Chapter Text
Epilogue
Home At Last
Quirin’s journey had taken him to many places in the seven kingdoms. For a man who claimed to be aimless he seemed to be searching for something.
Nearly a year had passed since he learned what happened to his son. In the heart of the Iron Kingdom he stopped by a local shop asking for directions.
“Why do you want to go to the mountains, stranger? Ain’t nothing up there.” Quirin paid for some supplies.
“Then there’s nothing for me to disturb.” The shopkeeper watched him go wondering just what the stranger was hoping to find.
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Vari smiled at Betterfly as he took off his Miraculous for the final time. It had been a little strange with Paw Noir and Ladybug now on their side and since then the tide had been turning. He turned to his best friend he’d had since ending up in this interesting modern world, Lila and with a nod of approval from Gabriel he handed her the Peacock Miraculous.
“Are you sure I’m the right person for the job Vari?” Lira said excited about becoming a superhero but nervous as well.
“You’ll be great. I wouldn’t leave Doosuu in the hands of just anyone.” She pinned the broach to her shirt and Doosuu flew out to greet her new holder.
“Hi, you must be Lira, I’m Doosuu. Vari’s told me so much about you.” She giggled as she watched the Kwami fly around her.
“He’s a sweetie, I’m sure going to miss him though.” Doosuu’s feathers started drooping.
“Yeah me too.”
While this was supposed to be a happy moment for Vari it was also a sad one. Betterfly had found his home world and as soon as he gave the word he would be opening a portal and he'd be going home.
He turned to Adrien who was watching from the side pretending not to care. Even though he was only gone for a few days a lot had happened in his absence. Enough that he and Adrien actually got a chance to sit down and talk. They talked about their mothers and how much it hurt Adrien to lose his and how Vari wishes he could remember his Mother more. They talked about their Fathers and how hard it was for Vari to lose his and how Adrien felt that his dad was moving on too quickly. Vari told him about how he became so angry he attacked the capital. Not unlike his Claw Noir rebellious phase. They really did have a lot more in common than they first thought. A shame they didn’t realize it sooner.
Maybe in another world they could have been like brothers. Although knowing now that Claw Noir was Adrien and how Cat Noir and the other Varian were acting around each other, maybe they were.
At the very least Vari and his Adrien were parting on better terms. He was glad Adrien was at least talking to his dad; he knew Gabriel was very upset at the thought his son was pulling away from him.
All and all this was a good place to leave everyone at. The Supreme had lost some of his most valuable members and the good guys now had a fighting chance. With Lila now wielding the Peacock Miraculous he no longer felt like he was abandoning them like in the beginning.
“Are you ready Vari?” Betterfly asked and Vari nodded as the portal was turned on.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” he turned to all of his friends and surrogate family. “Thanks for giving me a home when I was lost in a strange land. And thanks for being there for me!” They all waved goodbye as he stepped through ready to finally go home.
When he stepped out it took him a minute to realize where he was. He had somehow ended in the palace of Corona where he originally set up the portal.
“VARI!” He barely had time to turn around when he was lifted off his feat by a pair or strong arms in a bear hug.
“Ah, good to see you too Eugene. A little air please.” His brother in arms released him, eyeing him up and down checking to make sure he was unharmed.
“Where the hell have you been? We’ve been so worried about you ever since that creep pushed you through that portal.” Vari sighed but was happy to see the real Eugene. The one who wasn’t a complete asshole.
“It’s…a long story but what happened here?” he looked around surprised but pleased to see that the black rocks were gone. “We’re you guys able to defeat Zhan Tiri?” Eugene started to guide him out of the room.
“Give me the short version while we head to the throne room. Rapunzel will want to see you first before we tell our grand tail.” Vari took that as a good sign.
“Well I landed in another world that was about 200 years in the future, became a superhero, got sent to another world where there were two other mes and together we helped defeat another version of Zhan Tiri there.” He said in one quick breath while Eugene looked at him blankly.
“OK, I'm gonna need the long version of that story.” But before he could go into any further details he was tackled once again by two large gray bundles of fur and a smaller one with a striped tail.
“Guys guys calm down.” he giggled and they continued to lick him. “I’m glad to see you too.” One of the bearcats actually picked him up by his collar and started carrying him to the throne room. “Put me down, Kei! I can walk just fine. Eugene help me out here.” Eugene just smirked.
