Chapter Text
“Enough is enough.” Gabriel stood from his desk, making his way to Emilie’s portrait with the accursed encrypted letter in hand. It had been nearly a week, and the letter refused to yield its secrets to him. Of the scrambled letters constantly in motion on the page, only two words had formed.
‘Hawkmoth’ and ‘identities’.
His scowl became more pronounced as the lift appeared. If this letter held the secret to revealing his identity, or the identities of those thorn in his side heroes, he would do whatever it took to unravel it.
Transforming the second he descended the elevator, he darkened an akuma in one hand, and an amok in the other. De-transforming, Nooroo and Dusuu eyed him worriedly.
“Master, what are you doing?” Nooroo asked softly, watching the akuma and amok fluttering just in front of a visibly seething Gabriel.
“This is very dangerous!” Dusuu declared loudly, putting the pieces together as the akuma went into the butterfly Miraculous seconds before the amok entered the peacock pin.
Nooroo and Dusuu disappeared into their Miraculous, Gabriel easily controlling them both as he closed his eyes to concentrate on the powers and sentimonsters he was going to need. The power of the akuma washed over him, and he grinned.
“This time for sure, Ladybug and Chat Noir’s Miraculous will be mine.”
…
Ladybug breathed heavily, hiding behind a chimney as she tried to reach him again. It had been nearly two hours since the first sentimonster appeared, declaring that Tyrant was taking over Paris as his domain. The sentimonster was like a giant knight. At least ten feet high, narrow, glowing red slits for eyes accompanying its bulky black armor.
People were clear of the streets now, but the sentimonster was multiplying at a ridiculous rate. Every other car it passed, it touched and turned into another guard. If this went on, the city would be overrun with them before sunset.
“Chat Noir, I really, really need you. These sentimonster’s are popping up everywhere, and I can’t stop them on my own. They keep saying something about acting in the name of Tyrant. I haven’t seen an akuma victim yet who is controlling them and,” her eyes widened in horror as she watched the Agreste Mansion glimmer before turning into a giant castle.
Her heart fell to her stomach, taking off at a run towards the imposing stone structure, “I think Tyrant is Gabriel Agreste! Meet me at the Agreste Mansion, QUICK!”
She had never felt herself move faster, hoping that she’d be able to reach Adrien in enough time to get him to safety.
…
Adrien smiled to himself as he watched Plagg sorting his cheese from his desk chair. As much as he hated the smell of the stuff, he liked watching Plagg in quiet moments like this. Where he was just free to organize his cheese the way he wanted. The usually grumbling kwami was softly humming to himself, carefully placing each piece as though they were the most precious thing in the world.
Plagg floated into the air suddenly, staring at the door as his tail twitched behind him. The kwami’s ears flinched at a noise Adrien couldn’t hear. The room was silent but the hair at the back of his neck stood on end.
“What’s wrong Plagg?”
“Transform,” Plagg whispered before turning to him wide-eyed. “Transform now!”
“Why, what’s going o-,” his door flung open with a deafening crack. A black armored knight entered the room as Adrien stood there shocked, backing away as Plagg dove into his shirt pocket. Red slitted eyes through the helmet quickly turned on him, a deep voice holding no emotion echoing through the large room.
“Adrien Agreste. You have been summoned for an audience by the great Tyrant. Refusal will not be tolerated.”
“T-Tyrant? Who…” his heart fell. Could... could his father have been akumatized again?
“Adrien Agreste. You have been summoned --”
“I heard you!” Adrien told the menacing-looking knight, already knowing that what he was doing was bound to backfire. His lady was going to hang him upside down from the Eiffel Tower if she found out about this. “Take me to him.”
“Kid,” Plagg whispered in warning, but Adrien stayed silent and followed the, whatever it really was - a sentimonster maybe?- out into the hall. Three more of the black armored knights were waiting, surrounding him on all sides the second he stepped into the hall. He kept his head down, but his eyes darted around the foyer.
Nathalie and Gorilla were nowhere in sight.
The knights took him to his father’s office, the doors swinging open on their own as they approached. Adrien’s eyes widened at the sight before him. His father was sitting perched like a king on a gleaming white throne. His appearance hadn’t changed beyond the purple and black suit he was in. It was simple and elegant, much like the man wearing it. There was the slightest filigree design in gold along the bottom hem of the jacket, and on the cuffs and high collar.
