Right, so, I'm back... it's been a while since I wrote anything on this... but... I've been re-watching season 2... Which finally got rid of the writer's block on this... for a while, anyway... in any case, this is a double post, meaning two chapters. I changed a few things- such as Felix being the keeper of Calamity. He's now the keeper of Madness/Chaos. kind of goes better with Tranquility, I think.

Chapter 2

Main language: Chinese

Back at the Dupain- Cheng bakery, Sabine was on the phone again. "Hello, Erik. We need to talk." She said, as her brother answered the phone. "Sabine." The short answer was to be expected, her younger brother was not a man of many words. "What can I do for you?"

"You left your daughter alone again." She said it calmly, though she was rather angry about it. "She's fifteen. She can handle it." Erick returned. Sabine hissed, silver eyes blazing. Tom looked over at her, and sighed, coming to stand behind his wife.

Calm though Sabine was, usually, she was not a person that you wanted to get riled up. Much like, the man thought, his daughter. Sabine was not a nice person when angered, and her brother had always been a bit of a trigger… and that was mostly because of his carless attitude toward Sarantha.

"You left her. You do not do that to a child- whether she be five or fifteen, and you've been doing it constantly since then, Erik!" she snapped. "I don't see what the big deal is…" Erik answered, and She let out a wordless growl. "Oh, I think you do, I can almost hear you shifting, Erik." She snapped.

"What do you want me to do about it, Sabine?" Erick grumbled. "We can't just take her with us… She has school, and other things she does."

"Let her come live with us." Sabine snapped. "If you don't want to take responsibility for your daughter, that's fine, I will. She needs someone, Erick, something that you and Ying Yue obviously aren't giving her."

There was silence for a while as he thought about it. "Ying Yue needs to know." He finally said. "Then put us on speaker. I know she's in the room with you." Sabine snapped. "There's no need."

There were a few more minutes of silence before the phone was picked up again. "Sabine?" Ying Yue was on the line this time. Her sister in law, who was rather delicate, unlike her husband and daughter. "Ying Yue." She answered.

She heard the other woman draw in a breath, and then. "We've decided that you're right. Sarantha can come live with you… if you're sure." She could almost hear the warbled smile that Ying Yue was wearing right then. She sighed. She didn't want to hurt Ying Yue's feelings, but there was a girl's wellbeing at stake, here. "Ying Yue…" she said. "I think it's for the best."

"I couldn't agree more. That's why I'm saying it's okay. Take care of my little girl, Sabine." She said softly. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to, Ying Yue." Sabine said it gently, and she got a weak chuckle out of the woman. "Too true that is." She whispered. She sighed, then. "We'll need to get the paperwork in order… school, transition of guardianship… passport… citizenship…"

"She's a dual citizen. Erick and I thought something like this might happen, so she was put through the process when she was a baby, as well as guardianship- though that came later, I think. She can come here legally, but she does need a passport." Sabine told her. "As for the rest… I'll sign her up for school tomorrow, and she can be here in a week. Or less."

Ying Yue chuckled. "Thought of everything, haven't you, Sabine?" she drawled. "And her things?" Sabine frowned. "Can't really ship it overseas right now. But, she can bring what's important." She said it slowly. "You're giving her that house anyway, when she turns eighteen, right?"

"Twenty-one, actually." Ying Yue replied. "It was changed a few years ago." Sabine nodded. "I need to talk to Erick again, Ying Yue." She said. Ying Yue gave her consent and handed the phone back to her brother. "I take it you've got everything together?" Erick murmured. He sighed.

"Take care of my little girl, Sabine." Sabine sighed as well. "I will, Erick. Call me when you've gotten her on a plane. We'll pick her up at the airport." She said it calmly. Erick hummed his asset and she smiled. "Goodbye, Erick."

After hanging up, she turned to Tom. "Well, I suppose that's the best we can do for now. We're going to need another bed…" she sighed, leaning against Tom. Tom chuckled. "I suppose you're right. Marinette's going to be thrilled."

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Main language: French

The phone rang at 10:00- three hours after she'd called her aunt and uncle with her request. She was happy to answer. "Aunt Sabine?" She asked breathlessly, praying for the answer she'd wanted to hear for about a year. "Your parents are booking you a flight. Do you still have your passport?"

"Yes. Oh, my god, thank you aunt Sabine. Thank you so much." She was ecstatic. Finally, out of this lonely house that she lived in all by herself. Sabine laughed over the phone. "You'll be sharing a room with Marinette. I hope you're okay with that."

