"You really are an idiot. Do you ever use your brain?"

"I'm not in the mood, Plagg."

"Neither am I, but my idiot chosen is putting himself at risk." Plagg scowls. "Contrary to what you might think, the miraculous make it harder to be akumatized, not impossible. Keep raging like this and Papillon will come after you."

"But-"

"Not done." Plagg cuts Adrien off. "Since it seems you need a reminder, Marinette doesn't know that you're Chat Noir. Meaning the other boy she's head-over-heels for could be you. "

Plagg knows Adrien is, the boy is just too blind to see it.

"...Oh."

"I know you having a hard time, but we cannot let Papillon turn you. Especially now."

Timekeeper won't be able to pull that miracle twice. Even once had drained her more than she probably realizes.

Adrien nods, not meeting his kwami's eyes. Plagg sighs, a depressed Adrien isn't much better than a raging one.

"Why don't you go to the bakery? I bet Tom and Sabine would love to see you."

"Time…..keeper. Timekeeper."

"Where's….Papillon?" timekeeper asks, her vision slowly steadying.

"Gone, I took care of him." Cer assures her. "Why did he-"

"Timekeeper!" Another voice shouts.

"Damn it, Nathaniel! I told you to stay home."

"Nathaniel?" Timekeeper pushes herself up just as Nathaniel drops to his knees beside her.

"If you wanted me to stay away you shouldn't have told me that Timekeeper would be in trouble."

"How do you even know about Cer?"

"I told him." Cer answers. "I've told him pretty much everything, why wouldn't I?"

That explains a lot.

Timekeeper scowls. "So you're responsible for his knowledge. Do you have any idea how many rules you've broken?"

"I've never been a fan of playing by the rules." Cer smirks. "To be fair though, I didn't tell him about you. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that you're responsible for that tidbit. Are you hurt? Do I need to take you to the turtle?"

"I'm sore but otherwise fine."

"Alright, get yourself home and lay low for a while." Cer orders. "If Papillon is willing to personally attack you, we can't take any risks. Nathaniel, you get yourself home too."

"'Get yourself home', like he has any right to order me around." Timekeeper mutters as she flies down an empty side street. "Like I need him-"

'beep beep'

"Shit." Timekeeper lands just as her powers give out. "I knew that would use a lot of power, but I didn't think it would drain me. I guess that's why I was told not to try to reverse time. Now I have to walk home in the rain, joy"

A dizzy spell hits her and timekeeper stumbles. A warm hand grabs her arm to steady her.

"Whoa, careful."

"Nathaniel?"

How could he have gotten here so fast? Did Cer help him?

"You shouldn't be walking in the rain without an umbrella." Nathaniel chides. "You don't look so good, are you sick?"

"No, I'm fine. That's rude-" Nausea comes with the dizziness this time.

Nathaniel raises his hand to feel her forehead. "You're burning up! I'm getting you home."

"I haven't been out that long, I'm fine."

"You shouldn't have been out at all." Nathaniel's voice is unusually stern. "You're not some kind of invincible being, you get ill and break just like the rest of us. And it doesn't make you any less strong to admit it."

"Let yourself be a normal teenager. Even if it's just with one person."

Timekeeper lets her head fall against Nathaniel's shoulder. Maybe it's time she starts listening to her future self more.

"Nathaniel? Could you carry me? I feel weak."

"Sure."

She ends up being piggybacked, something she hadn't done since she was a child. She tells him this.

"Sometimes it's good to feel like a child. Being grown up isn't all it's cracked up to be."

"That's for sure." Timekeeper mutters, her eyes growing heavy.

From atop a tall building, a figure watches the streets below.

"There are consequences for messing with time. Are you prepared to face them, Timekeeper?"

Normally a teenager shoving away from the dinner table to sulk on the couch would be grounds for reprimanding. But Adrien is no normal teenager. He's a hero of Paris. Something he holds himself far too closely to. Adrien essentially throwing a tantrum made Plagg smile. Finally, finally he's letting go of the idea of being the perfect child. He's allowing himself to act like a normal teenager.

But still….it leaves Plagg with a heavy heart.

There are things Plagg should tell Adrien, things Adrien deserves to hear. But telling him now will do more harm than good. Adrien needs parental love and support, but he's not ready for it. Come on too strong, and they'll lose their chance. Humans are such weird creatures. If you are in desperate for love, why would you run away from it when it's being freely given? This reaction is something Plagg will possibly never understand, but that doesn't decrease the validity of it. Adrien is fragile, his trust broken. Something Plagg is sure Sabine and Tom picked up on.

