Miraculous Descendent Chapter 84: Family Discussion
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Gabriel motions for Cat Noir and Solaria to sit in one of the chairs he keeps in the room. Cat Noir immediately follows his father's orders while Solaria crosses her arms and stares at Gabriel passively. Gabriel sees this and sighs as he realizes she doesn't trust him not to do something or for his cordialness to be a trap. He puts up with it, though. The man knows he's done nothing to earn the girl's trust and vice-versa.
"I'm sure you're wondering why I'm doing all this, aren't you, Adrien?" Gabriel asks as he places his attention back on his son.
"Y-yes. Why are you doing all of this? Is someone threatening you? Are you really Hawkmoth?" Cat Noir suddenly starts asking a rapid amount of questions, like a bubble has finally popped.
Gabriel patiently waits for Adrien to finish his questions, keeping his expression emotionless. However, he's debating with himself about how he should answer this. What path should he take?
"Why?" Cat Noir finally finishes his questions by asking the one word in most of them.
Gabriel sighs as his son finally finishes asking questions. He takes a moment to go over his response again. As he does, Solaria seems to get impatient and shouts at him.
"What are you waiting for!? Tell us what you've done this all for!" Solaria orders Gabriel in an impatient tone.
Her interference with his thinking causes Gabriel to glare at her. However, before he can say anything, he suddenly hears a voice in his mind that sounds distinctly like her.
"Can you hear me, Mr. Hawkmoth?" Solaria's voice asks from inside his mind, causing Gabriel's eyes to widen momentarily.
However, he quickly cools his features before Cat Noir can notice anything. Solaria smirks at him from her position behind Cat Noir, preventing him from seeing it. Gabriel sees it and notices she's touching her jacket's breast pocket with a hand while her arms, the action disguised by her crossed arms, and because she's behind Cat Noir.
"Good. It seems you noticed. I want to make a deal with you. Why don't we talk while you deal with your son." Solaria's thoughts pass into Gabriel's mind.
"Alright." Gabriel thinks, testing if the connection is two-way.
When he sees Solaria's smirk grow, he realizes it is two-way.
"I have many reasons for what I'm doing now, Adrien," Gabriel tells his son while thinking something else.
"What do you want?" Gabriel demands answers from Solaria with his thoughts.
"Like I said, I want to make a deal. I offered the same thing to your son and his friends." Solaria explains.
"What kind of deal?" Gabriel asks her while continuing to talk to his son.
"But I can guarantee I'm doing all of this for a good reason," Gabriel promises his son in his best attempt at a soothing tone.
"I help you out of this situation, and you help me with a problem I'm having." Solaria offers him, causing Gabriel's eyes to narrow dangerously at Solaria.
Unfortunately, Solaria's position causes Cat Noir to flinch as he thinks his father is glaring at him after saying those words. Gabriel realizes this and stops before the situation can get worse. However, it already causes Cat Noir to grow worried about where this conversation is going.
"Careful. You don't want to make yourself more suspicious than you already are with your son." Solaria mockingly warns Gabriel, seeming to enjoy her slight position of power over the man.
Gabriel subtly grits his teeth in irritation so Cat Noir doesn't notice it. He doesn't like this girl's behavior. But the man isn't above admitting that she might be helpful to him. She can give him another option in this situation he's facing.
"I'm not going to accept anything if you plan to harm my son to get me out of here. If I see fit to, I have my own ways to escape." Gabriel mentally warns Solaria.
It's not a lie. Gabriel can escape using the same power he uses to get into his secret lair. Yet, there's no guarantee he can if Ladybug shows up. And the more time wasted talking to two different people about separate subjects, the more likely it is for her and the other heroines to show up. So, he has to decide what to do soon.
"Look at you, trying to be a good father. Even though you've continuously attacked your son's school and hurt his friends." Solaria mocks Gabriel, causing the man to have enough.
"Enough. If all you're going to do is mock me, then I will end this conversation and focus on my son!" Gabriel mentally shouts at her before focusing back on his son.
"Anyway, Adrien. I promise that I'm not doing this for the fun of it. Terrorizing this city would be pointless otherwise. I've taught you to always have a reason for doing something." Gabriel explains to his son, causing Cat Noir to nod.
