Hiking in the jungles once again, they found civilization, but it was just a small village with old technology.

"I see people down there. I hope they are more friendly than those cannibals" Adrien said.

"Natives don't carry guns or old technology like us. Safer than getting lost in the jungle" Panthera said before walking down there.

They stepped into a pub to get some soda to drink, "Hello there" One villager saw them.

"Hi. Uhh.....no children around here I see. Is that normal?" Panthera asked.

The villager sighed in grief, "That is something that should not be mentioned. And that....white demon friend of yours? He's not like our people!" The villager said.

"Whoa, hey, he's not any like those 'white demons' you guys call them. He's just a kid and we would be happy to help. That is if you can explain what happened to the children, we could find them" Panthera said.

"Sit down please," The villager said to them.

"We're listening," Adrien said but it only upset the villager.

"The mercenaries abducted them and the last sighting was the river due north. All they kept saying about is finding that Agreste boy but we heard no such thing about it" The villager said.

"He went missing four months ago," Panthera said.

"The children out there are captured by those white American demons! They show no mercy!" The villager yelled.

"Okay, okay! We get the picture. You say the river is north. Did they have a boat?" Panthera asked.

"Yes, they do. They are heading north" The villager said.

"Uh, give us a moment please," Panthera said before bringing Adrien to a private talk, "Adrien, don't take it personally but just like the natives, they call white-colored skin people white demons. But I think they do need our help with finding the children and I could use your help" Panthera said.

"I feel a little offended by being called a white demon. Second of all, I do wanna help" Adrien said.

"That's the problem. If you kill those mercenaries right in front of the kids, it can do much horror to them. You cannot kill them in front of the kids. The point is I need to know that you're in your right state of mind and if you're not, I cannot let you do something reckless" Panthera said.

"I'll try not to," Adrien said.

"You have to try. I wouldn't forgive myself if something happens to you. Neither would Ladybug" Panthera said.

"I'm not the same Adrien I was. Freedom is something I should've learned a long time ago. Just please let me help. Cat Noir is gone, he won't help" Adrien said.

"He's never gone, Kid," Plagg said.

"He is gone. He's too savage to listen to anyone. I almost went psycho back there" Adrien said, knowing that it's too dangerous to transform into Cat Noir, "I cannot attack anyone like a mindless animal"

"You're lucky to not renounce me," Plagg said.

"Because I needed a friend to talk to for months alone in the jungle," Adrien said.

-

In Paris at the school, Marinette needed some time alone since everyone was getting pretty gullible with believing every word from a certain Italian liar and they all had completely forgotten about her and Adrien. Even Chloe was completely annoyed with Lila who was getting more attention than ever, especially since replacing Adrien with herself was enough to get angry.

"For once, I agree with baker girl," Chloe thought.

Marinette just passed by her and headed to her locker.

"What's that look I see? Still worrying about losing your friends to that certain liar getting all the attention I hate" Chloe sneered.

"Stop it now, Chloe. Even I can see that Sabrina has left you too to go pay attention to that liar. You know how I feel when Lila makes lies. You feel the same as I do" Marinette said before shutting her locker.

"Can't argue about that. She took all the attention" Chloe leans at the locker folding her arms.

"What does this have to do with me, Chloe? I'm not the one to cause your problems" Marinette said before walking away and headed outside school to clear her head.

She still didn't wear her earrings and no Akuma in sight all day but she did need a break from it.

"At least it's all peaceful," Marinette said, thinking of Adrien, "If only you were here, Adrien"

Her nightmare thought he was gonna turn savage because of how isolated he was. She was so deep in thought that she didn't see where she was going, bumping into someone.

"Oh! Sorry sir" She saw it was Pelle she bumped into.

"Are you all right?" Pelle helped her up.

"I'm alright" Marinette rubs her temple.

"Good. Oh, is everything okay with you?" Pelle can tell she just came out of school.

"No, since my classmate Adrien went missing four months ago" Marinette replied.

"The model boy? Everyone's been talking about it. Which also reminds me of....his replacement" Pelle glared at the billboard of Lila.

"Yes, that Lila has turned every student on me," Marinette said.

"You.....You know she's a pathological liar too? I thought I was the only one to see that" Pelle said.