Gabriel stood, a sleek black cloak falling down his right side from his shoulder to skim the floor. A larger version of the gold filigree patterned the bottom in an oddly familiar butterfly shape.
“F-Father?”
A purple flash came from Gabriel’s eyes as they stared at each other. “Adrien. I’m disappointed in you.” He said calmly.
‘What else is new?’ Adrien thought bitterly to himself. ‘At least he still sounds like himself. Maybe this could work after all...’
“Father, you’ve been akumatized. Please just hand over your object and when Ladybug and Chat Noir get here, they can help you.” He took a small step forward, trying to reason with him. “I don’t know what happened, or why you were akumatized, but Hawkmoth is wrong. There is always another way. You can’t give in to,”
“Me? Give in. How ridiculous,” Gabriel interrupted harshly. “On the contrary. I haven’t given in to anything.”
Adrien swallowed hard at the feral smirk appearing on his father’s face. Goosebumps raised at the back of his neck, an instinct in his heart telling him to run. He needed to get away from here, away from his father. He stepped back as Gabriel walked towards him, but a hollow metal hand pressed painfully into his shoulder to keep him still.
The knights were blocking his only way out.
“The problem with other Akumas was their lack of vision. They let their petty, fleeting emotions cloud their judgment to the real prize. I am not hindered by such wasteful emotions, nor is my vision clouded.” Gabriel stood directly in front of him, an imposing presence that kept Adrien rooted to the spot. He couldn’t look away from those merciless purple eyes staring straight through him.
Terrified screams echoed outside and Gabriel turned to the window, his back tall and proud as a giant black knight at least ten feet tall passed in front of the window.
‘Crap, he sent more Sentimonsters outside. There are so many already… and how the hell did they get so big?! I have to find a way to catch him off guard until Milady gets here.’ Adrien bit back his fear, clenching his hands into a tight fist. Maybe if he could figure out why his father had gotten akumatized, he could try to locate the akumatized object, or what powers he had.
So far Gabriel had been docile, but Adrien knew that saying the wrong thing would no doubt set him off. The last thing he needed was being trapped by his father and unable to help Ladybug stop him. Given how eerily calm he was, how rational, he was sure that his father would be an akuma they wouldn’t be able to defeat by normal means.
“You say your vision isn’t clouded, but Hawkmoth is in your head. He’s just using you to meet his own ends!” He raised his voice, pleading with him, “Father please. You don’t want to do this. Don’t let Hawkmoth use you!”
“I am not being used. I am the answer. Ladybug and Chat Noir refuse to hand over their Miraculous, and facing them head on has gotten nowhere.” Gabriel turned away from the window, unfazed by the screams as people fled from the giant knights. “This time, they’ll have no choice. They will bend to my will, and they will submit to me. No one will go against a Tyrant.”
“Tyrant,” Adrien whispered, the bad feeling from before settling uncomfortably in his stomach.
One of the Knights behind him spoke up, “City Hall has been taken. Ladybug’s efforts were quickly shut down.”
Adrien panicked at the news. “Father stop this!”
Tyrant moved over to the desk, picking up a piece of paper that shined as though it was reflecting light. Was that… magic?
Tyrant held the paper up, glaring at him. “This message is magically encrypted.” In the top corners of the paper, Adrien could make out Ladybug’s signature symbol, as well as his Chat Noir paw print. The letter had been meant for them. How had his father managed to get a hold of it?
Adrien asked shakily, his unease growing, “What are you doing with a message meant for Ladybug and Chat Noir?”
“I intercepted it at the last battle I had with them. When even Solstice failed.”
Adrien’s vision swam, the world spinning around him as he struggled to take his next breath. His mind whirled into chaos, processing the bomb that his father had so carelessly dropped on his head. Black dots danced in his eyes, the truth coming out of him in a horrified whisper.
“You’re Hawkmoth.”
“And you are Chat Noir.” Tyrant stated without so much as blinking, but Adrien could hear the anger lacing the undercurrent of his tone. “Don’t even try to deny it. The magically encrypted message is revealing itself little by little. The moment I sent those sentimonsters out into the city, two new words were revealed.”
Adrien could see them as Tyrant held the message up, and his heart fell. ‘Agreste’ and ‘Chat Noir’ were in clear bold script.
His gaze shifted from the bold black words to Tyrant’s unyielding glare. “Imagine my surprise. With only two Agreste’s, and one of them most certainly not the mangey and half-witted alley cat, there could only be one answer.”
