Nooroo and Duusu
In order to find out what happened to Emilie, Marinette is determined to talk to Nooroo and Duusu. Meanwhile, Adrien felt torn between the fact that Felix was a sentimonster that he refused to acknowledge and a possibility to bring his mother back if he fought and destroyed Felix.
"We should talk to Duusu first." Marinette insisted. She knew that Adrien suffered from guilt his father imposed on the boy for his own actions. And to add this terrible choice upon him was plain awful.
Adrien sighed and looked towards the body of his mother again. Everything was so much simpler while he thought she was missing and never coming back. And Felix was just his cousin.
"It is not our choice, Adrien. We have to do what we have to do. But, lets check the facts first." she insisted. She did not want to introduce false hope either, although she was tempted to tell him all sorts of words just to see the boy smile again. But that was not a solution, she should not tell him nice lies just because he wanted to hear them.
Adrien sighed. Yes, they were heroes and it was their job to fight monsters. He just fought his father yesterday.
Dolma opened her hands and showed she was holding the pin of the butterfly miracoulous in one hand and the brooch of the peacock miracoulous in the other.
"The kwami, are they okay?" Marinette asked worriedly as she glanced between the jewellery and the face of the old monk. It was obvious something was wrong.
Dolma waved her head. Her eyes looked sad, very sad. She just stared at the two jewels.
"They were transformed in the temple." Dolma stated simply. Her eyes did not move from the two jewels. Pema got closer to translate.
"That took their energy?" Marinette asked. A pang of guilt nagged from the back of her head. Was she too slow to resolve the fight? If she was faster, then the two kwami would have kept more energy.
Dolma nodded slowly, her eyes never left the jewels in her hands. She was already grieving for the two kwami. She did not know for sure if they were gone completely, but she did not expect to see them active during her lifetime.
"She thinks they are gone." Pema whispered gently. The young monk got even closer and studied the two miraculous jewels as if she expected the two kwami to appear miraculously or some definite sign of their absence.
Tikki was crying quietly perched up on Marinette's shoulder.
Plagg made sad eyes and sniffled while he hovered high to be able to see the two jewels and stay close to Adrien at the same time.
Adrien looked at Plagg and knew things were serious. He was confused by his own feelings and the absence of the two kwami only began to ring an alarm in his head.
"If I ..." Marinette looked at Dolma tentatively. "If we put the jewels in the miracle box." Marinette continued as she corrected herself. "Tikki, Plagg, can you go into your magical box and check on them just like you did when you were celebrating those cycles of Nooroo, something like his birthday?"
Tikki turned to Marinette and looked at the girl with tired eyes. Perhaps the old goddess was not in the mood to face the reality of the fate of two of her friends. But then she dug into her ever cheerful personality and hope for the best, but not too much, because she might get disappointed.
"That is good idea, Pigtails." Plagg spoke in hoarse voice as he floated over to the girl. Suddenly, the old god of destruction was the one hoping for a bit of luck, or a miracle, whatever, as long as the two kwami could be revived.
Dolma extended her hands that held the miraculous jewels and said nothing, but the look she gave first to Marinette and then to Pema spoke volumes. She had given up hope, but she was ready to let the others hope for the best and try, she was not about to scold them nor tell them to just give up because that was the easy way Pema brought the box closer and looked at Marinette.
"Would you open it, please?" Pema asked. It became clear to Marinette that they did not find the way to break her code and open the box and the girl felt some pride.
Marinette opened the box and turned it around towards Dolma. She pointed her index fingers to the spots where the pin of the butterfly and the peacock brooch should be. Dolma carefully laid both jewels in the designated spots and looked at them gently. Marinette smiled back slightly and looked at the old lady waiting for her approval. Dolma nodded and Marinette 0closed the box.
"Now you just phase inside?" Marinette turned her head to the side where Tikki sat on her shoulder and asked curiously. She did not see how the kwami entered the box during the Sandboy, she just knew what happened from what Tikki described to her later.
Tikki nodded in return and the girl could only notice the move from the corner of her eyes. Then Tikki floated up and towards the box.
"Wait, bring them some food." Marinette remembered how the kwami always felt stronger after they ate. She was not sure if that would help this time, but it would not hurt either.
Pema quickly produced two small parcels of food from a small storage box on the side. The young monk was excited and eager to help, she truly believed something could be done. Dorje approached closer and hovered above everyone curious what was going to happen next. Tikki took one, but Plagg turned around floated over to Adrien where he hovered in front of the boy's face.
"Don't you think I would be much stronger to face what happened to poor Nooroo and Duusu in there if I got some cheese?" the little black cat like god of destruction drawled.
