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natedogx15 · 10 months ago

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Miraculous Descendent Chapter 53: Fetching Victory

Previous Chapter

Dark Owl holds Stormy Weather over his shoulder while she recovers from Canine's attack. They're resting on a roof a few blocks from the school to catch their breaths. However, Dark Owl is getting slightly restless since he's leaving his object unguarded and at risk of being discovered.

"Hurry up and recover, Stormy Weather. We need to get back there before they find out about Albert." Dark Owl tells her as he looks toward the girl over his shoulder.

"That girl's voice is like being in the center of a storm." Stormy Weather groans as she tries to get out of Dark Owl's grip to signal she's feeling better.

She holds her head for a second, but it looks like she's recovering.

"Yes, we must be careful around her." Dark Owl nods in agreement before Hawkmoth interrupts them.

"I'm glad you two see the danger this new hero poses. I was caught off guard by her arrival as well. Her power seems to be a form of hypnosis that relies on her voice. Luckily, there's a way to counter this. If you can't hear the commands, they shouldn't work. However, it would be best for you to try and keep moving while fighting her, just in case. This power is similar to mine and Ladybug, a continuous one from what I saw." Hawkmoth explains to the two.

"Understood, Hawkmoth. Worry not. We can still salvage this situation and save Paris from these false heroes and their hypnotizing assistant. Hoo hoo." Dark Owl hoos in acknowledgment at Hawkmoth's instructions.

"Be careful. The average Miraculous wielder has around two powers. So, she may be hiding another ability or two besides her hypnotism." Hawkmoth warns before ending the link.

Dark Owl nods in acknowledgment before turning toward Stormy Weather.

"You heard Hawkmoth's warning. We need to tread carefully while fighting this Canine person. By now, the other heroes are likely there as well." Dark Owl informs her.

Stormy Weather grunts in frustration.

"Great. So, we're outnumbered, too. Fine. I'll show them how dangerous it is to face a storm." Stormy Weather says determinedly while tapping her umbrella in her other hand.

However, her attention is drawn to a small, orange object moving at high speed toward them.

"What is that?" Stormy Weather questions in confusion as she narrows her eyes while trying to concentrate on it.

A little while ago with Ladybug and Canine. Canine is explaining her last power to the bug-themed heroine.

"My last ability is called Fetch. It allows me to send this rubber ball after anything it's touched while I'm transformed and retrieve it." Canine explains.

Ladybug looks at Canine in surprise when she explains her power, realizing how powerful it is for dealing with Akumas.

"What did Stormy Weather have on her while you were fighting?" Ladybug quickly asks the newbie heroine.

Canine blinks in surprise before saying.

"She had her umbrella on her. Do you think that's where the butterfly is?" Canine asks.

Ladybug quickly nods.

"Yes. However, it could also be in one of her hair ties like the last time I fought her. But I think it's more likely to be in her umbrella." Ladybug explains, causing Canine to nod.

"So, what do you want to do?" Canine asks.

Ladybug thinks about it for a second before turning back toward Canine.

"What could the other Akuma with her do?" Ladybug asks to get more information on the Akuma she saw before.

"He seems to be based on a superhero. He had a lot of gadgets on him. Things like smoke bombs, boomerangs, and even a way to fly using some sort of jetpack cape." Canine quickly explains.

Ladybug's eyes widen slightly as she hears what he can do, but she quickly calms down and asks another question.

"Do you know where his butterfly might be?"

Sabina shakes her head apologetically.

"No. I think it might be in either his cape or belt. But I'm not sure." Canine says in a disheartened tone.

"That's fine. At least we have an idea of where it is. Let's focus on Stormy Weather since she's the easier one right now." Ladybug quickly consoles the other girl.

Canine nods.

"So, you want me to bring Stormy Weather's umbrella?" Canine asks for clarification, causing Ladybug to nod.

"Yes." Ladybug nods.

"I'll be on my timer after using Fetch. I won't be able to help you with Dark Owl." Canine warns her worriedly, but Ladybug smiles at the girl.

"Don't worry. I have an idea of how to handle him. Worse case, I can hold him off until you and Cat Noir can come back to help." Ladybug tells her, causing Canine to nod with a smile, happy to know Ladybug trusts her to come back to help.

"Alright." Canine nods before taking the rubber ball off her collar and cradling it with both hands.

She closes her eyes and envisions Stormy Weather's umbrella before saying.

"Fetch."

After she says that, the rubber ball glows orange and flies out of her hands after the Akumas, leading to our current situation with the Akumas.

Stormy Weather is watching it in confusion as it speeds toward them. However, Dark Owl's eyes widen in horror, and he looks toward Stormy Weather alarmingly.

