While Chat Noir was making his way to the other side of his house via the rooftop, Ladybug was escorted to Gabriel's atelier by the candy cane-clad man himself. But as soon as she was in the room, Ladybug immediately took notice of the pictures of Adrien-showing off his father's work-that Gabriel had hung on the wall closest to the door. And in typical Marinette-like fashion, Ladybug couldn't help but ogle at them.

"Isn't he flawless?" Gabriel questioned Ladybug, standing next to her as she stared at the pictures.

"Huh? What? Flaw-what?" Ladybug stammered, snapping out of her trance and redirecting her focus back onto Mr. Agreste.

"Adrien, my son. He's the image of perfection, don't you think?" Gabriel elaborated, sounding like he was... proud of his son's good looks.

"Oh, yes, he's perfect. I mean, um, I don't know him very well, but he seems..." Ladybug trailed off, not really knowing the right response to Gabriel's words. While Adrien was very handsome in her opinion, Ladybug knew that he was more than just a pretty face... that was just an added bonus.

"I've never noticed your earrings before. They really are quite unique. May I?" Gabriel requested, reaching for the aforementioned jewels without her permission. It was only by Ladybug's slight recoil back that his fingers just grazed her earrings. Thankfully, the ring of her yo-yo broke the tension of the situation and gave Ladybug the window she needed to back away from Gabriel.

"Excuse me." Ladybug said as she put a respectable amount of distance between her and Mr. Agreste so she could answer her yo-yo. "Chat Noir, where were you?" the spotted heroine spoke into her yo-yo, a tone of uncomfortableness lacing her words.

"I was... keeping Simon Says at bay!" Chat Noir exclaimed from his perch on the manor roof, once again thinking on the fly for an excuse to save himself from being discovered.

"And?" Ladybug questioned, hoping for a bit of good news.

"I couldn't keep him away." Chat Noir admitted, glancing at the street to see the hypnotized people coming right for the gate. "He's coming and he's got company." the feline hero reported before hanging up. Once he did, Chat Noir entered the mansion through the window of the atelier Ladybug and Gabriel were occupying.

"Close off all exits! They're coming from another direction! Do as I say! Engage the self-defense system, we need total lockdown!" Chat Noir ordered as he closed the window behind him, prompting Gabriel to do as he asked and activate the total defense system.

"Lockdown engaged." the security system announced, followed by all the windows being covered by metal shutters and barricading the doors. This included the front door, where Nathelie was standing guard while Simon Says's army tried to break through the front gate.

"How do you know so much about the system?" Gabriel questioned Chat Noir from his computer, a little suspicious of his ample knowledge on the house's defenses.

"Uh... In a house like this... it's a given!" Chat Noir stammered out, not liking that he was put on the spot for an excuse... again.

"They won't get in with Nathalie guarding the door. And even if they got past her, this house is built like a fortress." Gabriel assured as he double checked that the security system was fully operational. As he did, he pulled up the security camera feed and revealed Simon Says was right outside, standing on top of the Gorilla's back.

"Simon says, destroy!" Simon Says ordered before he threw bull cards at the hypnotized people. Once the cards landed on the people, they knocked the gate down and began to approach Nathalie at the front door.

You would think Nathalie would be worried about the army coming at her... but she was simply standing at the top of the front staircase with her hands behind her back and a neutral expression on her face. This only prompted the army to underestimate their singular opponent, that being their first mistake when Nathalie grabbed one of the attackers arms and judo flipped them to the ground. From there, the two teenage heroes watched alongside Mr. Agreste as Nathalie began to easily outmatch the army the akuma commanded.

"Woah! Remind me to not get on her bad side." Ladybug uttered in awe as they watched Nathalie roundhouse kick an attacker away from the door, turning back around to headbutt another before punching them in the gut. With the second attacker disoriented, Nathalie took the opportunity and grabbed their flailing arm to throw them back towards the gate.

"Oof, that's going to leave a mark." Chat Noir winced as they saw the second attacker land on their face, looking back at Nathalie just in time to see her sweep kick three more attackers.

"She's incredible!" Ladybug gushed, impressed with Nathalie's fighting skill level.

"Naturally. I would expect nothing less from my bodyguard." Gabriel commented, unintentionally revealing a new bit of information to the two heroes in attendance.

" 'Bodyguard?' I thought she was your assistant." Ladybug questioned as she turned away from the security feed, a little surprised at Gabriel's nonchalant response to her previous comment.

"She happens to be both. And she excels in each profession to an astonishing degree." Gabriel elaborated, a sense of pride seeming to lace his voice as they watched Nathalie take down another attacker.

"I'll say. She's demolishing them." Chat Noir remarked just as the army began retreating, finding themselves no match for Nathalie's skills. But as Nathalie pushed the last of the defeated hypnotized civilians off of the front steps, Simon Says had pulled out a new set of cards from his deck.

"Simon says... you are experts in jujitsu!" Simon Says proclaimed, causing images of ninjas to appear on the cards before he threw them at his army.

"That's not good." Ladybug gravely muttered as she and the others in the room watched the cards sail through the air towards the hypnotized civilians. Immediately after the cards hit them, the army ran back towards Nathalie to put their newly acquired skills to good use, giving the assistant/bodyguard a run for her money and tiring her out.

"We need to get her out of there!" Chat Noir exclaimed while Nathalie kept blocking the flying kicks and punches aimed at her. Now seeing Nathalie barely defending herself against Simon Say's army, Ladybug ran towards the door.

"Open the door. I'll get her." Ladybug ordered Gabriel, heading out of the atelier and to the front door. When she arrived at the door, it opened up and allowed Ladybug to use her yo-yo to pull Nathalie back into the house before another attacker could spin-kick her in the gut. Once Nathalie was back inside, the door closed back up while Ladybug took her back into the atelier, only for Simon Says's army to begin attacking the house. After Ladybug helps Nathalie sit down, the army wastes no time in taking out the house's defenses, up until the point where they take out the main power grid and bathe the inside of the house in red light.

