Hawkmoth made his way through the shadows. He never did like heights that much. Leaping over several more rooftops, he landed (none too gently) on the road. He straightened up and examined the street. He lifted the piece of paper in his hand up to the dim streetlamp.

"3031, 3033, 3035," he muttered as he walked down the street. He stopped at a mini-combo house. It was brick and looked ordinary. Jump ropes, bikes, and hula hoops lay strewn around the front steps, showing the youth of many of the occupants.

How to get in was his main problem. Hawkmoth walked up the steps and checked the door handle. As expected, it was locked. He searched for another way in, like a low window. There was nothing convenient. He turned and went behind the building.

There was a rickety fire escape back there. The cobwebs had been broken and brushed away, and several silky strands fluttered loosely in the breeze. Clearly someone had been up or down this recently. Probably the blogger girl, Alya, since she managed to capture footage of Ladybug and Chat Noir in the middle of the night, way past when any sane parents would let their children leave home.

Hawkmoth took a deep breath and started up the fire escape. The black steps blended with the darkness, making the climb even more difficult. With each step, the metal structure would let out a loud creaking sound. He hoped nobody would hear it.

He found an open window and clambered noisily through it, mentally cursing how much noise he was making. This was why he preferred to let the akumatized villains handle stuff like this. But they weren't reliable. If you wanted something done right, you did it yourself.

The butterfly miraculous wielder walked down a hallway, the carpet providing a way to muffle his footsteps. He opened the first door he came to very slowly and peeked inside. Two little girls were lying in a double bed, nestled underneath a pink comforter. One girl rolled over and opened her eyes.

"Oh, it's the butterfly fairy…." she murmured. Hawkmoth froze, but the little girl just rolled back over and started snoring. He hastily shut the door and moved on.

He was far luckier when he opened the next door. The moon had moved beyond the clouds, so there was a bit of light coming through the window. His eyes searched the bed. There was definitely someone in it. Long, red hair spread around the figure's face. Not Adrien. His eyes caught a flash of gold in the corner.

Looking down, he could clearly see his son (well, Chat Noir) curled up in a ball on the ground. A fluffy blanket covered half of him. Next to him, the moonlight shining on her pale face, was a girl with dark hair and twin-pigtails. Ladybug.

Hawkmoth felt a rush of giddiness well up inside of him. Ladybug was right here, right in front of him! Asleep, unaware, and utterly defenseless against him. It was all too easy. He had to hold himself back, lest he rush forward in his haste and thrill and end up waking them all up.

His shadow loomed over Chat Noir's face. He bit his tongue as the boy let out a small whimper as soon as Hawkmoth blocked the moonlight from his face. The Ladybug girl reached over and found Chat's hand in the dark. Chat calmed down almost instantly.

Hawkmoth reached down and ever so carefully slipped the black ring off of Chat's ring finger. A flash of green light nearly blinded him as the transformation was released. He stumbled backwards a bit as he closed his eyes.

A little black kwami popped out of the ring in his hand and skidded across the floor. His yellow-green eyes widened as he recognized the man in front of him. "Hawkmo-Mph!" Hawkmoth grabbed the kwami and clamped his hand around its mouth.

Beneath his feet, Adrien groaned as the pain relieving power of his miraculous stopped. Hawkmoth knew he should leave now. He knew that he needed to get out of there, and that he could take care of Ladybug later. If he waited too long something might screw everything up.

But he just couldn't help himself. He could sense the presence of the other miraculous. So tempting…..

Hawkmoth had been trying to get those darn earrings for two years now. At least twice a week or more for the last two years, the butterfly window would open, he would see victory within his grasp, and then it would slip through his fingers.

He leaned back over. He also wanted to see the girl's face, but that came second. He reached down, his fingertips brushed her ear….

Her blue eyes flew open. Instinct kicking in, she rolled over and leapt to her feet. Hawkmoth gasped and spun around, ready to make his escape. "Tikki, spots on!" A flash of pink light and Ladybug was standing in front of him. Confident, determined, and with a fire in her eyes that told Hawkmoth she wasn't just beating him up to defeat him and save Paris. She had more personal reasons as well.