"You still haven't answered my questions. Are you Hawkmoth? Or are you working for him?" Cat Noir asks Gabriel, causing the man to hesitate.
Hearing his question causes Gabriel to go quiet again as he debates what to say to his son. As he does, he ignores Solaria's voice as she tries to regain his focus, causing her to scowl. After a long moment, Gabriel finally speaks again.
"That is a complicated manner, son. There's a lot that goes into it." Gabriel states in a cryptic way that avoids answering.
Hearing his answer causes Solaria to scoff while Cat Noir looks at him in confusion and slight frustration.
"What do you mean, 'it's complicated?' Are you or aren't you, Hawkmoth?" Cat Noir asks again, causing Gabriel to shake his head.
Seeing that he isn't letting the question go, Gabriel sighs while closing his eyes, realizing he can't get away without giving Adrien a direct answer.
"Unfortunately, I am Hawkmoth," Gabriel states.
His words are like a stab through the heart for Cat Noir. Hearing his father admit to being the horrible terrorist who is attacking Paris and turning his classmates into monsters and villains hits Adrien hard.
"Why would you do all this? How did you get your Miraculous?" Cat Noir demands answers as he abruptly stands up from his seat to stare at his father.
Gabriel can hear the sadness and hurt in his son's tone.
"Like I said, Adrien. I have my reasons for doing this. As for how I got my Miraculous, the Kwami chose me." Gabriel states in a matter-of-fact tone.
At that, Nooroo suddenly appears and gives the two heroes a light bow.
"Greetings to you, wielder of the high Kwami and wielder of my brother," Nooroo states in a respectful tone, his appearance causing Gabriel to grow annoyed.
"I asked you not to get involved with this conversation," Gabriel tells Nooroo, causing the Kwami to shake his head.
"Why shouldn't I introduce myself to your son? I've hidden from him for such a long time. Besides, there's no point in keeping me hidden now that you've revealed yourself to them." Nooroo tells Gabriel, causing the man to sigh again tiredly.
Nooroo ignores it and turns back to the heroes with a smile.
"It's nice to meet you properly. I've been watching over you since you were a baby." Nooroo tells Cat Noir, surprising the boy.
"Really?" Cat Noir asks in surprise, causing Nooroo to nod.
"Of course. I've been with your father for a long time." Nooroo explains
"So, you know why he's doing this?" Cat Noir asks.
"Of course. But, I'll have to leave that to your father to explain." Nooroo states while motioning to Gabriel.
The man is mentally busy with Solaria, using the slight distraction to continue his conversation with the heroine.
"What kind of problem do you have?" Gabriel asks Solaria as his son and Nooroo talk.
"You see, I'm someone who loves the spotlight. I don't mind sharing it, but I do need it. Your work provides me with that spotlight. So, it's in my best interest to help you escape so you can continue your little crusade for who knows what." Solaria mentally explains, causing Gabriel to scowl on the inside as he realizes what she's getting at.
"So, you want to help me so you can continue to be in the spotlight by fighting my Akumas," Gabriel states more than asks in his mind as he stares at the girl.
"Exactly. You scratch my back; I scratch yours. We can even take the Black Cat Miraculous right here. I'm in a good spot to snatch it for you." Solaria states as she subtly grows closer to Cat Noir.
Before either of the conversations can continue, they hear a knock at the door, causing Nooroo to hide again. Everyone turns to the door as Nathalie peaks in.
"Another hero arrived to talk to you." She nervously tells Gabriel before Brawling Tiger pushes past her and into the room.
"That will be all, Nathalie." Gabriel waves her to leave as Brawling Tiger moves next to Cat Noir, causing Solaria to scowl in frustration.
"Are you alright?" Brawling Tiger asks Cat Noir in worry, checking him for any injuries.
"Y-yeah, I'm fine. But you guys were right." Cat Noir tells her sadly as he looks at the floor in grief.
Hearing his words causes Brawling Tiger to scowl and march toward Gabriel. The man doesn't make any moves to back away or stop her, despite knowing that she's closing in on him with some not-so-friendly feelings. He lets her grab him by the shirt collar and drag his face to her level.
"So, you are the scumbag who's been trying to kill everyone! You have a lot of fucking explaining to do!" Brawling Tiger shouts into Gabriel's face, causing the man to grimace at her profanity.