"Stormy Weather, stop it! It's probably one of the heroes' powers!" Dark Owl exclaims.

The weather girl's eyes widen, and she quickly raises her umbrella to block the incoming object. Unfortunately, that's what the rubber ball is after. When it crashes into the shield, the umbrella is covered in orange energy before vanishing.

Instead of the rubber ball falling to the ground after the impact, it flies back in the direction it came toward Canine and Ladybug. Much to the villains' shock as they watch it leave.

Once the shock wears off, Stormy Weather releases a panicked scream and bolts after the rubber ball to get her umbrella back.

"My butterfly is in there!" She screams at Dark Owl urgently as she races off.

Dark Owl's eyes widen in horror before he flies after the other villain, hoping to stop the two heroes from destroying her umbrella and saving his partner.

Despite their efforts, the rubber ball is far faster than them and easily navigates through the Paris streets, gaining distance from the villains until it lands in Canine's waiting hands. When it does, the umbrella materializes and falls into Ladybug's arms.

"Nice job." Ladybug compliments Canine before they hear Canine's collar beep, signaling she's on a time limit.

"Thanks. Good luck." Canine wishes before running off to find somewhere to hide until she's ready to transform again.

Ladybug watches her leave before looking at the umbrella and breaking it in half. When the butterfly is freed, she doesn't waste any time and catches it in her yo-yo.

"You're not getting away from me this time," Ladybug tells it as she captures it with a glare.

With the Akumas, a panicking Stormy Weather suddenly changes back into Aurore in mid-air, and she plummets toward the ground with an unintelligible scream that almost sounds like her saying, 'Not again!' if you pay close enough attention.

Dark Owl's eyes widen before he dives toward and catches Aurore before she can hit the ground.

"Thank you, Lady-" Aurore sighs in relief before she realizes who caught her and freezes in fear.

Dark Owl realizes this and looks toward Aurore calmly.

"Not to worry, Young Lady. I'm not going to hurt you. My only targets are the Miraculous wielders." Dark Owl tells her before landing and setting the girl down.

"You should get home." Dark Owl advises before flying off again.

Aurore blinks in surprise as she watches the Akuma fly off before today's events catch up with her, and she cries.

After leaving Aurore on her own, Dark Owl says.

"Albert. What's your status?" Dark Owl asks his cybernetic butler worriedly.

"Not to worry, Dark Owl. I am fine. The Miraculous wielders haven't realized that I exist." Albert calmly informs Dark Owl in a nasal voice through Dark Owl's earpiece.

Dark Owl sighs in relief when he hears this and continues to fly toward the school.

"I'm in trouble. Stormy Weather has been defeated, meaning I'm left on my own. I can't let the heroes realize Albert exists before I claim their Miraculous." Dark Owl mutters as he flies toward the school.

When he gets to the school, he lands on the roof and looks around urgently, pulling out some boomerangs as he does so. However, he's soon hit with a red-tinted magnetic wave and slammed into a metal pillar.

Dark Owl quickly shakes off the impact and looks around until he sees Ladybug in her Electro-Magnetic Seams suit glaring down at him from behind her yellow-tinted goggles.

"Ah, Ladybug. It's about time you showed up. Where is your partner? Is he hiding away, waiting to pounce on me? I didn't think either of you would show up and were planning to leave it to your new ally." Dark Owl states calmly as he looks toward Ladybug.

That gets a more intense glare from Ladybug, and she says.

"I would never force someone to fight for Paris alone."

"That's good. However, you and Cat Noir are the ones endangering Paris by continuing to use those Miraculous. Hand them over for the safety of Paris." Dark Owl orders while pointing toward her earrings before holding his hand out expectantly.

"We're not the ones who are the problem. Hawkmoth is the one who is using innocent people to hurt others. You need to wake up and see that he's manipulating your sense of justice." Ladybug tries to appeal to Dark Owl.

"Enough of your lies. If you're unwilling to hand over the Miraculous, I'll have no choice but to use force to acquire them from your dastardly disloyal hands to save Paris from Hawkmoth's crusade of terror." Dark Owl announces, his words causing Ladybug to blink.

"People still use dastardly and crusade?" She can't help but ask in confusion.

Her confusion is short-lived, thanks to Dark Owl throwing a few boomerangs at her, causing her to act fast. She fires another magnetic wave and sends the boomerangs back toward Dark Owl, causing him to dodge. As she does this, she jumps down to be on the same level as him.

"I know you're not a bad person. People told me about how you helped them escape when Stormy Weather appeared." Ladybug says as she continues trying to appeal to Dark Owl.

