The Forgotten Ring

Chapter 19: Realization

"Sorry, you said what happened?"

"I don't really know," I say exasperated, throwing my hands in the air as I finish explaining to Félix the situation during Safari's akumatization.

"Let me get this straight," he says, a hand on his face. "The first time this happened, it was all screwed up, but this time, it was intentional?"

"For our kwamis, yes," I respond. "I'm not sure if Chat Noir and I intended to jump back into each other's minds."

"So, is that, like, a power you two have?" Felix asks curiously.

"According to Renovva, yeah." At that, Renovva floats over from my kitchen to explain further.

"Plagg and I have a very unique power that allows our holders to create a bond," she states proudly. "The bond is very strong and can be harnessed by the holders by connecting their powers. When the powers merge, they're transported to shared headspace. For now."

My head snaps up at that. "What do you mean, for now?"

Renovva smirks at me. "Until you're stronger, both of you will keep falling unconscious when your powers touch. When you're finally ready, you won't be sent to that headspace involuntarily, and you'll be able to stay awake instead."

I groan in frustration. I'm getting sick of her vague hints. I want answers.

"Renovva, when can I know?" I snap. "You're being so cryptic. Why can't Chat Noir and I know?"

Renovva's blue eyes go wide for a fraction of a second before her ears lay defensively against her head. "This is the first time ever Plagg and I have had such compatible holders," she hisses. "Last time we thought our holders were slightly compatible, everything went wrong. We're taking it slow for everyone's safety."

I swallow nervously, but my gaze stays solid, too stubborn to admit to my mistake. "Sorry," I mutter begrudgingly. "You're just really leaving me in the dark, Novva. And I trust you, but I have so many questions that you never answer."

Renovva sighs. "I know you do. We need more time to see how you and Chat Noir interact to make sure it's safe. And now that I know who he is..." she trails off, glancing up at me, "I'd say it shouldn't be long now before you can both know more."

"Oh shit, you're right," I realize, flopping backwards on the couch. "You know who he is now."

"Tell us," Félix commands suddenly.

Renovva whips her head, unamused. "You know I can't do that."

"It might be helpful to all of us if we know," he insists.

"I'm sure it would," Renovva growls. "But that would probably do more harm than good. It would put a lot of people in jeopardy."

"Do we know him?" I mutter more to myself than anyone else.

"I can't tell you that either," Renovva says frustratedly. "There's a lot of people in Paris."

"Whatever," Félix grumbles. "We know nothing about your powers with Chat Noir, so we can't go anywhere with that." He pauses, thinking. "Whatever happened to Monarch after getting cataclysmed?"

"I don't know," I mutter. "We haven't seen him since. We don't know how much damage a cataclysm does on someone while they're wearing a miraculous."

"Renovva, do you or Duusu know?" Félix asks the kwami.

Duusu flies over excitedly. "I haven't seen anything like this happen before," she squeaks, "so I wouldn't know anything."

"Wait!" I exclaim suddenly, sitting up. A thought had just occurred to me when I saw Duusu—Monarch used to be Duusu's holder. "Duusu, do you know Monarch's identity?"