distracted. Always responding to Nino, but never actually saying anything. It was beyond maddening.

Until, finally, they had a breakthrough. During dinner, Adrien nervously br ought up the idea of going for a hike to test out a new gadget he'd bought. Now, it was n't like Adrien to buy things on a whim, and it really was n't like him to be so nervous. Deep down, Nino kn ew that this wa sn't going to be a normal hike. He knew that someway, somehow, he’d get the answer to what had been bothering Adrien, and there was no way that whatever was haunting him wouldn’t affect Nino as well, but Nino love d Adrien. So he sa id yes.

The next day, Nino’s suspicions were confirmed when Adrien pull ed out a machine that Nino had never seen before and start ed scanning every v isible inch of dirt they can find, backtracking frequently.

Half-joking and trying to lighten the mood -or soothe his curiosity, Nino didn’t care which at the moment- Nino asked Adrien if the machine was a metal detector or something. Adrien gave Nino a rueful smile back before answering that it was something like that. Adrien’s eyes grew distant and distracted again, and Adrien didn’t elaborate further, clamming up and refusing to answer anything more than those infuriatingly vague one word answers, just scanning over the ground and staring at a tiny display. That was, until, he stopped and let out a gasp.

It’s part relief and part resignation, but Nino didn’t quite understand why.

Then, Adrien tells Nino the terrible truth. "This is my grave," he t old Nino. "Adrien Agreste's grave".

If Nino were a younger man and he didn’t know Adrien so well , he might've dismissed Adrien as being yet another eccentric or possibly someone who was having a bit of laugh, but Adrien knew Adrien was serious, and he’d lived in Paris under Hawkmoth’s reign of terror . So instead Nino ask ed Adrien if he's a ghost.

"No", Adrien choke d out, shaking his head. "A senti-monster"

"Okay", Nino said, nodding slowly. The wheels in his head turning as he struggled to understand the situation Adrien had found himself in, the reason for Adrien’s withdrawal. Then, Nino forced himself to be strong. He could handle this. Adrien needed him to handle this, one way or another. Besides, he was Carapace. Nino knows senti-monsters, more than he knows ghosts. "How long-?"

"Since I was 8," Adrien admitted, "or he was 8? I dunno. It's so complicated. I mean, where does he start and I begin?"

Nino nod ded , pretending to understand. Then, faking a calm he d id n't feel, Nino ask ed , "What happened?"

Adrien sh ook his head, refusing to let Nino see his face, but Nino could tell from the way his shoulders shook that he was crying .

"He was swimming in the lake, and,” Adrien sobbed, “ and he drowned. Mom and Dad, they didn't want any questions. So....so they put him here, and they just went home and pretended it never happened."

Adrien’s eyes met Nino’s. "They made up some fake story about Adrien being sick, and then Mom started doing experiments with the Peacock. There were so many, she'd made herself sick doing it, but...she made me."

'Maybe? Or maybe it someone else! I...I don't even know if I was the one she replaced him. Maybe she made us over and over and over again, just brand new dolls in a line to give the illusion of growing up! Maybe she threw us away every time we were too big a disappointment!"

Adrien threw his hands up in frustration. "I've always been a coward! A spineless little lapdog, and I know part of it was because my Dad- No, my father who, by the way-" Adrien laughed, sounding a little hysterical, "was not a hero, but actually HAWKMOTH! Had my amok! So, I was under freaking Hawkmoth's control, but what about everyone else?"

'How much of me was just designed to be a people pleaser? How much of me was made to make my parents feel good and how much was actually what he-" Adrien gesture d angrily towards the grave, "was like?"

Nino wa s quiet for a moment. Adrien’s father was Monarch? It didn’t make sense. Ladybug had said he was a hero. That he’d given his life to defeat Monarch. All this time, Nino had thought that Adrien’s old man had finally made up for being such a jerk for all his life? But being Monarch? Nino wasn’t sure how to make up for that, let alone making up for being a slave of that...that man. Still, Nino had to try. He wouldn’t let Adrien down.

"That Adrien isn't my friend. He's not the one I met in school. He's not the one I hung out with every day in class. He's not the one who listened to all my music."

"Don't you get it?" Adrien ask ed bitterly. "That Adrien doesn't exist. I'm just a bunch of commands for a friggin' psycho!"

"You helped with the Rebellion."

"I was probably a spy."

"You tried to curb Chloe's worst impulses."

Adrien laugh ed , "Yeah, look where that got us."

Nino wrapped Adrien in a hug, holding him tight. "You care about me." Nino sa id softly. "Even though your dad hated me, you still love me. That's all you. That has to count for something."

Adrien was silent for a moment. "He was a bad guy."

"The worst." Nino agreed, squeezing him tighter, even as tears began to soak his shoulder.

"And no one knows what he did. They all think he was some hero! Heck, I thought he was a hero until I found some of my mom's old journals, and even then, I didn't believe it. I mean, who would?"

'But I double checked everything she said, and I found most of the people she talked about, and I put together names and faces and dates and things, and everything lined up...but...their own son? I had to know."