"Yes. I did because my first priority is protecting the innocent, like any good superhero. Because of that, I refuse to allow Hawkmoth's terror to continue and plan to claim your Miraculous." Dark Owl exclaims as he throws another set of boomerangs.

However, instead of all heading straight toward Ladybug, one curves out over the courtyard to hit her in the side. Ladybug's eyes widen, and she instinctively follows that one, getting hit by the other two and pinned to the wall behind her by her shoulder. The other boomerang, thrown to the side, then indents itself into the wall close to her, close to her face.

"I'm sorry. But I can't allow you to get in my way." Dark Owl says calmly before running toward Ladybug, intent on claiming the Miraculous as quickly as possible to prevent Ladybug from attacking or drawing out the battle.

However, Ladybug fires electricity toward Dark Owl. The electricity hits him and sends him skidding back, giving Ladybug enough time to free herself from the wall.

"I need to take his belt." Ladybug thinks before pointing her palm at Dark Owl and firing a magnetic wave to try and rip the belt from his waist.

Feeling his waist pulled, Dark Owl tries to keep ahold of his belt. But he can't seem to keep it from slipping, especially when Ladybug starts using both hands to increase the strength of the magnetic wave.

Realizing he needs to try something else, Dark Owl shouts.

"Albert, activate flight mode!"

"Right away, sir," Albert states before Dark Owl's cape shifts to jetpack mode, and he tries to use it to escape.

However, he can't keep a hold of his belt and loses it to Ladybug. When she gets the belt, she stops the magnetic wave and causes Dark Owl to fly through the roof after he loses the resistance, keeping him in place despite his jetpack being on at full blast.

She then uses her enhanced strength to rip the belt in two. Sadly, the butterfly doesn't seem to be in it. Something caught her attention when she tried to take the belt, though. It's what Dark Owl yelled in his panic.

"Who's Albert? Is it Hawkmoth's real name? That wouldn't make sense, though." Ladybug thinks while looking at the belt in confusion.

She shakes that information off for now and focuses on her next target.

"The butterfly wasn't in the belt. So it might be in the cape, like Canine said." She thinks right as Dark Owl returns.

"How dare you steal my utility belt. I will not allow your transgressions to continue any longer." He warns Ladybug with a glare.

Ladybug glares back at Dark Owl. But before anything else can happen, Canine's rubber ball slams into the side of Dark Owl's head. Dark Owl is sent into the wall while Canine runs up behind Ladybug.

"Sorry, it took me so long." Canine immediately apologizes to the other girl.

Ladybug gives Canine a relieved smile before saying.

"I'm just glad to see you're alright. The butterfly wasn't in the utility belt." Ladybug informs her while showing the two halves of the utility belt.

"Then it must be in the cape." Canine nods before looking to Dark Owl while he's trying to shake off the hit.

"So, the devious dog has returned to her master to try and help her master in her nefarious plot for stardom. Then where would the treacherous alley cat? Or did the master replace them with your new partner?" Dark Owl asks.

That gets an angry look from Ladybug.

"I wouldn't replace Cat Noir! I don't know what's taking him, but I didn't replace him. Also, we're not looking to become stars. We're trying to stop Hawkmoth!" Ladybug yells at him angrily.

"I highly doubt that. You could have easily stopped Hawkmoth long ago and saved so many had you handed over your Miraculous. You obviously aren't willing to let go of that power you have despite how doing so will save lives." Dark Owl calmly tells her.

That gets a glare from Canine.

"That won't save lives. We don't know what will happen if Hawkmoth gets those Miraculous." Canine adds.

"Not true. Hawkmoth has told me about his motive. He's after the Miraculous to save someone he holds dear to his life. Should he gain the Miraculous, no more harm will come to Paris. So, hand them over so I can bring peace back to Paris." Dark Owl orders.

Hearing his words causes Ladybug and Canine's eyes to widen. Seeing their expressions, Dark Owl continues.

"Now, do you see why I wish to claim the Miraculous for justice? Giving him the Miraculous will solve everyone's problems. We should work with him to make Paris a better place instead of fighting." Dark Owl explains.

Ladybug looks slightly hesitant when she hears that, wishing to believe everything can end in such a simple manner. She gives Dark Owl her Miraculous, Dark Owl gives it to Hawkmoth, Hawkmoth saves his loved one and gives up being a villain, and everything goes back to normal. The scenario is very tempting to her. Despite knowing it could be a lie. She doesn't know how to continue this conversation. Luckily, Canine seems to know.

"Is there any way we can talk to Hawkmoth about this? Maybe we can come to an agreement." She suggests.

Sabrina remembers enough of her dad's stories about trying to appeal to different people to at least have an idea of what to do.

