"So… Just like that? You're going to leave Paris?"

Only a true friend like Alya Césaire could have caused me this much heartbreak. Countless memories began surface in my mind. Even when it felt like nothing was going right in my crazy life, Alya was there for me. She always greeted me with a smile, always trusted me to share anything personal, and she received great entertainment out of spurring me on to chase after the love of my life: Adrian Agreste. Without her help, I still wouldn't be able to get two words out in front of him. Alya gave me the push to be a better person. She was my best friend for as long as I could remember.

But she was going to leave.

"I am sorry Marinette." Alya said as the crisp fall air passed through the park where we were standing, "My dad got laid off from his job. Paris is an expensive place to live… I think my family just needs somewhere more stable. At least for a little while."

Alya should have been the one who was upset. Even so, she wanted to make me feel better by staying calm about the whole situation. I wanted her to stay but I was afraid getting angry would only make Alya feel worse. I knew I needed to be understanding for her sake.

"I don't know what I am going to do without you Alya. I am going to miss you so much while you're gone. I know I said I hated phones before, but we'll call each other every day." I wanted to smile but the weight of emotions was too heavy for me to lift the corners of my mouth.

"You know it girl." Alya said with a melancholy expression on her face, "You said you had somewhere to be, so I won't hold you up. I just wanted to tell you the news as soon as I got it."

"Thank you Alya. We're always going to be besties no matter how far apart we are." I said, searching for silver lining.

Alya left me to stand motionless in the middle of the park. This was more than losing a friend, this was losing someone who put my life into balance. Alya had supported my personal life as well as my superhero life under the guise of Rena Rouge. Apart from my long-term partnership with Chat Noir, Alya was the only other person I could count on to keep Paris safe.

"Marinette, I am sorry about Alya but can we please hurry to Master Fu's place?" A weak voice called out from my pink purse.

I unzipped the bag to reveal a small red and black kwami lying on a bed of cosmetics, "I am so sorry Tikki! I'll hurry there!"

"I'll be fine." Tikki said in fatigue, "I just want to be able to let you transform into Ladybug if a supervillain appears."

I began to lightly jog through the city streets of Paris. I was so caught up with Alya's news I had forgotten about Tikki's recent illness. Master Fu entrusted me with taking care of her nearly a year ago. He was the person I came to in order to help guide me through my superhero life. I wished I could care of Tikki all by myself but I still needed Master Fu to teach me more.

I eventually approached the front door of ancient Chinese architecture. I knocked on the several times while talking out loud, "We're here Tikki. He'll probably give you some medicine and we'll be all set to go in a half hour just like last time."

The short figure of Master Fu opened the door. His grey hair was groomed nicely, he made sure his moustache and goatee reflected his dignified and wise interior. "Ah, it's just you Marinette. Please come in, I was just having supper.

I apologized for interrupting the master's evening and explained the situation with Tikki. I went through all of the details, starting with me waking up to the sound of Tikki's voice whimpering in pain in her sleep. I wanted to leave right away to visit Master Fu, but Tikki insisted that I take care of my errands first and that she would be fine.

Master Fu cradled Tikki in his cupped hands, "Marinette for the first time I am not exactly sure what is wrong with your kwami, but it isn't good. Not good at all." He said solemnly.

I drew a small gasp, "Not good at all? Is it serious!? Is Tikki dying!?" I panicked.

Master Fu slowly shook his head in a fluid motion, "No, no. Not that bad, but it may take my quite some time before I find out what is causing Tikki so much distress." He said in an effort to calm me down.

I relaxed my shoulders, "How long do you think it'll take?" I pondered, "What if I am needed as Ladybug while you are still trying to get Tikki back to good health?"

Master Fu moved around his house, gently laying Tikki on a pillow. "There is more than one miraculous user Marinette, perhaps you need to have faith that Chat Noir could handle the super heroics for the meantime." He said with an unwavering voice.

I trusted Chat Noir a lot, he had always done his upmost in order to keep Paris safe. Almost any other boy I could think of would have used the cat miraculous for their own selfish gain. Similar to me, Chat Noir never even considered that as a possibility. For an entire year he had been by my side to support me.

