A/N: Thank you to everyone's responses lately! I'm not sure how y'all discovered this collection of fics, but I'm glad to hear your feedback. Perhaps I'll come up with some sequels to the episodes you've suggested in the comments. In the meantime, I'm on a Chat Blanc high. So this means this chapter is heavy with spoilers for the newest release.

Dark Lady- Thank you so much! I'm happy to hear it.

Alejg- Muchas gracias! Thank you so much for your encouraging compliment!

Akira- Chapter 5 was inspired by "Worst" by baneismydragon

Shion- Lo siento for the lack of updates! Sometimes the well of ideas is empty.

Guest(s)- Thank you! Me too. I'll take your suggestions into consideration. In my mind, he totally did die in chapter 11. I appreciate all of the feedback even if it is anonymous.

One more time: Spoilers for Chat Blanc. You've been warned.

Chapter 25: Recalcitrant

Adrien questions everything when Hawkmoth is revealed to be Gabriel Agreste.

"Why?!"

Adrien gaped at Hawkmoth. Touting the fact that he knew Adrien was Chat Noir, the man seemed all too thrilled to reveal that he was the teen's father. Mask or no, the corpse of his departed mother laying next to the man was all the evidence Adrien needed to know the villain spoke the truth and was in fact, Gabriel Agreste. Adrien's inquiry spilled from his lips again, then again. It was the only question he could formulate. Why was his mom kept somewhere his father apparently had such immediate access to? Why was his father in possession of the butterfly miraculous? Why was the man so bent on reviving his wife that he was willing to terrorize the entire city? Why did this revelation break Adrien's heart and make him want to obliterate his father all at the same time?! The black clad teen immediately rushed the man, stopping his cataclysm mere centimeters from Hawkmoth's chest.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

He wanted to destroy him right then and there. But the dire need for an explanation held Adrien at odds with himself. Unwilling though he was, he stood with threat issued, demanding an explanation for all of the whys that now plagued him. With a gut churning smirk however, the man suddenly struck Chat with his cane. Tremendous force sent the hero flying upward, back to where the duo had knocked Hawkmoth down from moments ago. Chat made to grab his baton but was met with a followup strike before he even touched the ground. His body connected with the cane like a ball against a baseball bat, he was thrown from the observatory toward the heart of the city. Pain seared through his now twice fractured ribs and Adrien's back was suddenly slapped flat as he collided with a structure. A dull clang reverberated through what was likely metal as a pained grunt escaped Chat. He dropped several meters to the ground before landing flush with the pavement.

A monotone pitch sang in his head as Adrien's gaze wandered the undefined underside of the Eiffel Tower. The ringing soon found accompaniment in the form of a rapid thrumming as his blood filled every inch of his body with more adrenaline. Everything was warped in a dizzying haze requiring Adrien to squint to discern any remote details of his surroundings. Just like the last time Hawkmoth personally handed his butt to him, everything hurt. Only this time he knew Hawkmoth's identity. So, Marinette's hunch had been right all along, ever since she first assumed their arch enemy was Gabriel Agreste. Perhaps the physical trauma was to blame, but all Adrien knew was he wanted to puke but was interrupted suddenly when he heard a set of feet touch down on the walkway where he lay discombobulated.

With a labored grunt, Adrien propped himself on his elbows, quickly moving to his palms as the man approached him. The ground undulated beneath him, persuading him back to its surface like the pull of a magnet, but fear gave Chat the adequate strength to scramble backward while his masked father strode resolutely to close the gap between them. Tears teased the ridges of his eyelids as he trembled before the man he once loved, the man who now towered over him wielding his cane as though daring Adrien to try and fight again.

"With both Miraculous combined, we could bring your mother back."

"N-no. Just stop! Stop!"

With new light shed on the true nature of his father, Adrien missed his mother all the more. The unfathomable became reality and he found himself wanting her back now more than ever. His father tempting him with ultimate power, power that surely only came at such great cost. . . If he let the man get to him now, he would be no better than his long standing enemy; The man he loathed more than anything. But the thought of hating the man who was his father broke him. Even now, beaten and bruised by the man he had trusted, part of him still had love for his father. That love pained him to his core, shredding him internally. The father whose affection he starved for no longer had any room for Adrien in his heart unless, it seemed, the teen bent to fit the man's will and became the consenting tool his father desired.

Chat coughed heavily, catching view of the glint of red on the back of his glove when he pulled his hand away from his mouth. His father didn't flinch at the sight however, as Hawkmoth's cane sword promptly stabbed through the end of Adrien's belt tail and served to fasten him to the ground. Ladybug landed behind where the man stood. While Adrien wished she would simply attack Hawkmoth as she would have any other day, the other part of him prayed she would simply try to reason with his father. However, a glance at Chat and the blood flecks in contrast with his pallor changed the girl's demeanor in an instant. From concern to intense anger, much to Adrien's dismay, the heroine hurled her yoyo at the man between them. When Hawkmoth blocked it and her subsequent kick, the villain retaliated with a roundhouse of his own, launching the small girl to the far side of the base of the tower.

Chat bristled with a compound of fury and fear, shouting out in protest when the man then wheeled around. The flinch was all Hawkmoth needed to secure his advantage, kicking the teen onto his back and planting a foot on the bell of his collar. The metal orb broke, it's bent, sharp edges poking through the leather of his suit as Hawkmoth's weight settled into him. The man retrieved his sword, leveling its point with Adrien's neck as his merciless steel eyes bore into him.

"The girl appears unconscious," Gabriel mentioned apathetically. "Bring me her miraculous."

