Disclaimer: I neither own nor profit from Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir.

A/N: This is my first Miraculous fanfic, and I am ready for action!

SPOILER ALERT: If you have not seen up to Season 3 Episode 15, there may be some spoilers in this story. Namely from "Party Crasher" is the layout and features of the secret repository which holds Emilie Agreste's body. Also, if you don't know HawkMoth's true identity, get thee to a nunnery!

Adrien wasn't himself. Marinette could tell by the way his eyes wouldn't meet anyone's, not even Nino's. He'd been silent all day, staring at his desk or phone and nothing else. Even when his bodyguard pulled up to take him home, he left without a word to anyone, not even an acknowledgement that he heard their farewells. It had Marinette worried. All of his friends were worried.

Meanwhile, Adrien was impressed with himself - something he was normally not, despite his cocky alter-ego. He had managed not to lose control of himself or his emotions, even when Ms. Bustier pulled him aside after class and asked what was wrong. He told her, of course, what he couldn't tell anyone else: today marked the anniversary of the last time he'd seen his mother.

For the thousandth time that day, Adrien scrolled through the pictures they'd taken together before she had left for that fateful trip. A tear rolled down his cheek, flicked aside as silently as it had arrived. He didn't need his father to hear about this.

Nathalie watched him walk in and up to his room. She swallowed around the lump in her throat. Like father, like son, she thought. Once his door was shut, Nathalie let herself into Gabriel's atelier.

The room was vacant. No doubt Gabriel would be searching for another victim to akumatize. With the one-year mark drawing ever closer, Hawkmoth's activity had spiked, preying on increasingly petty aggravations. She was pretty sure he had akumatized a man for stepping in discarded chewing gum some time last week.

The portrait of Emilie Agreste gleamed at her as she approached. Nathalie hesitated, not wanting to incur the wrath of her boss but feeling an overwhelming need to speak to the woman sealed inside. She took a deep breath - mostly to calm her nerves, but in part to catch a whiff of Gabriel's lingering cologne. She pressed her fingertips into the collection of buttons hidden in the mosaic, and descended into darkness.

The clacking of her heels reverberated off the walls and high ceiling of the unusual mausoleum. Nathalie supposed that wasn't the proper term for the room, since mausoleums by definition contain dead bodies. As it were, the only bodies present were alive, however faintly the case may be. It was a long walk to reach Emilie - a lonely walk, which perfectly set the mood. Maybe Gabriel had intended it to feel this way, she mused. His ways of dealing with pain were unconventional, to say the least.

Finally reaching Emilie's stasis chamber, Nathalie was struck by how vibrant her mistress looked. She could have been sleeping, or acting. Though Nathalie would never understand Gabriel's insistence on the flowers, she had to admit to herself that it was a nice touch, albeit strange. Holding her bouquet, she looked just as glamorous in this comatose state as she had a year ago, when she was still up and walking, keeping her son warm and her husband anchored.

A hot coal dropped into her stomach as she reflected on Adrien's state. "Oh, Emilie," she sighed, "If you could just hold him again, everything would be alright. A boy needs his mother. Adrien needs you. Gabriel hasn't been a true father to him since your trip to China. He's so wrapped up in his own misery, he can barely think about Adrien's happiness.

"I wish you were back, Emilie. Even if it means I lose Gabriel, Adrien deserves to have you again. Gabriel thought it would be easier on him if he thought that you disappeared, but I think it only makes it harder for him, not knowing what happened to you."

She glanced back up into the coffin, and jumped. Where a calm smile had been mere seconds before, Emilie's lips were now downturned, her brow faintly wrinkled. "Oh my. Emilie?"

Hawkmoth stood with his cane straight in front of him. His desperate search for another target was being obstructed by the strong negative emotions within his own house. Adrien's were the strongest, but Gabriel had no intention of using his son as a pawn in such a deadly game. He'd learned his lesson when he'd almost lost Adrien during the rampage of Gorizilla. The other two were in close proximity; perhaps they were having an argument, although Gabriel couldn't remember the last time he'd heard their bodyguard speak. It mattered not.

