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Adrien's P.O.V
I returned home from a photoshoot just a few minutes ago. It took from the end of school to late afternoon before I arrived back home. I'm pretty tired but I'm used to days like this.
Besides, I'm still on a mission to take down Hawkmoth. Even if I do have my powers or not, I feel as if it is my responsibility. Hawkmoth is my father. His assistant is Mayura. They've been right in front of me this whole time.
This whole time!
I feel so stupid.
I feel so useless for not realizing it earlier.
Now, I need to make things right. Powers or not, it doesn't matter. I will save Paris. I will stop them by myself. I will make sure no one else gets hurt.
The first thing to figure out is the secret code on the safe behind mom's portrait. I can go to the security room for that. It's bound to have been caught on camera (with how many there are).
If I can recall, the safe is where I found the book of heroes and possibly...the peafowl miraculous. There might be other hints, secrets, or items inside the safe that I didn't get a chance to discover.
It might be a stretch, but maybe, my father was careless this one time. Maybe, he left the butterfly miraculous in the safe. I could end my father's criminal acts all in one night.
Maybe, I can figure out his intentions behind his actions.
Or maybe I could get caught in the act by someone. There's a fat chance of me succeeding in this mission. It's a long shot that I'm willing to take.
Once Nathalie left my room for the night, I quietly escaped into the dark hallway. I did my best to avoid as many cameras as possible. It is tricky with as many as he has around the house. Father is a very paranoid man (with good reason). Not only is he protecting his villainous secret identity, but he's still also a famous fashion designer.
I peek around a corner only to spring back behind.
The Gorilla is walking down the hallway.
"I forgot he does a few rounds around the mansion before heading home," I thought. My bodyguard will surely return me to my room if he caught me and report it to my father. I can't let that happen.
"How can I get rid of him though?" I desperately said within my head, knowing he is growing closer to where I'm at. I scan the area for any ideas to hide or distract him. My eyes glossed over some sort of fancy-looking art rock that probably cost an arm and a leg for most people (for some reason).
Then, I glanced over at a window and a big tapestry that nearly touched the ceiling to brush against the floor.
A crazy idea popped into my head.
I grabbed the rock and stood close to the tapestry. I chuck the rock at the window before quickly moving to hide behind the tapestry. Luckily, father didn't hook up any sensory alarms to the windows. That would've caused a bigger scene than I would've liked. I listened to the window shatter then a set of heavy feet running to investigate.
Seeing my chance, I hurriedly scamper around the corner and stealthy made the rest of the way to the security room.
I did have a few very close calls when the Gorilla passed by. Yet, I did manage to make it to the security room. I locked the door behind me and stood in front of the monitors. I flipped through the many camera's footage until finding the angle of my father's office.
Although, I don't exactly know how to rewind the footage.
My hands rummaged through the desk's drawers until finding a manual and searched for the right information. It took some preciously wasted time to figure it out but I eventually did. I stopped at my father standing in front of the portrait every time until finding him opening the safe.
"Bingo," I thought, rewinding the video to father putting in the password. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the password, stuffing it in my pocket. I was about to rush out of the security room to my next stop when catching something else.
Father disappeared into the floor.
"What the..." I muttered under my breath. I returned to the monitors and rewound the footage.
Father shut the portrait before pausing for a moment in deep thought. Then, he looked up at mom's picture again and reached his hands up, placing his fingers on specific spots on the portrait. He has placed his arms at his side and descended on a circular panel down somewhere.
The circular opening is covered up once father is completely gone. I blinked, not sure what to think. Shaking my head, I left the security room.
If I have time, I'll check it out.
Although, what if father is wherever that secret elevator had taken him right now? If I did check it out, I might run into my father.
"Maybe some other time when father isn't home," I thought, knowing that the next time father actually leaves the house won't be for a long time.
I approached my father's office and slid the door open a crack. The room was empty and dark.
Perfect.
I slid into the room and closed the door. I didn't turn on the light, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention from outside the room. I grabbed my phone and turned on the flashlight option.
I held up my phone, grazing its beam of light up towards mom's portrait. It kind of gave me an unsettling feeling as I approached it. I placed my phone on father's desk, angling it enough to help me see. My hands grasped onto the portrait's frame and swung it to the side like a door.
The safe sat there, seemingly mocking me for not realizing the obvious clues from the last time I discovered it. I held a major hint that could've led me to Hawkmoth's identity this entire time but brushed it off from father's explanation.
The last gift from mom.
Was it a lie or a cover story to hide the truth?
I sighed, getting myself off-topic and brushed my fingers through my hair. I pulled out the paper with the password and put in the code. Much to my relief, the safe opened with a click. Moving the safe's door open, I'm met with all the items I saw the first time I was in this safe.
The book of miraculous, the pamphlet of a hotel in Tibet, mom's picture...
...a peacock pin.
I grasped the pin, knowing fully well now that it was a miraculous. Yet, something was wrong with it. There is a crack in the jewelry.
I stuff the miraculous in my pocket before glancing at the book. I don't think I need it. I'm probably already going to be in big trouble for stealing the peacock pin...if anyone finds out that is.
"Let's hope I can get back to the security room again and erase this moment," I thought, closing the safe. There wasn't anything else that was important. At least, I can return this miraculous to the guardian.
Once everything is closed, I take a moment to glance at the door and then at mom's portrait.
