Meeting up with Chat Noir early the next morning, and drawing a portal to resume their quest in the Philippines they were not sure what to expect.
They were excited to find themselves in a tropical paradise. At the edge of the Corizon Market by the waters edge, they felt a bit exposed, as it was already nearly 7am. The shore was already starting to bustle with boat contractors, tour guides, and locals preparing for the daily excursions.
"We need to get food for you two and your kwamis," Ember instructed, briefly emerging from the quill (sticking close to Ladybug), and you will need to hire a private tour boat."
"How will we know which one? There are so many!" Chat Noir asked in a hushed tone.
"A small, family run operation is best," Ember advised quickly, "a captain who is confident, but not pushy." Then Ember disappeared from view.
How are we going to go about this Chat Noir asked. It's not as if I can just walk up to a tour boat like this."
"but maybe you can," Ladybug thought out loud. "You'd draw attention, but we could use it to postpone the other tours, and get away before everyone else makes it to the islands. Meanwhile, I can get supplies in my civilian form, while everyone is admiring the great Chat Noir by the shore."
"As much as I love the admiration, you're the only one I really want attention from," Chat Noir smiled.
"And I'll give you my undivided attention, once you find us a boat!" Ladybug pushed him in the direction of the docked ships.
"I'll hold you to that!" Chat Noir called over his shoulder.
Ladybug was able to transform privately, and nonchalantly make her way to the market. Locals and tour contractors made up the majority of the jumble of people within the tight aisles and stalls. Colorful fruits and vegetables dominated the tables. Nobody paid much attention to the dark haired girl buying provisions for the day. Sure enough, everyone's attention was on the waterfront.
Chat Noir was already taking pictures with many of the tour guides and crews. They were all extremely excited to meet him in person. Each offered him great deals on a private tour, if he let them use his photo for their promotions. Finally Chat Noir graciously selected a small catamaran with a captain and his son. The young man's name was Ramil, and Chat Noir found him easy to talk to, and accomadating to their request to see more unsual aspects of the Corizon Islands. His son, Makisig, was about 10, and followed them around, helping prepare for the excursion. Their fee was paid and everything ready when Ladybug arrived carrying a bundle of food. There was another flurry of cameras as those on the shore got more shots together. Ladybug greeted everyone kindly, snapping some photos together, and then hopped aboard with Chat Noir. The locals and a number of tourists who had gathered were still snapping photos as they sailed away.
The Makisig was thrilled to have Ladybug and Chat Noir on board. They even returned his offer of a fist bump (which he had watched after their acoma battles online). Buzzing with excitement, he showed them the boat, and took his place proudly at the prow. After discussing a heading with the captain, Ladybug and Chat Noir sat on the side of the boat together. The waves sprayed them now and then as the prow rose and fell over each wave. "Did you see the footage last night?" Chat Noir asked quietly.
"Yeah…I guess it is nothing new having photos of us out there…after today there will be even more," Ladybug shrugged.
Lots of photos…Hmm…Prime Queen…" Chat Noir smiled. "You know that was the first time I found out that you had kissed me during Dark Cupid."
"Yes, you seem to bring it up a lot," Ladybug rolled her eyes.
"What I mean is, don't you think we should come up with a story together, before we have questions sprung on us or people make assumptions?"
"Maybe it is better to just let people think what they want," Ladybug answered. "It is not like we can tell them the truth anyway."
"They are sure to bombard us with questions," Chat said looking out towards the water. "We are sure to draw more attention as we show up more and more places."Then he rolled his shoulders back, and looked at Ladybug with determination, "but this trip is all about will power, and you and I Ladybug…we don't give up easily."
"That's right," Ladybug smiled back. "Plus they'd have to catch us first."
"I've gotten pretty good at evading crazy fans when I have to," Chat said offhandedly.
"Crazy fans hmmmm," Ladybug nudged him.
"Occupational hazard," he answered quickly, then changed the subject to their current surroundings.