Which is why Plagg hung back and, at Sabine's urging, Tom had made himself scarce after clearing the table.

"Does Marinette know?" Adrien isn't looking at her, preferring to stare out the window, but at least he's talking now.

"She does. Tom and I talked with her shortly after I told you that I know about you." Sabine explains, "And for the record, we told Marinette that she should reveal her identity to Chat Noir."

"Did you tell me to reveal myself because you knew?"

"It wasn't part of my conscious decision but I can't say for sure that it didn't play a part. But Adrien, I only encouraged it because I can tell it's hurting you to keep it from her. I thought, perhaps, you just needed someone to give you a push."

Sabine is good. Better, perhaps, than Adrien's mother ever was. Looking at her, Plagg can understand how a girl like Marinette came to be. Adrien needs Sabine, he needs a good mom. And she so badly wants him to see her that way. Plagg knows Adrien wants it too, but his fear is standing in his way. Being physically and emotionally abandoned by both your parents will do that to you.

"Father is going to be mad at me." Adrien sighs, finally looking at Sabine.

"You were upset, it's understandable. I think this has been coming for a long time, your father probably knows that." Okay, Sabine doesn't fully believe this but she refuses to speak ill of Adrien's father in front of him. "I informed him that you were here, and he said to bring you home whenever you're ready. He offered to have Nathalie bring an overnight bag if you want."

"It's better if I face father tonight. Besides I don't- I can't…"

Sabine place a hand on Adrien's shoulder to stop him. "I understand."

"Will….will come with me?" Adrien's voice is small, his eyes focus on the wall behind Sabine.

"Of course."

Yes, Sabine is exactly what Adrien needs.

Plagg can only pray that Adrien'll be ready to accept her love when everything comes to light.

When Sabine brings Adrien home, Gabriel is waiting for them on the stairs.

"Thank you for bringing my son home, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng. It's getting late Adrien, got to your room and prepare for bed."

Adrien mutters a good-bye to Sabine heads up the stairs. He's stopped by his father's hand. "I would like to speak with you when I am done here."

"Yes, Father." Adrien says and continues up the stairs to his room.

"Adrien is having a tough time, please don't be hard on him." Sabine says, her eyes on Adrien's closed bedroom door.

Gabriel sighs and joins Sabine at the bottom of the stairs. "This incident is partially my fault. I made a promise that brought up residual feelings for Adrien."

"Adrien mentioned that he said something he shouldn't have."

"No, he had every right." Gabriel shakes his head. "I understand where he was coming from. With the news about Chloe, I half expected something like this to happen. I dare say it's been a long time coming."

"Adrien keeps a lot inside," Sabine says, "he has put high expectations onto himself. I wonder why?"

"I can see where your daughter gets her daring from."

"You went to lengths most people wouldn't go to for Marinette. Which I am grateful for, but I think Adrien needs it more."

"He certainly does." Gabriel agrees, to Sabine's surprise. "Alice's disappearance created a rift between us. I've let it stand for far too long."

"Well, I should be going. Good-night Mr. Agreste."

Adrien sits on the edge of his bed with his head hung when Gabriel walks in.

"Had I known what Nathalie intended to do, I would have put a stop to it." Gabriel says, crossing the room to stand in front of Adrien. "I will speak with her to make sure this doesn't happen again. As for your actions this afternoon-"

"Father I-" Adrien tries to speak but Gabriel talks over him.

"I don't want an apology from you, Adrien. You should not apologize for speaking your honest feelings. I can't blame you for hating me. I had Nathalie frame another picture for you, it's much older but more suitable in my opinion." Gabriel sets the picture on the bed next to Adrien. "If you don't want it, you can give it to Nathalie or myself. Good night, Adrien."

"Father," Adrien calls, as Gabriel is leaving. "I don't hate you."

"Thank you, now get some rest."

After the door has clicked shut, Adrien picks up the photo. It's of him when he was 5 or 6 playing in the sandbox with a dark haired girl who looks to be the same age.

"You were cute back then, less annoying." Plagg teases.

"I wonder why picked this one? I don't even know who that girl is."

"Sit. Now." Plagg orders the moment Timekeeper's feet touch the down on the roof of the Agreste mansion.

"I'm fine-"

"You're at less than half power, despite having hours to rest. Sit." Timekeeper begrudgingly sits and looks at Plagg expectantly. "Now you're going to tell me how you were able to save Adrien."