"Emergency power on." the security system announced as the lights turned back on.

"There were too many of them. I couldn't hold them all off." Nathalie breathed out from her seat, catching her breath from the amount of fighting she had done.

"It's okay. You did enough." Chat Noir assured as he placed a hand on Nathalie's shoulder, kneeling down to her level like Ladybug had done. "But your defense system is failing!" the feline hero accused Gabriel, turning around to face him as he got back onto his feet.

"Adrien and Nino! I better go get them!" Ladybug realized, seeing as they now had to evacuate to a safer place.

"Nathalie, take the controls so you can unlock an exit. She's coming with you." Gabriel said as he pressed a button on his computer, opening up a painting on the wall to reveal a master control remote. With her orders, Nathalie got to her feet and grabbed a remote before following Ladybug out of the room to get the boys.

"I'll reinforce the outer defenses. Go hide in the atrium. It's not safe here." Chat Noir ordered Gabriel as he ran to the secret compartment to grab the second remote.

"No one tells me what to do. Not even a superhero." Gabriel coldly replied, seemingly offended by Chat Noir's advice.

"You're in danger, like everyone else!" Chat Noir reminded the fashion designer while he took the other controller. "So stop pretending you're above us all, just do what I tell you to!" the feline hero yelled in frustration, having enough of Gabriel's superiority complex. As soon as the words left his mouth, both Gabriel and Chat Noir were left in shock... neither of them expected Chat Noir to be so direct.

"Quite a temper. You remind me of someone." Gabriel remarked in a somewhat fond way. But when he saw that the fashion mogul wouldn't listen to him, Chat Noir exited the room through the window, hoping to once again avoid having his identity revealed.

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However, he left just in time to miss Gabriel turning around to look at the picture of Emilie that resided in the office space. With the assurance that no one was in the room, Gabriel quickly went over to the painting, pressed the hidden panels, and was then lowered into his lair, eager to assist his latest akuma one last time. Once he was down in the security of his lair, Gabriel transformed into Hawkmoth once again and tuned into Simon Says's mind to see him watching the hypnotized people as they began invading the house.

"I don't think that's a good idea, Simon Says." Hawkmoth commented as he walked to the center of his lair, eager to redirect the akuma's attention to the supervilian's true goal.

"Gabriel is here!" Simon Says exclaimed, reminding Hawkmoth of what he had promised him.

"Yes, but don't forget our deal. I feel Ladybug and Chat Noir nearby. Once you've got them in front of you, you'll be able to honor our agreement. Just take their jewels, the Miraculouses." Hawkmoth elaborated, fully intending to allow Simon Says to capture 'Gabriel' as a means to keep his... darker hobbies a secret. While it was certainly a risk if either Ladybug or Chat Noir noticed that he was less active in a battle with his civilian identity involved, Hawkmoth knew that it was worth it in the long run.

"It's as good as done. Simon says we'll defeat them!" Simon Says proclaimed, cutting off the psychic link so he could focus on invading the manor once again. Only this time, he had even more reason to break into it... if he wanted to have things go his way, that is.

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Back in the mansion, Ladybug and Nathalie had made it to Adrien's room and entered it. At the sight of the assistant and superhero, Nino got up from the couch and walked over to them.

"Ladybug! What's going down?" Nino asked, worried about Ladybug's sudden appearance.

"We need to move to safer ground. Where is Adrien?" Ladybug hurriedly questioned as she sped-walked over to Nino.

"Taking a shower." Nino replied, not having any other way to say it.

"Now?" Ladybug wondered aloud, turning towards the bathroom door.

"It's the model in him, apparently." Nino explained, parroting what Adrien told him earlier while Ladybug walked over to the bathroom door. Once she was there, she tried to listen in on any sounds coming from the otherside of the door, but came up empty when she was met with silence.

"Take Nino to the atrium. I'll take care of Adrien. Leave the remote control with me." Ladybug told Nathalie, prompting her to give the superheroine the remote control before leading Nino to the ground floor of the house. When they were gone, Ladybug finally knocked on the bathroom door.

"A--drien? Adrien?!" the spotted heroine called out, a little nervous as she did so. But when she was met with silence again, it started to worry her. What she didn't know was that Chat Noir had re-entered the bathroom and heard her as she made to open the door. Wasting no time at all, he transformed back into his civilian self and turned the shower on.

"Adrien!" Ladybug repeated, a little more sure of herself this time as she opened the door. But once she did, she could clearly hear the shower running. "Eeee!" the spotted heroine quietly squealed as she realized the situation she was in.

"Yeah?" Adrien replied as he poked his head around the corner, not giving Ladybug any time to get out of the awkward situation.

"Oh! Must... it-eh, to go! He he. Too dangerous... to leave!" Ladybug stuttered from the door, not being able to form any real comprehensive sentences as the thought of seeing Adrien show 0.1% more skin than she's used to seeing on him jumped to the forefront of her mind. To say that she was feeling very conflicted at that moment was an understatement to say the least.

"Can I put on my clothes first?" Adrien timidley asked, feeling the awkwardness of the situation as well.

"YES!! ABSOLUTELY!!" Ladybug exclaimed before she quickly shut the bathroom door, hoping to get her thoughts back on the right track as she sighed in relief. She already went catatonic around him on a daily basis as Marinette, she didn't need to do so now!

Unknown to her, however, Adrien was still fully clothed when he had spoken to her. But he sighed in relief that he not only got out of the awkwardness he inadvertently created, but also kept his identity a secret for another day.