In his lair, Hawkmoth grimaces at Canine's suggestion. He then forcibly takes over Dark Owl's mind and begins speaking through him, much to the girls' shock as they back away in surprise.

"If only it could be that easy. Sadly, I can't risk my identity getting exposed in any way. My apologies. Besides, how do I know you will help me or that Cat Noir isn't hiding while waiting for the right opportunity to pounce." Hawkmoth states.

"How do we know you won't use the Miraculous for something else? We can't just give them to you after everything you've done." Canine argues back.

"Yes, that's something we can agree on. So, it would seem we're at an impasse. You have no reason to trust me, and I'm not willing to risk letting you find out who I am." Hawkmoth calmly states before ending his control.

A disoriented Dark Owl shakes his head and looks around in confusion as he tries to understand what happened. He quickly realizes the heroes are still ahead of him and gets in a combat stance.

"Now, shall we handle this the old-fashioned way with fist-o-cuffs?" Dark Owl asks, causing the two to blink again.

Deciding to forget about Dark Owl's way of speaking, Ladybug looks toward Canine.

"Try and get the cape," Ladybug tells her before firing electricity out of her palm toward Dark Owl.

Canine nods and charges toward Dark Owl with her rubber ball in hand while he dives to the side to avoid Ladybug's attack. Canine throws her arm forward and tries to hit the cape with her rubber ball but can't. Instead, Dark Owl uses his martial arts prowess to grab her outstretched arm and flip her over his shoulder. Canine stares up in shock as Dark Owl is about to reach for her Miraculous. Before he can, Ladybug launches another blast of electricity to force him to separate from Canine.

Getting tired of Ladybug's attacks, Dark Owl charges toward the other heroine while leaving Canine on her back. Ladybug isn't letting him get close, though. She quickly fires a magnetic wave at him and forces him to stop. He does his best to struggle against the force keeping him in place but is struggling to do anything without his utility belt. As he tries to escape, Canine shakes off her surprise and quickly rolls off the ground, looking toward Dark Owl.

Seeing he can't move, she throws the ball at Dark Owl and hits his cape. Once it returns to her, she activates Fetch and has it take off the cape before returning to her again. After getting the cape, Canine wastes no time ripping it in half. To her shock, though. There's no butterfly in it.

"It's not here either!" She shouts toward Ladybug in alarm.

Ladybug's eyes widen when she hears that, and she accidentally lets go of her hold on Dark Owl, who laughs triumphantly at their shocked expressions.

"Hoo, hoo. So, you've discovered my secret. Yes, my Akuma is hidden away. You'll never be able to find it, meaning you'll never defeat me." Dark Owl announces before charging toward Ladybug and delivering a flying kick, sending the girl crashing to the floor.

Canine throws her rubber ball in an attempt to hit him, but the villain dives to the side before charging toward her again. Canine takes a martial arts stance and throws a roundhouse kick toward the charging villain. However, instead of getting hit or ducking under the move, Dark Owl jumps over Canine and lands behind her. Canine uses the force from her kick to quickly turn around but is met with a kick to the gut by Dark Owl.

At the same time, Ladybug gets back up and fires electric blasts from both her palms toward the villain. As she's doing this, she's trying to figure out where the butterfly could be or what it is.

"Wait, earlier, he did say someone's name before activating his jetpack. Could that person be keeping his butterfly safe?" Ladybug wonders in her mind.

As she questions this, Dark Owl rolls out of the way of her attack and grabs one-half of his utility belt before pulling out some boomerangs and smoke bombs. He slams the smoke bombs on the ground before throwing the boomerangs behind the cover of smoke at Ladybug, pinning her to the wall behind her again.

Ladybug grits her teeth while trying to pry herself off the wall while Canine charges at Dark Owl again. Dark Owl turns around and is met with a Superman punch from the young heroine. Canine quickly follows it up with a reverse roundhouse kick. After that, she grabs the disoriented Dark Owl by his arm before shoulder-throwing him to the ground and pinning him by twisting his arm while kneeling on him.

"What do we do, Ladybug? Where do you think the butterfly is?" Canine asks the other heroine in a panic.

"I don't know. Someone else besides Hawkmoth is helping him. That person could be anywhere in Paris." Ladybug tells Canine in equal panic.

"Someone else?" Canine asks in surprise.

Taking advantage of her surprise, Dark Owl gets out of her pin and throws her off. Before he can follow up, though. Ladybug shoots him in the back with electricity.

"We need to find out where the butterfly is hiding and who's hiding it," Ladybug tells Canine, who gets an idea.

"I'm on it." She tells Ladybug before activating her last power.

"Command!"

She then turns to Dark Owl and says.

"Tell us where your butterfly is!"

