Chapter Text
Chapter 61: The Final Line
It has been two days since Heroes Day, when both the three members of the Justice League and Hawkmoth's Akumas rioted.
It was late in the evening on a rooftop when Hawkmoth was waiting for Lady Noire at the agreed meeting point.
He paces back and forth, wondering if he should run away before Lady Noire shows up.
It is true that the potion given to him by Lady Noire fixed the peacock miraculous and prevented worse from happening to Nathalie.
Although worse things were prevented for Nathalie, he gave her the week off so that she could recover.
Though he believed Lady Noire was telling him the truth, he couldn't shake a nagging feeling off that the meeting will be a mistake.
He didn't have a chance to flee when a black portal appeared a few meters in front of him.
Out of the portal came Lady Noire and a strange man carrying the horse miraculous. He wore a dark brown hooded robe that reminds of a monk's robe, with a black belt underneath and a horseshoe on the side. He also wore a white scarf, the ends of which reached down to his back.
Lady Noire greets "Glad you came, Hawkmoth."
Hawkmoth doesn't greet back, he just looks suspiciously at the strange man.
Lady Noire notices Hawkmoth's look and introduces "May I introduce you, that's Zhangwo. The Celestial Guardian who I mentioned when we last met.”
Normally, Su Han would never use a miraculous, but since Marinette listed many benefits for him, including being able to get the two missing miraculous back, Su Han decided to use the horse miraculous.
Hawkmoth's eyes widen "You're the one who can heal my wife?!"
"I'd have to take a closer look at her first to see how much negative magic is in her body, then we will see." Zhangwo replies.
Since Hawkmoth didn't look like he would take them there, Lady Noire says, "For that, you must take us to her, otherwise Zhangwo cannot appreciate what kind of treatment she needs."
After Hawkmoth hasn't said anything for almost a minute, Lady Noire asks "How about you just show us a picture of the place? Then Zhangwo will take care of the rest.”
Hawkmoth still didn't know what to do. He couldn't just take them to his secret lair like that, but if he doesn't, then his wife won't be healed.
He exhales heavily as he says, "All right." He holds up his cane, and uses the smartphone function to show them a photo of his secret lair.
"That should be enough," says Zhangwo. He says, without raising his hands, "Voyage!" and a portal opens beneath their feet."
Aside from Lady Noire and Zhangwo, the sudden portal only came as a surprise to Hawkmoth. When they fell through the portal, he almost tripped on the short fall.
As the portal closes over their heads, Lady Noire and Zhangwo looked around a bit.
While Zhangwo looks at everything from his position, Lady Noire wanders around and examines everything.
She whistles as she says impressed, "You know, for a terrorist, you've got a pretty cool secret lair."
Hawkmoth doesn't know whether to feel honored or offended.
Lady Noire's eyes light up when she notices a garden a little further away "You even have a whole garden down here!"
As she began to runs towards it, Hawkmoth, shouts with outstretched hand "Wait!"
However, Lady Noire did not stop. She didn't stop until she was near the garden. When she stood in front of it, she saw for the first time that there were a lot of butterflies flying around.
She says while admiring the beauty of the butterflies "So this is where you always get your butterflies from."
She giggles a little as some butterflies land on her head or fingers. Noticing a cocoon being opened, she watches in fascination as a butterfly hatches.
Lady Noire was very impressed by the gardens and the butterflies. Although the butterflies got a bad reputation because of the Akuma incidents, she personally never hated the butterflies for it.
She was about to look a little further at the rest of the garden until she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
She turns to what she initially thought was some kind of incubator. As she approached it, she got a fright.
The incubator turns out to be some kind of coffin and inside was a woman who at first glance looked like Amelie Graham de Vanily, but Lady Noire knew she wasn't, knowing Amelie is in England.
At first, Lady Noire thought the woman was dead, but after noticing the heart monitor on the coffin, she calmed down.
Hawkmoth says as he and Zhangwo come to a halt behind her, "This is my wife."
Lady Noire perked up when she realized who the woman was. She looks at Hawkmoth as she says, "This is Emilie Agreste, which means you're Gabriel Agreste!"