Finally, a shard of anger shot out from the blandness of Paris. A tourist in the catacombs was being heckled by her teenage sons for being superstitious. It seemed they'd been pranking her all day, trying to scare her and laughing when she jumped. The tourist was getting sick of it.

"Fly, my little Akuma, and evilize her!"

But the Akuma couldn't leave. The hydraulics controlling the view port malfunctioned, and the butterfly beat its wings uselessly against the metal plate.

Hawkmoth clutched his head in annoyance. "Of all things..." He approached the sealed window, clapping his hands and dousing the room in light. The butterflies swarmed at the sudden illumination, the evilized Akuma becoming lost in the larger body of its kin.

Desperate to please its master, the dark Akuma flew along the walls until it found an escape - an air vent that thrummed with discordant waves of negativity. It followed the trail into an enormous, dimly lit room, through the vibrant glass enclosure of its helpless victim.

Hawkmoth was still sizing up the mechanisms when his vision suddenly became obstructed by his newest victim. It was such a shock that he physically jumped. "Hello?" he stumbled, uncharacteristically caught off guard. He could see nothing through the eyes of his victim, but chalked it up to the darkness of the catacombs.

"I suppose my Akuma found a way without me," Hawkmoth smirked to himself. Focusing on his primary task, he addressed the akumatized woman. "Mother Fearest, I am Hawk Moth. Your family does not appreciate you. They think you are weak. But I know better. I will grant you the power to set things right, but in return, I will need the miraculous of Ladybug and Cat Noir."

Emilie Agreste's eyes shot open, emerald irises as radiant as those she had given her son. "As you wish."

Nathalie watched, engrossed, as a brilliant light emanated from the body before her, until it became too much and she had to shield her eyes.

BOOM!

The glass pod exploded, sending Nathalie careening over several rows of bushes and rolling to a stop right at the edge of the innermost circle. Her head smacked the metal curb, scattering stars across her vision. She was still conscious when Emilie - now equipped with the looks and powers befitting a Mother Fearest - levitated through the repository and disappeared out the escape hatch.

"Gabriel," Nathalie moaned, scratching at the phone trapped in her pocket. Before she could free it, she passed out.

Hawkmoth registered the explosion like anyone registers unexpected calamity: with utter confusion. The eruption had come from within his house, he was certain of it. Torn between protecting his own and completing his mission, it took him a ridiculous amount of time to finally detransform back into his civilian self.

Gabriel Agreste rushed out of his atelier into the foyer. "Adrien!" The hall looked untouched, no signs of a disaster. Nonetheless, he sprinted to his son's room, throwing open the door.

"Father!" Adrien yelled as he was swept out of his chair by a terrifying creature of black, jagged spikes. Over twice his size, she dwarfed the boy, who she cradled against her bosom like a new mother with her child. A crown of horns jutted from her skull, fang-like and menacing. Her form was sleek and sheer - unlike many of his Akumas - with little bulk; it flowed like a tightly-fitted dress with an outward flare at the very bottom.

She turned with the boy clutched to her chest and locked glowing eyes with the man. Her ruby lips parted in a grin of unhinged adoration. "Gabriel."

A horrible shiver went down his spine as he realized what he had done. For that voice, even masked so with this melodic echoey effect, belonged indubitably to Emilie Agreste.

Gabriel found himself at a loss for words. His jaw flapped as he tried to form anything coherent. Mother Fearest chuckled in her fluidic way. "Come with us, Gabriel. Let us be a family again."

His foot moved on its own, propelled forward by the ache, the need to be with her again. A soft groan escaped his throat as he fought himself on both fronts. Gabriel Agreste was absolutely torn.

