White Butterflies

Ephemeral

IMPORTANT: this chapter is a work in progress, but I wanted to get out what I had because it's been too long. hope you come back for the finished work soon :)

He knew this was the right thing to do. He had always known it to be right, for both himself and Adrien. For Emily. A hundred times over, he would do it all again for her.

The negative emotions that had once plagued him shortly after his wife fell ill now brought a thrill to his veins, a burst of hope to his senses. Young or old, explosive or tame, it didn't matter. As long as they had it—as long as they had a negative emotion lingering in their heart—they could be of use to him.

"Adrien, I'm just not feeling well enough. You'll have to represent me."

Gabriel could feel his son turn towards him in the limousine, his sadness palpable. If only he could understand, if only he knew that this was all for him. That everything Gabriel had been doing and planning for the past few months had all been to bring his mother back.

"But, father, you're launching your hundredth collection tonight. You're the one the journals want to interview, not me," said Adrien.

Gabriel turned his wedding band around on his finger. For her, he reminded himself. "Adrien, I am your father, and I'm giving you the responsibility to attend this press conference. Under no circumstances will you leave that room until it is finished."

He could feel Adrien hesitate, still unsure.

"All I'm asking is that you honor my work and the memory of your mother. Do we have an agreement?"

With no room for compromise, Adrien had no choice but to agree. "Yes, father."

Soon, soon he would know. It was all for him, all for their family.

-----

Marinette had, on many occasions, wondered what Shadow Moth was like in his personal life. If he had a family, what he did when out of his Miraculous form.

But never once before had she imagined him to be a blacksmith.

Now, however, it seemed to be a very good guess as to what his everyday job was as Marinette, along with almost every other Miraculous holder, attempted to break into the solid-gold vault that housed Shadow Moth's latest vile creation.

How in the hell was there not even a scratch on its surface? They had been chasing it around Paris for almost ten minutes now, trying every technique possible to get inside of the vault. It seemed to laugh at them with its indestructibility as it turned Parisian citizens into—gold coins?

Leading Kagami, Rose, and Zoe across rooftops and storefronts, Marinette glanced over at the other Miraculous holders she had no other choice but to recruit for this battle: Nino, Max, Kim, and Luka, all running across adjacent buildings.

She could see fatigue clouding their eyes as she was sure it did her own. It only reminded her again of why this battle was going on for so long, why none of them could figure out a way to get to the Akuma.

Because Chat Noir was not there.

He was missing, late again for the fourth time this month. She knew that they all needed him. Sure, Marinette was the Guardian, but Noir was still her partner, her equal. They were two halves of a whole, never truly able to thrive without the other.

"You'll never be able to get your hands on my lucky coin!" the Akumatized—Moolak, what a terrible choice of name—bellowed from his safe.

God, if this situation weren't so serious, Marinette would be laughing her ass off. It was all so ridiculous—a floating safe, turning people into gold coins, droning on and on about its immense power. And she, a highly trained Miraculous holder, along with almost every other Miraculous holder in Paris, was chasing after it, unable to figure out what to do without her kitty partner.