With that said, as capable as he was, Tikki was the only kwami who could capture akumas, the name for the evil butterflies that turn distressed men and women into super powered villains. Chat may be able to go toe-to-toe with a supervillain but there wasn't a way for him to them back to normal without my help.

"Master Fu, will Chat Noir really be able to handle things all by himself? You're sure about this?"

The old Chinese man let out a small chuckle, "Chat Noir is not alone. I will deliver both Queen Bee's and Rena Rouge's miraculous to them respectively. It isn't a perfect fix, but it will have to do for now."

I faltered for a moment after hearing Rena Rouge's name. I didn't want to make a habit of telling other people's secrets, but this was important. "Master Fu… About Rena…" I began. "She's not going to be around much longer. She is going to move out of the city very soon and the fox miraculous won't have a holder."

Despite breaking the news to the old man, Master Fu maintained his same composure, "A person of high principles is one who can watch an entire chess game without making a comment." He chimed.

"Master Fu, what are you talking about? I know these riddles are kind of your thing but I need some real genuine advice and not a vague proverb." I pleaded.

"If you cannot find the answers you seek on the outside, try to look within. You will figure out what to do with your friend as well as the fox miraculous in time. Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness." Master Fu then took on a dismissive tone, "Now, you should get going Marinette, I will begin to heal Tikki right away. Expect to hear back from me in a few days, a week at most."

A week? I could hardly believe what Master Fu was telling me, but if Tikki was in a critical condition I wanted him to have as much time as he needed to make sure she was all better. I chose not to complain, "Thank you for helping Master Fu, I hope everything goes well." I called to him as I began to walk out of his home.

"Goodbye for now Marinette. Trust in Chat Noir."

I began to lament as I dragged my feet back to my home. I couldn't understand how Master Fu could have been so calm after hearing that Alya was leaving. Did he think she was replaceable? Alya was the single person I could trust with handling the responsibilities that came with holding a miraculous. I wondered if Master Fu would expect me to pick someone else to take her place after she moved away.

I shook my head. No way. He must have just had faith that I could figure things out and make sure everything would be okay. I had to think positively in order to solve big problems like these. I opened my front door and hummed a tune as I walked into the kitchen to greet my mom and dad.

I was going to use this week away from my superhero responsibilities to develop Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

My dad's brown moustache curled upwards with his smile, "Enjoying your weekend Marinette?"

I let out a small sigh, "I heard some bad news today. I thought maybe I could help you out in the bakery to take my mind off of things today."

My mother giggled as she turned to face me, "That's very kind of you Marinette, but you don't need to overexert yourself to help your dad and I. Especially when you aren't feeling well! Do you feel like sharing what's the matter?"

I began to wash my hands in the kitchen sink, "It's all going to be fine mom. I am just going to focus on the things I can change and not let the stuff I can't bother me."

"That's my girl!" my father gleamed. "Always turning negatives into positives and goes out of her way to help her folks too. How did I get so lucky to have such a great daughter?"

The three of us shared a laugh and began to bake. I didn't want to bring Alya up to my parents just yet. My mind was already running in circles with Tikki's absence. Master Fu told me to trust in Chat Noir but I couldn't stop worrying about him. I knew that I wouldn't be able to take down a supervillain all by myself and I wondered if Chat Noir thought the same.

No, probably not. He'd probably just assume his same goofy smile and say something silly like, "Don't worry Bugabee! I always try to be the best Chat I can be!"

I shuddered after I perfectly imagined Chat Noir speaking those exact words. I quickly began laying raw dough out on aluminum trays to try to block out my mental image of Chat's smug face. I liked him as a friend but he knew which of my buttons to push when I was in costume. He would call me any ridiculous pet names that entered his head. I was surprised the rest of Paris didn't call me 'Bugaboo' and 'M'lady' after hearing him toss those names around for the better part of a year. I wasn't any special exception of course, Chat Noir flirted with any girl he came across and generally did whatever he wanted. That was what irritated me the most. Being a superhero was so effortless to Chat Noir. Since the day he had received his miraculous, he had always been ready to jump into the fray while wearing a bright smile on his face. It took a lot of convincing from Tikki for me to eventually choose to use her power but Chat was a hero by nature.