An orange-tinted soundwave hits Dark Owl and forces him to spill the truth before he can cover his mouth.

"It's in my computer in the principal's office." He announces before his eyes widen in horror.

Ladybug finally pulls herself free from the wall and immediately bolts toward the principal's office while shouting at Canine.

"Try and keep him busy for a minute!"

Nodding, Canine ignores the beeping of her collar to focus on fighting Dark Owl so Ladybug can get his butterfly and end this. However, Dark Owl isn't making it easy for her. She goes for a punch, which the Akuma blocks before stepping in and going for a spinning back elbow strike. Canine ducks it and tries to sweep his legs, but Dark Owl jumps over her and rushes after Ladybug.

Canine throws her ball at the wall next to Dark Owl and manages to bounce it into his side before charging at him and going for another pin. As she does, it seems like officers are finally starting to arrive at the school, causing her to sigh in relief.

"Thank goodness. It's been forever since they were called."

However, she dropped her guard again and allowed Dark Owl to throw her off again. He ignores Canine in favor of going after Ladybug but is met by someone else trying to shoulder charge him.

"Oh no, you don't." Officer Roger says as he tries to stop the Akuma, only to be slammed to the side.

Luckily, enough time was bought for Ladybug to find Albert. When she sees the state of Mr. Damocles' office, she does a double take.

"Okay, this is officially the strangest Akuma I've fought," Ladybug says in shock as she looks around the office and moves over a wire.

As she walks through, she can't help but feel like something will jump out at her in the dark room. She soon jumps in fright when she hears Albert's voice on all the monitors hanging from the ceiling.

"Alert, alert, intruder detected. Dark Owl, intruder." Albert repeats in alarm.

"So, Mr. Damocles was talking to an A.I. program, and no one was helping him." Ladybug realizes before charging up an electric fist.

"Well, I picked the right outfit for this then. I'm just charging for destruction." Ladybug puns to herself before giggling.

"That was a good one. I'll have to tell Cat Noir about it when I tell him about what happened today and introduce him to Canine." Ladybug smiles before slamming her fist into the ground and sending a wave of electricity through the room, overloading the computers and destroying them.

She sees the butterfly exit one of the monitors and catches it with her yo-yo. After that, she uses Miraculous Ladybug and fixes everything around the school.

Outside the office, Dark Owl suddenly stops his charge and reverts into Mr. Damocles, who falls to the ground on his knees. He groans a little bit as he tries to come to terms with what happens. As he does, Canine helps Roger up, but he lightly pushes her back with a smile as he tests his now unfrozen leg. When he sees that it's okay, he looks toward her knowingly.

"Shouldn't you be getting out of here before anything else happens?" He asks, causing his daughter to realize she's almost out of time and rush to the bathroom.

Roger smiles as he watches her go. He had watched her fight Dark Owl and felt immensely proud.

"That's my girl."

Next Chapter

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous descendent #marinette dupain cheng #sabrina raincomprix #roger raincomprix #ml stormy weather #aurore beauréal #mr. damocles #ml dark owl #hawkmoth #gabriel agreste #dog miraculous #butterfly miraculous

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natedogx15 · 1 year ago

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Miraculous Descendent Chapter 37: After Party

Previous Chapter

Marinette runs through the school doors to see various people back in the courtyard. The ones turned into Fashionista's entourage are resting on a bench with people surrounding them. When Marinette sees them, she immediately rushes to stand next to Nate.

"Are you guys okay? I saw the ladybugs roam the city after Cat Noir told me to hide somewhere safe." Marinette tells them.

"Yeah, I think we're okay. At least, I am." Nate tells her with a slightly tired smile before looking toward his fellow mind-control victims.

"I'm okay. Luckily it seems like I don't remember anything I did." Nino says with a grin.

"I wouldn't call that lucky. I'd prefer remembering what I do at all times." Sabrina tells him while holding her head.

"Well, I'm glad for it since it means we don't remember how the heroes beat us up." Alix winches slightly as she imagines Cat Noir or Ladybug punching her in the face.

"I'm sure the heroes wouldn't do that," Marinette tells her.

As the group is talking, Adrien runs through the front door. Nino sees him and raises an eyebrow at him.

"Dude, where did you go when the Akuma showed up? You just suddenly vanished." Nino tells him as Adrien tries to catch his breath.

"Sorry, my first instinct when I see a purple butterfly now is to run." Adrien apologizes and gives his false explanation.

"Well, a fair warning would have been nice. I'm less likely to get hit by whatever the Akuma does." Nino tells him in an uncharacteristically annoyed tone.

Adrien winches slightly at Nino's words before Nate interjects.