"Would you please let me go?" Gabriel calmly requests her as he doesn't show any hint of fear at her actions, angering her more.
"How about I get payback for what you did to my family instead!?" Brawling Tiger shouts in his face as she draws her arm back.
Her action causes Cat Noir and Solaria to rush to stop her for different reasons.
"Wait! I want to hear what my father has to say!" Cat Noir desperately tells the shorter girl as he tries to keep her from punching his father.
"Will you hold on? We need to hear what he has to say. He might have something important to warn us about." Solaria annoyedly tells Brawling Tiger as she tries to pull the girl away.
After a slight struggle, the two finally pull Brawling Tiger away from Gabriel. The man takes a moment to catch his breath and fix his suit before addressing the heroes again.
"From your words, I'm assuming you're related to the former Tiger Miraculous wielder?" Gabriel asks Brawling Tiger with a raised eyebrow, causing the girl's glare to harden.
"You've got that right. So, you had better explain why you attacked him!" Brawling Tiger starts shouting again as she moves to take a step toward the man before the other two stop her again.
"Will you knock it off!? Get a hold of yourself!" Solaria snaps at her, having enough of Brawling Tiger's behavior since it's making her plans more difficult.
Brawling Tiger finally backs down but continues to glare at Gabriel with a look of hatred. As he stares at her, he can't help but let out another sigh as another of his mistakes is coming back to confront him.
"You better hurry up and make a decision. Things will only get more difficult when the other two get here. Plus, this one seems to be looking for a reason to attack you." Solaria mentally warns Gabriel after secretly placing a hand on her coat pocket again.
Gabriel doesn't answer her. Instead, he focuses on the other two over the schemer.
"I see that he told you about what happened. I'm assuming that means you all broke the curse placed on him?" Gabriel asks as he looks at the duo.
"We did. Why did you do that to him?" Cat Noir asks his father.
Gabriel closes his eyes, thinking about what else he can say. Finally, he opens his eyes and chooses what to say.
"I guess I'm not getting out of this without explaining everything to you. The truth is that your mother and I were afraid, Adrien." Gabriel reveals his motif to the heroes.
"Mom?" Cat Noir asks in surprise.
"That's right. Your mom also knew about what I did." Gabriel reveals.
His words cause another bout of shock to wash over Cat Noir and Brawling Tiger. Even Solaria is slightly caught off guard by his reveal. Not to the same degree as the other two, though.
"Why are you doing this? Does this have something to do with Mom going missing?" Cat Noir asks, causing Gabriel to nod.
"Yes. Tell me, what do you know about the Miraculous?" Gabriel asks as Nooroo rests on Gabriel's shoulder to stare at them.
"Well, we know that they use the powers of the Kwami and that there was a-" Cat Noir starts nervously explaining before Brawling Tiger elbows him in the gut.
"Don't tell him all of our secrets just 'cause he's asking." She growls at him and gives him a heated glare.
Cat Noir goes quiet after this as Solaria and Gabriel's interests peak. Solaria hasn't heard about the Order of the Guardians from her Kwami, while Gabriel has and is curious about what they know.
"Well, that's the basic idea of them. Now, let me ask you, what do you think would happen if someone used a Miraculous that's broken?" Gabriel asks the two, causing everyone to grow tense at the implications.
Brawling Tiger, who was around Marinette long enough to hear the conversation about the broken Miraculous, worries about this conversation. However, Cat Noir is worried for a different reason.
"Did mom-" Cat Noir starts to ask before stopping, unable to finish the sentence out of worry.
That worry amplifies when Gabriel gravely nods his head.
"I'm afraid so." Gabriel nods.
No one can say anything. Even Solaria stops trying to set up a conversation with Gabriel in his head as she's captivated by the conversation in front of her.
"...what happened to her?" Cat Noir nervously asks, causing Gabriel to pause this time.
While he wants to tell his son, he doesn't want to risk his wife being disturbed when she's already gravely sick. He's unsure what they can do to help his wife and doesn't want to risk it. At the same time, he's debating whether he should at least show his son. Maybe seeing his mother will push him to understand why Gabriel is doing what he is and help him. That gives him an idea of how he can handle this.