Hawkmoth nods. He closes his eyes and says "Nooroo, Wings Fall." whereupon he turns back into Gabriel and Nooroo lands in Lady Noire's hands.
While Lady Noire was amazed that Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth all along, she was even more amazed by the kwami in her hands.
She introduces herself "Hello, you must be Nooroo. I’m Lady Noire and I am pleased to meet you.”
"Likewise," Nooroo replies with a friendly smile.
Zhangwo clears his throat before reminding her, "Concentration."
Lady Noire rolls her eyes before saying to Nooroo "We'll have time to talk later."
Nooroo nodded understandingly.
Lady Noire places Nooroo on her shoulder before looking at Gabriel who is standing next to his wife. She asks him the question she's been wanting to ask him "How come your wife has absorbed so much magic into her body?"
Gabriel looks first at his wife before going to a nearby drawer and pulling out the peacock miraculous "It all started with that." he says while holding it up "My sister-in-law gave it to Emilie almost five years ago."
'That must have been at the time when Felix tried to steal the ring from me.' Lady Noire thinks.
Gabriel continues "After trying on the brooch, Duusu appeared. Emilie then became curious, whereupon Duusu told her all about the miraculous and others. Emilie then practically had stars in her eyes and wanted to try it immediately, I found it too dangerous, but Emilie was too stubborn and curious, and she also wanted to realize her lifelong dream of being a heroine."
"Emilie was a heroine?" asks Lady Noire with a raised brow. "I've done a lot of research on heroes and I've never heard or read of a peacock heroine."
"She was a heroine," says Gabriel. "At least one that wasn't known to the public."
"I think we need more context to understand it." says Lady Noire.
Gabriel looks sadly at his wife. He places a hand on the glass coffin as he says "Emilie has a heart for those in need. Especially for children‘s who live in poor conditions. She has regularly raised or donated to charities. When she received the miraculous, she figured out that she could do more with it than just donate money. That's why she decided as Robe de Paon to help people. For three years she roamed the city at night as Robe de Paon and created amoks for every child seeking help that should protect and guide them.“
"Guardians." Zhangwo corrected.
Gabriel looks at him and asks "Excuse me?"
"Guardian," Zhangwo repeats, "When the peacock miraculous is used for good purposes, the creature is called a Guardian."
Gabriel nods slowly, "Yeah, Emilie has always had a big heart." He breathes in and out as he continues his narration, "After each use of the miraculous, Emilie got weaker and weaker." He looks embarrassed at Emilie as he says, "I noticed too late that Emilie seemed sicker after each transformation."
When Gabriel didn't say another word, Lady Noire thought he couldn't go on speaking.
Lady Noire was already wondering if she should say something, but Gabriel continues with his narration “Two years ago her condition started to get worse, so we did everything to cure her illness. The best doctors in the world couldn't do anything about it. Then Emilie had the idea to look for a solution in Tibet, since we found the Grimoire there years ago.” He looks at Zhangwo as he says, “We looked there at the place where the Temple appeared a few months ago. That's where we found the miraculous of Nooroo."
Lady Noire looks at Nooroo, who confirms it by nodding.
Gabriel continues “It wasn't until Nooroo appeared that we finally learned the cause of her illness. Nooroo told us Emilie got so sick from using a broken miraculous.”
Zhangwo agrees, "Using a broken miraculous has numerous effects."
Gabriel slowly nods "The same thing Nooroo told us." He sighs as he continues "Then last year what I feared the most happened. Emilie fell asleep and never woke up again."
Lady Noire found it really fascinating and sad wthat led to Emilie's illness and Gabriel's decision.
Out of respect, she waits a few moments before asking, "Is that why you teamed up with Ra's al Ghul?"
Gabriel looks at her in embarrassment as he admits "Actually, before I even made the deal with Ra's al Ghul, I tried to steal the miraculous to cure Emilie with the wish." before Zhangwo could scold him he says quickly "But after learning that the wish could potentially take my son's life, I made a deal with Ra's al Ghul."
Lady Noire and Zhangwo say nothing, they just look at Gabriel without saying a word.
