Anonymous: Hawkmoth doesn't want cats to bask.
Speckle: Ok, let me explain. We were at school, and like the cat she is, anonymous was curled up, basking in the sun on a bench with her eyes shut. And oh, I need to explain Hawkmoth. So we kinda assigned characters from Miraculous to random people in our school. And our deputy head wears this bowtie thing which looks kinda like Hawkmoth's miraculous, so we just call him Hawkmoth now. Anyway, he walked past anonymous basking, and he was like "that looks like a pleasant place to sunbathe" and scared her so much (her eyes were closed), and then he just walked away while she was literally hyperventilating.
Ok here's the chapter :)
Hawkmoth groaned as another spike of pain shot up his leg, and fired questions at Mayura, who was standing about 2 metres away on the roof, arms crossed. After she had literally dropped him on the roof (ow), she had instantly stalked away, and now she was just regarding him coolly.
"Why did you save me? You're not supposed to have the peacock miraculous! What was about to happen just now was necessary!"
Mayura snorted, rolling her eyes. "You're welcome."
"Nooroo, dark wings fall."
"Duusu, fall my feathers." She commanded, sounding miffed.
Gabriel stared at his leg. It was bent at an unnatural angle. And wait- was that a shard of bone sticking out? Yes. Yes, it was. Why was he being so calm about it?
Suddenly, he felt a wave of nausea, as if his brain had only just caught up with what his eyes were seeing, and he could no longer look at the glistening- eww, he couldn't believe he had described it like that.
"Um. Ow." He said, pathetically.
Ohhhh, mouthed Nathalie as she saw his leg, all traces of her previous mocking gone. "Are you-"
"Are you asking me if I'm okay? What do you fricking think?" Gabriel snapped through the haze of pain.
"That's not what I… ok, that is what I was asking," she admitted. "Just trying to keep the tone light, you know?"
"No! I don't!"
"How did you even do-" she waved vaguely in his direction-"that, though?"
"Aaaghhh! I don't know, ok? I just, I had to save Adrien-"
"Master?" Inquired Nooroo.
When he didn't reply, the kwami signalled to Duusu for her to join him, and together they drifted a few metres away, where they were obviously conferring, although Gabriel and Nathalie couldn't hear them. They understood that was intended though; the kwamis' conversation involved a lot of pointing at them and arm waving.
"Oh my god, this is so awkward." Nathalie sat cross legged next to Gabriel, who had his back against the wall and his face raised to the sky.
"Let's just see what the kwamis are going to say." He replied.
"Sooo," she began. "Adrien is… Chat Noir."
He sighed. "Yes."
"How do you f-"
"Feel? Honestly, I have no idea. Actually, I do. But I don't know how to say it."
After about a minute, the kwamis flew back. They glanced at each other; Duusu spoke first.
"So, here's the deal, Gabriel. We can make you better."
"Um, what?" Gabriel's mind was a little fuzzy with pain.
"Ugh, how dense is this guy?" whispered Duusu, just loud enough for Gabriel to hear.
"Duusu!" Nathalie muttered, half heartedly.
"Duusu," Gabriel flicked his eyes to the kwami. He probably would have found the peacock kwami's attitude amusing if his leg didn't feel as if it was about to be torn off. "My leg's broken, not my hearing."
"Are you implying I didn't want you to hear that?"
"Well, you were kind of turned away, talking to Nooroo, sooo..."
"Hawkmoth, of course I wanted you to hear that."
"Actually, it's Gabriel, at the moment."
"Ugh, technicalities."
Nooroo cut in. "Duusu, let's just… explain the healing thing."
"Ok. So, one kwami couldn't do this by themself, but two together..." she shrugged, looking at Nooroo for help, and he obliged. "Especially the combination of emotion (Duusu tossed her head), to become one with the mind's inner feelings, and transmission, to concentrate and release the energy-"
"So basically, we can heal you," finished Duusu.
The kwamis looked at Nathalie. She glanced around, as if they were talking to someone else. "Why the hell are you looking at me? Just do the thing already!"
The kwamis rested on Gabriel's leg, forcing a gasp out of him. "Ahh! I know you weigh literally half a gram, but OW!"
"Ugh," said Nooroo, turning to Duusu.
"Does he even appreciate us?" The peacock kwami sighed.
"Oh my fricking god guys!" said Nathalie. But they continued.
"Does he really deserve healing?" Nooroo's eyes glinted with mischief.
"I didn't ask you for help!" said Gabriel defiantly, although he was beginning to shiver.
"Ok then, come on Duusu." The kwamis turned away; they instantly shared a grin, expecting to hear Gabriel's voice calling them back in desperation. But all they heard was a despaired, hoarse whisper. "You're right. I don't deserve it."
That was what made them turn back.
Nooroo and Duusu perched on his leg and this time he didn't flinch. They faced each other, holding hands, and shut their eyes, concentration clearly on their faces. A soft, pulsing glow surrounded them. Gabriel squeezed his eyes shut tight, biting his tongue in an effort not to cry out at the intense pressure he felt in his leg. When he thought he could bear it no more, he heard a crack, and the pressure lessened. He unclenched his fists, leaving grooves in his palms, then instantly tightened them again as another wave of pain took over.
"Can you like, keep it down? I don't like those noises!" Nathalie cringed when she heard the crack, covering her ears.
"I'm trying to reattach this random piece of bone to my leg here Nathalie!" Gabriel protested without opening his eyes, which he screwed up tighter, feeling faint.
"Actually, we are!" hissed Nooroo. "And can you also shut up so we can do it?"