"Now, now. You can't exactly blame him for wanting to run away after the last time. He told me during fencing practice about how you two almost got shot by Kim. You can't exactly blame the guy for wanting to run." Nate tells Nino, causing the other boy to sigh in acknowledgment.

"Good point. Sorry for my tone, dude. I'm just annoyed you abandoned me, and I got turned into a groupie." Nino apologizes to his friend.

"No, no. It's cool. I'll make sure to give you a warning next time. I'm sorry you became one of Fashionista's followers. I'm also sorry I couldn't help you." Adrien apologizes back, and Nino smiles at his friend.

"Well, as long as you warn me next time. Then we'll be cool." Nino tells him, and Adrien nods.

"Of course," Adrien says.

After that talk, Mr. Damocles walks into the middle of the courtyard with a microphone and says.

"Well, that was a rather exciting conclusion to this event. Firstly, I wish to apologize to anyone caught up in the attack. Next, I would like everyone to give a hand to our young artists who were brave enough to join this costume and have their works judged." Mr. Damocle requests, causing people to start clapping toward the various contest contestants.

After the clapping dies down, Mr. Damocles makes one last announcement.

"This is also an announcement to the students. I expect you all to be prepared for the end of the semester coming up soon. Study, finish your homework, and mentally prepare yourselves for the finals." Mr. Damocles tells them, causing all the students to groan.

"Now, now, none of that. Just think, you'll have two weeks off from school. That means you can finally get away from this place and maybe be more likely to avoid Hawkmoth." Mr. Damocles tells his students.

This statement is better received among Françoise Dupont's student body. Everyone looks excited at the prospect of being out of school. Now more than ever, considering they're less likely to get involved in an Akuma attack.

"With that said, I wish you all safe travels back home and will see you tomorrow." Mr. Damocles says before walking away.

The various children begin to disperse out the front door. However, nobody notices the same doorman from the hotel during Princess Fragrance's rampage standing on the second floor, looking down at everyone as they leave the courtyard.

The doorman doesn't say anything. All he does is stare at the people with a neutral calculating look. After a few seconds, he turns around and walks out of sight.

Adrien and Nathalie are currently being driven back to his mansion by Mr. Garde.

"Well, that was an unpleasant yet, not unexpected situation. I'm glad you managed to get out of there before anything happened to you, Adrien." Nathalie tells Adrien with a smile.

"I'm glad you were okay too, Nathalie." Adrien smiles back at her.

"It's surprising how often Hawkmoth targets your school. I believe all the Akumas we've seen so far have been students at your school." Nathalie frowns as she checks something on her tablet.

Adrien blinks at Nathalie in surprise. However, when he thinks about it, he realizes she's right.

"Hey, you're right. Ivan, Aurore, Nathaniel, Alya, Rose, and Chloe are all students at Françoise Dupont. Why is Hawkmoth targeting our school so much?" Adrien wonders as he puts a hand to his chin.

"Well, schools are full of teenagers with a lot of emotions. So, it makes sense that he'd be using them if he needs negative emotions since it's always your school that's targeted, though. It could mean that Hawkmoth lives close by." Nathalie tells him in a grave tone as she narrows her eyes.

That causes Adrien to stiffen. Hawkmoth may be close to his school. Hawkmoth may eventually figure out who he is if he's not more careful with where he transforms. Could Hawkmoth have seen him change at some point?

"No, if he did, he would have gone after me already." Adrien mentally explains to himself.

The two arrive home to a shocking scene. Gabriel Agreste is standing outside of his mansion's doors behind the gate.

"Gabriel, what are you doing outside?" Nathalie asks her boss and friend in surprise. She hasn't seen him outside since Emilie disappeared.

"I had something urgent to talk to both of you about and couldn't wait long. So, I decided to meet with you before you could enter the mansion." Gabriel tells her calmly.

Nathalie, Adrien, and even Maurice Garde all grow slightly nervous at Gabriel's words, seeing as they understand what he's like to varying degrees. The three enter the mansion, and Gabriel looks toward Maurice.

"You may stay out of this, Mr. Garde. This is between me, Nathalie, and my son." Gabriel tells him.

Maurice immediately turns and sits on one of the lobby couches so the other three can have privacy during their conversation.

Gabriel leads the two following him upstairs and opens the door to Adrien's room, causing him to become nervous, thinking his father found something he wasn't happy with in his room. After they enter his room, Gabriel has both Adrien and Nathalie sit on the couch with him following soon after.

"Now then, I would like to ask, would you be willing to return to being homeschooled?" Gabriel asks Adrien with a relatively calm piercing gaze.

Adrien and Nathalie are shocked at Gabriel's request.

