Blue Hearts And Paper Cuts

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The staircase leading up was dark, aside from some soft light that was shimmering in the room above.

Chatte Noire decided to take the lead, as she had dark vision, Paon Bleu in the middle, and Volpina in the rear. The three remained quiet, trying to listen for anybody that was upstairs and whether they were staying up or coming down.

The silence that was present, however, made Chatte's heart hammer in her throat.

As they approached the final steps, Chatte twists her baton in her hands nervously. She slowly takes the last couple steps and peeks into the room.

Her eyes don't capture a lot, still adjusting to the small light that's provided by the moonlight seeping in through the window. Chatte starts to take cautious steps into the room, motioning the other girls to follow.

The room wasn't too large, a circular room with a small table at the far end, across the window. As she gets closer, she notices a map of Paris. And the map has pictures of Chat Noir tacked across the city. Sightings.

The school, the Dupain-Cheng bakery, his own home. Strings lead from a variety of locations, the black string stark against the white map.

As she drew away from the map, she nearly jumped out of her skin as thousands of white butterflies fluttered up in the air, the moonlight reflecting off them and giving them an effervescent glow.

"What... What is all this?" Chatte questioned.

"These are the butterflies he uses to akumatize someone." Plagg answered.

"They look so... Innocent. And pure."

"They are," Paon spoke up from the table. She was touching a picture frame that was perched in the corner of the table, a melancholic expression on her face. "It's not until Papillon infuses them with his evil energy that they become purple and nasty."

One of the white butterlies flutter up to the frame and came to a stop at Paon's gloved fingers. She looked at it, a weak laugh coming from her lips. "Hello, little one." She whispered, as she lifted the butterfly to her eye level.

The butterfly flitted up, around her face, making Paon giggle quietly. The butterfly danced around her momentarily, before it flew off to another corner of the room.

And into the hand of the most awaited guest.

"Everything I've done, I've done for you." Papillon steps out of the shadows, the white butterfly resting in his open palm.

"I never asked for your efforts, Gabriel." Paon set the portrait down, revealing a photograph of the original Agreste family.

"You abandoned us. You–"

"No." Paon interrupted. "I abandoned Adrien. I realize that my actions were rash, thoughtless and heartless. I believed that leaving Adrien behind would.... Would make you come back. I was a fool to believe such a thing would happen."

"I loved you, Emilie, with all my heart, and you–"

"Yes, Gabriel, you loved me." She sighed, exasperated. "But you got consumed by your work, and Adrien and I came last. I don't care about myself. But Adrien! Adrien! He..." Her breath stammers, and she brings a hand to her lips to choke back a sob, before resting her hand on her chest. "He didn't deserve that." She whispers.

Papillon remained quiet, turning his attention to some shuffling beside him. Out of the darkness, appeared Aranea and in her tow, was Adrien.