Gabriel exhales heavily as he practically begs, "I'm willing to take any punishment that comes my way. But I ask you to heal Emilie first. She has nothing to do with my decisions and crimes.”
Lady Noire says in a serious tone "I'm glad you understand that you have to be punished. Because we have already thought of a suitable punishment for you.”
"I see." says Gabriel.
Gabriel already knew that he wasn't going to get away with it, but he didn't care. As long as he gets his wife back for it, any punishment was appropriate for him.
Gabriel hesitantly asks the question he's been meaning to ask "Are you going to put me in jail?" He breathes in and out before saying "If so, please give me a few days to do some legal stuff for my son's future."
This question has been tormenting him since Heroes Day. Though he's willing to take any punishment, all he can do is worry about his son's future.
When Lady Noire started to smile, Gabriel was confused.
To his surprise, Lady Noire says, "If I wanted to see you in prison, I would have already exposed you on Heroes Day."
Gabriel blinks twice "But..." he didn't know how to finish the sentence.
"What you're supposed to do is hand over both miraculous to us." says Lady Noire while stroking gently Nooroo's head.
Gabriel's eyes widen, but before he could say anything, Lady Noire hands him a note and says with a toothy smile, "We also thought that you could do this as penance."
Gabriel looked at the note and saw that it was a list of institutions or people. However, he didn't know what it meant.
He asks "What is that?"
Lady Noire declares “In reparation to the residents of Paris, you will improve or set up the following facilities.” She lists of with her fingers “Orphanages, shelters for the homeless, soup kitchens, hospitals for people without Health insurance, scholarships for low-income students, therapy for Akuma victims who have been traumatized, improving the temple of the miraculous Guardians and for Mr. Ramirez a reserve for his pigeons."
Gabriel raised at the last point a brow "A enclosure for pigeons? I can understand the other things, but why should I set up a reserve for Mr. Ramirez for his pigeons?”
Lady Noire deadpans and says in a tone as if it's obvious "You akumatized that guy 72 times. I think you owe him that."
Gabriel clears his throat as he admits, embarrassed, "There might be some truth to that."
Lady Noire nods "Take it positive. All of that stuff will improve your brand and reputation a lot." She waves to Emilie as she adds, "Plus, it's something your wife will probably like."
Gabriel looks at his wife as he says, "I think you're right about that."
Zhangwo says "But before that, you must give us the miraculous."
Gabriel understood, but still found it difficult to hand over the miraculous. He reached for the butterfly miraculous with a trembling hand. He looked closely at the butterfly and peacock miraculous one last time before handing them over to Lady Noire.
Lady Noire happily, but carefully took the two miraculous. The second she grabbed the peacock miraculous, Duusu appeared in a blinding light.
Duusu yawns a little and rubs her eyes. As her vision improved, she looked curiously at Lady Noire.
"You must be the cat that fixed my miraculous." Duusu says in a pleased tone. "I’m Duusu the peacock kwami and I’m very happy to see that the black cat miraculous is in good hands."
Lady Noire smiles at her and nods, "My name is Lady Noire and I will be your new Guardian for as long as you and Nooroo wish."
"It's been too long since we had a Guardian." Duusu says with a sad smile.
Lady Noire says with a sympathetic smile "I hope you're ready for a new Guardian."
Lady Noire would like to talk to the kwamis longer, but she still has something urgent to do.
She says to the kwamis, “I think you should go to the other kwamis now. We can talk later.”
Nooroo and Duusu exchange a look before Nooroo says "It's been way too long since we've seen the others."
"Then it's time for you to see them again," says Lady Noire. She grabs her baton and activates the white portal.
At the questioning looks from the kwamis, Lady Noire explains to them how the portal works. After the explanation, the kwamis were excited.
The kwamis say goodbye to Gabriel, then Lady Noire places the miraculous in the portal, whereupon the kwamis disappeared.
After a few seconds of silence, Gabriel says carefully, "I've done my part."
“And we intend to do our part." Zhangwo says while examining Emilie.
After a few minutes, Zhangwo says, "The good news is that we can treat your wife."