“Sorry Vari, you know those two never listen to me.” Vari grumbled as he was dragged into the throne room. To his utter humiliation not only was Rapunzel there but the king (thankfully not crazy) and queen along with the entire Brotherhood.
“H-hi guys.” he said, still hanging from the bearcat's mouth who looked utterly pleased to have found his clan’s missing cub. After Hector convinced him to let Vari go Rapunzel and Arianna raced to him laughing and crying so happy to see he was OK.
Once he untangled himself from that mess of arms he was finally able to tell his tale. The long version was definitely needed. After answering a barrage of questions he finally learned what happened while he was gone.
Turns out the portal was destroyed after he was pulled through and no one knew how to fix it or follow him. It made him feel slightly better knowing they wanted to look for him but just couldn’t. Hearing that other Varian’s story had been filling his head with doubts.
Like in the battle he just fought, Zhan Tiri was able to get a hold of the Sundrop and the Moonstone but she was defeated by Rapunzel and Cassandra teaming up and making the stones connect, destroying the power and Zhan Tiri.
That was very different than in the battle he fought in. That world’s Rapunzel and Varian seemed more connected to the stones than here. But he supposed it was for the best. The rocks were gone and the battle was over.
Edmund came up and put a hand on his shoulder.
“We’ll be traveling back to the Dark Kingdom soon, we just had one more thing to do before we left.” He noticed the others were giving him cautious looks.
“What’s that?” Hector was the one to answer.
“You Dad’s funeral.”
“Oh.” he supposed with the rocks no longer a problem they would have been able to retrieve his Dad’s body from their basement. Adira noticed his distress.
“It’s alright if you don’t-”
“No that’s…I-I want to say goodbye, one last time.”
It was a small service, one just for his family. The villagers respected the family’s need for privacy but they may have one for the towns folk later. It had been hard for Vari, learning to accept his part in his Dad’s death and also accepting that it was an unfortunate accident. No one blamed him and one day maybe he wouldn’t blame himself. But it was helpful meeting Gabriel and sharing his grief with the man.
After all was said and down he was ready to move on. Once the funeral was over Vari laid his Dad’s favorite pitchfork on his grave while the brotherhood fixed his old helmet to his tombstone. Two parts of the same man.
Vari gathered whatever else he wanted to keep from his old home which wasn’t much. A few mementos and his goggles. He left his Alchemy supplies once again.
He had a talk with Ruddiger letting him know he knew about him being a Kwami and offered to send him back to a group of good people since they gave him a way to contact them. Ruddiger seemed to think about it but in the end chose to stay with Vari. Maybe someday he would return but while his boy was here this is where he wanted to be.
And so together they joined the Brotherhood as they made their way back to the Dark Kingdom. There was much to do and a kingdom to be rebuilt. Vari had some ideas, so many ideas.
As he turned back to the fading sight of his old home he felt at peace. It was time to move on.
For the first time in a long time he was looking forward to the future.
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After Vee had returned as mysteriously as he vanished he was sent to be debriefed (and to make sure it was really him. Doppelgangers have been known to pop up) During his briefing he gave a detailed description of where he went and what happened. Even though he was only gone for a few days it took ages to explain everything.
One of the things he did bring up was the identity of Shadow Moth in that other world. It was always tricky, learning about an identity in another dimension. It wasn’t considered proof since not every persona is the same in every world. The other Varians all had different personas after all.
Still it was worth looking into especially since Shadow Moth had apparently gotten a hold of almost all the Miraculous and was now calling himself Monarch. Vee shuddered at the royal inspired name but pushed it aside to make sure all the important information got through.
Once he was finally let go for the evening Jess and Aeon were there to make sure he was OK. He was glad both his sisters were there and that nothing of importance seemed to have happened while he was gone.
It became apparent however that Vee was acting a little…edgy. It was similar to how he was when he first arrived. Both of them figured something must have happened. He said he told them the full story but it felt like he was leaving some stuff out. It would have been good for him to see a psychiatrist since every time he left this dimension he seemed to come back with more trauma.
Unfortunately the last few United Heroez sanctioned psychiatrists had turned out to be villains or became villains so it was taking a while for any new ones to get through the rigorous screening process. There weren’t a lot of heroes lining up to be the first guinea pig either.
After several days of dancing around the subject and insisting he was fine Azben was giving his first assignment after coming back.
