The Healing

After Dusuu and Nooroo removed the memories of their former wielders, Tenzin let them be sucked back into the miraculous jewels and allowed everyone to open their eyes.

Dorje felt the body of the man he was holding to the floor relax. The man was breathing slowly, but the young strong monk did not want to relax just yet, one moment of weakness and they might have to go through it all all over again.

Ling simply blinked her eyes open and looked at the man below her. His eyes were closed. She sighed with relief. Is it over? Is it really over? She looked at Adrien, poor boy, his father was such a terrible person. He will need all emotional support he could get.

Ye opened his eyes and stared at the woman he held. She looked like she was sleeping. Well, the old man apparently put her to sleep. Good idea. Now he could go and check his wounds. He felt like every part of him was hurting. He glanced towards Adrien and Marinette, they were not moving, were they okay.

Pema rolled to the side and sat down on the floor before she opened her eyes. She knew what the teacher was doing, her limbs were in so much pain that she looked for a less painful position as soon as she deemed safe.

Adrien and Marinette kept holding hands. She opened her eyes and looked at him with worried eyes. Was he hurt? Was he in pain? Adrien opened his eyes and smiled to her.

"You can let them go, they will be unconscious for at least hours." Tenzin encouraged everyone present. "Or days. It might be much longer, their memories should be gone." The teacher finished in a more warning tone.

'Hours? Days? Master Fu was not unconscious for such a long time. Perhaps it was because he did it willingly.' Marinette wandered if it was safe to be so relaxed beside the two people they just fought so relentlessly and suffered so much from their blows. Adrien noticed her worried face and thought about the same issues. He smiled reassuringly. He did not want to turn around and look at his father, it would increase the pain he already felt in his body, not to mention his heart. No, he kept his eyes on Marinette, because that caused the pain to subside.

Marinette lifted her head from the floor and winced in pain, she slowly got herself into a sitting position while she never let go of Adrien's hand. She knew he needed her. She looked around and noticed Gabriel and Nathalie were lying, face down. It felt surreal. She looked back at Adrien who was struggling to get up without letting go of her hand. She closed her eyes for a moment as she was gathering her strength to move up.

"Dorje, Pema, please help these kids to reach the healing place. I believe they are in great need." Tenzin instructed with a gentle smile but his eyes were worried. Marinette did not understand everything that the old teacher was saying, but she did not want to ask Adrien or Ling for an explanation, she just watched everyone's reaction.

Ye collapsed to the floor and Ling ran over to him.

"I will take care of this young man until you return." he smiled stroking his beard as he motioned towards Ye.

The old teacher approached Ye, Ling helped him up and they slowly went towards the bathrooms.

The two monks slowly got on their feet. Their bodies ached, Dorje had swollen hands from the blows he had taken and Pema felt slightly dizzy from the times when she got slammed into the wall.

Marinette opened her eyes and saw that Adrien was looking at her. He smiled widely when he saw her blue eyes again. She smiled even wider. Were they allowed to celebrate? Have they won? They were sitting facing each other and just stared with small gentle smiles on their lips.

Dorje bent over with a painful sigh but full of determination. He patted Adrien on the shoulder gently, he barely touched the boy. He knew Adrien was injured and it would hurt wherever he would be touched. Pema approached Marinette but did not make a move. She just quietly called her name.

But the two teens just stared at each other and the rest of the world did not exist any more.

Then Marinette felt Tikki pat her belly from the pocket where the little goddess was hidden.

Adrien felt Plagg phased all the way into his onesie and was scratching him on the chest.

Then they both looked up and saw the two exhausted monks waiting for them.

It was time to get on their feet. Their job was not finished yet.

"Right" Marinette muttered as she tried and failed to get herself from the floor. She had to leave the temple, transform and call for the miraculous Ladybug magic to cure their injuries and restore everything.

Adrien lifted himself off from the floor slowly with the help of his arms. His back hurt awfully.