"I have time," I thought, groping the picture for any secret pressure points. I found a hidden button and pressed it.
Nothing happened. I checked my phone, realizing there are more than one and had to press them all at the same time. I searched for more, keeping my hand over the one I found.
Just as my fingers grazed over a second one, the lights turned on.
I gasped, stumbling away from the portrait like the person who walked in didn't just see me messing with it.
Obviously, they did.
I stood stiff on my spot. My eyes widened, pupils shrinking in fear. My skin suddenly felt cold while losing color throughout my body.
At the door, father stood with his face scrunched up in aggravation.
Father's heated gaze melted me into a pile of goop. His blazing fury is ready to burn me alive. The wind of the situation I've put myself into making it all the worse. I can feel all the corners in the room starting to creep in on me—the smoke suffocating my lungs.
I know he won't do anything dire to me. He won't hurt me. I'm his son. He loves me even if he has a hard time showing his feelings. He may be Hawkmoth but he is a very reasonable man.
So, why am I terrified of him?
Why am I scared of my own father?
It's not like he abuses me...not physically, at least...
I can feel the peacock miraculous' presence burn in my pocket, making me more aware of its presence. The object I just stole from father.
"Adrien Athanase Agreste, what are you doing?"
I gulped.
My eyes are drawn down to the red and white scarf.
I could've sworn I saw a faint glow coming from under it...
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Mallorie's P.O.V
I shut the door.
My hands are clenched tightly, feeling my nails digging into my skin. My teeth grind against each other and a frustrated growl slips through them like a territorial animal.
My face heats up in anger. The rest of my pent-up rage within me is ready to explode and release my wrath on this family.
My plan of ruining them before doesn't feel big enough. I need to do something bigger. Something more terrible. Hit them where it hurts both physically and mentally all at once.
I want to destroy. I want to break everything. I want this apartment and the bakery below to crumble into nothing. I want the Dupain-Chengs to suffer the way I've suffered in the past years.
They will pay for ruining my life—for ruining me.
They made me into this monster.
They hurt and tortured me.
They made me fear water.
They took my baby away from me.
This is all their fault.
"Their fault! Their fault! Their fault! Their fault!" familiar voices repeatedly echoed in my head. Faces from the past flash along my vision. I've kept their faces scratched out in my mind, some for weeks and others for years. Those people I've come to despise and want to completely forget forever.
Those who abused, betrayed, left, and taken from me.
Those past scratched-out faces are now replaced with the Dupain-Chengs' faces.
They broke me.
My breathing is still unsteady and clutched my head from a constant pounding against my skull. I want to pull on my hair.
I need to think of a way to get my revenge.
My silver eyes scan the room for some sort of answer. Some way to destroy and break everything without being caught. Something I can do to bring this awful family pain.
I head over to the desk and pull out a folder of everything I've recorded since arriving. There has to be something I can use. I flip through papers of pictures, notes, and charts.
My frustration increases when I can't find anything. Finally, I throw the folder off of the desk. It hit the wall, papers and pictures flying out everywhere.
I scoff.
Useless.
I'm close to tearing this entire room apart and escaping the room to cause some kind of mayhem.
Yet, I catch a picture of Ladybug and Chat Noir sitting next to my feet. It's stuck to a piece of paper with some notes of the heroes and Hawkmoth. I pick up the paper, letting an idea form within my brain.
"That's it..." I thought deviously.
Throwing the paper aside, I walk out of the bedroom. I can't believe I haven't thought about it before. The answer to all of my problems had been in front of me many times.
The power of the miraculous.
It can hide my identity and give me the power to enact my revenge. Marinette's earrings, if I remember correctly. But I need to somehow steal them. Stealing jewelry from pockets, bags, and occasionally bracelets from around the wrist isn't very difficult.
Earrings on the other hand, aren't at all.
I would need her to be asleep or wait for her to take them off. I can steal them now. It is late and I'm sure the residents are sleeping soundly by now.
I quietly pad up the stairs and open the trapdoor slightly. I peek in, seeing Marinette is tucked away in bed. I enter the room and softly shut the door. I walk over to her desk, wondering where she would hide her miraculous.
"She probably has them close by her," I thought, glancing up at the bed. Before I do steal them, I rummage through some of her things and open drawers. I need to check to see if there is anything blackmail-worthy I can use in case this plan fails.
I open a drawer and spot an odd-looking box inside. Raising an eyebrow, I grab it. This has to be important enough for her to keep a tacky thing like this.
I hold my breath when hearing shifting above on the bed.
"I suppose, I should leave before she finds me. Who knows how lightly she sleeps?" I thought, sneaking out of the room and returning to mine.
I sit on my bed and curiously open the box.
I gasp when a green light practically blinds me.
"Shi-ah! What the heck?" I grunted, letting my vision clear up.
"Adr-"
I look to see a floating cat staring at me in surprise. It looked something similar to Marinette's little floating thing but different. I shifted down at the box laying on the floor, seeing something shiny within. Picking up the box, I turned to see a silver ring.
"Who are you?" the cat questioned, unsurely. I ignored it, realizing what I am holding in my grasp.
A maniacal grin spreads across my face.
I cackled, sliding the ring on. I held it up, letting the silvery ring shine in the moonlight. I admired the cool feeling hugging my finger, immediately knowing who's ring this was. Chat Noir's ring—the power of destruction within my grasp.
"Well...happy birthday to me."
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