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Down in Gabriel's atelier, the secret supervillain had only made it back to his office by the skin of his teeth before Nathalie and Nino walked in through the doors. But he was surprised to see only the two of them entering the room.

"Where's my son?" Gabriel questioned the pair after they closed the doors behind them

"He'll be here. He's with Ladybug." Nino reported, not noticing the look of contemplation that appeared on Gabriel's usually stoic features.

But while most of the occupants of the house were now in the atelier, Ladybug still stood guard outside of Adrien's bathroom as she decided to have a quick look around. Soon enough, her wandering eyes settled on the screen saver on Adrien's computer, showing off a picture of a beautiful young woman, who looked a lot like...

"My mother on her 17th birthday." a voice to Ladybug's right said, causing Ladybug to turn her gaze to find Adrien walking over to her, a towel around his neck as proof of his recent 'shower'. "She was pretty, huh?" Adrien continued, taking the time to admire the photo as well as he stood next to Ladybug.

"She's... got your eyes." Adrien & Ladybug uttered at the same time, causing the both of them to gasp and blush at the same time. But the moment was interrupted when the hypnotized people finally broke into the mansion. Just when they flooded into Adrien's room, Ladybug quickly pushed him back into the bathroom, causing him to land on his rear as a result of the quick action.

"Stay here!" Ladybug ordered the model before she closed the door, allowing Plagg to fly out of his hiding place once again.

"Oh my! What was that all about? Sweet love?" Plagg teased as he floated in the air in front of his chosen, causing Adrien to blush as he thought about the moment between the two of them just a second ago. However, his reminiscing was cut short as he recollected his thoughts with a shake of his head.

"...Gotta help her!" Adrien exclaimed, his head back to focusing on the akuma that needed to be defeated. "Plagg, claws out!" the lovesick boy shouted out for the third, hopefully last, time that day.

"Oh, not again!" Plagg whined as he was sucked into the ring, triggering Adrien's transformation into Chat Noir.

Back in the atelier, Gabriel watched from the security feed as more and more of Simon Says's army flooded into his house. They had already searched the rest of the house for him, and now they were attempting to search his office, trying to break through the door.

"Are they coming?" Gabriel questioned Nathalie as she pressed her body against the door to keep it locked. But while Nathalie was doing her best, she couldn't keep it closed forever as the hypnotized people piled onto it, finally knocking it open and flooding into the room. With their target found, the victims of Simon Says made quick work of capturing the occupants of the room, the akuma watching from the doorway in accomplishment.

"Gotcha." Simon Says taunted Gabriel, causing the fashion designer to glare at the akuma in seething rage.

Meanwhile, Chat Noir had exited his bathroom again and made it to the rooftop, only to be greeted by a horde of the hypnotized people. While they went to attack him and he evaded their attempts, Ladybug was still in Adrien's room and dodging her own group of akuma victims. It takes her a bit, but once she makes it out of Adrien's room and into the atrium, she runs to the atelier, only to find nobody in the newly trashed room. Shortly after she entered the room, Chat Noir appeared in the window and took in the empty room with knocked-over paintings and broken security terminal as a sign of Simon Says getting his way.

"Well, that's just great." Chat Noir groaned as he took in all the destruction caused by Simon Says's army. But he quickly shut up as Ladybug swung out of the window and began running towards the TVi Studio, Chat Noir following behind as they made their way to Simon Says's lair.

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"Welcome to another exciting hour of "The Challenge"!" Simon Says announced, back inside the TVi Studio with his army and newly acquired captives. "Good evening again from Simon Says. Viewers, I've kept my promise. Here's Gabriel!" the akuma proclaimed as the camera pans over to the side to reveal Gabriel, the Gorilla accompanying him and preventing him from escaping.

"Simon says... you are a butterfly!" Simon Says said, a picture of a butterfly appearing on the card. With a little puff of air onto the card, Simon Says allowed it to flutter towards Gabriel and land on his chest. Once it disappeared in a flash of light, the hypnotic command immediately took hold of the fashion designer.

"Flap flap, flutter flutter, flutter flutter, flap flap!" Gabriel cried out as he began jumping around the stage, flapping his arms like wings and causing a captured Nathalie to silently laugh her head off at the sight.

'Oh the irony!' Nathalie crowed in her thoughts while being held back by some of Simon Says's minions, Nino right next to her and giving her a concerned side-eye at her sudden amusement.

"Tomorrow, Butterfly, you will be no more." Simon Says announced, watching Gabriel hopping around like a lunatic with much amusement. But unbeknownst to him, Ladybug and Chat Noir had made it to the studio and watched the akuma make his proclamation on the viewing screens outside the studio door.

"We've gotta save Mr. Agreste! The akuma's gotta be in one of those cards." Ladybug exclaimed to her partner, eager to get this akuma over and done with.

"But which one? There are so many of'em." Chat Noir remarked, bringing up the one flaw in her plan.

"We'll just have to destroy them all." Ladybug decided before she kicked down the door, allowing them both to enter the studio and bring everyone's attention onto them... including Simon Says.

"Ladybug, Chat Noir, you can save him by giving me your Miraculouses. Do the right thing..." Simon Says demanded as he walked off of the stage towards them, a hand pulling up a card from his deck in preparation to throw it at them.

"In your dreams." Ladybug exclaimed, right before she finally called on her... "Lucky Charm!" the spotted heroine shouted before her power gave her... another yo-yo.

"A regular yo-yo? But you've got a magical one!" Chat Noir pointed out, not seeing why her lucky charm had decided to be more cryptic than usual.

"I'll figure it out later." Ladybug assured Chat Noir as she tucked the Lucky Charm onto her hip for later use. With her hands free, Ladybug then spun her trusty yo-yo into a shield while she and Chat Noir advanced on Simon Says, aiming to attack him.