It was then that Sarantha frowned, and looked over her shoulder… at Skalla- her Kwami, which she'd inherited from her former teacher in New Orleans a few years past. The small, wolf-like creature shrugged. "It's fine, Aunt Sabine." She said it quietly. After all, beggars can't be choosers, and she'd asked- no, begged to live there.

Besides… it wasn't like she could do much, anyway. Skalla nodded, but looked a bit worried. "Good, dear, then, you'll work the details out with your parents later tonight. I'm going to have to call the school and get you enrolled. We can't wait to see you, Sarantha." Sabine said it gently, making the girl tear up a bit… because someone wanted her.

They said their goodbyes and hung up after that, and then, Sarantha turned to face Skalla. "Okay, obviously, there's something we need to discuss." She drawled. Skalla snorted. "Oh, by Virtue, yes."

Sarantha sighed. "You know we can't stay here." She said. "I'd go crazy…" Skalla shook her head. "That is not the issue, here, Sarantha. You're sharing a room with your cousin… and you have me. Did you forget the part where you're not supposed to tell anyone?" Sarantha shook her head.

"I don't see any other choice, Skalla. It's not like she won't find out… she'll see you floating around. Maybe it's fortunate, or maybe it's a bad thing, that I can't turn hero, because if I do…"

"We both know very well what will happen if you dare keep transforming without your partner being active." Skalla said it quietly. "It's why we decided not to, for the time being…"

"Well, at least until my partner is around, right?" Sarantha sighed and let herself fall onto a chair. "I can't go hero, right now, because I'm out of balance, and my power starts seeping out. That's a bad thing, and it's what they want in the first place. I will not be a pawn in that sick creep's game."

Skalla chuckled. "Well said, my keeper." She said. "As for our other problem, I believe you are right in your decision to tell your cousin. It's not like she won't find out anyway."

PARIS, FRANCE

Marinette paced around her room as Tikki buzzed around. Both looked worried. For Marinette, she always thought that the first to know her identity would be Chat Noir…. He was her partner, after all, and he deserved to know first. However, Tikki had told her… but that wasn't really the problem here.

"I'm sharing a room with her. Under normal circumstances, it'd be fine, but, Tikki, this is not normal…" She said. Tikki shook her head. "Honestly, Marinette, there's only one way to do this, and that means you must tell her. I don't like it, though…" The small goddess of luck sighed. "There really isn't any alternative to this situation."

"I know…. And maybe it'll be a good thing… I mean, someone who can help me come up with excuses as to why I'm not at a certain place, or something like that…" Marinette said it with a thought. "This might be better than we thought." Tikki sighed and shook her head.

She had yet to tell her charge of the other dangers, especially with telling someone else. She was surprised though, that she hadn't told Chat Noir. Eventually, she supposed, they'd do so, but that seemed to be a long way off. "If you're sure, Marinette." She said it slowly. Though she knew that this broke one of the biggest rules that Miraculous holders followed…. She didn't see any other choice.

"Right now, we need to call Chat, and tell him we can't make patrol, tonight." The blue-haired girl said calmly. "Spots on."

AGRESTE PALACE

He stared at his father almost dumbly before he was finally able to speak. "What?" he gasped. His father did not spare him a glance, instead choosing to study his work. "You heard me, Adrien. I don't feel the need to repeat myself." He stated, voice as cold as ever. Adrien grit his teeth, and he felt anger.

"Father, you cannot be serious." He growled. He could understand, kind of (not really), that his father would be more insistent on his work than spending time with him… or, really doing anything with him… but to just leave his teenaged son in a house for months on end… it was ridiculous.

This was worse news than the fact that he'd have to do patrol on his own tonight- apparently, Ladybug had some… serious things to attend to in her personal life, not that he pried into that… she'd made it clear that their personal live were to be very separated from their professional hero thing.

"I have business that needs to be attended to… in England. You have school; therefore, you cannot go. I am serious, Adrien." He replied. Adrien had to fight his own temper… which surprised him, really. How exactly was this changing anything? His father wasn't really… there to begin with, so what was a few thousand kilometers, anyway?

"Nathalie will be here to ensure your schedule is being kept, as will your bodyguard-" At this Adrien's eyes narrowed. "My schedule." He said, voice carefully void of all sarcasm. "Of course, father."