Tyrant slammed the message down on his desk, stalking over to him as the Knights held him firmly in place. “Hand it over.”
Angry at himself for being blind, at his father for being the one who had hurt him and his lady over and over again, Adrien stayed silent. Seething as he stared at Gabriel, the last piece of hope that things would change… that his father still loved him, crumbled.
“Never,” Adrien snarled, knowing that if he was transformed, the Cataclysm that would have formed would be his most powerful yet.
He wrenched his arm out of the Knight’s grip and let his fist fly straight to Tyrant’s face. Tyrant caught his wrist, smirking wickedly. “What made you think I was giving you a choice?”
Something changed in the tenor of Tyrant’s voice. It was soothing, calm and sure, like a soft lullaby meant to ease you into peaceful sleep… hypnotism. That was his power. The purple of his eyes turned silver, and Adrien barely managed to get his wrist out of Tyrant’s grip before the order washed over him.
“Hand over the Black Cat’s Miraculous to me.” Tyrant held out his hand expectantly. “Now.”
Adrien’s vision blurred white around the edges, his hand moving without his consent towards the silver band on his finger as his mind screamed at him to stop.
“ADRIEN NO!”
A flash of green snapped him out of it, a trail of static black lightning jumping around him before disappearing into the ring. His eyes widened in horror, seeing that the Miraculous was no longer in its camouflage state. It was black with a green paw print, despite the fact that he wasn’t transformed. What the hell just happened?
“I said GIVE IT TO ME!” Tyrant yelled, his voice heavily laced with the hypnotizing sound.
Adrien could feel the way the words wrapped around him, tightening uncomfortably. His hands balled into fists, and he pushed the feeling away easily. It was nothing like before when he couldn’t stop himself. His vision was clear, and his voice didn’t waver.
“Not even over my dead body.”
Tyrant snatched his wrist in a vice grip. Adrien tried to pry his icy fingers away, but as they struggled, they realized it at the same time. The ring wasn’t coming off.
Adrien laughed in relief as he let himself relax, letting Tyrant continue his efforts to remove the ring in vain. “Well would you look at that. Whatever my kwami did, he has no intention of letting you take the ring. I guess you lose, Mothman.”
Tyrant’s grip around his wrist tightened painfully as he nearly lifted Adrien off of his feet. The smile on Tyrant’s face put true fear into his heart. “I have you, which means no mangy alley cat to help Ladybug stop me. I haven’t lost Adrien. In fact, you’ve just assured my victory.”
“Wanna bet?! Claws out!” Adrien tried to pull his grip out of Tyrant’s hold, but his transformation never took. “What, but why…”
Tyrant laughed darkly, his lips upturned into a smug smile. He let Adrien go just for a black knight to grab him around the middle, pinning his arms to his sides before he could react. “Looks like your kwami left you defenseless, kitten . Sentry, take my son to his room and keep him there.”
The Sentry didn’t respond beyond tightening its hold and taking him out of the Atelier as Adrien screamed back, “My lady will stop you! You will never get our Miraculous! NEVER!”
Tyrant wasn’t deterred. “We’ll see.”
Adrien struggled to get free, kicking and doing whatever he could, but the Sentry’s grip on him remained tight and unyielding. The door to his bedroom opened loudly as it rammed into the wall from the Sentry forcing it open. The sentimonster guard threw him roughly onto the bed, Adrien barely righting himself when a cage rose up around it.
“NO!” He screamed in horror, flying off and trying to shake the crossed bars loose even knowing in the back of his mind that it wouldn’t work. The safety shutters around his window fell into place, plunging his room into eerie darkness. A single light above his bed clicked on, and his heart dropped seeing the bars reaching the tall ceiling.
“Under Tyrant’s orders, there will be no contact with the outside world. Adrien Agreste is to remain here until he gives up the Black Cat’s Miraculous. ”
“DROP DEAD!” Adrien yelled, his knuckles turning white from his grip on the cold metal keeping him in.
The Sentry merely turned and walked out, Adrien banging his hands against the cage as tears spilled past his eyes in frustration. He screamed and kicked, slamming his hands repeatedly into the cage until they were red and raw. Legs shaking, hot tears burning as they trailed down his cheeks, Adrien let himself fall to the floor, utterly defeated.
His father was Hawkmoth. He couldn’t transform. Plagg had willingly gone into the ring, but he had no idea how to get him out. He couldn’t go help his Lady.
He was trapped.
And there was nothing he could do.