The catamaran jetted out toward the islands. The closer they drew to the jetting cliffs, the more silent they became. It seemed impossible to put into words the beauty before them.
They had gotten ahead of the rest, and their captain was skilled in moving swiftly. Still there were some tour boats around, escorting tourists between different coves. Their captain steered the catamaran away from the others. He charted a course through different channels.
They docked on the white sand beaches in a small inlet, secluded from the rest. Ramil and Makisig set to make a lunch for them all. Ladybug contributed some of the items she had bought. It was seldom that Ladybug and Chat Noir ever got to just relax, whether in their super hero lives or as civilians. The sparkling white sand beach and the foaming waves that lapped against the shore were hypnotizing.
They had a delicious meal together of grilled fish with vegetables, and polished it off with fresh mangoes. They explained to their captain that they would hike further on their own. Despite Ramil's offers to help them further or wait for them, he was finally convinced that the superheroes had plans of their own. Ramil shook their hands, and wished them well. The captain's son, Makisig, hung back, and edged shyly toward Ladybug. He tapped her on the shoulder and she looked down to see him holding a flower out to her. "Thank you," she smiled, putting the flower behind her ear.
The boy went beet red, letting his ebony windblown hair fall over his eyes, and mumbled "you're pretty," then gave her a quick hug, before retreating to the boat.
"Even here I have competition, "Chat Noir smirked and put his hands on his hips.
Ladybug just smiled and shook her head.
Hiking to the tallest height of 700 foot Mount Tapyas, they could view a panoramic view of nearby islands surrounded by ocean. From this vantage point Ember emerged from the quill, and pointed out a small island nearby. It was separated by a protected bay.
They dove in, but they didn't even need their extra water powers. The waters were easy to navigate, and paddle across. When they looked underwater they realized that they were not the only ones enjoying swim. Sea turtles soared around them, surprisingly agile underwater for such large creatures.
Ember waited on the shore of the next island, and nodded his head toward the left when Ladybug and Chat Noir joined him. Their phoenix guide disappeared into the foliage before their eyes. They walked between a crack in the rock face that was a bit of an optical illusion. They didn't see it till they were practically through it already. Wedging themselves through the tight space, they came to a small lake at the center of the island. It was very deep. Even through the water was sol clear it was virtually transparent, they couldn't see the bottom.
In the middle of the lake was a tiny island (an island within an island), that barely rose out of the water. Still every inch of it was covered in tall spindly trees.
The catbear kwami is the third you will face," Ember told them. "When in physical contact, the catbear is capable of drawing out memories from your life, and allow you to relive them."
"You mean it can help change the past," asked Chat Noir hopefully.
"No, she is not like Fluff. She only allows you to observe so that you can remember a key event or gain a new perspective on choices you've made."
"Can we pick which ones we want to see again?" Ladybug inquired.
"As you are beginning to realize, wild kwami are unpredictable, and their energy (which could have been controlled with a miraculous) is instead free of direction," Ember said thoughtfully. "Previous weilders have told me they sometimes feel their interactions with her can be pleasantly nostalgic to terrifying, reliving horrors they had tried to repress. Perhaps she seeks out a memory, or maybe they spill out unsummoned. She is one of the more elusive kwamis in the world."
They took a step forward, but Ember put up his wing. "Each weilder must face her alone. It is a very private matter to wade around in the mind."
"Could I go first?" Ladybug asked Chat Noir. Chat stepped back (a little relieved he could put off facing some of the painful memories of his past), and ushered her forward with a gallant gesture.
Ember and Chat stayed behind, while Ladybug swam forward to the small island to confront the bearcat.
