Chapter 34

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Petir woke to an awful case of bed hair. It wasn't an exaggeration, because his hair would surpass a bird's nest's chaotic sense of fashion.

He also woke with two people in the same room was him.

At first, he wasn't sure he was seeing things correctly, because his body was numb, and his senses were detached from him. The only thing he saw was a sheet of white, then hearing the monitors.

Ah. He glanced down to his body. He was confused as to why he could barely move, and noticed a blanket covering him. Strangely, he couldn't move his left arm either, so he held the blanket, prying it off him.

A hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him. The monitor's rate escalated, but it calmed as he recognized the person, then escalated even faster than before.

"Don't," Tanah said. His expression was grim, though it was exhausted and flustered by overwork. "Just lie down for now."

Petir's mouth felt like tree bark. "Tanah...?" he rasped, barely hearing himself as Tanah's hand left his wrist. "Why am I in the hospital?"

He turned to a shuffle on the left. There was a person he didn't know, but he recognized him from school. He was the one that Tanah was so worked up about, because he always skipped school.

"You don't remember?" Angin asked sceptically.

Petir ought to shake his head, but it felt numb too. "Not really."

Angin sighed. "It's alright," he said comfortingly. "You're on a lot of painkillers. It's no surprise that you're still out of it." His expression turned serious. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Tanah leaned in like were the first time he's heard of this.

"Being in class," Petir muttered. "That's all."

His head was doozy, and he felt like he could fall asleep at any given moment. Though, he kept himself awake, catching Angin shake his head in irritation.

"Is there something wrong?"

"No. There isn't." He was lying. "You need more rest. We'll get back to this after you're better."

Petir didn't argue. Angin stood from his chair, and motioned Tanah to follow him.

Before they left the room, Petir asked, "Where's Cahaya?"

Angin stopped.

"He's just out buying something to eat." Angin turned to him with a smile. "He'll be back later."

Another lie.

They left and closed the door behind them.

"So," Tanah asked, crossing his arms, "why did you call me out? I'm worried about Petir, but-"

"Let's be honest about this." Angin sat down on the chairs outside the room. He stared at Tanah, eyes analysing his every movement. "You're the Shield Hero, Terre, aren't you?"

Tanah paled instantly. His arms uncrossed, his posture tensed but panicked.

"I'm not trying to expose you," Angin said quickly. "We need to talk about this."

Tanah, frowning at him, sat a chair away from him, but it was enough. He waited for Angin to continue, sitting in sombre silence.

"It was Athena that told me." Tanah turned in surprise to Angin's words. "Minte and a new hero called Pyra tried to assassinate Petir a few days ago. I intervened just before Minte killed him."

"Minte?" Tanah repeated, expression falling. "But why?"

He looked like a deer struck in headlights. He wasn't prepared for these answers he was waiting for.

Angin grabbed at his hair, hanging his head. "That... is also complicated." He gritted his teeth. "After they were done with the surgery, I looked at his wounds. They wrapped a bandage around both his legs, but only his right leg was injured. I took a peek, and an akuma is infesting in there. How, I don't know."

Infesting in his leg, Tanah thought. He recalled an incident a week ago, the time before he was akumatized, the exact moment where he saw the teen crumple because of phantom pains, accompanied with symptoms of fear.

It was too far-fetched, but it wasn't unbelievable.

To think someone who's been targeted as a host to such severity, it terrified him.

"You're a Miraculous user, too?" Tanah looked up, smiling painfully. "Delphine?"

Angin's hands left his hair. "Pegasus," he wisped.

"So you know who Athena is?"

"Yeah. Cahaya." Another gasp from Tanah, but it was calmer than the previous ones. "If we could, we would have kept our identities secrets. But times have changed."

"Of course it has." Tanah shook his head, holding his head like it hurt. "Minte, you say?" he repeated to himself, resting his elbow on his thigh. "I never should have given him his Miraculous. I never should have even considered it."

Angin froze, taken aback by his words.

"You gave Minte his Miraculous?" Angin demanded, whipping to him. "But you're-"

"A regular hero? Yes," Tanah agreed. "I've been a Miraculous user for decades now. I used every Miraculous that's ever known, including yours. (Say hi to Taufan for me.) But things changed, and I don't hold the power to communicate with the kwamis like I used to."

"You know every Miraculous?"

"Yep. Even the Bat and Bird Miraculous. I'm still trying to track them down."

"Then do you know about the Cheetah Miraculous?"

Tanah shook his head. "It doesn't exist. Only 9 were created: Bat, Bird, Owl, Pegasi, Monkey, Cat, Tiger, Dolphin, and Panther."

No Cheetah, huh?

Angin felt his palms beginning to sweat. This situation might be more complicated than he originally thought.

"But why are you so young?"

Tanah turned to him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you still in high school, I mean," Angin justified. "Why do you look like a teenager?"

"Oh! This." Tanah chuckled at this, leaning back on the chair. "I'm not immortal. I just reincarnate with my memories intact. I can tell you how it feels like to be a girl, trans, or even with disabilities. I just die when a new generation of heroes start to form."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"Yeah, I know." Tanah sighed. "It's a complicated story. But it started with me wielding the Cat Miraculous, and my sister wielding the Dolphin one. We failed to defeat the akuma; she died, and I fused the Owl and Panther Miraculous, then I got stuck in this loop."

He didn't say more after that.

"And this is the first time you saw someone infested with an akuma?"

Tanah nodded. "Yes."

"Then what are the chances of us being the last generation of heroes?"

Tanah didn't answer.

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