Gabriel is sure there is a catch, so he asks, "And what's the bad news."
"No bad news," says Zhangwo. "Your wife will make a full recovery."
Gabriel was taken back "Are you sure?"
Zhangwo nodded “Believe it or not, what your wife is going through is nothing new. A lot of people had used broken miraculous in the past, so we guardians created a treatment for that." He looks at Emilie as he says, "We just have to take her to the temple where we can treat her right away."
Gabriel was amazed "How long will the treatment take?"
Zhangwo looks at Emilie "It's hard to say. It depends on the amount of negative magic your wife carries in her body. It can take anywhere from a few hours to a year.”
Gabriel was more than thrilled to hear that. Even if he has to wait a whole year, it's worth it. After all, he doesn't have to work with a terrorist or threaten the residents of a city anymore.
Gabriel asks happily, "When can the treatment begin?"
"Right now." says Lady Noire while taking Emilie out of the glass coffin and carrying her in a bridal style.
Gabriel's eyes widen at the sight. He was about to do something when Zhangwo calls out "Voyage" and another black portal opens under their feet.
They ended up in what looked like a century-year-old infirmary.
There were many beds and tubs in the room. One of the tubs is filled with a liquid that looks like water but isn't water. Beside the tubs stood two women in monk's robes.
Gabriel asks while looking around "Where are we?"
"In the temple of the miraculous Guardians," says Lady Noire as she gently lays Emilie down on a bed.
Zhangwo explains, “To be precise, in the infirmary. Lady Noire and I spoke to the guardians of this temple yesterday and told them to prepare everything for the treatment.”
The two women bowed to Zhangwo and Lady Noire. They say at the same time “Welcome guardians. Everything is prepared."
"Then let's not waste any time." Zhangwo says while signaling Lady Noire and Gabriel to follow him out.
While Lady Noire follows him without hesitation, Gabriel hesitantly follows behind, while his wife remains in the care of the two women.
———————————————————————
They were in the next room when Gabriel asked "How will it go from now on?"
Zhangwo explains, "First of all, your wife will be undressed, cleaned, and then she will be placed in the tub where the holy water will take all the negative magic out of her body."
Lady Noire says before Gabriel could ask anything, "Don't worry, it's painless."
Gabriel exhales relieved.
One of the women who was in the infirmary came up to them and said, "We have finished the preparations and we think that the patient will be back on her feet in three to six months."
"That's good to know." says Zhangwo.
The woman makes a small bow before leaving the room.
Gabriel was amazed that it would have been so easy all along. But he was also so angry with himself that he hadn't thought of just asking Lady Noire beforehand. It would have saved him a lot of time and suffering.
Gabriel says with bowed head and shame "Thank you for everything. How can I ever thank you for that?”
"Technically you already have." says Lady Noire.
Gabriel looks at her confused "How?"
Lady Noire explains, “As I told you on Heroes Day, some of your akumas have left positive effects. At least a few.”
At the dumbstruck expression on Gabriel's face, Lady Noire says, "I will now name you three akumas that you unintentionally helped people with. If you hadn't akumatized Aurore Boreal into Stormy Weather, the Weather Girl Choice scam would never have come out. Then there was Vincent Asa, who you akumatized into Pixelator. If you hadn't done it, he would never have shed his stalking behavior. And then there's Caline Bustier, who you akumatized into Zombizou. If you hadn't done it, her students would then never have known that she was a bad teacher and enabler."
Gabriel replies hesitantly, "If you look at it that way..."
"Don't get me wrong," says Lady Noire. "Other Akuma incidents like Sandboy, who could make every nightmare come true, were very traumatic, but it's nothing a therapy can't fix."
Gabriel blushed in shame.
Zhangwo clears his throat before saying, "I think the best thing would be if head back to Paris."
"But what about my wife?!" Gabriel asks in panic. "I can't leave her here alone!"
"Can you leave your son, your assistant and your company alone?" replies Lady Noire matter-of-factly.
Gabriel didn't know what to say back.