"Solaria." Gabriel thinks, getting the girl's attention.
"What?" Her mental voice asks back.
"I'm willing to make a deal with you. But I'll need you to explain what you can do for me." Gabriel tells her as he answers Cat Noir.
"Your mother is sick, Adrien. That's why I'm trying to claim more Miraculous. I'm trying to figure out how to heal her." Gabriel explains to his son.
His explanation causes Cat Noir to freeze in a panic. Hearing the fact that his mother is hidden somewhere sick makes him worried. However, he's also feeling a sense of relief, knowing his father didn't start hurting people for no reason. Meanwhile, Gabriel listens to Solaria as she offers him an explanation of what she'll do.
"I can use my power to get you out of this situation without them realizing I'm helping you. All you have to do is continue making Akumas after you escape. It would help if you made it so I look good in those battles." Solaria adds at the end with a slightly warning tone in her mental voice.
Gabriel muses over this. The deal seems simple and easy for him not to hold up his end of the bargain. He wonders if Solaria is arrogant enough to believe he'll follow through with his end of the bargain. Or if she thinks she can handle what he throws at her if he tries to betray her. However, he can't focus on that for long, as he still has to talk to Adrien.
"What happened?" Cat Noir asks again.
Hearing his question causes Gabriel to grimace.
"There was an accident involving her Miraculous. It was damaged when she was using it, and its power poisoned her. I tried to heal her and fix her Miraculous but couldn't." Gabriel reveals with a heavy sigh at his failure.
Hearing this is a hit to Cat Noir's gut, and he nervously looks at his ring. Seeing this causes Brawling Tiger to take the lead in the conversation.
"That doesn't explain why you hurt my dad! Why did you betray him!? You didn't even take his Miraculous!" Brawling Tiger shouts at him while raising her Miraculous so he can see it.
"That was a time of grave stress for us. We began to panic as my wife's condition began to worsen. We needed to come up with a solution to keep us safe. So, we erased practically all knowledge of our time as heroes from the history books. No one should have remembered us. Not even our allies." Gabriel explains.
"So, you attacked him because you were scared? Of what?" Brawling Tiger demands.
"Of what? Do you wonder how many years we've had these Miraculous? Or how many people we've stopped with them? My wife and I had many enemies. It's not a suitable environment to raise a child. Or did you also not consider how we were afraid of what damaged my wife's Miraculous?" It's Gabriel's turn to demand answers from Brawling Tiger as he glares at her.
The sudden forcefulness in his tone stuns Brawling Tiger for a moment and causes her to quiet down.
"What damaged Mom's Miraculous?" Cat Noir asks his father.
Gabriel doesn't say anything. He doesn't even say anything to Solaria as he thinks about how to answer this. It causes Cat Noir to become worried.
"Father?" Cat Noir asks.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you," Gabriel states, causing Brawling Tiger to get angry.
"Not because I want to, though." Gabriel immediately adds to quell the girl's rage and cause the others to grow confused.
"Whatever attacked us took us by surprise. It hit Emilie and damaged her Miraculous. I had to escape with her before it could do more damage." Gabriel reveals.
"So, you don't know if it's still out there?" Adrien asks Gabriel, causing the man to nod.
"Is this something you made up? Or is there actually something else I have to worry about?" Solaria voices her thoughts to him out of worry for herself.
"It's the truth," Gabriel mentally states without hesitation.
"Great." Solaria sarcastically thinks before deciding to ask another question.
"So, do we have a deal?" Solaria asks, deciding to worry about the last bit of information later.
Gabriel doesn't say anything, causing Solaria to grow annoyed.
"Come on. Consider it. You'll have the advantage if you take my offer. You should know who the heroes are, thanks to your son." Solaria tells Gabriel to get him on her side.
The offer is tempting to Gabriel. Since he'll know who they are, he has a better chance of getting the Miraculous. He might be able to change things in his favor. However, his morals, which have been taking a blow since he started terrorizing Paris, are telling him to surrender. Unfortunately, his stubbornness and wish to have his family back together make him reluctant. The man needs more time to decide what he'll do, much to Solaria's frustration, when he starts talking again.
"That's another reason why I did everything I did. By erasing the memory of us, the being who attacked us would also forget us. It also kept your father safe." Gabriel states to Brawling Tiger, causing the girl to gain a conflicted expression.
