A/N: This story is a sequel to Showcase, so you may be inclined to read that first

9 November

A gentle gust pushed past a window, stirring papers scattered through the too-large room. The hinges of the window creaked ever so gently, and open books turned pages to an unknown story. The only light, aside from that of the moon and the city from outside, came from a dim, quiet computer screen. It's accompanying desk was a mess of notebooks and folders and the breeze, captured in that room, strained to push them onto the floor with their kin. Unsuccessful, it twisted, spun, and petered out. The speakers next to the monitors whispered to the empty chair.

"And despite the fact that he has still not been apprehended, there has been no sign of any more attacks since the premiere showcase last month. The previous longest time between attacks since the first was about a week, so it seems that, free or not, the one behind this is not continuing his terrorism while in hiding.

"On a related story, the city has commissioned sculptor Theo Barbeau to create a statue dedicated to the trainers who helped our brave officers combat these devastating attacks. Ladybug and Chat Noir, and Ms. Bustier's homeroom class from College Francois Dupont. The statue will also include a memorial to the people and pokémon who lost their lives in the worst of the incidents. Look forward to the unveiling in Jaune Plaza. The day of unveiling is as of yet unknown."

The video paused, finished, buffered, and replayed. Books stirred in another gentle breeze, as if trying to capture the story from the computer onto their pages. Little model people lay scattered and broken next to the overturned foosball table they were supposed to be playing on. A few were resting, as if sleeping, on the back of the tipped couch nearby.

"This just in," a reporter's distorted voice breathed into the room. "The police have a suspect as to who's behind these recent terror attacks. Sources say they are planning to apprehend him shortly. No names have been released just yet, but it appears that in the wake of the targeting of Chat Noir's absol the police were able to narrow down a likely suspect. Chat Noir himself is currently recovering alongside Ladybug.

"And of course, the revelation of Chat Noir being none other than teen model Adrien Agreste has taken the city by storm. His agent reports that the scars he obtained defending our great city will not be a problem for his career."

A skip. The video cut to another report, a few days after the previous.

"We're now receiving word that suspect Gabriel Agreste has fled his home. Police say when they entered they found only his son and Chat Noir, Adrien Agreste. This action is certainly incriminatory, though naturally without due process we can't say for certain that Gabriel is the culprit. Still, it calls into question Adrien's role in the whole ordeal."

Another cut.

"Police are still searching for prime suspect Gabriel Agreste. His son has been cooperative but seems unable to provide any information as to his whereabouts."

Cut.

"So, Adrien, with the revelation that your father was behind the attacks that you'd been fighting to stop, people are asking, did you know anything about it?"

The little image of Adrien widened his eyes. "Of course not! I was only trying to do what I thought was right. I didn't even tell my dad I'm Chat. If I had known… well, I like to think I'd have reported him."

"Yes, it would have been a very tough situation for you. I suppose it's good then that you found out with the rest of us."

Adrien chuckled, but even the most uninvested viewer would easily tell it wasn't sincere. "I guess so."

A phone, abandoned on the floor, buzzed. But no one came to answer it.

6 February

"And remember class, the school tournament starts next week." Ms. Bustier shuffled with her papers, eyeing her students carefully. "Participation is not mandatory, but attendance is. Don't think you can skip school because of it." With a softer voice, she asked, "Is everyone okay being there? If you think it may be difficult, see me after class and we can arrange some alternate assignment." Her question was met with silence. "Alright. Dismissed."

Marinette sighed and leaned down to pick up her bag. Instinctively, her hand went to her phone. Nino turned to her, eyes shining with draining hope. Alya knew the answer to the question he was about to ask. "Any word?"

Marinette shook her head.

Alya hooked her arm around Marinette's shoulder. "He'll turn up. Idiot probably forgot his charger when he left is all."

"It's been almost three months, Alya. He's not calling."

"Come on, Bug. We can't give up on him. You know he wouldn't leave without saying anything. That means it's only a matter of time!"

Alix, in passing, shook her head. "Face it, detective. Adrien's gone." The words shot into Alya's gut like a knife. She grit her teeth.

"No, he's not!" Alya growled. She wouldn't accept it. Alix kept walking, leaving the classroom entirely. Alya huffed and turned to Nino. "You know, right? If only they'd let us in his place. We'd find something. A note, an answer."

