The Consequences of His Actions
Chapter Ten
Duusu swirled through the air around Emilie’s chair, singing a wordless tune. Nooroo chased after her in an attempt to calm the Kwami, but she cried out her shrill song. Emilie calmly set her coffeecup on its saucer and rubbed her temples. A low but annoying burn thrummed behind her eyes.
“Duusu,’ Emilie chirped. Both Kwamis instantly halted. At the call of her name, the ancient peacock flew around to face her master. Emilie scraped a manicured nail gently down the side of Duusu’s head. “Let’s keep it down, yes? Mommy’s head hurts.”
The Kwami purred, rubbing against the woman’s hand. Nooroo silently watched from the side. His eyes drifted to the adjacent room that held the painting of his master, the painting that if touched in specific places would open–
“Nooroo.”
Nooroo was startled out of his thoughts but quickly recovered. He immediately flew over to Emilie, his head bowed in submission.
“Carry this,” Emilie said, motioning to a croissant on the platter before her. “I don’t want it to be said that I mistreated Ladybug’s mother.”
Her eyes followed the purple Kwami as it carried out her order without a word. “Afterall, I’m a good master, aren’t I?”
Nooroo lifted his head and met Emilie’s gaze. Her bright green eyes bore into him, refusing to reveal even a drop of the thoughts held within her head. Her smile was gentle, but he knew of the fangs that hid behind those thin lips. The rough exterior of the pastry scraped against his arms as Nooroo cheerfully smiled. “Of course, Master.”
Emilie stood up, brushed off her skirt, and made her way into the atelier with Nooroo and Duusu in tow. At the touch of her fingers, the trio began their descent. Though silent, Duusu swam around Emilie’s head, moving her body to some unknown tune. The fluid but erratic shifts set Nooroo on edge. It would only take one bump in the small space, one graze of a tail feather, to break the thin ice that was Emilie’s patience. He itched to chase after the broken being but that would only raise the risk of something going wrong, and Duusu would see it as a game.
Nooroo couldn’t help the sigh of relief as the ceiling opened, allowing entrance to the lair and freedom to the flighty peacock. Emilie smirked, and Nooroo realized she knew he had been nervous.
Emilie stepped into the bare room with a flourish of her wrist. “Sabine,” she called, “I brought you a snack. Don’t worry, I didn’t poison it this time.”
Emilie’s eyes adjusted quickly due to the streaming moonlight, subsequently making her freeze. Scattered debris and glass littered the floor, sparkling in the white light. She turned to see the still bound form of Sabine crouching where she had left her. Emilie slowly scanned the room, landing on a corner of shadows.
“Oh dear, it looks like I was interrupting something.” She stepped further into the room, closer to the hostage, and said, “As an uninvited guest, it’s rude to not introduce yourself.”
Soundlessly the shadows moved, advancing, growing, and taking shape. The luminescence warped reality, and he emerged from the licking shadows like an entity born from darkness. Emilie’s breath hitched but when she saw the green eyes, her lips curled into a grin.
“Chat Noir,” she said and pointedly looked over his shoulder. “All alone?”
Chat Noir didn’t respond, only stared. Emilie’s hand went up to the two brooches. “How did you find me?”
“Gabriel confessed everything.”
Emilie scoffed. “I find that hard to believe. He wouldn’t expose me at the risk of his son. Think of the emotional damage it would have on him with both mother and father imprisoned.”
Chat Noir swallowed hard and curled his fingers into a fist. His voice cracked as he said, “He would if his son was the one that asked.”
The tension thickened as hero and villain stared at each other, realization setting in the latter. Sabine watched with wide eyes, uncomfortable and confused with the sudden change in atmosphere.
Emilie cleared her throat. “I suppose I can’t use parental authority to make you hand over your Miraculous?”
Chat Noir snorted, but Emilie just shrugged. She swiped a few strands of hair out of her face with the grace of one used to being in front of a camera. “It didn’t hurt to ask.”
Sabine’s wide eyes went wider at the exchange. “A-Adrien?”
Emilie rolled her eyes and lolled her head over her shoulder to gaze down at the hostage disdainfully. Her lip curled up in disgust. “Obviously, Sabine. Quite the coincidence, is it not? My son and your daughter chasing after our Miraculouses? Well, mine now.”
Chat Noir furrowed his eyebrows. “Her Miraculous? I don’t understand,” he said looking between the two mothers. “You abducted her after learning about Ladybug’s identity. How could she–“
“Abducted her?” Emilie touched her cheek as if stung, though her smirk contradicted the action. “My dear son, I never go to anyone. Sabine came here of her own free will. I just… ensured she stayed.”
“Enough with the lies. As if I would believe Mrs. Cheng would willingly–”
“It’s true, Adrien.” Sabine said, cutting him off. She hung her head in shame. “I-I thought I could convince her… I wasn’t thinking, and I’ve put you and Marinette in a dangerous position.”
