Future Tales of the Miraculous

Chapter 18

Wayzz awoke to find himself cradled in Nino's hands.  Nino looked down at him, sharing a warm smile and sigh of relief to see the little turtle regain consciousness.  He was handed a piece of candy from the weary young man, which he gladly accepted.  Relief had swept over the evergreen hued kwami as well; there was just enough remaining magic to survive Le Paon's last strike and protect the russet haired hero from harm before losing his transformation. 

They turned their attention upwards to the night sky, which turned to unnatural day for a moment before softly dimming back to darkness from the explosion.  A short-lived burst of golden, shimmering magic was seen near the schism.  Behind the dying glimmer of the sparkling magic emerged a figurine barely visible against the night sky. 

"Chloé," gasped Rena Rouge, pointing at her unconscious figure as it plummeted towards the streets below. 

The red fox took off in an impossibly fast sprint towards Chloe and her would-be landmark.  She heard her beau call upon his transformation behind her, followed by a green, iridescent shell forming underneath the blonde heroine as she neared the ground level.  The protective shell cradled the unconscious girl, and slowed her reckless descent just enough for Rena to catch hold and swing it down across the pavement.   The shell skidded down the street, slowing to a halt after traveling down a block.  Once the shell cracked and dissipated underneath her, Chloé drowsily came to, finding the ombré brunette heroine approaching her side.

"Didn't doubt you for a second, girl," Rena chuckled, offering the disheveled girl a hand.  "We knew we could count on you to get it done."

With those words, a slight smile crossed Chloe's mouth, brightening her soiled, weathered face.  She accepted the red fox's hand, swelling with pride as she saw the sky. The schism that tore across the horizon was healing now that the large, abominable eye peering through it was no more.

—

The next fraction of a second seemed to stand still.  Within that time, Ladybug dove towards the villainess while she stood frozen in place.  The glimmering brooch was finally ripped away from her gown's bust, forcing Le Paon's transformation to shimmer away in blue and green sparks.  Neatly wrapped dark strands lightened to honey blonde.  The periwinkle hue in her skin faded away, revealing the light, creamy peach tone underneath. 

The blazing fuchsia glow plaguing her large almond eyes also died out. The emerald green shade emerged now, and they slowly traveled down to rest upon the young heroine for the first time.  Ladybug stood frozen, captivated by the woman's transformation to freedom.

A frail Emilie Agreste was all that remained now before her. Adrien was certainly his mother's son, having inherited her graceful, lithe figure, beguiling green eyes, and golden, sun kissed hair. But just as quickly as her transformation waned, her health declined. Tears beading in the corners of her eyes, the withering fawn haired woman had only a moment to let out an astonished gasp from her sudden freedom before her limp body crumpled to the ground.

Croaking Emilie's name, Gabriel pulled himself up from the ground and laborously limped over to his dying wife. He gathered her carefully into his lap, biting back his grimace at the sight of her failing body. For the first time in a long while, the man's stone grey eyes softened, drowning in tears of guilt over his dying wife. He began to softly weep over her, gently cradling her body and repetitiously apologizing to her for his failure.

"No...Mére!" Adrien rebuked, eliciting a painful recoil for moving too quickly.  With tears welling in his own eyes, he looked to the bluenette with a face painted over in utter despair.  His voice continued quietly defeated, almost pleading in tone.

"Le Paon was keeping her alive. Without her, she will....."

The jeweled pin glimmered brightly with gems of blue, green, gold, and purple in Ladybug's palm. The largest gem, however swirled with tendrils of black from within. Remembering Hawk Moth's telling of how the peacock brooch trapped the essence of both the kwami and the evil spirit, Ladybug couldn't risk allowing the totem to re-possess Adrien's mother. She instead called upon her Luck Charm, seeing her yo-yo and Emilie flash out in her view.

"I see," she murmured, opening her yo-yo and placing the brooch inside.

Upon its release, the piece of jewelry gleamed brightly, void of any black tendrils lurking inside the encased gems. Everyone watched in wonder as it began to glow, releasing Duusu, the azure toned peacock kwami, from her entrapment inside.

"Thank you, Ladybug," the little floating peacock beamed, sighing with relief over her own freedom. "You've rid my Miraculous of a curse that binded me with an evil spirit. I'm finally free from its control, and so is whomever holds me," Duusu's tiny voice rang out as she tenderly watched her unconscious holder. "Don't worry. As long as I'm with Emilie, she will be fine. She is weak from fighting the spirit's control all this time, but she can finally rest now."

Smiling warmly at the little kwami's words, Ladybug then knew what she could do to save Emilie. Affixing the brooch back onto her blouse elicited a revival of energy that blanketed over the blonde woman's wraith-like body. She inhaled a deep breath, and from it came a rejuvenation of her entire being. The peach hue of her pallid skin returned along with her youth and suppleness. The deep green eyes fluttered open, sharpening from their hazy vision onto both her husband and son, who were now both at her side.

"Please tell me this is real, not another dream..." her clear voice tenderly whispered.

"Mother," Adrien began, tenderly pulling her hand to his cheek. "This is real."

"Sweetheart. I'm so sorry," was all Adrien's father could muster before breaking down again.

Emelie smiled sadly, then moved her free hand to gently brush along her husband's tear stained face. Capturing her hand with his own, Gabriel kissed her palm before resting his forehead onto hers. After a few moments of this silent exchange, Emelie peered over to the young girl who freed her and now took an uncertain seat next to her son. Marinette tepidly met the woman's inviting gaze, then smiled in reply as she mouthed a heartfelt thank you.