Ladybug stirs, her eyes fluttering open to find Nathalie leaning over her, looking haunted and uncertain.
"Are you...alright?" Nathalie asks, her voice barely more than a whisper. Ladybug doesn't respond, just blinks up at her with a dazed expression.
"I need your help," Nathalie finally says, the urgency in her voice sharpening. "I need you to bring my boss and his son back to life."
Ladybug bolts upright, heart pounding as she registers the words. Nathalie stands and gestures for Ladybug to follow, her expression tense. Ladybug follows her and freezes upon entering Gabriel's room, where Adrien and Gabriel lie still on the floor.
"What happened to them?" Ladybug asks, her voice breaking.
Nathalie's eyes darken. "Something in this house—something evil—possessed them."
Without hesitating, Ladybug drops to her knees beside Adrien, her hands trembling as she tries to channel her power to revive him. But nothing happens. Tears well up as she struggles, her heart sinking with each failed attempt.
"What's wrong?" Nathalie asks, her voice tight.
"I...I don't know!" Ladybug cries, her desperation mounting. "I can't bring him back!"
As her tears fall, Nathalie's voice cuts through her panic. "Try with Gabriel."
Crying, Ladybug crawls over to Gabriel, hands shaking as she tries again, only to feel an even greater sense of dread when nothing happens.
"Come on," Nathalie says finally, looking around warily. "We have to get outside. This house is cursed."
Ladybug hoists Adrien onto her shoulder. Nathalie attempted to lift Gabriel but struggled under his weight.
"Leave him to me," Ladybug whispers. She carefully places Adrien down beside Nathalie, then turns to retrieve Gabriel. But as she crosses the threshold, she feels the atmosphere thicken with a dark energy that leaves her breathless.
With Gabriel's body over her back, Ladybug feels a sudden, chilling sensation as his hands seem to move, reaching up to grip her shoulders. His cold fingers trail up to her face, sending an icy shock through her. Terror strikes, and Ladybug stumbles down the stairs, collapsing beneath him, trying to wriggle free from his grasp. For a long moment, she lays there, catching her breath, too shaken to move.
But finally, summoning every ounce of courage she has, Ladybug forces herself to lift him again and carry him outside.
Once they are both in the backyard, Ladybug kneels beside Adrien and Gabriel, pouring all of her energy into her attempts to revive them. At last, Gabriel stirs, his eyes snapping open. As his gaze falls on her, a mixture of fear, anger, and awe contorts his face—a look of reverence laced with a deep hatred.
Ladybug, however, is lost in her despair, her sobs wracking her body. "I can't bring him back," she whispers, head bowed toward Adrien.
Gabriel's hand reaches up, unsteady, to grasp her shoulder. His own voice is thick with emotion as he murmurs, "Calm down." She meets his eyes, her tear-streaked face a mask of anguish, and something in his gaze steadies her, grounding her. In that moment, a warmth seems to fill her heart—a profound, parental love she'd never felt before. Her trembling fades as she holds onto that feeling, and as she focuses, she feels Adrien's hand twitch in hers. Slowly, he comes back to life, her tears stopping.
Later that night, Marinette returns home, exhausted, and detransforms. Tikki appears, looking somber.
"Where were you?" Marinette demands, anger flashing in her eyes.
