The stairway was barely illuminated by the light shining in from the grand staircase in the mansion. Before Nino managed to get two feet away from the opening in the wall, the door slammed shut and locked behind him. The entire stairwell was encased in darkness. Not seeing where he was going, Nino plowed into Alya, who fell forward like a domino.

"Sorry!" Nino apologized. He extended his hand blindly, wanting to help her up.

But he couldn't see just how close her head was to him, and he, unknowingly, slapped the side of her face.

"Ow!" she cried.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," Nino tried to help, but Alya slapped his arms away.

She stood up and pulled out her cellphone from her pocket. "I'm done walking blindly up these steps. Let's shed a little light on this situation." Alya held her phone above her head, and a little light blared through the darkness and shined on the steps in front of the group.

The four friends walked in silence up to the top of the stairs. At the top, they came to a large room that appeared to have a doomed ceiling. Everyone else pulled out their phones and turned on their flashlights. The four friends spread out to search the room when Alya saw something on the floor. She shined her light downward and saw a white butterfly resting peacefully at her feet. Alya looked up and saw more of the same white butterflies scattered around the room.

"Are you guys seeing this?" she asked.

Adrien, in the center of the room, nodded. "Yeah....but I don't believe it."

At the sound of his voice, a large panel directly in front of him spiraled open, revealing a giant window. The light from outside blared into the room and the white butterflies took fight, circling around the four friends.

"Oh my gosh..." Nino whispered to himself.

"So...it's true that-" Marinette started but Adrien cut her off.

"My father is Hawk Moth."

Adrien stumbled away from the window, barely able to process what he had just said aloud. He wished that by saying it out loud, it would sound ludicrous and...ultimately wouldn't be true. Marinette reached out her hand to help him, but Adrien turned away from her. He wanted to be left alone. He didn't know what to do. It was almost as if everything he had ever thought about Hawk Moth and his own father...had been a lie.

He ran his hands through his hair, his eyes widely searching the room. He didn't know what he was looking for. Something, anything that would prove that his father had nothing to do with what Adrien was seeing.

But the evidence was all around him. He couldn't escape it. Adrien had been fighting against his father since the very beginning. What was he going to do? What were he and Marinette supposed to do?

Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned and saw his and Marinette's Kwamis talking urgently to someone...or something. Adrien walked toward them and saw that the two Kwamis were trying to help a third.

That must be Hawk Moth's Kwami...no, my father's Kwami, Adrien thought to himself.

"Plagg?" he called out, hesitantly.

His Kwami turned toward him at the sound of Adrien's voice, worry evident in his little green eyes. "Adrien, this is Nooroo," he said. "We have to get him out of here."

"No!" the purple Kwami exclaimed. "Like I've already said, I can't leave."

"But why?" Marinette said, walking forward. "If you aren't here when Hawk Moth returns," Marinette glanced at Adrien for a second before turning her eyes back toward the Kwamis, "then, shouldn't he not be able to transform?"

"Yes," Nooroo nodded solemnly, "but if I were to leave, he would know that someone has been here. He would know that all of you know his other identity and he...could still come after you even in his civilian form." The Kwami glanced at the confused blond. "Especially you, Adrien."

Adrien's eyes widened. "You know me?"

"Of course. Your father always talks about you. You and...another are his greatest wish."

"Greatest wish?"

Nooroo nodded. "He wants yours and Ladybug's Miraculous in order to grant his wish. You see, you two possess the two Miraculous that are more powerful than all the rest. Adrien, you have the power of destruction while she has the power of creation. If one wears both Miraculous at the same time, then they will achieve absolute power."

Nino whistled. "Dang, man," he whispered under his breath.

Nooroo continued, "Your father wishes to use them to wish for-"

A door slammed shut in the house. "Adrien!" Natalie called.

"Oh no! Natalie! She can't find us in here." Alya's eyes jumped from the Kwamis to her friends to the door, unsure of what to do.

Adrien took a step toward Nooroo, refusing to leave. "Wait, what does he wish to use my and Marinette's Miraculous for? Will he truly c-come after me now that he knows that I'm Cat Noir? Will he hurt Marinette?" A fire raged inside of him at the thought of his father harming Marinette. His eyes glanced at the girl beside him and he felt a surge of protectiveness. No one would harm his lady.