"Yes, along with Adrien too, who thought I should have taken the high road," Marinette said.

"What? Well, I can't blame him for that but taking the high road doesn't do much to stop disasters. I mean I do ignore bullies so I don't give them attention but if it gets worse, it's better to warn teachers about it" Pelle said.

"Easier said than done. I tried that before but Lila always finds ways to lie her way out of trouble. And how did you find out she was a liar?" Marinette asked.

"She claims to have worked with my friend from the United States but he claims he doesn't know her" Pelle explained.

"Ah, so you weren't fooled by that lie. Makes sense. Anyway, I better get going. See ya" Marinette walks straight to the bakery.

"Adjö" Pelle said goodbye in Swedish before heading to his hotel.

-

Back in the jungle, Adrien and Panthera were on a boat but also had to be careful to not draw blood in the river to attract the piranhas.

"No, piranhas are omnivores, not carnivore. Piranhas have specialized sensory organs that make them especially sensitive to blood in the water, which triggers feeding frenzies. Just like sharks would do" Panthera explained Adrien about piranhas.

"Creepy. Just remind me not to bleed out" Adrien said before putting on the native jaguar mask before arriving at their destination where the kids were taken.

For months of survival, Adrien's senses were so keen to smell traces like a wild man.

"I can smell a stench of mercenaries heading straight down there," Adrien said before jumping off the boat to follow the trail.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold up, Jungle Noir. We cannot just rush. We need to know what they are planning. We can't let them harm the children" Panthera stops him, "Even without Cat Noir to use cataclysm, this is dangerous"

"I guess the jungle made me too reckless" Adrien replied nervously.

"You're lucky we're not in Colombia, because Pablo Escobar's hippos multiplied," Panthera said.

"No wonder my father never bothers to check his facts first," Adrien said.

"Too narrow minded I suppose. Now quiet, I think I can hear them" Panthera moved the bushes aside to see the mercenaries with the kids at camp. They were held hostage and looking nearly thin for days without food or water.

"Still nothing yet. These kids don't speak English" The lead said.

"Never mind that! If that savage demon is out there, he can't kill us right in front of the brats" Another said.

"Just keep a close eye on the kids! I don't want to hear any more whining from them!" Another one said.

"Yes sir" The mercenary salutes.

Panthera knew this could be difficult to fight without endangering the children, "Okay, you still have those blow darts, right?" She asked.

"Yep, I do" Adrien showed them.

"Poison darts should slow them down. Don't make a sound nor let them see you. Get them away from kids and as soon as they leave their sight, I'll get the kids to safety" Panthera instructed.

"Got it" Adrien loads his blowpipe.

One mercenary drank from his flask while guarding the kids until he felt like he had to take a piss in private which he did. While he did, Adrien shot at some other mercenaries nearby. Causing the poison darts to kick in to slow them down to a slow and possibly painful death.

The mercenary came back and saw some of his fellow mercs dead, "What the hell?!"

Adrien saw this and quickly used stealth to kill him before they tried to alert him through the walkie-talkie. Luckily it was out of the children's sight.

Panthera shushed the kids while untying the ropes for them, calmly to follow her to safety quietly, and brought them to the boat.

Adrien was lurking in the shadows to confuse the last mercenary while finding a way to get closer to kill him.

"Show yourself!" The mercenary demanded.

"What do you see?!" Gabriel asked through the phone chat.

"I don't know but it's fast!" The mercenary said.

"Kill him now!" Gabriel demanded.

A slash was heard and the mercenary saw the arrow straight through his gut and he fell down with a thud. The phone dropped but it was facing upward and Adrien simply stepped on it before Gabriel could say a word.

Then Adrien heads back to the boat. If he ever sees his father, he will feel so much rage and misery at what his father put him through and no one but his father is the blame. He now had revenge on his mind. Every day of his life, Adrien always obeys his father instead of his own.

"There you are, Jungle Cat" Panthera saw him come.

"Let's go," Adrien said and grabbed the oars.

Panthera spoke Portuguese to the kids to remain seated and with lifeguard vests on for safety.