Emilie's smile dropped into a rabid scowl. "It's that assistant of yours, isn't it?!" she spat, sounding entirely unlike herself. "I heard her mewling for you. She spoke to me as if it were my fault that she had these - these feelings for you." Her glower softened into an inviting smile. "No matter. I have assured that she cannot come between us again."

It took him a moment to understand what she was implying, and then to reinterpret what he had observed earlier. "Nathalie." He turned to run back the way he'd come, certain that she must be trapped down in the hidden repository, but faltered as he remembered that Adrien was still in danger. He turned back around, but it was too late.

The green glow of her eyes became red. "You harlot!" she shrieked, her rage roiling off her in waves that crashed against the wall of windows, cracking several. "I should have known your faith was fickle. You are no husband of mine, and no father to my child." With a dramatic twist, she shot out the window, Adrien cocooned in her embrace.

"No! Adrien!" He ran to the window in time to see them soar toward the center of town. He watched them disappear behind a building, then ran to his atelier to find Nathalie.

"Don't be bemused, it's just the news." Nadja Chamack was already covering this newest akumatized villain before Marinette even registered there was a disturbance. She turned her attention fully to the screen, looking for clues of it's whereabouts.

"What is she holding?" Tikki asked.

Marinette's eyes shifted to the figure itself, and she gasped. "Adrien! Tikki, spots on!"

The hidden repository was full of smoke when Gabriel Agreste descended into it. "Nooroo, figure out why the vents aren't working and fix them!"

"Yes, master!" The purple kwami zoomed off, leaving Gabriel to search for Nathalie alone.

His eyes went immediately to the sarcophagus that had until recently contained his wife. He had put a fresh bouquet in her hands this morning, hoping that it would be a nice surprise for her if he managed to resurrect her at last. Now all that was left of the bundle were shredded petals and an overwhelming stench of burning foliage.

The smoke was thick here, at the epicenter of the explosion, and he had to get on all fours to avoid choking to death. It was then that he noticed one of the disheveled shrubberies had been smeared outward away from the coffin, as though something had been dragged through it. He followed the path of scattered branches and flattened chrysalises to a single black heel. Gabriel soon came upon the rest of his secretary. Bruises had already begun to form on her pale skin. Coughing, Gabriel draped her limp form over his shoulder and back, and retreated to the walkway. Shards of glass embedded in his palms and knees as he fought to breathe, crawling through the wreckage.

When Gabriel had made it halfway down the isle, he stood and carried the unconscious woman the rest of the way to the cylindrical elevator. As he tucked his feet inside, crouched under the weight of his secretary, a large blanket of foam fell from the ceiling, suppressing the smog and squelching the small fire that had arisen from the shattered enclosure. Nooroo came flying back to him as they ascended.

The richness of the clean air sent Gabriel into a coughing fit as soon as it hit him. He deposited Nathalie less gently than intended and stumbled over to his podium to steady himself.

"Arms up," Nooroo instructed, "To help the oxygen flow."

Gabriel followed his instruction and soon recovered his breath. Then he turned to Nathalie, knelt at her side, and began to assess the damage. Cradling her head, he gingerly prodded the swelling on her crown. She winced and swatted him weakly.

"Nathalie!"

The woman's eyes fluttered open, and she took in a sudden deep breath, sitting stark up. "Ow," she winced again, delicately placing a hand on the back of her head. She turned and looked at her boss, brow scrunched. "Mr. Agreste... your wife..."

He held up a hand. "I know. She took Adrien and left. What happened down there? Why were you in there alone?"

The anger in his voice caused her to flinch. She had seen him angry plenty of times, but rarely was it directed at her. "I..." Her jaw flapped, but she didn't know how to explain what had possessed her to visit the dying woman.

Instead of waiting for a response, Gabriel embraced her. He took a shaky breath. "I'm glad you're alright."

"Let me go!" Adrien demanded, not for the first time since he had been abducted from his room.

"Hush, my son. We are almost there."

Adrien scowled. "I'm not your son. But I can help you find him if you put me down."