Nino sighed. "Maybe, but…"

"No! No buts. Absolutely. He probably… left his phone. Forgot it."

Marinette met eyes with Nino, sharing their quiet acceptance.

Alya caught Juleka's eye, as she passed by. "Jules!" Marinette turned to look at Juleka, who was hugging herself. Alya clutched the strap of her bag too tightly. "You tell them."

"Alya…" Juleka sighed. "I'm sure he's fine, but…"

"Remember what he was talking about before? Going on a journey? Do you think he's exploring Hoenn right now? Or maybe Kanto? Haha, he's probably living it up right now."

"Alya." Juleka hugged Alya tightly. She sank into her friend's embrace. "It's okay."

"No it's not! If he's not back soon, he'll miss the tournament. And you know how he…"

Marinette joined in the hug, followed by Nino.

"I'm not giving up." Alya said. "Never. If he won't come back or let us know what's going on, I'm going to go find him myself."

"What do you plan to do? We don't even know if he's still in Lumiose."

"His room. There's definitely a clue there. I just need to get in."

"Alya, I don't think that's a good idea."

"What other choice do we have?"

No one answered her.

"Bug, is Ariados ready?"

Marinette's voice sounded over the earpiece in Alya's ear. "Ready and waiting." Alya readjusted her crouch, looking up at the imposing manor in front of them. "Are you sure about this? Breaking into the Agreste estate… it's still considered evidence, Alya."

"And that's stupid! If they haven't found something by now, they're not getting anything from it. Most crime scenes are cleared in days minimum."

"You know this happens. It's an ongoing investigation."

"Well they're doing a poor job! They could at least tell us if Adrien left anything."

"They didn't find anything important when they looked. They told us that."

"I know! But they didn't know him. They don't know what to look for."

"What do you hope to find?"

Alya was quiet for a moment. "Remember when you were designing ways to wear your Mega Stones? Adrien showed us where he kept it."

"That hidden safe?"

"I doubt the police would think to look there. Doubt they even know about it. That's all I'm going to do, okay? In and out."

"Why don't you just tell the police about it?"

"Why haven't you?" Alya countered hotly. Her chest hurt, her eyes stung. She couldn't believe Adrien left them nothing. Even if it took this long to find it, there'd be something there. "I know it's selfish." She said. "But it's for us."

Alya could hear Marinette's soft, steady breathing. "How's Luxio?"

"In position."

"On your mark, then."

Alya sighed. "Alright." She turned to look at Arcanine and clambered onto the back of her pokémon. With one powerful leap, the pair of them hopped the wall surrounding the mansion. She signaled Misdreavus with a hand, and the ghost sunk into the mansion. A few moments later, the door opened and Luxio came out to call Alya inside.

They moved slowly, the electricity Luxio emitted consistently hopefully keeping the cameras out of commission, at least in whatever room they were in. Luckily, Adrien's room didn't have cameras, but the atrium had several and next to climbing in the window, which had its own alarm, there wasn't any way past them.

She crept on her toes through the door, feeling as if she'd walked into a haunted house. A few rogue papers glided along the floor with the wind from the outside air, but otherwise the atrium was too barren, too empty. It was the soft crackle of Luxio's electricity, the sting of ozone, and the echoing sound of footfalls that accompanied her.

She made directly for the alarm system, making sure Misdreavus was interfering with the single camera that could see her before signaling Luxio to stop and let her work her magic. She turned it off with the code she had gotten from Adrien a long time ago. Not that he gave it to her directly, of course. It just wasn't hard to figure out. Adrien's birthday. She scoffed. Probably Nathalie that set it. She hit enter and felt a pang of guilt. No. He did care. Adrien always said so. I can hate him, but for Adrien's sake, I have to at least acknowledge that.

"Bug, system's down."

"On my way."

Alya looked to Luxio, to Misdreavus, and stole up the stairs to Adrien's room. When she closed the door behind her, Marinette was just climbing through the window. Ariados' silk still wrapped around her arm. They met eyes and nodded, silently venturing closer to the spiral staircase that lead to the upper part of the room, with all the bookshelves. Alya stopped halfway there, to pick up a familiar phone. He did leave it here. He must have forgotten to bring it. Or maybe he just didn't want to talk to any of us. She tried to unlock it and shook her head. Dead. Suppose it would be. It's been a few months without charging.