Chat Noir stared at Sabine, his brow scrunched as he tried to understand what she was saying. “Y-you…”
Emilie stepped in front of the woman, cutting off Chat Noir’s view of her. She spoke in a soothing voice, tilting her head so that Chat Noir looked up at her. “Don’t worry about her, son. This is a personal matter between Sabine and me. She wronged me and she needs to pay for it.”
“Wronged you?” Sabine’s voice squeaked from behind Emilie. “Emilie, you stole the Miraculouses and the book from my family.”
“Pardon me, but do I hear the pot calling the kettle black? Those Miraculouses don’t belong to your family.”
“Finding and stealing are different.”
Emilie whirled around, her eyes blazing with fury. “I found Duusu, and she chose me–”
“Enough!” Chat Noir grabbed Emilie’s shoulder and pushed her to the side. He stalked toward Sabine. His body shook as though struggling to support his weight, and his eyes were full of tears. “You’ve known about my mother… my father… and you’ve kept quiet all this time?”
“That’s not true!” Sabine jerked up, her body surging forward with the desperate force to be believed. “Adrien, I swear I didn’t–”
“That’s right, Adrien. She’s withheld the truth all this time.” Emilie said, appearing from the shadows, her voice a slithering wisp of air. She looped her arms through Chat Noir’s and laid her head on his shoulder. Her head fell back until her lips were near his ear. She whispered, “Just think: had she said something in the first place, we wouldn’t be here. I wouldn’t have been gone for so long. Your father wouldn’t be in jail. She kept us apart, but you can fix this.”
Faces of countless Parisians being used and twisted from their anger and frustration flitted through his mind. Marinette’s sobs as she, cornered and exhausted, revealed herself to him, breaking a rule she swore to uphold. His father’s betrayal yet the numb understanding as to why he did it. All of them raced circles in his head like a preview to a movie on repeat, each one waiting expectantly for him to fulfill his promise. Chat Noir’s mouth dried and his voice came out hoarse. “I can fix this?”
Emilie straightened up and turned Chat Noir to face her, gently cupping his cheek with a cold delicate hand. “Yes, my precious son. With the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculouses, we can fix everything, regain the past… have a family again.”
In the background, Chat Noir heard Sabine calling out to him, pleading to pay no attention to his mother’s words. Emilie’s grip tightened as if affected by what Sabine was saying, but Chat Noir ignored the woman. His eyes and ears remained focused on his mother’s face. She rubbed gentle but firm circles with the pad of her thumb as she spoke, her eyes silently demanding him to keep looking at her. “We would play the piano together. Your father would be with us, happily listening. The three of us could even watch Solitude. I never got a chance to watch it with you.”
Chat Noir’s heart ached as he tried to draw up these images. He closed his eyes, leaning into his mother’s touch… and then he saw it, clips and snippets of conversations, moments from his past all simmering to the surface. Each one a bubble popping with scalding clarity.
“Her name is Ananta Haine… she’ll do anything, sacrifice anyone, to get what she wants.” His father’s powerless body fell from the top of the Eiffel Tower, discarded like the wrapper on a newly received toy. His body limp, resigned to his fate.
“She’s been one step ahead this entire time, and I… I’m nothing!” Marinette crumbled against him, sobbing her apologies into his arms as she confessed her intent to relinquish the Ladybug Miraculous.
“You never know, my precious son, people change.’” A man groveled at the feet of his mother as she leered down at him, desperate for her forgiveness, unable to afford losing his credibility.
“Emile was changed… damaged.”
Gabriel folded in on himself, dropping all airs of importance as he took in the news of Nathalie’s departure. “Nathalie take a vacation? Unlikely.”
“What could you possibly do?” Marinette stared up at him, her eyes, which once held so much life, were now empty and reflected her broken spirit.
“If you had known about my identity before my defeat, would you have revealed yourself?” Gabriel sat across from him, eyes piercing into his soul, looking for an answer that neither knew if really existed. Shadows framed his face, outlining his age and the weariness that was suddenly apparent. The same weariness he knew he would see if he were to look in a mirror. “So. How will you proceed?”
Chat Noir opened his eyes, his breath coming out in short gasps. A familiar sting pricked the corners of his eyes.
“I love you, mom,” he said, tears streaming. “I love you; I hope you know that.”
Emilie smiled and pulled him into an embrace. Chat Noir closed his eyes and enjoyed the warmth of his mother’s arms. He gripped her tightly, trying to take deep and steady breaths. His body shook as the tears rolled down his cheeks. He could hear her heart beating against his chest. The repeating lub-dub gave him a steady rhythm on which to concentrate.
Finally his body relaxed. He said, “I promise to fix everything.”