He looked back at Nooroo. "And how do you know all of this?"

Adrien turned all of his anger, betrayal, and pain towards the purple Kwami since he didn't know what else to do with all of his pent up emotions. Nooroo shrank away from him and Adrien stepped forward. He was just about to snap when Marinette placed her hand on his arm. He turned his harsh gaze on her. He saw her loving and worried eyes stare back. His anger immediately deflated and he took Marinette's hand in his, clinging onto it like it was the only thing that would keep him grounded and calm.

"Adrien! Where are you?" Natalie called, her voice growing louder and closer.

"We have to go," Marinette said, gently pulling Adrien toward the doorway.

"But Nooroo," Plagg started but the purple Kwami shook his head.

Tikki sighed and Nooroo turned to face her. "We'll come back for you, Nooroo. I promise."

Nooroo nodded, a sad smile on his face.

Nino looked down the stairs at the doorway. "Hey guys, we really need to go now unless you want Natalie to find out about Hawk Moth..." He paused for a second before he raised an eyebrow and scratched his chin. "Unless she already knows!"

Alya rolled her eyes. She grasped the front of Nino's shirt in her hand and practically dragged him behind her as she hurried down the stairs. "Come on, Sherlock! We have to go."

Adrien glanced at the butterflies settling back on the floor before turning back around to look at the purple Kwami, an apology on his lips. "I..I don't..." he started to say but then shrugged. " I'm sorry for the way I acted, Nooroo." He cast his eyes down the the floor, the room slowly descending into darkness.

The purple Kwami floated towards the blond boy and knew how hard this all must be for him. "It's okay, Adrien," he said. "Everything will be alright. But no matter what happens, jut know that your father does love you."

He has a pretty crappy way of showing it, though, Adrien thought.

"You know," Adrien said, as he turned to leave the large room, "you're not what I was expecting the Kwami of Hawk Moth to be like."

"I hope that's a compliment," Nooroo said, a smile at the corner of his lips.

Adrien held up his hands in a subtle surrender pose, quickly walking backwards toward the doorway. "Of course. I just figured...you know what? Never mind."

"Okay, Tikki? Plagg? If Nooroo's not coming then we need to leave. Now," Marinette said, her eyes glancing from the door to the Kwamis.

The three Kwamis exchanged sad smiles before Tikki and Plagg flew towards the large doorway. Adrien and Marinette quickly followed after them. As they rapidly descended the stairs, Adrien looked back over his shoulder and saw the room go dark. Marinette's hand tightened around his when the sound of Natalie's heels tapping against the marble floor echoed throughout the staircase.

She's getting too close.

The four friends sprinted out of the portrait door. Adrien turned to close the door but when he turned, it was already sealed shut, the large family portrait sliding back into place.

Natalie walked into the main foyer and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, her hands on her hips. "Adrien, when I call for you, you answer! I don't like having to search the whole house looking for you."

"Yes, ma'am." Adrien heaved a sigh of relief that she hadn't caught them inside Hawk Moth's lair.

Natalie huffed before glancing down at her clipboard. "You need to say goodbye to your friends now because you have a late night photoshoot that your father wants done before he returns tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Shouldn't he be gone at least two days like he usually is?" Adrien asked, fear and worry creeping into his voice.

Natalie looked up from her clipboard. "Your father sorted everything out rather quickly, quicker than I imagined, but nonetheless, he is coming home tomorrow. So you'll have to say goodbye to your friends while I call for a taxi." Natalie spun on her heel and walked away.

Once Natalie was out of sight, the four exchanged glances.

"Well....what now?" Nino asked, quietly.