"Fox, you said in and out."

"I know. Hold your horses, Bug. Look. He left his phone."

Marinette bit her lip. "At least we know why he never answered."

"Yeah." Without another word, Alya started up the stairs after Marinette. She reached her friend just as the lock hidden behind Adrien's copy of Midsummer Night's Dream clicked open and Marinette pushed the rest of the books over the false panel aside to open the safe.

Inside was a crisp piece of parchment and three dusty pokéballs. Alya met her friend's eyes and indicated with a tilt of the head that Marinette should be the one to look at the note.

With shaky hands, Marinette took the parchment and unfolded it. "I'm sorry." She read. "But I couldn't risk you guys following me. School is important for you. You have dreams and goals outside pokémon. I couldn't let you give that up because I couldn't stay."

Alya clenched her fists.

"That said, take care of Emma and Kivva for me, please. I'm sure you already know what I'm doing, and you know those two are too young to go chasing after my dad with me. I left Tikki as well, to help with them. Don't worry, though. With Ghenn I still have a fair few strong pokémon. I'm not in danger." Alya reached over to pick up the three pokéballs and dust them off gently. "I don't know where he went, but I'm going to find him. Please don't come after me. You don't have to be heroes anymore."

"That idiot." Alya muttered.

Marinette shook her head. "How're the kids?"

Alya shook her head. "Balls are empty. He let them out before locking these away. But the police never mentioned finding them. Where do you think they could be?"

"I don't know, but they might be our best bet to finding him."

"You agree then?"

"Duh. He's being an imbecile." With a smirk and a small chuckle, she said, "We're in too deep to stop being heroes."

A slow smile crept onto Alya's face. "Got that right."

A small noise drew her attention to the main floor, and Alya slinked down the stairs after confirming with Marinette that she heard it. It sounded like… probably Kivva. But it's pretty simple to narrow down where they could be. There's only one room in this house that's habitable by Emma for such a long time. I'm sure she hasn't stayed there the entire time, but she always has to go back, so we'll definitely find her there. She can take us to the others, if they're not with her.

Quickly, Alya searched the room, for Kivva or for some other message from Adrien, but she turned up nothing. "Emma's habitat." Alya said with a glance to Marinette.

"I was thinking that too."

They moved together out of the room and into another one, further down the hall. Inside was a little playpen, complete with small trees and grass to romp on. It's cold, but there's no snow. Weird. This is supposed to have a blanket almost constantly.

"Emma is around that age that amaura can start regulating their own temperature." Marinette said. "Isn't she? Maybe she doesn't need this anymore."

"Maybe." Alya hummed, taking in the sight. A clump of tall grass had been shaped into a sort of den. Alya leaned down to get a better look. Inside, orange and white fur hung on sides and littered the ground. Kivva's shedding. Or she did. Her fur really came in while they were alone. Alya reached in and pulled out a clump of moist white fluff. Baby fur, one of the softest things Alya had ever touched, but more importantly, a clue. She's about at the age where her fifth or sixth tail should be coming in. And based on how much red fur is here, I'd say she spent a long time here. That means her fire gland had to have developed more as well. How she was, she shouldn't have been able to spend too much time in here, and I trust Tikki kept her safe. Probably, after she was strong enough, she moved in here to spend more time with Emma.

"Fox? Any ideas?"

"A few." Alya worried her lip. The snow isn't working, but it's still cold. I don't hear the AC running so it might be that Emma's here somewhere.

It wasn't hard to find her. All Alya needed to do was follow the cold. In a hidden little nook, behind some toys and foliage, Emma laid peacefully, sleeping. It is the middle of the night. But where are Tikki and Kivva?

"One down." Marinette said softly. "The others?"

"Just a moment." Alya reached out and gently shook Emma awake. Bright blue eyes blinked open to look up at her. "Hey, baby."

Emma's eyes lit up when she recognized who was in the room with her. She jumped to her feet and started nuzzling into Alya. "Haha, good to see you too girl. Where are Kivva and Tikki? They still here?"

