He Was There | Miraculous Ladybug

Chapter Four: Acceptance

  Mister Bug watches Gabriel sob next to the casket of his now deceased wife. "Nothing to lose except her." He mutters walking closer to him. "You only have hours left, Gabriel. Make it right with your son." He suggests again placing his hand on Gabriel's shoulder.
  His tears fall onto the casket along with the black dust spewing out of his mouth. "Couldn't you do a miraculous ladybug... Mister Bug whatever your name is and repair everything?" He sobs clenching his fist turning back to face him. 

  Mister Bug frowns, "I wish it could fix everything, Gabriel. It will fix her casket, but this is the inevitable. You need to accept that and use the rest of your time here considerably." Mister Bug whispers looking back at Ladynoir. Gabriel continues to sob, "You're right, Mister Bug. You can't fix everything, but I can. Venom!" He shouts reaching out for him.
  Mister Bug swings out of his way glaring at him. "I may be in a different suit, but I still have reflexes like a cat." He growls glancing back at Ladynoir and glancing at her miraculous.
  Gabriel smirks at the opportunity, "don't you wish you knew her identity... who you've been fighting with for the last year? Take it. Make your wish." He attempts to convince in a deep manipulative manner. 

  Mister Bug glances over at him before running over to her. He looks down at her ring, biting his lip. He inhales softly looking back at her masked face, "No, I don't." He snaps swinging his yo-yo back across him. "You are a selfish being, Gabriel Agreste. You caused countless of people to suffer for your wish. Your wish that will never happen. Because I will never let you take our miraculous." He barked watching Gabriel's left arm slowly disappear into the air, the wedding bands falling with the dust.
  Mister Bug glances down at the rings gently before looking back up at him. "I-" Gabriel begins looking down at his rings he no longer had control of. He looks back up to Mister Bug, "Please. Take them to my son, Adrien. He deserves to have them in his possession, he's an Agreste. He needs to have something to remember... us..." He whispers glancing back at Emilie's caskets. "But not like this, please don't let him know." He begs tears strolling down his cheeks.
  Mister Bug's eyes twitched reaching for the rings before putting them on. "Don't worry, Gabriel. I'm sure he will be fond of these rings." He states sternly looking into his eyes before reaching down for his staff again. "I think we're done here, you've lost." He growls unwrapping him. "Comfort your family while you can." He demands walking back to Ladynoir, wrapping his arm around her. "Miraculous Mister Bug!" He shouts releasing his staff into the sky watching the ladybugs repair everything in the room and bringing back Ladynoir. 

  She blinks at Gabriel Agreste with only one half of his arm left, "Where are the Kwamis?" She growls looking up at Mister Bug. He opens his hand showing her the configured miraculous. "We'll find them... they're here somewhere." He states glancing back at Gabriel as he reaches for the tablet to take one last glance at his wife. He lets go of LadyNoir walking away to explore the rest of the basement.
  Gabriel sits in silence looking at Emilie's last recording one last time as part of his chin chips away into the air. He inhales looking up, "I'm ready." He mutters tears strolling down his face once again.

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  "Claws in," "Spots off," They say in unison as they trade the miraculous behind the same pillars as before. Adrien stares at his ring, "You should go, Ladybug. I shouldn't transform now." He mutters putting the ring on slowly.
  Ladybug frowns looking back at the Kwamis they recovered, "Are you okay Chat Noir?" She asks genuinely touching the pillar separating them. He frowns looking at Plagg, "Yeah. I just need time to think." He mutters listening to her transform behind him. "Pound it, Ladybug." He mumbles placing his fist against the pillar. She sighs, "Pound it." She responds placing her fist against the wall as well.

