Natalie stared down at the sleeping face of Emilie Agreste. There had been days when she had hated her, for without even trying, Emilie Agreste held the heart of the man she loved. But after so long, she simply felt tired.

How many years had she wasted, chasing Gabriel, working, fighting, hoping that one day he would see her as most than just as his assistant and partner-in-crime, but as a woman who he could love?

"I can't believe you had her hidden here all this time!" Adrian Agreste glared at his father.

"Her illness was not something that could be healed through conventional medicine." Gabriel Agreste sounded tired. He still needed to be examined by a doctor, Natalie remembered. Though his heart medication seemed to be helping, he looked like he was in pain.

"Oh, so once again, you knew better than everyone else what was the right thing to do." Adrian shouted. "You decided that Mom should be kept here. You decided to be come a supervillain, you decided to terrorize the city and you decided to keep me in the dark this whole time!"

"Better than lying to your own father and sneaking out to put yourself in danger as a superhero!"

"Danger that was caused by you!"

"I never would have done anything to harm you if I'd known it was you!"

"Of course! Because you'd have decided what was best for me by locking me in my room my whole life!"

"Enough!" Natalie snapped. "You're bickering like children! Gabriel, Adrian is an adult and entitled to live his own life the way he choses to. Adrian, your father made many mistakes, but you have to remember it was all in pursuit of healing your mother."

"Is that supposed to make it all better?" Adrian asked sarcastically.

"It's in the past, we can't change it now." Natalie replied firmly. "The only thing we can do is move forward."

"Well I'm going to move forward by getting Mom the help she needs." Adrian ran forward and tried to wrench the case open.

"Stop!" Gabriel and Natalie said at the same time.

"It's a sophisticated life support system. If you open it, Emilie will die instantly."

"Then how do we fix her? You said that you could, right?" Ladybug asked.

Natalie held out the Peacock Miraculous.

"Ladybug, this was Emilie's charm. Years ago, it was damaged and the corruption caused her to be put into this catatonic state. When I wore it as Mayura, some of the effects were passed on to me, and this..." She glanced at Jacques who was hacking up blood. "Unfortunate person as well. My research has shown that you are the only one with the powers to fix this." Ladybug took the broach curiously.

"What do I do with this?"

"Purify it, like you would an akuma or amok. And all effects will be removed from everyone who was in contact with this Miraculous."

"That's it?" Ladybug asked, bewildered.

Natalie nodded.

"Could you give us a second to talk?" Adrian put a hand around Ladybug's shoulders and steered her to a quiet corner. Before he could say anything Ladybug grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a deep kiss.

"Sorry, I didn't get to do that earlier on account of so much stuff going on." She murmured.

"There's still a lot of stuff going on," Adrian sighed, resting his forehead against Ladybug's. "I can't believe...My Mom has been here for the last ten years."

"But if this works...you can see her again."

"Yeah, I know." Adrian sighed, pulling Ladybug in close and resting his chin on top of her head. Even though she was dressed in her hero garb, he could still smell that faint vanilla Marinette scent that instantly soothed his jangled nerves. "The only problem is the person who has the solution is the same person who lied and helped my father trick me for the past decade, give or take, so I have to wonder..."

"If we can trust her?" Ladybug finished his thought.

"I love that we're on the same page. I love you. Like, you have no idea how much."

"I love you too." Ladybug tilted her head back in order to steal a quick kiss, then put up a hand so Adrian couldn't grab another. "So let's be careful and watch each other's backs so we can talk about this properly when we get out of this."

* * *

"This is madness, Natalie." Gabriel hissed quietly. "Please tell me this is a ploy in order to steal Ladybug and Chat Noir's Miraculous' because I think that has a higher chance of success."

"Gabriel, I've travelled all over the world since I left you, and every single piece of research confirms that this is the best way to fix the Miraculous without causing major upheaval by using the Ultimate Wish."

"But whoever does the healing will-"

"Not necessarily." Natalie interjected. " But it all depends upon the willingness of the person performing the purification."

"The cost is too high, Natalie! Let me do it instead!"

Natalie knelt in front of Gabriel.

"Out of the question." She murmured.

"Please, Natalie!" Gabriel looked desperate. "I can-" She put a hand to his mouth.

"Gabriel," She said gently, "If I do this, you will have finally succeeded. I hope you will be happy." She kissed him gently on the forehead, and stepped away just as Ladybug and Adrian returned.

"We've made our decision." Ladybug announced, gripping Adrian's hand. It occurred to Natalie as she looked at them that they looked so young, and yet they had been even younger when they had assumed the roles of superheroes for the city. The twinge of guilt she felt bothered her. So young, and they'd already taken on so much responsibility.

"Oh, well don't hold me in suspense," she replied.

"We'll trust you, for now." Ladybug continued.

"But we're keeping an eye on you." Adrian interjected. "If I see anything slightly weird then – claws out! –" Adrian changed into Chat Noir and pointed a claw in her direction. "I will cataclysm you so hard your ash will be ash."

"Aww, Chat, is that you being protective?" Ladybug smiled, squeezing his hand. "Silly kitty, I can take care of myself."

"I'll still always have your back, Milady." Chat Noir replied.

"Adorable, but this isn't the time for flirting." Natalie remarked. "Since you don't trust me, Ladybug why don't you do the honors?" She pointed to the broach in Ladybug's hand. "Put that in your weapon and say...whatever you usually do to start the process."

"Really? You don't know what I say?" Ladybug cocked an eyebrow.

"I was usually defeated at that point, it didn't really matter." Natalie commented dryly.

"Okay then." Ladybug slipped the broach inside her yo-yo and swung it back and forth. "Time to de-evilize!" she shouted.

The Yo-yo began to glow. Quick as a whip, Natalie snatched it from her and darted away.

"I knew you'd try a double-cross!" Chat Noir yelled. "Prepare for a cat-fight!"

"I'm sorry, I needed you to start the process – you're the only one who can." Natalie started swinging the yo-yo in circles over her head. "But I also couldn't let you finish it." Electricity seemed to be crackling, sparking from the yo-yo, and it began to hum as Natalie swung faster.

"I'll get her, don't worry, Milady!"

"No! Look, Chat, it's working!"

Tendrils of purple flowed from Emilie, Jacques, flowing into Natalie. She coughed furiously but stayed upright. Lightning shot out, frying a few innocent butterflies and a patch of grass. Chat shoved Ladybug to one side, narrowly missing another lightning strike.

"Is this supposed to be happening?"

"Natalie! Please stop!" Gabriel gasped. "It's not worth it!"

The tendrils were coiling around Natalie and sparks of electricity crackled within, like lightning in a thundercloud.

"No, this can only be attempted once!" Natalie gasped. "If you stop me now, we'll all be infected and comatose just like Emilie."

The purple smoke surrounded her like a small stormcloud, lifting her off the ground. Lighting continued to shoot out, obscuring her from view. In the midst of it, Chat, Ladybug, Gabriel and Jacques heard her cry:

"Miraculous, Heal!"

Then there was an earth-shattering boom that shook the hall to its foundation.

Hello, hello!

I know, it's shocking, giving you guys two chapters at once, and there is a reason for it. Next week I will be away on an amazing Writers Conference Cruise, and will not be able to access the internet for a full week. I am so excited to go, but I wanted to make sure you would have some fun reading material until I got back!

Hopefully these two chapters will tide you over in the meantime, and while I am away, I have a few questions you can answer:

1. Can Natalie be trusted?

2. Does Gabriel deserve a happy ending even though he's been a villain?

3. What do you want to see next in the story? 

Sincerely,

Cantrella <3