"Adrien Agreste," Mother Fearest scolded, leveling her green gaze on him. "I gave birth to you. I sang to you and changed your diapers and read you bedtime stories. Your favorite was the book of nursery rhymes that we would sing together until you fell asleep in my arms. How dare you disown me."

Adrien gaped at her. "How... how did you know that?"

"Because I am your mother, Adrien. I'm sorry I have been absent for quite some time, but I assure you that I still love you as much as the day I brought you home from the hospital."

Adrien studied the woman holding him. Although she was transformed into something grotesque, her eyes remained human - the same eyes that stared back at him from his phone and computer screens. He'd been studying them all day, and now he couldn't deny it. These eyes belonged to Emilie Agreste.

"Mom? What are you doing here? Where have you been?" And the hardest question of all, asked more softly than the others, "Why did you leave us?"

His mother smiled at him, affection sparkling in her irises. "Oh Adrien. I never meant to leave. If I had known what would happen, I would have never -" Her words were cut off as a black string wrapped around her horns, yanking her out of the sky.

"Adrien!" Ladybug swung into action, tearing him away from his mother as she fought against the entanglement on her crown. Ladybug pulled her yo-yo back to herself, releasing Mother Fearest, and swung off toward town square.

"Take me back!" Adrien demanded, reaching for his mother who was now far behind them.

"What?! She's been akumatized. You can't help her by putting yourself in danger." Ladybug landed near an alcove a few blocks from Adrien's home. "Find shelter. Cat Noir and I will handle this. Did you happen to see who she was before she got akumatized?"

"She's-" Adrien hesitated, unsure if what he knew was really the truth. A battle waged within him between what he wanted to be true and what made logical sense. He sighed, placing his hand on the back of his neck. "She said she was my mother."

"Your mother?" Ladybug reacted with surprise. "But I thought your mother was missing? Is she back?" Then more quietly to herself, "Is that why you were acting weird at school?"

"Excuse me, m- Ladybug? I didn't hear that last bit." He did, but he wasn't sure he heard right.

She waved her hand dismissively. "Nothing. Just a thought. So she's your mother?"

Adrien frowned. "That's what she said. I'm afraid to believe her. I don't want to get my hopes up if she was lying."

"Do you think she was lying?" Ladybug asked, soft concern in her voice.

He looked away, in the direction of his house that he couldn't quite see. After a long moment of deliberation, he said, "No. I think she is my mom. But I don't know how. I mean, if she is, then where has she been? She must have been in Paris for Hawkmoth to akumatize her. Was she finally ready to come back, one whole year after she left us?"

Ladybug started. "Is this the one year anniversary?"

Adrien nodded, still unable to meet her eyes. He stared back the way they'd come, maybe hoping to catch a glance of her again, as if that would settle his distress.

Ladybug laid a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I'm sure whatever the reason, she didn't want to leave you."

"How do you know?" he asked, turning to face her, his features distorted with pain. "How do you know she didn't want to? Because if she could come back - and she did - then why did she leave in the first place? What was so important that she couldn't even tell me or my father that she was leaving? Because I certainly don't know."

Ladybug wrung her hands, caught between wanting to comfort him and not wanting to say the wrong thing. Finally she said, "If she didn't want you, then why was she carrying you? Was she going to hurt you?"

"No." Adrien was confident of that; she had no intention of hurting him. "When she took me from my room, she told my father she wanted us to be a family again. But then she got mad at him, and she flew off without him." He reflected on their conversation before Ladybug had rescued him. "She told me she loved me. She said she was sorry for leaving me, that she didn't want to."

When he didn't continue, Ladybug said, "I think you have your answer." She turned reluctantly. "I have to go now. The city - your mother - they're in danger. I'll make sure to get her back to you, Adrien. I promise." Then she bounded off toward the fight.

Adrien watched her go. "I hope you're right, My Lady."

A/N: I hope you've enjoyed! More to come soon!