"I don't know how long I'll be gone. You will continue modeling, fencing, Chinese…" Adrien sighed. "Of course, father." He said calmly. "I'll leave you to it, then." As he left, Gabriel looked down at his desk, at the letter. He sagged down, covering his face with his hand.

In his room, Adrien slouched against his window. "If he honestly thinks that I'm going to…" He hissed. Plagg chuckled. "I have a feeling that you're going to doing a lot less…" he drawled, "than what your father wants…"

"Only one less thing… that's gonna free up a bunch of my time." He muttered darkly. He threw his school bag on the table in front of his couch, and then lay on the couch. "He can't expect me to play as a puppet for much longer. I'm a human being, not a possession."

"And then, he'll pull you out of school, and lock you back up in your room, and you'll only be allowed out for fencing…" Adrien snorted. "And I'll sneak out again… hell, maybe I'll leave." He muttered. "It's getting old, Plagg."

Plagg sighed. "I can imagine, kid." He murmured. "However, we both know you wouldn't leave. Not while Ladybug needs you… Not while you're still a fledgling guardian, either." Adrien blinked. "Plagg, I've been your guardian for nearly two years now. Shouldn't I be out of the fledgling stage?" The blond asked. Plagg roared with laughter.

"Gouda almighty, kid. Two years, and you think you're all that…" the small god snickered, before sobering. "Listen to me, Adrien." His slit-pupiled green eyes stared into eyes of the same color. These were innocent, though. So innocent that it seemed to Plagg that it wasn't quite fair for him to be a chosen. However, it was necessary, and Adrien didn't even know half of what he'd gotten himself into by accepting the ring he wore.

"You are still one of the youngest of the guardians that exist- and one of the two youngest if we're going by how long you've been one, and that is including Hawkmoth and the holder of the Turtle Miraculous. Though, Ladybug is a few days younger, she actually didn't truly accept Tikki until the second time Stone Heart attacked." Plagg sighed. "There are things you're not ready to know yet, and Tikki and I have refrained from telling you much more than necessary… but that's only because of how young you are as a guardian." He told his charge. "Tikki will kill me for saying that to you, but you need to know."

Adrian frowned. "I…. I didn't know that." He muttered. "There are… even more?" Plagg smirked. "Yeah. I don't know who exactly is active now, that may have changed since… since the last time we ran into some." He frowned. "I think that was fifty years ago."

MARINETTE

Rearranging her room took the help of her parents- mostly her father- and for that, Tikki stayed in the bathroom, out of her mother's eyesight. It was a rather difficult task to complete, if only because not only was the furniture being reorganized, but the room itself was being deep cleaned. Standard procedure for visitors… or, in this case, for new roommates.

Honestly, after the initial hour of worrying she'd had a few days earlier, Marinette had all but forgotten the one problem that had arisen when it came to Sarantha living with them, shoved to the back of her mind, where she constantly second-guessed herself. Should she tell Chat Noir before her cousin? Wouldn't that be fair? It wasn't like he didn't deserve to know….

She shook her head as she helped her parents make up the second bed and set up a desk and dresser. She, herself put aside some closet space for Sarantha when she got there, and somehow, they fit a second desk in the room.

The whole thing took them about three hours, and she flopped on her bed after it was all done and slept. She did not wake until the next morning.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U.S.A

Her parents were back sooner that she'd thought they would be, which was both good and bad. Good, because they told her what the plan was. Bad because… when her parents were home, they made sure where she was at every second. While she was happy that her parents wanted to spend time with her, there was another, unforeseen problem that reared its ugly head.

She felt it first, at the dining room table, as she was sitting with Erik and Ying Yue. The sudden feel made her nearly gag on her lunch. It was dark, and it was sick. Twisted. It seeped over her like a disease. She knew what it was. She was the guardian of the Kwami of Death, after all.

She could sense it miles away, and how old it was. Her mother frowned and looked at her. "Sarantha? What's wrong?" Sarantha just shuddered. "I… don't feel well all the sudden, mom. Can I be excused?"

She wasn't lying. She felt sick just feeling it. It was wrong, and it was making her light headed. Her mother nodded, concern on her face. She ran out of the room, up the stairs, she didn't want to be around her family. She got to her room, and slammed the door shut, locking it. Skalla popped out of her shirt and looked at her with worry. "Sarantha, you know what will happen…" She whispered, "You can't transform again. Not right now."

"He's on my turf, and he knows it, Skalla." She growled, still shaken. "He's calling me out…I don't have much of a choice. If I don't come out now, he'll just kill someone to get me out." She shook her head. "I don't want to do this, but…"

"Sarantha… you know what will happen…" Skalla whispered. "Your power will go out of control."