“It’s nothing big, we just need you to protect a citizen from an allied country.” Nightowl said, giving Vee the details of his assignment. Guard duty wasn’t uncommon and Vee was looking for any excuse not to think about King Frederic and practically reliving the war in Corona.”He’s happened to learn the identities of some of his country's heroes and is being hunted because of it.” She stepped back and a familiar face appeared behind her.
“Luka?” Vee asked surprising the young man
“I’m sorry, do I know you?” Vee shook his head.
“Oh no, I just accidentally got sent to another dimension where there was another Luka.” Luka blinked slightly confused but he knew American Heroes dealt with different stuff than in France.
“Azben, as you can see, this is Luka Couffaine. Ladybug has asked us to keep an eye on him while we look into that…information you brought back.” He nodded hopeful that it would be of some use even if Gabriel Agreste wasn’t the villain this time. “He’ll be your roommate for the time being. I’ll leave you two to get settled.”
Once Nightowl left Azben decided to show him around.
“It’s a shame I can’t show you around the city. New York has so many things to see, not just the touristy stuff but we can’t let you leave the building until we get the all clear.” He remembered seeing a guitar case with Luka’s thing. “You play guitar?”
“Yeah, it’s a fun hobby but my real passion is making instruments.”
“Really that’s cool. I play a little guitar and piano myself.”
“Maybe for fun we could try playing together.”
“Oh, I don’t know. It’s been a while and I’m a bit rusty.”
“I’d still like to hear it. You can tell a lot about a person when you hear their song.”
The two became fast friends and to Jess and Aeon’s delight Vee was finally starting to open up to someone. This may be a temporary assignment but it was proving to be good for their little brother.
Luka was definitely big sister approved.
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The older Varian groaned as he finally returned home and flopped into his favorite chair. Being the keeper of the Eternal Library was great most of the time but he was also responsible for fixing chaotic messes like the one he just had.
“Welcome home Goggles!” Hugo greeted peaking over the chair from the back looking at him upside down. “Well the dimensions seem intact so I’m guessing your mission went well.” Varian tiredly swatted at his husband.
“As well as can be expected. It's always weird running into multiple versions of myself and there were quite a few of them this time.” Hugo came back around and offered his husband a hot mug of coffee. He took it gratefully.
“Get to see any other mes this time.” Varian sip his much needed caffeine.
“Not this time, you don’t show up in that section all that much.”
“No wonder your counterpart was so miserable. Maybe he’ll show up later.” Varian smirked.
“Who knows, it’s happened a few times so it’s not impossible. His current boyfriend might object though.” Hugo raised an eyebrow hearing that.
“A world like that sounds like fun. How about you peek a little further into the one you were just at and see who gets together there.”
“Don’t know, I was more focused on keeping the worlds from ending than who was hooking up with who. Their story is still unfolding.”
“You can always peek into the future.” he teased.
“That’s only for emergencies like the one I just fixed. It annoys the heck out of me that you always read the last page of the book first.”
“What can I say, I like knowing what to expect.” Varian rolled his eyes as he did a final check on the worlds affected by the sky crack.
“Looks like Vari is going to be instrumental in rebuilding the Dark Kingdom.” Satisfied he flipped to another. “Vee's going to need a little more help emotionally but Luka showing up is sending him in the right direction. Oh. It looks like Luka decided to extend his stay in New York for a while longer.” Hugo smirked and wiggled his eyebrows.
“Did he now?”
“Oh shut up.” He flipped to see how Corona was doing. “Looks like the Kingdom is still restructuring but it’s going pretty well. Also, Queen Rapunzel and Eugene are now officially engaged.”
“Boring!”
Varian couldn’t help but snicker. “It also looks like with the black rocks gone the Dark Kingdom is beginning to be rebuilt and the people have started coming back.”
“Is Eugene going to take the throne after his old man?”
“That part hasn’t been decided yet but he’s staying with Rapunzel for the time being. He’s also got his hands full with that Youth Rehabilitation program. Your younger counterpart is driving him crazy by the way.” As expected Hugo was very pleased.
“As he should be.”
“Cassandra is still working hard at the new prison reform. I wish her well.”
It was a little worrying that he had lost track of Nigel, a follower of Zhan Tiri. Hopefully Changeling will slip and be found out but he couldn’t interfere at this point. Quirin’s actions were also a mystery to him. He seemed to be looking for something but what? He hoped he wasn’t looking for a way to bring his son home. I pained him to see any version of Quirin hurting but he couldn’t allow Varian to return.
He sighed and pulled up another screen. Like it or not he couldn’t fix everything and he’d drive himself crazy if he tried. A lesson learned from his youth.