Emilie let go and tried to step back, but Chat Noir tightened his grip. He uttered tiny whispers of ‘I love you’ and ‘I promise’ over and over again as Emilie began to struggle to get away. Her arms beat weakly against his black suit as she demanded he let her go, but he barely felt it, protected from minor injuries and his mind elsewhere. He shut his eyes and drowned out any background noise, only listening to his own steady breathing and the now erratic beating of his mother’s heart. Burying his face against her shoulder, Chat Noir squeezed her one last time.
“Cataclysm.”
Emilie stiffened and her flailing ceased. Chat Noir could feel her slip away, but he refused to open his eyes. It was only when he had nothing left to hold that he opened them. Black dust fell through his fingers, sprinkling an already established pile. Chat Noir stared at his hands, turning them over as if only realizing they were there. He flexed his fingers, the last of his mother’s warmth vanishing.
Light gleamed off a hidden object within the remains. With a gulp, Chat Noir bent over to retrieve the item, pulling out the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses. They were speckled with ash, but he quietly wiped it off. His fingers lightly trembled as he cleaned the jewelry.
“Adrien…”
Chat Noir jumped, having forgotten he wasn’t the only one. The frantic beeping of his ring reached his ears, and he turned around as his suit faded away. Plagg spiraled out of the ring and landed exhausted on the floor. Adrien immediately picked him up, cradling the ancient body in a hand. He glanced over at Sabine.
Sabine sat in the light, her face twisted in anguish. Adrien gave a weak smile. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“Your mother… What have you done?”
“I promised them I would fix everything.” Adrien fondled the brooches in his hand, the metals cool against his sweaty palm. He swallowed hard as his thumb rubbed the bumpy surface of the Peacock Miraculous. “How did you know my mother?”
Sabine shook her head, unable to believe what she was seeing. Adrien took a step forward and she flinched. Frowning, Adrien stopped and sat on the ground.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Mrs. Cheng,” he said.
“You murdered your mother.”
“I did what I had to do.” Adrien took a breath. “Please…”
Sabine bit her lip and looked away. “I met Emilie while catering for one of her films. I found out she was to star in an upcoming movie with Tibetan influence. I invited her to travel with me to China, so she could do some research for the role.”
“Mom was great at acting,” Adrien said, fondly remembering, “but that doesn’t explain how you both obtained the Miraculouses.”
Sabine’s heart broke, but she continued. “My great-great-grandfather discovered the Miraculouses and the book at the base of a mountain when he was a boy. He quickly discovered their power, but he kept them hidden, knowing the power wasn’t his to use. Later when he became the head of the family, he displayed the jewels and book as sacred family heirlooms. I suppose he was hoping that whoever had lost them would come back, but when they didn’t, he decided that he would at least protect them. I wasn’t aware at the time of the power they held; I thought they were just objects with a silly lore attached.”
“I brought Emilie with me and introduced her to my family. We gave her a tour of our home and the city. The day before she left, I showed Emilie the Miraculouses and the book, along with other family heirlooms. The next morning Emilie was gone, taking with her the book and Peacock Miraculous. I don’t know why she took them, but as I was the one who brought her, it became my duty to retrieve them. Your mother and I fought the day before she disappeared.”
“You lost,” Adrien said. Sabine nodded her head. He had fed Plagg during the time she was speaking, and the Kwami was now hovering beside him, quiet and despondent. Adrien furrowed his brows. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I was being honest when I said I didn’t know. Your mother disappeared along with the Miraculouses, so I assumed she had run off with them. When Hawkmoth made his debut, I thought he had taken her. I was powerless with useless information, but then you and Ladybug appeared–the two of you defeated that first akuma–and I knew that the true owner of those Miraculouses was nearby. I took that as a sign that I was no longer needed; I could leave it to the two of you.” Sabine ran a hand through her hair. “Gabriel’s reveal and downfall and Emilie’s sudden reappearance are why I approached her. I was hoping she had answers. I didn’t know…”
Sabine looked up to see Adrien attach the Peacock and Butterfly Miraculouses to his shirt, releasing Nooroo and Duusu from the jewelry. He stood up, but a wave of dizziness washed over him, bringing him to a knee.
Plagg immediately moved to his holder. “Adrien, are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Plagg,” Adrien said, waving the Kwami away. He took a second to regain his bearings before standing up.
Sabine looked between the Kwamis and the boy. Her voice shook as she asked, “What are you planning to do?”
“I’m going to release you,” he said with a jerk of his head. Nooroo and Plagg flew to Sabine and began to untie the ropes, “and then you are going to tell Ladybug to meet me. Tonight.”
Sabine stood up and rubbed her sore wrists. She feared what he would try to do to her daughter, but in her current state she was vulnerable. “Where should I tell her to go?”
Adrien reached into his pocket and pulled out his lucky charm. He held it up to the moonlight, running the memory through his mind. “Tell her to meet me where it all began.”