Miraculous Games

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three:

BANG!

"Stupid, stupid boy..." the Game Master muttered. His tightly clenched fists punched the console again. BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Why couldn't he just listen to me?" he shouted. "Why did he have to step out of line? Why couldn't he just accept the consequences like I did?!"

BANG!

The Game Master hunched over the controls, his hands trembling. His knuckles were white and his forehead beaded with sweat. In one swift movement, the Game Master gripped his silver mask and ripped it off. He tossed it across the controls. It skittered for a few moments, then stopped at the far end of the hologram table.

"Why?" he asked, his voice cracking with emotion. "Why...?"

Gabriel Agreste fell to his knees. With a heavy heart, he began to cry. Thankful that he didn't have his glasses, he covered his face with his hands and wept.

Why did his son have to be so much like his mother? Why? Why did he take after her? Every day he laid eyes on his son, Gabriel only saw her. The confident green eyes, the soft blonde hair, the slight temper... Why was Adrien so much like his mother?

A memory surfaced in the Game Master's mind. One from a very, very long time ago.

He remembered the sounds of screaming. Through his tears, he could see the desert sand whipping up around him. Someone stood directly behind him. Their backs were firmly pressed together, ready for a fight.

"There's no way out of here," he had said.

Through the dust, he could only make out the bright blue and green jacket whipping around his left side.

"Yes, there is. We need to fight back."

"Fight back? I... I don't think that would be the smartest idea."

"Does it matter? We might as well go down in a fight."

He remembered the split second decision. The decision that would change his entire life; a choice that still affected him to this day. He turned around, pulled the girl's shoulders to face him, and kissed her. She had been shocked at first, but eventually, she had melted into it. Her blonde curls swirled in the dust, brushing his face like a butterfly's wing. He pulled the girl close, not want to let her slip out of his grasp until she truly understood what she meant to him.

They pulled away just enough to gaze into each other's eyes. Gabriel could still see her bright green orbs staring back at him behind a blue and turquoise mask.

"I'll fight, for you," he had firmly stated. All she had done in return was smiled.

Gabriel gasped and pulled himself back into the present. He could feel the once warm tears that had streaked his cheeks now turning ice cold. Taking a deep breath, he clenched his jaw and lifted his head. He wouldn't let it happen again. He had been wrong all of those years ago. It was time to fix the mistake.

His son may not have been alive, but that didn't matter. The Game Master was getting revenge.

"Ladybug," he snarled under his breath, "you murdered my son... you ruined my son and killed him... But I'll get you... I'll kill you!" He pounded his fist on the catwalk. "And, because of you, I'll have her back!"

He turned his attention toward the ceiling. His face morphed into one as savage as a hungry lion. "Do you hear me? I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do! I'll see that you are thrown off the tallest rooftop in the Capitol. I'll throw you into the ocean with anchors tied to your waist. I'll stab you if I have to!" He got to his feet, stomped over to his mask, and slipped it over his eyes.