Ladybug was not sure what to expect when she came face to face with a bearcat. She thought of a huge lumbering furry bear and tried to merge this image with a house cat. Somehow in her imagination it came out looking comical. What she actually found on the island was not funny. There was a distinct emotion illicited from this place, but it was more a keen to distrust or resentment. Even in the hot atmosphere, she felt a chill go down her spine. She looked around, but could not find any kwami, cat, bear, or otherwise. After covering the whole of the tiny forest, she stood at the center scaning the shadows up in the trees. One of the shadows moved. What emerged did indeed look a bit bear-ish with thick shoulders, a rounded body, and long sharp claws. Even though it was just over four feet, it glared at her from up in a tree. The 'cat' part of its name surely came from its face. Ladybug and the bearcat stared at each other.
"I am the weilder of the Ladybug miraculous, and have come to prove my will," Ladybug implored.
The bearcat did not take it's kwami form, but instead used it's long thick tail to hang down from the tree, and descend the trunk. It eyed her wearily, and spoke, "How did you find me?"
"The kwami of wisdom, the phoenix, is our guide," Ladybug answered.
"Impossible," the bearcat scoffed, bristling, "the temple was destroyed, and the phoenix with it."
"A couple years ago my partner, the weilder of the black cat, and I were able to defeat the centimonster, and restore it," Ladybug explained.
"What is the name the humans gave to the kwami of wisdom?" She asked.
"Ember," Ladybug answered.
"It seems you may be telling the truth," the bearcat allowed, "as you have found a way to return the lost kwamis, I will consider your appeal for a trial."
Ladybug sat down and was still, allowing the bearcat to cautiously approach her. She seemed hesitant before finally sitting down beside Ladybug and wrapping her tail around her wrist.
Without warning, moments rapidly flooded into Ladybug's mind of her first battle as Ladybug, against Iron Heart. It was as if she was reliving it all over again. Her heart caught in her throat as she experienced Chat Noir coming alongside her when she was overwhelmed by self doubt. The moment he encouraged her to be confident in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Next she found herself underneath the city of Paris in the sewers. Trapped and without her transformation during the Catalyst battle against so many acomas…when their allies had all fallen. Through the wall she heard Chat's words, prompting her to trust in the two of them rallying against the world.
Then she was underwater in the Seine, pouring out her regret to Chat Noir when Master Fu had been captured because Hawk Moth had trailed her. Again Chat encouraged her. She threw her arms around him and held him close underwater like a raft in her turmoil.
Then with some cloudiness, she encountered a strange memory she could not place. Through a thick haze like dense fog she heard Chat Noir's voice. "No wonder I fell in love with you…you've already proved that with or without your powers you've got this."
Silently the bearcat unwound her tail, releasing Ladybug from the spell. The bearcat turned as if to creep back into the shadows, but Ladybug called to her, "please, that last piece…Why couldn't I see anything, like the other memories? What Chat Noir said…was it real or did you create it within my mind."
The Bearcat smiled kindly, "You mind is your own. Although it is hard to navigate, some things you have forgotten can never be completely erased."
"So that is it?" Ladybug asked uncertainly. "Did I fail because of what happened to Master Fu…or because I'm not a confident Ladybug?"
The bearcat put a paw up to her chin, and tapped it with her sharp claw. "Although you have not always succeeded, you did not fail. Will power is rarely required when a task is easy or one you are prepared for. It is revealed when one must overcome their own insecurities and keep pushing forward, no matter what. Your partner seems to have a way to bring that out in you," she tilted her head to one side. I will see him before I make my decision, she concluded.
When Ladybug swam back she was quiet.
Chat Noir ran up to her, taking her by the hand, and helping her out of the water.
"Are you okay? What happened over there?" he asked.
She looked into his concerned green eyes, and all those memories of Chat Noir came flooding back once more on their own, refreshed and vivid. She grabbed him in a fierce hug. This nearly threw him off balance. A little shocked he took a moment to register her arms around him, and then returned her embrace.
"Thank you Chat," she murmured into his ear, making every fiber in him quiver.
"For what?" he whispered.
"For reminding me I can be strong."
"you're one of the strongest people I know. You don't need me for that," he responded.