Emma nodded resolutely and pulled her out of the room, down the hallway, and into another room nearby. Temperature problems. Even if Kivva can handle the regulation, it's dangerous for them to sleep right next to each other. Smart girls. In the next room, Kivva was curled up into a tight ball on a soft-looking pokémon bed, with Tikki nearby on some cushions. Emma's cry caused both other pokémon to stir, and soon enough Alya and Marinette had three small pokémon dancing around them.

"Oh, you poor girls." Marinette said, kneeling and hugging Tikki to her chest. "Have you been here all this time? Why didn't any of you come find us?"

Tikki shook her head, nuzzling into Marinette. Alya smiled. "Adrien told them not to, of course." She said. "If they came for us as soon as he left, he wouldn't have had much of a head start, would he?"

"But three months?"

"Three months ahead of us." Alya clicked her tongue. "Where could he have gone?"

Tikki buzzed a little, and pulled away from Marinette to approach Alya. She bounced excitedly, miming talking on the phone with her hands. "Sorry, Tikki." Alya pulled Adrien's phone out of her pocket. "He left it here. We haven't heard from him."

Tikki shook her head furiously and pointed at the phone. Marinette snatched it out of Alya's grasp. "You're saying this will give us a clue as to where he's gone?" She asked. Tikki nodded with a big smile. "Thank you, Tikki!" Marinette hugged her tightly before turning to Alya. "Here. Sorry for taking it. You should hang onto it. You'll get more out of it than I would, even if it's clear. Charge it and let me know what you find, okay?"

"Yeah." Alya took the phone back. "Definitely. And these girls?"

"We'll take them, of course. Emma and Kivva seem to be doing real good with their thermoregulation so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Girl, your house is full as it is. But with my sisters, my place isn't great either. I could probably take one or two, but…"

"Don't worry about it Alya. Just for tonight, I'll take all of them. We can arrange something in the morning." She smiled at the pokémon. "That work for you guys?" The chorus that met the question decided the matter.

Sneaking out was relatively easy. They returned the girls to their pokéballs and stopped by a few rooms on their way out to pick up a few things for them. The house was quiet, empty. It put Alya on edge, but the pair of them made it out the window, rappelled to the ground on Ariados' silk, and made their grand escape.

When she creeped back into her own room, she plugged Adrien's phone directly into her charger. Little chance of me sleeping right now. May as well get this done as quickly as possible. Don't want to keep Mari or Nino waiting.

It took a few minutes for the phone to start up, but when it did Alya had to sit through it receiving all the calls and texts it had missed since it died. Seeing the messages, from herself, from Marinette, from Nino, from Chloé, from Juleka, and so many others, made her stomach flip. She didn't even read the actual contents, at first, just the names. Names she didn't even recognize, unnamed numbers, her class, even she was a little thrown by just how many messages had accumulated.

"Hey, you missed the shoot last weekend, are you okay?"

"I know you're not reading this, but I have to at least put it out there. I know you weren't a part of what happened. And I'm sorry about your dad."

"Buddy where are you? Everyone's saying they can't find you."

"No offence dude but fuck your dad. If you want someone to help you burn all your Gabriel clothes I'd be honored tbh."

"I'm getting seriously worried now man, please answer."

Alya stopped reading whenever she saw one from her classmates. Nosy as she was, that just wasn't her place. She knew she, at least, often texted him, pretending he was seeing everything she said. Updates on school, on life, on the investigation. Making small talk. Just acting like it hadn't been months since he'd responded. Acting like he'd be in class the very next day.

If the other messages from her friends were like that, she didn't even want to read them. She wasn't sure her heart would handle it. Like we're speaking at his tombstone. She pulled her legs to her chest and explored a little, for the sake of her own curiosity. Most of the names in his phone that she didn't know had accompanying pictures, most of which were of such quality and of such attractive people that Alya had to assume they were from work.

She paused and had to do a double-take when she scrolled past an attractive dark-skinned boy smiling with his arm around Adrien's shoulders. That doesn't make sense. Illusions shouldn't work in photographs. Only after enlarging the picture did she see the zoroark in the background. Rocco didn't make up that appearance. He stole it. Or, he took it anyway. It seems like this dude knows about him.

Intrigued, she swiped the screen, minimizing the picture in favor of the contact information. Joshua Keaton? Hm. Noticing messages from him, Alya opened the conversation.