He removed his foot from Chat's chest who immediately shrank away from the threatening blade as he rattled with shock, but the sword remained trained on its target, keeping close proximity to the boy as he struggled to distance himself. The world waxed in and out of focus as his breath increased in rapidity, sweat dripping into his eyes and mixing with tears.

"Not me. Not me," Adrien repeated. "Leave me be, please!"

"You involved yourself when you accepted the cat miraculous. Now do it."

With a wave of his cane, an akuma escaped the head of the staff, dashing straight for Chat. Immediately upon it's merging with the remains of his bell, Adrien felt overcome by all the fear, grief, and anger that had amassed in his soul within the last ten minutes. He grabbed his hair, yanking it in despair as he fought to remain in control of his consciousness, but to no avail. Hawkmoth's thoughts filled his own, reminding him of what could be and all he needed to do in order to obtain lasting happiness. But what would become of Marinette? Would she still love him if he relented to the promise of unlimited power?

"Forgive me, Ladybug."

Adrien's hands dropped to the ground in defeat, accepting the fate that engulfed him as his features warped from black to white. Bright green eyes were replaced with an icy blue which darted to the sword before him, that which Hawkmoth recalled as he allowed Chat Blanc to move freely. The teen rose to his feet effortlessly as the new power relieved him of the pain he had been experiencing prior to his second transformation. He turned his hands over as he created an orb of white in his palm, observing it curiously as it grew.

"Very good," Hawkmoth sneered. "Now go fulfill your duty."

Chat turned on heel and pointed himself in the direction of the girl. His brow furrowed as he evaluated the heroine's unconscious form piled next to the base of the tower. Blood matted her bangs to her forehead, running over her mask and trickling down the side of her face. There wasn't a lot, but the sight of the blood churned Chat's stomach with disgust. His white figure twisted back to face Hawkmoth with unnatural movement as a renewed rage lighted his eyes once again. The purple clad man raised his sword in apprehension along with his stance when he noticed the cat boy's sudden change in behavior. Adrien lifted the white orb to level it with the man's chest.

"Obey me!" Hawkmoth demanded.

Chat Blanc winced in hesitation, his resolve faltering under duress. His father's knowing gaze and will imposed upon his own, as they were controlling his very actions. He was meant to fight Hawkmoth, defeat the villain and recover his miraculous, not Ladybug's. Notwithstanding the efforts of Adrien, the force of Hawkmoth's will was strong enough to manipulate the teen's movements to such an extent that it physically hurt to resist. Adrien's muscles strained as he painstakingly accelerated forward, aiming for the butterfly brooch when he pounced at the man. A sharp pang manifested itself along his temple as Hawkmoth's commands conflicted with his own, blinding Chat temporarily when a cold shooting pain erupted at his side. In that moment, Hawkmoth sidestepped to narrowly evade the teen's attack and retaliated with a strike of his own. Chat landed harshly on the pavement as the fresh laceration along his hip stained his pristine white suit a vibrant crimson. He sucked in a gasp when he tried to recover, collapsing into a curl as he visceral responsed to the pain.

Gabriel snarled down in disapproval and let out a snort. "Then watch. Watch as I restore our lives to what they should be."

Adrien watched helplessly as Hawkmoth strode away towards the spot clad girl. Everything was marred with tears now, rolling down his cheeks and splashing on his forearm as he desperately called out to his father, failing to rise beyond that of his knees. He yelled to Ladybug in an attempt to raise her awareness but the girl didn't stir. A vehement curse spilled from Chat's lips as he shouted at the man once more, raising the white cataclysm toward him. Everything told him he should stop. He shouldn't interfere. He owed his very existence to his father. To spurn him now after everything- Chat grit his teeth as he tensed before letting out a loud cry. Gabriel turned in response suddenly, only to find the light orb colliding with his leg. With a bitter howl and two-thirds of his right leg frozen gray, the man collapsed to the ground and writhed. Panting heavily, Chat pulled himself to his feet through extending his baton as a makeshift crutch.

"You don't understand anything!" the man screeched. "I'm doing this to fix everything!"

Chat scoffed, swallowing a hiccup as more tears fell. He limped past the irate man, giving him as little regard as he could manage and made his way to Ladybug. Adrien didn't have the will to argue. Anything he could say would fall on deaf ears at this point. If 'fixing everything' meant destroying all that Adrien thought he shared with his father, then he wanted no part in it. Chat was surprised to find the akuma hadn't been revoked from him yet, but then he realised that Gabriel might still bear sway over his thoughts and actions. While Hawkmoth's thoughts did indeed still buzz around his own, Chat's attack definitely damaged his ego. The ideas weren't nearly as prominent now and instead gave way to the myriad of emotions that threatened to kill him. With snivels and innumerable tears, he dropped to his knees at Ladybug's side.

Hawkmoth's tirade faded into the back of his mind as he brushed his fingers across Marinette's face, pushing her viscid bangs aside. After a moment, her eyes opened groggily, narrowing when the dull pain at her forehead became evident. The girl looked in surprise to find a teary Chat Blanc who attempted the smallest of smiles contrary to all other evidence. Sitting up under his watchful care, she gently wiped his cheek and left her hand there. Abruptly, Chat began to sob, falling into her arms in anguish as she pulled him into a tight hug and wept with him. White soon reversed into its original black. A tainted butterfly departed from the hero as he sagged in Ladybug's arms and continued to cry.

A/N: I LOVED the episode for Chat Blanc. However, after all that took place (which is now canon, even if it's a divergent timeline) I don't know how Gabriel could possibly be redeemable and survive the end of the series/ not lose Adrien's love forever/ not go to prison for life. It'll take something ridiculously heavy handed in order to save his character now.

Also, in between updates, come say hi to me on tmblr. fluoroidtheauthor. I often reblog and sometimes post my own ML fanart.