"That still doesn't explain why you went to these lengths!? Why do all of this instead of asking for our help?" Cat Noir asks his father.
"I did. I offered you two a solution to end our troubles." Gabriel states.
"You sounded like a classic villain. You didn't even explain to us why you needed the Miraculous. All you did was tell us to give them to you." Cat Noir argues back for the first time, surprising Gabriel.
Gabriel winces when his son points that out. He hoped to intimidate and scare the two into giving him the Miraculous. Unfortunately, that plan seems to be biting him back now.
"You're right. However, I was worried about what would happen and wanted to bring more Miraculous users into Paris. The more Miraculous, the more I could use to try to heal Emilie." Gabriel tells his son.
"You had more options. You could have used your Miraculous for good again." Cat Noir tells his father.
The boy looks emotionally unwell as he talks. It's obvious how much damage this conversation is having on his mental state. The teen is having trouble processing everything from his father's mouth.
"You're right. I could have. But I didn't. You need to understand, Adrien. I wasn't sure what I could do. That being was still out there. I believed I could get them to come to me if I pretended to be a villain." Gabriel states. His words have a terrible effect on Brawling Tiger, though.
"Pretended!? You turned people into villains that attacked others! Do you know what everyone says about the people you use? They stay away from them while calling them monsters! You aren't pretending to be one! You are!" Brawling Tiger shouts at Gabriel in outrage.
Realizing his slip-up, Gabriel gives them an apologetic look, surprising his son.
"Forgive me. That was the wrong choice of words. I know there was nothing pretend about my actions. I meant pretend like I enjoyed doing those actions. I thought the person may see me as a potential ally, and I could use that opportunity to learn more about them and stop them." Gabriel apologizes to the girl.
Brawling Tiger still doesn't like how he uses the word to describe his actions. However, she quiets down, and a silence follows that, letting Gabriel talk to Solaria again.
"I'll accept your offer. However, I have my own way of getting out of this situation. You can use your powers to ensure they don't follow." Gabriel finally tells Solaria as he comes to a decision.
He doesn't feel he should stop here. As much as it pains him, he can't risk stopping now. There's too much he feels he has to do. Even if it means fighting his son, he'll do it.
"No, I must because Adrien is a part of this. Those children don't know what kind of life comes with using a Miraculous." Gabriel thinks to himself as he stares at his son with a determined expression.
Nooroo can feel what his wielder is thinking and sighs, knowing that Gabriel isn't going to stop here.
"Such a stubborn wielder." Nooroo thinks to himself.
That doesn't mean he isn't curious about what Gabriel will do. How is he going to get out of this? And what will happen at the end of his campaign? Those are the questions Nooroo is asking himself. But as he thinks this, he feels something else.
"Our time together might end soon, Gabriel." Nooroo thinks with a sense of sadness.
Despite how long he's lived and how many times he says goodbye to wielders, Nooroo still feels sad when he has to leave one. He has a habit of getting easily attached to them. It doesn't help that he must sometimes leave them unexpectedly.
While the Kwami thinks about how their time together might end soon, Nathalie knocks on the door and enters with another nervous expression.
"Gabriel, what is going on? Ladybug has shown up as well. What did you do?" Nathalie demands from the man as she and a nervous Ladybug enter the room.
Ladybug stares into Gabriel's eyes, and the man looks back. They stay like that briefly before Ladybug looks around the room to see who else is there. She's shocked when she sees Solaria but puts it away. It seems like the girl hasn't tried anything.
"It's nothing, Nathalie. You should leave. The heroes and I are just going to have a conversation." Gabriel tells Nathalie to try to get her out of the room.
Nathalie looks far more reluctant to leave than before. But the look Gabriel gives her finally makes her accept this. However, she plans to return and stay if she hears noises or if Canine arrives.
After she leaves, everyone in the room remains silent. The atmosphere is slightly tense.
"Should I be expecting the other one to arrive soon?" Gabriel breaks the silence with this question.
And here we see Solaria's true colors and how she's trying to play both sides. Lila is pretty arrogant, so I feel like this type of situation is in character for her. She thinks she can handle any of the Akuma or plots against her that Hawkmoth creates in the future if he does escape.
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