JK: Dude please don't do anything rash
JK: I get that he's your dad but think of yourself
JK: Think about Rocco
JK: I got the call from Nathalie. You really went and did it, didn't you?
JK: I get it, he's your dad. But fighting him isn't going to make you feel better, especially if you go in there without backup
JK: Where do you even intend on going? I know he didn't tell you his plans
JK: Not that there's too much question, I guess. Just take care of Rocco for me, will you? And yourself
JK: I'd guess you're about in Cyllage City by now. Is papa Agreste there? Give him hell for me, if that's what you're doing anyway. He got away with way too much regarding Rocco. Not condoning fighting him though. Cathartic as it may be for me, it's not going to help you
JK: Still no news. They say that's good news but really it just means you didn't find him. Or you did and he did something to you. I hate to think of what that might be. Flawed as he is it's hard to think he'd purposefully hurt you. But with you being Chat Noir, I'm starting to believe he might. Be safe
JK: You know, I'm still mad at you. I can't believe we never danced together. Even if you don't tell me you're Chat, you could've given me a dance
JK: Though admittedly I figured it out after Ghenn. Rocco's the only zoroark I know like that
JK: So it's been a month and no word. You travelling the world or something? Remember we promised to see Fortree together. If you go without me I'm gonna be pissed
JK: Is it weird that I'm keeping track of how long it's been? I don't normally do that, and it's not like we see each other super often. Just the occasional shoot. Still. Miss you
JK: Two months. What's being a travelling trainer like? Thought about talking to your class. Saw Juleka on the street one day, but I don't think she saw me. Honestly, I'm not sure what I would say to any of them if I did approach
JK: Thinking about you
JK: It's strange, you know. I'd think that after two and a half months I'd get used to knowing, or thinking, you're out of the city. I'm not. Had to catch myself from asking after you in today's shoot. They brought in Brandon instead. We all know you're cuter
JK: Almost three months. I officially have no clue where you are. You can't be staying at that old place for so long, especially since you're on a mission. If Gabriel didn't go back home, I'm not sure where he'd go. The stories you told me about that old shed, haha. I still imagine your dad like a vampire sealed away in there. But I guess he's long gone now. Just like you

Alya closed her eyes and sighed. It's not even just us. He's got good friends even outside school. How could he have just left like that? She shook her head, trying to collect herself. Maybe I shouldn't be reading these. But I did learn something. Aside from the obvious that this guy is where Rocco's human illusion came from. Wonder what kind of history is there?

Whatever. More importantly, he seems pretty confident that Adrien and his dad went to Cyllage City first. It's been a long time, and the trail might've gone cold, or maybe he's just wrong, but it's a lead. What's in Cyllage City, though? Why there? It sounds like Adrien used to live there at some point. Maybe one of the others know for sure. I'll bring it up tomorrow. For now, let's check the notes. I kind of doubt Tikki was referring to a guy's texts when she told us to look at this thing.

She navigated through the phone until she found something interesting. A voice recording. She pressed play and heard Adrien's voice for the first time in three months.

"Mega evolution: I thought it was research, but why would dad care about the mechanics of mega evolution? If it was some amoral scientist or something, that would make sense, but… I just don't know. That's why I need to talk to him. Face him. Ask him directly. Alya, I know you're probably going to listen to this at some point, but please don't come after me. After what's happened, I'm not sure what my dad's capable of. He won't hurt me, at the very least not if he doesn't have to, but you guys… Just stay in school, keep chasing your dreams. We'll meet again soon, after I find out the truth. I just don't want things to escalate. I already told Plagg to do whatever's necessary should it come to it, but I'd really like to end this without fighting. I think… I think that's more likely if it's just me.

"I wish you guys could've met Mom, though. It'll be nice to visit her for once, at least."

The recording ended. Alya sighed. Where's his mom's grave? She almost flinched at the thought. Two clues. Cyllage City, and Mrs. Agreste. Someone has to know how they're connected. If they even are. If Joshua was totally wrong, I might only have one real lead. Have to keep doubt on that one. If Mrs. Agreste is buried near Cyllage, then… I guess that's where we have to go.

Sorry Adrien. It's been three months. Either you need our help to find him, or you just need our help.