"She stepped back, holding his shoulders, looking him straight in the face. "But Chat, I do need you! I wouldn't have been able to get through all this without you. I needed someone to see that potential in me that I couldn't even see myself. Someone to believe in me when I was swallowed up in doubt.
"You had it in you all along, but I'm glad I could be there for you. I would do anything for you," he pulled her into another embrace. "That must have been quite the ride down memory lane," Chat said into the curve of her shoulder.
"Well, it is your turn, so I guess you have your own ride to look forward to," she said breaking a part.
"Yeah, yeah…I'm sure it'll be great," he replied apprehensively.
"Good luck Kitty," she said squeezing his shoulder encouragingly.
Chat Noir dove in and swam toward the looming island.
"Hello?" Chat Noir called to the silent trees of the island. Everything seemed still. Not even the leaves rustled. "I have come to complete the next trial of will power," Chat Noir announced. There was a drawn out pause before the catbear reemerged behind him.
Dark cat…your weilder is hesitant to meet me. The catbear seemed to converse with Plagg from within Chat Noir's transformation. "I wonder what he hides."
"I am not hiding anything from you." Chat Noir implored. "If I am hesitant it is only because I am afraid most of my memories are those I'd rather leave in the past."
"Your memories carry with you, and it is better to make peace with them, rather than bottle them up. Memories are wild creatures who refuse to be caged forever."
"Let's get on with it and open the door than," Chat Nor said extending his open hand towards the bearcat.
The bearcat wrapped her tail around his wrist, and Chat Noir was thrown back into the memory of his first day of school. He rounded the corner, and sprinted to the steps. He felt his heart racing, even though his feet were only moving in his mind. He had made it, when Natalie and his bodyguard drove up behind, and rushed out after him. In the midst of his argument for why he wanted to go to school, he noticed an old man fall. Abandoning his own goal, he rushed to his aide.
Chat Noir was transported to scenes where this throat tightened. His father was lecturing him again about how disappointed he was in him, and sentenced to his room indefinitely. He felt the same rush as always, when he then viewed himself transform into Chat Noir, and leap out him window.
The memories continued to flicker through his view. One that came into focus was the time he snuck away from his bodyguard to go see a movie his mother had starred in. Marinette had helped him avoid crazed fans, only to be captured by his bodyguard-turned giant gorilla. To escape he had trusted Ladybug, and jumped out of his hand off the building. Of course she had caught him in the nick of time. It was not these scenes that really effected Chat Noir. The one that made him unconsciously shiver was sitting down next to his father to be surprised by a chance to see his mothers film. "We must trust each other…" his father said patting his hand he wore his ring.
Then the memory he had truly been dreading. The final face-off. The unveiling of Hawkmoth. The moment of truth. When the heart of the weilder of destruction itself had impoded. "How could you…" Chat Noir demanded.
The bearcat snapped the connection with Chat Noir, stepping back like she had been struck.
"You are his son," the bearcat stated flatly.
"I am," Chat Noir admitted, shaken by the fresh sting of memory.
"His will was one of the strongest I had ever encountered. I had been so impressed how he imposed his thoughts over others to achieve his goals. His will was fast and unshakable," the catbear rambled.
"Wait!" Chat shuttered, "You met my father!? Gabriel Agreste? He took this miraculous test?"
The bearcat lowered her head. "The temple had disappeared long before he found the butterfly and peacock miraculous. The phoenix guide of wisdom had also vanished. He had no way to discover all the miraculous trials, but through the use of the miraculous book and years of study he was able to find some…enough to strengthen his powers…enough so he had longer to use his powers over others before he had to drop his transformation."
"And he found you," Chat Noir finished for her.
"Yes. He found me. Both he and Emilie, your mother, past the tests of will. When we first set the tests their purpose was to root out those who would corrupt the miraculous and use kwami powers for their own gain. But…we did not see the threat within him. We were blind to how far he would push his will to achieve his own power. Please forgive me Adrien for allowing him past my watch!" The catbear welled up with tears in her eyes.