"Simon says... your yo-yo is useless!" Simon Says shouted before he threw a card at Ladybug. In response, Ladybug threw her yo-yo at the card, only for it to land and target and cause the yo-yo to fall to the floor. At the sight of her weapon not functioning properly, Ladybug pulled it back towards her and saw that her yo-yo wasn't working anymore, soon followed by the 'unbreakable' cord snapping in half. Shocked that her only weapon was out of action, Ladybug went still with shock while Chat Noir continued to advance on Simon Says.

"Simon says... your weapon is..." the akuma began, only for Chat Noir to jump into the air and knock the card out of Simon Says's hands.

"Useless? I don't think so. And I'm not gonna let you get a word in otherwise!" Chat Noir exclaimed as he and Simon Says began to duke it out, causing some of the akuma's cards to drop from his deck. Now seeing a way she could help, Ladybug slid over to the discarded cards and started ripping them up, hoping to see if the akuma was in one of them.

"Simon says..." Simon Says began after he managed to escape his scuffle with Chat Noir, pulling out another card from his deck.

"Na-na-na-na-na-na-na, na-na-na-na-na-na-na." Chat Noir taunted, trying to prevent Simon Says from using his powers.

"It doesn't matter whether you can hear me or not, all that is important is what Simon says!" Simon Says revealed as he pulled out two sets of cards from his deck and held them in each hand. "Simon says: remove your Miraculous and give it to me!" the akuma announced, causing images of Chat Noir's ring to appear on the prepared cards before he threw them at Chat Noir.

In response, the feline hero avoided the cards by diving to the ground and managed to push Ladybug away from them too. But this led to the two of them ending up on the ground with Chat Noir on top of Ladybug. Despite the awkwardness of the familiar situation, Ladybug pushed Chat Noir off of her so they could get back onto their feet.

As they did, Simon Say was left frustrated by their quick thinking... only to be reminded of the hypnotized Gabriel as he 'fluttered' around behind him.

"Simon says... take off like an airplane!" Simon Says commanded as he turned to glance at the hypnotized fashion designer, throwing an airplane card at him. Once it landed, Gabriel immediately started acting like an airplane, even going as far as running out the room while making airplane-noises. At the sight of her boss's trajectory, Nathalie decided that she had been 'playing captive' long enough and began to make quick work of defeating the ones holding her back from attacking Simon Says.

"He's headed for the roof. We have to stop him." Chat Noir exclaimed before he began to run after Gabriel, only to be stopped when Ladybug stopped him by grabbing his tail.

"This is our last chance to capture the akuma and I can't do it alone! If we free Simon Says, we free Mr. Agreste too!" Ladybug told Chat Noir, reminding him of the fastest way to fix the damage the akuma had done. Thankfully for them, Nathalie had finished taking care of the hypnotized civilians holding her and Nino hostage, allowing them to run over to them.

"We'll go and get him. Focus on the akuma." Nathalie assured them, her eyes alight with a burning determination neither hero had seen from her before.

"Then let's not waste another minute." Chat Noir decided, knowing that his father would be in good hands. With their goals in mind, Chat Noir and Ladybug turned to face the akuma while Nathalie ran out of the studio to catch up with her hypnotized boss, Nino hot on her heels.

"Hear that Simon Says? You better get ready to be defeated." Ladybug taunted, a smirk playing on her lips as she did so.

"And how will you defeat me without your yo-yo?" Simon Says questioned in the same taunting manner, pulling out yet another pair of cards from his deck. "Simon says... it's over!" the akuma announced, the cards in his hand turning black before he threw them at the two heroes. But thankfully, Chat Noir retaliated and hit them away with his baton, which allowed Ladybug all the time she needed to figure out her Lucky Charm.

"Follow my lead." Ladybug said to Chat Noir right before running at the akuma, her partner following in suit like she asked.

"Simon says..." Simon Says began, only for Ladybug to knock the deck of cards out of Simon Says' hands with the regular yo-yo. Once the cards were out of the akuma's grip, Ladybug kicked him away to the ground and made a cradle with her hands as Chat Noir closed in. Seeing the maneuver Ladybug intended to use, Chat Noir stepped onto her hands and was propelled towards the airborne cards, right before he called on his...

"Cataclysm!" Chat Noir shouted, summoning his power and using it to disintegrate the cards before throwing the deck to Ladybug. With the destroyed deck in her hands, Ladybug chucked it on the ground, allowing the akuma to fly free.

"That's not possible! I made your yo-yo useless!" Simon Says cried out in disbelief, shocked that he had been defeated.

"This one, yes." Ladybug replied, holding up her normal yo-yo as she spoke. "But not that one." the spotted heroine elaborated as she held up her Lucky charm yo-yo, right before she said...

"Miraculous Ladybug!" Ladybug cried out, summoning the magic ladybugs and cleansing cure. The cure then swept through the city, de-hypnotizing Simon Says's victims and restoring everything back to normal. It even dehypnotized Gabriel right before he was about to jump off the TVi tower, immediately making him gulp and back away from the edge just as Nathalie burst through the roof access door. But the main thing Ladybug was concerned about was her newly repaired yo-yo, restored to its former glory thanks to the cure.

"My yo-yo!" the red hero cheered in happiness when she saw her weapon back to normal. "No more evildoing for you, little akuma!" Ladybug exclaimed as she opened her yo-yo to reveal the sparkling pool of cleansing energy inside.

"Time to de-evilize!" she shouted before she threw her yo-yo toward the akuma, catching it in her yo-yo. A second later, she released the purified akuma, setting the white butterfly free. "Bye, bye little butterfly," Ladybug said as the butterfly flew away, turning to see Simon Says turn back into Simon.

