36. Flashback

A/N: My sincerest apologies for the loooong wait. I had a HECTIC week last week that left me barely any time to sleep. Now I have a week of break, and then I'll be thrown back into hectic land. I hope I'll be able to wrap this fic up by the 10th. Maybe a few days after. We only have 4 more chapters left...

Now is a good time to warn you I'm going completely off-cannon. I mean, I did that a while ago but now I'm in crazy off-cannon land. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 36: Flashback

Emily Dausi's parents were not the nicest people. It was surprising, considering that their daughter was one of the kindest, most lovely people on the planet. Perhaps it was because she had been raised in so much violence and despair that her sense of empathy never left her. Perhaps she vowed to never be like her own parents, and to take care of others instead of harming them.

'Not the nicest people' is an understatement. A very big understatement. Her father had always been into drugs, an addiction which started way back in his teenage years. Her mother hung out with the wrong sort of crowd. She was a model, but she hated the life of fame and beauty and became quite rebellious. She fell for her father, a rebellious (though quite handsome) young man who could take her away from the spotlight and give her the life she wanted.

They eloped and ran off into the big city of Paris, where they lived in Mr. Dausi's small, one room apartment. Mrs. Dausi became pregnant shortly afterward, and a year later they had Emily. The really did love their daughter. She was their pride and joy. But like every good story, things did not stay happy for long.

Mr. Dausi had gotten over his drug addiction almost completely, but he owed a large sum of money to one of the biggest drug dealing corporations in the world. This corporation was so big that people dared not whisper it's name aloud in the streets. It had eyes and ears everywhere. The police force could not keep up with it, and many officers lost their lives making futile attempts to stop it.

The Dausi's didn't have a lot of money, and they didn't have nearly enough to pay off his debt (even though they both worked several jobs and even worked nights, to the point where they barely slept).

They had done what they could, paying back little by little. Eventually, the head of the corporation (at least, the head of the part of the corporation running in Paris) got frustrated. He needed that money, and in his opinion he had given Dausi far too long to get it to him. It was easier to shoot the man and his family, take the little money he had left, and sell of his possessions.

Now, Mr. Dausi was not a stupid man, he was in fact very intelligent. He knew that it would come to that eventually, and he made a deal. If he and his wife worked for the corporation performing easy (yet dirty) jobs around the city, they would be allowed to live and raise their daughter. The corporation head agreed. This, after all, was how he got a majority of his eyes and ears around the city.

So began a dark life style for Emily Dausi. She grew up in a household where although crime was said to be wrong, it was committed every day. Her parents tried to hide their illegal activity from their beloved daughter, but the corporation had high demands. They were barely able to raise her, but at least she was alive. That was all they could hope for.

One day, a new hope arrived to the Dausi family. Two super heroes by the name of Ladybug and Chat Noir. They looked to be teenagers, but they fought the drug smuggling corporation (which had quickly become one of the greatest threats the world had ever faced) with vengeance. They managed to shut down a few centers and capture several of the higher ranked members of the corporation, but they were fighting a losing battle.

It was like fighting a hydra. You cut off one head, two more appeared in it's place. But the corporation could not hold out forever. As people grew more and more aware of them even the smallest illegal activities that most people ignored where being reported, and Ladybug and Chat Noir were always there in the nick of time, stopping the tiny sales and robberies on which the corporation depended.

Finally, the leaders of the operation began to grow desperate. They banded together with smaller corporations, hired any fools they could find, and threatened people to join them. Emily was now a teenager, and she couldn't help but find out about what was going on because of her parents increased work load. She was angry, but she couldn't help but understand why they were doing out.

Finally, Emily went off to High School. During those few years, Ladybug and Chat Noir furiously ripped through hundreds of drug smuggling plants, schemes, and operatives. Finally, the system crumbled and fell. People got braver and left the corporation, and the police were running people through their version of the Witness Protection Program like crazy. But it was worth it, because with the fleeing people came a motherlode of valuable information.

