Chloe had just barely managed to sneak across the street to where she had seen Ladybug disappear after Chat Noir had been knocked out when she saw Marinette running a street over, away from Pinman's rampage.

Where was she going? Chloe sprinted to the adjoining road, barely keeping up. Marinette entered a public storage rental area, lined with lockers. Chloe followed, making her way around the line of lockers opposite of the ones Marinette was going through. She paused at the corner, peeking around with wide eyes as she saw Marinette open one of the lockers and bring out a necklace with a little pink charm hanging off it.

"Okay," she heard Marinette mumble, "it's time to go find Miss Mouse."

The ground started to rumble again and Marinette quickly swung the locker door closed, pressing her self against the wall as the giant bowling ball passed by. Chloe didn't dare come out of hiding, even as she heard what Marinette said next.

"Come on Tikki, not a moment to lose. Spot's on!"

There was a flash of red light and a zipping sound. Ladybug was gone. Chloe sank to the floor, hugging her knee's. Up until this point she had only half believed that it was true, it all seemed too perfect. Now that she had confirmed it she didn't know what to do.

"Why did I even follow her all this time," she mumbled to herself, "what, did I think I'd just go up to her and say 'oh hey Marinette, I figured out you're Ladybug, can you please give me the bee miraculous?' Aggg! I'm so stupid." How was she supposed to redeem herself without the bee miraculous back? She didn't voice the largest issue out loud though, afraid of acknowledging the truth. How could she ever get the bee miraculous back when she didn't deserve it?

A high creaking noise drew her out of her thoughts, metal against metal. She got up and went around the lockers to find the source. She stopped short. The locker Marinette had taken the mouse miraculous out of was hanging slightly open. The tremors from Pinman's bowling ball passing by must've kept it from closing properly.

Chloe walked up to it, intending to close it, when she spotted familiar wood inside. It's strange shape and markings pulled her into the past, her last moments as Queen Bee attempting to control it. The Miracle Box. Blood rushed to her head as pounding guilt and shame flooded her body. Her breath became quick and she sank to her knees, mistakes fully coming back to her. Planting themselves on her shoulders.

"You are a Bourgeois," Her grandmothers words floated through her head, "you may acknowledge your mistakes, you may learn from them, but you must never regret them."

Chloe's breathing slowed again. "I had my reasons," she reminded herself, "I was wrong, but I was not without reason." She looked at the Miracle Box again, teeth set and jaw clenched.

Marinette had been careless in her rush, the lid of the box was not closed completely and the drawers were still slid open. Chloe reached out and slid the drawers shut, one by one. A small click sounded after each one was closed. She reached for the top lid and hesitated for a moment.

"This has to be done." She breathed.

Carefully, she lifted the lid open. In the center was yin-yang symbol, one half with the sign of Ladybug and the other with the sign of Chat Noir. The rest of the jewelry was there, much of it looking unused in a long time. There was the bee comb, the bee miraculous. Chloe reached out and grabbed it, cradling the warm metal in her hands.

A bright yellow light shone out from it and a small yellow Kwami with black stripes and dark blue eyes appeared before her.

"At you service my queen," the creature said, bowing formally. It looked up at it's master, freezing uncertainly at the familiar face.

"Hey Pollen," Chloe said, choking back tears and forcing a smile.

Pollen turned away from it's former owner. "My queen," it said in a small voice, "have you come to take me away?"

Chloe put a shaking hand to her mouth, furiously shaking her head no. "No Pollen," She said, tears forming her eyes, "I'm not going to steal you."

Pollen turned back to the girl, interest peaked. "Then why are you here?"

Large, wet tears fell from Chloe's eye's, raking sobs just barely contained in her shaking body. "I-I just wanted to say that, oh Pollen, I'm so, so sorry! I used you. I took you even though I didn't deserve you, I don't deserve you. I made you fight and steal your own friends! I was ridiculous! Utterly, utterly ridiculous." The comb lay in her lap, both hands wiping her eyes in a failing attempt to dry them. "I'm so, so sorry Pollen. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry."

Pollen flew up to Chloe and touched her head lightly. "You have apologized so wholeheartedly my queen," it said. It flew down in front of her face and helped her wipe a tear away, "look at these pure and pitiful tears, how could I not forgive you."

Chloe covered her eyes with her arms, a sloppy and shaking smile visible beneath them. "Don't forgive me so easily Pollen, I'll never earn you if you do."

"Perhaps being worthy is not as complicated as you think."

Chloe finally dried her reddened eye's, mascara and eyeliner smudged beneath them. She sniffed and gave Pollen a small smile. "That might be true for people like Marinette, Ladybug, who are everything I'm not, everything I want to be, so easily. But for me, becoming a person worthy of your power is next to impossible."

"My queen!" Pollen protested.

Chloe gently picked up the miraculous again, smiling softly through her tearstained face. "Thank you Pollen, for believing in me. I'll make sure that, one day, I'll deserve you again."

Before Pollen could say anything more Chloe placed the miraculous back inside the Miracle Box, making the Kwami disappear. She shut the lid firmly and pulled out a pen and note paper from her purse. She wrote a quick note and shut the locker, making sure it locked.

Distant thuds and the sound of pins being knocked down could be heard across the city.

"Guess they're almost done," She murmured walking in the opposite direction.