"Pound it!" Chat Noir and Ladybug cheered, doing their normal post-battle ritual. Once they finished, the two heroes raced to the roof and were greeted by the sight of Nathalie and Gabriel standing far away from the edge when they opened the door with Nino.

"I'm afraid your flight's been canceled, sir." Chat Noir quipped, trying to hide his overwhelming relief to see his father safe.

"You?" Gabriel began, not sure of how he ended up on the roof to begin with, but starting to put the pieces together.

"Prefer Ladybug? Can't say I blame you." Chat Noir replied in a flirty way as he placed his arm around Ladybug's shoulder, only for their Miraculous to start beeping.

"Chat Noir, your ring! You better get out of here." Ladybug exclaimed, grabbing a hold of her partner's hand to get him to take a closer look at it. But while the two heroes were distracted, they and Nino failed to notice the calculating glares of both Nathalie and Gabriel in their direction.

"Like a cat on a hot tin roof." Chat Noir playfully remarked, turning his attention back to the two adults with them, their glares disappearing when the teens looked back over at them. "See you again soon, Mr. Agreste." the feline hero farewelled as he held out his ring hand for the fashion designer to shake. His gesture didn't go unnoticed when Gabriel took the offered hand and shook it... only to turn it over to look at Chat Noir's ring, which caused the black-clad hero to wearily pull his hand back to himself.

"And you, m'lady." Chat Noir said to Ladybug with a bow. After saying his final goodbye, the feline hero ran off, eager to go back home and unwind for the more than stressful day he had. Seeing the example her partner had given, Ladybug soon followed in suit and left the building too, hoping that her parents hadn't come up to check on her during the attack. If they did... it would be one awkward conversation that would surely lead to an even longer grounding.

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(Time Skip)

After the events of Simon Says, Adrien immediately went back home. But now that he was alone in his room, Adrien had taken to standing in front of the windows while looking at the pictures of his mother on his phone, Plagg sitting on his shoulder. The events of the recent akuma had really put a lot of pressure on Adrien, considering Simon Says was targeting his only remaining parent, and had stirred up some unresolved feelings in him.

However, when Plagg heard the door opening, he quickly hid in Adrien's button down shirt just as Gabriel walked into the room. At first, the fashion mogul didn't do anything except stand in front of Adrien as he turned to face him. But then he did something Adrien hadn't expected at all... he hugged him. Adrien was very surprised at the sudden display of affection, but soon melted into his father's embrace... only for Gabriel to take notice of his ring.

"I've never noticed your ring before." Gabriel spoke as he broke the hug and took Adrien's hand to further examine the silver ring. Shocked that his father had pulled away from their hug to only take notice of his Miraculous, Adrien was now pulled back into reality.

"Is that the only thing you've never noticed about me?" Adrien questioned his father, being a little defensive about other ... areas his father should be aware of instead of his choice in 'accessories'. But when seeing how Adrien was acting, Gabriel dropped the subject.

"I'm glad everything worked out for the best." Gabriel said, right before leaving the room. Once he was gone, Adrien sadly looked at the ring on his finger while Plagg reappeared on Adrien's shoulder, concerned about his holder after he and his father hugged each other. It was times like these that Plagg was reminded that Adrien had a darker side to his life... which seemed to be the case with quite a few of his previous holders. One of which he still thought of often due to her actions after her time as his holder.

But before the kwami could do anything more to comfort Adrien, a lighter set of footsteps approached the boy's door. Soon enough, the clacky steps revealed Nathalie, not holding her tablet as she usually did.

"Hey Nathalie." Adrien greeted her, a small smile appearing on his lips when seeing her.

"Hello Adrien." Nathalie replied back before she began walking into the room. "I just came by to check on you. While you weren't captured by Simon Says like your father, Nino and I were, it was still concerning to not know where you were." the assistant elaborated, her worriedness dripping into her voice as she spoke.

"Ladybug made sure I was safe." Adrien assured, using the opportunity to once again make sure his identity was still safe.

"I see." Nathalie muttered, relieved that Adrien was safe during the attack. But while he was okay physically... it didn't mean he was okay mentally.

"Are you... are you sure you're okay?" she asked, concerned about his mental wellbeing as well.

"Honestly... today was a lot. I think I just need time to take it in." Adrien admitted, breathing out as he thought back on what had happened. "I heard that you were standing guard at the door during the invasion from Ladybug. She made you sound like a beast, strength wise." he said, omitting the fact that he had witnessed her skills as Chat Noir to make sure she didn't find out.

"I might have... taken part in some activities in my youth that required me to be able to defend myself." Nathalie revealed to Adrien, a small dusting of pink appearing on her cheeks at Adrien's mention of her fighting abilities.

"I was wondering, if it would be okay with you, that you could... teach me how to fight like that?" Adrien asked, clasping his hand together as he almost begged Nathalie to teach him what she knew. While he was getting training from Master Fu, his methods were to focus on areas of improvement. Adrien could see the logic behind the Guardian's teaching methods, but in his mind, it didn't mean that he couldn't learn from more than one source...especially one that was under his own roof.

"Adrien, you already take karate classes. I don't think it would be a good idea to fill up any of your limited free time with lessons with me." Nathalie pointed out, a deadpan expression replacing her previous blush. While she would at least consider the option for Adrien, she didn't want to be the one to take up any more of his freedom outside of the house. Even if it was his own choice.

"Well, I had to put those lessons into practice when Gori–uh–Placide was hypnotized. If it weren't for Chat Noir, I would have been more banged up than I would have been." Adrien revealed, using his previous scuffle with his bodyguard as the perfect excuse. "Plus, considering Simon Says broke into the house with a civilian army, what's to say if someone else tried to break into this so-called fortress?" he remarked, hoping to appeal to Nathalie's logic so she would agree.

