His will was not his own, and as hard as he tried, he couldn't control his own body. Besides that fact, true, dark thoughts filtered through his mind, seeming to erase anything else that had been there previously. In the past, when he looked at Ladybug, he saw everything good, but now that his mind felt clouded, his only desire was to destroy her.

Adrien lashed out with his claws again but Ladybug dodged out of the way, quicker than he thought possible. Despite his fast reflexes, she managed to dodge him again and again. However, he was a cat. Catching something that didn't want to be caught was a worthy challenge.

"You won't be able to keep this up forever," Adrien laughed. "If I'm not mistaken, you're still recovering from the last akuma attack."

It was obvious that she struggled to find the energy each time she evaded him, her breathing becoming labored and sweat lining her forehead. Unfortunately, she was still weak and he planned to take full advantage of that.

"This isn't you, Chat!" Ladybug cried, clutching her arm as she stood in a defensive stance as he cornered her on the rooftop. The sight of blood underneath her fingers made him pause. He hurt her... "This isn't my kitty cat."

"I'm not your kitty cat," Adrien spat, the darkness taking over once again "I never was. You made that quite clear from the beginning."

Snow began falling down on them, making it a little more difficult to see his surroundings. Ladybug used this to her advantage and soon enough, she all but disappeared. However, it started to get dark outside and she couldn't see in the dark. But he could. So using his cat-like night vision, he honed in on her blurred movements until he found her crouching behind a crate in the gathering darkness. She looked to be drained of energy.

Alyssa laughed from where she stood watching the scene unfold just feet away. "Get her, Chat Noir! End this!"

Adrien stalked forward with a malicious grin on his face, his purple eyes glowing formidably against the darkness of the night. As he walked toward her, his hand glowed purple as well, instead of the normal black tendrils that came with his cataclysm power. This was it. This was the end of Ladybug.

With one powerful sweep of his hand, Adrien completely incinerated the box that Ladybug hid behind, the sound echoing loudly as it shattered to reveal the exhausted Ladybug hiding behind it. She leaped to her feet, putting a little more distance between the two of them.

"I'm warning you!" she cried as she held up a hand as if that could keep him from getting any closer. "I'll do whatever it takes to stop you, Chat. Even if that means kissing you like that last time you were akumatized."

The mention of that made him stop completely as he tried to remember this incident, a part of Adrien returning as he thought back to that moment years ago when he had been akumatized. He didn't remember much of that day, and he certainly didn't remember a kiss. Ladybug kissed him? Why hadn't Plagg told him?!

Adrien took a step back while shaking his head, trying to shake himself out of this strange reality where he desperately wanted to kill Ladybug. He couldn't do this. This wasn't right.

"Kill her, Chat!" Alyssa cried hysterically, purple moths swirling around them in a flurry as if they were caught in a whirlwind of purple snow.

"Please, Chat," Ladybug begged softly, almost as if she knew that she started to get through to him, past the haze in his mind. "Don't do this. I love you."

He frowned as he suddenly felt so confused. What was he doing here? And why was he trying to kill the woman he loved? This just didn't make any sense.

"No," Adrien said, shaking his head while trying to fight Alyssa's power. "I can't."

Alyssa's expression turned from gleeful into a deep scowl. "Look what you've done, Adrien. You've gone and ruined my fun. No matter... I have two Miraculouses and a powerful ancient amulet. I don't need four Miraculouses to bring back the dead."

She produced a peacock-shaped brooch and placed it in her blonde hair, and right before his eyes, she transformed into a mix between Hawk Moth and a stunning peacock, the mask around her eyes turning into a mixed shade of blue and green, and it looked as if she produced beautiful feathers that trailed her every footstep. Adrien stood watching, completely floored by the transformation—not because she took his breath away, but because he had seen this before, a long, long time ago.

His mother...

At the time, he thought it had been just a dream—as he was just a kid back then—but seeing it now in person made him realize that he hadn't been dreaming. His mother had been just like him...