"Over a year ago, I received a letter from my 87 year old self. It warned me of events that would be happening, and gave me a timeline to work with so I could do my best to stop them."

"What?" Plagg shouts, "That breaks one of your biggest rules! This is what you're giving me to work with?" Plagg shouts this up towards the sky, assuming that Alice is keeping a close eye. "A carefree Timekeeper who can't follow simple rules-"

"It was sent because I followed the rules!" Timekeeper cuts in. "I took them very seriously, insisting that nothing mattered more than my duty. I shoved that conviction onto the others as well. I purposely drove Marinette and Adrien apart on both sides of the mask."

Plagg scowls but remains quiet.

"I was convinced it was the right thing to do. But I-I fucked up." Timekeeper's visor slides up so she can wipe the tears that are falling from her eyes. "Marinette...she...Papillon killed her and Adrien he…."

"He killed himself." It's not a question.

"Yes on top of everything else, losing her was too much. I have to get stronger, I have to try to save her." She insists. "If I can't, because of the letter they got time to be happy. My future self gave up her life so they could have that chance."

"So what do we do to stop this?" Plagg asks, floating closer to Timekeeper. "How do we save them?"

"I expand my powers and hopefully stop the initial incident from happening."

"And if you can't?"

"Then you help Marinette fight the darkness. Help her fight the corruption Papillon will cause."

"Dive into a mind filled with darkness? That's suicidal."

"You think I don't know that?" Timekeeper snaps. "You think I want to ask this of you? Your life is far more important than mine and if I can, then I will be the one making the sacrifice. But I might not be enough to save her. This is Adrien we're talking about. You want more for him."

"Of course I do! But sacrifice myself? I'd be leaving Tikki behind, leaving the miraculous horribly unbalanced."

"Then it comes down to how much you care about this Chat Noir, doesn't it? Just how much is Adrien worth to you? As much as Micah?"

"Don't you dare bring him into this." Plagg growls. "You don't get to use him like that."

"You would have done anything to make him different. To save him from his life. You cared about him that much. But what about Adrien? Are you willing to do anything to save him from death? Because if I fail, that's the only option."

"Marinette, I've got the biggest news!" Alya pounces on to Marinette's bed, jolting the girl awake. "Please tell me you haven't watched the news yet."

"Seeing as you woke me up by acting like a crazy person, that's a definite no." Marinette stretches her arms above her head. "What's the big news?"

"Max and Mr. Haprele were found outside of their homes. Max has already spoken the police. Get this, he doesn't remember anything. He doesn't even know how he was taken."

"How is that possible?"

"I don't know. Max said he remembers passing out for some reason, and next thing he was being awakened by his frantic parents. Mylene hasn't told me much yet, but she did confirm that her dad has no memories of the time he was gone."

"That's insane."

"This changes everything. Some serial killer or abductor wouldn't just return them for no reason, right? All these disappearances have to be connected to Papillon. By why return them? Did his plans change?"

"Maybe he's trying to lull Ladybug and Chat Noir into a false sense of security."

"Ladybug! I've got to post this, maybe she'll see it and let me do an interview."

Marinette sighs as Alya jumps from her bed and runs down the stairs telling Marinette over her shoulder that she needs to borrow the computer.

"Looks like it's time for us to give the police another visit."

"I'm sorry we don't have any more to give you from the last time." The Chief officer apologizes.

"You don't have to apologize." Ladybug assures, looking over the piles of missing persons files. "You've clearly been busy. What's the game plan right now?"

"We're searching through missing cases from the last year or so and comparing them to the list of Akuma victims." The chief explains. "We were hoping we might find more cases that could be linked to Papillon. So far we haven't had any luck."

"There's a lot of cases." Chat comments, picking one at random. A young girl beams up at him from photos kept in the file. "Last seen leaving school….I never realized this kind of thing was such an often occurrence."

"Kidnappings happen more than we would like, that's for sure."

"You'll let us know if Max or Mr. Harprele remember anything?"

"Of course, right away."

Plagg had told Caleo, ordered really, to stop searching. The story she'd been told that night wasn't lost on her. But she has to know, has to finish the job she started.

Okay, she barely escaped detection, but so what? Her job is to do whatever it takes to protect the ones she loves.

The conversation she'd over heard, it explained so much. She has to tell the others right away. Or should she talk to Master Fu first?

"Either way doesn't matter." Caleo mutters to herself. "We're royally screwed."