"I see." Nathalie replied, Adrien's strategy working quite well. "I'll run the idea by your father." the assistant decided, causing Adrien to default a bit. While it wasn't what he hoped would be her response, it was better than nothing.

"But even if he doesn't say 'yes', I'll replace the time slots for karate for our private lessons." Nathalie finished, a slight smirk on her lips as she basically admitted that she wanted to break his father's rules. At her words, Adrien's smile returned in full force as he wrapped his arms around her middle to hug her.

"Thank you Nathalie!" Adrien exclaimed, his good mood infectious as it caused Nathalie to reciprocate the hug.

"You're welcome, Adrien." Nathalie replied with a smile, only for the moment to be interrupted by her phone buzzing in her pocket. "It's your father. I have to go back to work." she revealed after pulling out her phone to see who it was.

"Go on ahead. I'll see you later." Adrien assured, knowing that she shouldn't keep his father waiting. With that, they broke from the hug and Nathalie left the room, allowing Plagg to fly out of his hiding spot.

"Well what do you know, your father's assistant does have a soft side." Plagg remarked, his nub-like arms crossed over his chest as he smiled at the exchange between his holder and Nathalie. "There's hope for her yet to become a beautiful camembert... instead of the abomination that Americans call cheese that your father is." the kwami snarked out, happy to dig into Adrien's father... much to Adrien's slight annoyance.

"Plagg, be nice." Adrien warned his kwami, trying to get the little god to not be so harsh.

"Whether you realize it or not, kid... you deserve better than the absent parent that your father is. And I'm going to keep reminding you of that for as long as I'm your kwami." Plagg said to Adrien before flying over to rub his head into the boy's cheek, showing a rare moment of affection that the kwami usually reserved for his favorite holders.

"Thanks Plagg. It's nice to know that some people in this house care about me." Adrien thanked as he placed his hand onto Plagg to reciprocate the display of affection.

But while the boy and kwami were focused on the moment between them, they failed to notice a certain killer of a Changeling spy had witnessed the moment with a fond smile on her lips. And before they could even look in her direction, she leaped off of the building across from the mansion, going off to who knows where.

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While Adrien was with his kwami, Nathalie had made it down the stairs and entered Gabriel's office. As soon as she did, she could see her boss in his usual spot at his standing computer, absorbed in his work like always.

"I see you were talking to my son, Nathalie." Gabriel spoke up, not looking up from his work. "What did you speak about?" he asked her, a questioning eyebrow raised in her direction as he finally looked at his assistant.

"He asked if I could teach him how to defend himself, sir." Nathalie explained, closing the door behind her.

"And you said 'No' of course." Gabriel questioned her, only to be met with silence. "You did say no, correct?" he repeated as he watched Nathalie approach the bottom of the raised platform he was on.

"I said I would run the idea by you out of courtesy. But I also said that regardless of your answer, I would replace his karate time slots with our lessons." Nathalie admitted, her gaze unwavering as she looked Gabriel dead in the eye as she spoke.

"Why would you-" Gabriel exclaimed, beginning to feel enraged by her blatant insubordination.

"If I may be blunt with you, sir?" Gabriel shuts up at her tone. "You haven't been a good father to him recently." Nathalie said, hoping Gabriel would listen.

"What are you talking about?" Gabriel asked, frowning.

"You didn't even ask why Adrien wants me to train him before shutting down the idea." she explained. "It's because he was attacked by Placide when he was hypnotized today. Plus now he doesn't feel safe in the house after your latest akuma's army broke in." Nathalie elaborated

"And that isn't helped by what happened when you akumatized his best friend on his birthday." That remark caused him to frown, but she went on. "Had you been more focused on spending some time with Adrien instead of solely focusing on your work, as Gabriel Agreste and as Hawkmoth, you would have been able to learn this." Nathalie said, the situation threatening to give her a headache.

"I already knew all of this. You are not telling me anything–" Gabriel began to argue, annoyance at Nathalie's words seeping into his own.

"The fact that I'm telling you this, instead of Adrien, is the reason why I'm bringing this up." she said, interrupting him.

"Gabriel, I say this not simply as your assistant, but as someone who knows you, and who will always stand by your side. I talk to you as a friend, but you have become so distant with your son that it's taking a middle man to communicate between the two of you." Nathalie explained. "I know Emily always was the one taking care of Adrien while you were doing your best to get for your family the comfort they deserve. But it cannot be done like this anymore, not when you're his only remaining parent." She knew it wasn't a good idea to bring up Emily, but she had little choice beside that.

"You know that I'm doing all of this so Adrien has his mother back! Everything I do is for him!" Gabriel yelled, looking down on her at this moment, but she didn't care.

"But he doesn't know that! He has no idea why you are so distant, and it's hurting him!" Nathalie shouted, causing him to briefly stare at her in shock before regaining his composure.

"It won't matter when Emilie is back with us." Gabriel said softly, looking exhausted.

"That's where you're wrong... it will matter." she put her hand on his shoulder, hoping to make him understand. "As your friend, I'm telling you, for Adrien's sake, that you need to spend more time with your son, or when we will finally have brought Emily back, she will only find a broken home." Nathalie felt awful to use that argument to get Gabriel to understand her words, but she knew she had little choice beside that.

Gabriel took a deep breath before giving her a weary smile. "Perhaps you're right, Nathalie." he said. "Clear my schedule for tonight. I believe it has been far too long since I've had dinner with my son." Gabriel's tone was even once more.

"Consider it done." Nathalie replied, a warm smile gracing her lips at Gabriel's first effort as she did just as he asked.