Finally, Ladybug and Chat Noir announced formally that they were retiring. People expressed serious concerns, but the super hero duo assured the people of Paris that some new super heroes would come up and pick up their slack.

Meanwhile, Emily made lots of friends and got excellent grades. She was very beautiful, but what won most people over was her kindness. She was compassionate towards everyone, even Andre Bourgeois, the snobby rich son of the current mayor. Emily hated the drug smugglers with a burning passion, and every day she wished she could do something to help.

That all changed three weeks after Ladybug and Chat Noir retired. She found a little brown jewelry box sitting on her dresser. Curious, she opened it. And thus began her whole new, exciting, double life as the super hero Peacock.

That same night, she met her partner, Papillon. He was brave and strong, and quite handsome. He was always loud and joyful, and she loved him and his happy spirit. The two began to fight the corporation, as well as other small crimes. During that time, she got a full ride scholarship to a fancy college and began modelling for the Agreste family line, which was just getting on their feet but was already insanely popular.

There, she spent most of her time avoiding the owner's son. Felix Agreste, the current owner, and his lovely wife Bridgette, only had one son. Gabriel Agreste was often quiet and sullen. He got his work done, but he was very critical and not very kind at all. He took a liking towards Emily, though (perhaps too much of a liking) which gave her a popularity boost in Felix's eyes, but she only had eyes for her partner.

One fateful day, she went on patrol without Papillon and the drug smugglers set up an ambush, they tied her up and dragged her back to their Paris leader, who was very shocked to find out that Peacock was just the shy, dedicated daughter of the Dausi family. He let her go, but with a promise that she would not fight them again, and she would come back to him in five years. It was an odd request, but she was forced to accept it.

What she did not know was that the leader was planning on using those five years to rebuild his falling empire, without the hindrance or help of super heroes. Then, after everything was just the way he wanted it, he would force Emily to work for him by threatening her family and her life. Another part of the reason he didn't want her to help with his rebuilding was because then she could make friends within the corporation and she would know too much about it. This was the safest and most convenient way to handle things.

During those five years, a lot of things happened. Love, identity reveals, marriage, and then a child. Adrien Agreste was his parent's pride and joy. They loved their son so much. Peacock and Papillon were no longer needed, as the corporation seemed to have 'disappeared' so the duo stopped transforming and focused more on the company and raising Adrien. Emily nearly forgot the impending date of her 'meeting' with the head of the corporation.

Five years came to an end, and she met up with him (which you read about last chapter). It went as well as expected, and ended with her running out in tears. She had to figure a way out. She had to protect her family! But she couldn't put Paris in any danger either...

Eventually, Emily became so panicked and grief stricken that the only logical solution came to her mind. She had to fake her own death. With her out of the way, the corporation would have no reason to target her and her family. They would be left alone, and she wouldn't be helping them. That meant no one got hurt.

It took a lot of digging around in old library books, and some magical knowledge from Pavvo, but she finally managed to find a way to make herself appear dead. "Like Juliet," she thought bitterly at the time. She gave her husband and son some extra attention for the days leading up to her 'death'. Even the staff noticed her odd behavior. She was with them every second she could be, constantly reminding them of her love.

And then came the day that one of the house cleaners walked into Emily's office to find her one the floor, pale and unmoving. Alarm raced through the Agreste mansion as they rushed to get the news to Gabriel. Apparently, she had a heart attack. The doctors couldn't figure out why, or where it came from. But it had been fatal.

The funeral, the flowers, the casseroles. It was all a blur for little Adrien. He was devastated. Chloe was as well. But Gabriel was the most devastated of all. He had never really cared for anyone else but her. She was the light of his life, the path to follow. She was the silver lining to the dark cloud that was his life. He didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

Nooroo tried to help. With Emily's death, Pavvo had gone back inside of the Peacock miraculous. Gabriel did not return it to Master Fu. Instead, he kept it locked up in a safe hidden behind her portrait. But Nooroo was a naïve kwami at the time. His miraculous had not been active for long.