"Marinette?" My mom placed a hand on my shoulder. I turned to meet her concerned face, "Is everything alright dear? You've been rolling the same dough with that rolling pin for the last couple of minutes."

I blinked. "Sorry mom, I guess I was just thinking about Chat Noir. You've seen him around haven't you? I am curious, what do you think about him, mom?" I asked, eager to take attention off of my strange behavior.

My mother placed her index finger on her chin in thought, "Let's see… I don't know a lot. He's Ladybug's boyfriend, right?"

"Absolutely not!" I said, almost alarmed that was the first thing that came to my mom's mind.

"Well, I am glad he's continuing to save Paris every day. I think Ladybug is great too of course, but she seems so serious all the time. I am happy that Chat tries to keep her in high spirits." My mom said with a wink.

I wanted to protest further. Chat Noir didn't tease me to make me feel better, he did it to mess with me. I was sure… As I was about to speak again, I heard the sound of glass shattering upstairs.

"That sounded like it came from your room Marinette!" My father exclaimed as he stood up straight, "Someone must have broken in!"

"I am sure it's nothing dad. Why don't you let me clean up whatever broke while you keep an eye on the pastries?" Ever since Master Fu gave me Tikki crime in Paris had reached a record low. The chances of a burglar breaking into my house in the daytime was close to zero.

My parents exchanged glances as I picked up a dust pan and moved towards my room. I slowly turned the nob on my door to reveal a broken picture frame on the ground surrounded by shattered glass.

As soon as the door was fully open, I could hear a voice call out to me, "You know, it is strange to keep a picture of a teen model on your desk. Makes you come off as obsessive."

The mysterious voice sounded effeminate with a Victorian English accent. My eyes darted around the room but I could not spot the trespasser. I closed the door behind me.

Best that I take care of this by myself without involving my parents.

"Who is there?" I asked, holding the dustpan in my hand like a weapon, "I really liked that picture you know. It isn't cool to snoop around other people's rooms."

"Ah, I am really sorry about that. I should have introduced myself earlier." I finally had traced the voice to its owner. A black kwami with white spots floated in the middle of my room. She looked remarkably similar to Tikki. "My name is Nevie. From what I understand your other kwami must be out of commission for the time being. I am here as her substitute."

I narrowed my eyes into a squint as I stared at Nevie with a skeptical look, "How do you know about Tikki?" I had at least a hundred other questions for the posh-speaking kwami but I focused on the most pressing first.

"Oh, I know because Chat Noir is being beaten by a supervillain and you're nowhere in sight." Nevie explained, sounding almost frustrated with the question itself.

I ran over to my computer and typed in the web address for the local news. "No, no, no! It's way too soon! Master Fu couldn't have possibly explained my situation to Chat yet! He's waiting for Ladybug!"

The computer screen loaded and I saw a live stream of Chat Noir fending off attacks from a shirtless supervillain. I leaned forward as I zoomed in to identity the villain. He looked like an eight-foot-tall surfer with blond locks, sunglasses, swim trunks and flip-flops. He was stabbing at Chat with a silver trident and didn't seem to be breaking a sweat during his onslaught.

I stared at the screen but I could hear Nevie speaking behind me, "You see Ladybug? He needs your help. Use my power just this one time in order to save him, I promise I won't do anything to harm you."

I tore myself away from the live stream and lowed myself to my knees to begin sweeping up the broken glass on my floor, "Sorry Nevie. I want to trust you but this is all way too sudden. I can't use you right after five minutes of meeting you. We are just going to hang tight and hope Chat can handle things." I meant my words. I had no idea how this kwami figured out where I lived or that Tikki was sick. Nevie didn't inspire much confidence in me.

"I should apologize. I didn't mean to put any pressure on you, I just wanted to help…" Nevie said remorsefully.