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As the sun began to set on the city of Paris, it also casted a beautiful golden glow on the Agreste Manor. Meanwhile, Adrien was at his computer desk and working on some last minute homework, with Plagg gorging himself on a wheel of Camenbert. But before either of them could answer another question or take another bite, Nathalie opened the bedroom door and caused Plagg to hide before she saw him.

"Is it dinner already?" Adrien questioned as he looked up from his homework and stretched the soreness from his back.

"Yes Adrien. Though you might want to know... your father is going to be joining you." Nathalie reported, causing Adrien to stare at her as if she suddenly grew a second head.

"He's... coming to dinner?" Adrien repeated in an unsure voice, not trusting his ears at the moment.

"He cleared his schedule to join you." Nathalie explained.

"Okay... I'll be down in a minute." Adrien replied, allowing Nathalie to leave the room and Plagg to fly out of hiding again.

"Your dad is having dinner with you? Is there an akuma with personality switching powers out in the city and causing havoc?" Plagg wondered aloud, not believing what was apparently happening.

"I'm sure that's not the case, Plagg. But you are right to be a little wary." Adrien responded to Plagg as he got up from his chair and began walking to the door. "I know I am." he muttered to himself as Plagg flew into his overshirt, allowing Adrien to head downstairs and make his way to the dining room. As he entered the room, he was still surprised to find Gabriel already in the seat across from his usual one, despite being told of his presence beforehand.

"Good evening, Adrien." Gabriel greeted.

"Good evening, Father." Adrien replied back, still not believing his eyes as he took in his father's presence.

"I trust that your afternoon has been more enjoyable after Simon Says?" Gabriel asked as Adrien began walking over to his normal chair.

"It was." Adrien said as he took a seat in front of his awaiting dinner and across from Gabriel. "But if you don't mind me asking... Why did you decide to clear your schedule to join me for dinner?" the boy nervously questioned as he scooted his chair in, fully aware that he was toeing a thin line at that moment.

"In light of today's events, I thought that it would be appropriate." Gabriel admitted.

"Oh... right." Adrien muttered as he looked down at his covered plate, saddened from Gabriel's words.

"And it has occurred to me that I have been... a less than adequate parent to you lately." Gabriel continued, causing Adrien to look up from his plate and redirect his widened gaze at his father.

"Adrien, I want you to be able to talk to me when you feel unsafe, not to find out from..." the fashion designer began, only to trail off when he tried to think of the proper words. "... A second party." Gabriel finished, finally finding the right analogy.

"Well, you have been busy. It's fine if you haven't had time to talk with me." Adrien replied, hoping to not give his true feelings away so he wouldn't upset his father.

"I can tell you're lying, son." Gabriel said, dashing away Adrien's attempt to keep his emotions to himself. But it did make way for a feeling of hope to warm Adrien's insides as he waited for his father to finish speaking.

"I know that ever since your mother passed away, we have grown apart and are no longer as close as we once were. Not to mention how I've shut you out in favor of... wallowing in my grief." the usually detached man said, opening up to someone for the first time Adrien could remember. "But I truly care about you feeling safe wherever you go. And while I would ask you if you would like to return to homeschooling, I know that isn't what you want." Gabriel pointed out, actually thinking about what Adrien would prefer to do.

"No, it isn't." Adrien admitted.

"I thought so. Which is why I'll allow Nathalie to teach you how to defend yourself, so that you can be better prepared if the situation should call for it once again." Gabriel revealed, shocking Adrien with his response. He was actually giving Adrien permission to learn from Nathalie, instead of shutting down the idea entirely!

"Thank you, Father!" Adrien exclaimed, happy to see Gabriel listening to what he wanted to do.

"You are my main priority, Adrien. The reason why I'm so overprotective is because I worry about your wellbeing." Gabriel replied before his eyes started to become misty. "I already lost your mother. I don't want to lose you too." he almost croaked out, the emotions of remembering what had happened to his wife almost overwhelming him. At the sight of his father's distraught, Adrien immediately felt closer to him than he had previously.

"You're not the only one who lost Mom, and yet you act like you're the only one who misses her. I miss her too." Adrien said, his own eyes beginning to tear up as he remembered those particular memories. "And I know that she wouldn't have wanted us to have grown so distant like we have." the boy continued, causing his father to gain a ghost of a smile at his son's words before he got up and out of his seat. He had no idea how right he was!

"I'm sorry Adrien. I cannot promise then that I will be able to spend more time with you, but from now on, I'll make more of an effort to be there for you." Gabriel said as he walked over to Adrien and bent down to hug him for the second time that day, this time being more welcoming than the first. "I promise." he swore as Adrien returned the hug in full, both not noticing Nathalie standing at the dining room entrance and smiling at the moment between father and son.

"Now then, shall we eat? The chief heard about the occasion and decided to make something new." Gabriel revealed after breaking away from the hug and returning to his seat, eager to talk to his son over their meal. Taking his words as a sign to dig in, the two Agreste men lifted their cloches off of their plates and were greeted by the sight of freshly made...

"Chicken Cordon Bleu? Well I certainly won't be feeling 'bleu' after this." Adrien blurted out when he saw his meal, causing Gabriel to freeze in his tracks and stare at Adrien in surprise. "Oh, I mean–" the model began, trying to save himself from the blunder he had made while Gabriel collected himself again.

"Now don't be such a 'chicken' son. You obviously meant what you said." Gabriel countered, leaving Adrien in his own state of shock at his father's pun. But it soon melted into a chuckle and a wide smile.

"Now I remember where I got my talent for word play. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Adrien quipped, fully using the opportunity that his father had presented to have some fun with him.

"Yes, you most certainly are 'a chip off the old block'." Gabriel smirked, allowing himself to enjoy the moment.