Then, on a trip to Tibet for a fashion week, Gabriel made a discovery that could change everything. He found and ancient book, a book with magic and secrets and miraculous. He managed to slip it from the current owner. When he got home, he poured over the pages, making Nooroo decipher little by little. It was then that he realized that he could bring her back. He just needed the ladybug and cat miraculous.

But those had been inactive for years. He checked with Tom and Sabine. They had give Plagg and Tikki up. So there needed to be another great danger to the world... So he began to create his akuma. He made a deal with the devil, and now he had the ability to force his powers on people regardless of whether or not they wanted them.

It apparently did not tale long for Master Fu to sense the upcoming danger. Ladybug and Chat Noir showed up the moment he released his first akuma. They were clumsy and awkward, unfamiliar with each other. But he was just starting as well. In the end, they won. But he vowed that he could get their miraculous eventually. They were mere teenagers. They could not stand up to him for long...

How very wrong he was.

Ladybug and Chat Noir managed to beat every single akuma he threw at them. It didn't matter who, why, when, or where. They showed up, and they kicked his ass. There was no escaping the defeat. He grew angrier and more frustrated each time. He began to grow desperate.

Nooroo also began to grow weak and desperate. He had tried pleading, persuasion, logic. Nothing worked. He couldn't stop Gabriel from the goal that was quickly over-taking his mind. Finally, Gabriel grew tired of waiting in the shadows. He stored up negative energy for weeks before he stumbled upon the man that became The Trapper. A hunter, skilled and capable of catching almost anything.

The plan was to catch Chat Noir and lure Ladybug in with him. He had figured he could get information out of Chat. He figured that Chat would be the weak link. He had figured wrong. And then when Ladybug refused to come and save her partner... Well that's when his plan started to go down in flames. He had laid everything out so carefully.

The revelation that Chat Noir was his own son destroyed him. Now he had no goal other then to fix his mess. He didn't care who he would have to hurt or kill to get those miraculous, he could fix it all later. More and more of Gabriel began to disappear as the evil took over his panicked mind.

So now he stood, completely frozen and holding the two objects that he had been so desperate to take in his hands. His son was whimpering on the ground behind him, with the girl beneath the Ladybug mask desperately trying to keep him conscience. And in front of him stood his wife.

This was al for her. It all started because he needed her back. Every single thing that he had done over the past five years had been for the sole purpose of bringing her back. He had hurt and misused people. He had tortured his own son. And now here she was, standing in front of him alive and healthy.

"Give me the miraculous, Gabriel." A command, uttered softly but it seemed as though she had screamed it. Green eyes locked onto stormy blue. He didn't even notice several more teenagers land softly behind Emily. He could only focus on her.

He didn't need to do this anymore. He could give the miraculous back and then they could live happily ever after. That was all he ever wanted. That was all she wanted, right? But he couldn't do it. The power was coursing through his veins. Little voices whispered tempting offers to him. HE could hear the voices of Tikki and Plagg too, trying to drown the others out.

Adrien was still hurt. The world was in ruins. Humans fought and killed each other. There were diseases, and starvation, and cruelty. He could fix all of it. He could fix not only his own problems, but the problems of the world. He would be praised and worshiped, glorified as a god! And his wife would be right there beside him...

"Give me the miraculous, Gabe," Emily said again, more forcefully. She took a step forward. He cackled as his fist clenched around the miraculous.

"No."

A/N: I'm sorry... Honestly the only chapter that I don't think will have a cliffhanger will be the last one. But what did you expect from me? I personally blame Sayuri... Anyway, her belly is rumbling and I have stuff I need to do, so I'll close with my usual "Thanks for reading and reviewing! Have a great day!"

Also for all of my Canada peeps, Happy Canada Day! (That was a few days ago, right?) And for my American peeps, Happy Fourth of July!