 
  "Will I see you again?" She whispered softly. He stares at the rings he took from his father, "Yeah, yes you will." He confirms softly. She nods swinging out of the manor into the Paris sky.
  He slides against the pillar sobbing, "It was my father, this whole time. It was him." He cries covering his face as Plagg watches in pity. "Did you know at all?" He mumbles through his hands. Plagg shakes his head, "I had no way of knowing, kid. Even if I did I couldn't tell you." He whispers floating down to eye level. Adrien uncovers his eyes, "We need to go back to London before they find out I'm not there." He whimpers looking up the stairs focusing on the portrait of him and his father. "What are you going to do now?" Plagg questions watching Adrien stand slowly and brushing himself off. "I don't know, I know I want to see Marinette." He replies sternly staring at his clenched fists as he leans against the pillar staring at the door Ladybug swung out of. He looks down at Plagg, "I shouldn't have pushed her away. She doesn't know any better." He whispers pushing himself off of the pillar. "Plagg, claws out."

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Ladybug makes it back to her balcony and detransforms as quickly as she had landed there. She looks back in the direction of the Agreste Manor frowning. She looks down at Tikki handing her a macaroon. Tikki takes the sweet treat gingerly looking up at her worried. Marinette looks at the Kwamis behind her covering her mouth as she falls to the floor of her balcony in sobs.

"I did it master, Nooroo is home." She sobs tears staining her cheeks looking up at the butterfly staring back at her smiling. She slowly opens the trapdoor letting the Kwamis roam once again in her bedroom. She crawls down the stairs as her tears slowly stopped once she made it to her bedroom floor. 

She gasps as she takes the disguised miracle box out of hiding for the Kwamis to roam. "Adrien..." she whispered looking over at the Kwamis. She places her hands against her face as a wave of panic rushes over her, "He just lost his Mom... Nathalie... and now he's going to know-" She sobbed covering her mouth looking back at the miracle box and the configured rings.
"I need to fix these before I do anything. I shouldn't be the one to tell him, not like this. Not like Ladybug. That is not my place." She mutters softly sitting at her desk. She scrolls on her phone immediately calling Alya.
"You need to come over, now. It's urgent." She demands looking over at Trixx with a slight smile. "Everything's okay for now, Alya. Don't worry." She responds making sure she didn't send her friend into a panic.

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Alya makes it over climbing up Marinette's staircase to her bedroom's trapdoor. "Is everything okay? You sounded-" Alya starts until she is greeted by every Kwami's face, but Plagg and Duusu. Her eyes widened in shock as she closes the door gently behind her. "W-when did you-"

"It wasn't me, it was Mister Bug who set them free." She smiles looking at the other tablet she took back from Nathalie with the translated scrolls. Alya covers her mouth hiding her excitement and overall relief. She runs over to Marinette's desk and gives her a warm embrace letting a singular tear fall down her cheek. "Who was it? You have to know if Nooroo had been freed? Is he in some sort of jail as a war criminal? What happened you have to tell me everything." Alya urges pulling away from Marinette gripping her wrists.
Marinette smiles, gently tapping Alya's hands with her fingers. "It's a long story I would rather wait for Master Su-Han to get here, if you know what I mean." She whispers turning back to the configured miraculouses. "What did he do to them?" Alya whispered tilting her head reaching for the rings. "He managed to confine them into a simpler product. Makes sense for who he was." She muttered flipping through the tablets imagery.

  Alya sighs, "Where is Chat Noir? Is he okay?" She asked curiously touching Marinette's shoulder. Marinette's stomach churned as she thought back to how rough he was after the battle. "I-I'm not sure he didn't seem like himself when I left. He wanted to be alone, I'm not sure why." She whispers turning off the tablet.
  Alya nods, "He did cataclysm him after all, I'm sure finding out who the man was under the mask didn't help him cope with the fact he truly hurt someone." She responded pulling away from Marinette. 

  "I'm going to find him, I need to talk to him. I shouldn't have a left him, I'm an awful partner. Who knows what he could be thinking." She stammers frantically jumping out of her pink desk chair. "Tikki spots on!" She snaps looking at Alya, "Watch the Kwamis, I trust you. I will be back as soon as I talk to him." She states has her breathing begins to pick up rapidly. "If Master Su-Han shows up, explain everything I have told you up to now. I need to find him, it's my top priority." She requested taking out her bugphone calling him, hoping he transformed back by now.