Then Nino was struck by a thought, “Do you think Ladybug knows?” Because Ladybug had to know, surely, she'd said Monarch had died, but then why had she said that Gabriel had died a hero. Was it a trick? Was she fooled somehow?

Adrien stared at the grave, frozen by the thought. “She had to,” he said finally. ”She saw my father die. She said she saw Monarch die.“

“So, why did she lie?”

Adrien shook his head, angry tears forming at the corners of his eyes. “I don't know,” he said, “but she's not going to get away with it. I can't let the people of Paris continue thinking that he's a hero. I can't-”

Adrien choked back a sob gesturing towards the other Adrien's grave. “Someone needs to remember him. People need to know what they did, that he wasn't some hero. He was a monster. And maybe, if they knew...”

“What do you want to do?” Nino asked. “With the body, I mean. Do you want to unbury him? Leave flowers? Make a memorial?”

Adrien began to cry again, holding back his sobs so the only sign was the tears flowing down his face.

“I don't have any,” he told Nino, before he sat down on the wet, leaf-covered ground heavily. “All this time, I wanted to find him, and now that I did...I don't even have anything to mark the body with.”

Nino crouched down beside Adrien, taking in the smell of the cool, damp earth. Then, he began laying rocks along the grave, like he'd seen someone do before. The soil was soft and damp, but there were often big chunks of rocks easy to claw out of the Earth.

One by one, Nino lined the rocks up, making it into a smale pile that was obviously manmade. Then, when the pile looked too unsteady to continue, he starting lining the rocks to make a border around the grave.

It took a little while, but soon, he could feel Adrien beside him, occasionally brushing his arm while they worked, getting themselves absolutely filthy with the dirt they were disturbing, but they didn't dare stop.

You could always tell how excited a news interviewer was by the pastries they brought, and today, the news had gone all out, trying to cater to the man that was Adrien Agreste.

Today though, Adrien remembered one of the most stressful interviews he'd ever done, the live one with Ladybug and Chat Noir where Ladybug walked out in the middle of it, and picked up a pile of choquettes for old times sake.

He plucked one and popped it in his mouth. Yum. Everyone stared at him. That behavior wasn't Adrien behavior. It was Chat Noir behavior. It wasn't acceptable for the heir to the Agreste family fortune to behave like this.

Well, Adrien was done trying to live up to his father's expectations. If he wanted to pop some choquettes in his mouth like a child, he would do so.

He took a seat on the couch in front of Nadja. Her face was a little more worm than he remembered her, but she still held that same spark she'd always had, that eagerness to hear the latest gossip and share it with the world.

Well, that was good, Adrien thought. He had gossip to spare. And so he told his story.

He told the world about how his father was Hawkmoth and how he'd tried to take Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous to bring his wife back to life from the dead. He explained how Ladybug had lied about him being a hero, for reasons unknown, and that the city had fallen for it, falsely erecting a statue to a villain. He described, in vivid detail the journals he'd found, and how it'd led to the discovery of the body of Adrien Agreste. Then everything exploded into chaos.

The first questions were obvious. If he wasn't Adrien Agreste, who was he? How had Gabriel concealed the death of a child so quickly? Why hadn't Adrien said anything about not being Gabriel's son for all those years, if that even was his name?

Adrien had prepared well, and answered each one with grace and poise, trying to deflect as much of the blame onto Gabriel and Emilie as possible, while trying to leave as little blood on everyone else's hands as possible.

Felix remembered the first time he'd scolded Adrien for his poor karate. It was in the changing room. He and Adrien had spent practically every weekend together during their mothers' business meetings/gossip sessions, and they'd dressed and undressed next to each other too often to feel any shame about it anymore. That is, if Adrien had ever had any shame about it at all. Adrien hadn't cared if Felix approached him while he was undressing, looking him up and down for any bruises. Seeing none, Felix tutted just like he'd seen his mother do when she was disappointed. "You were reckless and stupid," he told his cousin matter of factly. "You're lucky our Sensei didn't stop the fight immediately after that stunt you pulled." Adrien rolled his eyes- a gesture he'd never dare to do around his parents. "I got the point didn't I?" Felix scowled and held out his hand. "Gimme your hand", he demanded. When Adrien listened to him-although not without a heavy sigh- Felix massaged it the way he'd seen Sensei do before, ignoring Adrien's theatrics. "You're lucky you didn't break it," Felix scolded when Adrien didn't do so much as whimper. "The big kids break their hands all the time doing stuff like that." "You sound like Aunt Amelie," Adrien whined, and Felix did his best not to look too proud of himself for that. He'd been practicing sounding like a grown up so that when he was a big kid, he could do all these speeches with the little kids too. Now, he was doing it with Adrien, who was a whole belt lower than him because sometimes, his cousin just needed someone to look after him like that.

