No matter how strong the urge to take Nadia and her friends with him was, there was no way he could have accomplished this without risking everything he had been working for. There was too much at stake. And soon...he and Nadia would meet again. To confront the shadows of both of their pasts, to fulfill their destinies. Nemo knew this day would soon come. Until that time arrived, he would watch over her the way he did before, providing his beloved girl with all the help she needed. But there was one thing that made him a bit worried. In fact, this thought only cam across his mind after he saw Nadia as the beautiful girl she is now, for the first time after so many years. He was wondering what would happen after their "mission". Would he and Nadia be able to live together and make up for all these years they lost? Was he even going...to survive all this? He wasn´t sure. The future seemed so clouded and uncertain, except for one thing. He didn´t worry about Nadia´s future. Nemo knew that there was someone who cared about his girl. That Jean certainly was an unlikely friend for Nadia, he admitted that. But although he didn´t even meet him from eye to eye, and although he was a shrunken boy, he realized that Jean was a compassionate person. He loved Nadia dearly, and he would never let her down. His voice gave that away. Nemo indeed had a good knowledge of the human psyche and different personalities, and he could tell whether a person had a good heart or a wicked soul. And Jean definitely had a good heart. So even he was about to die, at least the one who was most precious to him would not be all alone. And he was glad that she met this Jean and "chose" him. He couldn´t imagine a better friend for Nadia. And he was sure that Nadia would be able to live a happy life, together with Jean. And there was nothing that could have made him as glad as the thought of Nadia being in good hands.
As he was standing close to Nadia, directly in front of the girl and looking down at her (of course he was at least slightly bigger than her, for he was a strong man and a grown up), he smiled at her with this warm expression only a father could give his daughter. To Nemo, this was the only possible way to show his honest feelings without giving away anything about his true identity. although it felt great to smile at this gorgeous girl, it was also a painful experience for him. Acting like a father (at least a bit) for the very first time and still being unable to tell her the truth somehow hit him deep inside his soul, but his entire life has been full of pain and sorrow; he was used to it, so he could bear saying good bye to Nadia. As he had intended it, they would meet again soon, anyway, yet under more complicated circumstances.
Nadia was feeling uncomfortable, seeing Nemo smiling at her. Of course, she found it nice of him to smile like that, with this almost fatherly expression. She had realized by now that he was a good man, and she somehow liked him. No, she liked him a lot. Deep inside her, she wished that she had a father like him, a kind and gentle man, yet strong and determined, someone who gave her the feeling of being loved and being save. Except for Jean, of course. But Nadia smiled back at him, hoping she can show him her appreciation that way, for being so kind to her. Nemo, on the other hand, had to tell her the unfortunate news.
"I´m sorry, Nadia, but I have to go now. There are some urgencies that require our immediate presence."
"I understand..." Nadia said, disappointed.
"Don´t be so disappointed, Nadia. I´m sure we´ll meet again."
"You really think so?" Nadia asked, with a glimpse of hope in her eyes.
"Yes. I know we will. I think our paths are meant to cross again soon. And I hope we´ll be able to stay together for a longer period of time."
"Yes, I hope so too. Thank you, capt---"
"Please, leave out the "captain". You may call me Nemo."
"All right. Thank you...Nemo."
Although his words sounded like some attempt to cheer her up, Nadia believed his words. He just sounded like he knew exactly that they were going to meet again in the future. Nadia didn´t know exactly why she didn´t even have any doubts about a reunion, but she honestly didn´t care. Her heart was telling her that this man knew what he was talking about. And that cheered her up and made her smile brightly at him.
"Yes...we will meet again!"
This bright smile of Nadia broke Nemo´s heart, yet at the same time, it gave him the most heart warming feeling he had since...he couldn´t remember since when felt like that the last time. But Nadia...she managed to give him this moment of happiness, even if it was but a short one.
Before he was about to say his final good bye, he once again bowed down to look at Nadia´s stomach.
"Good bye, Jean."
"You´re already leaving?" his muffled voice could be heard inside Nadia´s body, reaching the ears of her and Nemo.
"Yes, I´m afraid so."
"...thanks again for helping Nadia, sir."
"Nemo will do, all right?"
"Uhm...all right, Nemo."
"That´s better. Jean, please continue to take good care of Nadia. I know you can do it, despite your size."
"Yes...I promise! I won´t let Nadia down! I´ll do my best to protect her! Even if it´s just from the inside!"
Nadia couldn´t help but giggling at Jean´s brave words. She was sure that he really would do everything he could in order to protect, and that meant a lot to her. It was just incredible that she had found her best friend and a person who was almost like a father figure for her in such a short amount of time. Maybe her life was changing, with her finally being truly happy.
"I know you will, Jean. You have a shining will, I sense that. Farewell."
"Good bye, Nemo!" Jean shouted from deep within Nadia´s body.
With one last look at Nadia, Nemo managed to put a warm smile on his face.
"You have a good heart, Nadia. You´re a kind and caring young woman, and I hope you´ll remain this wonderful person you are."
"I...I´ll try!"
"Good bye, Nadia. Take good care of Jean and yourself."
Then he turned to his men, giving them commands.
"Unit! Let´s head back!"
"Aye, aye, captain!"
And so, Nemo and his loyal crew ultimately did exit the stage, if you will, leaving Nadia alone.
"He certainly was an impressive man, don´t you think?"
"..."
"Uhm...Nadia? Are you all right?"
"...What? Oh, I´m sorry. Looks like I sunk into my thoughts. What did you ask?"
"...Never mind that."
Nadia then looked around to see Grandis bashing Hanson and Sanson verbally, like always.
"Scared?! You morons tell me that you were scared?!!!"
"But Miss Grandis..."
"Don´t talk back to me! As my subordinates, you are supposed to be brave and bold! Not some scared crybabies!"
"Uhm...Grandis?" Nadia tried to interrupt her enraged "big sister".
"What? Oh, Nadia, what is it? Where´s Nemo?"
"He already left us. Some urgencies."
"Hmph. He didn´t even say good bye. Oh well...what can ya do."
Both Nadia and grandis now looked at the man who attempted to assassinate them, or at least Grandis, since he wanted Nadia alive. He was still trapped under the net Nemo´s men used, lying there motionless.
"Is he...dead?"
"I think so. It´s a shame, though. We could have used some informations about this Gargoyle."
"How are we gonna find him, then?"
"Hm...let me think..."
Grandis thought about some possible ideas for now. Since the assassin was obviously dead, there was no chance of getting any information from him. But how were they going to find Gargoyle, then? This was their prime objective, after all.
Elsewhere, in the town Grandis and Nadia were still being outside of, Nemo and his men were heading for their ship, the Nautilus. Of course it was not docked somewhere in this town, though. It was at some hidden spot, a few kilometers away from the town, at the shore of the Seine. Nemo was still thinking about Nadia, about the fact that he finally met her again. Yet he was sad about the fact that the day they would meet again was going to be a dangerous one, testing Nadia´s psychological strength. He was sure that she was going to withstand all those trials she was about to face in the future, having seen her as a strong and dependable young woman. And he would also have a surprise for Jean soon...a surprise that might help him to overcome his obvious problem. He was sure that Electra might be able to do something about that.
Back to Grandis and Nadia, our eccentric red-head finally came up with a solution for their problems.
"Ah! I know what to do!"
"Really? What?"
"..."