"Sir, are you sure that's a good idea? Adrien has been enjoying his time at school and has even made a few friends." Nathalie tells Gabriel.

"And that school is constantly under attack by Hawkmoth," Gabriel tells her, making the other two room occupants realize that Gabriel knew what they knew about the Akumas.

"Yes, while that is true-" Nathalie starts before Gabriel cuts her off.

"It is far too dangerous to allow Adrien to continue being among the people with the highest chance of being turned into villains." Gabriel cuts Nathalie off with a glare.

"But the heroes have always managed to stop Hawkmoth's villains. We don't have to worry about them for long." Adrien tells Gabriel.

"And yet, they still haven't found Hawkmoth himself. If they can't cut off the source of these villains, then all they're doing is delaying the inevitable. It's only a matter of time before Hawkmoth wins if nothing changes, and that'll mean any damage done during that time will be permanent. Is that really a risk you're willing to take?" Gabriel asks Adrien and Nathalie with a raised eyebrow.

Adrien bites his lower lip in uncertainty when he realizes his father is right. He and Ladybug haven't done much to deal with the Akumas and have been focusing on getting used to their Miraculous. He, in particular, has been aiming to try and catch up with her.

"I'm sure they're getting used to having powers. Don't forget, Paris has never had heroes before today. So, they're probably getting used to being the first ones." Adrien tells him, and if someone paid close enough attention, they'd be able to see a slight twitch of the eyebrow at the words about them being the first heroes.

"I don't see how that's a decent excuse. Leaving your safety up to unprepared children who have mostly gotten lucky against those villains is not something I'm willing to do." Gabriel tells him.

Adrien bites his lower lip, and Nathalie gets up to say something but is cut off by Gabriel.

"I want to hear this from Adrien Nathalie. I want to hear him tell me if he truly believes this experience is worth all the danger." Gabriel tells her as he stares into Adrien's eyes with a calm piercing gaze.

Adrien looks into his father's gaze and gets increasingly nervous. However, with his experience as Cat Noir, Adrien dares to say something his father wasn't prepared for.

"What if something changes during my first year at school?" Adrien asks his father challengingly.

Gabriel blinks in surprise at Gabriel's question. He wasn't expecting his son to say that.

"What do you mean, Adrien?" Gabriel asks him.

"Just give me one more semester. If nothing changes during my first school year, I'll happily go back to being homeschooled with no complaints. But, if something does change and the heroes seem like they're starting to figure out who Hawkmoth is, you have to let me continue to go to public school." Adrien orders, giving his father a challenge.

Gabriel stares at his son in shock, not expecting him to grow so much in the few weeks he's been in school. However, he quickly cools his emotions and returns to his previous expression.

"And why should I agree to this, Adrien? I can pull you out of school whenever I want as your guardian. All it would take is a few phone calls, and you'd be back in the house." Gabriel tells Adrien with a raised eyebrow.

That causes Adrien to freeze up again as he tries to figure out a good reason. However, it's Nathalie who speaks up first.

"Gabriel, the world is plagued with all kinds of threats. This is a good opportunity for Adrien to learn how to handle situations that involve superpowers." Nathalie tells him.

Gabriel glares at Nathalie for interrupting.

"And why should I accept that? It would be safer for him to stay inside and let this time pass. What you're saying is like telling someone this is a good opportunity to handle situations that involve firearms. Either way, Adrien would still be in a lot of danger." Gabriel tells her.

Adrien looks at his father in uncertainty with Nathalie. He doesn't know what he can say to get his father to continue to allow him to go to school. The thought of leaving his friends behind to return to being locked in his room causes his anxiety to rise.

Thanks to the Butterfly Miraculous' influence, Gabriel can easily sense this rise in emotions and sees how he's tearing his son apart by trying to force him to return home. Taking a deep breath, Gabriel turns toward the door.

"Fine, I'll allow you to finish your first school year outside. However, should Ladybug and Cat Noir fail to do anything to improve Paris' situation during that time, you will be returning to homeschooling." Gabriel sighs, not looking at his son as he heads toward the door to leave the room.

Adrien's eyes widen, and he looks at his father in shock. That shock soon turns into happiness as he shouts.

"Thank you, Father!"

Gabriel doesn't say anything. He just leaves the room and walks down the hall with clenched fists. Unknown to him, Nooroo is flying above his head and smiling.

"You made the right decision, in my opinion, Gabriel." Nooroo silently mutters as he watches Gabriel head toward his office.

Marinette and Nate are relaxing in Marinette's room. Marinette is happily staring at her contest-winning hat while Nate is watching an amateur video one of the teens in the classrooms took of Cat Noir's new power.