~*~

As much as all the adults called Adrien sweet and easy-going, Felix had always known it was an act. It wasn't even a good one either. Adrien may let everyone boss him around, but it was never hard to tell when he was upset. Today, Adrien wasn't happy about horseback riding. Felix didn't understand why, but Adrien had gotten it into his head that all horses hated him. Felix had tried everything. He made sure Adrien only rode on the gentlest mares. He'd taken Adrien on breath-taking rides across the fields (and did NOT mention how clingy Adrien was during it). He'd let Adrien feed them. He'd even given Adrien lessons on how great horses were. But no matter what, Adrien would not budge. He hated horses. He hated riding, and he hated Felix's attempts to change his mind. Well, Felix wouldn’t stop trying to help his cousin, and he’d never stop seeing through Adrien’s people pleasing lies.

~*~ Adrien wasn’t as impressed at Felix's magic as his mom was, which was the worst. Felix knew he shouldn't show off, but he wanted to impress Adrien. So he got an illusionist kit and put on a show woth all the tricks he'd learned. Adrien hadn't been inpressed by his card tricks or his sleight of hand, but maybe, Felix thought, Adrien would be impressed if Felix managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat. So he did. And although Adrien tried to look impressed, Felix wasn't fooled for a second. He scowled. "I know you didn't like it," Felix told him, and Adrien at least had the decency to look ashamed. "Hey, look on the bright side," Adrien told him, cheerfully, "at least it worked this time." Felix's scowled deepened. Adrien was the worst ~*~

When it came to chess, Adrien wasnt the worst. He just didnt have the same level of passion or imagination as most of Felix's other opponents. Still, there was a certain kind of comradery in chess that Felix couldn't find anywhere else, and Adrien was good enough at chess to give Felix a challenge every now and then, even if he only did it by memorizing strategies and counter strategies. Now that Aunt Amelie had stopped visiting so often, Felix was finding it increasingly difficult to talk to Adrien outside of internet chess games. Apparently, Uncle Gabriel had decided that loading Adrien up on so many lessons he couldn't think was the way to go. So that meant Adrien had only brief reprieves of chess to talk to Felix with. No matter. When it came to Adrien, Felix would play a thousand mediocre chess games.

Alya and Chat Noir were having coffee at one of Alya's favorite cafes, when Chat Noir suddenly piped up.

I want to play baseball!” he told her, beaming like he'd suddenly had the best idea since sliced bread.

Alya looked at him skeptically. “Baseball? Is that even a thing around here?”

Chat Noir nodded eagerly. “Of course it is! I remember it from Innerlight. There was a whole episode about it when Harrison gets challenged by Docxi to a game and the whole team had to go head to head in a high stakes game of baseball.”

Alya laughed. “Innerlight? God, you are such a nerd. But there's no baseball places around here.”

Chat Noir looked aghast. “Of course there is. Harrison said it was the #1 sport of humans. And-” Adrien grinned smugly “-you can ask Ladybug about it. She knows baseball too.”

Alya rolled her eyes. “It's an American sport. You're never going to find a pro in it around here. Or a place to play.”

Chat Noir gave her a challenging look and pulled out his baton. In seconds, he flashed the location of a local batting cage at her, looking like the cat who ate the canary.

"Fine,” Alya conceded, "but we still don't have a pro."

Another search and Chat Noir proudly displayed the name Benjamin Chevalier.

"Huh,” Alya said, mildly impressed. “Fine, we'll approach him, see if he likes the idea, but there's no way this'll get a lot of views.”

The meeting was never supposed to happen, but Adrien had made it so. He'd used every ounce of power and influence he'd had, but he was sure it would all be worth it to meet the real Adrien Agreste. No, not the real one, Adrien corrected himself. The human one. His friends were very insistent that Adrien call his counterpart the human one, as if that changed anything. No matter what, that Adrien had been the one that his parents raised, the one that ran away, the one Adrien had replaced. He lived under a different name now, Gabby Grassette, a name that brazenly mocked their father's in alevel of pettiness that screamed preteen. A 12 year old, the very age that Gabby had left. 12 years old and Gabby had been gutsier than Adrien ever was. Now though, as Adrien laid eyes on his human counterpart for the first time, Adrien didn't see guts. He saw exhaustion. Gabby's eyes had bags bigger than some designer purses, and he was skinny, to the point that Adrien could see his ribs. His body was littered with scars and pockmarks. His hair was pulled into a loose ponytail, green and crunchy with cheap dye. But his eyes. They were the same shape and color as Adrien’s, the same as their mother’s, but that glare. It could only have come from their father Gabriel. The Gabby’s gaze could paralyze Adrien from across the room, leaving him drowning in the memory of cold, lonely nights and the overwhelming weight of disappointment. By the time Gabby had approached, Adrien had mostly worked his way out of it, but it still took everything he had to start up some small talk. He talked about the weather. He talked about his friends. He avoided talking about their family, but it didn't stop him from discussing his fiance, Marinette. Yet every attempt at small talk was parried with the grace and speed of one of Kagami's ripostes, until finally Gabby gave him a glare strong enough to rival their father's Gabriel’s. "Let's cut to the chase," Gabby said. "Why don't you ask me what you really want to know, what everyone wants to know. 'Why did you leave?'" Gabby glared at him bitterly, silently daring him to say otherwise. But that wasn't the question Adrien wanted to ask. It wasn't the question that ate him up at night, the burning reason he'd set up this meeting in the first place. "How?" Adrien blurted out. "How'd you do it? How'd you escape?" Gabby raised an eyebrow, "the windows in my room never lock, and I-" Adrien shook his head furiously. "That's not what I'm asking," he cried, before shrinking back at the sudden stares his outburst drew. Then, more softly, he explained, "you were 12 when you left. You weren't even a teenager yet. I lived your life. I know why you left, but I don't know..." He couldn't finish. He couldn’t say 'why I didn't'. Adrien thought of all the times he was weak, the times he gave in. He could've fought, should've fought, but he didn't. Instead Adrien had just taken it. No, even worse, Adrien had defended it. He'd made so many excuses, told so many lies, not just to himself, but everyone else. Ladybug may have made Gabriel a hero, but it was Adrien’s constant justifications that had allowed it.

