The staircase leading up was dark, aside from some soft light that was shimmering in the room above.
Chatte Noire decided to take the lead, as she had dark vision, Paon Bleu in the middle, and Volpina in the rear. The three remained quiet, trying to listen for anybody that was upstairs and whether they were staying up or coming down.
The silence that was present, however, made Chatte's heart hammer in her throat.
As they approached the final steps, Chatte twists her baton in her hands nervously. She slowly takes the last couple steps and peeks into the room.
Her eyes don't capture a lot, still adjusting to the small light that's provided by the moonlight seeping in through the window. Chatte starts to take cautious steps into the room, motioning the other girls to follow.
The room wasn't too large, a circular room with a small table at the far end, across the window. As she gets closer, she notices a map of Paris. And the map has pictures of Chat Noir tacked across the city. Sightings.
The school, the Dupain-Cheng bakery, his own home. Strings lead from a variety of locations, the black string stark against the white map.
As she drew away from the map, she nearly jumped out of her skin as thousands of white butterflies fluttered up in the air, the moonlight reflecting off them and giving them an effervescent glow.
"What... What is all this?" Chatte questioned.
"" Plagg answered.
"They look so... Innocent. And pure."
"They are," Paon spoke up from the table. She was touching a picture frame that was perched in the corner of the table, a melancholic expression on her face. "It's not until Papillon infuses them with his evil energy that they become purple and nasty."
One of the white butterlies flutter up to the frame and came to a stop at Paon's gloved fingers. She looked at it, a weak laugh coming from her lips. "Hello, little one." She whispered, as she lifted the butterfly to her eye level.
The butterfly flitted up, around her face, making Paon giggle quietly. The butterfly danced around her momentarily, before it flew off to another corner of the room.
And into the hand of the most awaited guest.
"Everything I've done, I've done for you." Papillon steps out of the shadows, the white butterfly resting in his open palm.
"I never asked for your efforts, Gabriel." Paon set the portrait down, revealing a photograph of the original Agreste family.
"You abandoned us. You–"
"No." Paon interrupted. "I abandoned Adrien. I realize that my actions were rash, thoughtless and heartless. I believed that leaving Adrien behind would.... Would make you come back. I was a fool to believe such a thing would happen."
"I loved you, Emilie, with all my heart, and you–"
"Yes, Gabriel, you me." She sighed, exasperated. "But you got consumed by your work, and Adrien and I came last. I don't care about myself. But Adrien! Adrien! He..." Her breath stammers, and she brings a hand to her lips to choke back a sob, before resting her hand on her chest. "He didn't deserve that." She whispers.
Papillon remained quiet, turning his attention to some shuffling beside him. Out of the darkness, appeared Aranea and in her tow, was Adrien.
"Adrien!" Paon and Chatte called.
Adrien looked over at Chatte and he smiled softly, before looking over at Paon. There was a vague sense of familiarity that came with looking at the new heroine, until it struck. "M... Mama?"
Paon let out a choked sob, nodding. "Yes... It... It's mama." She whispered.
Adrien sucked in a sharp breath and he tried to go to his mother. To his mother, and his best friend, slash girlfriend, but he was held back.
"A-Adrien, what happened? You... You were supposed to stay with Master Fu!" Chatte spoke up, already getting ready to attack.
"W-Well, you see..." Adrien started.
"That old man, who is he? Why was Adrien left in his care?" Papillon demanded.
"Do you realize the extent of what you've done?" Volpina spoke up. "The boy lost is mother, he's been fighting akumas for years now. His world got taken, then he built a new one. And then, you took away too. Adrien has been the strongest boy I've known, and you him."
"I did it to bring back his mother–"
"And risking so many lives, Gabriel Agreste! You've sabotaged his friends, the only the poor boy has!" Volpina shouted. "He was !"
"Master Fu was our safe house, to keep him safe. He was the one who knew what you had done with Ladybug's... miraculous." Chatte said. "Where's Master Fu?"
"The old man wasn't to be found when we found Adrien. Adrien was standing in an outdoor garden on the outskirts of Paris, at a rundown massage parlor. We didn't bother searching the rest of the property, since Adrien was priority." Aranea supplied.
Chatte sighed in relief.
"How do you think I felt when I connected the dots that my own son was Chat Noir? I've done everything to protect him, give him everything, give him the world. I tried to get Ladybug and Chat Noir's miraculous to make a better world for him. A world where his mother was back, a world where we could all be happy!" Papillon hit the floor with his cane, sending the butterflies in the air again. "I'm turning the world into a better place for him, and he was the one that was taking it away from me."
"Your world." Paon spoke up. "You've done nothing but cause pain and suffering to his friends and family. And Nooroo. To abuse his power... You don't deserve a miraculous."
Papillon let out a dark laugh, cupping his hand around the only butterfly that remained still in his palm, purple energy emitting from his hand and being absorbed into the small creature. "And you think I'm going to hand it over willingly? You might be here now, Emilie, but I didn't want you here under circumstances." He removes his hand from over the newly made akuma and raises his hand up in the air. The akuma flies out of his hand and up into the room. "Now that I have the Miraculous of Destruction within my grasp, I won't be giving up so easily."
The akuma went to Adrien and Paon ran to him, but Aranea stepped in front of him, blocking her path. "One step closer, and the boy gets hurt."
"Gabriel, don't you even dare." Paon spat.
The akuma fluttered across the room now, and Chatte and Volpina attempted to catch it, to crush it, but it manages to evade their efforts. The akuma continues to fly across the room until it lowers down on the picture Paon had been holding before. The family portrait tinted purple and Adrien was shrouded in a purple shadow.