Alyssa's eerie laugh broke him out of his reverie, and even more as the ground began shaking beneath his feet. All Adrien had to do was peer over the side of the rooftop to see what looked to be hundreds of skeletons bursting out of the earth down below, slowly climbing up the side of the manor to get to them. The akuma inside of him warred between joining Alyssa in her wicked endeavors and saving Ladybug who looked almost too weak to stand.

He couldn't choose. He couldn't choose.

"I should have taken you out a long time ago, Adrien," Alyssa laughed as she detached her peacock tail and suddenly it became a powerful fan. "I hope you enjoy getting buried alive."

In a quick movement, Alyssa swung her fan and a powerful gust of wind shot out and hit him hard in the chest so it knocked the air right out of him. He scrambled to grab a hold of anything as he was blown right off the roof, but his fingers couldn't latch around a single thing in his fall. The ground came at him faster and faster and—

And a yo-yo shot toward him, wrapping around his hand to keep him from plummeting any further to what might have been his death. Ladybug!

Using all of her strength, Ladybug hauled Adrien up the side of the roof, just out of range of the skeletons who reached for him with their long and bony fingers, until she heaved him over the side of the rooftop, completely out of breath. If he wanted to, he could so easily kill her right now.

Before he could contemplate the action any further, the ground shook yet again, knocking him right down to his knees. Nothing made sense anymore in his head, but he knew one thing for sure—Lady Hawk Moth needed to be stopped, otherwise a lot of people would get hurt.

With Alyssa distracted by the skeletons now making an appearance on the rooftop, Adrien found an opening. However, as soon as he left Ladybug's side, she was apprehended by some of the skeletons, unable to get away because of her depleted strength. If he didn't do something fast, then she might just get killed.

Indecision flickered in his eyes as he glanced back and forth between Ladybug and Hawk Moth. If he didn't stop Hawk Moth, he might never be able to get another chance.

But he would always choose Ladybug no matter what.

Adrien could only take one step forward toward Ladybug before she shook her head. "You know what you have to do. Don't look back!"

He clenched his fists and forced himself to look away. She was right. She was always right.

Giving very little thought about himself, Adrien charged forward, straight into the plume of purple moths. Their sharp wings cut his skin, but he still just batted them away with an expert swing of his staff. Finally, he reached the middle of the whirlwind and Alyssa just managed to turn her head in the slightest before he tackled her to the ground, swiping at her throat with his claws. This time, she wouldn't get away.

Alyssa's moths hurtled toward him, but not before he managed to hook a claw around the ancient amulet, breaking the chain that attached around her neck. In an instant, the plume of purple moths turned into innocent white butterflies and the skeletons froze right in their tracks as if they were statues.

Adrien reached out and in a swift motion, cut the amulet right in half with his cataclysm power, and this time, the skeletons turned into a pile of ash at his feet. It was over... It was finally over...

He spoke too soon.

Quicker than he thought possible, Alyssa was back on her feet and she wrapped a strong hand around his throat, squeezing hard until he saw stars as she lifted him in the air. How was she so strong?

"I'm still twice as powerful as you, Adrien, or do you forget that I hold two Miraculouses now?"

Her expression looked deadly and the intent to kill appeared clear in her eyes.

"You don't have to do this," Adrien squeaked, clutching at her hand but not being able to make her grip budge. A droplet of blood escaped the corner of his mouth and ran down his chin. "You can do good things with your Miraculous. You don't have to use it for evil."

Beep. Beep. Beep.

Adrien's Miraculous flickered out, and with that, the akuma flew out too. Without the amulet's power to hold it in there, it could no longer affect him. Starting from his toes, his black boots changed into sneakers, his black clothes turned into a jacket and jeans, and finally, his mask disappeared to reveal his face. Adrien should have been more concerned about hiding his identity, but he was too focused on trying to breathe.

"That sounds a little too boring for me," Alyssa grinned, throwing Adrien with superhuman strength, and when his back hit against something hard, he saw stars yet again.

He needed to do something, but he didn't know what... Adrien couldn't transform again until Plagg regained his strength and right now... Well, Adrien was simply just Adrien. He couldn't do anything special.