"It's already out of control, Skalla." Sarantha pointed out her hand waved in the direction of her desk, where she used to have potted plants that she'd grown herself. Now, the pots sat there, but the plants inside them were all dead, surrounded by leaves and petals, as well as shells of insects and spiders. "It's already affecting small things, insects and plants. This might make it worse, but only if I have to fight whoever this guy is." She said it quietly. "And that's a risk I have to take."

"And you're conveniently forgetting the fact that it's worse when you transform, I see." Skalla drawled, frowning at her charge. "Sarantha, you'll start killing small animals, and people with start getting sick."

"Better a few birds and sicknesses than a few human lives, Skalla. Last time I checked, I was supposed to safeguard stuff like that." She replied, and then sucked in a breath. "Skalla, transform me." There was no flash of brightly colored light… death was a dark shadow, and without the balance of her partner, it was unpredictable.

Lately, it had been seeping out of her while she was a civilian, and, in order to stop this from happening worse than it was, she had refrained from transforming. Skalla had told her what was causing this side-affect to occur, and the girl didn't like it one bit. But now was not the time to dwell on this. She had a job to do, and people to save.

It was not Sarantha who leapt out the window on the top floor of the Chicago town house, it was Shadow Wolf. Unlike those of her French counter parts, her outfit covered little skin, with a top that was strapless, and stopped right under her breasts, she had shorts that stopped a bit higher than mid-thigh, and miss-matched boots, on that went to her knee, the other was to her ankle and was coupled with a knee protector, though they shared the same color. She had a jacket that had different length sleeves, one quarter length, the other full length, and gloves that, like Chat Noir formed claws at the end. Her ears, attached to her head, were sticking through her hood which covered her head and long hair, which had been tied back in a ponytail, cascading over a shoulder.

She had two belts that also crossed over each other low on her hips, holding different types of arrow heads and knives, and her mask was two- toned, gradually going from black to dark blue, and covered half of her face, causing her silver eyes to glow. She stood on the roof of the house. Sucking in a breath, she turned north. "There," she growled, her voice lower and rougher than when she was a civilian. Her snarl showed fangs.

With that, she raced across town on the tops of the houses and other structures… right up until she came across the cause of her needing to turn into her alter ego. He stood in a cloak that was reminiscent of the grim reaper, though she could see his face with it's hollowed out eyes, lending him the appearance of a skeleton.

A Warlock. She growled, the low, threatening sound seemed to catch his attention. She drew out her knives, preparing. "Leave." She said the one word. He held up his hands in (mocking) surrender. "I have come in peace."

His voice was gravelly and cracked, much like his nails. She regarded him with disgust. "I somehow highly doubt that." She growled. He chuckled. "Hear me out, Lady Shadow Wolf." He replied, ignoring her demeanor. "We have been searching for you for quite some time, my lady." She huffed, putting her knives down. He knew, though, that she was feigning letting her guard down. She was just as ready to attack as she had been upon her first arrival.

"What do you want?" she asked darkly.

He smiled, showing her his missing teeth, her face twisted. "We want you to join us, Lady Death." She stepped back and hissed. "Never." She snapped, she took her bow and notched an arrow. "I have no intention of joining up with Reaper. Leave now, and you can live another day. Stay, and you will not be so lucky… and I won't even have to use my power." He bowed mockingly.

"Until you find your partner, you are no threat to us." He told her, feigning a sense of sadness. He did not feel, not unless it was elation over an evil act he'd committed. She would not back down. He was already a fully-fledged Warlock. "Try me." She whispered, silver eyes glinting. She aimed the arrow directly at his heart cavity. "Try me, and see if I'm truly no threat to you, warlock."

He laughed as he disappeared. "Soon," he called as he vanished. "Soon, you will join us." She glared at the place he had been and shook her shoulders. "Not likely." She grumbled, as she headed back to her home, trying to ignore the birds that dropped from the air as they passed by her. Slipping back into her room, she sighed. "De-transform me, Skalla." She said it quietly.

The small wolf-like creature shuddered. "I'm sorry, Sara. It's my fault…" she looked close to tears, and Sarantha just sighed. "It's not, Skalla. Death is a part of life. It is dark, but it's not evil, and I refuse to let them think that." She snorted. "It's not your fault that people think of death as a bad thing."

