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Suddenly, he was staring at his salvation. The promise of the possibility he wished to be reality for so, so long.
The clock contained the solution to every single one of his problems.
Where he had failed, he would be able to correct his mistakes. Where he had been beaten, he would know the movements beforehand, know where every strike would come from, every single word and plan before they would even be formed.
After so long of considering the past to be the source of all his afflictions, his pain and sorrow, Gabriel realized it held now the power of premeditation. How difficult could it be to try and seize the Miraculous from both his nemesis when they were both at their lowest? While they were defenseless, consumed by their own worries or simply weakened by an akuma that could have brought him success if it weren't for the surprise factor.
He would never have to experience defeat in such humiliating ways again.
However, there was always something that went wrong for him. No matter how carefully crafted his plan had been, no matter how much time or effort he put into it, as soon as the Ladybug Miraculous came into scene, every attempt would mean failure.
How could he ever fight Luck and Creation itself? In a dash of desperation, Gabriel wondered how much easier his task would have been if it weren't for her.
Doubt crept into the back of his mind. As long as her Miraculous was active, she always had Luck on her side.
The longer he fought the heroes, the nastier the Ladybug Luck seemed to play against him. Where he had been more than close every other day, it was slowly starting to be harder and harder. Where a simple plan granted the heroes a close call, now hours, days, even weeks of planning could go down the drain with a flick of that wretched yoyo.
Whether it was simply pure imagination or true adverse effects of fighting for so long, he simply could not keep the luxury of wondering. It could simply be the fact that the more he discovered about the heroes' fighting style, they did the same with him too, all magic aside.
And yet, he couldn't keep the luxury of wondering.
That revelation made Gabriel stop on his tracks. If he had been much closer in the past, back when he didn't know as much about the specific powers of the Miraculous, could it be that it was easier to try and grab them as Shadowmoth, Hawkmoth even, than as Monarch?
Of course! It was only logical. Maybe, he could even spare himself all that drama, all those humiliations, and above everything, so much time. Time he could have easily spent with Emilie, had he known back then what he did, but being who he used to be.
Even one less day of waiting to have her to his side would be worth it.
Why stop at one less day, when he could simply avoid weeks, months even?
Oh, to have spent all those months of futile fighting with her.
And it was as easy as using the clock that was now in his posession.
As easy as that.
All he had to do now was fuse the Rabbit with his regular Miraculous. Wear the other ones, just to be safe.
"Nooroo, Fluff, dual metamorphosis!"
The magic of Time surged through his veins like a breath of fresh air. The promise of the life he had fought for, the entirety of existence at his mercy. Nothing would be able to stop him now. As long as Time was in his power, no other force would be able to stop him.
"Time to rewrite history," Gabriel muttered to himself.
Lost in thought, he realized the full force of his words.
That was all he ever needed. Time, to rewrite history.
"Burrow!"
~(X)~
Stepping inside felt exactly like how he imagined being born would have been like. Adventuring into the unknown, into a room so bright it felt blinding after the dimly lit comfort of his lair.
An entire universe of possibilities before him.
While he couldn't deny how attractive the option of searching for a point in time where the heroes would be vulnerable enough to grab their Miraculous, he had his mind set on something. He was there for a reason.
Gabriel walked towards the nearest circle of color. It looked like a window, one where he could look at time like a careless spectator.
Out of pure curiosity, he touched what would have been a glass in a true window. Despite having had the Grimorium in his posession for so long, he found the experience, right there and then, much more unique than what the book described.
The moment playing before his eyes stopped briefly with his touch, It was a lonely scene, a moment in a forest in the middle of nowhere with no one to witness it but the roots of the trees that stood there pointlessly.
With a flick of his wrist, the moment shifted. Where the sun had warmed the area with its light, it set as the break of dawn turned into darkness.
With another flick of his hand, the forest turned into a village, a city, a desert in a matter of a single second.
Gabriel turned around, He had to stop playing those games if he wanted to accomplish anything.
He concentrated on the very moment he was thinking of.
The morning of Heroes' Day.
That had been him and an entire city worth of akumas against a couple of teenagers. If it hadn't been for the rest of their little team of friends-
When he opened his eyes, the window he was looking for stood right in front of him.
In it, his mansion towered as imponent and pristine as ever. The gate stood as still as ever.