Exhaustedly, Adrien reached out and his fingers clasped around a broken wooden pole. He wouldn't go down without fighting.

"Really, Adrien?" Alyssa smirked. "What are you going to do? Hit me with it?"

Adrien did his best to stand, but his attempts led him nowhere as his shaky knees collapsed on him, making him fall back to the ground. He couldn't do this alone, and neither could Ladybug, seeing her condition several yards away from him. She looked just as bloodied and exhausted as he did.

Giving him one last smirk, Alyssa pointed her fan at him once more. "Goodbye, Adrien. Say hello to your dear mommy for me."

Although he should have ducked away, he didn't have the energy. Instead, he just flinched and waited for the pain as a spiral of blue and purple came charging toward him. But the pain never came. Rather, he heard a cry and opened his eyes to find his father slumped on the ground in front of him, having thrown himself out of his wheelchair to take the hit for Adrien. His body convulsed as the blue and purple energy radiated throughout him, and all Adrien could do was watch with wide, horrified eyes as Gabriel produced a rod and pointed it straight at Alyssa, a lightning bolt shooting out and striking her. She fell to the ground, the life quickly going out of her.

"Dad!" Adrien cried as he cradled his father in his arms, sobs escaping his throat before he could even try stopping them. "Why did you... Why did you do that? Please don't die. Please."

Gabriel smiled weakly up at him, gently touching his cheek with the tips of his fingers. "All this time... I never knew I had been fighting my own son. I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive me someday."

Adrien shook his head, his tears relentlessly trailing down his cheeks. "I'm the one who needs your forgiveness. I would never have tried to hurt you if I knew you were my dad the whole time. It's my fault you ended up in a wheelchair. It's my fault you almost died."

Another sob escaped his mouth as the realization hit him. "It's my fault that you're dying now."

"No, it's not," Gabriel replied weakly, his hand falling limply to the ground but Adrien took it in his, willing the strength to return to his body. "I'm at fault. I never told you what happened..." He coughed, blood coming out of his mouth. "I never told you what happened to your mother."

Tears continued falling and Adrien felt helpless to stop them.

Continuing, Gabriel said, "We were partners for years, even years after your mother gave birth to you. We were up against a ruthless enemy and your mother got hurt. I had a choice to either save her or save the city from destruction and I made the wrong choice. I'm so sorry, Adrien. I made the wrong choice."

It all made sense now. His father felt immense guilt for losing his wife, so he spent years trying to find a way to bring her back.

"But I was still here," Adrien sniffed. "Growing up was so lonely without you."

Silent tears fell out of the corners of Gabriel's eyes, even as his body became weaker and weaker. If only Adrien could reverse Hawk Moth's damage, he would. But he just didn't know how.

"I know...and I'm sorry. I should have been there for you. But I had been so consumed—obsessed, even—with the possibility of bringing your mother back. I thought we could be a family again and everything would be alright when she rejoined us, but I ruined everything."

Gabriel coughed and wheezed until his body became even weaker. In that moment, Adrien felt so helpless. Not even Ladybug had the power to reverse the damage done.

"Don't go, Dad," Adrien choked. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You've had that figured out for years already, my boy. Just promise me one thing."

He sniffed again, realizing that this was the last time he'd see his father alive.

"Anything."

"Promise me that you won't become like me. Your future children deserve better than that. I love you, Adrien."

"I love you too, Dad."

And then Gabriel released his last breath, his eyes closing peacefully. Even though he seemed peaceful at rest, it did nothing to soften the ache Adrien felt inside his heart. He sobbed and sobbed over his father's lifeless body, and only when Marinette wrapped her arms around him did he turn into her comforting embrace and cry into her shoulder. Sure, they may have defeated Hawk Moth once and for all, but it came at a very steep price.

Marinette stroked his hair comfortingly and never let him go. "I'm so sorry, Adrien. I'm so so sorry."

Adrien clutched onto her even tighter, seeing that she felt like the only thing keeping him afloat in that very moment in time. Marinette was his lighthouse, his partner, his other half. Without her, he didn't think he could get through the next few moments, the next few days, or even the next few weeks. She was his home.