Zhangwo explains, "In the current situation, you won't be able to do anything. Your wife will spend the next few weeks in the Holy Water while the magic is slowly drained from her body. Until then, she has to lay undisturbed in the tub.”
"Besides, she won't be alone." says Lady Noire. "The two women from earlier, Esra and Esta, will take good care of her."
Since Gabriel still looked unsure, Zhangwo said, "Don't worry, I give you my word that we'll bring you to her as soon as she shows the first signs of waking up."
Gabriel thinks for what feels like an eternity before saying, "All right, I'm putting my wife in the care of the miraculous guardians."
———————————————————————
In Paris.
After getting the consent, Zhangwo teleports himself, Lady Noire and Gabriel Agreste to an alley near the Agreste mansion.
Lady Noire and Zhangwo were about to leave when Lady Noire turns to Gabriel and tells him "So you know. I can't condone what you did, but I also can't deny that others in your situation wouldn't have done the same. I hope you learned something from the whole situation.”
"I hope so, too." Gabriel replies, dejected.
Then Lady Noire and Zhangwo disappeared through another portal.
Standing alone in the alley, Gabriel wonders what to do from now on, since he is no longer Hawkmoth.
He took a few steps out of the alley when he felt something in his jacket pocket. He pulls it out and saw the note Lady Noire had given him.
Looking at the list, he decides that as long as his wife is in treatment, he can do start doing the things on the list.
———————————————————————
In Marinette's apartment.
Zhangwo teleported himself and Lady Noire to Marinette's apartment.
The second her feet hit the ground, Lady Noire ran to her miraculous box and immediately pulled out Nooroo's and Duusu's miraculous, causing the two kwamis to appear.
When the two kwamis open their eyes, they see that they are no longer in Hawkmoth's lair or in the miraculous box.
"Where are we?" Nooroo asks cautiously.
"You are in my apartment." says Lady Noire in a friendly tone.
Nooroo and Duusu looked excited and pleased at the apartment.
Lady Noire figured that the other kwamis wanted to see the two, so she clicked a button on the Miraculous Box, whereupon the remaining kwamis appeared, save for a few.
Lady Noire collected the miraculous at the end of the party yesterday without anyone on the team learning the identities of theit partner's.
However, she did not collect the miraculous from Misterbug, Ryuko, Pigella, Purple Tigress, Ladydragon, and Eagle.
While the kwamis hug and talk to Nooro and Duusu, Lady Noire and Zhangwo transformed back.
After Kaalki got a sugar cube, she immediately flew to the other kwamis. Plagg, on the other hand, stayed on Marinette's shoulder.
Marinette says to Su Han while handing Plagg a piece of camembert, "See, I told you that some people can be reasoned with."
‘Ironically, I could deal better with a terrorist than with heroes.‘ Marinette thinks.
Su Han says while giving the horse miraculous back to Marinette, "To be honest, I didn't think he would agree to give the miraculous back. I was ready to attack him, but I'm pleasantly surprised that he returned the miraculous without a fight."
Marinette says, while looking down at her kwamis with a gentle gaze, "If you offer the right price, people are willing to do anything. Even giving up power.”
"That's probably true." Su Han replies, a little impressed by her answer.
Su Han clears his throat before asking "Have you thought about my offer?"
Marinette looks at Su Han and nods, "Yes, I did."
"What is your answer?"
Marinette looks at her kwamis before looking back at Su Han. "My answer is yes. I’m ready to continue my celestial guardian training over the summer break in the temple.”
Su Han nods happily, "I'm glad. Until then, I will go back to the temple and prepare everything.”
Marinette nods "That's good to hear. Until then, I still have a few things to do myself. Like reassuring the people of Paris that Hawkmoth has been defeated.”
After discussing some more thinks, Marinette used the horse miraculous to teleport Su Han to the temple. She then started to befriend the two new kwamis. Then, in celebration of the day, she made a huge dinner to celebrate the liberation of the Kwamis and Paris.
Both Nooroo and Duusu were more than thrilled with the meal and were overjoyed to be back in the hands of a guardian.
Marinette was overjoyed too. Not only did she defeat a terrorist and bring back the missing miraculous, she also drew a final line with the Justice League.