"I also realized that my worries may have caused some complications. So, if you manage to get sufficient grades and keep up an excellent work ethic, I would be willing to allow exceptions in your schedule that you can use to go see your friends. Depending on the circumstances of course." he continued as he grabbed his utensils, prompting Adrien to do the same.

"Thank you father. That means a lot to me." Adrien thanked before they dug into their meals, the room feeling more homely to the boy than it had before.

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Even after they finished dinner, Adrien and his father still dragged out their time together as much as they could, leading to quite a few long talks. Those talks ranged from things about school to reminiscing about old memories. But sadly, all good things must come to an end, which in this case was when it had finally turned night. However, despite their time ending, both Agreste men were feeling a lot lighter than they had, and headed to their respective rooms to head off to bed with smiles on their faces.

"That was certainly not what I expected. Guess your old man does have a sense of humor." Plagg admitted after he flew out of Adrien's overshirt when returning to his room, surprised the dinner went so well between them. "You seem pretty happy, kid." the black kwami observed as he watched Adrien getting ready to go to bed.

"I am Plagg! It's the first time in years since I've heard my father joke around a bit. We even had a pun war!" Adrien gushed as he did his nightly routine, changing into his pajamas before reaching for his toothbrush and toothpaste. "I don't think I ever heard him do that before, besides a few rare times with my mother. It felt just like how things used to be!" he continued before he began brushing his teeth. All the while, Plagg could only smile at seeing Adrien in a good mood. Lord knows that his holder deserved a bit of a break in his normally dreary life.

"Glad to see you so happy, Adrien. I just hope for your sake that it lasts." Plagg voiced as he flew over to his pillow on Adrien's bed, eager to fall asleep and drift off into dreams of a cheese wonderland.

"I'm sure it will, Plagg." Adrien replied after finishing his teeth, spitting out the foam from his mouth. Soon after that was done, he rinsed his mouth and finished his routine before heading over to his bed, slipping under the warm covers. "Goodnight, buddy." the blonde said to his kwami as he began to drift off, still buzzing from dinner.

"Goodnight, kid." Plagg muttered back in reply, a smile gracing his face as he watched his holder fall asleep. Whether he admitted it or not, Plagg was growing quite fond of the boy. And if you asked him... he wouldn't change that for anything.

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(Time skip)

A week had passed since Simon Says, and things had been quite akuma wise... save for one. Well into the week, Rose got akumatized with Princess Fragrance after Chloé ripped up a letter the peppy girl wrote to a visiting prince she admired. But regardless of the mind controlling akuma their classmate had become, both Marinette and Adrien were grateful for the reprieve and used the time to get in more training sessions with Master Fu. Using the cipher Marinette had made after defeating Simon Says, the knowledge they gained from the book Jim had given her was quite useful in improving their skills.

This would allow the two heroes to learn and understand the weaknesses certain Troll-Kind threats had for the day they needed to face them. Especially when Marinette was finally able to find a good time to tell Chat Noir about the Changelings. It was definitely a surprise to the feline hero, but they both agreed to keep a sharp eye out to any suspicious looking characters. So when the weekend came around, they took the time to catch a breather before the next week rolled in. Which also meant... 'The Challenge' was on the air again.

"Welcome back to everyone's #1 game show, The Challenge!" Alec once again announced to the viewers at home, eager to start the show without a hitch this time. "Last week, our cool DJ friend Nino won the challenge." the show host reminded, Nino's picture appearing on the screen behind him.

"So, let's welcome him back again. Come on out, DJ Nino!" Alec exclaimed, causing Nino to enter the stage for the second time in the span of two weeks.

But while Nino was about to participate in 'The Challenge' again, Marinette was standing in front of her parents in their living room. Not only had she been creating the cipher for the book Jim lent her, Marinette had also been taking great pains to not be absent or cause any trouble during the last week. And all of her efforts came down to the moment when her dad finally said...

"Looks like you weren't absent or late all week! Excellent news, Marinette. You can go join your friends on the set." Tom congratulated, happy that Marinette managed to be 'well behaved' the past week. But now that she was presented with the opportunity of freedom, Marinette had decided to just take the easier option.

"I think I'd rather watch it with you guys." Marinette replied, walking over to her parents to sit in between them on their couch. " That is...if you and Mom would like that?" the designer asked, with her reply being her parents giving her a big hug before they went back to watching 'The Challenge' as it played on their TV.

"So we upped the challenge for you tonight, Nino. You're gonna have to get two celebrities dancing instead of one! However, this time, you can choose your opponents." Alec explained to Nino as the broadcast played on the TV, who's words seemed to excite Nino even more.

"Oh, I've got this one in the bag. I'm gonna pick two buds I know won't let me down. Ladybug and Chat Noir!" Nino proclaimed, immediately sending Marinette into a panic.

'So much for not transforming this weekend.' Marientte groaned in her thoughts.

"Uh... On second thought, I'm wiped. I'm gonna take a nap." the designer fibbed, getting up from the couch as she spoke. "Don't wanna be late for school tomorrow! And, you know, mess up that perfect school record! Tell me what happens, 'kay?" Marinette reasoned as she walked to the stairs to make her way to her room.

"Sure." "Of course, honey." Tom and Sabine replied, happy to oblige to their daughter's wishes... even if they came up at random times. With her parents assurance, Marinette finally walked up the stairs and entered her room, leaving the two adults in the room below her.

"Sometimes I just can't figure that girl out." Tom fondly sighed, slightly amused by his daughter's antics.

"Oh, give her a break. You know there's nothing more demanding than going to school!" Sabine chided her husband before they embraced. But while they were hugging, Marinette had transformed into Ladybug, went up to her rooftop balcony, and threw her yo-yo out to grab onto a chimney stack to make her way to the studio. She couldn't very well leave her childhood friend high and dry, now could she?