He zoomed in automatically, the glass-like surface reminiscent of the tablets he worked with every day.
There were the stairs, just like the ones he had climbed that morning.
Inside, was his opportunity to fix all the time he had lost. All the damage Nathalie had recklessly taken, even against his advice. All the issues Adrien had given him, obstaculizing plans and acting out. All the time he had spent alone, planning, yearning for his reunion with Emilie.
He stepped inside the window.
From the hallway, he could hear the words Nathalie had spoken to him long ago, muffled by the walls.
We will succeed.
They hadn't.
As soon as Gabriel heard the familiar clicking of her heels closer while she walked towards the entrance of the room, he used the brief moment to sneak in.
How weird was it for him to see her in full health again. Completely undamaged by the Peacock, not a single trace of its magic in her system. On her feet and active as ever.
Gabriel shook the thought off. If he wanted it to last, he had to hurry. While he was at no risk there, he wasn't sure how long would it be before his past self started the first phase of the attack, not remembering it clearly enough. He had to hurry.
Inside the room, he saw his past self just as he remembered in some of the clearest of his now blurry memories. While most akumas had begun to fade into each other, he had some parts of Heroes' Day still clear.
His past self was staring longingly at the portrait, just like he still did every morning, every day for longer.
As soon as past Gabriel stepped into the elevator that led to his lair, Gabriel waited for a few minutes, just long enough so that he would be able to descend without past him noticing until he had to.
The ride downstairs was as familiar as every day for the past year and few months had been.
Past Gabriel felt a hand on his shoulder right as he tried to concentrate on finding the particular resentment he needed.
"I know how you can win."
Past Gabriel stared at the individual in front of him. He looked exactly the same as him, only a thousand times more distressed and wearing a different suit, so could it be..?
"I come from the future. I can help you, just listen to me."
Had he succeeded? Had he really won the Miraculous?
"Look, all you need today is to have someone stationed in the sewers. Have someone in the sewers before they get in and you will have them in the palm of your hand. Make sure none can put up a fight, especially Chat Noir. He will rather die fighting than allow you to seize her Miraculous. Try to seize both at once. None will stop fighting unless you restrain them, have an akuma destroy a part of the ground above them and that might work, even better if you catch them before they transform back. As long as they're unconscious..."
Past Gabriel's thoughts stopped at those words.
Unconscious?
"Make sure to retrieve the Peacock from the safe. Don't let Nathalie find it, she will try to use it and it will not end well. Or, do, just keep in mind accomodating the mansion for a wheelchair is far more difficult and expensive than giving her braces. Tsurugi should start working on them soon."
Nathalie? Wheelchair? What was he...?
Suddenly, his future self twitched awkwardly, a flash of light enveloping his body with dozens of smaller flashes emanating from the Miraculous scattered on him.
Gabriel cursed beneath his breath, and resorted to speaking faster. The Grimoire never mentioned that, but he had a feeling he didn't have long before it happened again.
"And, for Emilie's sake, make sure to start keeping Adrien in line soon. It won't be long before he turns too difficult, the sooner you use the rings the easier it will be. Again, Tsurugi should start working on the chambers soon, but it will make many things far easier. I think with the plan for today it should go well before anything I said happens. You can win this before it turns impossible."
With those words, Gabriel opened a portal and stepped into the Burrow, not bothering to offer an explanation for any of what he had just said.
Past Gabriel replayed the advice frantically, trying to make sense of it. He couldn't have been serious with at least some of that, right? One thing was capturing Ladybug and Chat Noir, surely their suits would offer some protection, and surely catching them before detransforming would be useful, but maybe destroying the ceiling above them could be a little excessive. Nathalie and the Peacock Miraculous? And Adrien...
To keep him in line.
He had vowed to not use the rings on him unless... He had never actually truly thought about what a "too much" that justified it would be.
The distressed look on the man's face felt as if it had been branded with hot iron before his eyelids.
Suddenly, he realized something.
His future self had said before it turns impossible.
He wasn't wearing the earrings or the ring.
He hadn't even found what he looked for.
And that twitching... Past Gabriel wasn't even sure what it was, but it didn't seem as if his future self knew it either, or even good.
He hadn't found what he was looking for.
Was he destined to end up like that? Wielding every Miraculous but the ones he needed?
He was not sure if he wanted that.
His future self had said before for everything.
Could he still have time before he got to it?