Dorje extended his arms and gently put his hands under the boys armpits to help him up. Adrien was grateful although the move caused him more pain. He was on his feet, his knees were wobbly, his head felt dizzy, his vision was blurred.

"You don't have to go." Marinette mumbled. She barely managed to sit up. Pema extended her hands and offered them for Marinette to grab. The girl raised her arms towards the monk and finally Pema grabbed her and pulled her up. Marinette screamed in pain. It hurt her. But she muffled her scram quickly with few sharp breaths. She was on her feet, but she needed help to stand straight, her knees refused to cooperate and she felt light headed.

"You can take the earrings." she whispered to the monk. Pema just murmured her negative response. Tikki checked their surroundings and noticed the coast was clear. She floated out with the earrings and hovered before the girl's face.

"You have to do this, Marinette!" Tikki warned. Marinette slowly took the earrings and put them into her ears, one by one.

"Adrien, you do not have to go if it hurts you." Marinette whispered.

"But I want to go" Adrien replied.

Plagg floated out from his pocket and stared at Adrien and then at Marinette.

"My kid is going." he stated resolutely.

Adrien smiled wider and winced at the same time because each time he did that, he felt the pain of injuries on his face.

They slowly proceeded towards the side exit. Pema had to hold Marinette upright while the girl simply moved her feet one in front of another.

They walked slowly through the narrow corridor. Once they started to move their feet it became easier, they simply repeated the same move over and over again. Once they were in the narrow corridor, they sought support from its walls, they leaned on them while they walked and scrubbed the hard wals with their shoulders, it hurt their shoulders and their backs, but it was easier on their feet.

Once they got out from the temple they were on their own, without support from the walls, just each other. Their legs were moving on their own along the same narrow path that was partially cut into the face of the cliff.

"You are doing great, Marinette" Tikki encouraged her chosen while she sat on the girls shoulder.

"Go on kid, we are almost finished" Plagg floated backwards in front of Adrien and Dorje. "You would have more strength if you ate more cheese." Adrien reached in his pocket, and to his surprise, he found one small piece of cheese left. He took it out, smelled and then scrunched his nose, looked at it with disgust and turned his head away.

"Nah, you can have it." Adrien tossed the cheese into the air and Plagg swallowed it whole. Adrien returned his crooked grin.

"Almost there Marinette." Tikki chirped her encouragements.

"Oh no." Adrien stopped walking instantly and turned towards the girl. "We left your lucky charm, the beads, they spilled onto the floor. He fell over them." The thought of walking back all that distance only made him more aware of each body part that was hurting.

Marinette stopped in her tracks. Her eyes went wide, her face was a picture of horror.

"Oh no, not going back. So painful." She waved her head quickly, which only made her more aware of just how painful her neck was because Hawk Moth and Gabriel Agreste squeezed it. Then she took a few breaths. "Well one has to do what one has to do." She sighed painfully and started to turn around.

"That is okay." Tikki replied. "You do not have to retrieve it. That was not a real lucky charm, it was more like that present I made you for your birthday. It was my way to wish you luck in that fight." The little red goddess of creation hovered before Marinette and Adrien while she was explaining what she did. Her antennas were swinging wildly. Her blue eyes looked at her chosen with a mixture of sorrow and gentleness. "I knew you needed real luck, not just a lucky charm." She continued after a short break and looked down.

Marinette remembered how she found the situation bad, how she knew they were missing allies. And she was right, they won only when they got back to the temple and got a few allies, althought they were all mere civilians,

"Just go to the cave and transform. Both of you!" Tikki hurried them up. She looked at Plagg for the last sentence and he took the hint, his eyes widened in excitement. Then he nodded his head.

"Both of us?" Adrien asked surprised, he just wanted to be there for Marinette, and he did not want to leave her side, for himself.

"Both of you." Tikki and Plagg replied in unison while they waved their heads up and down.

"But why?" Both kids asked simultaneously. There were many things going on that were different from the fights they were used to. Too many things. And they did not understand them. Suddenly they both realized, this was because they had much to learn.