Ladybug lunged at him. He blocked her punch with his arm and swung his leg around, trying to sweep her off her feet. She jumped over it and back flipped over him, striking out as she landed. Her punch caught him on the nose, and he felt the red stickiness trickling down his face. He kicked out, catching her stomach. She fell backwards, gasping for breath.

He prepared to stomp on her leg, further disabling her, when he felt something heavy crash into his head. Wham! He saw sparks fly, and he backed up a few steps, stunned. Ladybug took the opportunity to kick him in the groin and land a wicked punch on his shoulder.

Alya (who had thrown her lamp at Hawkmoth) stood on her bed and grabbed a book that she had been reading for History. She flung it at Hawkmoth's head, and that hit sent the tall man tumbling to the floor.

Ladybug turned to double check that neither Alya nor Chat (who was lying across the room out of the way) were hurt. Her eyes widened when she realized that Chat was not transformed. Hawkmoth had his miraculous!

Fury course through her veins and she spun around and kicked Hawkmoth in the jaw. Hawkmoth, who had been rising unsteadily to his feet, skidded backwards. In a desperate attempt to distract his attacker, he took the History book and tossed it at Ladybug. She ducked and it clipped her shoulder. Then it was his turn to duck as Alya's math book flew whizzed over his head.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here!" Ladybug called. She didn't try to mask the rage in her voice. She was trembling with fury. She lunged at Hawkmoth again, kicking and punching wherever she got an opening. He desperately blocked her punches and got in a few of his own, but just a few.

"You asked for it!" he heard a female voice yell in the background as he was dodging Ladybug's fists of fury. "Webster's 21st Edition!"

"NO!" Hawkmoth bellowed with rage as a large dictionary slammed into his head, drawing blood and knocking him sideways.

Ladybug saw her opening and took it. The butterfly brooch on his suit must be his miraculous! If they got that, they would have a huge advantage. Plus, it was a lot easier than trying to grab the ring in his pocket.

She reached for the shiny brooch. Hawkmoth looked like he was about to block her, even in his dazed stage, when he let out a yelp. She grabbed the brooch and jerked backwards as a satisfied cat kwami flew out of Hawkmoth's pocket, spitting out pieces of black fabric.

There was a flash of purple light as Hawkmoth's transformation came undone. Ladybug searched his face, giddy to see who she had been trying to defeat for two years. Now she would have a face to the man who had done this to Adrien!

The light died down and she was staring at the very angry face of Gabriel Agreste.

"WHAT?" she and Alya chorused together in shock. Gabriel took advantage of their surprise to shove past Ladybug, who stumbled backwards, and dash out into the hallway towards the open window.

"GET HIM!" Alya shrieked.

Gabriel jumped out the window, clanging the fire escape loudly. Ladybug and Alya rushed out of Alya's room, only to be met with a somewhat immovable force. "ALYA CESAIRE!" They skidded to a stop.

"Oh crap….um, I can explain mom. I-"

"Excuse me madam, but there is an akuma on the loose. He was targeting your daughter. We need to go after him. And I'll have to take her with me!" Ladybug cut in smoothly. Alya's mother's face turned quickly from anger to despair.

"Okay, just keep her safe," Mrs. Césaire relented. She knew how dangerous akumas were and she, like the rest of Paris, respected Ladybug's decisions. Alya and Ladybug dashed towards the window. Ladybug grabbed Alya's waist and tossed her yoyo out the window, using it to swing to the nearest rooftop.

The girls spun around, searching everywhere for movement in the shadows. Gabriel Agreste was nowhere to be seen.

"Let's go to his house! We'll be able to get there before him!" Alya suggested. Ladybug shook her head.

"No way, he'll be expecting that. He could have the whole place booby-trapped. And to think Chat Noir's been living with Hawkmoth his entire life…" Her eyes widened. "Shoot, Adrien!"

They used Ladybug's yoyo to make it safely back inside of the window, where Alya's mother was trying to get her two littlest girls (who had woken up because of all the noise) to go back to sleep. They dashed back into Alya's room, slamming the door behind them.