Ephemeral: An abused, solemn boy with power over time. His real name is Adrien Agreste. His akuma's in his phone. Those 3 sentences echoed in Alya's mind, along with the picture, a purple akuma with glowing, lavender eyes staring brokenly through the camera.

That picture seemed so wrong. Akumas weren't the type to be sad and quiet. They got loud and angry. And to see that expression on Adrien’s face...No Alya was going to stop it. She had to stop it, but how?

Adrien wasn't abused. His dad was a jerk, sure, but abuse? Adrien was a model. Surely if there were any bruises, someone would've spotted them by now. Besides, he was always so happy and kind. How could someone like that be abused?

But the files she'd found on a flashdrive a few weeks ago had been right so far, with everything from powers to the reasons for akumatizations. Alya still wasn't sure who'd made it, but they had good intel. Every akuma they'd written about had either already happened or occurred in exactly the way it was specified. With one exception: Chat Blanc, whose name made Marinette squeak in panic everytime she heard it.

Alyas best guess was that it had been a bad future. One Marinette had undone, but if that was the case, that meant these akumas could be prevented. They could be stopped. And if Alya had the key, could she really justify not trying to find out more?

So, Alya looked up abuse, abuse symptoms, what to do if someone was abused, and she didn't like what she found.

There was the normal type of abuse: physical abuse where people were burned or hit or bruised or choked or...

Alya clicked away. No, no. Adrien wasn't that type of abused. Someone would've seen it. So Alya clicked on the next one: financial abuse.

It had seemed the most promising at first, especially since Adrien was a model with crazy hours, but when Alya investigated further, she found that underage models in France had their earnings placed in a separate account no one could touch till they were of age.

Alya straight up skipped sexual abuse. If that was what was going on with Adrien, she thought it might break her, so she landed on emotional abuse. The more she read, the more her mind flashed back to Nino's complaints about Adrien’s dad being a jerk.

Chat Noir was exploring the city with a new form, a small kitten that he'd experimented with Plagg to get. It was a small, little black cat covered in soft black fur and a small bell that rested at the base of his neck. 

Chat was hopeful that it'd be good as a stealthy form, considering that he had all his strength contained in a tiny kitten you could hold in your hand, but navigating Paris had proved to be a tad bit more difficult when you were so small. It was difficult to see, and his senses were stronger and harder to focus. 

So, Chat was practicing, playing at the park where no one would question a tiny kitten playing around, climbing trees, eavesdropping on conversations, and getting catnapped by some twins?!

Yes, to Chat's eternal embarrassment, two twins, Alya's twin sisters, if Chat was right, had picked Chat up while he was distracted by trying to eavesdrop on Alya's conversation about her newest Ladyblog article, had grabbed him and one of them, the one dressed in blue had curled him close to her chest. 

Chat Noir didn't struggle. He didn't want to hurt her accidentally. People, especially little girls, were fragile, but also....it was nice, being held like this. It felt warm, and soft against her clothes. 

So, the twins managed to carry him back to Alya and ask her if they could keep him, pretty please? Chat Noir gave Alya pleading eyes, praying that she would recognize him and tell the girls to let him go, maybe apologize and say that they didn't mean it. Give him some head scratches for the road. 

Instead, Alya said that they could take him home, but they'd have to put up lost pet posters so that his owners could find him. Chat Noir wanted to curse at her, yowl at her. Talking was hard, but not impossible in this form. He could argue with her. Surely, she'd listen. 

Then the little girl held him tighter and pet him, and it took Chat Noir had in him not to melt at the affection. Maybe he could handle a little bit of extra attention. Just for the night. Then he'd leave. 

That night turned into a day, which turned into two, then three, and by then, Chat Noir felt like a part of the family. When they went to school, he'd leave and go to do his Adrien duties, and he'd shadow akuma fights. When it was time for their bed, he'd switch between sleeping with Ella or Etta until they were fast asleep and then he'd come home. He got used to belly rubs and head scritches, and Plagg would happily mock him at school about how well he was adjusting to the cat lifestyle. That was until Otis came home. 

Otis had been on a business trip, learning new techniques for handling his beloved panthers when he came back to find the new family family pet, and instantly he knew it was no mere kitten. 

