To Lyger 0: We'll just have to wait and see what happens…

To Geft: Milk Maidge is a bit of an unknown at the moment, but that will change eventually. As far as Nadine, she's definitely gotten the worst of it out of this whole thing.


Glancing in either direction along the busy street behind her, Rose nervously ran her finger down the pad outside of the newly-rebuilt apartment building until the found the correct number, pressing the buzzer next to it firmly. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up on end, and she had to stifle the urge to shudder. The feeling of eyes on her back would not go away. A couple a few years older than her opened the door next to the number pad and exited the building, eyeing her with some confusion. Rose gave them a bright smile, and the man shrugged, wrapping an arm around the woman as they stepped down the stairs and started down the block toward a bus stop. Following them with her eyes, Rose glanced up at the building a half-block past them where she could just make out the tiny variation in the building's straight roof which represented Bengalia's head. From her vantage point, she would be able to see the entire street for two blocks in either direction, as well as the side street to Rose's left. Rose forced herself to breath, slowly and calmly.

If she was being watched – her skin crawled – if she was being watched, then she couldn't give them the satisfaction of knowing they were getting to her. She wasn't in danger here – she couldn't be in danger here, not when Bengalia was here to watch her back. Juleka would protect her. And if anything happened, she was a superhero: she could take care of herself. She was just here to check in on a couple of her friends – no different than she would have done a week ago, before all of this madness had started. For all that anyone else on the street knew, nothing could possibly be wrong.

But everything was wrong, wasn't it? That was why she was here.

Again, Rose rang the buzzer, trying to look calm and collected, to hide the anxiety that had gripped her since yesterday when Alya had warned them about what had happened to Aurore. She forced herself to look straight ahead at the apartment, and not to scan the street for signs that Killer Bee or Cerna or even that new Milk Maidge was nearby. Everything was going to be okay… Finally, the buzzer clicked.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Mireille!" Rose answered her cheerily, depressing the call button. "How are you this afternoon?"

"Rose?" Mireille's tone turned up in confusion. "What's up?"

"Oh, I was just in the area," Rose answered. She leaned against the wall next to the buzzer, turning to glance down the street. The late afternoon traffic had picked up, with a steady line of cars driving up and down the roads as groups of pedestrians moved from store to store across the street. Rose inhaled and exhaled slowly. "We've been busy recording our next album this week, but we got done a little early today."

Mireille hummed. "Sounds like fun! Hey, do you want to come up and visit for a bit?"

Rose pursed her lips, her brows furrowed in thought, and glanced down toward her purse. Poking her head out, Daizzi gave her an encouraging nod. "You know what? That does sound like fun!" Rose agreed, as the door clicked open. "I'll be up in a minute!" Stepping inside, Rose scanned the interior quickly, taking in the clean, modern design and smell of fresh paint still clinging to the walls. For the moment, Rose was the only one in the hallway, her footsteps the only sound to be heard. Popping her purse open, she nodded to Daizzi, who slowly rose partway out of the purse, looking around cautiously. "Could you check out the other units?" Rose muttered, still scanning the hallway.

"You think she might be here?" asked the Kwami, her eyes wide.

"I don't think so…" Rose admitted. "But we need to start somewhere, right?"

"I won't be far," Daizzi promised, nodding disappearing into the wall beside her.

Suddenly feeling naked without the Kwami's constant presence, Rose steeled herself and turned to the stairs. Mireille's apartment was on the third floor, and it only took Rose a couple of minutes to jog up to it, her eyes peeled for any indication of other people in the building. But apart from a single glimpse of Daizzi out of the corner of her eye just as she reached the second floor, there were no signs of the other residents. Pausing next to one doorway, Rose held her breath and listened intently, to hear the soft noise of a television playing inside, intercut with muffled conversation. Daizzi's head poked out of a wall halfway down the hall, and the Kwami shook her head. Rose's mouth set in a thin line, and she continued up the stairs to the next floor.

Mireille opened the door as soon as Rose set her foot on the third floor, and she gave Rose a quick hug before inviting her inside. "Welcome!" she told her, gesturing toward the simply decorated living room and indicating the couch. "I'd just started boiling water for tea when I heard the buzzer – that's why it took me so long to answer. Would you like some?"

"That sounds nice, thanks!" Rose agreed with a nod, smiling brightly. She took a seat on the edge of the couch and looked around the room, her eyes settling on a picture of most of their grade standing in front of the Eiffel Tower just before their collège graduation. "Although I don't want to impose…"

Mireille waved a hand dismissively as she got out a second cup. "It's not an imposition at all," she assured her. "The party last weekend was so much fun, but we didn't get to talk too much then; it's nice to have the opportunity now!" She frowned. "Especially since I've hardly seen anyone since then…"

Rose nodded. "It's been such a hectic summer so far."

"Tell me about it," Mireille groaned, pouring Rose a cup of tea and claiming a secondhand wooden chair near the window. "Internship, moving, university… Marinette's bachelorette party was the first time I took a break all summer."

Rose hummed sympathetically. "We'll have to do this more often then," she decided. "Especially once Kitty Section finished recording our album; my schedule will lighten up considerably then!" She cocked her head to one side. "You know, I don't think I've seen you or Aurore since Marinette's party!"

Mireille laughed, though a cloud came over her face. "That was a lot of fun, wasn't it? I'm sorry I had to leave early."

"Me, too," agreed Rose, nodding. "If it hadn't been for recording the next day… But from what I hear, it sounds like the others had some fun after we left."

Mireille cocked her head to one side. "Oh? I haven't heard anything."