"Okay, he's still asleep," Ladybug confirmed, laying a hand on Adrien's shoulder. He flinched. A coughing noise made both girls turn their heads.

There, lying on the floor beside the butterfly brooch that Ladybug had dropped, was a sickly looking purple kwami. It coughed again.

"That's Nooroo, the butterfly kwami," Tikki confirmed. Alya stepped closer and reached out tentatively to tough it. The little kwami shivered. "He's been neglected for quite some time," Tikki mused in Ladybug's head.

"Food," the little kwami moaned. Alya nodded.

"What kind of food do you want?" she asked. The little kwami stared at her in disbelief, as if he couldn't believe someone would willingly give him food; more or less ask him what kind of food he wanted to eat.

"Do you have any lettuce?" Nooroo squeaked hopefully. Alya nodded and glanced at Marinette, who shrugged and motioned for Alya to go get it. The red head left, muttering about strange kwami food preferences.

As soon as Alya left, Ladybug approached Nooroo and picked the kwami up. "Ladybug," he said feebly. "I-I'm sorry for everything Hawkmoth made me do. I tried to fight it, but-"

"It's okay, Nooroo. Just choose a better wielder next time."

"Actually, Master Fu chooses miraculous wielder's," Tikki explained to Ladybug. "Speaking of which, we'll definitely need his help in order to finally defeat Hawkmoth. And now that Adrien doesn't have Plagg's healing powers….."

"I got a whole romaine lettuce leaf," Alya said, coming back into the room. "Sorry we don't have any more. My mom made salads for lunch earlier."

Nooroo's eyes lit up a bit and Ladybug set him on Alya's night stand next to the lettuce. He took several huge bites, chewing rapidly and swallowing almost before he had chewed it up enough. Alya looked back at Ladybug.

"So what now?" she asked.

"Um, we defeat Hawkmoth?" Ladybug said. She sighed. "A lot easier said than done, huh?" She released her transformation.

"Yeah….And what about Adrien?"

"What about him?"

"How are you going to tell him that the person who did this to him was his own father?"

"Damn, I forgot about that….."

The girls sat in silence for a few minutes. The only noise was Nooroo crunching on his romaine leaf. Ladybug let her transformation go and pink light flashed through the room. Tikki went over and sat by Nooroo silently.

"This is going to be a lot harder than I expected," Alya admitted. "I guess saving the world isn't all fun and games."

"Nope."

Adrien stirred slightly in the corner. He moved his hand over, searching for Marinette's. When he couldn't find it, his breath hitched. Marinette crossed the room and laid her hand on his head. He relaxed again.

"You know if we tell him, it'll probably break his heart," Alya sighed.

"Probably."

Marinette closed her eyes. What had she been doing this time last week? Worrying about her Spanish test? How could things have turned so drastically in a matter of six days? She ran her hand over Adrien's scarred cheek. That scar would probably never leave him. It would stay with him for life, taunting him. The knowledge that his father did that to him would leave a scar on his heart. One that wouldn't heal either.

"You know it's the middle of the night," Alya groaned.

"Mm hmm," Marinette responded. The red head pulled out her phone and started scrolling through it, hoping to maybe find Gabriel Agreste's location. If he hadn't gone home it would be easier to ambush him. Marinette stared at the wall.

"Alya?" Marinette asked suddenly, startling the blogger.

"What?"

"This needs to end," Marinette stated firmly.

"Can you be a little more specific?"

"All of this. Paris constantly fearing akuma attacks. Us watching our backs for Hawkmoth. Adrien worrying about being captured or hurt again. This as all Gabriel Agreste's fault. And he's gonna pay."

"Girl, you know it won't be easy. But we can do it!" Alya said, smirking a bit.

"We?"

Alya laughed. "You think you can drag me this far and then just ditch me? Oh no, I am seeing this thing through, even if it kills me!"

"Well okay then. Tomorrow we go visit Master Fu," Marinette said.

"And then?"

"And then we make a plan." Marinette's eyes narrowed determinedly as she stood. "We're gonna take Hawkmoth down, once and for all!"