For starters, its face was too 'cute' for lack of a better word. Its jaw was too round. It's eyes too expressive. It looked more like a person's idea of a cat than an actual feline. Then there was its fur. Its fur covered it's entire body, including it's belly and it's anus was completely missing, and it's tail was not the characteristic kitten triangle, but fully developed when its body clearly wasn't. Then there was its bell. Otis could clearly see it, but there was not collar or necklace to connect it to its body. 

Instantly, Otis was suspicious. Why was there a pet here that was masquerading as a cat in his house? Was it a sentimonster? Had it been sent to spy on them? Was this yet another spectacle brought on by Alya's reporting?

Otis had stared at the false kitten for a few minutes when he was violently attacked by a fake kitten to the face. It pounced onto him and then nipped his nose as it gave a mew that was too deep for a creature of it's size. 

Otis scrambled to get the possible sentimonster off his face as Nora cooed and said that 'Shadow' liked him. Otis was very sure that 'Shadow' very much did not like him. Cats very much loved to pounce on their prey thank you very much. 

Meanwhile, Chat was having the time of his life. He'd been playing chase with Anansi when a new victim playmate had entered the room. The zookeeper, the one who'd turned into  animan. Surely, he understood the need to play that Chat Noir had. As he pounced and nipped, the zookeeper made such fun noises and moved in such fun ways. 

Over the next few days, Chat Noir felt Otis's attention on him at all times. It was fun. Then, when Chat Noir's gift to the twins, a science project for their age group that would teach them about acoustics, arrived, Chat tore up the return address so they couldn't return it and would play with it. 

Otis couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed Chat Noir by the scruff, leaving him paralyzed as his feet came off the ground. Chat mewed helplessly as Otis took him into his bedroom against the twin's protests and shut the door. He tossed Chat roughly onto the bed. 

“Okay,” Otis started, his tone making it clear that the time for fun and games had clearly come to an end. “Who are you? What are you? Tell me. Are you working for Shadow Moth?”

Chat Noir hissed. “No!” Otis startled, but Chat continued, too offended to stop. “I'm Chat Noir, and your kids catnapped me!”

Otis scoffed. “You're no Chat Noir. Chat Noir is a hero. And you're...you're an imposter.”

Chat Noir rolled his eyes, before focusing to get his words out. “We can have different forms. This,” Chat Noir spun around, “is one of mine.”

“So, what, you just let one of my kids kidnap you?” 

Chat Noir laughed, a harsh, not quite feline noise. “It was fun. You have a nice family. A good family. Why wouldn't I want to stay? It's nice, being here with you.”

Otis raised his eyebrows. “So you want to stay?”

Chat Noir nodded. Then he realized he should speak. “Of course.”

“It’s gonna be a lot of fun. Think of it like a street festival and admire the costumes! That’s the best part in my opinion. Remind me to show you the pictures I got of my mom when we dressed up during the off season.” Adrien said.

“Stay Peachy!” a sudden hyper voice cried, making both boys jump like cats. Standing behind them was someone in a smiling banana costume, wiggling and dancing to the hip hop music coming from a nearby boombox. They struck a pose, the eery still smile creeping Adrien out.

He hated those type of full body costumes. The amount of pictures his family had of him, in his parents’ arms, hiding away from a person with covered hands and oversized heads. Adrien barely made it through his tours of Disney parks as he got older.

“Oh, fuck right off.” Felix muttered, grabbing Adrien’s arm and dragging him into the busy streets. “Where is your boyfriend meeting us? Or is he still waiting to get in?”

Luka found them and Adrien immediately took them to get food. They had plans to meet up with the rest of the class to see Marinette’s entry for the costume contest, an outfit based on one of her mother’s favourite fantasy C-Dramas, so Adrien was going to introduce them to his favourite foods until then. Each street seemed to be dedicated for a different part of Italy and while Adrien talked about how his family mainly stayed in Rome, he was lucky to be able to see other parts and indulge in their version of the culture.

“I lived off this whenever mom was too tired to cook.” Adrien said, leading them to a Pizza al taglio stand. “We’d order way more than we needed and could have the rest for later.”

“It’s probably a good thing this isn’t normally in Paris.” Luka said, looking at all the sheet pans the stall managed to fit onto a fold out table. “How are we supposed to stay empty for everything else?”

“Well, I plan to introduce you to stomach, so keep empty.” Adrien promised.

Felix shrugged. “I prefer a full English breakfast, so I’m fine.”

Luka looked so lost, Adrien didn’t have the heart to mention, a full English normally had pigs’ blood. Most Parisians survived off of bread, Adrien didn’t want to overload him.

He distracted Luka with finding a stall making fresh carbonara to order and the three decided to split an order. He had Luka and Felix try first, wanting them to apricate the simple ingredients to one of his favourite dishes.

“That’s really good.” Luka commented.

“Better than most restaurants I’ve been too. Trick must be the old woman making it.” Felix said, looking at the older lady behind the stall who was the one putting the whole dish together while her kids, according to what Adrien was able to pick up, made the pasta at the table.

Adrien took the bowl from Felix, excited to eat when that damned voice popped up again.

“Stay Peachy!”