I finished sweeping the glass and stood up from the floor. The livestream was still playing on my computer. I wanted to look away and dispose of the broken picture frame but the screen forcefully pulled me back in. I needed to see what would happen if I couldn't be Ladybug.

The pixilated screen followed the villain's and Chat's fight closely. Chat Noir raised his metallic staff to parry a strike from the surfer's trident but the flimsy pole was knocked out of Chat's hands. He was beginning to buckle under the pressure of trying to manage fighting a supervillain alone. Rena Rouge was nowhere to be seen. Master Fu hadn't been able to pass off the fox miraculous yet.

I nearly dropped my dustpan when I saw Chat Noir's right ribcage get clipped by the edge of the trident. It was an inevitability that Chat would get injured, yet I was physically shaking after I saw Chat's blood stain Paris' sidewalk. After setting the broken glass on my desk, I wrapped my hands around the sides of my arms in an attempt to stop my trembling.

"Oh dear. Miss Ladybug, are you alright?" Nevie asked as she floated in front of my face.

I should have been fine. Chat and I both knew the risks of being heroes but watching him take such a visceral injury was overwhelming. I began to take deep breaths, but they only further raised my anxiety. Sitting in my room and choosing to do nothing was no longer an option.

I grit my teeth and looked Nevie in her eyes, "Do you promise me nothing bad will happen if you help me save Chat?"

Nevie seemed to radiate joy, "Ladybug. I swear on my life that I won't do anything but help you."

"Alright, so where is your miraculous? And what to do I say in order to make you jump into it?" I asked hastily, looking back towards my computer screen.

"The earrings you wear will work perfectly fine dear. In order to become Ladybug all you need to say is, 'Time to put the spots on, Nevie!' and you will transform." Nevie's tone of voice told me she was eager.

"Wait a minute." I retaliated, "You are going to use the same miraculous that was meant for Tikki? And why is your phrase so similar to the one I use to call her too?" I took a small step away from Nevie and began to nervously massage the back of my neck with my right hand.

Nevie sensed my second thoughts and was quick to dismiss them, "Miss Ladybug, it's going to take time to explain all of that, but my similarities to your old kwami are exactly what you need right now. Unlike Chat Noir, I can purify akumas and stop villains for good. My super power is called 'Lucky Break' and you'll understand how it works once you use it. There is no other way to stop that surfer villain. You are the only one who can do this Ladybug!"

Nevie was one red flag after another. If not for her colorless appearance, she looked identical to Tikki and was explicitly interested in substituting for her. She wanted to give me a super power I had never used before. One that I could easily misuse and end up hurting Chat more than helping him.

I closed my eyes, inhaling air through my nose and exhaling through my mouth. I may have had doubts about Nevie but there was at least one truth that she told me. I was the only person who could do this. Chat Noir was a strong person, but he was reckless too. I got a sinking feeling after I recollected seeing the fabric of his costume tear as the villain's trident grazed his abdomen. Running to ask Master Fu for help would take too long, Tikki was just as far away, and there wasn't any other superhero with the power to purify a villain's akuma.

I had to gamble on Nevie.

"Time to put the spots on, Nevie!" I cried as the black and white kwami was absorbed into my earrings. I stretched my appendages out wide and allowed a polka-dotted skin-tight outfit to form around my body. The suit notably matched the kwami it belonged to; my traditional colors were replaced with black and white. I could feel my hair changing with the new transformation as well, my pigtails began to grow in length, extending until the tips reached the square of my back.

I looked down at my hands to closer inspect the new costume. My movements felt lighter, as if gravity had loosened its grip over my body. I began to wave my hands around aimlessly to marvel at the new sensation.

As I was experiencing my moment of wonder, the hairs on the back of my neck stood straight up. I felt sick to my stomach as I suddenly experienced a strange phenomenon. I could hear a voice call to me, the words seem to rattle through my entire body. I looked around my room frantically to find the source, but as the voice continued, it was evident whatever was trying to talk to me was coming from inside of myself. The feeling was unnerving and real. I believed I could reach out with my hand and touch the words being articulated.

Ladybug, I am so glad to be finally meeting you.