"You couldn't have known," Chat Noir said sadly. "I lived under his roof and I had missed all the signs. I should have known."
"It was a terrible shock for you," the catbear put her paw on his arm.
"Yes. It was horrible…but the worst part is that I knew he was capable of manipulating people. I just told myself he had been though a lot and we would eventually grow closer."
"And yet you did not let the conflicting feelings for your father stop you from standing up to him," the catbear observed.
"He had to be stopped. I couldn't let him hurt any more people."
The catbear smiled and kissed Chat Noir's cheek. "You have restored my faith in weilders. At great personal cost you showed exceptional strength to overcome the evil I empowered. In another life it could have broken you and destroyed the world…but …your will power was greater than that of your fathers…and what's more, you denied yourself to do what was right."
She reached down and picked up a rounded quarter stone. "I am very proud to present you with my piece of the key. She handed the stone into Chat Noir's hands. "May you always use your will to right wrongs dear one," the catbear said touching her forehead to Chat's. Then she vanished.
Chat Noir sunk to the ground clutching the stone, and his body was racked with silent sobs. "Claws out," he breathed shakily. Plagg emerged worriedly, hovering close to Adrien. "I will never be free of him," Adrien shuttered.
"You've already gotten through the worst of it," Plagg encouraged him. "Hang in there kid, I've seen my fair share of disaster…what you went through would tear anyone a part, and yet here you are."
"Yeah…breaking down, falling apart, alone…" Adrien wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Not alone," Plagg argued, "I'm not leaving you till you don't have a speck of Chamenbet…and maybe a little after that too."
"Thanks Plagg," Adrien said getting to his feet, "I guess I know that, but it is nice to hear anyway."
Plagg shrugged, "I'm sure there is someone else too that is wondering where you are."
"Ladybug…" Adrien gaspt, looking across the water of the lake. "We've still got one more challenge. Plagg what do I tell her about Hawkmoth and the trials?"
"She should know," Plagg said, "If Hawkmoth discovered other locations too, some of the wild kwamis might take a bit more convincing to allow you two a pass." Then Plagg paused, and added, "…Ladybug should know a lot of things…about what has happened," he directed a nod toward Adrien.
"We've already discussed this. I've got to handle it myself. If I had handled it in the first place, I could have…" Adrien sighed.
Plagg threw up his paws, "okay, okay…now is not the time. I will leave it to you."
As a peace offering Adrien passed him a large chunk of cheese. Once Plagg had swallowed it with a content sigh, Adrien called, "Plagg, Claws out," and transformed.
By the time Chat Noir swam to Ladybug and Ember he had returned to his composed, confident persona. He briefly mentioned the bearcat being won over by their defense of the city from Hawkmoth, and presented the stone they had been awarded. He then informed Ladybug (leaving out the more personal connection) what the bearcat had said about Hawkmoth completing some of the trials, which had allowed him to enhance his power prior to his attacks in Paris.
Both Ladybug and Ember were taken aback by this, and pondered what it would mean for their own journeys to come.
"I suppose it is possible for a weilder to discover some of the trials on their own, but he would have needed to at least partially decipher the code in the miraculous book, and maybe tied together clues from the past miraculous holders in pieces of artwork or petro glyphs," Ember reasoned. "He would have had to travel to the destination on his own with no access to a portal. It would have taken years to even complete a few of them."
"Well he did wait years after finding the butterfly and peacock miraculous' before he started using them to create acomas in Paris," Chat Noir pointed out.
"It creates a very unstable miraculous to only complete a portion of the trials," Ember told them somberly. "Each one would have given him more power, but without balancing the power with the adjoining aspects of the miraculous they could become strained or damaged."
"Well, I think it is time we finish this one ourselves," Ladybug brought them back on track. "What is our next heading?" Ladybug asked Ember.
"You'll need Kalaki for this one," he answered. "We need to head north to the monumental Rice Terraces."