Between Generations

Chapter 46

"If I can have everyone's attention, please?"

Lise looked up at her birth parents from the game she was playing with her friends. Adrien and Marinette stood on the bottom few steps of the staircase overlooking the large living room where everyone was gathered. Marinette's small pale hand was clasped in Adrien's as he called everyone to attention. They both held a glass of wine, looking so natural in their casual outfits among their old friends. It was as if this was an ordinary gathering, not a reunion after fifteen years.

"It's been so wonderful to see all of you, though it doesn't feel like any time has passed," Adrien continued, looking down at his wife. "However, I have noticed a few wrinkles here and there."

Laughter rippled through the crowd.

"A lot has happened, for sure. Fu was not who we thought he was. We had no idea what was to come for us. Lives have been lost." Adrien gazed into Marinette's eyes, hers showing the pain of losing her beloved parents. "But now...now the Dark Collector has been defeated, and Paris is safe once again. We have all of the Miraculouses with us, including the Butterfly Miraculous." His eyes scanned the crowd, stopping every so often to meet the eyes of an old friend.

He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated.

Marinette spoke for him.

"It's been years since we've all acquired our Miraculouses for the first time, and bonded with our kwamis. The jewelry and the kwamis have been a part of us for so long and have helped us keep our loved ones safe...but they also bring danger as well." Marinette gazed at her husband, who nodded.

"Danger that has made us rethink about the Miraculouses. Which is why...we've decided to destroy our Miraculouses."

Silence rang out as shock rippled through the crowd. Any movement suddenly stilled. Lise's stomach twisted as she absorbed the words.

Destroy the Miraculouses?

Lise saw Chloe's eyes widen, and a tear slip down Alya's cheek as they registered what that meant.

The precious jewelry that had long protected Paris for years...gone.

"I know what this means...and that Paris will be vulnerable to any attacks, but...when you think about it, all of the attacks that have been made has been from the Butterfly Miraculous when put in the wrong hands...or another misused Miraculous. Adrien and I have looked through the book of all the secrets and histories...and we haven't found a single story about a villain that has acquired their powers from anywhere else but the Miraculouses. Which is why we've decided to end it once and for all."

"But what about the kwamis? Our friends?" exclaimed Chloe. Her long hair swished as she spoke. Her hands and lips trembled with emotion.

"We know the gravity of the decision," Adrien said calmly, but Lise could almost feel the full weight of the resolve in his voice. "But we leave the decision regarding your own Miraculous up to you."

Marinette held out the circle tin, and opened it. Ladybug's red earrings and Chat Noir's ring rested in it, shining in the dim light of the room. Lise watched her mother closely. Tears were threatening to fall from her bright blue eyes.

The crowd was still for a long time. No one moved, absorbing the words.

"I will." A deep voice made Lise jump. A tall man with black glasses and a buzz-cut stepped forward, and placed a green bracelet into the tin. "I understand the reason."

"As do I." Alya stepped forward to his side, and clasped his hand. She placed a necklace with an orange hook charm into the tin as well.

One by one, more and more people from the crowd stepped forward, and placed the charms into the tin.

After an auburn-haired woman placed an eagle pin into the tin, Marinette closed it. "Without a Guardian, the jewelry are no longer safe. They are not safe even with us." She clasped her fingers around it, but her hand trembled. She bent her head. "I'm sorry," she whispered, seeming to talk to the tin instead of the crowd. "I'm so, so sorry, Tikki."

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