Again, Gabriel would have laughed at the feisty tone in his usually meek kwami's voice. Or maybe he wouldn't, since he was the reason why Nooroo was always so subdued. Possibly his mind was just playing games with him. Oh no, I am so not going delirious on a rooftop with my assistant and two supernatural beings, one of them slightly deranged. Hmm. Which one is that?
Gabriel willed his mind to be quiet, which was extremely difficult.
"Who do you think we are: Tikki?" asked Duusu, jolting him back to reality. "We're not the healing, creating kwamis, you know! I'm the kwami of fricking emotion! I can feel he's hurt, but what can I do about that? I need Nooroo to transfer the power, and even then, it's difficult!"
Ok, that's the deranged one, for sure.
Can you not? He asked his mind.
"Ok, ok, fine! I won't disturb you!" Nathalie backed away.
"And it doesn't help that Nooroo hasn't been used for anything good for like, I don't even know how long!"
Thanks for reminding me. All of Gabriel's muscles simultaneously tensed.
"Duusu," murmured Nooroo. "Not helping."
After a few more seconds, he spoke softly. "Gabriel, we're done."
He opened his eyes tentatively, exhaling in relief to see that he was healed. There was no more shard of bone sticking out; there wasn't even a mark. "Th- thank you," he stuttered. Shakily, he got to his feet.
Nathalie spoke quietly. "Duusu, you left me out in that. It wasn't just Gabriel and Nooroo… I wasn't treating you very well." She fixed her eyes on the floor.
"Oh no Nathalie, you were nice to me! It wasn't your fault you were so willing to do anything for Gabriel!"
"Um, it kind of was. And that's not really an excuse for being… a villain."
"Were you a villain though?"
"Duusu, we are not doing this again."
"Speaking of doing anything for someone," piped up Nooroo, seemingly as if he disliked where this conversation was going. "Gabriel, I think… what you did for Adrien was… very admirable. And loving."
"Well, I had to save him!"
"Yeah, you literally hurled yourself off a building to save him," put in Duusu.
"Everyone has people who would risk their lives for them," said Nooroo earnestly.
"No one would do that for me." Gabriel stared at the ground.
"Well, someone would," said Duusu, smirking.
"Um, who?" He looked up at her mischievously glinting abnormally large eyes.
Duusu looked pointedly at Nathalie, who frantically waved her hands through the air, eyes wide, mouthing, no, no, stop! Gabriel followed Duusu's gaze to Nathalie. "Er..."
"Well, it's obviooouuus," Duusu sang as she did a somersault in the air, clearly enjoying this."She's in love with you so-"
"What?" Gabriel yelped.
"Duusu!" screamed Nathalie.
"Oh sorry, you didn't know?" squeaked Duusu, not looking sorry at all.
"Um." He darted a look at Nathalie.
"Ugh," she looked away, controlling the urge to jump off the building right then.
"Natha-."
"Just shut up, Gabriel."
He shut up.
But not talking only made the gears of his brain turn faster.
Defeat thudded in his chest, and it hurt. But he didn't turn it away. He accepted it.
"Nathalie, I've been so blind. Emilie's gone."
What she said next was not what he expected.
"No she isn't!" She said through gritted teeth, as if she was in pain.
"Wha-"
"You may have given up, Gabriel, but I haven't." She was holding her arm a little weirdly, as if it hurt. Duusu seemed to notice, making bug eyes at her and they shared a look; Nathalie glanced at Gabriel and waved her kwami away with a hand, but she remained close.
Then, in an instant, the sky turned obsidian, and it was illuminated, silhouetted with an intricate symbol. It was a hexagon with a diamond star glittering inside, encompassed in a writhing fiery circle. It was blinding white, but at the same time it shimmered with a mirage of other blushes and hues. It was both mesmerising and chilling, making the hairs on the back of Gabriel's neck stand up. He glanced at Nathalie, believing he would see the same confusion that he knew was on his face, but the only thing he could read clearly in her eyes was… recognition. And fear- Nathalie looked terrified, her eyes frozen on the sky, mouth slightly opening, moving silently but no sound coming out.
"I- I'm leaving now." Her voice cracked in fear and she began to back away.
"What- who…?"
"You don't understand, Gabriel. You never have. It's bigger than getting Emilie back. It always has been."
"What do you mean?"
"Emilie was the key. He needed what she knew. But that was only the stepping stone."
"He?"
She didn't answer, instead she pointed up at the symbol, etched ominously against the sky. "Once he finds you, you can't escape."
"Nathalie… what?" Nathalie rolled up her sleeve, on the inside of her forearm, unmistakably, was the same symbol, it was jet black, and as Gabriel stared at it, it seemed to squirm and intensify, coiling around the ghostly pale skin of her arm. She tugged down her sleeve, wincing, looking at him desperately.
"What does-" Gabriel gestured upwards- "That, have to do with Emilie?"
"Emilie was in it too."
"Emilie? In what?"
"When she fell into a coma, he- he wasn't happy. He told me to bring her back."
"Whatever it is, you can leave… find a new destiny."
"No, he- he doesn't let you." She took a breath, before saying with a wavering voice, "Duusu, spread my feathers!"
She transformed in a deep blue flash. Her attire was different, but her expression remained the same- drained and scared.
"Wait!"
"Don't try to stop me! Goodbye, Gabriel." She leaped off the roof.
The symbol morphed, compressing until it shone like a star. It flared one more time, and then ebbed in pulsing waves. In a few seconds the sky was back to normal, as if nothing had happened.
"Nooroo, please go." said Gabriel. "I need time to think."
"Where?"
"I don't know. Just leave me," said Gabriel, distractedly. He sunk to the ground as Nooroo flew away in the heroes' direction, with no idea whether he would return.
S: Oooh, the plot deepens!
A: Call me broken one more time, I dare you- revenge is mine!- lots of love, Duusu.