“Aw, looks like that alternate Quirin and Emilie ended up getting together. They’re still trying to save their kids but at least they're not alone.” Hugo pointed out seeing the pair lean in for a kiss.
It was a little worrying to Varian but at least they wouldn’t be trying to get the Miraculous back and use the wish again. How far would they go though?
“How about your evil double and the evil King Freddy?” Varian humored Hugo mainly because he was curious.
“Well when I sealed France and Corona I kind of locked them in as well.” Technical he wasn’t supposed to do that but it made him very uncomfortable know there was an evil Rapunzel and him going around and-
“OH!” He quickly shut down that screen. Hugo was looking a little green as well. “Well, I can safely say King Frederic won’t be causing any more trouble.” Now he was really glad he locked that dimension.
“Well on that cheery note I think it’s time you got some rest. Come on, I'll help you relax.” Hugo winked at him.
“I’ll be right there, I just have one more thing to check.”
“Ok but don’t wait too long.”
“Or what you’ll drug my coffee?”
“Oh I already did.” Varian glanced down at his cup looking unimpressed.
“You did not.”
“Ok maybe not but don’t tempt me or your new nickname will be Eye Bags.” Ok, that one he did believe.
He opened one last window to Paris where the Moon Powered Varian now resided. It would not be a simple life, there would be many tests and tribulations. New villain and a new legacy. But life was a journey not a destination and Moon Varian would have one heck of a journey. At least he wouldn’t have to do it alone.
Satisfied, he closed the window and went to join his husband.
He could finally rest.
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Varian looked at the finished product and felt a tear coming to his eyes. Seeing it up on the wall along with his adoption certificate made it finally feel real. His Uncle Hector put a hand on his shoulder admiring the work.
“The painter did a good job.” he said as the family admired the new family portrait on the wall. It replaced the one with just Adrien and Gabriel. The new one included them but also Varian and Nathalie. While it was supposed to be more formal the evening the painter arrived was just chaos.
Amber had gotten sick and made a bit of a mess on Varian’s good suit. She was also demanding attention and would not let Varian put her down while he petted her, giving her some comfort while she wasn’t feeling well.
Gabriel’s favorite hair gel had run out and to his horror he found out that it was discontinued. He had some skin allergies so he was reluctant to try a new one right before the picture. Adrien’s suit had come back from the cleaners only to discover it wasn’t his and it didn’t fit. The cleaners were trying to find what happened to the original but it was clear they wouldn’t get it back in time.
While Gabriel wanted to reschedule Nathalie convinced him to let the painter paint them more like how they really were. Both boys seemed to like the idea and so their imperfect picture hung on the wall for everyone to see. Gabriel relented and said it was better this way.
Gorilla and Hector declined to be in the picture but each had their own near the center one as if guarding it. It felt right for them somehow.
Gorilla maintained his position and actually became good friends with Hector. Speaking of Hector he was adjusting to the modern word with hits and misses. He got a job at the zoo with Alya's father, he was always good with animals and he made sure they were treated right. His bosses didn’t know he would take them out on occasion but what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them.
The car was way too complicated for him but the motorcycle was more his style anyway.
Tonight everyone was having dinner together much like the vision Pigella had shown him when the red rocks invaded. They kept two spots empty to honor the members of the family that couldn’t be there tonight. It was a special night after all as the adoption certificate proudly proclaimed, Varian was officially now part of the family. In truth he had been for a while, it was just official now.
His family and friends all smiled at him and congratulated him. He was happy of course but he would always feel a little sad about his Dad and what he had to leave behind. That was OK though. He knew his Dad was with him in sprite and would want him to be happy.
He lived most of his life in Corona never really feeling like he belonged. Maybe things would have been different if he wasn’t the Moon Child but that was a part of him now. His Uncle was helping him understand his powers and Varian was convinced he could do some good with them. He was willing to take his time and not rush it though.
Ring Leader was introduced at Zhan Tiri’s battle and has been making the rounds for a while now. When asked about Tanuki, Ladybug was a bit vague and just said that he had given up villainy. No one had seen him since he had helped save people during the first round of black rock so most people accepted that answer.
“A toast!” Gabriel said, holding up his glass. “To our expanded family and to new beginnings.” Everyone raised and clinked their glasses ready to take on the future whatever comes their way.
“To new beginnings!”
Varian finally felt like he was home at last.
The End
Thank you everyone!