Adrien ran a hand through his hair and his eyes searched the roof, as if the answers to all his problems were written out above him. "I...don't know," he said.

~~~

Marinette was at a loss for words. She had always known that someday she and Cat Noir would eventually bring an end to Hawk Moth once and for all, but she hadn't been expecting their greatest enemy to be...Adrien's father. Not only that, but she had also looked up to him. Mr. Agreste was a world famous fashion designer and Marinette had aspired to become just like him. Now, she didn't what to think of him anymore. But she knew one thing for sure: He had to be stopped.

She glanced over at her Kwami. Tikki's eyes were glossed over, looking but not seeing. She was lost in her own thoughts. Plagg hovered next to her. His green eyes for once held no mirth or his usual sarcastic and carefree energy. He glanced at Tikki from the corner of his large eyes and Marinette saw a spark of emotion, something she couldn't exactly place but it reminded her of protection and determination.

Marinette turned to her friends. They were both equally unsure of what to do next. Ayla's phone buzzed with a text message, no doubt from her mother, but she ignored it. Everyone didn't know what to do.

But she wouldn't have it. No, she was Ladybug and Marinette and she had already messed up once when she had allowed herself to become Akumitized. And she was not about to let that happen again. If she and her friends didn't know the answer of what to do next, Marinette knew someone who just might.

Marinette asked, "Adrien?"

He turned to her, his head down but eyes focused on her.

"I know that you weren't expecting to discover this, but...we now know that Mr. Agreste is...Hawk Moth." She tried to sound as softly as she could around the obviously sore subject.

Still, Adrien flinched at her words, but Marinette continued, "And since we now know his...lair, we need help on how to proceed, especially since he knows that you and I are Cat Noir and Ladybug."

Adrien's eyes widened. "Wait, he knows?"

Nino, hesitantly, spoke up," Um yeah, dude. When Marinette was Miss Fortune, he kind of saw your de-transformation and Marinette not-so-subtlety revealed her identity. He knows. And now thinking about it, he probably hasn't done anything about it yet because he had to go to Italy to fix that problem or whatever."

Adrien cast his eyes toward the floor but slowly nodded, accepting the painful truth.

Marinette placed her hand on Adrien's shoulder. "Do you know who Master Fu is?"

The blond met her eyes and shook his head. "No. Why?"

Marinette glanced at the Kwamis now listening in to the conversation. "He's the one who chose us to be Ladybug and Cat Noir," she said. "He was the one who gave us our Miraculous."

Adrien's eyes widened. "How...how do you know? How did you meet him and when?"

Marinette scratched the back of her head and smiled. "I, uh, kind of met him a while ago when Tikki was sick. I told him that she was my cat that needed medicine to get better. But before that I helped him cross the street on the first day of school. But more recently I truly met him after our battle with Volpina." Marinette knew she was rambling but didn't know how to shut up.

She saw that Adrien wanted to ask her another question but he decided against it. "Okay...okay, then, you think that he may be able to help us?"

Marinette shrugged. "He was the one who chose us to protect Paris. He'll most likely help us defeat Hawk Moth."

Marinette scolded herself internally. She knew she should be more gentle when she mentioned Hawk Moth or Adrien's father, but she didn't know how to address their enemy properly anymore without inevitably hurting Adrien.

And she didn't want to hurt him any more than she already had.

"Alright," said Adrien. "So you want to meet up tomorrow then? We'll go see Master Fu together. That's his name right?"

Marinette nodded.

"Okay, so what time should Nino and I meet up with you guys?" Alya asked.

Marinette and Adrien exchanged glances before they turned to face the brunette. "Uh, don't you think it would be better if you...didn't come?" Marinette said.

"Oh no," said Alya, placing a hand on her hip. "Don't even think that Nino and I won't come with you now that we've just discovered this." Alya gestured with her other hand toward the Agreste family portrait.

Nino nodded, determination evident in his eyes. "Yeah, man. What about Team Miraculous?"

Alya must have seen Marinette's conflicting emotions in her eyes because the brunette sighed. "Look, we're a team now. Like you are with Adrien, you're also on a team with Nino and me. Just because Nino and I don't have powers does not mean that we can't help. We want to help, in any way we can."

Nino glanced at Alya and smiled. He couldn't have said it more perfectly than she had.

Marinette slowly started to nod when she felt someone take her hand. She looked up and saw Adrien softly smiling down at her, his fingers lacing with hers. "She's right, you know," he said.

"I know," Marinette said, looking from the blond beside her to her two other friends.

"Plus," Nino said as he slung an arm around Adrien's shoulders. "We were going to show up on your doorstep anyway in the middle of the night or super early in the morning. So it's good that you guys decided to let us tag along. Speaking of which, where exactly are we meeting tomorrow?"

