Epilogue

Seeing as though I'd been transformed for nearly three days, my civilian cell phone was completely dead the morning after the fire. Having been so wrapped up in dealing with the authorities, the insurer, and House of Gabriel lawyers, I'd simply borrowed a charger from Marinette and left it charging in the spare bedroom the Dupain-Cheng household had made available to me.

Being early days yet, the authorities were still attempting to determine Gabriel's whereabouts. They had pressed me substantially on anything I might know, and had surprised me with a very rigorous listing of his recent travels. Nearly all of the dates in question had been "work related" as far as I had known at the time; now, seeing the exotic and far flung destinations, I suspected they were less on behalf of House of Gabriel than Hawkmoth. In the interim, seeing that I was now of age, French Social Services had no interest in my situation; as I was under the age that my trust fund became available to me, however, a fiduciary from House of Gabriel had been temporarily appointed to make sure I was clothed and fed, and my tuition for the upcoming fall semester could be paid for.

The fire marshal had informed me that the blaze appeared to have started in the kitchen, so they were naturally assuming a grease fire. I knew better. Only the upper floors of the mansion were damaged; the basement warehouse containing all of the master patterns for House of Gabriel had been untouched – an oddity if one didn't know how Gabriel operated. It also made me wonder what other secrets were down there that he didn't want disturbed; I planned a nocturnal visit later in the week to see for myself.

Marinette's family had graciously offered to let me stay with them until I could move into the dorm that fall, and I'd returned to my new room after dinner to consider their offer. So much had happened in such a short amount of time, I was worried that I was on the cusp of a classic Chat mistake that would ruin everything.

As I sat on the bed, my civilian phone beeped at me. I slid over to the tiny nightstand and tapped the screen, and saw I had a voicemail.

From Gabriel.

Suddenly I was thirteen again, and there was no way I could handle this alone. At least, not as Adrien.

Poor Plagg was snoozing on a tiny pillow Marinette had quickly sewn for him, and I gently woke him before calling for my transformation. Once I was Chat Noir, I slipped out the side window and clawed up to the rooftop balcony where I knew Marinette had been taking her after dinner coffee.

She looked up in surprise from a sketch she was making as I curled around the railing and landed in a crouch. "Princess, I have a voicemail," I said succinctly. "And I can't hear it alone."

Marinette patted the chaise and scooted sideways so I could leap up beside her. I handed her my unlocked civilian phone and wrapped a paw around her shoulders for emotional support. "We'll do it together, then," she said, holding my paw in one hand and triggering the playback with her other.

Gabriel's voice filtered out of the speaker.

"Adrien, I will need to go away for a while, for reasons you won't understand.

"By the time you hear this, the mansion will have been destroyed and you will be alone for the first time in your life.

"You are an Agreste and all the name implies. Until my return, you will be the face of our family and our company. I can't emphasize how important it is that you remember this."

And that was it. No goodbyes, no "I love yous."No nothing other than the usual stern reminder of my heritage. My inner thirteen-year-old was in revolt, but I slapped it back. Aside from all of the emotion he had intentionally dragged up, there was one point in particular that I couldn't fail to miss.

"Purrhaps it's appropriate I listened as Chat," I said quietly as Marinette returned the phone to me.

"Why do you say that?"

"He's coming back," I replied, putting away the emotional anguish of part of my life now in ashes. "He's not done in his Quixotic quest for the Miraculous, and I'm reasonably certain he's off to find something to help him regain his powers. Somehow." I looked away. "And Chat will be ready for him when he does."

Marinette turned my face toward hers gently. "We will both be ready, Kitty." She looked at me with those dazzling blue eyes, full of worry and compassion and the need to assure me that I was loved.

"Both. And don't you forget it."

Author's Note: That's it for this part of Keys - and yes, it's just one part of three that I have planned for this series. You'll have to be a bit patient for the next installment, however; I am deep into work on LadyNoirJuly and the fifth story in the Elegy arc, so I'm not certain if I'll be able to get Keys II out in September as I planned. But hope springs eternal.

Thank you to all who took the leap of faith and connected with this story. It was a change from what I've done up to this point and I appreciate the support as I felt my way through to the end. Stay Miraculous! -ep