Alya walked along the Parisian sidewalks as evening settled over the city. The Dupain-Cheng bakery was a moment away, around the corner of the park fencing. She could hear the waters beneath the bridge because there was no traffic or pedestrians to tune it out. For the first time in what felt like hours, she was at peace.

I love my siblings, but babysitting them for so long with so little food in the fridge?

She couldn't help but giggle to herself.

Maybe I should take to cooking like mom. At least then I could find ways of turning old cereal and spinach into artistic gourmet. I could call it "The Alya Special"…or "Hero Sandwich but Without the Sand"…no, that would be dumb…I got it! I could call it "Delish Dish"!

Now she was laughing, walking around the outer rim of the park. It felt good to have nothing to worry about on the horizon. It had been a strange few weeks in her district: the death of famous Eye of Hera dancer Graham, Nathanael surviving a wicked fire, new superheroes going by Povas and Queen Bee showing up out of nowhere, and Chloe Bourgeois suddenly becoming a decent person. Good old Chloe was definitely the biggest shocker of the month.

Not that I don't miss Graham.

She remembered the funeral. Her parents had taken her while her siblings had stayed behind with a babysitter. They knew nothing about Eye of Hera and it was too depressing to bring up around them. Her family stood with Sabrina and Max and their parents, as Mayor Bourgeois stood at the front of the crowd before city hall. Chloe was off to the side with the backup dancers, all three crying into each other's arms. One of the few times she had seen Chloe truly cry for the sake of someone other than herself. Speeches were made. Stories were shared. She even swore that there was someone in blue standing atop the building, if only for a moment.

I wish Marinette and Adrien could have come, she continued to round the park, but it got really crowded. So many people adored Eye of Hera..., she took a deep breath. Focus, girl. Now is not the time to be moping.

It was going to be Chloe's birthday on the weekend, and Marinette had asked Alya to come over and help with the banner for the surprise party. Lila was too busy working with Nathanael on one of his paintings, and Adrien had Nino over to work on a school project. It was up to her to save the day. Again.

What would Marinette do without me? Other than stutter every time Adrien showed up.

She stopped at the park entrance. It was vacant and quiet, the only sound coming from the wind rustling the tree branches and the fountain water gushing out into the base. It was a place of pure inspiration for a photographer such as herself. She would definitely need to bring Marinette out for a look.

Speaking of which, if I show up late, she might eat all her father's cookies on me!

She was about to run past to the bakery, when a quiet sneeze brought her to a halt. She looked back into the park to find no signs of life, but it had not been her sneezing. Cautiously she took a step into the dark park. The merry-go-round was especially eerie without sunlight glistening off the horses. "…Hello?"

No response, but she was an investigator for a hobby. She knew there was something up in that park and she would not leave without finding the truth. "I heard your sneeze," she spoke quietly, "so you can show yourself." Instinctively she felt for her phone in her pocket. She was ready to call – or snap a shot – at a moment's notice. "Anybody?"

Finally, after a moment of awkward crawling on her part, she heard another sneeze followed by a sniffle, hidden around the base of the fountain. She crept up on her knees and peered around the stone. "How small are you-?"

There, across the fountain, hiding behind the base. She spotted a pair of pointed black ears that twitched and turned. Alya smiled. It was just a lost pet or stray cat. No danger here. She playfully crawled closer so not to scare the animal. "Here, kitty, kitty," she purred, "I promise not to harm you."

Once she was close enough she hopped out in front of the beast. "There you-?!"

It was not a lost pet.

It was not a stray cat.

It was a fox.

With a body the size of a small plush toy. With long, pointed orange ears with black tips. With smooth orange fur, yellow eyes, and a fluffy hooked fox tail hugging its body. It held a necklace in its dark brown paws, a fox tail pendant dangling. Alya had seen nothing like it, and it was obviously the source of the sneezing and sniffling, but she had no idea what to say beyond "whoa…are you an alien?"

She grabbed her phone and readied to take a picture. "Hold still for a moment. Marinette is going to love this."

The creature gasped and zipped out of the way. Alya tried a couple times to get a shot, but it was too fast, and eventually she gave up. "Okay, okay, no photos…yet."

"Please," it had a high pitched voice, "you have to help me!" It tried shoving the necklace into Alya's hands. "You need to transform and fight!"

Alya backed up. "What are you talking about? Transform? What, like…," her eyes widened and blinked the surprise away, "like Ladybug?"

"Yes, yes, become a hero like Ladybug, but now!"

This creature knew Ladybug. It knew how to make people transform like Ladybug. Alya had to get this on video. "Just give me-"

"There is no time!"

"Oh," came a voice from atop the merry-go-round, "there really is not."

Alya and the creature looked up at a hooded figure standing on the ride, dressed completely in black. "Come back to me, Kwami, and bring the miraculous," the figure's voice grew so cold it brought a chill to Alya's spine, "or the bystander is losing more than her phone."

It has been too long since I touch my Dance of the series, and I have seriously missed nice Chloe and Graham and my HawkMoth twist (no spoilers here). I hope you guys have, too, and sorry if you've been waiting for so long. I had no intentions of actually making a third and final in the trilogy, but every time I came back and looked the other stories over, I felt guilty at not giving you guys a real ending. So, here we are, at the beginning of the final chapter in the Dance of the Immortal trilogy. Be prepared for mysteries, alliances and secrets revealed!

Until the next chapter!