~~~

Marinette checked the time on her phone again for the fifth time in two minutes as she stood outside the bakery. She knew that she was a little early, but she couldn't sleep. How could she when she had found out her nemesis' identity was her boyfriend's father? And now that day had finally come when she and her boyfriend had to put a stop to Hawk Moth once and for all?

Boyfriend. Adrien is my boyfriend, Marinette smiled to herself and looked down at the sidewalk. She still couldn't believe that they were actually together. After everything they had gone through together, she and Adrien were now a couple. But what made it even more special and a tad ironic, was that Adrien, this entire time, had been Cat Noir, her partner and her best friend (besides Alya, of course). He had been the one person she had fully trusted with her life. Now looking back, she had always loved the two for they both would forever own a piece of her heart. Knowing that the two boys she trusted with her heart were both one and the same made her love for them, no him, grow.

Parisians walking the street didn't notice her as they went about their daily lives. When Marinette did look up from the ground and her phone, she noticed a tall and slender man in a tan suit walking towards her from around the corner. She squinted at the stranger before she realized that he was the same man from the day before. When he had entered her parent's bakery, her father's smile had been wiped from his face. To Marinette, it seemed like her father was always in a joyful and happy mood. To think that the man had accomplished in making her father turn somber just by entering the building caused a chill to run down her spine.

The man brushed by Marinette and extended his hand to open the door of the shop. Marinette turned just in time to hold the door open for him and he walked past her into the shop without giving her a second glance. She was tempted to follow the stranger into the shop to see what he wanted but instead let the door shut behind him. She did, however, look through the windows of the bakery to see what the man would do.

She saw her father emerge from the kitchen holding a freshly made basque cake on a platter, a smile on his face. When he saw the man standing alone in his shop, his smile faltered and became forced. The platter carrying the cake slightly wobbled. He gently placed the tray on the counter next to him and wiped his hands on his apron. The man in the tan suit nodded to Tom, before he said something that Marinette couldn't make out.

Whatever he had said made her father's smile disappeared completely. The man reached into a concealed pocket in his suit and pulled out a piece of paper before he handed it to Tom. Her dad took the paper and all the color drained from his face. His wide eyes looked at the man standing before him, almost pleading that what he saw on the paper wasn't true.

Marinette saw her mother emerge from the door leading to their apartment upstairs, her smile also vanishing when she saw the stranger. She gasped when she saw the slip of paper in Tom's hand. She glanced up at her husband, fear and worry in her eyes.

Marinette was about to march into the shop and demand for the man to leave when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around and was prepared to attack whoever was behind her when Adrien held up his hands in surrender.

"Hey, woah! It's just me, Princess," he said as he grinned down at her. "How are you this morning?"

When he noticed her shifting from foot to foot and glancing between him and the shop, he knew something was wrong. "Is everything okay?"

Marinette shrugged. "No...yes? Frankly, I...I don't know what's wrong because I don't understand what-"

"Hey guys!" Nino yelled as he and Alya bounded around the corner. "Who's up for going to seek help from a great and powerful Miraculous master?" Nino lifted his hand for a high-five.

When no one high-fived him, he let his arm drop back to his side. "Yo, dudes. What's the matter? Everything cool?"

Marinette glanced back through the bakery's window and saw that her parents and the stranger had disappeared, most likely going up to the apartment to talk. Adrien gently took Marinette's hand and she met his eyes.

He said, "Really, Marinette. Are you alright? Do you need to stay home today?" His bright green eyes searched hers, desperately wanting to know what he could do to make his lady smile again.

The dark haired girl slowly began to nod as she plastered on a small smile. "Yeah," she said after a moment, "It's fine. I'm alright. Well, as alright as one can be when they're about to go get help from a wise, old master on trying to stop a powerful foe."

Adrien must have seen that something else was bothering her but he let it go. He figured if she wanted to talk about it, she would and he wouldn't force her.

