Chapter 32
"BANZAIII!" shrieked Tigresse and keeping wakizashi both-handed she stormed into house, following Gorizilla's hand with Chat Noir clenched in monster's right fist.
Tigresse was quick, but Gorizilla was even a bit quicker and grabbed heroine into still free left hand, clenching now into fist. Even the razor-sharp wakizashi was ineffective in her effort to free herself from monster's hand.
Before anybody could do anything, Queen Bee left area sheltered by Carapace powers. She weaseled under Gorizilla's right hand, clenched around Chat Noir now. Akuma tried to turn in order to face Queen Bee, but heroine was quick enough to keep on monster's back.
"Venom!" shrieked girl and injected product of her weapon into Gorizilla's right buttock.
Monster collapsed and Queen Bee dodged not to be buried under his paralyzed body.
In almost the same moment new, sliding, door appeared, sliding down through grooves Adrien never ever observed there, keeping there all effectively incarcerated inside of Agreste Manor. He shook his head in pure disbelief. This trick was something he would expect as portcullis somewhere in medieval castle, not in his home house…
"I would release myself, finally!" almost snarled Tigresse.
"You're welcome!" retorted Queen Bee with sardonic smile.
"Thank you, Queen Bee!" said Chat Noir. "Plagg, claws in! Queen Bee, you should also feed your kwami and make her ready for another fight."
Being detransformed, Adrien fed Plagg with a piece of Camembert.
"Pollen, Buzz off!" ordered Queen Bee and as Chloé she shortly fondled her kwami and passed her a dose with honey.
"Tigresse, now it's on you," said Adrien. "Try to find the entry to Hawkmoth lair."
"Adrien, I can't find akumatized object," said Ladybug, who searched on akumatized body of Adrien's bodyguard.
"Let it be for now, M'lady!" said Adrien. "We should get my father first. You can purify this akuma later…"
Ladybug shook her head in disagreement, but said nothing…
"Find a trace!" Tigresse said sotto voce.
To her surprise she observed apparition of Gabriel Agreste, who slowly came to next room, where door was partially blocked by left leg and foot of Gorizilla. Tigresse climbed up his unconscious body. In next room was big painting on the wall – stylized portrait of Emilia Agreste, Adrien's mother, and next to it control panel with big touch display. Gabriel's wraith touched several places both on Emilia's picture and on touch display. Hidden elevator appeared and Gabriel Agreste disappeared downstairs…
"I found it!" shrieked Tigresse. "Come here! Now!"
"Plagg, claws out!" ordered Adrien and moved to her.
The other heroes followed him, well, after Chloé just ordered: "Pollen, Buzz on!"
"Here!" showed Tigresse. "I hope, I remembered sequence properly."
Heroine pushed on several places and hidden elevator appeared.
"Enough just for one person…" grimaced Chat Noir. "If you remember the sequence, borrow me your kwami for a moment. "I'll go as first and I'll send Roarr back to inform you, if the place downstairs is either safe to come or if a need help with a fight."
"Wise idea," agreed Tigresse. "Roarr! Stripes off!"
When dropping transformation, Kagami first of all fed Roarr with a piece of meat.
"If something goes wrong, be here to inform and transform me!" ordered.
"Aye, aye madam!" Roarr saluted to Kagami and sat himself on Chat's left shoulder.
When Adrien observed by enhanced cat's eyes scenery downstairs, he was speechless for a moment. He observed high tech version of 'Snow White glass coffin' and myriads of white akuma moths flying around. He observed butterflies with suspicion, but they did nothing untypical for common insects. However they were underground, there was a lot of light, causing presence of flowers in surprising amounts, including also Nasturtium, professor Lefebvre told to be a fodder plant for caterpillars. Adrien, somehow illogically, thought, how much money must cost Agreste Manor electricity bill…
"Mommy?" was the only he said in shock.
Roarr was a clever kwami. He quickly checked place, finding no immediate threat.
"Chat Noir, I'll inform other to come here, yes?" he asked politely.
"Sure," nodded Chat Noir. "It's just too big shock and I needed a moment to compose myself."
"No shame to cry in similar situation," said Roarr. "I'll tell them to come quietly."
"Thanks!"
Roarr checked the way they will need to go, finding several traps and disabling them. He neared to trapdoor, but did not try to check, what is on the other side of it. Risk to be caught right now was too serious. He attracted Chat's attention.
"I've already found and disabled several traps on our way. There's trapdoor you'll need to open by Cataclysm. I didn't risk being caught on other side. Should I try it any way?"
"No, you're right. It's not worth of risk. Ask others to come here!"
Roarr saluted again and zipped upstairs.
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"If I'm allowed to recommend, my owner should go as last, as back guard," said Roarr upstairs. "Ladybug or Queen Bee should be first now. Chat Noir needs friendly hug, I believe."
"I'll go!" decided Ladybug. "He proclaimed himself as my boyfriend, so it's my business."
Nobody protested and Ladybug wordlessly hugged Chat Noir and they both observed body without moving typical for breathing. When Queen Bee arrived, she placed her left hand on her mouth in shock. Chat Noir composed himself in that moment.
"M'lady, may I ask you for a favor?"
"Sure, mon Chatton," answered Ladybug. "Whatever."
"When that spell hit you, Tikki checked your body, whether you are wounded. Could you ask her, to check my mom too? Just to know…"
"Sure. I'll try first my Lucky Charm!" said Ladybug and observed tiny figurine of Chinese wise man. What a surprise… "OK, it's something we'll manage later. Tikki! Spots off!"
