I was not expecting that. If only I hadn't collapsed that one time, we might have been able to put an end to Gabriel's madness much sooner. "Marinette. Like the Marinette who's dating Adrien? I can't believe it," Nathalie said in disbelief.
"Yep. Spots off," Marinette replied. A red kwami, whose name Nathalie remembered from the Grimoire, rushed out of her earrings and landed in Marinette's lap. Nathalie still couldn't wrap her head around the love square between them. Adrien had loved Ladybug for as long as she could remember, and everyone knew Marinette loved Adrien.
"Wait, Adrien!" Nathalie exclaimed. "We need to go get him. He's in a basement-like place. I can tell you where it is and the passwords."
"What about you? Shouldn't you be the one to tell him? He might blame me for his father's death. I couldn't save him. He'd take it better from you. Plus, he can see that you're okay. He's been worried about your health. But wait—won't he get suspicious about how you're suddenly healed?"
Nathalie froze. How had she not thought of that? Adrien had been checking on her health a lot recently. Marinette noticed Nathalie's expression and realized she hadn't considered it either. "We can tell him that Gabriel sacrificed his life to save you and win over Hawkmoth. It's half of the truth."
"I don't want to lie to him, but it might be for the best. I'll go get the address. You know where the kitchen is if you need to recharge. Take Plagg with you." Nathalie slipped into business mode, trying to ensure there was nothing left from the battle. As usual, the miraculous Ladybug fixed everything.
Marinette left for the kitchen to find food for the kwamis, while Nathalie sat down, trying to process everything that had just happened. She still couldn't believe Gabriel had brought her back instead of Emilie—and sacrificed his life for her. Overwhelmed, she realized she needed to find a home for herself and Adrien. She doubted he would want to stay in this house, which he always considered a prison. Now, he would be in control of his life, no longer commanded by his father.
As Nathalie had wielded one of the rings, she had tried to let Adrien do what he wanted, but Gabriel still held one of them and often had stronger control over him. Marinette returned, now as Ladybug. "You ready, Nathalie?"
Nathalie stood up. "Yeah. Wait, how am I going to get there?"
"I'm going to let you use the Peacock Miraculous, but only if you're up for it. You should be healed, but I don't want to take any chances."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine." This time, Nathalie meant it. Marinette gave her a sideways glance but decided to trust her. Still, she resolved to keep an eye on her.
"Here, just be careful." Marinette handed Nathalie the miraculous, which she pinned to her shirt. Duusu rushed out and looked around, spotting Nathalie and rushing to hug her cheek. "Nathalie! It's been so long! I've missed you! Wait, don't use the miraculous! It will hurt you! Where is Master Gabriel? He has to stop you. Nathalie? Are you okay?"
Nathalie braced herself for Duusu's barrage of questions, but the last one brought tears to her eyes. "Gabriel made his wish. He healed me at the cost of his life. He's not here anymore." She looked at Duusu, who had tears in her eyes. "What's wrong, Duusu?"
"My ship has failed! You two will never be together!" Duusu wailed, falling into Nathalie's lap. Confused, Nathalie glanced at Marinette, who burst out laughing.
"Duusu, did you really just say that? I get it, but this is serious," Marinette said, observing the blue kwami's antics. "So you're the Peacock kwami. You're so cute!"
Duusu turned to face Ladybug. "Ladybug! Are you here to bring me home? I'd like that. But wait, if she is here, does that mean we are no longer trying to get the Ladybug and Cat Miraculous?"
Duusu flew around Ladybug's head. "Whoa. Does she always have this much energy?"
"Yep. You should have seen her when the Miraculous was broken. She was even more hyper," Nathalie giggled, watching Marinette's relieved expression. Duusu continued to fly around the room as Nathalie pushed herself off the couch, calling Duusu over.
"Duusu, spread my feathers." As she transformed into Myura, she waited for any signs of a headache or coughing fit, but nothing happened. "It's okay. The Miraculous is not affecting me."
Myura and Ladybug hopped out of the window and ran across the rooftops until they reached the train station. "I've called Placide to make sure Adrian gets to the train station. He should be arriving soon," Ladybug said. "Okay. Let's find an alley to de-transform so we don't draw suspicion to you. I don't think the public would react well to seeing Ladybug with one of her greatest enemies." Myura nodded in agreement. They dropped down onto the street and quickly found an alleyway close to the train station.
"We can walk from here if you're up to it," Marinette said, already de-transformed. Nathalie, also de-transformed, looked relieved for the first time in ages. "I told you the miraculous isn't affecting me." "Let's go. The train arrives in five minutes." Nathalie checked her phone and saw a text from Placide.
P: Adrian is okay and we are almost at the train station. He seems very happy to be home. Do you know what possessed Gabriel to let him come back home?
N: I'll explain it to you and Adrian at the same time. It's a long story and I don't want to tell it twice.
P: Okay. Is everything okay?
N: Not really. But again I'll explain.
Nathalie put her phone back in her pocket and turned to Marinette. "Sorry. It was Placide. He was just letting me know that they got on the train okay and are almost here." "We better go then. We don't want to be late." Nathalie teased, "Aren't you the girl who is late to everything? I don't think Adrian would be surprised if we were late." Marinette rolled her eyes, but a small giggle escaped her lips. "If you are late, he might get even more worried than he is. You are never late to anything, or so I've heard."
"Come on, we gotta go." Nathalie and Marinette walked into the train station just as Adrian's train was pulling in. Marinette hurried forward to meet her boyfriend while Nathalie hovered in the background. "Adrian! You're back! I missed you so much!" Marinette exclaimed, kissing him and pulling him into a tight hug.
"Marinette, how did you know I would be here? My father wouldn't have told you. I don't think he approves of you. Do you know why I was called ba—Nathalie! What are you doing here? You should be resting. Wait, where is your eco-skeleton? Can you walk without it now? I missed you." Adrian rushed to Nathalie, hugging her tightly and crying.
"Shh. Please stop crying. I can't see my golden boy cry." This only made Adrian cry harder. They sank to the floor, still embracing. Nathalie looked up and saw Marinette standing nearby. Nathalie held out a hand and pulled Marinette into the hug. Passersby were staring, but Nathalie didn't care. All that mattered was her golden boy in her arms, crying his heart out.
After a few minutes, Adrian finally calmed down, wiping his eyes. "I'm sorry. I just didn't know if you would get better. You were so sick, and now you are here in front of me, perfectly fine. How did you get better so fast? The last time I saw you, you were so pale. You looked like Mom before s-she…" Adrian burst into tears again.
"Ohh, Adrian. It's okay. I'm fine now. I will never leave you. Please don't cry. It will be okay," Nathalie reassured him, pushing him away gently to look him in the eyes.
Adrian wiped his tears and took Nathalie's outstretched hand. She pulled him up to his feet. "Come on. Let's go home."