"*Whistles* That is such a cool power. It looks like Cat Noir leveled up." Nate smiles as he watches how he and the other entourage members get trapped.

"Yeah, it looks like we're not going to need the Miraculous in the Miracle Box at this rate," Marinette tells him.

"Maybe. So, how does it feel to be acknowledged by Gabriel Agreste?" Nate asks her.

"Absolutely amazing. I can't believe he chose my hat out of everyone else. I really liked some of the designs that others made. They all looked great. So, I was so shocked when he chose me." Marinette begins rambling excitedly while happily hugging her hat.

"Yeah, looks like you're one step closer to your dream of becoming a famous fashion designer," Nate tells her with a smile.

"Yeah, what about you? How's that gaming dream coming?" Marinette asks him.

"Honestly, I don't know what I want to be. It's not like I'm actually taking over the hotel, either." Nate sighs.

Marinette blinks in confusion before remembering something.

"Oh, that's right. Your sister wants to take over the hotel." Marinette says in realization.

"Yeah, Dad wants her to take over the hotel when he retires. So, I'm out of the running to do that. It's not like I'll be able to run this place anyway." Nate shrugs.

"Do you know how she's doing overseas?" Marinette asks Nate.

"We get messages from her every now and then about her time at university. She says it's going good most of the time. She even posts about her time on social media." Nate tells her.

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Marinette asks.

"Yep, she's having a better time than us," Nate tells her with a shrug.

Before the two can go on any longer, they hear a knock at the door, and Jean-Yves peeks his head through the door.

"Nathanial, you're father would like to see you. You can come too Mademoiselle Marinette." Jean-Yves tells them.

The two look at each other before Nate gets off his bed and heads to the door, Marinette soon following him. Jean-Yves leads them to Samuel's office and opens the door for them.

"Thank you, Jean-Yves," Samuel tells his friend with a smile.

Jean-Yves nods and closes the door.

Samuel looks at the two teens with a smile and says.

"Congratulations on winning that contest, Marinette. I'm glad that your hard work paid off." Samuel tells her.

"Thank you, Mr. Dupain," Marinette tells him with a slight bow.

"Please, you're my niece now; Samuel is enough. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you guys about something." Samuel tells them, causing Nate to start panicking.

"If it's about the finals, I am studying. I will try to get good grades on them." Nate immediately tells him in a worried voice.

Samuel quickly waves his son off, though.

"No, it's about something you and your classmates can do over break. I'm not too worried about your grades, Nathanial." Samuel tells his son, causing Nate to calm down.

That calms Nate down, and the two teens look at Samuel in confusion. Samuel then pulls out a stack of papers. The two walk over and grab a couple to read them.

"Permission slips?" Marinette questions while Nate raises an eyebrow.

"Yes, you see, I've actually been talking with your teacher, and we decided to make a sort of internship-field trip where her students can work here for a little while to learn more about hotels and adult life," Samuel explains.

"That could be cool." Nate smiles.

"I'm glad you like it. I was going to ask for your input on dividing the jobs everyone has to do at this hotel." Samuel tells them.

"Can't you just hold a sort of... what's it called? A raffle, I think. You know, where you leave the jobs up to chance so everyone has a fair chance to get the jobs they want." Nate tells his father.

Samuel blinks at Nate in shock.

"That's actually a good idea. Maybe we can do that to pick the beginning jobs before having the students swap places." Samuel says as he writes that down.

"Glad I could help," Nate tells him with a smile.

"Do you have any ideas, Marinette?" Samuel asks.

Marinette thinks about it for a second but can't come up with anything.

"No, I can't think of anything. Sorry." Marinette apologizes.

"That's fine, Marinette. Thank you for coming and helping me." Samuel tells them.

The two nod and leave the room.

Alya is looking at her screen in frustration as she still hasn't found anything pertaining to Hawkmoth's words. None of her site's followers know anything about heroes in Paris before Ladybug and Cat Noir.

"Is he just messing with me? I can't find anything on heroes in Paris before Ladybug and Cat Noir!" Alya shouts in frustration.

Taking a deep breath, Alya narrows her eyes determinedly.

"I'm not giving up. I'm going to figure out what he was talking about," Alya promises to herself.

So, Adrien just stood up to his father and managed to get a win.

I can not wait for you guys to see the events of this next Akuma! It's going to be one of the major turning points of the story and answer an unasked question of how Hero's Day is going to work when it seems like Nathalie doesn't know anything about Gabriel being Hawkmoth.

Next Chapter

#miraculous ladybug #marinette dupain cheng #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #nathalie sancoeur #miraculous descendent #miraculous ladybug rewrite #alya cesaire #original characters #nino lahiffe #Mr. Damocles

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