However, she still has something important to do.
———————————————————————
A few days later, Marinette stood tensely in front of a door. With her she carried a cloaked object.
Plagg says from her purse, "Relax, it's not the first time you've walked into this place."
"It's not that easy." replied Marinette.
Marinette's heart raced just at the thought of going inside.
Plagg rolls his eyes "It's easy, just walk through the door and the rest will take care of itself."
"But what if I mess it up?" asks Marinette worried.
Plagg breathes in and out before saying in a matter-of-fact tone, "You stopped an emotional terrorist. You brought back the lost miraculous. And you gave some overpowered jerks a shot. So I think you'll be fine."
Plagg's words seemed to calm Marinette down. She slowly nods, "You're right. I have already accomplished more dangerous things that I have both known and not known. So I should get that over with it too.”
Plagg nods happily, "Don't forget that I'm with you. In the worst case, you transform and run away.”
Marinette playfully rolls her eyes. "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."
Marinette takes a deep breath in and out before walking through the door.
As she opens the door, a bell rings above the door.
"Welcome to the- oh hey Marinette. I wouldn't have expected you today.” says a surprised but nevertheless delighted Sabine.
Marinette asks, somewhat embarrassed, "Can I talk to you about something important?"
Sabine didn't know what was bothering Marinette, but just one look at her and Sabine could tell that it was something serious.
That's why Sabine locked the shop door and led Marinette into the back room, where Tom is currently baking bread.
Tom asks while pushing a sheet of dough into the oven, "You look depressed. Did anything happen?"
"You could say that." replies Marinette dim.
Sabine gently places a hand on Marinette's shoulder as she says "You can tell us anything you want. We're here for you."
Marinette has a small smile as she says, "Thank you." She breathes in and out as she asks, "Remember the Akuma Wishmaker?"
Tom nods. "We weren't there or were hit by his power, but we read all about him in the news."
"That spares me at least the explanation of his power." says Marinette, a little relieved. She looks at them both as she explains, "The thing is, I got hit by his power. Through which I have experienced my childhood wish.”
Sabine asks out of a mixture of curiosity and concern "What did you experience?"
Marinette looks Sabine in the eye as she says, "Before I tell you, I have one more question. Do you have a sister?"
Sabine was taken back. She hadn't expected such a personal question. She didn't want to answer the question at all, but realizing how serious Marinette is, she says with regret in her tone, "I used to have a sister, but she passed away a while ago."
Marinette says with sympathy, "I know it's hard to talk about, but how and where did she die?"
Tom notices how difficult it is for Sabine to talk about it, so he figured he should tell Marinette.
"She died along with her family and many other people from her apartment building when Superman in his paranoia accidentally destroyed it."
Both Marinette and Sabine felt sorrow.
Marinette breathes in and out before handing the cloaked object to Sabine.
Sabine looks at the object confused.
Marinette says, barely audibly, "Please open it."
Sabine exchanged a look with Tom before revealing it. Upon revealing the object, she gasped.
She revealed the portrait Marinette painted after the Wishmaker incident.
Sabine puts a hand on the woman's images as she says in amazement and sadness, "This is my sister, Shu Yin and her husband William."
Tom looks at Marinette in amazement as he asks her in amazement "How did you get the portrait?"
A tear rolled down Marinette's face as she said, "Because I had a brief moment with my parents through the Akuma Wishmaker, and I needed to hold on to their appearance, so I won’t forget again their faces."
"But-" Tom cut himself off when he realized what Marinette meant by that.
Sabine drops the portrait in shock. She covers her mouth with her hands as she says, "You are my sister's daughter. That means you are my niece.”
Marinette nods slowly.
Sabine walked slowly and carefully to Marinette. She slowly and gently places her hands on Marinette's cheeks as she says in sadness and disbelief "But how can you be here?" Tears streamed down her face. "We were at the funeral in Gotham. The police told us you, my sister and brother in law were dead.”