The Kwami just whimpered as she snuggled up to her chosen. The words were familiar. So many of her other charges had said the same. So many of them had… changed their way of thinking later…. Most of them had been alone.

It wasn't that the Kwami of Life was missing or broken- not like Bizazza, Aashi, and Duusu, but… there were very few times that Bennu was ever… active at the same time she was. Yes, this made Skalla feel alone, but it also put her chosen in a situation that should never come to pass. When the 'Dark' Kwami was not with their 'light' counterparts, their powers started to… seep out of their chosen. The power became uncontrollable.

If Chat Noir, for instance, was not with Ladybug, then he would start to destroy things- without even touching them, she'd seen it once before, years ago, when Plagg had been active without Tikki. She'd seen it once before, when the entire city of Atlantis fell into the Mediterranean Sea. If a Kwami's conduit was broken, usually (in order to maintain balance), their power- which was unusable by them, would go to their partner, ensuring that they could go on.

Because of this, they believed that the broken conduits could be put back into use… they just didn't know how to do this, gods they were, all-knowing they were not. So, Derrota, Siyaar, and Nooroo suffered still, though they were able to go on without their partners.

All things considered, Skalla was luckier than those three… however, she didn't feel like it. She hadn't seen Bennu in centuries, let alone a chosen of his. The last time she had… her wielder had… chosen to fight with Elahh and his chosen.

That had been long ago, indeed… and Skalla didn't like to remember. She sighed as she looked at Sarantha. She only hoped that this would be different. "Thank you, Sarantha." Sarantha smiled and sighed. "Skalla, you're thinking too hard." She said gently. "I won't transform again… unless I truly need to, and there is no other way to deal with a situation." She told her. "I won't risk it."

She shook her head. She didn't want to risk it. She heard knocking at her door. "Anthi, can I come in?" her mother called. Sarantha cast a glance at Skalla, who nodded, and flew away to hide in the bathroom. "Yeah, mom, come in." Ying Yue sighed as she came into her daughter's room "My dear, I have made you sad." She said, dark eyes downcast. Sarantha blinked at her mother, surprised at the woman. "Mama, I…" she walked to her mother, hugging her. "I... upset you." She murmured. Ying Yue just sighed as she held her daughter.

"You have been alone… more than your father and I realized. We are sorry for that." She smiled at her little girl. "We shouldn't have. Now, you're going to France." She said with a sigh. "We should have done this years ago, really." She frowned. "It would have been better for you."

"Mama…" Sarantha said it softly, her silver eyes softening. She couldn't find a way to speak without saying something she didn't mean. "I love you." She said finally. "You know that, right? I love you and dad."

"We know that, sweetie." Ying Yue murmured, running her hand through Sarantha's long, blue hair- the hair that she shared with her father, aunt, and cousin. "But… you need stability." She sighed. "And we can't give you that." She smiled at her.

"Your flight is tomorrow morning." She told Sarantha, then smiled as she turned. "You'll need to pack what you want…" Sarantha was taken aback. "Mom!" she gasped. "That's… really short notice." She rushed to grab a few bags as her mother rolled her eyes. "You know your father." She replied. "He always does this."

That he did, Sarantha thought. He'd always been someone to just plan things on the spur of the moment, and it always annoyed both Sarantha and Ying Yue. This really wasn't new. It was, however, annoying. That being said, as soon as her mother left, she started to grab as many bags as she could. She was leaving tomorrow, and in the morning at that.

She groaned as she rushed, putting her clothes and make-up… her things that she absolutely couldn't leave behind… "Not to mention some of my books…" she made a face. Moving to France meant no more books in English. Not that she couldn't read in French... she could… it was just that she liked English books. She'd get more when she got situated, but…

"You know, you should probably only pack your clothes…" Skalla grinned. "Oh, for the love of Virtue, Skalla. I need books." She muttered. "And my jewelry, my make-up. That jewelry box…" Skalla sighed as she watched her chosen. She always did this. Her father may be the master of last-minute plans, but on the other side of the spectrum, Sarantha was the type that freaked and packed random things that had no value. She'd accidentally pack paper clips if left to her own devices.

"Sarantha, calm down," the Kwami said, trying to placate the girl. Sarantha stopped throwing things in the bag and looked at the small wolf. "You're right…" she winced. "I always do that." She muttered, going pink. "I'm sorry. Thanks, Skalla." She sighed. Skalla giggled.

Okay, so, that's the end of this chapter. Read and Review- please? Thanks for sticking with me this long.