"Well, on that note," Nino said as he slowly started walking away from the group, "let's get going to defeat and finally put an end to this evil foe, but with a little help first, of course."

~~~

Marinette's hand hesitated. She was about to knock on Master Fu's door to his meditation room, but something stopped her. She had a feeling that once she walked in, her life would change forever. Well, more than it had already changed.

Adrien squeezed her hand, trying to reassure her.

She smiled gratefully up at him and saw that he was just as nervous as she was.

Nino, however, wasn't as worried as the two because his large hand reached over Marinette's and banged on the door.

"Nino!" Alia exclaimed as she punched his shoulder.

Nino shrugged. "What? I didn't want Master Fu to think we were just loitering outside his door and-" He stopped when he saw Alya glaring daggers at him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned away.

Alya sighed and just as she was about to apologize for being too harsh, the door opened to reveal a short, aging man in a red Hawaiian shirt.

He grinned at the four teenagers and stroked his long beard. "Marinette and Cat Noir. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

Adrien's green eyes widened when the elder called him by his alter ego, but before he could say anything, Marinette stepped forward.

"We need your help, Master Fu," she said. "We know who Hawk Moth is and where he's been hiding all this time. What do we do now?"

~~~

The man, who Tom had come to despise, tipped his head in farewell before he left the bakery. 

Tom's forced smile fell from his face as he sighed, all of his energy drained away from the man's visit. He leaned against the cashier's counter, his legs barely able to support his weight. His eyes drifted over to the door that led up to his family's apartment. 

Sabine had left before the man had even stepped a foot outside the bakery. She hadn't wanted the man to see her tears. Tom wanted to go console her, and tell her everything would be alright...but he couldn't.

He didn't know if everything was going to be okay. It sure didn't seem like it would. Tom's eyes glanced down at his hands. In Tom's clenched hand was the now crumbled slip of paper the man had previously given him. 

Tom's bakery, despite its excellent location, hadn't been doing well over the past couple of months. Business had slowed because of Parisians and tourists wanting to visit more famous and reviewed bakeries from popular social media websites. His tiny bakery did have excellent reviews, but not as many as the others. He also didn't know how to properly advertise his shop, much less be able to pay for all of it. 

The last couple of weeks he hadn't wanted to worry his family, but he hadn't been able to pay their rent. He kept asking for more time, but he guessed that the building owner had had enough and wanted Tom out. 

The man that had visited his shop moments before was the new owner. He planned on turning their bakery into a European merchandise shop for all the tourists visiting the city. He believed his idea for the store would do well.He also had enough money to convince the landowner and have him force Tom to pack up his bags and leave. 

Tom had looked online for other available spaces in Paris but all of them were either too expensive, didn't have enough room for his family, or were too far out of the city and away from Marinette's school. Out of desperation, he started to look for shops outside of France and found a quaint little shop in New York in the United States and he had planned to move there if everything turned south. He had hoped he would never need it.

Tom's eyes glanced around his shop and realized that everything, his world, was falling apart around him. He didn't want to leave. His entire lineage had lived in France and Tom, himself, had grown up in Paris. He had never been to the United States and now he had to pack up his things and move to one of the largest cities in the foreign country. 

What would Marinette think?

Tom shook his head, ashamed of himself. He should've fought harder, figured out a loophole, or something. Anything that would allow his family to stay.

When he opened his eyes again, it felt like the walls of his shop were closing in on him. He couldn't stand it any longer. He ran to the door of the bakery and threw it open. He shuffled down the street, unsure of where he was going, but not caring either way.

Eventually, he came to a large fountain outside a mansion and sat along the edge. He looked at the glistening water over his shoulder and felt the urge to make a wish. He knew it would be pointless, but he still reached into his pocket and pulled out a coin. He turned away from the fountain, closed his eyes, and wished for something, anything that would allow his family to remain in Paris and keep the bakery. 

He tossed the coin over his shoulder and heard the soft plunk it made as it splashed into the water. He turned back around to face the fountain but kept his eyes closed.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a small fluttering of wings and felt something ruffle the stained apron he wore. When he opened his eyes to see what it was, a dark and ominous voice whispered in his mind.

I can help you take back your home, Baker. The only thing you need to do is allow me to help you.