Marinette had more tears running down her face. "I didn't die, although I wished I would at the time." She sobs as she says, "After the incident in Gotham I was taken to a hospital with serious injuries and was shortly thereafter, before I even recovered, taken to a seedy orphanage. Luckily Marianne adopted me and brought me out of Gotham.”
She couldn't tell Tom and Sabine everything. It was hard enough telling them that Sabine is her aunt.
Tom asks worried "Why didn't you tell us beforehand that you are Sabine's niece?"
Marinette wipes away her tears as she explains without going into too much detail, "I only found out about this a few months ago, but I didn't dare to say it because I was afraid what you two could think about me and I was afraid that an Akuma might possess me, but now that Hawkmoth has been defeated, I no longer have to worry about my emotions.”
Marinette, as Lady Noire, gave a press conference with her team the day after she received Nooroo's and Duusu's miraculous, saying that Hawkmoth was defeated and they took his miraculous. However, she did not tell anyone who Hawkmoth really is, not even her team. All she said was that he received an appropriate punishment.
When the news broke, the people of Paris cheered loudly as they no longer had to hold back their emotions. Which made most people very happy, especially those with aggression problems.
Sabine wipes away her tears as she says barely audibly, "I still can't believe that you survived."
Tom had to wipe away a tear as he said, "I can't believe it myself. When we spoke to the authorities in Gotham, they told us that everyone in the apartment building, with a few exceptions, had died. You were also said to be among the dead.”
Marinette says with disgust in her tone, "Knowing the Gotham authorities and police, they just wanted to save themselves the job and either lied to you both or didn't investigate further."
"These bastards!" yells Sabine full of anger and sadness "How couldn’t they do their jobs correct?! All these years I thought my sister, brother-in-law and niece were dead!” She looks with teary eyes at Marinette.
Marinette was a little startled. That was the first time that she saw Sabine so angry. She was thankful that Hawkmoth was defeated, otherwise she would have a tough Akuma to fight now. She made a mental note that she will never make Sabine angry.
Tom puts his hands on Sabine's shoulders and says "Take a deep breath and exhale. Even though Hawkmoth is gone, it's best to calm down."
Sabine nods and did what Tom said. After she calms down, she looks at Marinette and smiles softly at her. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this."
"It's understandable to be angry about it. I‘m angry too.” Marinette replies.
Sabine breathes in and out before saying in her usual friendly tone, "We can complain about the Gotham authorities later. Before that, we should make up for lost time.”
Marinette wanted to say something back, but she didn't have a chance when Sabine and Tom took her in a tight, yet gentle hug.
Marinette was so taken aback by the sudden hug that she didn't know what to do until Plagg came out of her purse. He mouthed without Tom and Sabine seeing him, "I told you everything will be fine."
Marinette couldn't help but smile softly at him.
Plagg mouthed "Now stop daydreaming and hug them back."
Marinette laughed inwardly as she hugged Sabine and Tom back. During the hug, she signals Plagg to join them. Plagg then flew to Marinette's hand and pressed against it while Marinette gently caressed his head with her thumb.
———————————————————————
Later that evening in Marinette's room.
Laying in bed with all her kwamis after a long day, Marinette reflects on what has happened over the past few days, especially today.
After having that long family hug with Tom and Sabine, they offered Marinette to live with them from now on.
Although it was sudden and surprising, Marinette was more than happy to hear it, but she can't do it as she still lives at Marianne's apartment. Also, she had a lot of things in the apartment, like all the clothes she designed for her website.
Even if Marinette wanted to stay with Tom and Sabine, she couldn't as she lives with her kwamis, and she will be traveling to the Guardian Temple in Tibet during the summer vacation.
So she turned down their offer. Sabine and Tom were a little sad, but they could understand it.
When Marinette left the bakery late in the evening, Sabine assured her that their door is always open for her.
Although Marinette will always miss her parents, she cannot deny that she feels like that Tom and Sabine became like her parents. Even before she found out that Sabine is her aunt.
Marinette looks over at all of her Kwamis, knowing that no matter what comes her way, she can always count on the help of her friends, family, and especially her Kwamis.
Marinette has a gentle smile as she closes her eyes and falls into a pleasantly sleep.
End?