A little later, the villagers were impressed that they managed to find the children returned safely without injuries or any stories they told their parents about. At least Panthera instructed her 'white demon' friend to not scare the children. Adrien still feels offended by being called white demon again but it's just their way of what they describe.

So he walks off a distance away. But he was hungry for man-made food and he simply asked for Brazilian cuisine and he really did eat like an animal instead as a person this time.

Panthera could only cringe at this but she couldn't blame him since he had no tools to eat like a man. The jungle can change him more into fighting for survival. But other than that, she can see Adrien is not complaining without his father's demands.

"You weren't kidding the jungle made you more beast than man," She said.

"More than that. I nearly starve when it comes to modeling, especially when my father has a dietitian and nutritionist to watch me eat the right food" Adrien said before slurping all the food from the bowl.

"And you built some muscle too," Panthera said.

"Yes, well, lots of girls think I'm good-looking but not as close to charming," Adrien said before belching, "The only question is why girls always swoon at muscular teenage boys"

"You really never knew?" Panthera asked.

"No. My dad always thinks they are a bad influence but I don't see why he would think like that" Adrien said.

"Uhhh....well....I can't answer that, Adrien. I mean I could but I can't. It's a girl secret thing. But I can ask why are you attracted to Ladybug as Cat Noir" Panthera said.

"I guess it's a love at first sight thing before I got to know her," Adrien said.

"All I can say is that men are attracted to kindness, beauty, and bravery in women. Women are attracted to....mostly beauty in men but it's more than that which I can't say" Panthera said before eating her cuisine.

"Okay," Adrien shrugs.

"It's like lions. Why do the males have a mane?" Panthera asked.

"It acts like a shield to their necks?" Adrien guessed.

"No, it makes them look more majestic and mighty like a king. Hence they always are the king of the jungle. Plus, it brings out their masculine side" Panthera said.

"And makes them more kinglike," Adrien said.

"And gorillas. The males always bang on their chests all the time to intimidate. It shows them how mighty they are. Which makes them 10x more strong than a man in the primate family" Panthera said.

"It's said they can press a ton," Adrien said.

"Yes. And the deer. The males are the ones to get antlers as adults. You know why?" Panthera asked.

"To challenge other males," Adrien said.

"Exactly. And peacocks. Only the males show their beautiful feathers to attract the female's attention. Unlike Mayura who was a woman, Shadowmoth is nothing like actual peacocks. Only uglier" Panthera said.

"Yep. Goats even show off for mates" Adrien said.

Panthera stops him from eating too much, "But, when it comes to predators, they don't have to be trained or taught how to fight. They teach themselves on their own. Just like how you taught yourself to survive through the jungle for months, without training. But deep down you're still a young kitten, gatito. And do you know why?" Panthera asked.

"Why?" Adrien asked.

"Children are not strong enough to fight a grown adult. Violence is not the solution, self-defense is. Which is why parents and adults always say to their kids to be patient enough once they are old enough to understand. Even though I'm still a kid too I am 20 years old but still not close enough as a grown adult yet. Maturity and wisdom are what counts as a grownup. The question is, why can't you stand up against your father?" Panthera asked.

"He's one powerful man and I haven't gotten the stomach for it" Adrien explained, unaware of his amok his father wears.

"That's the problem with you. You're letting him treat you like a kitten instead of a grownup cat. You never tell him how you feel. Whether he is a control freak or not, fathers never use their sons as puppets. I'm not saying it's true but it still feels like he's not letting you live the life you're experiencing. Parents can be very overprotective but they trust their kids to learn to live" Panthera said and spotted the monkey in the tree with its baby, "See that monkey over there? The baby looks curious and not ready to wander off yet. The mom is keeping a close eye because of the dangers in the jungle that her baby can't fight off yet"

"Yeah. I've noticed. They need support from their parents. My father never did but my late mother did" Adrien said.

"And compared with human kids over there playing in the playground, what do you see?" Panthera pointed at the kids.

"I see true friendship. Chloe was never a good friend" Adrien compared his toxic friendship with Chloe.

"Yes, but what I see is kids learning to be agile and graceful. Learning how to be smart in stuff they will face as they get older. The playground helps them exercise and stretch, burn off energy. Just like the jungle was like a kids' playground for you" Panthera said.

"It really did," Adrien said smiling.