"We will see." Pema finally spoke while she eyed both kwami with one raised eyebrow. "We cant tell if it will work but we have to try."

Adrien turned to look into Marinettes face. She shrugged and then winced in pain because the move reminded her of the injuries she sustained. Adrien shrugged back with the same reaction.

"Come on, the sooner we get there, the sooner the pain will go away." Tikki flipped her antennas and floated away, Plagg followed her instantly.

"I just wish someone would tell us what are we doing." Marinette muttered.

"Ah, they want to do this together, I guess." Adrien guessed.

"I don't think it is that." Marinette narrowed her eyes while she looked in the direction of their kwami.

"You are right, they hope you will fix some wrongs that were done far beyond your time." Pema explained slowly while her voice said her mind was half way somewhere else. "Or mine." She finally added.

They reached the same small cave they used for their transformations.

"Are we going to keep our miraculous?" Adrien asked while he looked at Plagg. Were they done? Were they to keep the miraculous if they were done? Was this a goodbye?

The question did not even occur to Marinette before that moment.

"Is this the last time we transform?" Marinette asked and looked at her kwami with a mixture of worry and sadness. The girl was not ready to say goodbye to her kwami.

"If your identities were not revealed then you don't have to." Plagg replied hopefully. The old deity did not want to abandon his chosen, the boy survived and needed his kwami more for emotional than for physical strength.

"I think they are safe, if the teacher watched the fight and let you go." Tikki added.

"Tenzin will take care of your cousins." Pema spoke again, but there was some strange and bitter coldness in her tone that was totally unnatural for her.

"Will he remove their memories too? Oh no." Marinette cried, that was her first concern and one look at the face of the young woman confirmed to the girl that her suspicions were right.

"They are civilians, he shouldn't do that." Dorje said coldly and looked away.

"But Ling had her phone on us. She might have been streaming live to Alya." Adrien warned and sighed. His thoughts wandered away.

"It is okay, I just want to remember everything that happened." Adrien smiled to his hands. But then he looked at his kwami.

"I am so sorry Plagg, I will miss you." He whispered.

"There is still time, nobody is taking your miraculous just yet." Plagg replied with a touch of sadness in his eyes. He wished they allowed Pigtails to keep the miracle box, then she would have been the guardian and it was her call. And Plagg felt he would persuade the girl easily. But that was not the case.

Marinette just stroked Tikki who nuzzled her cheek. They were exchanging their concerns and assurances without words.

"Everything will be okay." Tikki finally chirped to both kids.

They both transformed.

Ladybug called for the lucky charm. She got a red phone with black spots.

"Well I guess that will be our next step." Ladybug smirked at Chat Noir. They both took the phone and threw it into the air together.

"Miraculous Ladybug." They said in unison and the swirl of ladybugs washed over them, over their bodies and over the two monks that were with them. Dorje straightened up instantly with a wide smile and sigh of relief, the pain was gone, the memory of it was still there and he tried different moves that caused him pain before, he stretched with satisfaction.

Pema smiled. Her head and neck were far better and she did not feel so dizzy any more. This part of the cure worked.

Ladybug and Chat Noir both smirked at the same time.

The pain was gone.

"It was an honour to do this with you." Ladybug said solemnly while she offered her fist.

"It was my pleasure and my honour." Chat Noir replied and raised his fist.

Then they both looked at Pema and Dorje and waved their head encouraging them to join in.

"Pound it!" They said in unison, the two monks laughing along.

"We should repeat this with your cousins, you know?" Chat Noir winked towards Ladybug and she smiled back, then her face fell slightly, because of the phone.

Then, both heroes detransformed.

"Sorry, I have no more food here." Adrien apologized to his kwami.

"That is okay." Plagg replied as he hid in the boys hair.

Marinette laughed and checked her pockets, but came up empty. She shrugged and looked at her kwami apologetically, but Tikki just patted her cheek and landed on the girls shoulder.

"Lets go back and check that phone, shall we?" Marinette became more serious.

They walked back easily, there was no pain. But they were tired and hungry.