It was so sudden and loud, Adrien screamed, jumped and let go of the bowl. The rest of the carbonara was on the ground and Adrien swung around, glaring at the stupid person in the banana suit, posing behind him. They were close to, like they’d been sneaking up on Adrien.

“I’m going to kill you.” Adrien swore, Luka grabbing him before he could take a step.

“Hey, they should have gelato right?” Luka distracted. “You promised to get me a good one. Didn’t your mom say that the famous store who made the cone into a flower had been invited? Where would they be? They are considered good right?”

Adrien became distracted, but Felix gave the performer a steely glare that got Mr. Banana to back up slightly before he went to follow the couple.

They got distracted on their quest for gelato by cheese; parmigiano and mozzarella and bufala. Adrien insisted they try bruschetta.

“It’s tomatoes, oil and salt, you honestly can’t go wrong. It’s a more put together version of the tomato con pan we had at the beach.”

It was further distracted by arancini, a new favourite of Luka’s that Adrien’s nonna had made during her visit. They ended up bumping into Chloe and Sabrina and Zoe, a teen star who modelled for Chloe’s mom and while she had a contract in France for a while, Chloe took it upon herself to show her around. Zoe had the most out of all of them, moaning a little about needing to be at try ons for a show the next day but Adrien waved her off, Chloe supporting him.

“I don’t know about Italian designers, but I refuse to believe Italian models give up their favourite food just to be perfect in clothes. Besides, arancini doesn’t count, it’s made by the gods.”

“I don’t think that excuse works when I say that about pizza.” Zoe pointed out.

“Then you clearly are missing out on thin crust. Try the pizza stalls on the Rome street. It’s thin and the three of you can share and not feel guilty if you’re that worried. But first, gelato! Oh, cannoli!”

Like a kitten with a short attention span, Adrien rushed over to the closest stall in the Sicily street they found themselves in. The Italian convinced the teen star to split a cannolo with him before Chloe dragged her to a stall selling clothes. Adrien was being a messy child and licking some of the excess cream before it fell out of the pastry when…

“Stay Peachy!”

Like the worst jump scare, Adrien jumped back and his half-eaten cannolo was caught by Felix. The English boy tried not to gag at the damp pastry while Luka grabbed Adrien from under his arms to lift him up and stop him from attacking Mr. Banana.

“Your mom is running the event. I don’t think she wants to make sure you’re covered by diplomatic immunity if Sabrina’s dad arrests you for attacking someone.” Luka reminded.

“Even if they deserve it?” Felix asked, pinching the pastry and stuffing it into Adrien’s mouth, making him look like a demented squirrel gathering food. His cheeks where puffed from the cream and it lessened the affect of the glare he was given the demented banana.

“Ok, let’s go.” Luka ordered, heading towards a different street. it was getting close to meeting with the others but the rocker wanted to avoid an international incident.

It counted as international if an Italian and an English attacked a French performer? Luka didn’t want to find out.

Alya was not at all sympathetic when she heard. She was still holding Adrien’s issues with feathers and his cosplay shoot over his head.

“You can’t tell me some cosplayers don’t get dressed in outfits like that.”

“They do. I avoid them. those things give me the creeps. You also can not tell me that the smile isn’t really creepy!”

“I mean, Noel doesn’t normally get scared of things,” Nino said, mentioning his stubborn younger brother, “but he doesn’t like those guys either. I swear he screamed bloody murder when we saw a Bluey character.”

Adrien pointed to Nino like it was all the answer he needed.

“Oh, that does not count! My twin sisters think they’re the human version of some twin devil trickster.” Alya pointed out.

“Thank god they aren’t.” Adrien heard Luka mutter but he ignored his boyfriend to try and continue making his point while they made their way to the stage that the costume contest was going to be at.

Adrien was able to distract himself with admiring the outfits people wore, and even pulled his own mask down to fit in. It made him even more excited to get dressed in his outfit for the masquerade ball. He gossiped with the others on what they were going to wear, hearing what others promised their costumes to look like. They made it to the stage as the MC was getting it started. Even in the back, they were able to find an area that gave them a clear view. Everyone marvelled over the costumes as they came out, the groups' cheers getting loud when Marinette took the stage. Marinette was more the type to dress her models and direct them from behind the camera, but she was doing a pretty amazing at posing. Though that might have to do with Adrien’s training she asked for.

Marinette just got picked for the next round of non-traditional costumes when the MC called for a short break so the next round members could get set up and those who didn’t make it past could still get the chance for pictures by the crowd. As those people made it into the crowd, the MC called upon a well-loved performer to entertain them.

“Stay Peachy!” Mr. Banana cried as he jumped on stage.

Felix rolled his eyes while Adrien frowned.

“Will you relax? Kids love him.” Alya said.

“Kids don’t make any sense.” Adrien said. “I saw a stall with flowers, I’m gonna get Marinette a bouquet to congratulate her. Take pictures if I take too long.”

“I’ll go with you.” Felix offered.

“Please behave. And don’t get distracted by food you’re not planning on bringing back!” Luka called.

“Just for that, I’ll bring you the stomach!” Adrien called back, giggling at Luka’s face.