Marinette did not need explain her kwami anything. Tikki disappeared in Emilie's body…
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Master Fu was hidden on rooftop near to Agreste Manor. Nobody knew about him yet, he remained unobserved by cameras and human eyes. His transformation did not allow him being keen-sighed enough to observe that place, but common hunting spyglass counterbalanced this disadvantage. He was unsure, whether he should intervene helping his charges, but decided to wait, if it would be really necessary…
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"What do they do?" asked Mayura, observing scene together with her boss.
"You heard," answered Hawkmoth.
"What a shame, kwamis are invisible for cameras and other technical equipment," said Chat Noir on screen. "But other kwami could possibly convey to his keeper, about what one kwami did or said…"
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"Are you out of your mind, mangy cat?" asked Queen Bee.
"No, he tries to manipulate his father to drop transformation," explained Tigresse, who came as last one to place. "According Sun Tzu, the supreme art of war is to subdue your enemy without fighting."
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"He's right," said Hawkmoth. "Noroo could say us, what Ladybug's kwami would say to them. Noroo! Dark wings fall!"
Hawkmoth's kwami observed screen in disbelief.
"Ladybug's kwami, is it here?" asked Mayura impatiently.
"Yes, Tikki… SHE is here, I can feel her," said Noroo, giving Mayura angry look, what Mayura totally ignored. "What do you want from me, Master?" asked kwami Gabriel.
"Tell me whatever Tikki does or says!" ordered older Agreste.
"She is inside Emilie's body," said Noroo. "She checks her living functions…"
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"Her body is well preserved, using Noroo's magic and energy," explained Tikki. "But her soul is on other side."
"Other side?" questioned Chat Noir.
"You know, Heaven, Elysium, Tír na nÓg, Walhalla, Irij, Amida's pure land, Tengoku, or so on. There is too many names for place where souls of good persons will go after death," Tikki said it horribly sad tone. "The only way she could return is by the Wish. But I feel, there is a price of such a wish."
"What price?" asked Chat Noir.
"Your life, Adrien," answered Tikki, becoming grumpy. "Universe needs to keep balance and returning somebody from dead means somebody close to that person must die. And necessarily a person with more years of life on ahead…"
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"WHAT?!" shrieked Gabriel. "Noroo, is Tikki lying?"
"Plagg lies pretty often, but Tikki says always truth," said kwami.
Gabriel almost collapsed on table, his head in his hands. Mayura observed her boss with fear. That was something so not Gabrielish at all…
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Tikki gnawed her cookie almost without feeling its taste.
"They used the Wish several times in history," explained Tikki during eating. "None of those actions was in fact successful in longer perspective. Last time it was really good king, who died because of diphtheria. Price of the Wish was life of his firstborn son, crown prince. King had three more sons and two daughters. So they were quite sure, death of oldest prince was adequate price for continuation of his successful reign. Well, two years later second-born prince decided not to risk repeating of that and murdered his father, most of advisors as well as all his siblings. Cruel prince died just one year later during a big farmers' riot. Neighboring kingdom used riot as an pretence for annexation. Nobody but Plagg and me knows about it now, all historical records were destroyed and prohibited to remember…"
"What about that time's Ladybug and Chat Noir?" asked Chat Noir.
"They were expelled from the country by old king, once he found, his firstborn son is dead," answered Tikki. "Keeping Miraculous and doing any kind of magic was prohibited for some time there too…"
"How had my mum died?" asked Chat Noir.
"I'm not completely sure," Tikki looked confused a bit. "I felt Duusu magic in her body and I feel she died because of that magic. But I don't understand how. We must interrogate Duusu, Nathalie, and your father. By the way Marinette, I'm ready."
"OK. Tikki! Spots on!"
"Well, Chat Noir, if life gives you Pearl Harbor, make Doolittle raid*!" said Tigresse, bitterly laughing over nasty irony of fate and of her own dirty joke. "Time to move!"
(* see "Thirty seconds over Tokyo")
"OK!" said Chat Noir loudly. "Daddy, we're on way! Prepare to welcome few guests!"
Ladybug looked on him to check his psychical stability.
"Sorry, I needed to do something really stupid, M'lady," he said sotto voce. "I feel like my head is to explode…"
"Kitty, I'm here for you, don't worry!" said Ladybug. "But right now, we BOTH have responsibility for our friends here. For ALL our friends, REMEMBER it."
"Sure," agreed Chat Noir. "According Roarr, way should be clean up to trapdoor. But watch your steps any way. I go first, I really need to destroy something, if only just trapdoor…"
Nobody said anything, but their faces wordlessly inform about them being worried…
Last part of their path was some ten meters long totally dark tunnel.
"Follow me, I can see in darkness!" said Chat Noir and grabbed Ladybug's hand.
"I have night vision too," smiled Tigresse.
"Even foxes have night vision," added Rena Rouge.
So they entered dark tunnel paired…
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Pochodem vchod, páry těžkejch bot, ... March on, pairs of heavy boots,
funguje to líp než namazanej stroj. ….… ... it works better than an oiled machine.
Dokola je tma, ... There's darkness around us,
nějakej permoník ... some subterranean dwarf
tu z díry civí ... stares at us from his hole
jako Němec na orloj. ... like German stares at Horologium.
Refrain from "Dole v dole" ("Down in the mine") by Kabát
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Tunnel ended with metallic ladder.
"M'lady, here is ladder, use it with our friends!" said Chat Noir. "I'll knock on their door for invitation. Cataclysm!" he shrieked.
Chat Noir used his staff as elevator, with right hand over his head. His body burst throughout disintegrating trapdoor, destroyed by Cataclysm.
First thing he observed upstairs was Mayura, releasing a dark feather from her hand-fan.
"Fly away my beautiful Amok!"
TO BE CONTINUED…