"Especially experiencing that beard you didn't like. I was hoping you were gonna keep it" Panthera said.

"But no, it looked ugly," Adrien said.

"Heh, but at least you know why men always do facial shaving after puberty. And I can see you lost your manners to eat food like a person" Panthera noticed his eating behavior like a wild man.

"Yeah, I have," Adrien said.

Panthera looked closer at his mouth, "And no flossing apparently"

"You might want to start flossing now before you get cavities and other tooth decays. Losing baby teeth only happens once, losing a grownup teeth doesn't grow back" Panthera gives him things to help brush his teeth.

Adrien started to brush his teeth from the food remaining in his mouth. Panthera heard an incoming call from Ladybug and gestured to Adrien on whether or not should she tell Ladybug that she found him. Adrien shook his head that he was not ready.

"Adrien, please. I can't lie to her for long. She is very desperate to know you're okay" Panthera said.

"I'm not ready. Please, just tell her you did manage to find me but got separated" Adrien suggested.

"Very well," Panthera said before answering the call, "Hola, mariquita. Uhhh....I.....I did manage to find him but we got separated in the jungle by....the native people 2 hours ago. Other than that, I believe he literally is in good healthy condition" Panthera half lied.

"Thank goodness. Try to find him again and help him back to good condition to return to civil life. If he's been away for four months, he's not ready to return" Ladybug said.

"Uhhh....that's the problem. He told me he was not ready to face his father again, especially after what his father put him through. The plane crash really traumatized him and led him to isolation. He's way too upset to hear the word father. But he still remembers his only good friends that he cares about. Marinette Dupain Cheng, Alya, and Nino" Panthera said, seeing Adrien smiling a bit.

"That's a relief. I'll inform the others you'll help Adrien through to get better once you find him again" Ladybug said.

"Ladybug, wait. You cannot let Paris know or the world know. Can you imagine if Gabriel knows too? Or worse, Shadowmoth? This is between you and me" Panthera said, knowing this can be dangerous when there's a terrorist in Paris.

"Got it. It's for his own safety" Ladybug agreed.

"Adrien is far too upset and judging by how I mentioned his father, he definitely is not ready to talk to him. As I know that fashion designer, he never apologizes to anyone with sincerity" Panthera said.

"Yeah, even when replacing him with that liar," Ladybug said.

"Which is precisely why I don't trust that strange man. Too secretive, too rude, and definitely not friendly. If I were you, I would not get involved with a liar. It can create chains of consequences. I need to go now. I'm near the village right now" Panthera said before hanging up.

Adrien looked upset by his snarling since he never wanted to hear his father trusting an Italian as his replacement.

"Adrien, calmase" Panthera hands him orange juice to calm him down.

"Gracias" He drank some of it.

-

With Ladybug, she felt more relieved that Panthera promised to help Adrien to his right mind once he's found. The bad news is that Adrien is far beyond upset to ever face his father again and knowing Gabriel Agreste, he never admits his past mistakes.

"It's a relief that Adrien still remembers us," Ladybug thought as she leaped over the next rooftop, unaware below Lila was watching.

She was spying on her a few times that Ladybug had someone finding Adrien in South America and she chuckled evilly that Ladybug never informed about this.

She called Gabriel to tell the news, "You're not gonna believe this, Gabriel. Ladybug has that jaguar superheroine looking for Adrien"

"Interesting" Gabriel listened.

"And I heard that the jaguar woman said that Adrien is far too upset to ever see you again. Seems like the jungle probably did change him into a new Tarzan man. Perhaps capturing him would fit him into a zoo" Lila making fun of Adrien.

"A zoo? No, I have other plans for him" Gabriel said.

"He's not your Adrien anymore. Taming a human is far more than taming a savage animal" Lila chuckled at how foolish Gabriel is to believe he can get Adrien back.

"He's my son and I know what to do. Unless you want to lose your position in Adrien's place as a model" Gabriel warned her.

"No, of course not," Lila said.

"Then don't ever tell me what to do. I gave you a deal to model with my son in order to keep him away from bad influence" Gabriel reminded her.

"You got it sir," Lila said, seeing Ladybug disappear, "Your secret won't last, Ladybug. I'll make sure of it"