They got the flowers and became distracted when Adrien located a gelato stand. In his defence, it had been all they talked about since they entered the festival. He gave Felix the flowers to hold while he expertly handled 6 cones in total.

“Wouldn’t cups of been easier?” Felix asked.

“Everyone loves gelato in a cone.” Adrien said when –

“Stay Pe – Ahh!”

Mr. Banana was given a face full of flowers as Felix smacked them with the bouquet before he kicked him over. The ruined bouquet was thrown at the writhing banana as Felix grabbed Adrien and dragged him back towards the stage.

“What am I supposed to tell my mother when she asks about the blonde boy who assaulted a performer?” Adrien asked.

“Like I’d let you take credit for that.”

The others did hear about it later. Adrien was helping Nino figure out the socks in the traditional Vancian suit when Luka asked.

“Apparently the Mr Banana performer got assaulted. They’re pretty upset. Face full of flowers too. Odd how Marinette’s never showed up.”

Adrien shrugged. “Gosh. Maybe he should, stay peachy. Keep the moral up. He’s still got to dance for a pay check. As long as it’s far, far away.” The blonde muttered the last part.

The Ladybug holder sighed. To be fair, Luka knew what his boyfriend was like when he was mad. Sure, it was usually cursing and insults but he’d used physical violence as a threat. Luka couldn’t prove Adrien had used the bouquet, though the cups he came back with in hand did push the suspicion off of him, he wouldn’t put it past the Italian to attack Mr. Banana.

Adrien finally pulled his face from its hiding place as he got up from the bed, walking over to the window. The snowy landscape made everything seem so far away.

He needed to get out of here. he needed to get back home. Home was a city on water, in a house with two people. Not married but close and supportive of each other. And they both loved him. Two older people were also there, one with sweet treats and the other with silent support, but all of it, it was home. Even with memories of seeing different places, it was comfort being with his family. Until they came here and he’d been swept away by this…monster. His daughter was uncontrollable and he sent her away and he took Adrien to take her place. Adrien had been in this castle for so long, his appearance started to change, but he never got used to the cold.

_____________________

Adrien rushed, stumbling as the snow caved under his feet. Growing up, he read stories of how heroes raced across snowy plains, clearly that was a lie. The cloak he made flowed behind him like the monster he’d been trapped with but unlike its inspiring fear, it rippled with Adrien’s attempts in escaping. Its touch reminded him that if he didn’t get far enough now, he would never escape. Fluttering wings were approaching, their dark and shadowy bodies racing to get to him. Every stumble he made let them get closer. He couldn’t go back; he wouldn’t go back!

“Move!” something called, the fluttering disrupted by a large object. Something crashed into them. Adrien didn’t turn to see what it was, he just kept running.

He finally reached the forest and the first tree he could hide behind, he did. He dropped down, the cloak finally resting as his breath appeared in front of him as he tried to calm down. he should keep moving, he needed to.

Soft steps crunched snow and a pink nose was the first thing Adrien saw of the black cat. Their fur was dusted with snow and there was the wing of one of the butterflies still hanging from their jowl.

“You ok kid?”

“Who are you?” he didn’t question how the cat could talk. How could he? His kidnapper made the snowy wasteland they were in.

“Names Plagg. Come on, let’s get you home.”

Adrien stared. “Home? I can go home?”

“Your parents are waiting for you. shall we get going?”

Adrien didn’t have to think, he got up and started to follow Plagg through the woods.

__________________________

His eyes were starting to change back. It was starting to get warmer, finally. The tea helped. Plagg took him to three people, all traveling to the main city. Marinette, a seamstress who gave him warmer clothes and started to sew pictures into the cloak he wore. Black cats and flowers and music notes, a small ladybug as a good luck charm in the corner. Nino, a bard who looked after his younger brother Noel. Alya, a girl who seemed to know all, aching to return back to her own family of sisters and parents.

“So, tell us about this place, your home on the water.” Alya asked, leaning forward, her fox-like eyes gleaming for answers. He didn’t feel like a prey being cornered, only when she heard something about the monster who kept him locked away and wanted answers. Right now, he felt the rare moments he had around friendly strangers he’d talk to in his short visits to other places.

“It’s old, full of history. You could get lost in it for days. But the people are friendly, always willing to give help or answers. The older they are, the more loving of people they tend to be, but you can find others our age who will be kind. We have our share of thieves of course, but still, it’s home. It’s large, so I haven’t been to every place, but I’ve moved to so many different lands with my parents. Never for very long, but I love exploring the areas. Normally it’s by myself, but when my parents can come with me…I miss them.”

Alya patted his thigh, Nino leaning on him in the confined space of their traveller. Marinette draped the half-done cloak over his and Nino’s legs, while she and Alya had the top end.

“Your parents miss you too.”

“Because I’m a prince?” his parents gave orders on behalf of the ruler of his home, some people considered him a prince. He didn’t know, it’s what he’d been called his whole life.

“No,” Nino replied instead of Alya, though Adrien still felt her hand on his knee under the cloak. “Because they love you. And we love you too.”