Adrien rolled his eyes. He even smirked at the antics of his kwami.
"I can't believe you." the boy sighed and smiled as he produced one more piece of cheese. "Is there ever an occasion when you are not hungry?" He waved his head and watched Plagg devour the small piece of cheese. But there was seriousness and sadness in the eyes of the little black cat like god of destruction that made Adrien stop his teasing.
Marinette could not believe her eyes. Plagg looked as if he was about to burry his best friend and still annihilated cheese. And there was no fight in sight, actually they had a prospect of rather boring duties with no fighting villains for some time. At least, the girl hoped so.
"We will have to visit the village in the morning." Adrien added. "The cheese is close to gone." But he said that without the teasing in his tone, the only reason he pronounced those words out loud were to lift up the mood from obviously gloomy outcome that most of the persons and kwami expected.
"Oh no, that might cause an apocalypse." Plagg exclaimed dramatically. "We should definitely go." The black kwami took the hint. And teasing was something he rather enjoyed.
"Plagg, you are safer when you are hungry." Tenzin teased back. He knew rather well that the two kwami were not well, it was him who made them do the last task of wiping the memories of their previous owners.
Marinette offered Tikki a cookie but the little kwami waved her head in response.
"I do not need any food right now. We will probably not stay long." Tikki replied quietly.
"Aren't you the positive one, Sugarcube?" Plagg teased. "I am supposed to be the negative one over here."
Tikki waved her head once more and floated over to the box. There she found a spot where she phased inside and Plagg followed.
"What now?" Adrien asked curious what is going on inside.
"Nothing, we wait for them to come out. They should create their magical world inside." Marinette explained slowly. Pema nodded to confirm what was said.
Adrien felt a bit nervous without Plagg around.
"Can we call them and ask them to come out?" The boy looked at Marinette, his eyes revealed how he felt. And she saw how nervous he was.
"Nope, there is no way to contact them while they are in their magical world." the girl waved her head. She did not know what was going on inside nor how long it would take.
"So we just sit here and wait." Adrien asked incredulously.
Marinette nodded.
"How log is that going to take?" Of course he had to ask that question.
Marinette sighed. She did not know, and she hated having plans where she was not aware of all the facts. But then she took in the boy's posture and remembered how he tried to make everyone feel better by exchanging banter with Plagg.
"It would probably take shorter if Plagg has not taken some food for himself inside." Marinette teased back.
Adrien raised his eyebrows and laughed shortly. Marinette felt guilty for throwing something like that at him, but his better mood reassured her that she did the right thing.
Everyone around laughed at her antics and she felt a little bit better.
Tikki and Plagg phased out from the box. That was much faster than either human expected them to be back. And that was probably not good news.
Tikki looked at Marinette with sad eyes and just blinked a few times. The little red goddess looked as if she was about to cry.
Plagg floated over to Adrien but looked down.
"They destroyed two kwami?" the boy said incredulously.
"But they are supposed to be gods." Marinette protested.
"You can do that to a god, haven't you read the Greek mythology?" Adrien stared at the girl.
"Actually … " Tikki wanted to correct the boy but Marinette cut her off.
"No, those were human like gods, the kwami, they are the real gods!" The girl argued.
"Actually … " Plagg started to speak again and exchanged a few frantic looks with Tikki.
"Their previous masters have drained them too much." Tenzin started to speak. "The kwami will give you the energy even if they have very little for themselves. You feel no pain but also no hunger while transformed. And they used their powers multiple times. If they have not detransformed, nor eaten, nor rested, nor fed their kwami, then they used up all their energy." Tenzin explained.
"The temple reduces their energy. It drains them." Dorje warned.
"But still, we fought them while we were civilians." Adrien spoke "And actually won."
"That would be impossible while we were in Paris, remember? I mean even if we outnumbered them." Marinette reminded him.
"That was only possible because they have almost drained their kwami." Tenzin spoke.
Marinette felt her eyes started to well up with tears out of sadness for the two kwami.
"And you made them remove the memories of their masters after the fight was finished." Marinette cried towards the old teacher.
The old teacher looked at her with the gentle eyes and stroked his beard. It was obvious he did not mind that Marinette scolded him. In fact, he might have been pleased to hear her speak like that.
"That probably drained them further." Dolma added coldly. She flicked her eyes towards the old teacher.
"That was the only way to deal with them." Tenzin spoke calmly. "We cant release them with the memories of wielding a miraculous and all the secrets of the miracoulous."