"Aurore didn't say anything?"

"Actually… I haven't seen her since then," Mireille admitted, looking away.

Rose forced her eyes to widen as if surprised. "Really? Where could she be? Is everything okay?"

"I… don't know, actually." Mireille fell silent, examining her teacup. "But she hasn't been back – all I got from her was a text message saying that she had some things to sort out."

"Really? That's it?" Rose furrowed her brows.

Mireille sighed heavily. "I don't know… I thought she would have told me if something was bothering her, but…"

"This isn't normal for her…"

"I didn't think it was." Mireille shrugged, shaking her head. "If I was in trouble, she's the first one I would tell. But I guess the reverse isn't exactly true." She frowned.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Rose gave Mireille a sympathetic look. "But I'm sure that she has her reasons. If she did something like this, she must have had a reason for keeping you out of it."

"Maybe."

"Did she give you any idea of where she was going or why?"

"Nope. Just that she wouldn't be back for a while." Mireille paused for a moment. "She hasn't been in to the station since then, either – Mme Chamack said that if she doesn't come back soon, they might fire her. And if that happens…"

"I thought that was her whole life."

"It was." Mireille's eyes widened emphatically.

"I'm sorry."

"Me, too."

"So you have no idea where she is?"

"No… Why is everyone so curious?"

Rose shrugged, sipping on her tea. "I'm just… concerned is all."

Mireille let out a breath, nodding. "Yeah, I am too. I wish there were something I could do… but I guess she'll just have to come back when she's ready."

Rose nodded regretfully. A sudden shift in the weight of the purse in her lap warned her that Daizzi had returned. "Whatever it is that's going on, she has a lot of people on her side who would help her if she just gave them a chance. But she needs to give us that chance first."

"I hope she will," Mireille replied. "Eventually."

Rose let out a breath, glancing down at her watch. "I should probably go," she told Mireille. "I'm supposed to meet Juleka in about five minutes – we're getting dinner together. But, um, if you see Aurore, tell her I'm sorry I missed her."

Mireille nodded in agreement. "I probably won't, but I'll tell her if I do see her."

Standing up, Rose nodded to Mireille and gave her a quick hug as she walked her to the door. "It was good seeing you," Rose told her. "And hopefully I will see you again soon!"

Mireille nodded, giving her a small smile as she started closing the door. "And you, too! You and Juleka can stop by any time you want!"

Once they were alone again in the hallway, Rose glanced down at Daizzi. "Anything?"

Daizzi shook her head in frustration. "Nothing – no sign of Aurore anywhere in the building."

Sighing heavily, Rose made her way down the stairs, pausing at each level to listen for anyone who might interrupt them. Finally, she emerged from the apartment building and looked up toward Bengalia's roof to find her crouching at the edge of the roof, looking down at her. Quickly, Rose crossed the street and jogged down the street in that direction.

Thirty minutes later, Miss Pinky crouched on a different roof, her rake laid out next to her, watching as Juleka approached another apartment building. She frowned. They had finished the day's recording session a little early when they managed a recording without any mistakes one hour sooner than any of their previous tracks. But rather than stay on the boat with the others, Rose and Juleka had left to start looking for Aurore. Not that there had been any leads; the trail had gone cold since the weekend. Miss Pinky's stomach shifted anxiously. Nne of their classmates had heard from Aurore since she had gone on the run, leaving them without a single lead. In the end, they had decided to try going back to the beginning and starting from there. But Mireille hadn't heard from her; had her parents? Miss Pinky's stomach clenched. Where could Aurore be? Even if she had given information to the bad guys, she refused to believe that Aurore would have done that intentionally, that she would want to betray them. If she would only come in, they could sort everything out.

Miss Pinky's rake handle chimed, and she glanced down at it with a frown to find Ladybug's name on the caller ID. Quickly, she answered the call. "What's up?"

"Any luck so far?" asked Marinette tersely.

Miss Pinky shook her head, surveying the street in all directions as she did so. "Not yet," she answered. "We decided to go back and start from the beginning, but Mireille hadn't seen her since the party. Juleka is checking with her parents at the moment, but it doesn't look like she's found her yet." She paused. "Any suggestions?"

Marinette hummed. "Not that I can think of right now…" she finally admitted. "We've tried practically everyone in the class – everyone that Aurore is friends with, at least. And so far no one has known anything." She let out a frustrated groan.

"We'll keep looking for her," Miss Pinky promised, as Juleka turned away from the apartment building in front of her and shrugged her shoulders.

Marinette sighed heavily. "Thanks for looking for her. I wish I could join you, but with everything else that's happening…"

"We're happy to help however we can," Miss Pinky assured her. "We'll let you know the moment we find anything."

"Please do."

The communicator clicked, and Miss Pinky scanned the street carefully before her eyes rested on Juleka. A glance at Juleka's face as she walked away from the building was all it took for Miss Pinky to sigh in frustration. As quietly as she could, she crawled back away from the edge of the roof and slipped off of it, bouncing back and forth between balconies to reach the ground just as Juleka entered the alley. With a flash of pink light, Rose de-transformed and threw her arms around Juleka's shoulders in a tight hug. They embraced quietly for a moment while Daizzi rummaged through Rose's purse and pulled out a handful of crackers as a snack.

"I'm sorry we haven't found her yet," Rose whispered, sniffling.

Juleka gave her a squeeze and nodded. "We'll find her; we just haven't looked in the right places yet."

Rose sighed heavily. "But hopefully if her friends can't find her, that also means that the Lynchpin hasn't found her yet."

"I hope so…"

Rose frowned. "But we can't know for sure."