He knew that. They were his friends. They were his family.

_______________________

His hair was fading back to blonde when he met Luka. they’d arrived at his home, but his parents were gone. Adrien hadn’t sat the think with reason, he assumed they didn’t want him anymore and left. Luka, guitar on his back, had been tasked with delivering a package to him. The cream and chocolate was still fresh, even with the melting snow, inside the pastry Adrien found in the package.

“They didn’t forget me.” He breathed, his now green eyes filling with tears. “My mother and I, whenever we travelled, we’d get a cannolo, see if it stands up to the ones from here.”

“They went to look for you. they’ve been looking since you were gone.” Luka reassured.

Adrien had a sudden thought. “Him, Gabriel, he’ll come after them! I need to find them.” he got up when Luka grabbed his arm.

“Not by yourself. I know someone who can help, someone who can stand up against him. But…he might ask you to help. Will you?”

“They’re my parents, of course I will.”

“It’ll be dangerous.”

“I don’t care!”

Luka smiled at him, nudging the hand with the pastry. “Ok. Eat, remember who you’re fighting for. I’ll be back.”

The cream tasted like the ones his nonna would make. The ribbon that had closed the box smelled like the flowers from his nonno’s garden. His parents took him for his first cannolo away from home as a child. The pastry was full of happy memories and love.

“My prince.” Behind him stood a young man, dressed in spotted red and black, a hood blocking his face. With him was a girl in black and green, a ribbon holding her cloak closed. “We here to help you find your parents.”

He’d find them, he would.

“We need to stop Gabriel first. We need to stop him at his castle.”

“the snow is melting; he’s losing his power. We’re ready when you are my prince.”

With his cloak full of the things that meant the most to him and Marinette helping him tie the ribbon around his wrist, Adrien felt ready. Gabriel Agreste wanted a son but he’d get something worse.

___________________

“Adrien? Adrien!”

Bleary green eyes blinked open, to look at the shadow cast figure leaning over him.

“Adrien?”

The figure was Luka. Adrien was able to see the bright redyed blue of his hair and just make out the shapes on his lip that made up his snake bites. Luka kneeled down, the concerned look on his face clear enough to see.

“Are you ok?”

Adrien blinked, rubbing his eyes trying to reset his brain. He sat up, feeling something shift in his lap. It was his copy of the Chronicles of Narnia, the version that had all the books inside one book. It was laying facedown on his stomach and sitting next to him under his phone, was a ribbon. It came from his first bouquet his grandfather gave him. He’d used it as a bookmark for this book since he’d gotten it around the same time. He gently placed it between the pages of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, before closing the book and setting it aside.

“What time is it?” he was in the park, the one near Marinette’s house and the one he could see from his apartment. He was sitting under a tree but it was quiet, so it was in one of the less walked areas. The sun was still high in the sky, the light speckling down between the leaves.

“It’s around 3. We were supposed to meet at the Merry-Go-Round at 2:30. You said you were getting out of the apartment to do more research.” Adrien still felt lost, “for the play you’re helping Marc with? He needed ideas for a prince character. You said you’d figure out if Caspian was a good guy to play off of. I think you mentioned, um, what’s his name. En-diamond?”

“Endymion. Prince of Earth, Chibia Mamoru, Tuxedo Mask, King Endymion. Moron who’s wife needs to slap his far into the future self for coming up with the hair brain idea of ‘let’s trick myself into breaking up with my girlfriend to keep her safe, because I do everything by myself and don’t ask for help’.”

Luka looked lost but nodded anyway. “Sure. I’ve been looking for you for a while.”

Adrien nodded and started to piece together his dream. “I was a prince. Which didn’t make sense, since my parents weren’t rulers, but I was called ‘my prince.’ In my dream.” He explained. “Gabriel Agreste wanted me to be his son since he sent Lila away but I wanted, needed to get back to my parents. Nino, Marinette and Alya were there, helping me get back and…” he trailed off since he couldn’t talk about Plagg. “And you. you delivered a cannolo to me.”

Luka gave him a teasing smile. “Like when we first met?”

“Better, since it was nonna’s. Scarlet Bug and Catseye were there too, ready to help me defeat Gabriel. It was weird.”

Luka took his hand, lacing their fingers together as he pressed a kiss on the back of Adrien’s hand, near his rings. “Prince, huh? Does that mean I should call you my prince?”

The two didn’t do pet names with each other, only when Adrien was trying to get Luka’s attention, so the blonde felt himself blush. “You’re just trying to get me flustered.”

“Is it working?”

“Oh my god, why are you like this?” with his freehand, Adrien grabbed his book and phone and tugged on Luka’s hand to help him up. “Let’s go meet up with Marc, maybe he can make sense of the dream.”

“As you wish, my prince.”

Adrien wasn’t going to protest the name. the dream was strange, the idea that the father of the one girl who he hated wanted him as his son. But he believed what he did in the dream, doing everything possible to get back to his family, wouldn’t change be it in dreams or reality. Plagg being the first to save him though was odd. By the time Plagg came to him, he wasn’t in need of saving. It was weird that the dream felt like it held truth to it.