"You are the one who is always taking risks." Dolma reminded him calmly. But her eyes were on fire. Because this time, Tenzin took the risk with the two kwami while he made the safest solution for the two humans who were using them.
"But they still have the book." Adrien warned. He was worried if the memory loss was able to make his father a better man, he was able to hope, but just that.
"And they probably have copies of it in electronic form." Marinette added. She was not feeling so certain that the memory loss was sufficient for them all to relax so completely. Pema suddenly understood where the kids worries were coming from and she hitched a breath while she translated.
"They should have no memory of its meaning. They should not understand anything from it." Tenzin replied calmly. There was not much else he could have done.
"But why Nooroo and Duusu? Could some other kwami do that?" Adrien inquired as he looked at Marinette and the old monk.
"It had to be them. It had to be the same kwami they wielded. I think." Marinette concluded with a trace of insecurity in the end.
"Well, yes, either that or I would have to create a memory swiping akuma." Tenzin spoke quietly, he looked as if he was speaking to himself.
"But then I would launch miraculous Ladybug and they would remember again." Marinette implied. Of course, the kwami were the only way, probably.
"There are ways around your magic in this temple." Tenzin smiled and stroked one stone that was still on Emilie's forehead.
"Yes, she did not return to the Agreste mansion back then." Adrien looked at Tenzin curiously.
"There was no way for her to wake up in that room and in that glass coffin." the old teacher spoke slowly and calmly. "That room was full of negative energy and negative emotions."
"Yes, but how have you kept her here?" Marinette inquired.
"There are other magical stones, they are not as magical as your own, but here are stones that can prevent her from being returned, just like you are still in the position where you launched your miraculous Ladybug cure and not in the position where you have been when the attacks started."
"Oh." Marinette whispered. "Of course."
"Yes." the teacher nodded.
"These stones simply help me channel the energy, nothing more." Tenzin smiled.
"Master Fu, he hummed and played an instrument for Tikki when she was ill." Marinette bubbled up as she remembered. "Perhaps we could try something like that?"
Tenzin waved his head.
"That helped Tikki to channel her energy and fight the illness, it would not be advisable to do that now." Dolma replied.
Pema sighed as she was translating.
"You know how you sometimes enter the room and can instantly feel if the energy between the people there is good or bad?" Pema asked enthusiastically.
Marinette shrugged, she did not feel that confident to instantly asses the situation between people correctly each time.
"I know what you mean." Adrien chirped in.
"Oh, don't say?" Plagg teased.
"Well I do not detect all the feelings." the boy started to excuse himself.
"Mister I would recognize her the moment I see her." Plagg teased further.
Adrien groaned.
Marinette laughed.
The others looked at each other and wandered where that particular conversation was going.
"Marinette, I always felt you have the same amount of energy as Ladybug, if not more." Adrien smiled gently as he spoke and looked at the girl.
She blushed and looked down.
"He is right, Pigtails." Plagg added.
"You can do it Marinette." Tikki chirped.
"What are you saying?" Marinette asked as she looked at them questioningly. But the idea of what they wanted from her was as clear as the day.
The sky outside was becoming lighter and it was obvious the Sun was soon going to raise above the mountain range in the east.
Marinette sat down, took the miracle box and opened it. She took the pin and the brooch, one in each hand.
"Perhaps you should do that one by one." Tikki warned.
"Yes Pigtails. One by one." Plagg cut in.
But Marinette held the two miraculous in her hands and stroked them gently. She felt compassion towards the two tired kwami. He wished that some of her energy would transfer to them, at least sufficient so they could come abut and eat something, to regain their strength in a different way, and not from her.
"She is not an adult yet." Dolma warned Tenzin sternly.
"You are still on a timer, Marinette." Pema smiled gently as she extended her arms and put one of her hands to the girls shoulder while she held her wrist with the other.
Adrien approached closer and from her back, he got down on his knees just behind her and then sat on his feet.
"Perhaps you should listen to them, Bug?" he whispered to her ear as he watched the two miraculous jewels in her hands.
First a violet kwami started to appear from the brooch, once he squeezed out, he lay motionlessly on the palm of Marinette's hand next to the pin. Dorje quickly took one small piece of food for the kwami and squeezed it into its mouth, but nothing happened.
Then a blue kwami started to emerge from the brooch. It just surfaced from the brooch and remained lying there. Dorje put another piece of food onto the kwami hoping it would eat.
Adrien was holding Marinette. She was slumped against his body, her eyes were closed. The boy took her hand and lowered it to her knee. Pema lowered her other hand. Adrien held the girl then with both his arms. Because Marinette's head dropped. She was unconscious.